Last night was the season premiere of “Hell’s Kitchen” on Fox. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it’s a reality show in which 12 contestants compete to run their very own high-end restaurant that is owned by chef and restaurant industry veteran Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay is like the Simon Cowell of Hell’s Kitchen–British, brash, and not afraid of anyone or anything.
This is the third season, and the first two seasons delivered champs in Michael, who now runs Tattoo in Los Angeles, and Heather, who runs a restaurant in Vegas. This season’s winner will be the head chef at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas, with a guaranteed salary of $250,000 and a share in the profits. But first, they must endure a season of, well, hell.
The first thing the contestants were asked to do for chef Ramsay was to make their own signature dish for him to taste. First up was Vinnie, who made chorizo crusted snapper. Ramsay said it was so spicy that he couldn’t even taste the fish. Most of the dishes, in fact, were not up to par–Rock’s pan seared scallops were made with frozen gnocchi; Josh’s foie gras was too salty; and Jen’s vanilla crepes with peaches had too much alcohol. But Ramsay did like Melissa’s pepper crusted steak and Tiffany’s seafood tostada. And then, there was Aaron, a 48-year old “Asian cowboy” who cries easily. There always seems to be one of those on the show (does anyone remember Dewberry?). Ramsay said Aaron’s finger food was only half-good, and called him a “chunky monkey.” Ouch.
The next day the contestants had to be prepared for the grand opening of Hell’s Kitchen, which is now said to be the hottest ticket in Hollywood….I guess, if you know you’re not going to get served anything but bread because at least early in the season, no one can seem to produce any finished dishes.
The men were the blue team, and the women were the red team. Right off the bat, there was bickering among the red team, especially from the very bossy Joanna. What’s more, they could not produce any successful appetizers. Then again, neither could the blue team at first–until Vinnie was sent to wash dishes, that is. After Brad took over for Vinnie, 29 of 50 appetizers were served by the blue team, but the red team was still bickering and crying (literally). Finally, Ramsay had seen enough and shut down the kitchen because some tables had not seen any food at all within the first hour.
One of the funniest moments was when Aaron burned the chicken, and then when he tried to get started again, Ramsay told him to wipe his nose before serving “chicken and snot” to the guests. Priceless. I mean, this dude is beyond Simon Cowell.
Though Ramsay said both teams sucked, he called the red team “Hell’s bitches” because of their bickering and lack of teamwork, and declared them the losers. Melissa was the “best of the worst,” and therefore had to choose two of her teammates for potential elimination. She chose Joanna, who was one of the instigators, and Tiffany, who kept messing up the line for appetizers. In the end, Ramsay chose Tiffany–partially because she failed miserably, but also because he couldn’t possibly eliminate a loose cannon like Joanna this soon. She’s just too good for ratings.
It’s way too soon to pick a winner….but I’ll tell you right now who it won’t be–Aaron. That guy is a complete mess.
Anyway, hang on for the ride, and hopefully those of you who haven’t seen this show will check it out….it’s great for the comic relief of Ramsay’s bitterness alone.
