Last night’s finale of “Hell’s Kitchen” prompted my wife and I to both say, almost in unison, that we’re glad the season is over. Why? Because it’s been a pretty boring show this year. They took a lot of strange characters (remember Aaron and Eddie?) and many that had zero experience in restaurants like Hell’s Kitchen (Julia, Bonnie). But more on that later. Last night it was the final square-off between Rock and Bonnie.
Before last week’s non-episode ended, the teams were reunited, Bonnie with Julia, Jen and Melissa; and Rock with Josh, Brad and Vinnie. Each finalist had to prepare their signature dishes for Chef Ramsey to grant his approval, and he only made minor tweaks to each of them. Bonnie’s main course was a fettucine with shrimp while Rock’s was ribeye steak. As far as the decor on each “side” of the restaurant, I’m going to plead ignorance here….I’m a dude, and I could care less about decorations….but my wife said both were boring, so I’ll agree with her.
In the kitchen for the dinner service, Rock and Bonnie had their challenges, as Rock had to deal with Josh’s ineptitude as a chef, and Bonnie kept getting lip from Julia, who clearly thought she deserved to be a finalist. But Bonnie also made the crucial mistake of running out of fettucine, and then running out of shrimp.
In the end, the dinner service was completed and Ramsey said it was the best dinner service in Hell’s Kitchen, ever. One thing worth noting is that every time they showed a customer receiving food, that customer was raving about it. So Ramsey said he would read over all of the customer comment cards, consider his own opinions, and make his decision.
With their families, fellow contestants and chef Ramsey waiting (as well as me, my wife, and the other handful of people watching), Bonnie and Rock stood behind the magic doors, one of which would open and one of which would not. The person whose door opened was Rock, and it was absolutely the right decision. Bonnie went further than anyone thought she would, showing an assertiveness and a knack for cooking, but Rock had the experience and appeared to be more skilled as a chef. And props to Bonnie for telling Rock he deserved to win, and seeming genuinely happy for him.
So that’s it…Rock gets to run the restaurant at the Green Valley Resort in Las Vegas, and Bonnie goes back to being a nanny…or maybe she gets a chef’s job somewhere just from being on the show. Hell, she might even get a gig as an actress in some cheesy made-for-TV movie.
But back to this show…there is going to be a fourth season, since they are already accepting applications. But can I offer FOX some advice? Please choose people who can cook instead of characters who just offer ratings fluff……I am still a bit baffled by how the likes of Aaron, Eddie and Josh made it onto the show.
It’s been a fun ride this summer, and for those of you who need your Gordon Ramsey fix, he’s got a new show airing this fall on FOX, “Kitchen Nightmares,” where he helps real restaurant owners get their failing restaurants back in order. I’ve seen this show on BBC, and it’s really good…..especially when F-bombs fly out of Ramsey’s mouth.
See you next season, or whenever “American Idol” starts up again.
