Hell's Kitchen, U.S. Season 1

[TrishCT]

Nah, Ramsay isn't the sign of the apocalypse... Rocco DiSpirito can take credit for that.

[BuzzDraft]

I kept calling him "Mayberry" in my head. 

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Funny. I keep calling him "Dingleberry".

After re-watching, I can see I'm going to be cheering Ramsay on whenever he skewers this group. I'd feel sympathy for the two home cooks, but then I remind myself of Tom Hanks, paraphrased:

"THERES' NO CRYING IN KITCHENS!"

edited for a typo

Edited June 1, 2005 by BuzzDraft (log)

[Siren]

For what it's worth...

AT the time they were making the show last fall everybody involved - all the execs from top to bottom, the consultant British producers, ramsay himself - made it clear to me this wasn't going to be a food thing. Like so much out there this kind of thing is never likely to satisfy the majority of people who post on egullet, though it is fun to watch Paula hyperventilate about the damage being done to the 'culinary arts' like it's the fall of the western empire.

It's reality tv. A bunch of people signed up for it. Nobody died.

Though somebody in there did make me a rather impressive pannacotta.

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[SKinCA]

I've never worked in a kitchen, (wish I had at least tried!- the regrets of middle age!) but I've no problem with Ramsay and the way he treats his staff. I watched both "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" and "Boiling Point" and completely enjoyed them.

If I'm shelling out for a 3 star meal I want everything perfect and everything Gordon Ramsay says or does in his kitchen is for me, to make my experience at his restaurant a 3 star experience.

What the fuck should he do with a staff member who overcooks or undercooks my salmon? Give a little pat on the back and a pep talk "There, there lad. Better luck tomorrow?" Bull SHIT!

When you work for someone like a Ramsay you're at the top of your game. Didn't his sous chef from Boiling Point open his own restaurant and earn a Michelin star?

Let me just say this (and I'm sure this will provoke a shitstorm of comments): at little less "understanding" and little more "just get the damn job done" would go a long way towards improving every most jobs and a lot of the transactions we're forced to suffer through in everyday life. Nice is waaaaay overrated as a motivation tool.

If I'd have known the contestants were going to be so lame I would have tried out myself. Since all their ingredients were there for their "signature" dishes, don't you think they would have practiced and practiced those to at least cook them correctly. The baked spaghetti looked like it had been eaten and thrown back up on the plate. And Carolann was dead weight and deserved to go. Dewberry aka Blueberry next.

I'm gonna watch and enjoy every little scripted bit of this puppy! Go get 'em, Gordon!

[Keith Talent]

Dewberry rocks harder than Molly Hatchet opening a monster truck rally. I'm tagging him to go deep and take the whole thing. And I want to see him in swim trunks, yes it'd be horrifying, but it'd have the same morbid interest as when they used to tour the Elephant Mans skeleton. How do shoulders get that stooped? I've always thought of the term "pear shaped" as a euphamism, nope, it's real. Dewberry is a Bartlett. He's fascinating, in a strange way.

[peppyre]

Let me just say this (and I'm sure this will provoke a shitstorm of comments): at little less "understanding" and little more "just get the damn job done" would go a long way towards improving every most jobs and a lot of the transactions we're forced to suffer through in everyday life. Nice is waaaaay overrated as a motivation tool.

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AMEN!!!!!!!!!

[afn33282]

Let me just say this (and I'm sure this will provoke a shitstorm of comments): at little less "understanding" and little more "just get the damn job done" would go a long way towards improving every most jobs and a lot of the transactions we're forced to suffer through in everyday life. Nice is waaaaay overrated as a motivation tool.

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AMEN!!!!!!!!!

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Naahhhhhh. Nice is the only way to go if you really want to maximize the energy of any situation. Nice, that is, combined with an example of hard work, excellence of standards, and humility. Look at The French Laundry kitchen, per The Soul of a Chef. No screaming.... just focus. People who like the screaming are ultimately driven by adrenaline, which is a useful supplement to motivation, but as a driving force a dead end. Or by a punishment-reward mentality, which is immature at best.

Edited June 4, 2005 by afn33282 (log)

[Holly Moore]

The only fool Ramsay suffers gladly is himself. Ramsay is the stereotypical, temperamental bully of a chef who is happiest when demeaning his staff. All Ramsay does is reinforce the Saturday morning cartoon cliche that the uninformed believe to be the typical and mandatory behavior of a "genius" chef.

The chefs I respect - Grant Achatz and Jean Vergnes are two examples that come to mind - are indeed demanding and exacting. In the heat of turnout I am sure they occasionally lose their temper. But they spend far more time mentoring, building teams and building self worth. Their people skills are as great as their cooking skills. And they build loyalty out of respect, not fear. Those who can only lead by playing the bully do so from weakness, not strength.

