Catch Up With the Chef That Swears

Hell’s Kitchen is one of those reality shows you watch and say, “I can cook better than these morons.” At the same time, you always wonder, “What insult will Gordon Ramsey pull out tonight”? This effective one-two punch has done the show proud during its multi-season run.

Because of this, it should come to no surprise that the two night premiere of season nine showed that, yes, people still think they can amaze Gordon Ramsey and can win Hell’s Kitchen.

Episode One

It started out promising with a new set of twelve hopeful chefs headed to LA’s Hell’s Kitchen. But first, they stopped by a theater that where they had to appear on stage in front of screaming fans. What they got instead was an empty theater with Ramsey telling them they’re still nobodies. Here, he reveals what they’re playing for: Head chef at BLT Steak in New York City.

As usual, the contestants are separated into two teams: men are the blue team and the women the red. They also need to prepare a dish for Ramsey to see how well they can cook. It all starts well with both the red and blue getting ties every round. That is until the bad dishes come along. The biggest mistake and a major no no in Hell’s Kitchen is made by Jonathan when he uses canned pineapples in his dish. It should common knowledge that Ramsey wants everything fresh, not canned. His excuse, “I didn’t have enough time.” “You had forty-five minutes,” answered Ramsey. It doesn’t take that long to slice a pineapple.

Hell’s Kitchen wouldn’t be complete without somebody going to the hospital. Jason has breathing problems. That must be a Hell’s Kitchen record. It’s unsure if we’ll ever see him again.

Speaking of common knowledge, you’d think the contestants would figure by now that Ramsey makes a big deal out of his Risotto. Everyone messed it up. The scallops are another thing people should work on if they expect to win. Sadly, there were plenty of burned scallops. The blue team was the worst by far with Chino and Steven especially burning everything.

It should come as no surprise that in the first dinner service no entrees were coming out of either kitchen, causing dinners to leave. “This was the worst opening of Hell’s Kitchen I have ever seen,” Ramsey told the contestants after dinner service.

Steven getting eliminated was the biggest shock of the night. Chino was by far the worst cook that night. He got lucky this time.

Episode Two

The first real challenge: cook different cuts of beef to different temperatures. This should have been the blue team’s challenge, seeing as how men are the ones who always grill. It was neck in neck all the way though. It all came down to Will needing to cook all four cuts to perfection. He nailed it.

Whether you root for the red or blue, you must admit it is funny seeing a bunch of women trying to drink pureed meat and carrying an entire cow. They did have good teamwork though. That’s something that’s always an issue on this show.

That teamwork would work to their advantage at dinner service. The men were a carbon copy from the previous episode. Chino messed up again, while Brendan lies to Ramsey about cooking a new bass. In reality, he reheated the one he burned. In the end, every member of the blue team was kicked out and the red team had to pick up the slack. As usual, everybody blamed everybody for their mistakes. It’s a wonder why these even bother entering Hell’s Kitchen when they know Ramsey has sky high standards.

As a result of this, Chino is once again up for elimination along with Brendan. Chino dodges another bullet when Ramsey eliminates Brendan. This is actually a fair elimination in that Brendan lied to Ramsey while Chino just messed up on appetizers.

So far, Hell’s Kitchen is just what you’d expect: Ramsey throwing around swears like they’re going out of style, chefs who should know better burning everything, and dorm room drama. It’s too early to say who should win Hell’s Kitchen because these contestants have yet to show any real talent. Chino, on the other hand, will have to go if he messes up one more time. Elise looks to be this season’s leader of “Hell’s Bitches,” with her uncontrollable mouth and equally uncontrollable attitude.

All in all, there’s plenty of entertainment to be had this season.