John-John Williams IV gives us the rundown on last night's Hell's Kitchen: 

You couldn't wipe the smile from Tennille's face at the end of Hell's Kitchen. But why was she smiling? Could it have been Dave's departure? What about Suzanne? Ariel had been screwing up. Could it have been that Kevin took a disastrous tumble? Or was she smirking in defiance after a tongue-lashing from Chef Gordon Ramsay?

Any one of the five contestants could have gotten the boot on the most recent episode of Hell's Kitchen. But it didn't start off that way. In fact there were two front runners at the beginning of the episode.

The contestants entered their first individual challenge when they were tasked with making a visually pleasing dish for judges from Bon Appetit magazine. The hopefuls had 45 minutes to create their masterpiece. The top two dishes would then be tasted to determine the winner.

Tennille's red snapper broke, so she was basically out of the competition. Dave did a horrible job explaining his dish to the judge, which I suspect played a factor in his third place finish. And Suzanne's salad appeared to be too simple.

Ariel's John Dory and Kevin's sea bass were voted the top two dishes. After the taste test, it was determined that they tied. As a reward, each chef had their recipe featured in the magazine. (Surely neither of them could be in danger of going home. Or could they?)

The losing contestants were forced to pick up garbage on the side of a highway as punishment. During the "manual labor" Dave aggravated his injured wrist. (Could this be the demise of him?)

 

Continue reading "Who got the boot from 'Hell's Kitchen'?" »

John-John Williams IV reports on last night's Hell's Kitchen ...

Chef Gordon Ramsay has a short fuse. (I swear he's a heart attack waiting to happen.) But last night he seemed extra stressed. Maybe it's the fact that the competition is down to six chefs? Maybe he needs more fiber in his diet? Who knows? One thing is for sure. I've never seen the firey Brit walk out of the kitchen during a dinner service until now. (I'll get to that a little later.)

The episode started with a challenge. (Surprise, surprise.) Ramsay put out a dish, asked the contestants to taste it and then re-create it without them knowing what ingredients were used. (Trust me. It's harder than it sounds.) The chefs were broken into three teams of two: Kevin and Tennille, Ariel and Van, and Suzanne and Dave.

Tennille and Kevin forgot to put the calamari garnish on the dish and put themselves out of the running. Suzanne and Dave barely won by correctly using passionfruit in their sauce. As a result, they were rewarded with a lunch with last year's winner, Christina. The other chefs had to prep Hell's Kitchen for a special couple's-themed dinner service.

 

Continue reading "'Hell's Kitchen': A first for Gordon Ramsay" »

An episode after Amanda was kicked out for essentially being the weakest member of her team, it was clear that Chef Gordon Ramsay was going to remove any excess fat from the competition on Hell's Kitchen.

Enter Andy, who is beyond weak. He’s been horrible all season long. Last night’s episode was no different. He essentially sliced off the tips of his finger while prepping for dinner and had to be treated at the emergency room.

Before Andy’s injury, the women’s team won the team challenge, out-cooking the men in a crepe-making contest. As a reward, the women received mime training (lame) and a French dinner. The men’s team was tasked with preparing both kitchens for the night’s dinner service. They were fed cow's tongue and hog head cheese. (Yuck!)

During the dinner service, Andy used his injury as an excuse, blaming it for using too much salad dressing. Ramsay pointed to Dave and Kevin as examples of contestants overcoming injuries in the competition. (It wasn’t looking good for Andy at that point.)

The women’s team – in particular Sabrina and the hated Suzanne – gave a couple of scares throughout the night. Suzanne undercooked and then overcooked the lamb. Sabrina messed up on under-seasoning the Risotto and frog legs.

Ramsay was so angered by what he saw he threw Sabrina, Suzanne, and Andy out of the dinner service. (I’m pretty sure that was a Hell’s Kitchen first.) He said none of the teams won the competition, which meant that all the contestants were responsible for nominating two chefs for elimination.

Suzanne and Andy were put on the chopping block. And surprise, surprise, Andy was sent packing. In a surprise move, Ramsay sent Suzanne to join the men’s team. I predict major trouble there with Suzanne’s bossy, know-it-all demeanor.

 

 
 

In keeping with Sarah’s short recap theme (editor's note: as in this one), here’s what happened on Hell’s Kitchen Tuesday night:

 

The men beat the women in a challenge where the two teams were tasked with making up a menu composed of ingredients that were determined with a roll of dice.