Bourdain is impressed that Ramsay's staff, despite his treatment of them, followed Ramsay when he left to open his own restaurant. I find it sad that Ramsay's staff suckles so on his abuse - akin to the battered wife's typical, never-wavering devotion to her husband - coming back again and again for the occasional good moments. And like the classic battering husband - as Ramsay learned his management style of bullying and demeaning from his teachers, Ramsay's staff will eventually do the same to their underlings once they take over their own kitchens.

It is too bad that the two chefs America gets to know through reality shows are Rocco and Ramsay. Two chefs, at least as portrayed on TV, with incredible cooking skills that are totally diminished by their ability to manage people.

That said. Just as I slow down at a car wreck in the hope of glimpsing some blood and gore, I will be watching next week. Fox's promo says the chef is turning off the kitchen air conditioning. Golly. That should really heat things up. Everybody together now, "If you can't stand the heat..."

Edited June 4, 2005 by Holly Moore (log)

[afn33282]

Bourdain is impressed that Ramsay's staff, despite his treatment of them, followed Ramsay when he left to open his own restaurant.

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Bourdain was also impressed by Scott Bryan, in Kitchen Confidential. SB sounds like my kind of chef.

Edited June 4, 2005 by afn33282 (log)

[Tonyy13]

What the fuck should he do with a staff member who overcooks or undercooks my salmon? Give a little pat on the back and a pep talk "There, there lad. Better luck tomorrow?" Bull SHIT!

When you work for someone like a Ramsay you're at the top of your game.

Let me just say this (and I'm sure this will provoke a shitstorm of comments): at little less "understanding" and little more "just get the damn job done" would go a long way towards improving every most jobs and a lot of the transactions we're forced to suffer through in everyday life. Nice is waaaaay overrated as a motivation tool.

If I'd have known the contestants were going to be so lame I would have tried out myself. Since all their ingredients were there for their "signature" dishes, don't you think they would have practiced and practiced those to at least cook them correctly.

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Um, yah, Bingo was his name-o. You are right on with the little bit less nice, and little bit more get the fuck back to work and do it right this time. And yes, it could be used in almost every aspect of life. Ever go to Wal-Mart? Imagine what one of their employees (who is probably outside talking on a cell phone, or ringing someone up talking on a cell phone, talking about this hoochie and that hoochie with the cashier three aisles from them, making all parties in teh three lines and everyone else in earshot uncomfortable) would do if you told them to hang up the fucking phone, smile and say welcome to Wal Mart, and put some clothes on that you would maybe wear to a normal job or perhaps even, gasp, an important date? Anarchy would reign. See the Wal-Mart Thread, I went off.

Naahhhhhh.  Nice is the only way to go if you really want to maximize the energy  of any situation.  Nice, that is, combined with an example of hard work, excellence of standards, and humility.  Look at The French Laundry kitchen, per The Soul of a Chef.  No screaming.... just focus.  People who like the screaming are ultimately driven by adrenaline, which is a useful supplement to motivation, but as a driving force a dead end.  Or by a punishment-reward mentality, which is immature at best.

Let me guess, you're not a chef, or a professional cook, are you? Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz, etc, all of those guys have a stack of resumes on their desks of like 1000 people eveyrday who want to work for them, and they are the top in the world. So, they can look at someone and tell them to do 10 jumping jacks, and they will do it. They will beg to do them. They will hope that they have done the best 10 jumping jacks that they have ever done becuase they don't want to get fired for not doing them perfect. 99.9999999999999999999% of the rest of the chefs in teh world don't have that luxury. So, it becomes a learned thing to holler and it becomes the main method of motivation. I don't care what anyone says, when my chef is yelling at me in front of the other staff, I hate it, and I do whatever I can to do what I am doing better, so he won't holler at me anymore. Why? Becuase i am trying to be better than everyone else, and teh chef is telling them, in not so many words, that I am stinking up the joint. And I hate that.

As far as the show is concerned, I loved it, I will watch it over and over again. The professionals? Didn't look like they knew their ass from their elbows if you ask me. And yah, dumb move, telling GR that you're an Exec Chef. Dumbass.

There were some obviously Made-For-TV moments, like the escorts that they paid to come in tanned, boobs hanging out, whore-ish for GR to call bimbo's. Rightfully so. You're telling me that if I called three women bimbos in a real restauarnt, they would laugh and tell me that they were leaving? Are you kidding? I would get maced. And if they had been real patrons, he owuld have too, in America, that is.

