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Kevin, Dave, and Ariel are feeling pretty good after seeing their loved ones.
Ramsey introduced them to their challenge - there were three domes with international cuisine, and they have to cook something from that region of the world. Ariel got China. Dave got Indian and was a little scared. Kevin got Mexican. Dave was jealous of the Mexican pick. They have 45 minutes to make one stunning entree. They have ingredient shelves stocked with their regional items.
Oh, crap. Dave chose pork. Most Indians don't eat pork. Ugh.
Ramsey brought in experts from each cuisine to judge.
Ariel presented her (very nervous forgetting what she cooked) duck with lychee plum marinade. She then said that she ordered Chinese food all the time, but it's been a while since she's had Chinese takeout. It was called not balanced enough, pleasantly sweet, with a watery sauce. Mixed.
Kevin did an orange and cumin pork tenderloin with .... no sauce. He forgot to plate the mole. Ouch. The Mexican judge thought that it would have been astounding with the sauce. The Chinese judge liked it even without the sauce, as did the Indian judge.
Dave made a mung bean puree with seared pork tenderloin. He admitted that he didn't really know if pork was ok. The Indian judge told him that he should have gone with chicken or seafood. The Mexican judge liked his flavors. The Chinese judge liked it. The Indian judge really liked his lentils.
The Chinese judge gave his vote to Dave. The Mexican judge also gave his vote to Dave. The Indian judge also gave it to Dave, because he loved his ability to work with the spiced for the first time.
As a reward, Dave got each of the three judge's signature dishes prepared for him at the Chef's Table. He also got a full set of beautiful cookware (missed the brand - did anyone catch it?). As a surprise, his sister and his fiancee got to join him at the Chef's Table.
The punishment was to polish silverware and get the dining room set up.
Dave took some time to chat with the chefs and learn some things.
Ariel and Kevin got nagged by JP as they ironed tablecloths. They got to see Dave and his loved ones in the kitchen enjoying the reward. They certainly didn't enjoy that.
Time to get ready for service. Each of them will take a turn running the pass.
Kevin was up first, and there was the expected sabotage. Kevin was running the pass well, and he caught the first sabotage (halibut instead of sea bass). Ariel had some lamb that wasn't cooked right, and then she couldn't debone them properly because they were falling apart. Kevin kept sending the lamb back and wasn't listening to her complaints. Then, her lamb sauce went missing for a couple minutes. In the end, Kevin did a decent job.
Dave's turn up at the pass, and he was taking some crazy charge. He was whipping a towel around and swearing. He was rude to JP. Not sure if it was the best attitude, but the food was leaving the kitchen. Sabotage time - spinach puree instead of asparagus puree. He missed it. His second sabotaged dish was also missed. The tuna was not seared and had no sesame seeds. He got spanked verbally by Ramsey. He recovered well, and spotted some cold tuna, and some undersalted food. He hit his groove and the food kept moving. I think he did a good job.
Ariel took her turn at the pass. Her first sabotage was parsnip puree instead of mashed potatoes. She missed it. The next one was salmon instead of seabass, and she caught it (it was covered in garnish, so the pink was hidden). Then, she started yelling out too many orders at the same time. She complained the Kevin was dragging. Ariel lost control of the kitchen. Ramsey was not happy. Kevin was slow on cooking scallops, and wasn't getting them out at the right time.
Still, service was completed with minimal drama.
Ramsey asked each of them to tell them the one person who shouldn't be in the final.
Kevin thought that Ariel should not be in the finals. Ariel chose Kevin. Dave chose Ariel. Ramsey said that their answers didn't help him, and asked them each to tell him why they DO belong in the finals. Everyone basically said how great they are. Dave said that he has grown tenfold in the competition, and he has led himself. Ariel thinks she should be int he finals because she is young and creative.
Dave is in the finals! Woooooot! The second person in the finals is Kevin. Not a surprise to me. Ariel just didn't seem on the same level as either of them.
They have 30 minutes to get changed and get ready for their limo.
They have 45 minutes to do a menu item worthy of the Araxi, with 5 highly regarded judges.
Kevin is making a petite clam bake with poached lobster and corn pudding.
Dave is rack of venison with parsnip puree.
Alain Gayot (guide book author, food critic) really liked Dave's dish. He liked Kevin's presentation, but went for Dave's dish with his vote.
Jamie Maw (Canadian food critic) gave his vote to Dave as well.
Tanya Steel (Editor in Chief for Epicurious) was impressed with both dishes, but chose Kevin for her favorite.
Warren Garraty (Executive chef at West Restaurant in Vancouver) gave his vote to the lobster.
The final guest is Coleman something (from the now defuct Gourmet magazine) gave the win to Dave. Wooooot!
The cheftestants worked on their menus. Heather will be working with Kevin, and Scott will be working with Dave. In addition, they have some "secret ingredients" - some of their former competitors.
Dave got first pick and grabbed Ariel. Kevin chose Van. Dave's second choice was Robert. Kevin chose Amanda, because his menu was fish heavy, and she's good at fish. Dave's next choice was Suzanne, who expected to be picked last. Sabrina was the last member of Kevin's team.
Kevin's menu was intricate, but his plating was beautiful. Dave's menu was simpler.
Kevin's menu features caramelized scallops, coffee cured beef tenderloin, and a trio of creme brulee for dessert.
Dave's menu featured a wild mushroom risotto, venison, and a layered mousse for dessert.
Ramsey thought that Kevin's menu might be too complicated. He worried that Dave's might be too pedestrian. Then, he presented both of them with their white jackets.
Time for service! They skipped the restaurant design portion this season. I don't think I missed it so much.
Dave's kitchen was getting orders out quickly, with Robert making very good risotto. Amanda, over in Kevin's kitchen, was sinking the scallops. She asked "how cooked do you want the scallops?" and ended up sending up rubber. Ramsey told him to not be afraid to switch people up. He pulled Amanda and brought Van onto scallops. He finally got food out of the kitchen.
Dave, unfortunately ran low on mushrooms near the end. He told Robert to go a little lighter on the mushrooms. From that, Robert got that he should barely add any mushrooms. Robert took it as a personal insult when he got talked to about it, and started messing with Dave, making him drop things. Nice. Nice, to the guy with the broken wrist.
Amanda's switch to risotto didn't end well - it was sent back because it was crunchy. Dave's food wasn't coming up to the pass right, either. Ariel sent up overcooked venison. He caught it, though (whereas Kevin didn't catch the bad risotto), and she fixed the problem quickly.
The chef at the Araxi is eating at Hell's Kitchen tonight, too. Kevin was calling out different meat temps and confused Amanda. He blamed her. It was totally his fault. He called medium rare and then medium well and then back again a couple of times. No wonder she was confused. He did start to yell at Amanda, but then caught himself and helped his sous chefs instead of hollering at them. Good job.
Kevin tried to catch up to Dave (who was 2 tables ahead of him) by firing two tables at once. Dave's kitchen, meanwhile, started to have some problems. His kitchen seemed to start falling apart just as Kevin's hit it's stride. They managed to pull it together and finished pretty much right at the same time.
The Moment of Truth came. Ramsey told them that their comment cards were both amazing, and it was the closest finale yet. They stepped up to their Doors of Destiny. The door that opened belonged to ....
DAVE!!!!!
Yay for Dave!!! Kevin was a gracious loser, and I sure do hope that Dave didn't do irreparable damage to his wrist during this ordeal. And, I hope that his wife is happy moving to Whistler! I'm thrilled.
How about you? Do you think the best chef won?
Showing posts with label Hell's Kitchen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hell's Kitchen. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 10.6.09
Are you as happy as I am to see Suzanne gone?
Go One-Handed Dave!
Kevin is pretty sure that he knows everyone's weakness, but can't think of one in himself. Dave woke up the next morning to give himself a Stuart Smalley pep talk.
In the kitchen, enter mini-Ramsey. What a kid. They've got the kid saying "bloody hell," which isn't really appropriate, I suppose, but he was adorable. Good line about Dave - "Bloody Hell, you've got one arm. If you were a horse, we would have shot you by now." Funny stuff. Enter real Ramsey, to tell them that they have to cook a stunning vegetarian dish for 80 "exacting, difficult, demanding customers" in one hour. Yipes!
Kevin is making a mushroom crepe over beet carpachio. Tennille is making a vegetable stuffed eggplant. Ariel is making a grilled eggplant lasagne. Dave is making a polenta tower with goat cheese and roasted peppers.
And peppers that he dropped on the ground because of his hand. He actually retreated into the back room to deal with pain, and went back to do his chopping.
Here come the guests - 80 kids. Who don't like vegetables. Ouch.
The kids started chanting about wanting their food, because the cheftestants were not ready with their portions. Dave called his polenta stacks "sandwiches" and called himself the One-Armed Bandit.
Each chef had a different colored plate. Lots of spitting out happened. That makes me sad. JP brought in bags full of treats and sweets for the kids, who proceeded to make a horrendous mess of the dining room. I smell punishment.
Kevin's dish was voted worst by 40% of the kids. Dave and Tenille got the top two, with Tenille pulling in the win with 55%. Dave said "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride."
As I predicted, the losers had to pick up the dining room.
Tenille was getting a day in Beverly Hills, sprucing up, and then to Nobu in LA for lunch with Ramsey, which is a famous sushi restaurant. Tenille screamed at the camera about how much she loves sushi. I am kind of sick of her yelling.
The other chefs downed Tenille and said that her dish was well suited to children, but not good enough for the Araxi.
Tenille got a 18 karat gold facial. Wow.
The losers had to scrape gum off of the bottom of tables. Ariel wisely said that those kids needed a lesson in table manners. Dave was picking candies out of the mess he swept up. Love it.
Tenille screamed about how delicious the sushi is. And now I want sushi. Great. Chef Nobu presented her with a set of Henckel's Sushi knives. Wow. Kevin drooled over them a little. I can't blame him. I think I just wiped my chin.
Prep time, and Tenille had a lot of catching up to do. She got a nice lunch, and some sweet knives, but missed some really important prep time.
Before dinner service, they got a Ramsey Pep talk, and he wants them to bring passion to the plate as a key ingredient. Let's see if they do better without Suzanne.
Kevin started things off right with great risotto. Tenille then brought up badly cooked scallops. Her next try was perfect. Dave went to bring up the lamb and had a fit with his hand and dropped it and retreated to the back.
If he has to drop out in the final four, I think I am going to cry. He thought he was going to faint. Ramsey brought him to the medic. He decided to go back and declared that he is not a quitter.
I swear, that man could give birth.
Tenille sent up hideous seabass, with black bits all over it. Try again. He called it "panic cooked." The kitchen came to a stand still. She then sent up completely raw halibut. Come. On. Ridiculous. I could see it was raw. How could she not see it? The other chefs tried to get some communication from her and failed completely. She told them 2 minutes, and they all went for it with their parts, and then she told Ramsey 6 minutes. Dave had cut his lamb, so she completely screwed him, too. She finally got it right and the dishes flew out of the kitchen for a complete service.
Ramsey told Dave that he is seriously concerned about his wrist, but Dave told him that he is fine, and he doesn't want Ramsey to take him out because of that, and only wants to leave if Ramsey doesn't think he is a good enough chef. Without much ado, Ramsey told Tenille that she was gone. It was the right decision.
The final 3 were enjoying a beer together when they got called back down to the kitchen. Ramsey told Dave that he was still thinking about whether he made the right decision keeping Dave... commercial break of doom ... and Ramsey said he was sure that he did make the right decision.
As a reward for being in the top 3, Dave's fiance and sister, Ariel's fiance and mother, and Kevin's wife and son entered. Happiness and joy!!
I reiterate - I hope that Dave can pull this off and win it. He's awesome. I just hope that he hasn't done irreparable damage to his wrist during this ordeal.
Next week, each of them runs the pass. This could be very good.
Go One-Handed Dave!
Kevin is pretty sure that he knows everyone's weakness, but can't think of one in himself. Dave woke up the next morning to give himself a Stuart Smalley pep talk.
In the kitchen, enter mini-Ramsey. What a kid. They've got the kid saying "bloody hell," which isn't really appropriate, I suppose, but he was adorable. Good line about Dave - "Bloody Hell, you've got one arm. If you were a horse, we would have shot you by now." Funny stuff. Enter real Ramsey, to tell them that they have to cook a stunning vegetarian dish for 80 "exacting, difficult, demanding customers" in one hour. Yipes!
Kevin is making a mushroom crepe over beet carpachio. Tennille is making a vegetable stuffed eggplant. Ariel is making a grilled eggplant lasagne. Dave is making a polenta tower with goat cheese and roasted peppers.
And peppers that he dropped on the ground because of his hand. He actually retreated into the back room to deal with pain, and went back to do his chopping.
Here come the guests - 80 kids. Who don't like vegetables. Ouch.
The kids started chanting about wanting their food, because the cheftestants were not ready with their portions. Dave called his polenta stacks "sandwiches" and called himself the One-Armed Bandit.
Each chef had a different colored plate. Lots of spitting out happened. That makes me sad. JP brought in bags full of treats and sweets for the kids, who proceeded to make a horrendous mess of the dining room. I smell punishment.
Kevin's dish was voted worst by 40% of the kids. Dave and Tenille got the top two, with Tenille pulling in the win with 55%. Dave said "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride."
As I predicted, the losers had to pick up the dining room.
Tenille was getting a day in Beverly Hills, sprucing up, and then to Nobu in LA for lunch with Ramsey, which is a famous sushi restaurant. Tenille screamed at the camera about how much she loves sushi. I am kind of sick of her yelling.
The other chefs downed Tenille and said that her dish was well suited to children, but not good enough for the Araxi.
Tenille got a 18 karat gold facial. Wow.
The losers had to scrape gum off of the bottom of tables. Ariel wisely said that those kids needed a lesson in table manners. Dave was picking candies out of the mess he swept up. Love it.
Tenille screamed about how delicious the sushi is. And now I want sushi. Great. Chef Nobu presented her with a set of Henckel's Sushi knives. Wow. Kevin drooled over them a little. I can't blame him. I think I just wiped my chin.
Prep time, and Tenille had a lot of catching up to do. She got a nice lunch, and some sweet knives, but missed some really important prep time.
Before dinner service, they got a Ramsey Pep talk, and he wants them to bring passion to the plate as a key ingredient. Let's see if they do better without Suzanne.
Kevin started things off right with great risotto. Tenille then brought up badly cooked scallops. Her next try was perfect. Dave went to bring up the lamb and had a fit with his hand and dropped it and retreated to the back.
If he has to drop out in the final four, I think I am going to cry. He thought he was going to faint. Ramsey brought him to the medic. He decided to go back and declared that he is not a quitter.
I swear, that man could give birth.
Tenille sent up hideous seabass, with black bits all over it. Try again. He called it "panic cooked." The kitchen came to a stand still. She then sent up completely raw halibut. Come. On. Ridiculous. I could see it was raw. How could she not see it? The other chefs tried to get some communication from her and failed completely. She told them 2 minutes, and they all went for it with their parts, and then she told Ramsey 6 minutes. Dave had cut his lamb, so she completely screwed him, too. She finally got it right and the dishes flew out of the kitchen for a complete service.
Ramsey told Dave that he is seriously concerned about his wrist, but Dave told him that he is fine, and he doesn't want Ramsey to take him out because of that, and only wants to leave if Ramsey doesn't think he is a good enough chef. Without much ado, Ramsey told Tenille that she was gone. It was the right decision.
The final 3 were enjoying a beer together when they got called back down to the kitchen. Ramsey told Dave that he was still thinking about whether he made the right decision keeping Dave... commercial break of doom ... and Ramsey said he was sure that he did make the right decision.
As a reward for being in the top 3, Dave's fiance and sister, Ariel's fiance and mother, and Kevin's wife and son entered. Happiness and joy!!
I reiterate - I hope that Dave can pull this off and win it. He's awesome. I just hope that he hasn't done irreparable damage to his wrist during this ordeal.
Next week, each of them runs the pass. This could be very good.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 9.29.09
Dave is not happy with Tenille for throwing Van under the bus, and doesn't trust her. Kevin enjoyed watching the self destruction. Ariel and Suzanne chain smoked away their anxieties at being in such trouble.
Ramsey met them in the kitchen for their first individual challenge. The focus is on the presentation. The editorial staff for Bon Appetit are helping judge the challenge. They have to create a delicious, visually stunning dish.
Suzanne was making a salad, and Tenille's fish broke in half, so the plating on that wasn't as great as she wanted.
The Bon Appetit staff will be judging purely on looks first. The top two will be tasted by Ramsey and the Editor in Chief. Dave totally folded under the pressure of having to name his dish and sounded like an idiot.
The scores put Tenille in last place, followed by Suzanne. The highest scoring dish was Kevin's, and it was beautiful. Ramsey didn't look too happy to announce that Ariel is the other one in the top 2.
Ariel produced a sage and prosciotto wrapped John Dorey.
Kevin's is a pan seared Carribean fish.
In the end, it was a tie and they both won. They will get to join Ramsey and the Editor in Chief for a Bon Appetit photoshoot at a wonderful restaurant, and both of their dishes will be featured in the magazine. Cool.
