Anyone watching Hell's Kitchen?

[JoelHammond]

There are five left, and last night, each had their own station. One of the cooks was struggling on fish, and seeing that, Jean Phillippe, the host guy, tells all his waiters and waitresses to start pushing meat.

But when he was at "the pass" and when he turned around, he had two different suits on!!

Is it possible Hell's Kitchen is as fake as "The Hills"?

Please tell me someone else saw this.

 

[slappy4428]

I watched the show last night, but didn't remember the suit change...

 

[Claws for Concern]

This show is not ever going to be on in my kitchen.

 

[JR]

It's reality TV--which means there's very little reality.

 

[Msaint]

Yes, I think -- gasp -- it's heavily edited and "faked/fixed" for TV. Like last night's tiff between crazy Matt and Christina, and then Gordon "randomly" pairs them at the meat station? Please.

I've been stubbornly watching it every season and the thing that stands out to me, even more than the convenient editing this year, is just how -- and my apologies for the offensive term, but it's the only one I can think of to describe these people -- absolutely ****ing retarded these "chefs" are. They all just seem really....dumb. Low class. Low brow. Cheesy. Are you actually telling me that these were the best candidates Fox/Ramsay could find out of, you know, everyone in the entire United States of America who has even the slightest cooking aspiration? Last year's winner (Rock) was no Ming Tsai, but he had some serious skills, enough to win and, to this day, remain exec chef at Green Valley Ranch in Vegas. And you watch Top Chef and see incredible culinary skill, the absolute worst TC chef blows away the very best chef to ever appear on HK. But aside from a few times Gordon liked a dish, it's pretty clear that these HK losers can barely cook eggs...no WAY Ramsay makes one of them an actual exec chef in one of his restaurants. Frycook, maybe.

Add to that, they're all just generally disgusting -- for the most part sweaty, slovenly, flabby, chain smoking -- and you've got a crop of hardcore reality show mopes. But maybe that's the point: pick the biggest, most inept losers they can, throw in some sharp knives and fire, and watch them idiotically stumble week after week. Reality TV, baby! But would you ever want to eat at a restaurant where, say, Matt and his giant, sweaty cranium was the exec chef? Yeah, no.

 

[rube]

Yes, I think -- gasp -- it's heavily edited and "faked/fixed" for TV. Like last night's tiff between crazy Matt and Christina, and then Gordon "randomly" pairs them at the meat station? Please.

I've been stubbornly watching it every season and the thing that stands out to me, even more than the convenient editing this year, is just how -- and my apologies for the offensive term, but it's the only one I can think of to describe these people -- absolutely ****ing retarded these "chefs" are. They all just seem really....dumb. Low class. Low brow. Cheesy. Are you actually telling me that these were the best candidates Fox/Ramsay could find out of, you know, everyone in the entire United States of America who has even the slightest cooking aspiration? Last year's winner (Rock) was no Ming Tsai, but he had some serious skills, enough to win and, to this day, remain exec chef at Green Valley Ranch in Vegas. And you watch Top Chef and see incredible culinary skill, the absolute worst TC chef blows away the very best chef to ever appear on HK. But aside from a few times Gordon liked a dish, it's pretty clear that these HK losers can barely cook eggs...no WAY Ramsay makes one of them an actual exec chef in one of his restaurants. Frycook, maybe.

Add to that, they're all just generally disgusting -- for the most part sweaty, slovenly, flabby, chain smoking -- and you've got a crop of hardcore reality show mopes. But maybe that's the point: pick the biggest, most inept losers they can, throw in some sharp knives and fire, and watch them idiotically stumble week after week. Reality TV, baby! But would you ever want to eat at a restaurant where, say, Matt and his giant, sweaty cranium was the exec chef? Yeah, no.

