For Hell's Kitchen Reality TV fans...
 

Are there any on this board?

Sure the reality TV format is awful and it is a FOX produced reality show but it doesn't stop me from watching!

Can anyone confirm if the top prize is a executive chef position at Atlantic City's The Borgata? And if yes, I don't recall Gordon Ramsay being involved with The Borgata?

I watched the second season (the one where the prize was the GVR head chef job). I did not like the format nearly as much as Top Chef, however, I think that it served to sort through the chef's and the best definitely won. Hell's Kitchen would be another one of my airplane flight entertainment shows. Enjoyable and I am not really too concerned when I have to stow my laptop or when the battery dies. (Rome and The Wire raised some eyebrows of other pax)

Gordon Ramsay has grown on me as well. I have caught a few of his Kitchen Nightmare shows and he actually cares.

Oh and yes the Chef's are competing for a job at a restaurant at The Borgata.

i do enjoy this show. I'm a bit of a Ramsay fan even if he is an arrogant dick

I love the service portion of the show best where they serve the customers and inevitably stuff up.

Love it when Ramsay tells the customers who come to the kitchen to complain to F off

When did the new season start?

In the last one, I thought Petrozza was clearly screwed out of the win because of age discrimination.

Age? Are you certain it wasn't Gordons predilection for extra martial affairs? :p

Has yet to start.

I thought Petrozza and Christina were dead-heated, both were equally good. What really surprised me last season was how far Jen made it, she was just awful, period.

Yes, but Ramsey made it very clear he was choosing Christina solely because of her age. This is outrageous. She and Petrozza are both CIA graduates and he is much more experienced.

Regarding Jen, completely agreed. I thought the segment where she asked for a recommendation was too much.

Has anyone ever eaten in any of his US restaurants? If so which one and how did you find it overall? I ate in one in London many years ago and although I like both Gordon and the Show I also ate at Marco P Whites on the same trip. Gordon was not the winner on that occasion. :p

Such is life though, right? ;) I shake my head each time when the phrase "Equal Opportunity Employer" shows up.

Last thing I'll say about Jen: I sure as hell wouldn't want to work in her kitchen.

I had a reservation for At the London in New York City a while back that I had to cancel last minute. Needless to say the guy on the other line was not pleased and gave me an earful about it. But as for feedback, heard nothing but positive reviews for his NYC location.

Was lucky enough to be taken to Gordon Ramsey at the London West Hollywood for a chef's tasting dinner last month (6 courses, private dining).

Here is what was on the menu:
1. Cured Scottish salmon, tomato consommé, paddle fish caviar
2. Pressed foie gras and black figs, Pedro Ximénez reduction, toasted brioche
3. Pan-fried Scottish sea trout, white cabbage and pickled ginger, celeriac velouté
4. Fillet of beef with braised Kobe short rib, baby beets, Madeira sauce OR
Top sirloin of Sonoma lamb and confit shoulder, creamy pomme purée, rosemary jus
5. Cara cara orange three ways, cinnamon ice cream and rose water sabayon
6. Chilled coconut tapioca with passion fruit, candied ginger,
Milk chocolate and star anise gelato at the end.

We also had a wine flight - various wines and even some sake to go along with each course. Had to call for a ride home!

A couple of the courses were just ok, but at least half were amazing. The best may have been one of the two desert courses - the chilled coconut tapioca - I hate coconut and had never really had tapioca, but this thing was fantastic.

As an FYI, they also had this holiday tasting menu going on:

1. Canapés
2. Wild mushroom velouté, braised beef short rib, chive Chantilly
3. Pressed foie gras with black truffle, braeburn apple, Pedro Ximénez reduction
4. King prawn ravioli with creamy fennel purée, Sautéed spinach and light lobster bisque
5. Pan-fried sea trout with orzo, marinated Japanese mushrooms and dashi OR Roasted duck breast with confit leg, braised red cabbage, port wine jus
6. Cara cara orange three ways, cinnamon ice cream and rose water sabayon
7. Crème fraîche panna cotta with quince, gingerbread ice cream and ginger madeleine

Coffee, mince pies and chocolates at the end

Wow now I am kicking myself for cancelling that reservation :rolleyes:

But back on topic: *SPOILERS SORT OF* Though I am not listing any names or details, the lineup for season five has been reported. Do a search on the internet at your discretion and you'll find it

FOX web site says Thursday January 29th.

I hate that I like this show. It's a guilty pleasure. It's so formulaic and seems to be getting more staged each season. Yet, I can't seem to not watch...damn TiVo. :D

I started as a fan of the British series about him, Boiling Point...it's all been downhill since there. I find it rather unfortunate that the US productions feel the need to be so over-the-top production wise. He's got a big enough personality that the staged scenes aren't really necessary.

Don't really like Hells Kitchen, but I love the Kitchen Nightmares (the original British one) and to a lesser extent the American one also.

I've watched Hell's Kitchen but prefer Kitchen Nightmares. Can things really be THAT bad?

Anyway, read his book Playing with Fire on an airplane and found him amazingly sensible, business-like, down to earth, yet passionate. I'm embarrassed to admit I tore of several pages of biz philosophy to give to my son who's starting a new venture (not restaurant).