I wish I could see the service in real-time, to see what was taking them so long in getting out apps. Over an hour for the first app? I mean, I know they got flat sat, but they had the whole afternoon to train. And did they train or not? Lame-o.

I like how that chick ran over Dingleberry (my favorite name for him, btw, wasn't he in one of the Austin Powers movies, wearing a kilt?) with the bus. "Don't worry, you aint goin anywhere." Too bad he dind't.

The young kid, Andrew or somethign like that, is a punk. I hope Ramsey punches him. That would be great. And probably deserved.

[Holly Moore]

Naahhhhhh.  Nice is the only way to go if you really want to maximize the energy  of any situation.  Nice, that is, combined with an example of hard work, excellence of standards, and humility.  Look at The French Laundry kitchen, per The Soul of a Chef.  No screaming.... just focus.  People who like the screaming are ultimately driven by adrenaline, which is a useful supplement to motivation, but as a driving force a dead end.  Or by a punishment-reward mentality, which is immature at best.

Let me guess, you're not a chef, or a professional cook, are you? Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz, etc, all of those guys have a stack of resumes on their desks of like 1000 people eveyrday who want to work for them, and they are the top in the world. So, they can look at someone and tell them to do 10 jumping jacks, and they will do it. They will beg to do them. They will hope that they have done the best 10 jumping jacks that they have ever done becuase they don't want to get fired for not doing them perfect. 99.9999999999999999999% of the rest of the chefs in teh world don't have that luxury. So, it becomes a learned thing to holler and it becomes the main method of motivation. I don't care what anyone says, when my chef is yelling at me in front of the other staff, I hate it, and I do whatever I can to do what I am doing better, so he won't holler at me anymore. Why? Becuase i am trying to be better than everyone else, and teh chef is telling them, in not so many words, that I am stinking up the joint. And I hate that.

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1. I am guessing that Ramsay has as tall a stack of resumes as Keller or Achatz. On this thread people have said that Ramsay behaves the same in a real kitchen as he does on TV. The reason for his bullying behavior is not that he can't find talented people.

2. Those 99.99999999999% other chefs do not use hollaring as their main method of motivation. Just as some of the .000000000001% only know how to motivate by intimidation, some of the 99.99999999999% only know how to motivate by intimidation. A chef, be it a great chef or an average chef, bullies the staff because a) that is the way he was managed so it is the only way he knows how to manage, b) he is lousy at evaluating and hiring staff and ends up with losers, c) he is too self-involved to respect those working for him and/or d) he has issues that will keep some psychiatrist in a new BMW every year.

But no matter the underlying cause, like bullies everywhere, a chef is a bully mostly because he gets off on being a bully.

The occasional chefly hollar or snap happens in any high pressure situation. Such yelling is a far more effective motivator when it is occasional and for a critical situation requiring immediate correction then when it is a chef's primary style of communication.

[TrishCT]

I like how that chick ran over Dingleberry (my favorite name for him, btw, wasn't he in one of the Austin Powers movies, wearing a kilt?) with the bus.  "Don't worry, you aint goin anywhere."  Too bad he dind't. 

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I thought of Dewfusberry but that ain't nice so I decided not to say it.

Not that it matters, but I'm with Holly and the others on this one. I work in the newspaper business and there are constant pressures and deadlines. The yeller editors don't get the repect or the work product as the team playing, high standard ones. And yeah, I've worked with both.

[CherieV]

THIS example is a TV show. But in reality, there are people who worked for him and his that have... for example... Overdosed on drugs and went nuts and was found dead; a scholarship recipient who gave back his prize and wanted nothing more to do with him or it; workers who are bringing suit against his group in courts of law... real people. Not reality TV entertainment.

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Wait a moment, Paula, are we blaming him for all of these things? Many people have horrific jobs for demonic chefs and don't do the things you have elaborated here ... and were some employees perhaps even better off financially for working for/with him? Would believe that adding the line "employed by Gordon Ramsay restaurant ______" would give someone a chance for a better job actually ...

He cooks, he entertains ... remember the song from Gypsy? "You gotta have a gimmick" (if you want to get applause) ... his gimmick is acerbic hostility with a soupçon of verbal abuse rendered at high decibels ...

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Watching this reminded me of my days in the kitchen with Georges Perrier at Le Bec Fin. He is a piece of work too. But many of us that suffered through his daily tantrums ended up with quite a nice career which we can give him some credit.

[Siren]

2nd episode opinions?

No shock for Dewberry's departure...

[Tonyy13]

Both of them should have gone though. Ramsey is brilliant. The guy who came up with the design for that fire sign that has turned the stucco behind the letters black, is not.