 

Continuing the gambling theme, the men’s team was rewarded with a trip to Las Vegas. Robert, who was released from the hospital after having medical issues last episode, rejoined his team just in time for dinner service, to the chagrin of his teammates.

 

Van repeatedly messed up on cooking fish despite being a professional fish cook. (He kept serving fish with the plastic wrapper still attached!)

 

The men’s team nominated Robert and Van for elimination. Chef Gordon Ramsay, in true form, saved Van and replaced him with Andy, who has basically been worthless all season long.

 

In the end, Ramsay sent home Robert. I think Andy should have been sent home. He hasn't done anything to wow me the entire season. It appears from next week's preview that Andy will get the boot.

After a terrible performance in the last episode of Hell's Kitchen, Chef Gordon Ramsay gave Amanda a pep talk before letting the contestants go to sleep. She knew she was on the hot seat. Surprisingly, Amanda remained under the radar for the rest of the show. Ramsay had bigger fish to fry.

The contestants went back to their living spaces in different moods. The men were oh-so cocky. They were totally salivating over the possibility of crushing the women's team.

The women were a little defeated. Tennille was extremely angered by her teammate's decision to put her up for elimination in the last episode and had a bit of a chip on her shoulder that became apparent later in the episode.

The next day, Ramsay wanted the chefs to develop a three-course meal not to exceed 700 calories. The teams were given a slew of ingredients.

Sabrina, who works in a health club, took the lead for the women's team. The men's team struggled to meet the calorie count. At first their meal was well over 1,000 calories, but they wound up with 597 calories; the women were just under 700. After a quick taste-test by Ramsay, the women's team won in a landslide.

For punishment, the men's team was charged with prepping for the night's dinner service and buying all the evening's ingredients. The additional catch was that the men had to ride a six-person bicycle to the grocery store.

The women got to go to Venice Beach for a volleyball lesson from Olympian Annett Davis. They came back to their living quarters to discover huge gift bags.

When the men came back from the bicycle ride, Robert complained of being short of breath. He was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

 

Continue reading "Hell's Kitchen: A lack of heart sends contestant home" »

John-John is back again with his report on last night's Hell's Kitchen:

A hero’s welcome for a soldier who recently completed a tour of duty in the Middle East turned disastrous for the women’s team during last night’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen.

Both teams were charged with developing a menu for a surprise dinner for the solider. The soldier’s wife met with a representative from each team — Robert and Suzanne — to better give them an idea of what to serve.

Suzanne completely sabotaged her team by ignoring the woman’s preferences.

Her menu decisions were way too bland. Robert, on the other hand, followed the woman’s wants, and as a result, the men’s team was declared the winner. The men's prize was the chance to ride in fighter jets, as well as having their menu used for the homecoming dinner. The women had to decorate the dining hall for the night’s meal as punishment.

Suzanne's team was so mad at her for ignoring the wife’s preferences and their suggestions when they were developing menu options.

 

Continue reading "'Hell's Kitchen': A case of sabotage?" »

With my apologies for its lateness (totally my fault), here is John-John Williams IV's recap of last week's Hell's Kitchen (with last night's coming soon):

The contestants have been bickering up a storm this season on Hell's Kitchen, and Chef Gordon Ramsay has taken notice.

Almost immediately, Ramsay split the teams into pairs. It appeared that he took extra effort to match feuding Tennille and Suzanne and Van and Andy. The challenge for the day was to make sausages. And of course the contestants made a slew of sexual references. Ramsay totally bought into it. He made a comment about the perfect size of a sausage is 6 inches. He also added that in this challenge “size matters.” (Oh Lord!)

 

Continue reading "Last week's 'Hell's Kitchen' ..." »

Guest poster John-John Williams IV recaps last night's Hell's Kitchen. Take it away, John-John ....

Last time we saw Chef Gordon Ramsay and contestant Joseph, the pair were heading toward a fist-fight.

“I’m not no [female dog]! I’m not no [female dog]!” Joseph kept shouting in the face of Ramsay, the head of Hell’s Kitchen.

Ramsay’s security quickly came out to make sure the hot-headed contestant wasn’t able to land any punches against the potty-mouthed celebrity. The two exchanged pleasantries. And Ramsay kicked Joseph off the show.

I’m not sure that it was scripted. And it wasn’t the resolution that many fans had expected or hoped for. But it was what it was, and Ramsay wasn’t done eliminating folks.

The men’s team still had Tony and Andy up on the chopping block. Kevin said Tony’s inability to keep up with the fish station and Andy’s inability to catch up quickly targeted them for elimination.