I watch both shows when they are on, both are equally good ^

As for things being that bad, I would really wonder if Gordon tried to transform an underperforming Chinese restaurant :eek:. Now I'd watch that! ;)

Oh he'd be hopelessly lost. ;)
Actually I don't think any of the chefs in Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, Iron Chef, etc can do justice to Chinese food. :eek: There, I said it!

FWIW, he did do stints as (not head) chef in various types of restaurants during one of his recent UK shows (The F Word, I think), including a top-end Dim Sum place, which he appeared to find particularly difficult.

I do enjoy some of the Ramsay reality shows - as obviously staged as they are, he is fairly entertaining. We do get some of the US versions over here too, but I find the production (and I say this as nothing more than a matter of personal taste) make them almost unwatchable - the incidental music, the asides, gah!

The American versions definitely seem to ham it up more and make stuff more dramatic for American audiences.

Doesn't surprise me in the least. Marco's desire for perfection is beyond reproach. There is no other way. Further, Gordon came up under Marco's wing... err... dictatorship.

I do enjoy watching both Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. They are definitely different from Top Chef but I've grown to like Gordon Ramsey. His passion for cooking comes through loud and clear. And he really cares about improvong the restaurants on his Kitchen Nightmares series.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9530/4.7.0.75 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I ate at one of his Kitchen Nightmares restaurants before and after it was on the show. It wasn't so bad before, it was a bit better after.

Anybody catch last week's premiere?

I am so glad it's started back up again!

He may be a dark chef, but the show really reigns in our home. A couple of years ago, I was in Vegas visiting a friend and stayed at the Red Rock resort, which is close by her house. We ate at the Terra Rossa and met Heather from season 2. Had the best salad I've ever had in my life, but the pasta wasn't my kind of thing. My friend who is full-blooded Italian, claims that it was outstanding. So, maybe it's just my midwest upbringing! Anyway, I asked Heather about Ramsay. She claims he is actually a very sweet guy.

I beg your pardon. Didn't she interject, "I also teach manners, Chef Ramsay"?

:D:D:D

Ugh, isn't that the truth. Who on God's green earth would propose to this girl.

Seth is downright strange, I felt bad for Robert, I also felt bad for the teacher, and I hope Carol just had an off night since she seems to have some talent.

I kind of thought Will got shafted in the first ep

Yes, she did. And the stare he gave her scared me at home! :eek: ;)

They purposely choose people who aren't the best chefs

There would be applicants who would be well capable of living upto even Ramsay's standards

I mean if you intend to be on the show, you know what foods you need to master !

Rissotto, Beef Wellinton, Scallops to name a few

OH MY GOD, can Chef Ramsey get rid of Forrest Gump (Seth) yet?

I think week after week, Lacey continues to show how big of a waste of space she really is. This week complaining about how the different cuts of beef weren't that important. Also, way for the girls to ham it up about eating the worst parts of a cow during their "punishment." Although I did feel pretty bad for Andrea, she seems to be one of two girls who seems to want the job (after the departure of Ji)

My picks: Paula, Andrea, J, Robert

What?: Giovanni, Ben (dessert fiasco)

i love kitchen nightmares, but the more i watch the more i think elements of the show are rigged

IT IS ABOUT TIME Forrest Gump, or Seth, was kicked off the show. Ramsay's comment that he was a crap cook was a big understatement.

And LOL at Lacey being a part of the blue team.

I think the show is starting to reach a bit, with Ramsay telling everyone to hit the showers, in front of all the restaurant patrons. Although it won't stop me from watching!

I think this group of 'chefs' must have been pulled of the streets or something.

That lobster spaghetti would have been something Fazolli's fast food would reject it looked so horrible. The salads had no presentation either.
Seth's scallops wow, they looked like shriveled white raisins.
Those beef wellington did not even look good, the crusting was all messed up on them in a big way.
The tomato butter sauce of Ben's should have been enough to cut him if Seth was not so pathetic day after day.

I am not a 'food critic' but I certainly can tell foods that would not fit on a top of the line restaurant menu, and none of those foods would.


That breakfast better be glad they were serving kids :)

I do not really look at this show however as a presentation of a chef's abilities as much as one following the whims of Ramsey and his recipe set.
Ramsey's food is awful tired and boring no creativity in it at all, and he seems to shun creativity in the show as well.

Colleen and Lacey are becoming impossible.

^ And don't forget, Colleen is a cooking instructor! :eek: :rolleyes:

This show would be fantastic if they selected better contestants.

Still, I do like the show, and their finale is many times better than the one that Top Chef has.

Although, if I remember correctly, last season they had Whoopi Goldberg on the finale, but for no other reason to say hi?

:confused:

The right person left....

I more or less agreed with Chef Ramsay overruling both teams and eliminating Colleen, who somehow got lost in the mix. But if I were to pick from the 2 nominated, J would've left.

I'm slightly surprised Ramsay put up with Robert. I always thought he imposed himself on his pool of chefs, no matter how unreasonable the request. I honestly believed Ramsay would've told Robert to shove it and deal with it, but I guess people change.

I think Lacey's "transformation" will be short lived.

Oh and did anybody notice how the camera keeps shaking when people get really agitated? First it was Ben smashing stuff around in a previous episode. Did the show's makers really want us to believe people breaking stuff would shake a whole building? :D

As bad as Colleen is; I think J should have gone last night. I cannot imagine any of the remaining chefs winning. :rolleyes:

none of these people should be head chef at borgata, I would be willing to gamble on the fact that whomever is there won't last a year before being fired or quitting.