Hell's Kitchen is Back!

Alright, fess up...who's watching?

By the looks of last night's "signature dish" tasting, they may have upped the talent level by about 1%, which might make things interesting.

Also, one of the contestants (Ben) is from Chicago. From the show's website, he lists his experience as:

Club Chef, Club at Symphony Center
Sous Chef, Rhapsody Restaurant
Executive Sous Chef, Bistro 110
Chef De Cuisine, Holly's American Bistro
Head Chef, Diversey Yacht Club

Seems pretty respectable to me. Anyone know this guy?

I missed last nights episode but recorded it on the DVR, I get a good laugh out of this show(and typically all cooking shows), so I will be watching.

Looks like a fun group, in a scream-y, manic-depressive way.

Thanks for the CV for Ben! I was wondering where he'd cheffed around here. He looks very competent and confident.

PS The actual best resto competitive-reality show isn't on Fox or on Bravo - it's "Last Restaurant Standing" on BBCAmerica. Fabulous, compelling stuff. It's on Tuesday night - check your listings for time (this week's ep was a two-hour extravaganza. I have such a crush on head judge Franco-Brit restaurateur Raymond Blanc!

jesteinf wrote:Alright, fess up...who's watching?

*raises hand*

Guilty as charged.

Just watched the first episode on the DVR and man, this show picks up right where it leaves off, doesn't it?

--I understand the first dismissed chef is from Elgin.
--Ben does look like he has potential.
--I'm always stunned by how the contestants react in the kitchen. Even if they are not restaurant-tested, they have to have seen the show before, right?
--That one woman mentioned quitting no more than 30 seconds into the shift.
--It does look to be another fun season of the tyrannical Ramsay driving the culinary short bus.

I can clearly hear Newton Minow in my mind but I simply cannot turn away from this show.

=R=

Sweet Baboo is amazed (because I dislike swearing so much) that I watch Gordon Ramsey's shows whenever I can. I'm watching "The F Word" right now.

Here is a different take. My church's college group has a Hell's Kitchen every week. They discuss "The Screwtape Letters" while they cook something in the kitchen!

Hi,

I learned Ben graduated from Deerfield High School.

Oh yeah, I watch.

Regards,
Cathy

Hi,

While both Lacey and Colleen deserved to go, I believe it would have been Lacey sent home first. Her self-indulgent departure from hours of work, could not be redeemed by her come-to-Jesus-better-late-than-never work ethic.

Interesting the first two departures were voluntary: Wil, who had weak character and simply wanted out, and Ji who had a much strong character who didn't want to weaken the team's chances for success by hobbling them. Too bad, because she was worth far more than Lacey and Colleen together.

Can't wait for next week's drama.

Regards,

Is he the nerdy guy who knew so much detail about Ramsay they were calling him a stalker?

ListenerCh wrote:Is he the nerdy guy who knew so much detail about Ramsay they were calling him a stalker?

It wasn't Ben, though I don't recall his name. The detail that guy had on Ramsay was very unsettling.

Regards,

that was Seth..too bad about Ji..she is one of the stronger chefs..dont see how she would have brought the team down..i think they could have worked around her injury far easier than working around Coleens and Lacey's ineptness in the kitchen
favorite line fired at Coleen ..."you're robbing people!!!"

Head's Red BBQ wrote: . . . favorite line fired at Coleen ..."you're robbing people!!!"

LOL! Unless she has a stunning recovery somewhere down the line, her appearance on the show will most likey have an adverse effect on her business. Such is the price of reality-whoredom, I guess.

=R=

I rarely check this section but I did today and had to read the thread when I saw the title. Ben is a good friend of mine and we caught last nights episode together with some other friends at Kirkwood Tap over here in Lincoln Park and will most likely continue to do so if anyone wants to stop by. I never watched this show until this year and I am quite entertained. One question that just came to my mind? While there is no doubting Bens credentials and maybe a few others, do they purposely have contestants with backgrounds of "corporate buffet cook" and "food court chef" Is it just me or do they have them there for the entertainment factor? So that Gordon Ramsey can ride them into the ground and we can all laugh? surely they could of got people better than that. Sure makes for great entertainment.

Da Beef wrote:I rarely check this section but I did today and had to read the thread when I saw the title. Ben is a good friend of mine and we caught last nights episode together with some other friends at Kirkwood Tap over here in Lincoln Park and will most likely continue to do so if anyone wants to stop by. I never watched this show until this year and I am quite entertained. One question that just came to my mind? While there is no doubting Bens credentials and maybe a few others, do they purposely have contestants with backgrounds of "corporate buffet cook" and "food court cook" Is it just me or do they have them there for the entertainment factor? So that Gordon Ramsey can ride them into the ground and we can all laugh? surely they could of got people better than that. Sure makes for great entertainment.

From what I've read (can't remember where), Fox chooses the contestants and Ramsay has to play the hand he's dealt. But yeah, I've said throughout the 4+ seasons that it's clear the contestants are chosen with some consideration toward the "entertainment" factor. They could easily select more highly qualified individuals but how fun would that be . . . YOU DONKEY! (just kidding, of course)

=R=

My 16 year old son insists that I watch this with him. I don't like it when Ramsey calls women cows, and I hope that he watches the choice of his words regarding the guy who has some extra pounds.

razbry wrote:My 16 year old son insists that I watch this with him. I don't like it when Ramsey calls women cows, and I hope that he watches the choice of his words regarding the guy who has some extra pounds.