The losers will be doing community service and cleaning a roadside (Hell's Kitchen has adopted a highway). Dave is not looking forward to hearing Tenille bitch about losing. He didn't have to wait long before she started complaining about how not right it was. She certainly does know how to complain. When they were done with the road, they had to steam clean the red carpet. Dave's wrist was not doing well. His cast was wrapped in ice.
Kevin tried to convince Dave to leave the competition, because it would be getting rid of probably his stiffest competition, but Dave seemed bound and determined to stick it out.
During prep. Kevin decided to take charge, which annoyed Suzanne. Ramsey told them that he wants them all determined, wants them to finish service, wants them to be on top of their stations and on top of their games. Here's for hoping. The menu will also feature the two winning items from the challenge.
Dave is on cold apps, Tenille is on hot apps, and Suzanne is on fish. Kevin was on garnish, and Ariel was on meat. Immediately, animosity caused problems. They got on top of it and got the first table out. There was an onslaught of diners all at once. There were a lot of dishes to go up at once. Tenille was sure of her risotto, but Ariel told her it was mush. She said it was fine, but Ramsey did not agree. Try it again.
Ramseyhad to send incomplete tables out, and Tenille continued to overcook the risotto. Turns out, Kevin's prep was bad, and the starting rice was overcooked. Ramsey was not happy with Kevin at all, and was all over him. They finally got it right and went out. Service sped up considerably.
Entree service started, and then Ariel sent up pink chicken. NOT good. They fixed the problem and got the chicken out - only to have Suzanne have her chance at sending up raw food. Her John Dorey was raw. So not good. Ramsey looked about ready to throw a cutting board at her.
It was kind of a mess. Tables were not getting sent out together, Ariel tried to send out raggedly butchered lamb. He called her out into the dining room and yelled at her. How embarrassing.
Ramsey seemed about ready to close the kitchen, but they managed to limp across the finish line. Ramsey said it was one of the worst services in a long time, and they started off well. Since they didn't come together as a team in service, they have to come together as a team to put two people up.
Suzanne is a big fan of herself. In the end, they came up with Ariel and Suzanne. Finally, it was Suzanne and her enormous ego going home. I don't think anyone will miss her.
At this point, I'm rooting hard for Dave. How about you?
Ramsey met them in the kitchen for their first individual challenge. The focus is on the presentation. The editorial staff for Bon Appetit are helping judge the challenge. They have to create a delicious, visually stunning dish.
Suzanne was making a salad, and Tenille's fish broke in half, so the plating on that wasn't as great as she wanted.
The Bon Appetit staff will be judging purely on looks first. The top two will be tasted by Ramsey and the Editor in Chief. Dave totally folded under the pressure of having to name his dish and sounded like an idiot.
The scores put Tenille in last place, followed by Suzanne. The highest scoring dish was Kevin's, and it was beautiful. Ramsey didn't look too happy to announce that Ariel is the other one in the top 2.
Ariel produced a sage and prosciotto wrapped John Dorey.
Kevin's is a pan seared Carribean fish.
In the end, it was a tie and they both won. They will get to join Ramsey and the Editor in Chief for a Bon Appetit photoshoot at a wonderful restaurant, and both of their dishes will be featured in the magazine. Cool.
The losers will be doing community service and cleaning a roadside (Hell's Kitchen has adopted a highway). Dave is not looking forward to hearing Tenille bitch about losing. He didn't have to wait long before she started complaining about how not right it was. She certainly does know how to complain. When they were done with the road, they had to steam clean the red carpet. Dave's wrist was not doing well. His cast was wrapped in ice.
Kevin tried to convince Dave to leave the competition, because it would be getting rid of probably his stiffest competition, but Dave seemed bound and determined to stick it out.
During prep. Kevin decided to take charge, which annoyed Suzanne. Ramsey told them that he wants them all determined, wants them to finish service, wants them to be on top of their stations and on top of their games. Here's for hoping. The menu will also feature the two winning items from the challenge.
Dave is on cold apps, Tenille is on hot apps, and Suzanne is on fish. Kevin was on garnish, and Ariel was on meat. Immediately, animosity caused problems. They got on top of it and got the first table out. There was an onslaught of diners all at once. There were a lot of dishes to go up at once. Tenille was sure of her risotto, but Ariel told her it was mush. She said it was fine, but Ramsey did not agree. Try it again.
Ramseyhad to send incomplete tables out, and Tenille continued to overcook the risotto. Turns out, Kevin's prep was bad, and the starting rice was overcooked. Ramsey was not happy with Kevin at all, and was all over him. They finally got it right and went out. Service sped up considerably.
Entree service started, and then Ariel sent up pink chicken. NOT good. They fixed the problem and got the chicken out - only to have Suzanne have her chance at sending up raw food. Her John Dorey was raw. So not good. Ramsey looked about ready to throw a cutting board at her.
It was kind of a mess. Tables were not getting sent out together, Ariel tried to send out raggedly butchered lamb. He called her out into the dining room and yelled at her. How embarrassing.
Ramsey seemed about ready to close the kitchen, but they managed to limp across the finish line. Ramsey said it was one of the worst services in a long time, and they started off well. Since they didn't come together as a team in service, they have to come together as a team to put two people up.
Suzanne is a big fan of herself. In the end, they came up with Ariel and Suzanne. Finally, it was Suzanne and her enormous ego going home. I don't think anyone will miss her.
At this point, I'm rooting hard for Dave. How about you?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 9.22.09
After the shocker of moving Suzanne to the Blue team, Kevin let her know that they are not happy with her there, and that they don't like her, and she needs to play for the team. She vows to do better. We'll see.
Upon entering the kitchen, Chef Scott is there and Ramsey appears via screen. He's in Whistler, where the winner's restaurant will be. He brought them into the Araxi, which is the restaurant they will be working at. They are being flown 15 local ingredients from the region of Whistler, since that is something the restaurant is known for.
They have to cook 3 entrees using the 15 ingredients, without repeating ingredients more than once. They have about 2 1/2 hours, until Ramsey and two special guests get back from Whistler.
Sabrina is being categorically ignored, as are Suzanne's. Only problem is... everyone on the women's team thought the meat was lamb, except for Sabrina, who spotted it as venison, but she didn't tell them they were wrong because they hadn't been including her. They treated it like lamb, so we'll see how that went for them. (And is Sabrina right?)
Ramsey is back with his guests, Sasha Cohen and Johnny Mosley (Olympians).
The men's first entree is caramelized salmon with pan seared leg of lamb. The women's first entree is grilled salmon, melted leeks and grilled shrimp. The men (and Suzanne) take the votes from the Olympians.
Tenille presented her magnificent "lamb," and Ramsey called her on it. He was astounded to hear that she had no idea what meat she had cooked. She figured it out and Ariel tried to cover her ass and said of course they knew it was venison, and they just mispoke.
Dave presented a rack of venison with a cranberry sauce, and beets I think. It was kind of a bloody looking sauce. Even though they had no idea it was venison, the red team brought home both of those votes.
Sabrina presented lamb with mushroom sauce and jerusalem artichokes. Van had grilled shrimp and braised kale, and ginger sunchoke puree. Sabrina had to tell him what the rest of his dish was because he forgot what kale was. Johnny gave his point to Blue, and Sasha also gave hers to Blue, so the men (and Suzanne) won.
The women have to go to a local farm, milking cows and cleaning the pig pen. They have to wear farmer clothes, straw hat included.
The men (and Suzanne) get to go eat with Mark Peele, and Ramsey picked them up Whistler beanies, picking on Dave and saying he could use a new one. At Mark Peele's restaurant, he showed them how to do something simple excellently, and made them the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever.
The women did not have fun at the farm. Ariel got attacked by a pig at the fair as a child, so she has porcinaphobi. Cleaning out the pens, Tenille was puking all over the place. Pleasant.
The next day, Ramsey ripped up his menu. Each team will create new menus, with 3 appetizers, 3 entrees, and 3 desserts. Each person needs to have an impact on the menu.
A sample of the Blue Team's menu:
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with whipped marscapone, caramelized halibut with fennel and plum salad, seared diver scallops with caviar and lemongrass sauce. Ramsey is impressed.
The Red team has, among other things:
Braised pork ravioli, seared sesame crusted ahi tuna, and blackened halibut with seafood risotto. Sabrina let Ramsey know that she is not excited about Tenille's dishes. Tenille got pissy at her. Ramsey said it isn't the most creative menu, but they could do it well. They didn't take any of Sabrina's ideas.
The diners could pick what menu to order from, and the orders were pouring in for the Blue team. The red finally got an order. They have to coordinate between the kitchens to make sure appetizers go out to the tables at the same times. Tenille had no idea how to cook swiss chard and was having problems. Van put too many scallops up to the pass, and couldn't do simple math. Other problems were to be had on both sides. Pork was practically frozen in places, and ravioli was cold. Van's scallops were badly seared. Ariel sent out three plates of cold ravioli. NOT good. She was blase about it, and Ramsey was not impressed.
Dave, meanwhile, listed a really heavy pan and his hand was shooting pain - said he couldn't move it without pain. NOT good. He decided to muscle through the pain and went back. He amazes me.
Sabrina, meanwhile, brought the kitchen to a standstill while trying to cook meat for the entree. Van spilled some sauce near Ramsey and didn't wipe it down, and then got into a fight with Ramsey. Tenille found time to sweep the floor leisurely during service. Ramsey didn't seem excited about that. Van, meanwhile, sent up raw halibut. Isn't that guy a seafood chef? He sent it up again... and again it was raw... and it squirted in poor Dave's eye. Ramsey said it was about 4 minutes off from being ready, and that's not a minor problem.
Can the women do any better with Halibut? Nope. Sabrina sent up a fish that was raw on one side.
He called up Van and Sabrina and shut down the kitchens. Dreadful.
He told them that no one won. Both teams screwed up. He wants one name from each team for elimination. Kevin and Van want to put Suzanne up on the block. Dave wouldn't go against them. Kevin sees the reason to put Van up, too. On the women's side, Sabrina is gunning for Tenille, and Tenille is gunning for Sabrina.
In the end, it was Sabrina and Van, but Dave let it be known that he thinks that Suzanne is the weakest chef on the team. Ramsey let it be known that he can't work with Van much longer, but Sabrina is gone. I think that was the right decision.
******
It's a double episode because of missing last week!!
After grumping about having been on the chopping block, Van helped open the Final 6 present - black jackets! It's every chef for themselves.
Down in the kitchen, Ramsey was busy cooking. He made a dish for them, a fillet of beef with truffles.
Their challenge (predictably) was to make a dish based on seeing it and tasting it. They were going to be working in pairs. Van was paired with Ariel, Tenille was with Kevin, Suzanne was with Dave. Chef Scott brought out a different dish - comprised of fish, garnish, sauce, and puree.
All three teams picked turbot for the fish, and calimari for the garnish. Ariel and Van chose celery root for the puree, while the other teams chose parsnip (even though Tenille didn't know what it was). The key ingredient in the sauce was trickier. Ariel and Van picked starfruit, Kevin and Tenille picked grapefruit, and Dave and Suzanne picked passionfruit. Everyone got to cooking, and Van dropped his on the floor. He re-fired it and they got it plated - but was it done?
Everyone got turbot right - but the puree was white onion. Oops. Tenille and Kevin forgot to put the garnish on their dish. Oops again. In the end, the fruit for the sauce was passionfruit, and Dave and Suzanne got it right. They get to go to Ramsey's restaurant and Christina (former winner) will cook for them.
The losers will be prepping for Couple's Night at Hell's Kitchen, including doing something special in the dining room with JP, full of roses and champagne.
As Dave and Suzanne went off for their reward, Van made a childish "Dave and Suzanne sitting in a tree" comment. I really am over him.
Tenille whined about doing the punishment. She's got a bad attitude, I swear.
At the reward, Suzanne wouldn't shut up (as usual). When they got back to the kitchen, Dave tried to chip in and help, but no one would offer him anything to do. He took the initiative to find things for himself. Ramsey let them know that they would be serving some food table side - a chopped salad and a porterhouse steak for two.
Time for service!
Immediately, Kevin got to the tableside app, while Suzanne messed up on timing and he had to redo it. They finally got it together. Van was sweating in the food (yuck) and couldn't get the fish up right. Amazingly, Tenille took charge of the kitchen, and produced perfectly cooked lamb.
Then Van, sweat and all, sent up a raw piece of fish. Ramsey huddled in the corner and them brought Van in back and told him he needs to work it out and fix his mistakes... and returned to a pan full of burning lettuce courtesy of Ariel. He was disgusted and took Chef Scott out of the kitchen in disgust. With them gone, Tenille tried to take charge of the kitchen, and Ariel was incapable of getting it together. Dave hopped in and helped her out. When it was all done, they were left to plate on their own.. Kevin seemed to know what he was doing in the plating, but he had to go do a Table side. Suzanne was left at the pass and refused to plate, because she thought it might be a test, and she thought it was better to do nothing at all than to try and get it wrong. Van plated instead, and it seemed fine.
Van was not doing the best job cooking, though.. Ramsey threw Van, Suzanne, and Ariel out of the kitchen, leaving Dave, Kevin, and Tennille to finish service. Van totally went nuts. The remaining chefs busted it out and did a great job. Ramsey told them that none of them are going home, but they have to nominate two of the booted chefs to put up.
Tennille let Suzanne know that she was pissed that she wouldn't plate. Dave wants to put Ariel up for the lettuce (but admitted that he wants to keep Van with them, because he is easier to beat). In the end, Suzanne and Ariel went up. Tenille let it be known that she thought that Van should be up, too. In the end, Ramsey pulled all three up.
Ariel told Ramsey that she had a bad night, but knows that she can do better. Suzanne thinks her good palate should save her. Van is getting sick and tired of being up on the block, and he lost his cool and yelled at Ramsey, lessening the chances of getting rid of Suzanne, the dead weight. He put Ariel back in line, and Van went home.
Hopefully, Suzanne will be gone next week.
Upon entering the kitchen, Chef Scott is there and Ramsey appears via screen. He's in Whistler, where the winner's restaurant will be. He brought them into the Araxi, which is the restaurant they will be working at. They are being flown 15 local ingredients from the region of Whistler, since that is something the restaurant is known for.
They have to cook 3 entrees using the 15 ingredients, without repeating ingredients more than once. They have about 2 1/2 hours, until Ramsey and two special guests get back from Whistler.
Sabrina is being categorically ignored, as are Suzanne's. Only problem is... everyone on the women's team thought the meat was lamb, except for Sabrina, who spotted it as venison, but she didn't tell them they were wrong because they hadn't been including her. They treated it like lamb, so we'll see how that went for them. (And is Sabrina right?)
Ramsey is back with his guests, Sasha Cohen and Johnny Mosley (Olympians).
The men's first entree is caramelized salmon with pan seared leg of lamb. The women's first entree is grilled salmon, melted leeks and grilled shrimp. The men (and Suzanne) take the votes from the Olympians.
Tenille presented her magnificent "lamb," and Ramsey called her on it. He was astounded to hear that she had no idea what meat she had cooked. She figured it out and Ariel tried to cover her ass and said of course they knew it was venison, and they just mispoke.
Dave presented a rack of venison with a cranberry sauce, and beets I think. It was kind of a bloody looking sauce. Even though they had no idea it was venison, the red team brought home both of those votes.
Sabrina presented lamb with mushroom sauce and jerusalem artichokes. Van had grilled shrimp and braised kale, and ginger sunchoke puree. Sabrina had to tell him what the rest of his dish was because he forgot what kale was. Johnny gave his point to Blue, and Sasha also gave hers to Blue, so the men (and Suzanne) won.
The women have to go to a local farm, milking cows and cleaning the pig pen. They have to wear farmer clothes, straw hat included.
The men (and Suzanne) get to go eat with Mark Peele, and Ramsey picked them up Whistler beanies, picking on Dave and saying he could use a new one. At Mark Peele's restaurant, he showed them how to do something simple excellently, and made them the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever.
The women did not have fun at the farm. Ariel got attacked by a pig at the fair as a child, so she has porcinaphobi. Cleaning out the pens, Tenille was puking all over the place. Pleasant.
The next day, Ramsey ripped up his menu. Each team will create new menus, with 3 appetizers, 3 entrees, and 3 desserts. Each person needs to have an impact on the menu.
A sample of the Blue Team's menu:
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with whipped marscapone, caramelized halibut with fennel and plum salad, seared diver scallops with caviar and lemongrass sauce. Ramsey is impressed.
The Red team has, among other things:
Braised pork ravioli, seared sesame crusted ahi tuna, and blackened halibut with seafood risotto. Sabrina let Ramsey know that she is not excited about Tenille's dishes. Tenille got pissy at her. Ramsey said it isn't the most creative menu, but they could do it well. They didn't take any of Sabrina's ideas.
The diners could pick what menu to order from, and the orders were pouring in for the Blue team. The red finally got an order. They have to coordinate between the kitchens to make sure appetizers go out to the tables at the same times. Tenille had no idea how to cook swiss chard and was having problems. Van put too many scallops up to the pass, and couldn't do simple math. Other problems were to be had on both sides. Pork was practically frozen in places, and ravioli was cold. Van's scallops were badly seared. Ariel sent out three plates of cold ravioli. NOT good. She was blase about it, and Ramsey was not impressed.