All I kept thinking when Dingleberry looked at the girl who threw him under the bus the previous week and said, "Hey there, looking good J.Lo" becuse she was dressed for dinner, was that I was waiting for her to turn to him and say "Thanks, Cholesterol High". Didn't happen though. THAT would have made for good tv.

[jhlurie]

I enjoyed this one a lot more than episode 1. I think they felt they'd successfully illustrated the "worst" of Ramsay in Ep 1, so they geared him back to a more reasonable level.

Our pal Mayberry was the obvious boot, but it didn't really ruin anything with that being so obvious.

All I kept thinking when Dingleberry looked at the girl who threw him under the bus the previous week and said, "Hey there, looking good J.Lo"

I dunno. He could have been looking that way at Chef Ramsay instead.

I enjoy the fact that the early challenges are very definitely cooking relevant. Being that this is an American version of a reality show, they could have just as easily been obstacle courses, or a race or something equally dumb.

I'm still not getting a real sense of a few of the chef-wanna-bees. I'm not sure if it's because Faux is withholding footage, or if they are just boring as paste.

[C_Ruark]

Just curious... anyone know what's in GR's recipe for stuffed squid? Probably not going to catch that from the show, in fact, I don't remember any footage.

TIA

- CSR

Edited June 7, 2005 by C_Ruark (log)

[FistFullaRoux]

I missed it this week. I got stuck teaching someone the concept of the mouse as it relates to a computer. I hate working in people's homes....

But I digress. "Blueberry" was not long for the kitchen, I could tell from ep 1. Too high strung and too busy trying to overcompensate for an obvious self esteem issue. (before anyone starts going off, I know. I've lived it.)

It was like 3rd grade dodgeball all over again. The bully asshole picking on the kid who he knows is going to lose it. I don't think many people could have stood up to that kind of pressure. It's a lot like boot camp. Here you are, isn't it pretty, now get to work and don't stop until I get tired of watching you work.

I don't feel so much pity for him, since he did it to himself. He heard about the audition, went there, and did what they asked him...

[chapeaulong]

Ramsey is the biggest WANKER in that whole restaurant. Any decent chef would figure out some way to make it happen, no matter what the problem. Shutting down the restaurant, twice for that matter is the epitomy of cowardliness. But I like the show, definitely entertaining.

[BryanZ]

In somewhat related news, the Food Network is featuring a "Mario Batali Bootcamp" as part of its "Next Food Network Star" show next week. Somehow the clip of Mario Batali with a coache's whistle is not as intimidating as Ramsay.

[Lreda]

This show's a joke. At least Rocco's show had a little drama. I'll finish this up tomorrow as I've Tivo'd this and am in the middle but this is sad. I also have to read the previous posts. but..............

EVERYONE looks dumb here.

by the way, turning off the air conditioning? What working kitchen has air conditioning?

The bloddy fans pull the cool air out. It cost tens of thousands to put a air conditioning unit that functions.

P.S. ( Edit) I did like when the young kid came up to complain to Ramsey and he told him off. The best part is the French host escorted him back to the table with a wave of the arm. No way I make it past another episode unless I make some hash brownies.

Edited June 7, 2005 by Lreda (log)

[FistFullaRoux]

I blame Fox. I was hoping for a better show, completely aware that the food was not going to be the focus. It seems to be Ramsey's drill instructor persona and little else, except for his underlings version of the same.

The writing (and there are writers) sucks. When he called one contestant a "plank" on the first show, I was lost. "You're a plank." was the best he could come up with? Before he even tasted the dish?

If this is what Fox does to a potentially great show with a great premise, I shudder to think of what they will do with Kitchen Confidential...

[Lreda]

If this is what Fox does to a potentially great show with a great premise, I shudder to think of what they will do with Kitchen Confidential...

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[chow guy]

Can F^&*ing Not F%#@*ing Wait!!!

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This is terribly self-referential because its by me. But anybody who wants to know a little more about the show will at least gather the odd fact.

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Nice article thanks for the link.

[chow guy]

For what it's worth...

AT the time they were making the show last fall everybody involved - all the execs from top to bottom, the consultant British producers, ramsay himself - made it clear to me this wasn't going to be a food thing. Like so much out there this kind of thing is never likely to satisfy the majority of people who post on egullet, though it is fun to watch Paula hyperventilate about the damage being done to the 'culinary arts' like it's the fall of the western empire.

It's reality tv. A bunch of people signed up for it. Nobody died.

Though somebody in there did make me a rather impressive pannacotta.

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True, nobody died... but the show sure did. IMO It had no redeeming value, whatsoever. I won't watch it again. I think your right, the target market for the show is not the egullet crowd.