[katbalou]

did anyone else catch the show last night? what are your thoughts? did gordon expect a little too much out of people who had never stepped inside a professional kitchen before? did he really expect to open and serve food on the first night? just curious as to what other people thought.
kat

[chrose]

Ahh I was waiting for this! Watching the commercials I thought, “I’m not going to watch this!” It sounds ridiculous. As I watched I thought this is even more ridiculous. The “contestants” were for the most part untrained and had no business in a pro kitchen. Let alone that the winner is supposed to get his/her own restaurant! I cannot see any of the people in the show running a restaurant without it going down the tubes within 6 months. Gordon’s claim that he can make anyone a “Master Chef” in whatever time frame he gave sounded more like sensationalism for the sake of the show.
That being said my first impressions were that I started to actually get into it and enjoy it. I have worked with many Gordon Ramseys, and a couple that equaled or surpassed him in a%$holeness. But when I saw some of the smirks and comments to him when he was lambasting their creations I was rooting for him to put these idiots in their places! I was able to appreciate where he was coming from, regardless of the fact that some was for show. It actually made me want to be there inside that kitchen. I’ve been there, I’ve done that, and I’ve learned so that to me it looked like a fun challenge.
Now I still see it as a joke. Obviously the diners were not the general public. No chef of his caliber would actually unleash something like that on an unsuspecting public. They must have known the premise of the show and would understand that anything could happen, so no shocks there. Still I recognized so many of those personalities it was almost like I was there again. So as it turns out, I’m actually enjoying it knowing what I know!
The interesting part though is that the show is actually a reality show started in England. So it isn’t really how they purported it to be in so far as it being his latest venture in the US. Kind of like the Iron Chef and Chairman Kaga actually creating his arena for his own culinary use, and the American version where Chairman Kaga is this “maroons” Uncle!
Here’s a link to the English version http://www.adayinhell.com

[CulinaryGeek]

I thought the show would be even better if you got 12 "Chefs" from all areas of the country and let THEM compete for the restaurant. There were a few chefs on the show, but get a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears culinary school grads and throw them to the wolves.

It would have been just like my first 2 years after graduating (including the dish in the chest)!

[Frizbee]

I loved it but was very confused as to why they would have few competent professionals, and many inexperienced cooks. I agree to have your own restaurant, you have to know more than how to cook, and his claim in making anyone into a Master Chef I think is far fetched and extremely unrealistic. I commented to my husband that the Master Chef title comes after rigorous testing and $5,000 last time I heard about it. You cannot turn a newbie into a master chef in a short span of time.
I don’t think he expected too much, because we all know that even when you bring a new person into your kitchen…you expect them to learn real **** quick. If they don’t you correct them until they get it, until it’s obvious they won’t then you let them go.
The thing for me that separates real life from reality TV is that you wouldn’t expect a newbie to run lead on the line or be responsible for high skill menu production….but hey this is TV after all.
Also I watched my fantasies unfold when he told the blonds to **** off and for the maitre’ d to escort them back to plastic surgery. How many times have you wanted to abuse a customer verbally? In this case they didn’t deserve it…but so many sometimes do.
Also our mouths fell open when people had waited in excess of 2 hours for dinner and were told very abruptly that it is time to go!
And that poor mother…OMG my husband and I were taking bets on how long it would take her to have a full blown panic attack…we thought she was going to fall out in line when critiquing the plates…LOL
What a hoot for reality TV….can’t wait until next week…
And BTW what the heck kind of name is Dewberry anyway?????

[MarkV]

I've professed my distaste here before for "reality" cooking shows. They're phony, staged productions designed to make money, not promote the culinary arts. They cheapen our respectful profession.

And speaking of demarcating the profession, Gordon Ramsey certainly gets some egg on all of our faces.

He is an arrogant, abusive chataracter disorder who treats people unprofessionally. He is allowed to get away with it because of his culinary talent. But in my mind, a true professional would also embody maturity, emotional stability, interpersonal skills, and be able to motivate, guide, and direct others without acting like an angry 16 year old in a boy's locker room.