Dave, meanwhile, listed a really heavy pan and his hand was shooting pain - said he couldn't move it without pain. NOT good. He decided to muscle through the pain and went back. He amazes me.
Sabrina, meanwhile, brought the kitchen to a standstill while trying to cook meat for the entree. Van spilled some sauce near Ramsey and didn't wipe it down, and then got into a fight with Ramsey. Tenille found time to sweep the floor leisurely during service. Ramsey didn't seem excited about that. Van, meanwhile, sent up raw halibut. Isn't that guy a seafood chef? He sent it up again... and again it was raw... and it squirted in poor Dave's eye. Ramsey said it was about 4 minutes off from being ready, and that's not a minor problem.
Can the women do any better with Halibut? Nope. Sabrina sent up a fish that was raw on one side.
He called up Van and Sabrina and shut down the kitchens. Dreadful.
He told them that no one won. Both teams screwed up. He wants one name from each team for elimination. Kevin and Van want to put Suzanne up on the block. Dave wouldn't go against them. Kevin sees the reason to put Van up, too. On the women's side, Sabrina is gunning for Tenille, and Tenille is gunning for Sabrina.
In the end, it was Sabrina and Van, but Dave let it be known that he thinks that Suzanne is the weakest chef on the team. Ramsey let it be known that he can't work with Van much longer, but Sabrina is gone. I think that was the right decision.
******
It's a double episode because of missing last week!!
After grumping about having been on the chopping block, Van helped open the Final 6 present - black jackets! It's every chef for themselves.
Down in the kitchen, Ramsey was busy cooking. He made a dish for them, a fillet of beef with truffles.
Their challenge (predictably) was to make a dish based on seeing it and tasting it. They were going to be working in pairs. Van was paired with Ariel, Tenille was with Kevin, Suzanne was with Dave. Chef Scott brought out a different dish - comprised of fish, garnish, sauce, and puree.
All three teams picked turbot for the fish, and calimari for the garnish. Ariel and Van chose celery root for the puree, while the other teams chose parsnip (even though Tenille didn't know what it was). The key ingredient in the sauce was trickier. Ariel and Van picked starfruit, Kevin and Tenille picked grapefruit, and Dave and Suzanne picked passionfruit. Everyone got to cooking, and Van dropped his on the floor. He re-fired it and they got it plated - but was it done?
Everyone got turbot right - but the puree was white onion. Oops. Tenille and Kevin forgot to put the garnish on their dish. Oops again. In the end, the fruit for the sauce was passionfruit, and Dave and Suzanne got it right. They get to go to Ramsey's restaurant and Christina (former winner) will cook for them.
The losers will be prepping for Couple's Night at Hell's Kitchen, including doing something special in the dining room with JP, full of roses and champagne.
As Dave and Suzanne went off for their reward, Van made a childish "Dave and Suzanne sitting in a tree" comment. I really am over him.
Tenille whined about doing the punishment. She's got a bad attitude, I swear.
At the reward, Suzanne wouldn't shut up (as usual). When they got back to the kitchen, Dave tried to chip in and help, but no one would offer him anything to do. He took the initiative to find things for himself. Ramsey let them know that they would be serving some food table side - a chopped salad and a porterhouse steak for two.
Time for service!
Immediately, Kevin got to the tableside app, while Suzanne messed up on timing and he had to redo it. They finally got it together. Van was sweating in the food (yuck) and couldn't get the fish up right. Amazingly, Tenille took charge of the kitchen, and produced perfectly cooked lamb.
Then Van, sweat and all, sent up a raw piece of fish. Ramsey huddled in the corner and them brought Van in back and told him he needs to work it out and fix his mistakes... and returned to a pan full of burning lettuce courtesy of Ariel. He was disgusted and took Chef Scott out of the kitchen in disgust. With them gone, Tenille tried to take charge of the kitchen, and Ariel was incapable of getting it together. Dave hopped in and helped her out. When it was all done, they were left to plate on their own.. Kevin seemed to know what he was doing in the plating, but he had to go do a Table side. Suzanne was left at the pass and refused to plate, because she thought it might be a test, and she thought it was better to do nothing at all than to try and get it wrong. Van plated instead, and it seemed fine.
Van was not doing the best job cooking, though.. Ramsey threw Van, Suzanne, and Ariel out of the kitchen, leaving Dave, Kevin, and Tennille to finish service. Van totally went nuts. The remaining chefs busted it out and did a great job. Ramsey told them that none of them are going home, but they have to nominate two of the booted chefs to put up.
Tennille let Suzanne know that she was pissed that she wouldn't plate. Dave wants to put Ariel up for the lettuce (but admitted that he wants to keep Van with them, because he is easier to beat). In the end, Suzanne and Ariel went up. Tenille let it be known that she thought that Van should be up, too. In the end, Ramsey pulled all three up.
Ariel told Ramsey that she had a bad night, but knows that she can do better. Suzanne thinks her good palate should save her. Van is getting sick and tired of being up on the block, and he lost his cool and yelled at Ramsey, lessening the chances of getting rid of Suzanne, the dead weight. He put Ariel back in line, and Van went home.
Hopefully, Suzanne will be gone next week.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 9.8.09
Everyone wishes Suzanne had gone home, and the other girls talk to her about her team work (or lack thereof). She vows to change. We'll see.
Ramsey introduces the cheftestants to their challenge - Crepes. Each team will produce four crepes. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. They have an array of ingredients and 20 minutes.
Suzanne set busily about kissing everyone's ass. She was trying to be a team player, but just looked like a suck-up. The men, on the other hand, were having serious difficulties with the actual making of crepes. The women weren't doing much better. Sabrina said that there was no "walla" for her. I do so hate when people say "walla" instead of "voila."
JP will be helping Ramsey judge.
Breakfast:
The men did a bacon and egg in a crepe. It sounded good, but the crepe was not good. It was Van's.
The women did a salmon with some herbs and honey and did much better on the crepe. Ariel brought one point for the women.
Lunch:
The women did pepperjack, bacon, and shrimp with black bean salsa. It was too spicy for them, and Tenille was disappointed.
The men did a ham and cheese with avocado. That sounds wonderful. Andy brought that point for the men.
Dinner:
The men made scallops, crab, and goat cheese ... yum. Good job, Kevin.
The women made fillet, onions, and some quail eggs. Suzanne couldn't stop talking about how much she loves crepes. Blah blah blah blah blah. Got good points, though. Dinner is a tie.
Dessert:
Dave's crepe looked like poo on the plate. It is a cream cheese and mixed berry crepe. Ramsey even said it looked like crap, literally.
Sabrina made poached pears and chocolate ganache with grand marnier, and it was delicious. That's a win for the women.
They are adding escargot, frog legs, and crepes to the menu for service. The men have to prep both kitchens. The women are going to one of LA's best French restaurants for lunch, with a surprise in store.
What's their surprise? They get to learn how to mime, make-up and costumes included. Their meal looked so good. Suzanne, of course, was wearing a beret. Because she's pretentious like that. The men got boiled cow tongue, bagette, and head cheese. Dave did not want to eat it. Andy gobbled down the head cheese.
In final prep, Andy managed to slice his fingers on the mandolin. Not good. He is off to get stitches on three fingers. Ouch. (I had a knife accident last spring, with 6 stitches in one finger, and that was horrible... Poor Andy). He managed to make it back in time for dinner service, but he had no idea how to make the new items. Dave stepped in and helped with the risotto, which Ramsey declared to be delicious. Sabrina didn't do as well for the women. Her risotto was unseasoned. He actually brought the men's over to show her how it should be done. Her next try was much better, and Ramsey worried about her reliability.
Andy is slow and incapable of making crepes. Kevin took over and made better crepes. I worry that Ramsey doesn't know how much help Andy is getting.
The women seem to be communicating much better, until everyone was ready to do 1 minute... except Suzanne, who wanted 6 minutes, then 8 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 6 minutes. She blamed the oven.
Andy was relying on Dave more on the risotto, when he needed to be doing the meat. Amazingly, he managed to do both... Ramsey told him he's a 10,000 times better cook with one hand.
Suzanne continued to screw the women over. She was slicing lamb before it was ready to go out and letting all the goodness seep out of it. So not ok. That's basic.
And Andy? He's making salad. And tossing it on the ground for fun. He was drowning it in dressing, too. Gah. He blamed his dexterity, but Ramsey brought up Dave as the example of someone who can cook with one hand.
Suzanne was finally ready with the lamb, but it wasn't cooked right. Sabrina again wasn't seasoning things enough for Ramsey's taste.
The men would probably have been better off if Andy wasn't even there. Ramsey agreed with me, and kicked him out of the kitchen. Andy thinks that Ramsey yells just to yell, and I kid you not, he said that no one needs to be a, and I quote, a "douche-nozzle" to get things done. I think Andy just has no clue how to cook. Ramsey continued his run and kicked Suzanne and Sabrina out, as well.
He put Ariel and Tenille on new stations, and off they went. They had help from Sous Chef (and former winner) Heather. The men picked it up with Van, Kevin, and Dave and everyone finished service.
Suzanne and Andy were put up for elimination (deservedly). Andy was going home, and Ramsey told him he has a big heart and needs to stop panicking. Then he pulled Sabrina forward, and told her and Suzanne that they needed to pick it up. He told Suzanne to take her jacket off and... go to the blue team. That's a whole bunch of pissed men, now. Tenille did a happy dance. No dance was seen from the men.
Ramsey introduces the cheftestants to their challenge - Crepes. Each team will produce four crepes. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. They have an array of ingredients and 20 minutes.
Suzanne set busily about kissing everyone's ass. She was trying to be a team player, but just looked like a suck-up. The men, on the other hand, were having serious difficulties with the actual making of crepes. The women weren't doing much better. Sabrina said that there was no "walla" for her. I do so hate when people say "walla" instead of "voila."
JP will be helping Ramsey judge.
Breakfast:
The men did a bacon and egg in a crepe. It sounded good, but the crepe was not good. It was Van's.
The women did a salmon with some herbs and honey and did much better on the crepe. Ariel brought one point for the women.
Lunch:
The women did pepperjack, bacon, and shrimp with black bean salsa. It was too spicy for them, and Tenille was disappointed.
The men did a ham and cheese with avocado. That sounds wonderful. Andy brought that point for the men.
Dinner:
The men made scallops, crab, and goat cheese ... yum. Good job, Kevin.
The women made fillet, onions, and some quail eggs. Suzanne couldn't stop talking about how much she loves crepes. Blah blah blah blah blah. Got good points, though. Dinner is a tie.
Dessert:
Dave's crepe looked like poo on the plate. It is a cream cheese and mixed berry crepe. Ramsey even said it looked like crap, literally.
Sabrina made poached pears and chocolate ganache with grand marnier, and it was delicious. That's a win for the women.
They are adding escargot, frog legs, and crepes to the menu for service. The men have to prep both kitchens. The women are going to one of LA's best French restaurants for lunch, with a surprise in store.
What's their surprise? They get to learn how to mime, make-up and costumes included. Their meal looked so good. Suzanne, of course, was wearing a beret. Because she's pretentious like that. The men got boiled cow tongue, bagette, and head cheese. Dave did not want to eat it. Andy gobbled down the head cheese.
In final prep, Andy managed to slice his fingers on the mandolin. Not good. He is off to get stitches on three fingers. Ouch. (I had a knife accident last spring, with 6 stitches in one finger, and that was horrible... Poor Andy). He managed to make it back in time for dinner service, but he had no idea how to make the new items. Dave stepped in and helped with the risotto, which Ramsey declared to be delicious. Sabrina didn't do as well for the women. Her risotto was unseasoned. He actually brought the men's over to show her how it should be done. Her next try was much better, and Ramsey worried about her reliability.
Andy is slow and incapable of making crepes. Kevin took over and made better crepes. I worry that Ramsey doesn't know how much help Andy is getting.
The women seem to be communicating much better, until everyone was ready to do 1 minute... except Suzanne, who wanted 6 minutes, then 8 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 6 minutes. She blamed the oven.
Andy was relying on Dave more on the risotto, when he needed to be doing the meat. Amazingly, he managed to do both... Ramsey told him he's a 10,000 times better cook with one hand.
Suzanne continued to screw the women over. She was slicing lamb before it was ready to go out and letting all the goodness seep out of it. So not ok. That's basic.
And Andy? He's making salad. And tossing it on the ground for fun. He was drowning it in dressing, too. Gah. He blamed his dexterity, but Ramsey brought up Dave as the example of someone who can cook with one hand.
Suzanne was finally ready with the lamb, but it wasn't cooked right. Sabrina again wasn't seasoning things enough for Ramsey's taste.
The men would probably have been better off if Andy wasn't even there. Ramsey agreed with me, and kicked him out of the kitchen. Andy thinks that Ramsey yells just to yell, and I kid you not, he said that no one needs to be a, and I quote, a "douche-nozzle" to get things done. I think Andy just has no clue how to cook. Ramsey continued his run and kicked Suzanne and Sabrina out, as well.
He put Ariel and Tenille on new stations, and off they went. They had help from Sous Chef (and former winner) Heather. The men picked it up with Van, Kevin, and Dave and everyone finished service.
Suzanne and Andy were put up for elimination (deservedly). Andy was going home, and Ramsey told him he has a big heart and needs to stop panicking. Then he pulled Sabrina forward, and told her and Suzanne that they needed to pick it up. He told Suzanne to take her jacket off and... go to the blue team. That's a whole bunch of pissed men, now. Tenille did a happy dance. No dance was seen from the men.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 9.1.09
Andy vows to stay off the chopping block. The women, though they won last time, are completely fed up with Suzanne.
The challenge the morning after elimination is the Blind Taste Test. I love this one. Tenille sits out. Suzanne is sure she'll rock it, as is Andy.
Ariel and Van are up first. Ariel got whipped cream cheese, but missed venison, but her guess of roast beef was much better than Van's tuna guess. They both thought that pecans were walnuts. Both of them got leeks.
Dave and Suzanne both get turkey, but both miss zucchini, and both miss quince (which is used in Hell's kitchen). Dave thought that egg yolk was squash, but Suzanne got it.
Kevin and Sabrina are up next. They both go fancier on lettuce than iceberg, and get it wrong, but they both get grapefruit. Both of them miss oregano. Kevin (a seafood guy) thought that clams were spinach, and Sabrina thought it was ahi tuna. Wrong, and wrong.
Andy and Amanda are last. First up is lychee. Andy got it right, saying it had a Gerwertrameiner note. Wow. Amanda thought it was pineapple. He thought that avocado was boiled coconut, oddly enough. Amanda got that one right. Ahi tuna was up next, and Andy guessed salmon. That clinched it for the women, and their was much rejoicing on the red side of the kitchen.
The women get to go to a "seriously amazing culinary experience," by limo. The men will be preparing the palate cleansing sorbet for the next service by hand, polishing glassware, and unloading. They are making blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry sorbet, and the berries came mixed, so they had to separate them all. Van was getting seeds out of pomagranites and looks like he was covered in blood.
The women are dining at Opaque, a restaurant where they dine in the dark. Amanda groped Ramsey by "mistake". The men are dining on lovely looking meals, which Chef Scott threw in a blender first. Duck Confit smoothie? No thank you. Suzanne asked some culinary questions of Ramsey and pissed everyone off.
Prepping for service, the women were getting all catty about Suzanne, and they thought she didn't know, but it was kind of blatant. I feel badly for her.
Ariel will be doing sorbet service for the women. The men are down a person so they have to juggle.
Tenille's on appetizers for the women, and Andy is on for garnish the men and feeling the pressure. Tenille thought that Suzanne's first batch of scallops were too dark, and told her to refire. Suzanne refused, and ended up getting good marks from Ramsey for color on the scallops. Over for the men, the risotto was going out well.
Ariel and Kevin serve the first batches of sorbet. Van took over for Kevin on appetizers and messed up the risotto. His second batch was sent, but was not enjoyed by diners, and Kevin heard about it.
Amanda was floundering on garnish for the women, but ended up getting it out. Andy on garnish in the men's kitchen was lost and not calling tickets like he needed to. Ramsey gave them a talking to, and they managed to pull it together a little. Suzanne and Sabrina were on fish and meat and weren't playing nice together to get things out on time. Suzanne rushed Sabrina's meat and it was sent back to the kitchen because the lamb was raw. I give that fault to Suzanne, but Ramsey kicked Sabrina out of the kitchen for it. She has to eat the undercooked lamb before she can get back. Ramsey put Tenille on the meat section, and she was more firm with Suzanne, who tried to rush the meat out again. Sabrina finished her undercooked meal and went back to the kitchen.
For the men? Andy is short on mashed potatoes. He had barely enough for the orders up. Suzanne again had timing issues in the women's kitchen. Everyone agreed on 1 minute, her included, and everyone brought their food up, except for her, who then said she needed another minute, and ended up needing more than that, and killed the table. They all had to start the table over. She then blamed her station being a mess. Over for the men, Andy ran out of potatoes. Dave tried to save the day by making some more mashed potatoes, and Ramsey sent Andy out to explain to the table.