More than likely Gordon will call him a "Donut", or "You Donkey".

razbry wrote:My 16 year old son insists that I watch this with him. I don't like it when Ramsey calls women cows, and I hope that he watches the choice of his words regarding the guy who has some extra pounds.

i'm uncomfortable with that term, too. However, i found out that the British slang "cow" has a different meaning than the American use of the term (BE use is not really weight-related, though it can include a sense of "unattractive"). Knowing this helps mitigate the insult (& shock) a little.

cow (Noun)
1. A contemptible woman, a 'b****'. Derogatory, but often used less aggressively, as an affectionate aside, as in 'silly cow', see also 'moo'.
2. A difficult or objectionable task or thing. E.g."It was a cow of a job, and took twice as long as I expected."
(From http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/c.htm )

It's also in Harry Potter:

cow: A derogatory slang term for a woman, suggesting that she is coarse and/or unpleasant (New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary).

* that Skeeter cow (Goblet of Fire 24)
* "He's a hard-working, down-to-earth sort of person, whereas she's -"
"A cow," said Ginny, nodding.
- the Weasley women in conversation (Half Blood Prince 5)

(From http://www.hp-lexicon.org/help/british/sb-c.html )

Here are a couple threads on wordreference dealing with "cow" in BE vs. AE:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=887051
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=463707

sundevilpeg wrote:Looks like a fun group, in a scream-y, manic-depressive way.

Thanks for the CV for Ben! I was wondering where he'd cheffed around here. He looks very competent and confident.

PS The actual best resto competitive-reality show isn't on Fox or on Bravo - it's "Last Restaurant Standing" on BBCAmerica. Fabulous, compelling stuff. It's on Tuesday night - check your listings for time (this week's ep was a two-hour extravaganza. I have such a crush on head judge Franco-Brit restaurateur Raymond Blanc!

At Sundevilpeg's suggestion, I watched Last Restaurant Standing last night. I enjoyed it, not as manic as Hell's Kitchen (though I must admit, I enjoy a little mania in someone else's workplace after my own long day). It got a little graphic when Richard from "Sorbet & Seasons" had an "upset stomach". I enjoyed the food descriptions, for example the prehistoric-looking "Coq au vin". There were some tips on the importance of asking the right questions for market reseach. The contestant's tasks reminded me a bit of The Apprentice (but with food and without The Donald). Thanks for the TV tip Sundevilpeg!

No problem, Janeyb!. I became completely hooked on it last year, and I'm so glad it's back. It moves at a deliberate and realistic pace, and you really get inside of the contestants' heads, in a good way. And talk about a payoff prize. . .but Mr. Blanc is exceedingly careful about whom he chooses, since they ae actually going into business together, as opposed to just being given a pile of money and an overstated and somewhat nebulous job.

Trivia: It's called "The Restaurant" in the UK; NBC owns the rights to that name here, as they used it for the Rocco DeSpirito career-destroying vehicle. As if they'd ever broadcast *that* hot mess again!

I may be a big strong manly man, but I will admit, I teared up when Ji was allowed to keep her jacket!

I actually prefer Gordon's other show, Kitchen Nightmares, much better. His goal there seems to be to save the restaurant, not just yell and scream, although he does his share. You get to see much more of his emotional, personal side.

I really like "Kitchen Nightmares" too. I watch it every day. (Sweet Baboo hooked a TV up for me here in the office; he was concerned that I was turning into a human mole.)

I like the fact that KN is fundamentally about how to save a business, and the fact that he doesn't make himself more important than that goal.

Regarding the episode of HK that aired last night, it was a new low, if that's even possible. To all those "chefs" who were whining about various aspects of the beef processing plant, you should all find a new line of work. If that was too much for you, you aren't ever going to be much of a chef.

And to Giovanni, supposedly an executive chef at a steakhouse, dude, you should learn how to cook a steak. If his employer saw this episode, he's probably been fired by now. It's inexplicable to me (well, not really because this is reality tv) how this guy wasn't even nominated to be sent home, when he alone clearly effed up what was essentially the easiest night ever in Hell's Kitchen -- something he supposedly does everyday.

Ramsay was dead wrong when he proclaimed that the reason things went so badly last night was because the squads were lacking teamwork. Things went badly because the squads were lacking basic skills and/or even a shred of competence.

The only loser bigger than the folks in the kitchen last night was me . . . for watching this crap.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:To all those "chefs" who were whining about various aspects of the beef processing plant, you should all find a new line of work. If that was too much for you, you aren't ever going to be much of a chef.

I completely agree. I actually found that offensive. I don't remember the exact words they used, but if you think butchering cattle is "gross" or "disgusting", you have no business eating beef, let alone cooking it professionally.

Then there was the ridiculous scene where the red team was "forced" to eat tongue and other offal (and one of the contestants responded by vomiting). That's a punishment? Excuse me? I'd happily eat any of those organs prepared by Ramsay or his sous-chefs.

BJY wrote:Then there was the ridiculous scene where the red team was "forced" to eat tongue and other offal (and one of the contestants responded by vomiting). That's a punishment? Excuse me? I'd happily eat any of those organs prepared by Ramsay or his sous-chefs.

I agree. In fact, I was a little surprised that such an acclaimed chef would willingly advance the notion that having to eat those items was a punishment. I thought it was an extremely odd message to send.

=R=

Punishment is all in the eyes of the recipient, I guess.

In all fairness though, it just looked like a plate of plain "variety meat", no sauce, no nothing. I'm not sure I would have been able to handle that either.

jesteinf wrote:In all fairness though, it just looked like a plate of plain "variety meat", no sauce, no nothing. I'm not sure I would have been able to handle that either.

This is definitely true. I was referring more to the concept than the specific execution. That plate most certainly did not look appetizing.

=R=

I watch both shows and love Ramsey. Has anyone been too the restuarant he redid near Chicago? I would love too go.

that was kind of embarassing on the "steak house night" when the "chefs" couldnt cook steaks, or even the shrimp to the proper temperature.

that was funny though. That poor cooking school lady.. Ramsay is out too get her!