Meanwhile, Lovely and Tennille were making their case to remain on the show. Lovely gave some song and dance about the fact that she was inexperienced but dedicated. (Blah, blah, blah.) Tennille said she’s a phenomenal chef and she needs the opportunity to show it. Andy said he needed another opportunity. Tony said he loves to cook, and loves to make things taste good.

 

Continue reading "'Hell's Kitchen': The angry get angrier" »

Guest blogger John-John Williams IV returns with his thoughts on last night's premiere of the new season of Hell's Kitchen on Fox. Take it away, John-John!

I’ve watched Hell’s Kitchen for the past three or four seasons—give or take – and I have never witnessed the type of antics I saw on last night’s season premiere. You would think that you’ve seen it all when a reality television show hits season six. But last night’s show included all types of firsts in the series.

Die-hard fans please correct me if I’m wrong, but has a contestant ever challenged Chef Gordon Ramsay to a fist-fight in the parking lot? Has Ramsay ever thrown someone off the show during the season premiere in the middle of dinner service? What about offering the winner of this season to be the head chef of a restaurant in Canada? And how about bringing back a contestant from a past season to compete in another one?

Trust me, this two-hour season premiere definitely piqued my interest. I will eagerly be watching the rest of the season.

First off, I don’t think that this year’s 16 contestants are all that impressive. They make stupid mistakes in the kitchen. (How many times was a piece of halibut, a scallop, shrimp, or chicken severely undercooked throughout the two disastrous dinner services?) The hopefuls have major attitude. And they are not afraid -- or respectful enough — not to get into near fights with others. (This includes Ramsay and his staff.)

Continue reading "'Hell's Kitchen' premiere: Whoa." »

On the most recent Hell's Kitchen, the women were rejoicing over Lacey’s transfer to the men’s team. They felt that they would be indestructible without their dead weight. Boy were they wrong. I’ll get to that later.

The chefs went to the Asian market for their first challenge. The teams – men and Lacey against the rest of the women -- had $100 to make three “Asian Fushion” dishes.

While the women were a little more methodical, the men ran around snatching items left and right. Lacey had trouble getting her opinion known.  Andrea gave a slew of directions. Both were basically being ignored.

When it came time for the judging, Chef Gordon Ramsay introduced Tanya Steele, an editor, at Epicurious.com. The winning team would have their recipes featured on the Web site. The contestants were extremely excited about the prize.

 

Continue reading "'Hell's Kitchen': Ramsay makes last-minute elimination" »

Chef Gordon Ramsay recruited a bunch of young football players and cheerleaders for this week's challenge on Hell's Kitchen -- breakfast. I'm pretty sure that this was a first on the show.

The 100 kids were hungry, but instead of directing all her attention to the food, Colleen started cheering with the cheerleaders. (Is she serious?) Coi messed up on pancakes, and Seth was lousy on eggs.

The women won the challenge, so the men had to clean up both kitchens and the dining room as punishment, the girls got pampered Beverly Hills style.

After the loss, Ben and Danny almost got into a fight after Ben said that Danny did a bad job during the challenge, and Ben said he could cook circles around Danny. It got really bad. They had to be separated.

Continue reading "'Hell's Kitchen': Seth Sent Home" »

At the beginning of the most recent episode of Hell's Kitchen, the women’s team was lamenting over the loss of Ji. The team members basically pounced on lazy Lacey for her performance up to that point.

After receiving about two hours of sleep, the contestants were taken to a meat-packing plant to prepare for their first challenge.

The hopefuls were responsible for identifying cuts of meat. During the contest, Seth did a terrible job identifying the meat. Lacey also struggled. The men’s team won the challenge. Chef Gordon Ramsay called the women’s performance “pathetic.”

 

Continue reading "'Hell's Kitchen': Charlie kicked out " »

A freak accident to Ji resulted in a stay of execution for dead-weight Colleen and Lacey last night on Hell's Kitchen.

The private caterer slipped on something in the kitchen during prep time and injured her ankle. She toughed it out and completed the dinner service, but the pain proved too much and she sacrificed herself. I'll get to that later.

The episode started with a challenge. The contestants had to retrieve and clean as many scallops as possible within a time limit. The contestants split into the men against women. The men won -- barely.