Suzanne asked Amanda to help her with the fish, and then it wasn't good, and Suzanne was the first to throw blame around. Ramsey told her that she is still responsible for checking the fish. And the mashed potatoes? One-handed Dave made them beautifully, and Andy felt persecuted. The women finally finished up their service, too.
Ramsey told the teams that they are equally weak, but chose the men as the winner, and chose Dave as the strongest one. He chose Tenille as best of the worst, and called it her best service by a mile. She was responsible for the choice of who to put up for elimination. I know at least one person (Suzanne) who will be there. She had the decency to tell Suzanne that she is going up, and they had a discussion about how bad she is at working as a team. It's all about her, and everyone else be damned.
When it came down to it, Suzanne did go up, along with Sabrina, because she hasn't stepped it up. Ramsey called Amanda down, too. I wonder if the producers told him to keep Suzanne for drama reasons, but in the end, it was Amanda gone. I didn't think she was going to win, so I won't miss her, but Suzanne really made me angry tonight. I do think that the others are kind of unkind to her. but she was really not working as a team player, and that's a skill you need in the kitchen.
Do you think the right person was sent packing?
The challenge the morning after elimination is the Blind Taste Test. I love this one. Tenille sits out. Suzanne is sure she'll rock it, as is Andy.
Ariel and Van are up first. Ariel got whipped cream cheese, but missed venison, but her guess of roast beef was much better than Van's tuna guess. They both thought that pecans were walnuts. Both of them got leeks.
Dave and Suzanne both get turkey, but both miss zucchini, and both miss quince (which is used in Hell's kitchen). Dave thought that egg yolk was squash, but Suzanne got it.
Kevin and Sabrina are up next. They both go fancier on lettuce than iceberg, and get it wrong, but they both get grapefruit. Both of them miss oregano. Kevin (a seafood guy) thought that clams were spinach, and Sabrina thought it was ahi tuna. Wrong, and wrong.
Andy and Amanda are last. First up is lychee. Andy got it right, saying it had a Gerwertrameiner note. Wow. Amanda thought it was pineapple. He thought that avocado was boiled coconut, oddly enough. Amanda got that one right. Ahi tuna was up next, and Andy guessed salmon. That clinched it for the women, and their was much rejoicing on the red side of the kitchen.
The women get to go to a "seriously amazing culinary experience," by limo. The men will be preparing the palate cleansing sorbet for the next service by hand, polishing glassware, and unloading. They are making blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry sorbet, and the berries came mixed, so they had to separate them all. Van was getting seeds out of pomagranites and looks like he was covered in blood.
The women are dining at Opaque, a restaurant where they dine in the dark. Amanda groped Ramsey by "mistake". The men are dining on lovely looking meals, which Chef Scott threw in a blender first. Duck Confit smoothie? No thank you. Suzanne asked some culinary questions of Ramsey and pissed everyone off.
Prepping for service, the women were getting all catty about Suzanne, and they thought she didn't know, but it was kind of blatant. I feel badly for her.
Ariel will be doing sorbet service for the women. The men are down a person so they have to juggle.
Tenille's on appetizers for the women, and Andy is on for garnish the men and feeling the pressure. Tenille thought that Suzanne's first batch of scallops were too dark, and told her to refire. Suzanne refused, and ended up getting good marks from Ramsey for color on the scallops. Over for the men, the risotto was going out well.
Ariel and Kevin serve the first batches of sorbet. Van took over for Kevin on appetizers and messed up the risotto. His second batch was sent, but was not enjoyed by diners, and Kevin heard about it.
Amanda was floundering on garnish for the women, but ended up getting it out. Andy on garnish in the men's kitchen was lost and not calling tickets like he needed to. Ramsey gave them a talking to, and they managed to pull it together a little. Suzanne and Sabrina were on fish and meat and weren't playing nice together to get things out on time. Suzanne rushed Sabrina's meat and it was sent back to the kitchen because the lamb was raw. I give that fault to Suzanne, but Ramsey kicked Sabrina out of the kitchen for it. She has to eat the undercooked lamb before she can get back. Ramsey put Tenille on the meat section, and she was more firm with Suzanne, who tried to rush the meat out again. Sabrina finished her undercooked meal and went back to the kitchen.
For the men? Andy is short on mashed potatoes. He had barely enough for the orders up. Suzanne again had timing issues in the women's kitchen. Everyone agreed on 1 minute, her included, and everyone brought their food up, except for her, who then said she needed another minute, and ended up needing more than that, and killed the table. They all had to start the table over. She then blamed her station being a mess. Over for the men, Andy ran out of potatoes. Dave tried to save the day by making some more mashed potatoes, and Ramsey sent Andy out to explain to the table.
Suzanne asked Amanda to help her with the fish, and then it wasn't good, and Suzanne was the first to throw blame around. Ramsey told her that she is still responsible for checking the fish. And the mashed potatoes? One-handed Dave made them beautifully, and Andy felt persecuted. The women finally finished up their service, too.
Ramsey told the teams that they are equally weak, but chose the men as the winner, and chose Dave as the strongest one. He chose Tenille as best of the worst, and called it her best service by a mile. She was responsible for the choice of who to put up for elimination. I know at least one person (Suzanne) who will be there. She had the decency to tell Suzanne that she is going up, and they had a discussion about how bad she is at working as a team. It's all about her, and everyone else be damned.
When it came down to it, Suzanne did go up, along with Sabrina, because she hasn't stepped it up. Ramsey called Amanda down, too. I wonder if the producers told him to keep Suzanne for drama reasons, but in the end, it was Amanda gone. I didn't think she was going to win, so I won't miss her, but Suzanne really made me angry tonight. I do think that the others are kind of unkind to her. but she was really not working as a team player, and that's a skill you need in the kitchen.
Do you think the right person was sent packing?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 8.25.09
After last week's debacle and surprise elimination of Jim, will things get better?
Sabrina's feeling really lucky and apologetic. She vows not to undercook anything again. The men are plotting to get rid of Robert, even if he can return.
Challenge time, and they are presented with a ginormous craps table, with 12 letters on each of two dice (one for each team). Each will roll once and choose ingredients beginning with their letter. He warned them to choose ingredients that go together. They will have 30 minutes to cook their entree.
The women start with R and Suzanne chose Rabbit. Sabrina got the quote of the evening with "They're so cute and cuddly, they've gotta be good to eat." I like her a little better now. Hope she doesn't undercook Bugs. That could be the end of her. Amanda rolled an H and chose Haricot Verts. Good job - green beans. Yummy. Tenille rolled a P and chose Potatoes. Sabrina got a G and picked Garlic. The last roll was H, for Ham Hock. Very good ingredients.
The men are up. Andy got H and could only think of Henrietta, and Hippo, but finally went with Haddock. Dave rolled an F and chose Figs, ignoring Kevin's silent pleas for Fennel. Van rolled A and picked Angelhair Pasta. Kevin got another A and picked apples. The last roll is a T and Tomatoes are picked. Their ingredient list is kind of a mess. It sounds like a basket from Chopped. (If you don't watch that, you should. It's on The Food Network) It'll take a lot more effort to fix that into a good dish.
Cooking time! The men are stymied. The women have their plan and get going, though Suzanne can't stop herself from sticking her fingers in everyone's pies. There was some question about a garlic puree that was used (Tenille thought it should be evened out a bit with something else), but both teams got something cooked in the time allotted.
The Women served up a pan roasted tenderloin and leg of garlic with a roasted garlic and rosemary puree with hamhock stock and haricot verts. The rabbit got good marks, but the garlic puree was called "very strong."
The Men have a braised haddock with a tomato and fig sauce over angelhair pasta. Where are the apples? Anyhow, Ramsey really liked the dish and the men won it, because of the overpowering garlic puree. Tenille put on her best "I told her so," in interview.
The men are off to Vegas. The women are unpacking deliveries and cleaning and prepping kitchens. Miserable.
It would have been less miserable if Tenille hadn't dropped the first box, full of lemons. That does not bode well. As the men partied it up in Vegas, the women worked a neverending day of torturous punishment, including a late night delivery of wine that they had to bring in.
And the men? VIPs in Vegas with a pool table and jacuzzi in their room.
Those poor women got woken at 1:15 AM by more deliveries. Tenille was the grumpiest of the bunch. The next morning, the women were not happy, and then the men rolled in, and Robert was still missing.
Suzanne was still getting on everyone's nerves during prep time. The men were feeling like a complete team without Robert. Then, righ before service, in walked Robert. No one was really excited to see him. Apparently, the docs told him he has a small heart for his body. Maybe that's because his body is grossly oversized. Seriously, I worry for him. Robert blathered on about being a coyote on his own and not caring if he was liked. He then was filmed chowing down on a hamburger. Good choice, Robert.
For the first time in Hell's Kitchen, they are having Chef's Tables in the kitchens. One table for each kitchen, with VIP guests from some of Ramsey's restaurants.
The Men (Dave) start out rough by not giving the chefs any choice of menu, but just announcing that they are getting rissoto. And Ariel? She was completely ignoring the VIPs until Ramsey gave her a verbal smackdown. She was friendly with them once she remembered she was there. The chefs eating in the Men's kitchen appreciated Dave's gumption for cooking with his injured arm, and he produced very good risotto. Ariel's appetizers were not as good. They wanted more salt. Eh.
The main dining room was getting served seemingly well. Van was up for cooking seafood, and bragged that he does fish in his restaurant all the time. He sent them out, but ending up getting one plate with wax paper or freezer paper or plastic or something sent back. Not good. And then it happened again. Ramsey gave them a good yelling at. Suzanne was what Sabrina called "fake busy," basically bossing everyone around and making people call back orders again and again... Sabrina then got slapped for putting new garnish in a dirty pan. That's not nearly as bad as the Men's team forgetting about their Chef's table. Van was sent to chat with them, and did a bad job explaining what everything was. I mean, a disasterous job explaining.
The women were pushing dishes out, but Robert was having terrible trouble with his station. He was putting out awfully butchered meat and got a spanking. The Chef's table in the Women's kitchen was happy, but Ariel was having a terrible time getting pasta out for the final two tables. Kevin didn't listen when Ramsey told him to stop and listen, and that didn't go over well. Ramsey shut down their kitchen, as the women finished their service.
Comment cards were read from the Chef's table. Unsurprisingly, the women's chef's table diners would be happy to return, whereas the men's chef's table diners said "Thanks, but no thanks." Dave's one-armed appetizers got him the dubious title of best of the worst, and it's his job to decide who is going up for elimination. Robert did a lot of cursing at others, and Dave was in a quandry. In the end, he put Robert and Van up for elimination. I think those are wise choices. Ramsey also pulled Andy up. Yeah, that's about right. Ramsey scolded Van for the plastic in the fish, but put him back in line. Robert did a lot of yelling and defending of himself and downing Andy. Andy accused Robert of saving all his energy for service. There was more cursing from Robert, but in the end, he was gone. Ramsey told him he was gone because he has more services in Hell's Kitchen than anyone else on his team, and his last dish was sent up raw, and that's just not acceptable. Ramsey seems to genuinely like Robert, and seemed sad to give him the heave ho, but in the end, it was the right decision. Now, I hope he can get himself healthy.
Do you think the right person went home?
Sabrina's feeling really lucky and apologetic. She vows not to undercook anything again. The men are plotting to get rid of Robert, even if he can return.
Challenge time, and they are presented with a ginormous craps table, with 12 letters on each of two dice (one for each team). Each will roll once and choose ingredients beginning with their letter. He warned them to choose ingredients that go together. They will have 30 minutes to cook their entree.
The women start with R and Suzanne chose Rabbit. Sabrina got the quote of the evening with "They're so cute and cuddly, they've gotta be good to eat." I like her a little better now. Hope she doesn't undercook Bugs. That could be the end of her. Amanda rolled an H and chose Haricot Verts. Good job - green beans. Yummy. Tenille rolled a P and chose Potatoes. Sabrina got a G and picked Garlic. The last roll was H, for Ham Hock. Very good ingredients.
The men are up. Andy got H and could only think of Henrietta, and Hippo, but finally went with Haddock. Dave rolled an F and chose Figs, ignoring Kevin's silent pleas for Fennel. Van rolled A and picked Angelhair Pasta. Kevin got another A and picked apples. The last roll is a T and Tomatoes are picked. Their ingredient list is kind of a mess. It sounds like a basket from Chopped. (If you don't watch that, you should. It's on The Food Network) It'll take a lot more effort to fix that into a good dish.
Cooking time! The men are stymied. The women have their plan and get going, though Suzanne can't stop herself from sticking her fingers in everyone's pies. There was some question about a garlic puree that was used (Tenille thought it should be evened out a bit with something else), but both teams got something cooked in the time allotted.
The Women served up a pan roasted tenderloin and leg of garlic with a roasted garlic and rosemary puree with hamhock stock and haricot verts. The rabbit got good marks, but the garlic puree was called "very strong."
The Men have a braised haddock with a tomato and fig sauce over angelhair pasta. Where are the apples? Anyhow, Ramsey really liked the dish and the men won it, because of the overpowering garlic puree. Tenille put on her best "I told her so," in interview.
The men are off to Vegas. The women are unpacking deliveries and cleaning and prepping kitchens. Miserable.
It would have been less miserable if Tenille hadn't dropped the first box, full of lemons. That does not bode well. As the men partied it up in Vegas, the women worked a neverending day of torturous punishment, including a late night delivery of wine that they had to bring in.
And the men? VIPs in Vegas with a pool table and jacuzzi in their room.
Those poor women got woken at 1:15 AM by more deliveries. Tenille was the grumpiest of the bunch. The next morning, the women were not happy, and then the men rolled in, and Robert was still missing.
Suzanne was still getting on everyone's nerves during prep time. The men were feeling like a complete team without Robert. Then, righ before service, in walked Robert. No one was really excited to see him. Apparently, the docs told him he has a small heart for his body. Maybe that's because his body is grossly oversized. Seriously, I worry for him. Robert blathered on about being a coyote on his own and not caring if he was liked. He then was filmed chowing down on a hamburger. Good choice, Robert.
For the first time in Hell's Kitchen, they are having Chef's Tables in the kitchens. One table for each kitchen, with VIP guests from some of Ramsey's restaurants.
The Men (Dave) start out rough by not giving the chefs any choice of menu, but just announcing that they are getting rissoto. And Ariel? She was completely ignoring the VIPs until Ramsey gave her a verbal smackdown. She was friendly with them once she remembered she was there. The chefs eating in the Men's kitchen appreciated Dave's gumption for cooking with his injured arm, and he produced very good risotto. Ariel's appetizers were not as good. They wanted more salt. Eh.
The main dining room was getting served seemingly well. Van was up for cooking seafood, and bragged that he does fish in his restaurant all the time. He sent them out, but ending up getting one plate with wax paper or freezer paper or plastic or something sent back. Not good. And then it happened again. Ramsey gave them a good yelling at. Suzanne was what Sabrina called "fake busy," basically bossing everyone around and making people call back orders again and again... Sabrina then got slapped for putting new garnish in a dirty pan. That's not nearly as bad as the Men's team forgetting about their Chef's table. Van was sent to chat with them, and did a bad job explaining what everything was. I mean, a disasterous job explaining.
The women were pushing dishes out, but Robert was having terrible trouble with his station. He was putting out awfully butchered meat and got a spanking. The Chef's table in the Women's kitchen was happy, but Ariel was having a terrible time getting pasta out for the final two tables. Kevin didn't listen when Ramsey told him to stop and listen, and that didn't go over well. Ramsey shut down their kitchen, as the women finished their service.
Comment cards were read from the Chef's table. Unsurprisingly, the women's chef's table diners would be happy to return, whereas the men's chef's table diners said "Thanks, but no thanks." Dave's one-armed appetizers got him the dubious title of best of the worst, and it's his job to decide who is going up for elimination. Robert did a lot of cursing at others, and Dave was in a quandry. In the end, he put Robert and Van up for elimination. I think those are wise choices. Ramsey also pulled Andy up. Yeah, that's about right. Ramsey scolded Van for the plastic in the fish, but put him back in line. Robert did a lot of yelling and defending of himself and downing Andy. Andy accused Robert of saving all his energy for service. There was more cursing from Robert, but in the end, he was gone. Ramsey told him he was gone because he has more services in Hell's Kitchen than anyone else on his team, and his last dish was sent up raw, and that's just not acceptable. Ramsey seems to genuinely like Robert, and seemed sad to give him the heave ho, but in the end, it was the right decision. Now, I hope he can get himself healthy.
Do you think the right person went home?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 8.18.09
Ramsey started out with a pep talk to Amanda, who he is concerned about. The guys (led by Robert) were full of cockiness. Tenille is pissy about being up for elimination.
The challenge is about a low calorie option - each team needs to make three dishes (one appetizer, one entree, one dessert) and the total calorie count for the whole menu needs to be under 700 calories. Awesome. Everything is weighed and calculated by nutritionists.
The men work in team - Kevin & Robert have appetizers, Van & Jim on entree, and Dave & Andy are on dessert.
Sabrina is excited because she works at a health club and spa and knows about calorie counts and the like. She helps with menu planning.