Oh it's definitely a "Real World" type selection process. They want to bring in people that they think will be heavily dramatic and/or fail miserably the first time Ramsey tells them to go **** themselves. I don't know how many line cooks I've seen on that show over the years, and last year, one of the gals was a short order cook at a Waffle House for God's sake. That was her only experience of any kind ... and it sort of backfired I think, because she ended up being one of the more reliable people on the damn show. I can recall the one episode where people couldn't even fry a damn egg without breaking it, and she was the only one that knew how.
In the end though, I usually find it entertaining if not only for the moments where he loses his mind or cusses out a customer for complaining about the service.

 

[FishHack76]

I feel like this is a pretty poor to mediocre group compared with last season, which was when I first started watching. I think they wanted Bobby to be the next Rock. But he didn't have the leadership skills, and I agreed with Christina that he was "mediocre" at best. How does an executive chef not know how to cook meat? His title towered over everyone else, but he didn't really outperform anyone else.
None of them seem like very good leaders. Jen has too much of an attitude. Petrozza's not good enough and is too messy. Christina is good but probably a little too green, and I think Corey is too invisible.
I said I wouldn't be surprised if both doors are locked in the finale.

 

[Killick]

Aside from my inability to cook, I'd last about 10 minutes on that show. One fit of histrionics from that pissy ***** Ramsey, and I'd level the ****er. Criticism? Fine. His brand of insulting, belittling **** -- like Cowell with PMS -- and he'd be eating knuckles.

I watched last night, and there wasn't a whole lot of that... which surprised me. Every other time I've checked in, he's been throwing one of his tantrums.

 

[21]

I tivo'd it, I'll watch for the mysterious suit.

This is the first season I've watched, and I want to understand why any of these people are on a cooking show, considering NONE OF THEM CAN COOK.

I'm obsessed Top Chef--season finale tonight--and those chefs are perfectionists and professionals. They make the Hell's Kitchen idiots look like hospital cafeteria workers.

 

[JR]

Killick,

You should see him on his original (British) TV Series, "Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmare" where he comes in to save a dying restaurant and immediately starts to harangue the owner/chef/maitre d'.

The British show is pretty raw--it has more of a cinema verite feel to it than the American series.

The Canadian Food Network doesn't bleep out anything--they leave all the "mother****ers", intact.

My favorute was his screaming at a snooty French chef and tellling him to "grow a pair of ****ing bollocks"

When I was younger, I worked in a hotel restaurant in Zurich and the Chef routinely screamed at everyone. Even smacked the Spanish dishwasher across the face one day.

Working in a kitchen (as Zeke will attest) is not for the faint of heart or for people with thin skins.

 

[Killick]

Why is that? Are these guys considered such "arteeests" that they can get away with **** that would get an office manager bumrushed and thrown into a car trunk somewhere about 10 miles east of Atlantic City? I just don't see it. A great chef, well... is a great chef, not the ****ing second coming.

Ugh. I guess I'll just chalk it up to the ever-lengthening list of things I'll never understand (high fashion, cricket, tax codes, Tori Spelling...)

 

[Fly]

Gordon Ramsay...the Mike Keenan of cooking.

 

[JR]

Killick

Outside of the military, a restaurant kitchen is the LEAST democractic workplace around

And yes, there are a chefs in serious restaurants who are artists.

A restaurant kitchen is a small, hot, dangerous workplace with an extraordinary amount of pressure to perform....NOW.

The chef has to keep everything moving and if it means screaming to maintain control and show who's in charge, then screaming it'll be.

That said, a lot of the Ramsay stuff is a bit of a shtick now. He's like Anthony Bourdain--he likes to play up the Bad Boy image.

 

[21]

There are five left, and last night, each had their own station. One of the cooks was struggling on fish, and seeing that, Jean Phillippe, the host guy, tells all his waiters and waitresses to start pushing meat.

But when he was at "the pass" and when he turned around, he had two different suits on!!

Is it possible Hell's Kitchen is as fake as "The Hills"?

Please tell me someone else saw this.

Just watched, you nailed it....he's wearing an orange tie with a blue shirt....when he walks to the counter, turns around and he's in a blue/white pattern tie and a white shirt!