 

 

 

 

Continue reading "Surprise exit In 'Hell's Kitchen'" »

Hell's Kitchen begins with a montage of scenes from the past four seasons of the show. Man, that Chef Gordon Ramsay knows how to stick it to those contestants. I can’t wait to see how he insults, and humiliates the hopefuls this year!
This season, 300 chefs are invited to Los Angeles. Only 16 are chosen for the show.
The group includes: Danny, 23, an executive chef from Florida; Ben, 26, an executive sous chef from Chicago; Colleen, 41, a cooking instructor from Omaha, Nebraska; Carol, 30, a sous chef; J, 32, a food court chef; Giovanni, 37, an executive chef; Ji, 33, a private caterer; Wil, 26, a quality control chef who wears his gay pride pin; Paula, 28, an executive sous chef; Lacey, 24, a corporate buffet cook; Coi, 22, a café cook; Charlie, 24, a prep chef; Andrea, 30, a line cook; Seth, 27, a private party chef; LA, 22, a line cook and a self-professed lesbian; and Robert, 29, a sous chef who tells the audience not to adjust their television because he has a weight problem.
The 16 finalists split into two teams—men versus women. Each contestant makes their own signature dish.
Carol made veal with caramelized onions. Ramsay says its delicious. Braised rabbit and Wil announces he's Ramsay says its delicious but the presentation is horrible. Ji makes a miso saki sea bass. Ramsay likes it. Ramsay says Robert's meal looks like a camel hoof. Ramsay calls the dish clumsy. Ramsay disses Lacey's meal. He spits out her food. Danny, a self-proclaimed "redneck", is next. Ramsay calls the dish "hideous." Giovanni can't cook rice, according to Ramsay. Charlie's dish looks like a ferris wheel, according to Ramsay. LA's dish is a "screwed up fish and chips," Ramsay says. He gives J an "F" for his meal. Ramsay says that Colleen's dish looks like "cooked diapers." He spits out her enchiladas. She says that she teaches manners. She's basically implying that Ramsay doesn't have any manners. (Big mistake!!!) Andrea is next. He really likes her dish. Ramsay also likes Coi's dish and says its perfectly cooked and delicious. Seth is next. He made cinnamon crusted lamb. Ramsay says its to worst dish he's ever tasted. Ramsay like's Ben's duck. He says it's the best dish on the men's team.
Ramsay then announces that this year's winner wins $250,000 and a head chef position at a restaurant in the Borgada Hotel in Atlantic City.
Ramsay says this is the best group ever. The contestants are charged with developing a team name and getting some sleep.
The next day when the contestants are doing prep work, Lacey laments that she doesn't know how to be a line cook. She storms out of the kitchen and says she's going to quit. The women don't really pay attention to her. Meanwhile, the men are having their own troubles. Giovanni says that Seth is useless. Lacey comes back after a quick smoke break.
Ramsay gathers all the contestants to learn their team names. The women tell him that their name is Team Saffron. The men will go by The Blues Brothers.
It's time to open the doors for service. Giovanni, and Carol are asked to be servers because there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Giovanni laments. Ramsay makes Charlie cut off his facial hair. Lacey and Coi get into an argument. Coi accuses Lacey of not doing any work. (She's right.) Ramsay smooths it over just before he opens the door for service.
Ramsay rips into Lacey's raw scallops. (She did not turn on the gas in her oven.) Robert and Ben are yelled at for cooking raw pasta. Colleen deviates from Ramsay's pasta recipe, which ticks him off. She's sort of saved when the power in the restaurant goes off. Meanwhile, Danny overcooks his scallops. He then talks back to Ramsay, which sets the firey Brit over the edge.
Twenty-minutes later the power comes back on. Colleen screws up when she attempts to cook pasta in a dirty pan. This sets Ramsay over the edge.
Wil burns his garnish. Colleen screws up on the pasta—again. Ramsay begins to call Seth "Forrest" as in Forrest Gump. (Not good!) Colleen finally masters spaghetti, just in time to ruin risotto. (She accidentally put sugar in the dish instead of salt.) Wil is screwing up on the garnish station. A bunch of his teammates help him out. Ramsay is ticked off. The customers start to leave because they are waiting so long. Ramsay shuts down the kitchen. He calls the night "pathetic, and embarrassing."
Ramsay says He lets the service of the dinning room decide the winning team. Carol has the best service. The men are the losing team. Wil puts himself up for eviction. Seth and Giovanni argue over who should leave. Seth is the second one up for eviction. Actually, the group clarifies that they want Seth to leave more than Wil. Ramsay eliminates Wil. Wil says that he wants to right his horrible performance. It's not enough. Ramsay sends him home.