Van wants to do a pork chop with soba noodles and it's way too many calories. They trimmed... and the women got to cooking. Sabrina ended up helping Amanda a lot on dessert. The women seemed to be doing a beautiful job.
The men ended up at 597 calories. The women came up to 694 calories.
Tenille brought forth the women's appetizer. It was a beautiful looking seared scallop with a mango chutney. I want some. It got great reviews from Ramsey. The men have a Grilled Key West Seafood Salad. It was also called nice. Ramsey called it a tie.
The women's entree was cottage cheese and mushroom stuffed pork chop. Ramsey liked the portion size and loved the taste. The men brought up pork cutlet with soba noodles and brocollini. It was a tiny portion. Ramsey called it boring in terms of moisture. The women won the entree round by a wide margin.
Desserts are up. The women brought up a watermelon fruit bowl with lemon ricotta cream and coconut milk. Ramsey liked it a lot. The men produced an eggwhite crepe with berry compote and a cream on top. Ramsey likened it to bad hospital food, and the women won this challenge hands down. All three of the women's dishes are going on the menu. The men have to shop for ingredients and prep both kitchens. The women get to go to Venice Beach with a volleyball lesson from a famous volleyball player. They got rides to the beach in convertables. Jean-Phillipe met them at the beach, and their volleyball teacher is an Olympian. coool!
And the men going grocery shopping? They have to go on a weird 6 person bicycle. I think I've seen the like on The Biggest Loser before. They men looked miserable going up the hill.
The women bonded at the beach and enjoyed cocktails. Back at the dorm, they got Vitamix Blenders and cookbooks from Ramsey. Nice.
Men returned from grocery shopping to prep and Robert looked like he was about to die. He went to see a medic. Back to the hospital he went. I don't know who's bright idea it was to put the guy who was medically evacuated last year on a strenuous bike ride, but I don't think it was the best idea ever. He is in the ER and is missing the service that night at least. It's even teams for service.
Andy had problems right off the bat with Ramsey's accent. Ariel, meanwhile, was failing at scallops. They were inedible and she had to start over. Jim's appetizer in the men's kitchen was awful peppery risotto. Ariel's second scallop attempt was good. Tenille had way too much spinach and wasn't cooking to order, and then took offense when Ramsey was mouthing off at her. That's what he does and she needs to get over it. Jim's next rissoto was also awful. Kevin called it foul. It was bland, and Ramsey called it an insult to the grain of rice, and akin to babyfood. Not good. Tenille's portion sizes continued to be a problem. She didn't have enough mashed potatoes and got yelled at again. And ... Oh. No. She called Ramsey crap when he called her crap and he booted her out of the kitchen, much to the other women's consternation. Ramsey continued to yell at Tenille, who was totally pissed off. He let her get back into the kitchen and she returned pissed off and hopefully motivated to do better.
Jim meanwhile was still zombie-like on rissoto. Chef Scott ended up taking over. The men finally got some apps out. The women moved onto entrees, but Sabrina ended up with missing chicken. Not good. And Dave? He cooked the wrong garnish. Oh, not good.
Sabrina found some chicken but couldn't carve it properly. And Andy still couldn't count. He also couldn't cook fish. The women also sent out some raw pork. That is not good at all. That was Sabrina's fault. She said "Oopsie Doopsie" in interview. That's one way to put it. Or trichanosis. That's another.
Andy went to the other extreme and severely overcooked some halibut on his next try. Sabrina had more trouble with lamb temperature and was arguing that the customer was wrong about her meat temp. He shut down the kitchens. Both teams are deemed losers. One person from each team will be nominated for elimination.
The men consider putting Robert up for elimination because he missed the service. That's a cop out. The women put Sabrina up for elimination. The men put Robert up. Or, as Van said "I'm trying to figure out where Robert's at." Ramsey told them that they need to choose someone who was there. If Robert is not back by the next service, he's out. The men then put Andy up.
Sabrina said that she is a team player, and said that she doesn't quit. Andy "owned the piece of crap" he did tonight, and admitted that he has troubles with Ramsey's system and Ramsey makes him nervous.
Ramsey vetoed both of the nominations and evicted Jim, saying he can teach someone how to cook, but he can't give them heart. Best quote in a long time - "You're not the Tin Man, and I'm not the *bleeping* Wizard of Oz."
Next week - will Robert be able to return? Am I the only one who wishes he would get himself on The Biggest Loser or something similar before he dies?
The challenge is about a low calorie option - each team needs to make three dishes (one appetizer, one entree, one dessert) and the total calorie count for the whole menu needs to be under 700 calories. Awesome. Everything is weighed and calculated by nutritionists.
The men work in team - Kevin & Robert have appetizers, Van & Jim on entree, and Dave & Andy are on dessert.
Sabrina is excited because she works at a health club and spa and knows about calorie counts and the like. She helps with menu planning.
Van wants to do a pork chop with soba noodles and it's way too many calories. They trimmed... and the women got to cooking. Sabrina ended up helping Amanda a lot on dessert. The women seemed to be doing a beautiful job.
The men ended up at 597 calories. The women came up to 694 calories.
Tenille brought forth the women's appetizer. It was a beautiful looking seared scallop with a mango chutney. I want some. It got great reviews from Ramsey. The men have a Grilled Key West Seafood Salad. It was also called nice. Ramsey called it a tie.
The women's entree was cottage cheese and mushroom stuffed pork chop. Ramsey liked the portion size and loved the taste. The men brought up pork cutlet with soba noodles and brocollini. It was a tiny portion. Ramsey called it boring in terms of moisture. The women won the entree round by a wide margin.
Desserts are up. The women brought up a watermelon fruit bowl with lemon ricotta cream and coconut milk. Ramsey liked it a lot. The men produced an eggwhite crepe with berry compote and a cream on top. Ramsey likened it to bad hospital food, and the women won this challenge hands down. All three of the women's dishes are going on the menu. The men have to shop for ingredients and prep both kitchens. The women get to go to Venice Beach with a volleyball lesson from a famous volleyball player. They got rides to the beach in convertables. Jean-Phillipe met them at the beach, and their volleyball teacher is an Olympian. coool!
And the men going grocery shopping? They have to go on a weird 6 person bicycle. I think I've seen the like on The Biggest Loser before. They men looked miserable going up the hill.
The women bonded at the beach and enjoyed cocktails. Back at the dorm, they got Vitamix Blenders and cookbooks from Ramsey. Nice.
Men returned from grocery shopping to prep and Robert looked like he was about to die. He went to see a medic. Back to the hospital he went. I don't know who's bright idea it was to put the guy who was medically evacuated last year on a strenuous bike ride, but I don't think it was the best idea ever. He is in the ER and is missing the service that night at least. It's even teams for service.
Andy had problems right off the bat with Ramsey's accent. Ariel, meanwhile, was failing at scallops. They were inedible and she had to start over. Jim's appetizer in the men's kitchen was awful peppery risotto. Ariel's second scallop attempt was good. Tenille had way too much spinach and wasn't cooking to order, and then took offense when Ramsey was mouthing off at her. That's what he does and she needs to get over it. Jim's next rissoto was also awful. Kevin called it foul. It was bland, and Ramsey called it an insult to the grain of rice, and akin to babyfood. Not good. Tenille's portion sizes continued to be a problem. She didn't have enough mashed potatoes and got yelled at again. And ... Oh. No. She called Ramsey crap when he called her crap and he booted her out of the kitchen, much to the other women's consternation. Ramsey continued to yell at Tenille, who was totally pissed off. He let her get back into the kitchen and she returned pissed off and hopefully motivated to do better.
Jim meanwhile was still zombie-like on rissoto. Chef Scott ended up taking over. The men finally got some apps out. The women moved onto entrees, but Sabrina ended up with missing chicken. Not good. And Dave? He cooked the wrong garnish. Oh, not good.
Sabrina found some chicken but couldn't carve it properly. And Andy still couldn't count. He also couldn't cook fish. The women also sent out some raw pork. That is not good at all. That was Sabrina's fault. She said "Oopsie Doopsie" in interview. That's one way to put it. Or trichanosis. That's another.
Andy went to the other extreme and severely overcooked some halibut on his next try. Sabrina had more trouble with lamb temperature and was arguing that the customer was wrong about her meat temp. He shut down the kitchens. Both teams are deemed losers. One person from each team will be nominated for elimination.
The men consider putting Robert up for elimination because he missed the service. That's a cop out. The women put Sabrina up for elimination. The men put Robert up. Or, as Van said "I'm trying to figure out where Robert's at." Ramsey told them that they need to choose someone who was there. If Robert is not back by the next service, he's out. The men then put Andy up.
Sabrina said that she is a team player, and said that she doesn't quit. Andy "owned the piece of crap" he did tonight, and admitted that he has troubles with Ramsey's system and Ramsey makes him nervous.
Ramsey vetoed both of the nominations and evicted Jim, saying he can teach someone how to cook, but he can't give them heart. Best quote in a long time - "You're not the Tin Man, and I'm not the *bleeping* Wizard of Oz."
Next week - will Robert be able to return? Am I the only one who wishes he would get himself on The Biggest Loser or something similar before he dies?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 8.11.09
Problems with Dave's immobile thumb abound, before the first challenge. Ramsey is joined by a soldier's wife. The next night, the Cheftestants will be cooking for a welcome home party for his husband.
Robert and Suzanne were called to learn some things about the soldier's likes and dislikes. Each team has to come up with 2 appetizers and an entree. Robert and Suzanne are to debrief their team with Natasha's (that's the wife) thoughts.
Whichever team wins will have their menu for the party. Robert did a good job letting people what the Staff Sergeant likes. Suzanne didn't do nearly as good a job in communication.
Red Team presented a Caesar Style Salad with baked prawns. Natasha liked it.
Blue Team presented a spicy seafood style bouillabase. I think Natasha liked that more.
Natasha picked the Red Team for the first dish.
Second dish -
Red Team's next dish is Bacon Wrapped fillet with grilled shrimp.
Blue Team's next dish is Four Cheese macaroni, Stewed collard, grilled catfish.
The Blue team takes that one.
Entrees -
Red Team - broiled lobster tail with pasta.
Blue Team - Grilled lobster tail with steak.
Since Natasha had said that grilled lobster tail is something she couldn't live without at the party, it is no surprise when she chose the Blue Team as the winner. Their menu is on for the party.
As a reward, the guys get to be fighter pilots for the day. Fun.
The women will be redecorating the dining room for the party. Not so fun.
Ramsey's wife (who is a hottie) is going to be party coordinator for the event. How come it took him so long to pimp her out on the show? She's very precise.
My husband wondered if Robert would be able to get into the cockpit of the fighter planes. I didn't see him up in the planes, but if he couldn't do it, I'm glad that they didn't focus on it again.
And the women? Playing with helium.
The men have to teach the women their recipes, and there was sabotage galore. Ramsey will not be ok with the sabotage, I don't think.
Time for the party!
Super heartwarming when the soldier came in (it was a surprise party). His mom (who he hasn't seen in years) is the special surprise VIP guest. Fun.
Time for the cooking.
The Blue Team (Ben and Andy on apps) seemed to do very well and sent things out. Sabrina was having troubles getting stuffed mushrooms out not cold. Ramsey was really peeved because he sent the other apps on the table without the mushroom she claimed was on it's way, and it was cold. Table not served together = not good.
The men finished their appetizers quickly, and Jim is on the grill to work out the entrees. After the women finally finish the apps, it's time for Tek to be in charge of the grill. Tenille tried to help her organize her grill, but Tek wasn't interested in help. She needed help. It was bad. So bad. Ramsey was pissed. She finally got some help (well, they tried to help).
While the men's team was doing great, Dave was having troubles with his hand. Andy was more nervous about Dave's hand than Dave seemed to be. Ramsey was picking on Jim some, but Jim seemed to be doing well. Kevin looked to be taking some credit for Jim's work.
The men finished out the entrees and started on desserts and while Tek finished the steak, the surf and turf was missing the surf, and Amanda sent up raw lobster. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Because the women couldn't get their acts together, Ramsey sent the men (who finished their service) into the Red Kitchen to finish out the service.
Obviously, the men were the winners of the night, and, as Ramsey noted, had two injured men.
When Robert wins, he's hilarious. When he loses, he's unbearable, but when he wins.. it's funny.
The women put Tek and Tenille was forced to tell Ramsey that the team decided to put her up, too. She let him know that she thought it was a load of crap. He also thought it wasn't a great decision, and pulled Amanda down, too. After he gave Tenille a chance to tell him why she thought it was a crock that she was sent up, he put her back in line. She's safe.
Uh oh. Amanda started crying. That's never good. Still, Tek was a mess tonight. Blessedly, she's gone.
Robert and Suzanne were called to learn some things about the soldier's likes and dislikes. Each team has to come up with 2 appetizers and an entree. Robert and Suzanne are to debrief their team with Natasha's (that's the wife) thoughts.
Whichever team wins will have their menu for the party. Robert did a good job letting people what the Staff Sergeant likes. Suzanne didn't do nearly as good a job in communication.
Red Team presented a Caesar Style Salad with baked prawns. Natasha liked it.
Blue Team presented a spicy seafood style bouillabase. I think Natasha liked that more.
Natasha picked the Red Team for the first dish.
Second dish -
Red Team's next dish is Bacon Wrapped fillet with grilled shrimp.
Blue Team's next dish is Four Cheese macaroni, Stewed collard, grilled catfish.
The Blue team takes that one.
Entrees -
Red Team - broiled lobster tail with pasta.
Blue Team - Grilled lobster tail with steak.
Since Natasha had said that grilled lobster tail is something she couldn't live without at the party, it is no surprise when she chose the Blue Team as the winner. Their menu is on for the party.
As a reward, the guys get to be fighter pilots for the day. Fun.
The women will be redecorating the dining room for the party. Not so fun.
Ramsey's wife (who is a hottie) is going to be party coordinator for the event. How come it took him so long to pimp her out on the show? She's very precise.
My husband wondered if Robert would be able to get into the cockpit of the fighter planes. I didn't see him up in the planes, but if he couldn't do it, I'm glad that they didn't focus on it again.
And the women? Playing with helium.
The men have to teach the women their recipes, and there was sabotage galore. Ramsey will not be ok with the sabotage, I don't think.
Time for the party!
Super heartwarming when the soldier came in (it was a surprise party). His mom (who he hasn't seen in years) is the special surprise VIP guest. Fun.
Time for the cooking.
The Blue Team (Ben and Andy on apps) seemed to do very well and sent things out. Sabrina was having troubles getting stuffed mushrooms out not cold. Ramsey was really peeved because he sent the other apps on the table without the mushroom she claimed was on it's way, and it was cold. Table not served together = not good.
The men finished their appetizers quickly, and Jim is on the grill to work out the entrees. After the women finally finish the apps, it's time for Tek to be in charge of the grill. Tenille tried to help her organize her grill, but Tek wasn't interested in help. She needed help. It was bad. So bad. Ramsey was pissed. She finally got some help (well, they tried to help).
While the men's team was doing great, Dave was having troubles with his hand. Andy was more nervous about Dave's hand than Dave seemed to be. Ramsey was picking on Jim some, but Jim seemed to be doing well. Kevin looked to be taking some credit for Jim's work.
The men finished out the entrees and started on desserts and while Tek finished the steak, the surf and turf was missing the surf, and Amanda sent up raw lobster. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Because the women couldn't get their acts together, Ramsey sent the men (who finished their service) into the Red Kitchen to finish out the service.
Obviously, the men were the winners of the night, and, as Ramsey noted, had two injured men.
When Robert wins, he's hilarious. When he loses, he's unbearable, but when he wins.. it's funny.
The women put Tek and Tenille was forced to tell Ramsey that the team decided to put her up, too. She let him know that she thought it was a load of crap. He also thought it wasn't a great decision, and pulled Amanda down, too. After he gave Tenille a chance to tell him why she thought it was a crock that she was sent up, he put her back in line. She's safe.
Uh oh. Amanda started crying. That's never good. Still, Tek was a mess tonight. Blessedly, she's gone.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 8.4.09
Sorry I'm a day late.
After no one got sent home last week, there were a lot of sore feelings and lots of people seemed to want to send people home. Ramsey noticed that they weren't comfortable with each other, and wants people to be able to work together.
He paired up some people who don't get along -
Tennille & Suzanne, Van & Andy, Robert & Jim, Arielle & Sabrina, Kevin & Dave, Tek & Lovely, with Amanda sitting out (and none to happy about it)
Scott and Heather brought in a rack of sausages, and asked Tenille how thick she likes her sausage. Uncomfortable giggling, and Tennille said that she doesn't like sausage. He asked the guys the secret to good sausage, and Van said it's to hold it steady and pump it slow and easy. More giggling. Ramsey likes a 6" sausage, and showed how to make a good batch of sausages... and it was a little suggestive. Size matters, and everyone has to make 6 lines of perfect sausages (36 sausages total).
Tenille & Suzanne managed to work really well together. Kevin & Dave (the injury brothers) were the first ones to get some done. The other ladies flew through theirs. Robert & Jim had issues, with popping sausage skins. The men tied it up, but the women seemed to be about to bring in the win... until they hit a bad link. It didn't trip them up, though, and they brought the win in. Good for them. Robert & Jim sucked and didn't get any made at all.