Chefs are not uncooth thugs or miscreants bringing the street into the kitchen. We are respectable professionals who bring a wide array of talents to the food world.

I'm sorry guys but I think charcters like Ramsey give us a bad name.

[chrose]

Originally Posted by MarkV

I'm sorry guys but I think charcters like Ramsey give us a bad name.

A good point, but the fact is that Ramsey only shows "more" people what many chefs really are like.
So now we have on Reality TV two ends of the spectrum. On one end is the abusive Gordon Ramsey, on the other end is the ineffectual Rocco DiSpirito.
What we need is a Reality show, that shows reality! With real competant people! Problem is.....................boring! Unfortunately. But it would be nice!

[Pete]

I just finished watching 2 hours of ****'s Kitchen. They reran last week before showing the new show. I hate to admit it, but I am hooked!!!! I love it. Yes, I know there is a lot of staged stuff going on. This is "reality" for TV, whice means they stack the deck against the contestants, but I found myself getting sucked into it. And yes, Ramsey is an arrogant, abusive chef. It may not be the PC thing nowaday, but there are still a lot of chefs like him in this industry. I know that many of us have worked under a "Ramsey" once or twice in our time. For me, personally, I got the most out of studying under chefs like Ramsey. There is something to be said to having a chef stand over you, screaming at, pushing you to your utmost limit. At least it worked for me. And the feeling I got when that chef would compliment me, it sent me to cloud nine.

[Nicko]

I really liked how the customers who were waiting for 2 and 1/2 hours for their food ordered a pizza that was funny.

[katbalou]

shutting off the AC wouldn't have bothered me - i've never had that luxury in any kitchen i've ever worked in. only exhaust fans. and sometimes really crappy ones. nothing like walking into the kitchen on a nice hot, humid summer's day...... no wonder i was so thin then!
as to the show i've got to admit i'm hooked too, if only for the pleasure of watching ramsey tell off the customers.

[Pete]

Wish I had the guts to tell off a few of my customers from time to time!!! But then again, Im not an internationally know celeb. chef.

[phoebe]

I'm curious about something. Remember the part where Ramsey demos cleaning the squid bodies and prepping them to be stuffed? And the team that cleaned the most squid without making holes "won" a dinner cooked by and eaten with Ramsey while the other team spent the rest of the night cleaning squid? David and I both thought that the winners would get socked with the fact that the "losers" had just been given a chance to practice a skill they'd need later. We figured the next night at the restaurant would be a squid prix fixe menu and the Red team that had won would get slammed.

[kuan]

Gordon's a jerk. I know a few chefs like that, and I didn't like them. However, I did manage to learn thing or two from them.

I like it, might save some kids 40k in culinary school tuition!

[Pete]

This post is a little late, but did anyone catch it this week? I was thrilled when Jeff walked off. Knew he wouldn't cut it. I was dissapointed that Andrew didn't get the ax, but either Ramsey sees something in him, or he is playing to the audience, leaving this loud-mouthed, obnoxious kid on.

For those of you who dislike Ramsey, check out episodes of Ramsey's Kitchen Nighmares. It's a British show that can be seen on the BBC America channel. In it he spends a week consulting in a restaurant that is about to go under. Sure, he still can be an ***, but you also see his passionate, and compassionate sides. You really get a sense that this guy really knows what he's doing. And he knows how to get the best out of people, or send them on their way.

[phatch]

Haven't seen it. Won't see it.

Looks like another variation of "How to abuse and humiliate people for fun and profit on TV".

It sickens me.

Phil.

[ChefMarco]

i love hells kitchen
i think gordon is a excellent chef and teacher

remember not everyone can do what we do for a living and gordon is weeding them out and dont think for a minute that whomever wins isnt going to be someone that doesnt have any culinary experience my money is on michael to win

but if there is no discipline in the kitchen a **** breaks lose and i think gordon is teaching them that now
some of the swears are for tv others are used to get his point across we have all worked for a chef that was like gordon and in the end we end up respecting them because of what we learned from them

on a side note if a person has a commitment to become a cook/chef with alot of hard work and discipline that person can achieve there goal
i have trained dishwashers into first cooks and these people are far more deticated