Hell's Kitchen

[Andy Lynes]

Is this incident typical for this show?

The show is depicting Hells Kitchen as being run like any other Gordon Ramsay restaurant. So the celebs apparently start work at 8.30am and don't finish till gone midnight. They do all the prep themselves and clean down the kitchen at night. Ramsay is making no allowances for their ineptitude and is binning any food that is not up to his standards.

He is spending the hours of service shouting at them like a demented sergeant major and until the last few days, not giving them much clue about what they should actually be doing and how to do it. In addition, he is changing around the sections on a daily basis so that no one has a chance to settle into a routine.

On the plus side, they only serve 72 covers a day and there are 8 celebs, 2 head chefs, a pot wash, a couple of commis chefs milling around plus Gordon so the work load is not enormous.

But I'm not at all surprised there have been walk outs. Its probably the most demanding of all the "reality" shows.

[Andy Lynes]

Last nights "chefs challenge" was to bone out a pigs trotter. Ramsay demonstrated how to release the skin from the bone with a knife, then to clasp the flap of skin in a cloth in one hand and pull the bone with the other to free it from the knuckle.

A chef friend of mine told me that when Ramsay worked at Harvey's, he could skin a pigs trotter in 35 seconds. He was the fastest in the kitchen and used a special technique. After releasing the skin, rather than use a cloth, he would grip it between his teeth to finish the job. I wonder why he didn't show that particular trick to the celebs?

[Andy Lynes]

Deborah Ross of the Independent being terribly clever and witty about her meal in Hell's Kitchen.

[Duncan]

Deborah Ross of the Independent being terribly clever and witty about her meal in Hell's Kitchen.

Roy Joiner of the Observer ditto.

[Andy Lynes]

The quick and the dead clever, don't you just love them?

[John Whiting]

I thank whatever gods may be that I've been able to transfer my addiction from the execrable series itself to the eGullet thread. It's more informative, much wittier, and you can turn it on and off at will.

[Andy Lynes]

Is anyone still following this series? I'm still glued to it, but mostly for the kitchen action. Its beginning to feel like its going on for too long. There has been little opportunity for characters and relationships to properly emerge as in other elimination shows as all they have done is work. Consequently, the real interest is in the competition itself, which, now things have calmed down, is turning out to lack thrills.

The merging of the two teams has been less than dramatic, likewise the menu special competition. The walk out of 3 competitors and the early loss of Roger Cook haven't helped matters either. I was surprised to see that Hells kitchen finishes on Sunday. By that time, will anyone care who will "stand shoulder to shoulder with Gordon Ramsay"?

[Carlovski]

Al Murray's Fish pie looked nice didn't you think?

[Gavin Convery]

Al Murray's missus looked nice didn't she....

[Andy Lynes]

Jennifer Ellison's "chunky chips" look badly overcooked to me. Her scouse accent seems to be getting more pronounced as the show goes on. Subtitles would have come in useful last night.

[tomweir]

Still hooked, despite finding all other shows like this utterly dull.

Gordon's marking scheme was interesting. He said that if the venison had not been overcooked then Abi's was an 8 or 9 but it was overcooked so it was a 3.

Hmmm... So don't overcook it for the service...right?

The fish pie looked good. The show is pretty well clutching at straws trying to set up rivalries and a who-will-win deal. James will win if the viewers get their choice even if Big Al is the cook in the room. His character is the only one with, eh, any character...

It was interesting how the other participants were so gobsmacked when Belinda got kicked out, they all thought Edwina was heading for the cliff but it was pretty obvious to the viewers that Belinda was feeling, well, really sad, all the time. And people obviously did the kindest thing.

Edwina is going to be like the impossible guest at the party, you will have to shoot her to get her out of there.

But the real interest lies in seeing if they can merge as a team and do a good service under the trio of sergeant, hartnett and ramsey. That's what's interesting. Who's out? Who wins? Who cares?

[tony h]

I am developing a pathalogical hatred for big Al - aka the-brown-nosing-pillsbury-dough-man-slaphead-tosser

[Carlovski]

I was interested how Gordon described Jennifer Ellison as 'The best cook in the house'.

Being a bit hard on Angela, Mark and himself don't you think?

[tomweir]

Al certainly was pretty brown-nosed alright.

As for Jen, the steak looked good, the chips did look overcooked.

[MobyP]

I thought the steak looked pretty wobbly and undercooked when he cut into it.

[tomweir]

well, back when I ate such things, I liked them rare. Hard to see a lump of flesh that thick being anything other than wobbly...

[tony h]

Hard to see a lump of flesh that thick being anything other than wobbly...

taking about Al?

[tomweir]

Ha!

[Matthew Grant]

It's sad to see Edwina still in there, unfortunately my prediction is that she will probably win despite being the weakest chef by a long way.In other reality shows the public are learning to keep the most interesting people in the show even if they are disliked, I think this is probably the case with Edwina (that and the zillions of Tory voters from years gone by)

I liked Al, he really enjoyed the work and his fish pie did look reasonably decent if a little like comfort food. Jens chips aren't nearly as burnt now, Edwina's guinea fowl looks like slop on a plate. None of the dishes are particularly original are they?

Whether you like it or not, I think that what Ramsay has managed to achieve in such short space of time is pretty good, it's a shame that it had to come in a reality game show format.

For his next project how about taking a bunch of enthusiastic amateurs that are willing to give up their existing careers and training them in a similar fashion but in a permanent restaurant and in a long term role and seeing if they can achieve a Michelin star. I'd like to volunteer myself

[FaustianBargain]

question...jen's accent..where is it from?...

[Matthew Grant]

Liverpool

[John Whiting]

The sad fact is that Gordon Ramsay could make reliable specialist cooks out of just about any collection of cretins with minimal muscular coordination -- that's what chefs had to do before cooking became high fashion -- but it wouldn't be "reality" TV. The better they got, the more boring it would become for TV channel hoppers. An evening in a properly run kitchen with a smoothly coordinated staff would be, for the ignorant, about as exciting as watching paint dry.

[Andy Lynes]

Its all over tonight, thank goodness. I really couldn't care who wins the bloody thing, but as overlong, convoluted and badly thought out as the show has been, I have been hooked for the whole run.

Ramsay is an odd fellow, but has a great screen presence and something of the maverick about him. He has been on just about every cleb/gossip magazine cover this week and if he doesn't cash in on that level of exposure I'll be amazed.

[FaustianBargain]

At this point, I just feel bad for him...a man of considerable experience and talent...and it all comes down to being called a '37 year old COOK' by Currie..that was just mean...class consciousness never did disappear from britain, it seems....but then again...he is the producer of the show, no? the COOK will have the last laugh..all the way to the bank...

[FaustianBargain]

Its all over tonight, thank goodness. I really couldn't care who wins the bloody thing, but as overlong, convoluted and badly thought out as the show has been, I have been hooked for the whole run.

Ramsay is an odd fellow, but has a great screen presence and something of the maverick about him. He has been on just about every cleb/gossip magazine cover this week and if he doesn't cash in on that level of exposure I'll be amazed.

andy, if *I* were to think like a regular(i.e. i drop neat little bundles of cash with unflinching regularity) at any of Ramsey's restaurants and he has this kind of publicity, I wouldnt frequent his place....i dont know what kind of customer he attracts..the nouveau riche....people who want to be 'seen' or people who appreciate the food as well as the ambience...not to mention the privacy and discretion all high end 'hang out joints' provide...but the last kind of animal can be rather moody...just a thought...