As a punishment, the men have to scrub and clean the dorms. The women get an Oktoberfest style party.
Robert and Kevin got into it with each other. Robert is pissed at losing.
At their party, Tennille recanted and professed her love of sausage.
And back cleaning, Chef Scott got into it with Robert, who broke things in frustration.
Prep time, and the men were full of injury. Dave got a call from his doctor, and he is supposed to go into a long arm cast with no thumb movement. Meeting with Ramsey, he decided to stay on, cast and all. (It's on his non-dominant hand). I give props to him for that determination.
For the service, each team has a greeter who will welcome, present an amuse bouche, and go back to their sections. He put Arielle and Jim out there. The restaurant is full of celebrities tonight - Drew Lachey, Kristy Swanson, Tom Green, and more.
No other food can leave the kitchen before the amuse bouche is served. Arielle did a great job and got back to the kitchen quickly. Jim is slow slow slow and was lollygagging.
Suzanne was getting in Tennille's face, and it wasn't really necessary, but I think that Suzanne meant well. Tek's cappelini, though, was sent back because it tasted like a salt lick. Tennille helped Tek out when she flipped out about getting food back, and managed to fix the salty pasta problem.
The women finished the appetizers while the men were still working on it, but Lovely had an undersalted entree, which Amanda hopped in and helped to fix.
Over in the men's kitchen, Kevin cooked some perfect fish, but Andy couldn't get his meat done. On top of that, he butchered some chops very badly and it was ridiculous. He continued to get things wrong, and Robert lost it and was yelling loudly enough for the whole dining room to hear, and Ramsey had to talk him down.
The women seemed to be doing well, except Lovely couldn't remember menu items. Great. Good job.
Andy finally got some lamb out (to Tom Green). And the women? Suzanne had some bad butchery going on. Both kitchens had 3 tickets left (good service!) and Ramsey rallied the troops, telling them that whoever finished first would win. The men were about to send out their last table, but there was some raw meat, and Chef Scott got into it with Andy again.
In the end, the men sent out their last ticket first, and the women lost it because of their sides. Suzanne asked for a play-by-play, to see who she could blame, and Ramsey told her to suck it up, because they lost. He declared Sabrina the best of the worst, and told her to go nominate two people to put up for elimination.
Sabrina put up Tek and Lovely. Good choices. Ramsey pulled Suzanne down, too, and asked who she would send home. She said she would send Lovely home, and Ramsey agreed with her and Lovely is gone. Yippee! She was incompetent.
After no one got sent home last week, there were a lot of sore feelings and lots of people seemed to want to send people home. Ramsey noticed that they weren't comfortable with each other, and wants people to be able to work together.
He paired up some people who don't get along -
Tennille & Suzanne, Van & Andy, Robert & Jim, Arielle & Sabrina, Kevin & Dave, Tek & Lovely, with Amanda sitting out (and none to happy about it)
Scott and Heather brought in a rack of sausages, and asked Tenille how thick she likes her sausage. Uncomfortable giggling, and Tennille said that she doesn't like sausage. He asked the guys the secret to good sausage, and Van said it's to hold it steady and pump it slow and easy. More giggling. Ramsey likes a 6" sausage, and showed how to make a good batch of sausages... and it was a little suggestive. Size matters, and everyone has to make 6 lines of perfect sausages (36 sausages total).
Tenille & Suzanne managed to work really well together. Kevin & Dave (the injury brothers) were the first ones to get some done. The other ladies flew through theirs. Robert & Jim had issues, with popping sausage skins. The men tied it up, but the women seemed to be about to bring in the win... until they hit a bad link. It didn't trip them up, though, and they brought the win in. Good for them. Robert & Jim sucked and didn't get any made at all.
As a punishment, the men have to scrub and clean the dorms. The women get an Oktoberfest style party.
Robert and Kevin got into it with each other. Robert is pissed at losing.
At their party, Tennille recanted and professed her love of sausage.
And back cleaning, Chef Scott got into it with Robert, who broke things in frustration.
Prep time, and the men were full of injury. Dave got a call from his doctor, and he is supposed to go into a long arm cast with no thumb movement. Meeting with Ramsey, he decided to stay on, cast and all. (It's on his non-dominant hand). I give props to him for that determination.
For the service, each team has a greeter who will welcome, present an amuse bouche, and go back to their sections. He put Arielle and Jim out there. The restaurant is full of celebrities tonight - Drew Lachey, Kristy Swanson, Tom Green, and more.
No other food can leave the kitchen before the amuse bouche is served. Arielle did a great job and got back to the kitchen quickly. Jim is slow slow slow and was lollygagging.
Suzanne was getting in Tennille's face, and it wasn't really necessary, but I think that Suzanne meant well. Tek's cappelini, though, was sent back because it tasted like a salt lick. Tennille helped Tek out when she flipped out about getting food back, and managed to fix the salty pasta problem.
The women finished the appetizers while the men were still working on it, but Lovely had an undersalted entree, which Amanda hopped in and helped to fix.
Over in the men's kitchen, Kevin cooked some perfect fish, but Andy couldn't get his meat done. On top of that, he butchered some chops very badly and it was ridiculous. He continued to get things wrong, and Robert lost it and was yelling loudly enough for the whole dining room to hear, and Ramsey had to talk him down.
The women seemed to be doing well, except Lovely couldn't remember menu items. Great. Good job.
Andy finally got some lamb out (to Tom Green). And the women? Suzanne had some bad butchery going on. Both kitchens had 3 tickets left (good service!) and Ramsey rallied the troops, telling them that whoever finished first would win. The men were about to send out their last table, but there was some raw meat, and Chef Scott got into it with Andy again.
In the end, the men sent out their last ticket first, and the women lost it because of their sides. Suzanne asked for a play-by-play, to see who she could blame, and Ramsey told her to suck it up, because they lost. He declared Sabrina the best of the worst, and told her to go nominate two people to put up for elimination.
Sabrina put up Tek and Lovely. Good choices. Ramsey pulled Suzanne down, too, and asked who she would send home. She said she would send Lovely home, and Ramsey agreed with her and Lovely is gone. Yippee! She was incompetent.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 7.28.09
How can this group mess up this week? Will anyone prove to be a worthy chef? Will Van and J.P. come to blows? Can Joseph be a bigger ass? What will come of all the fire/evacuation foreshadowing? Let's see.
The confrontation from last week between Joseph and Ramsey ended in Ramsey booting Joseph and Joseph calling Ramsey a bitch. Repeatedly. Why the heck did he go on this show anyway? He was complaining after being kicked out about how he didn't need anyone to talk to him like Ramsey does. Has he never seen this show?
In the end, someone else is also leaving. Lovely and Tennille are up from the Red Team. Andy and Tony are up for the Blue Team. I think Tony is either an idiot or he gets really nervous under pressure. He can't form a coherent argument as to why he should stay, and he is gone. The men are down by 2, and Ramsey shuffled Robert over to them.
Discussion back in the apartment was all about how much of an idiot Joseph was. Tennille was reduced to text-speak. (OMG!!!! - she said each part of it)
After a little sleep, there is a fire (drill) at Hell's Kitchen and everyone is evacuated. Right there, Ramsey gives them their next challenge. It's all about preparation and team work - they will be serving a pasta meal to the fire fighters on site quickly. The first team to get their pasta served first wins. They have to cook chicken alfredo, meatball marinara, and a garlic bread appetizer.
Lovely is the first one to have issues at her station. Complaining about not having enough sleep and not having had a chance to brush her teeth yet, she was slow on the garlic bread. Andy wasn't doing that well on his side, either. 20 minutes into the challenge, and there is nothing out. Ariel jumped in and got some garlic bread out despite Lovely's worst attempts.
Over in the men's kitchen, the pasta is al dente, but the garlic bread is still not out. The women are rolling on the entrees, and their meatballs get good reviews. The garlic bread finally left the men's kitchen. Entrees followed in short order. And for the women? Ramsey was not happy that there was not enough chicken in the chicken alfredo. That problem was fixed in short order. It was down to the wire for the finish..... until undercooked meatballs were sent back to the women's kitchen, and it was Tek's fault. They fixed it, and it was again neck and neck. The women pulled it out in the end. Good for them. And yay, Firefighters are awesome!
As a reward, the women get to go to a spa for the day, and they will be going by helicopter. The men will be cleaning the firetrucks and the dining room. Dave managed to injure his wrist during the firetruck cleaning, but hid it from his team mates. And going up the stairs? Kevin rolled his ankles and had a medic come to look at it. While the medic was there, Dave had them look at his wrist, too. Both of them looked to be in really rough shape, and went off to the hospital for x-rays.
Dave had a torn FCR and a slight fracture of his wrist. He decided to keep on keeping on. Kevin had a severe sprain on one ankle and a ligament strain/stretch on the other. He's got a boot on one foot. He was also planning on staying.
Ramsey gave them a pep talk before the service. One member from each team will be waiters fir the night. Dave volunteered to wait for the Blue Team so as not to hold them back cooking. Ramsey made Lovely the waiter for the Red Team. He had them repeat after him - "We must complete a dinner service." Let's see if that works.
Ariel and Sabrina produced good appetizers, but Tennille couldn't finish them with good scallops.
Van is on appetizers for the men, and though his shouting in the kitchen didn't impress Ramsey, his risotto sure did. Tennille was using too much oil to saute her scallops, and Suzanne tried to stop her, pouring out the oil, but Tennille wasn't hearing it, until Ramsey told her she had it wrong.
Robert was clumsy in the Blue Kitchen, and Andy was crowding the scallop pan, and Robert got blamed for the sub-par scallops. Suzanne tried to help her, but Tennille put the same ol' rubber scallops back in the pan, which obviously didn't go over well with Ramsey... She couldn't handle more than one person talking to her at the same time. She has also obviously never seen the show before.
The men are busting out the appetizers, and Tennille nearly set the kitchen on fire in her insanity. She finally put out edible scallops, and the appetizers started moving out of the Red kitchen.
Out in the dining room? Lovely is taking her own sweet time getting orders into the kitchen, and then JP sent her to get a special bottle of wine, which caused her to be slower still...
Amanda can't count (and thinks that multiplication is addition and 3x3 is 6) and also has a hard time cooking lamb. Not good.
And Kevin, with his bad ankles? He's producing great meat at a good pace. Dinner service is going to be completed by someone - and it was down to the wire as far as which kitchen was going out first. In the end, the Red Team went out first, and the Blue Kitchen fell behind because Robert forgot a salmon. All in all, a MUCH better showing.
Ramsey has customer comment cards from the finished service. Red Kitchen's rating was 81% above average. Blue Kitchen's rating was 83% above average. Based on that, the Red Kitchen lost. Ariel is named the best of the worst, and has to put people up for elimination.
In the end, she put up Lovely because she is less experienced than the rest of the team. Her second nomination is Tennille because she was pan frying scallops and because she seems to be a weak link in the team. Ramsey told them that he didn't think either of them would win, but didn't end up eliminating anyone, because Joseph eliminated himself. He then did kind of a funny impression of Joseph, saying "I'm nobody's bitch." Before they left the room, he quizzed Amanda in some more math and she failed. Again. It's kind of funny.
The confrontation from last week between Joseph and Ramsey ended in Ramsey booting Joseph and Joseph calling Ramsey a bitch. Repeatedly. Why the heck did he go on this show anyway? He was complaining after being kicked out about how he didn't need anyone to talk to him like Ramsey does. Has he never seen this show?
In the end, someone else is also leaving. Lovely and Tennille are up from the Red Team. Andy and Tony are up for the Blue Team. I think Tony is either an idiot or he gets really nervous under pressure. He can't form a coherent argument as to why he should stay, and he is gone. The men are down by 2, and Ramsey shuffled Robert over to them.
Discussion back in the apartment was all about how much of an idiot Joseph was. Tennille was reduced to text-speak. (OMG!!!! - she said each part of it)
After a little sleep, there is a fire (drill) at Hell's Kitchen and everyone is evacuated. Right there, Ramsey gives them their next challenge. It's all about preparation and team work - they will be serving a pasta meal to the fire fighters on site quickly. The first team to get their pasta served first wins. They have to cook chicken alfredo, meatball marinara, and a garlic bread appetizer.
Lovely is the first one to have issues at her station. Complaining about not having enough sleep and not having had a chance to brush her teeth yet, she was slow on the garlic bread. Andy wasn't doing that well on his side, either. 20 minutes into the challenge, and there is nothing out. Ariel jumped in and got some garlic bread out despite Lovely's worst attempts.
Over in the men's kitchen, the pasta is al dente, but the garlic bread is still not out. The women are rolling on the entrees, and their meatballs get good reviews. The garlic bread finally left the men's kitchen. Entrees followed in short order. And for the women? Ramsey was not happy that there was not enough chicken in the chicken alfredo. That problem was fixed in short order. It was down to the wire for the finish..... until undercooked meatballs were sent back to the women's kitchen, and it was Tek's fault. They fixed it, and it was again neck and neck. The women pulled it out in the end. Good for them. And yay, Firefighters are awesome!
As a reward, the women get to go to a spa for the day, and they will be going by helicopter. The men will be cleaning the firetrucks and the dining room. Dave managed to injure his wrist during the firetruck cleaning, but hid it from his team mates. And going up the stairs? Kevin rolled his ankles and had a medic come to look at it. While the medic was there, Dave had them look at his wrist, too. Both of them looked to be in really rough shape, and went off to the hospital for x-rays.
Dave had a torn FCR and a slight fracture of his wrist. He decided to keep on keeping on. Kevin had a severe sprain on one ankle and a ligament strain/stretch on the other. He's got a boot on one foot. He was also planning on staying.
Ramsey gave them a pep talk before the service. One member from each team will be waiters fir the night. Dave volunteered to wait for the Blue Team so as not to hold them back cooking. Ramsey made Lovely the waiter for the Red Team. He had them repeat after him - "We must complete a dinner service." Let's see if that works.
Ariel and Sabrina produced good appetizers, but Tennille couldn't finish them with good scallops.
Van is on appetizers for the men, and though his shouting in the kitchen didn't impress Ramsey, his risotto sure did. Tennille was using too much oil to saute her scallops, and Suzanne tried to stop her, pouring out the oil, but Tennille wasn't hearing it, until Ramsey told her she had it wrong.
Robert was clumsy in the Blue Kitchen, and Andy was crowding the scallop pan, and Robert got blamed for the sub-par scallops. Suzanne tried to help her, but Tennille put the same ol' rubber scallops back in the pan, which obviously didn't go over well with Ramsey... She couldn't handle more than one person talking to her at the same time. She has also obviously never seen the show before.
The men are busting out the appetizers, and Tennille nearly set the kitchen on fire in her insanity. She finally put out edible scallops, and the appetizers started moving out of the Red kitchen.
Out in the dining room? Lovely is taking her own sweet time getting orders into the kitchen, and then JP sent her to get a special bottle of wine, which caused her to be slower still...
Amanda can't count (and thinks that multiplication is addition and 3x3 is 6) and also has a hard time cooking lamb. Not good.
And Kevin, with his bad ankles? He's producing great meat at a good pace. Dinner service is going to be completed by someone - and it was down to the wire as far as which kitchen was going out first. In the end, the Red Team went out first, and the Blue Kitchen fell behind because Robert forgot a salmon. All in all, a MUCH better showing.
Ramsey has customer comment cards from the finished service. Red Kitchen's rating was 81% above average. Blue Kitchen's rating was 83% above average. Based on that, the Red Kitchen lost. Ariel is named the best of the worst, and has to put people up for elimination.
In the end, she put up Lovely because she is less experienced than the rest of the team. Her second nomination is Tennille because she was pan frying scallops and because she seems to be a weak link in the team. Ramsey told them that he didn't think either of them would win, but didn't end up eliminating anyone, because Joseph eliminated himself. He then did kind of a funny impression of Joseph, saying "I'm nobody's bitch." Before they left the room, he quizzed Amanda in some more math and she failed. Again. It's kind of funny.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Yay for a New Season - Hell's Kitchen: 7.21.09
(Late blog, sorry)
Introducing the new cheftestants!
They let Jean-Phillipe have a little pep talk with them, and laid out some video tips from former contestants. You know, simple things like turn on the stove, taste your food, don't cry...
Is that chick's name really LOVELY? Are you kidding me?
They have to cook their signature dishes right off the bat, in 45 minutes. The winner this year will be the head chef of a restaurant in Whistler, BC in Canada, and will work there during the 2010 Olympics. It'll be head to head, Red Team (Women) vs. Blue Team (Men).
Suzanne - Risotto. Ramsey thought the rice looked undercooked before he even tasted it. He had the competing man taste it, and he called it chalky. Ramsey was right.
Dave - Ostrich. Neat. Ramsey thought it was beautifully seasoned. Then, there were some brussel sprouts - and they were undercooked.
No one wind that round.
Tek - Honey Grilled Shrimp. Ramsey liked it.
Louie - Sausage Gravy over biscuits. Ramsey said "Aw, fuck me," when he opened it. Louie, diner owner, is proud to serve 5 gallons of this a week. Not something to brag about.