And then, he's in the dining room, in a solid navy tie.

And now back in the orange tie!

And now the blue/white print!

 

[zeke12]

I tivo'd it, I'll watch for the mysterious suit.

This is the first season I've watched, and I want to understand why any of these people are on a cooking show, considering NONE OF THEM CAN COOK.

I'm obsessed Top Chef--season finale tonight--and those chefs are perfectionists and professionals. They make the Hell's Kitchen idiots look like hospital cafeteria workers.

Top Chef has nailed down the foodie market but getting better and better cooks every season.

Hell's Kitchen is, apparently, going for a more general audience by getting crappy cooks so Ramsay always has plenty to yell about.

 

[Huggy]

There are five left, and last night, each had their own station. One of the cooks was struggling on fish, and seeing that, Jean Phillippe, the host guy, tells all his waiters and waitresses to start pushing meat.

But when he was at "the pass" and when he turned around, he had two different suits on!!

Is it possible Hell's Kitchen is as fake as "The Hills"?

Please tell me someone else saw this.

Just watched, you nailed it....he's wearing an orange tie with a blue shirt....when he walks to the counter, turns around and he's in a blue/white pattern tie and a white shirt!

And then, he's in the dining room, in a solid navy tie.

And now back in the orange tie!

And now the blue/white print!

Wow, good get. I just watched it on PVR and didn't notice that (considering how much face time JP got this episode, I thougth I would have picked that up). I'll be going back for another look.

I'll echo the thoughts of the others on here: very uninspiring group here. Nobody comes close to standing out like Michael did in the first season and Rock did last year. Christ, K-Grease from a couple of seasons back would wipe the floor with this group.

I'd read on some message boards that the US version of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares was heavily staged with actors playing the parts of restaurant owners and employees. The BBC version is much better.

 

[RedSmithClone]

There are five left, and last night, each had their own station. One of the cooks was struggling on fish, and seeing that, Jean Phillippe, the host guy, tells all his waiters and waitresses to start pushing meat.

But when he was at "the pass" and when he turned around, he had two different suits on!!

Is it possible Hell's Kitchen is as fake as "The Hills"?

Please tell me someone else saw this.

Just watched, you nailed it....he's wearing an orange tie with a blue shirt....when he walks to the counter, turns around and he's in a blue/white pattern tie and a white shirt!

And then, he's in the dining room, in a solid navy tie.

And now back in the orange tie!

And now the blue/white print!

Maybe it was the lighting?

 

[21]

There are five left, and last night, each had their own station. One of the cooks was struggling on fish, and seeing that, Jean Phillippe, the host guy, tells all his waiters and waitresses to start pushing meat.

But when he was at "the pass" and when he turned around, he had two different suits on!!

Is it possible Hell's Kitchen is as fake as "The Hills"?

Please tell me someone else saw this.

Just watched, you nailed it....he's wearing an orange tie with a blue shirt....when he walks to the counter, turns around and he's in a blue/white pattern tie and a white shirt!

And then, he's in the dining room, in a solid navy tie.

And now back in the orange tie!

And now the blue/white print!

Maybe it was the lighting?

Maybe it was a hallucination after he slammed his face into the glass door.

I promise you, three different ties edited into the same scene. Ugh.

 

[Huggy]

Slamming into the door was funny. I've done that. I have no depth perception.

And it wasn't the lighting, I just watched it. Ugh, indeed.

 

[mediaguy]

It's not quite as ridiculously easy as last season, when Roc was like four times better than anyone else, but it'll be the two blondes and Bobby in the final three, and I think Corey probably wins. (I haven't even seen Tuesday's yet, so I'll feel dumb if one of them got booted already).

What's disappointed me the most is the way they've done almost nothing new this season. Same challenges, same rewards, same drama. And you could eliminate 80 percent of the elite culinary wizards halfway through the first episode. It's basically "The Real World" with the word "risotto" thrown in every 20 seconds and more trashcan-kicking than most shows. But hey, I still watch.