Women win this round.
Joseph - Roasted veal shank with roasted vegetables. Again with the undercooked veggies. Joseph got very defensive when Ramsey wanted him to taste the food without a fork. He had more bleeps in his confessional than Ramsey.
Taneal - Lamb chop with balsamic glaze. She wins.
Amanda - Margarita French Toast with Tequila Lime Butter and a shot of tequila. What? I mean, WHAT?
Tony - Mussels with chorizo. I like him because he's not a culinary school graduate, and manages a kitchen store. I can appreciate that.
Melinda -Poached lobster tail. She's pretty proud of it. Ramsey wanted to know where the tail went.
Jim - Seared Ahi Tuna. He wins. And I think I could like him. He wins.
Kevin - coffee steak.
Arielle - duck. No winner.
Lovely vs. Andy - no winner, no mention of what they served.
Sabrina - Chipotle rubbed pork. Ramsey Spit it out.
Van - Seared Foie gras with minted caramel. Interesting. He wins it.
The men win the first challenge. The women have to clean the kitchen. The men get a special take out dinner from Ramsey's restaurant.
Chef Scott is back to be a Sous Chef for the men. Heather (winner of season 2) is sous chef for the women. Cool.
Louie made a few seriously sexist comments about how women belong in the kitchen, cleaning. I really don't like him.
The poor women get bologna sandwiches for dinner. They also get a big binder of recipes which they have to memorize before dinner service. The men are living it up and not studying their menues. They regretted it the next day.
Lovely pre-cooked the desserts. It's a bad bad thing. They turned out like hockey pucks. Not ok. Suzanne was set to fix it.
There are some new dishes this season. The men were standing around like morons and didn't call orders back. Scallops are not coming out of the women's kitchen well. There was a landslide of awful on the red team.
And the men? Jim can't count scallops.
And what's this? Robert is back, dining, and Ramsey is planning on giving him a second chance. Cool. Hope he's gotten himself healthy.
The men were sending out some good appetizers. The women were having troubles upon troubles and troubles. The men finished their appetizers, and then Louie failed to sear lamb. Ramsey gave him a talking to and a lesson on cooking.
How much capellini can the women throw out? About a whole garbage can's worth. Melinda was looking really stupid.
And Louie? He decided to cook his own garnish (spinach). Joseph took it up with Ramsey and that was not ok with anyone.
Next MIA - Lovely, who was dehydrated, she said, and hiding in the back. And then Amanda froze all the salmon. Frozen solid salmon. Not ok.
The disaster continued as Louie was completely incapable of butchering lamb. Ramsey kicked him out. He's gone. First casualty of the show.
And - the women didn't get ANYTHING out that I know of, and Ramsey shut the kitchens down. Before critiquing the teams, he invited Robert back onto the show, and Robert accepted. I hope he's healthy now.
Ramsey declared that there was nothing positive to say. He said both of them had shocking services. The women set the dubious record of sending out NO entrees. They have to pick two people to go up for elimination. Melinda is one of them. They want to put Lovely up, too. Amanda might be in trouble for the salmon in the freezer. In the end, Melinda and Amanda were up. Lovely escaped this week. I fail to see anything lovely about her. Melinda is gone in the end, and I think it was a good decision. It should have been lovely, though.
SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW.
What's this now? Ramsey put Robert on the Girl's team. I swear Robert has gotten bigger since last season, and I still worry for his health.
Next challenge? Shrimp. They have to show attention to detail, and they have to dehead, shell, and devein (or, as Ramsey put it, remove the *bleep* sack.)
For no known reason, Ramsey had Lovely sit out the challenge. It rained shrimp, and they have 10 minutes. Lovely was cheerleading and it wasn't helping.
The women seemed to be doing well and brought in 29 up until Tenille, who failed to remove the
*bleep* sacks in all but 1. Suzanne brought in 10. And how about Robert? He only brought in 4. The red team's total came up to 44.
It's a close match for the men. In the end, Jim needed only 2 acceptable shrimp to win it for the men. He managed to bring it in, and the men won.
Tenille was called out for being pathetic. For the punishment, the Red Team has to prepare a mountain of shrimp cocktail to serve to the entire dining room that night, including segmenting lemons and deseeding them. The men get a fancy meal at a fancy restaurant and dessert on a big ol' super yacht.
Tenille decided that the best way to get into good graces with her team was to boss them around. Not such a good technique.
Joseph continued to be a complete ass, telling Ramsey he didn't care about having lunch with him, because he didn't come for the rewards. He was a jerk about it.
Robert took charge of the Red Kitchen. Kevin gave Tony unwelcome lessons in cutting grapefruits, but failed to show him to cut it over a bowl so as not to lose the juice. Ramsey called Tony on it.
They are serving tableside scampi, and Van and Tenille are going to be working the front for that service. Tony continued to be incapable of learning how to segment a grapefruit over a bowl, and it didn't bode well. It continued to bode ill when Tony got excited about scallops and fired them before anyone called for them.
Lovely didn't have the pan for the scallops on, and then blamed Tek for telling her they were on.
And Tony, over excited about scallops, seared them on the outside and tried to serve them with a raw interior.
Over in the Red Kitchen, Robert was trying to burn the kitchen down. Tenille said "he's no differnt from us! He's just bigger and talks more." Out in the dining room, Van got into it with J.P. Ramsey warned them to keep their cool in front of customers. J.P. claimed it was a language barrier, because Van is from Texas.
Tenille, meanwhile, served a pregnant woman undercooked shrimp. Not ok.
Van was working his charm tableside, but then dropped the pan more than once. J.P. got all Ramsey on Van and yelled at him for running in the restaurant. Ramsey brought them out, and told Van to respect J.P. and told J.P. to do his job.
Meanwhile, Tenille is backing up tables like crazy. The Blue team is getting stuff out, but Andy sliced chicken, realized it was raw, and put it back into the pan. Ramsey didn't like that idea, and let him know it.
There were also problems with chicken and Sabrina on the Red team. Tony continued to show incompetence. Kevin hopped in and took over the fish.
Lovely tried to bring up raw seabass to the pass. Lovely thinks that Ramsey's eyes are off, and sent a burned piece of fish next. Not good.
Kevin, fortunately, didn't serve burned fish. It also wasn't cooked enough and was raw inside. Everyone tried to hop in and cook the fish. Chaos ensued as five people were on the fish station and no one was getting anything done.
Sabrina's burned chicken sent Ramsey over the edge. He sent out shrimp cocktail, because it required no cooking. After that was out, he shut down the kitchens.
Another wretched service. Each team was told to put up two people for elimination. Tenille thought she should be safe, but Robert disagreed. Tony stepped up to go up for elimination. There was much fighting about the other spots.
In the end, Tenille and Lovely were nominated for the Red Team. For the blue team, Joseph was an ass again, before putting Tony and Andy up for elimination. Joseph wouldn't give Ramsey a straight answer about why people were put up. "They know why, I aint no bitch." What? The others warned Joseph to show some respect, and the show ended with Joseph telling Ramsey they could take it out into the parking lot.
And what now? Insanity.
Introducing the new cheftestants!
They let Jean-Phillipe have a little pep talk with them, and laid out some video tips from former contestants. You know, simple things like turn on the stove, taste your food, don't cry...
Is that chick's name really LOVELY? Are you kidding me?
They have to cook their signature dishes right off the bat, in 45 minutes. The winner this year will be the head chef of a restaurant in Whistler, BC in Canada, and will work there during the 2010 Olympics. It'll be head to head, Red Team (Women) vs. Blue Team (Men).
Suzanne - Risotto. Ramsey thought the rice looked undercooked before he even tasted it. He had the competing man taste it, and he called it chalky. Ramsey was right.
Dave - Ostrich. Neat. Ramsey thought it was beautifully seasoned. Then, there were some brussel sprouts - and they were undercooked.
No one wind that round.
Tek - Honey Grilled Shrimp. Ramsey liked it.
Louie - Sausage Gravy over biscuits. Ramsey said "Aw, fuck me," when he opened it. Louie, diner owner, is proud to serve 5 gallons of this a week. Not something to brag about.
Women win this round.
Joseph - Roasted veal shank with roasted vegetables. Again with the undercooked veggies. Joseph got very defensive when Ramsey wanted him to taste the food without a fork. He had more bleeps in his confessional than Ramsey.
Taneal - Lamb chop with balsamic glaze. She wins.
Amanda - Margarita French Toast with Tequila Lime Butter and a shot of tequila. What? I mean, WHAT?
Tony - Mussels with chorizo. I like him because he's not a culinary school graduate, and manages a kitchen store. I can appreciate that.
Melinda -Poached lobster tail. She's pretty proud of it. Ramsey wanted to know where the tail went.
Jim - Seared Ahi Tuna. He wins. And I think I could like him. He wins.
Kevin - coffee steak.
Arielle - duck. No winner.
Lovely vs. Andy - no winner, no mention of what they served.
Sabrina - Chipotle rubbed pork. Ramsey Spit it out.
Van - Seared Foie gras with minted caramel. Interesting. He wins it.
The men win the first challenge. The women have to clean the kitchen. The men get a special take out dinner from Ramsey's restaurant.
Chef Scott is back to be a Sous Chef for the men. Heather (winner of season 2) is sous chef for the women. Cool.
Louie made a few seriously sexist comments about how women belong in the kitchen, cleaning. I really don't like him.
The poor women get bologna sandwiches for dinner. They also get a big binder of recipes which they have to memorize before dinner service. The men are living it up and not studying their menues. They regretted it the next day.
Lovely pre-cooked the desserts. It's a bad bad thing. They turned out like hockey pucks. Not ok. Suzanne was set to fix it.
There are some new dishes this season. The men were standing around like morons and didn't call orders back. Scallops are not coming out of the women's kitchen well. There was a landslide of awful on the red team.
And the men? Jim can't count scallops.
And what's this? Robert is back, dining, and Ramsey is planning on giving him a second chance. Cool. Hope he's gotten himself healthy.
The men were sending out some good appetizers. The women were having troubles upon troubles and troubles. The men finished their appetizers, and then Louie failed to sear lamb. Ramsey gave him a talking to and a lesson on cooking.
How much capellini can the women throw out? About a whole garbage can's worth. Melinda was looking really stupid.
And Louie? He decided to cook his own garnish (spinach). Joseph took it up with Ramsey and that was not ok with anyone.
Next MIA - Lovely, who was dehydrated, she said, and hiding in the back. And then Amanda froze all the salmon. Frozen solid salmon. Not ok.
The disaster continued as Louie was completely incapable of butchering lamb. Ramsey kicked him out. He's gone. First casualty of the show.
And - the women didn't get ANYTHING out that I know of, and Ramsey shut the kitchens down. Before critiquing the teams, he invited Robert back onto the show, and Robert accepted. I hope he's healthy now.
Ramsey declared that there was nothing positive to say. He said both of them had shocking services. The women set the dubious record of sending out NO entrees. They have to pick two people to go up for elimination. Melinda is one of them. They want to put Lovely up, too. Amanda might be in trouble for the salmon in the freezer. In the end, Melinda and Amanda were up. Lovely escaped this week. I fail to see anything lovely about her. Melinda is gone in the end, and I think it was a good decision. It should have been lovely, though.
SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW.
What's this now? Ramsey put Robert on the Girl's team. I swear Robert has gotten bigger since last season, and I still worry for his health.
Next challenge? Shrimp. They have to show attention to detail, and they have to dehead, shell, and devein (or, as Ramsey put it, remove the *bleep* sack.)
For no known reason, Ramsey had Lovely sit out the challenge. It rained shrimp, and they have 10 minutes. Lovely was cheerleading and it wasn't helping.
The women seemed to be doing well and brought in 29 up until Tenille, who failed to remove the
*bleep* sacks in all but 1. Suzanne brought in 10. And how about Robert? He only brought in 4. The red team's total came up to 44.
It's a close match for the men. In the end, Jim needed only 2 acceptable shrimp to win it for the men. He managed to bring it in, and the men won.
Tenille was called out for being pathetic. For the punishment, the Red Team has to prepare a mountain of shrimp cocktail to serve to the entire dining room that night, including segmenting lemons and deseeding them. The men get a fancy meal at a fancy restaurant and dessert on a big ol' super yacht.
Tenille decided that the best way to get into good graces with her team was to boss them around. Not such a good technique.
Joseph continued to be a complete ass, telling Ramsey he didn't care about having lunch with him, because he didn't come for the rewards. He was a jerk about it.
Robert took charge of the Red Kitchen. Kevin gave Tony unwelcome lessons in cutting grapefruits, but failed to show him to cut it over a bowl so as not to lose the juice. Ramsey called Tony on it.
They are serving tableside scampi, and Van and Tenille are going to be working the front for that service. Tony continued to be incapable of learning how to segment a grapefruit over a bowl, and it didn't bode well. It continued to bode ill when Tony got excited about scallops and fired them before anyone called for them.
Lovely didn't have the pan for the scallops on, and then blamed Tek for telling her they were on.
And Tony, over excited about scallops, seared them on the outside and tried to serve them with a raw interior.
Over in the Red Kitchen, Robert was trying to burn the kitchen down. Tenille said "he's no differnt from us! He's just bigger and talks more." Out in the dining room, Van got into it with J.P. Ramsey warned them to keep their cool in front of customers. J.P. claimed it was a language barrier, because Van is from Texas.
Tenille, meanwhile, served a pregnant woman undercooked shrimp. Not ok.
Van was working his charm tableside, but then dropped the pan more than once. J.P. got all Ramsey on Van and yelled at him for running in the restaurant. Ramsey brought them out, and told Van to respect J.P. and told J.P. to do his job.
Meanwhile, Tenille is backing up tables like crazy. The Blue team is getting stuff out, but Andy sliced chicken, realized it was raw, and put it back into the pan. Ramsey didn't like that idea, and let him know it.
There were also problems with chicken and Sabrina on the Red team. Tony continued to show incompetence. Kevin hopped in and took over the fish.
Lovely tried to bring up raw seabass to the pass. Lovely thinks that Ramsey's eyes are off, and sent a burned piece of fish next. Not good.
Kevin, fortunately, didn't serve burned fish. It also wasn't cooked enough and was raw inside. Everyone tried to hop in and cook the fish. Chaos ensued as five people were on the fish station and no one was getting anything done.
Sabrina's burned chicken sent Ramsey over the edge. He sent out shrimp cocktail, because it required no cooking. After that was out, he shut down the kitchens.
Another wretched service. Each team was told to put up two people for elimination. Tenille thought she should be safe, but Robert disagreed. Tony stepped up to go up for elimination. There was much fighting about the other spots.
In the end, Tenille and Lovely were nominated for the Red Team. For the blue team, Joseph was an ass again, before putting Tony and Andy up for elimination. Joseph wouldn't give Ramsey a straight answer about why people were put up. "They know why, I aint no bitch." What? The others warned Joseph to show some respect, and the show ended with Joseph telling Ramsey they could take it out into the parking lot.
And what now? Insanity.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Finale Alert: Hell's Kitchen 5.14.09
After last week's choosing of brigades, Paula and Danny brought their teams to learn the menu. Danny did a lot of cursing when talking to his group, maybe in order to give himself more credibility. Paula worried that Lacey would be a problem, asked her if she could do the dessert station, and Lacey said "I could, sure, but I'm going to be asking for input." Then, we were "treated" to a barrage of Lacey's finer moments. I really wish she hadn't come back.
Prep began, and Lacey got some hand holding. Even with that, the brulees got curdled and they had to redo them. I think she did it on purpose, because there was a sly grin when she was prepping the new batch.
I wonder if the producers have brought in certain people for sabotage. That would be devilish.
Each chef had to present their menus to Ramsey. There were 3 appetizers, 3 entrees, and 3 desserts. Featured on the show were:
Paula - Appetizer: Homemade pasta with eggplant caviar. Ramsey loved it.
Entree: Halibut with pearl onion and pancetta. Halibut was dry, they need to watch that.
Dessert: Banana Creme Brulee. Ramsey says it's more like scrambled eggs, and it need work.
Danny -Appetizer: Arugula salad with crispy duck breast.The duck was undercooked, so watch it
Entree: Pan seared fillet with baked potato. Ramsey thought it looked phallic.
Dessert: Poached pear with marscapone mousse. It was a little undercooked for Ramsey.
Ramsey called their menus very close in quality, both contemporary.
On to the dining rooms. Ramsey loves Paula's Sunergy. Danny's Velvet Hammer (which Ben thought sounded like a porno) was relaxed... and the fish? Weird. Ramsey thought it was kind of countrified in the flooring. Andrea admitted to preferring Paula's kitchen. So do I.
And the kitchen is open.
Each kitchen will serve 15 tables with 50 diners, going head to head. Their family and friends are in their dining rooms, too.
Danny got the Yes Chef rolling, and that made Paula's team take notice. Not enough notice to actually speak up and acknowledge the order. Paula is not as good at running the brigade. Andrea overcooked a scallop, and then Lacey turned it over to try to hide it from Paula. At least Ramsey caught the gaff.
Over in Danny's kitchen, Carol was getting backed up on lobster. Ramsey had a tete-a-tete with both Danny and Paula, telling them to get a grip.
Andrea has never cooked halibut before. What? Insane. Lacey was thrilled to see Andrea having a tough time with the fish. And in Danny's kitchen? Potatoes were holding things up. Paula managed to get on top of Andrea and the halibut issue, but then.. Giovanni sent up a super salty sauce for monkfish, and Ramsey caught it. As it turns out, Giovanni doesn't care who wins and just wants to go home. Nice attitude.
Lacey is on garnish for Paula, and she is completely out of it, and can't remember anything, and blamed Paula's menu for being too complex. Why is she here again? She's useless. She doesn't belong in any kitchen anywhere. She acts like a two year old. Everyone else jumped in and basically took over Lacey's station.
Danny's team was working together, and midway through, Paula caught her stride and did a good job. Both of them ended up doing a very good job. This is going to be a close one. Danny finished first, but Paula wasn't far behind.
Ramsey said "the winning chef ... lives in Florida." Paula got excited for a minute, and then remembered that Danny also lives in Florida. This is obviously going to take more deliberation.
Danny talked himself up back in the dorm, calling himself a culinary prodigy.
Ramsey told them he is proud of both of them, and called it the most difficult decision ever. It's the "will my door open" moment. Too much drama and recaps, but Danny won. I worried that as he leapt up and down on the top of the staircase that he was going to topple down the stairs or off the balcony.
Luckily, that did not happen. They both were amazing chefs, and I'm sure it was close.
I just hope that Danny's restaurant at the Borgata doesn't have mounted fish on the walls.
Danny's picture went up with pictures of the other winners on the new Hell's Kitchen wall of fame.
The fake fireworks were laughable, but it was a good season.
What did you think?
Prep began, and Lacey got some hand holding. Even with that, the brulees got curdled and they had to redo them. I think she did it on purpose, because there was a sly grin when she was prepping the new batch.
I wonder if the producers have brought in certain people for sabotage. That would be devilish.
Each chef had to present their menus to Ramsey. There were 3 appetizers, 3 entrees, and 3 desserts. Featured on the show were:
Paula - Appetizer: Homemade pasta with eggplant caviar. Ramsey loved it.
Entree: Halibut with pearl onion and pancetta. Halibut was dry, they need to watch that.
Dessert: Banana Creme Brulee. Ramsey says it's more like scrambled eggs, and it need work.
Danny -Appetizer: Arugula salad with crispy duck breast.The duck was undercooked, so watch it
Entree: Pan seared fillet with baked potato. Ramsey thought it looked phallic.
Dessert: Poached pear with marscapone mousse. It was a little undercooked for Ramsey.
Ramsey called their menus very close in quality, both contemporary.
On to the dining rooms. Ramsey loves Paula's Sunergy. Danny's Velvet Hammer (which Ben thought sounded like a porno) was relaxed... and the fish? Weird. Ramsey thought it was kind of countrified in the flooring. Andrea admitted to preferring Paula's kitchen. So do I.
And the kitchen is open.
Each kitchen will serve 15 tables with 50 diners, going head to head. Their family and friends are in their dining rooms, too.
Danny got the Yes Chef rolling, and that made Paula's team take notice. Not enough notice to actually speak up and acknowledge the order. Paula is not as good at running the brigade. Andrea overcooked a scallop, and then Lacey turned it over to try to hide it from Paula. At least Ramsey caught the gaff.
Over in Danny's kitchen, Carol was getting backed up on lobster. Ramsey had a tete-a-tete with both Danny and Paula, telling them to get a grip.
Andrea has never cooked halibut before. What? Insane. Lacey was thrilled to see Andrea having a tough time with the fish. And in Danny's kitchen? Potatoes were holding things up. Paula managed to get on top of Andrea and the halibut issue, but then.. Giovanni sent up a super salty sauce for monkfish, and Ramsey caught it. As it turns out, Giovanni doesn't care who wins and just wants to go home. Nice attitude.
Lacey is on garnish for Paula, and she is completely out of it, and can't remember anything, and blamed Paula's menu for being too complex. Why is she here again? She's useless. She doesn't belong in any kitchen anywhere. She acts like a two year old. Everyone else jumped in and basically took over Lacey's station.
Danny's team was working together, and midway through, Paula caught her stride and did a good job. Both of them ended up doing a very good job. This is going to be a close one. Danny finished first, but Paula wasn't far behind.
Ramsey said "the winning chef ... lives in Florida." Paula got excited for a minute, and then remembered that Danny also lives in Florida. This is obviously going to take more deliberation.
Danny talked himself up back in the dorm, calling himself a culinary prodigy.
Ramsey told them he is proud of both of them, and called it the most difficult decision ever. It's the "will my door open" moment. Too much drama and recaps, but Danny won. I worried that as he leapt up and down on the top of the staircase that he was going to topple down the stairs or off the balcony.
Luckily, that did not happen. They both were amazing chefs, and I'm sure it was close.
I just hope that Danny's restaurant at the Borgata doesn't have mounted fish on the walls.
Danny's picture went up with pictures of the other winners on the new Hell's Kitchen wall of fame.
The fake fireworks were laughable, but it was a good season.
What did you think?
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Finale Part 1 - Hell's Kitchen: 5.7.09
After a ridiculously long 12 minute season recap, highlighting Danny and Paula, it's finally time to get down to business. It's Hell's Kitchen's answer to Restaurant Wars. The final 2 get down to planning, and have a little champagne party. Paula thinks that if she drinks enough champagne, she'll wake up refreshed in the morning. I wonder what kind of champagne that girl has drunk. I think she's trying to get Danny so drunk that he's got a hangover in the morning.
It worked. Unfortunately, Paula also had a hangover. She looked much more able to function in the morning, at least. Paula wants candles in her restaurant, and Danny wants mounted fish. That didn't get good reviews from the designer. Paula wants to call her restaurant Sunergy, and Danny wants to call his Velvet Hammer, or Susan Marie (after his mom). I'd go with the second one.
Paula will be working with Chef Gloria, and Danny will be working with Chef Scott.
The final 2 are off to Atlantic City, and to advise things while they are gone, Ramsey brought back 2 people for each of them... Paula's mother and sister, and Danny's father and girlfriend. That's different. They have 5 minutes to talk to their loved ones about their restaurant vision before taking off on their planes. Paula is nervous that her mom will make everything pink like her childhood bedroom. Yipes. Poor Paula.
Paula wanted real candles, but the fire marshall wouldn't let them have them behind the bar. There were some nice looking electronic candles, and her sister decided that was ok. Danny's girlfriend made some decisions, but it seemed to work out ok when they had web-camera conferences with the chefs.
Meanwhile, at the Borgata, there was more champagne and excellent suites, and a huge gathering of future workers for Paula and Danny, along with their future possible boss. Ramsey showed the Boss Man the Final two's menues, and had him pick what he would order off of each menu.
And then they had to cook it. In 45 minutes. Challenge on, and in an unfamiliar kitchen. They both seemed to do well.
The executive chef from one of the other restaurants at the Borgata tasted their first dish. He thought that Paula's mushroom salad was a little too dressed, and didn't think that Danny's jerked lobster tail tasted much like lobster - and gave the win to Paula on that round.
Another executive chef came out to taste the second course. He thought that Paula's soup was delicious, and Danny's salad got a yummy stamp of approval. He said it was a tough call, but went with Danny. I wonder if that was a fix so that the vote would come down to the final dish.
The Big Boss Man came out to judge the third course. Danny's dish took it, and he won.
What did he win? Don't know yet. I'm guessing first school yard pick of older contestants to help them. Because you know that's coming.
Back at Hell's Kitchen, Paula was ok with the fake candles, and Danny got some really tacky mounted fish, which he was happy with. Ok then.
One last challenge - "key ingredients they both need" are under domes on a table. It's the expected eliminated contestants. It was kind of creepy, and someone's going to get stuck wit Lacey. Andrea, LA, Ben, Carol, and Giovanni will make up their brigades.
I was right. Danny got first pick, and picked Ben. Paula picked Andrea. Danny picked Giovanni, and Paula picked LA. Danny picked Carol, and Paula got stuck with Lacey. On the same team as Andrea. That ought to be a mess.
And we won't see it until next week!
It worked. Unfortunately, Paula also had a hangover. She looked much more able to function in the morning, at least. Paula wants candles in her restaurant, and Danny wants mounted fish. That didn't get good reviews from the designer. Paula wants to call her restaurant Sunergy, and Danny wants to call his Velvet Hammer, or Susan Marie (after his mom). I'd go with the second one.
Paula will be working with Chef Gloria, and Danny will be working with Chef Scott.
The final 2 are off to Atlantic City, and to advise things while they are gone, Ramsey brought back 2 people for each of them... Paula's mother and sister, and Danny's father and girlfriend. That's different. They have 5 minutes to talk to their loved ones about their restaurant vision before taking off on their planes. Paula is nervous that her mom will make everything pink like her childhood bedroom. Yipes. Poor Paula.
Paula wanted real candles, but the fire marshall wouldn't let them have them behind the bar. There were some nice looking electronic candles, and her sister decided that was ok. Danny's girlfriend made some decisions, but it seemed to work out ok when they had web-camera conferences with the chefs.
Meanwhile, at the Borgata, there was more champagne and excellent suites, and a huge gathering of future workers for Paula and Danny, along with their future possible boss. Ramsey showed the Boss Man the Final two's menues, and had him pick what he would order off of each menu.
And then they had to cook it. In 45 minutes. Challenge on, and in an unfamiliar kitchen. They both seemed to do well.
The executive chef from one of the other restaurants at the Borgata tasted their first dish. He thought that Paula's mushroom salad was a little too dressed, and didn't think that Danny's jerked lobster tail tasted much like lobster - and gave the win to Paula on that round.
Another executive chef came out to taste the second course. He thought that Paula's soup was delicious, and Danny's salad got a yummy stamp of approval. He said it was a tough call, but went with Danny. I wonder if that was a fix so that the vote would come down to the final dish.
The Big Boss Man came out to judge the third course. Danny's dish took it, and he won.
What did he win? Don't know yet. I'm guessing first school yard pick of older contestants to help them. Because you know that's coming.
Back at Hell's Kitchen, Paula was ok with the fake candles, and Danny got some really tacky mounted fish, which he was happy with. Ok then.
One last challenge - "key ingredients they both need" are under domes on a table. It's the expected eliminated contestants. It was kind of creepy, and someone's going to get stuck wit Lacey. Andrea, LA, Ben, Carol, and Giovanni will make up their brigades.
I was right. Danny got first pick, and picked Ben. Paula picked Andrea. Danny picked Giovanni, and Paula picked LA. Danny picked Carol, and Paula got stuck with Lacey. On the same team as Andrea. That ought to be a mess.
And we won't see it until next week!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 4.30.09
At the end of last week, they were about to get surprises.
It's family and friends! Danny got his girlfriend, and that made him really happy. There were many tears and more hugs.
After their reunion, they met with Ramsey, who had them select a dish to impress 100 lunch guests, and 90 minutes to cook. Mystery guests. Who are they? They are too cook small tasting portions, upscale lunch plates.
Everyone seemed calm and collected, except Andrea, who was talking to herself and mumbling and running behind.
Who are the customers? Chefs from across LA, from fine-dining restaurants. About 20 executive chefs stood and introduced themselves. Everyone was just a little nervous, as the James Beard Awards, etc etc etc were announced... Ramsey said "Los Angeles must be starving, because you are all here."
Andrea - Chicken roulade with proscuitto, microbasil, and garlic.
Paula - Oil poached sturgeon, with crispy potato and creme fraiche, salad, and caviar.
Danny - Halibut with ginger mint peach salsa, spiced basmati rice
Who will win? The guests chose their favorites and their least favorites.
76% percent thought that Danny's dish was the worst. Ouch. That's sad. I like him.
Over 76% chose Paula as the winner.
She won a full Hollywood treatment, and a surprise for the next day.
The losers had to clean the entire restaurant and setting the dining room for the next night's service, and then they had to do laundry day - ironing, bleaching, folding, starching, steaming... wincing.
Paula got a limo ride with Jean-Phillipe and the editors would have us think that sparks flew. It was cute. Her spa treatment looked sweet, and she came back to Hell's Kitchen looking fantastic.
Back in the dining room, it was Danny doing most of the complaining. That's different.
Paula got into a limo with Ramsey in the morning for the second half of her surprise, and it's to a Live Morning show, Good Day, LA.
Andrea and Danny? They had to mop, vacuum, steam clean, etc everything. Including the plasma tvs. Where they saw Paula on Live TV. She did a pretty good job, too.
Down to the nitty gritty of prepping for service... Ramsey told them, 4 minutes before the kitchen opened, that they are going to be taking turns running the pass. This is always a fun part of the season.
Ramsey started off running the pass, and the first appetizers went out well. Paula then came up to run the pass. She had some problems at first, very flustered. Ramsey called her a mouse without a voice, and she had to face the quality control sabotages... and missed that one of Ramsey's chefs gave her squash instead of carrot. And then Chef Scott sent up soup that was spinach instead of watercress, and she caught that one. She got into running the pass, and did a good job.
Danny is up to run the pass next. Jean-Phillipe sabotaged the first ticket under Ramsey's orders. There was a missing appetizer and no time written on the ticket. Oops. He missed it. Danny had problems, with cracking voice and not showing enough confidence. He did spot a problem with Andrea's scallops. A programmed Quality Control was also failed, when he failed to notice that potatoes were raw with skins on. He did pick up his stride getting into it, and did a decent job.
Andrea's turn. She had no troubles being loud. Will she catch Chef Scott's sabotage in using the wrong kind of fish in the Dorey? Nope. She then got very critical and loud about everything. Yelling about seasoning, and being kind of ridiculous, and I'm not sure if she was being over critical. Chef Scott was swearing at her under his breath, and she just kept talking. Andrea said that Scott's excuses made her realize why Ramsey is such a crazy man. Scott wanted to murder her, though.
Ramsey went back to the pass, and Scott was happier that way.
It ended up being their best service. I was actually impressed. No one seemed to seriously mess up. Tough decision. He asked them what was different about him, and Paula guessed his hair (no) and Andrea guess a spot on his jacket (what?) and then she discovered the different thing was a smile on his face, for a fantastic service.
Still, someone's going home.
They have to go back to the Dorm and each person has to decide (for themselves) who should NOT be in the finals.
Andrea decided that Danny should be going home, based on his performance on the pass. He thinks Andrea should be going home, saying she just talked and talked, and was nit-picky. She claimed to just be applying her standards. Because her standards have been so high the whole season, and she's never sent anything subpar to the pass... oh, right.
And when it came to talking to Ramsey, Paula voted for Andrea.
Paula is in the final 2, according to Ramsey.
In the end, no matter how loud she was at the pass, Andrea is going home. I am glad. Paula and Danny have been much more even thoughout the season, and I think they both deserve to be in the finals. Andrea had so many mishaps it's almost embarrassing.
This ought to be a good finale.
It's family and friends! Danny got his girlfriend, and that made him really happy. There were many tears and more hugs.
After their reunion, they met with Ramsey, who had them select a dish to impress 100 lunch guests, and 90 minutes to cook. Mystery guests. Who are they? They are too cook small tasting portions, upscale lunch plates.
Everyone seemed calm and collected, except Andrea, who was talking to herself and mumbling and running behind.
Who are the customers? Chefs from across LA, from fine-dining restaurants. About 20 executive chefs stood and introduced themselves. Everyone was just a little nervous, as the James Beard Awards, etc etc etc were announced... Ramsey said "Los Angeles must be starving, because you are all here."
Andrea - Chicken roulade with proscuitto, microbasil, and garlic.
Paula - Oil poached sturgeon, with crispy potato and creme fraiche, salad, and caviar.
Danny - Halibut with ginger mint peach salsa, spiced basmati rice
Who will win? The guests chose their favorites and their least favorites.
76% percent thought that Danny's dish was the worst. Ouch. That's sad. I like him.
Over 76% chose Paula as the winner.
She won a full Hollywood treatment, and a surprise for the next day.
The losers had to clean the entire restaurant and setting the dining room for the next night's service, and then they had to do laundry day - ironing, bleaching, folding, starching, steaming... wincing.
Paula got a limo ride with Jean-Phillipe and the editors would have us think that sparks flew. It was cute. Her spa treatment looked sweet, and she came back to Hell's Kitchen looking fantastic.
Back in the dining room, it was Danny doing most of the complaining. That's different.
Paula got into a limo with Ramsey in the morning for the second half of her surprise, and it's to a Live Morning show, Good Day, LA.
Andrea and Danny? They had to mop, vacuum, steam clean, etc everything. Including the plasma tvs. Where they saw Paula on Live TV. She did a pretty good job, too.
Down to the nitty gritty of prepping for service... Ramsey told them, 4 minutes before the kitchen opened, that they are going to be taking turns running the pass. This is always a fun part of the season.
Ramsey started off running the pass, and the first appetizers went out well. Paula then came up to run the pass. She had some problems at first, very flustered. Ramsey called her a mouse without a voice, and she had to face the quality control sabotages... and missed that one of Ramsey's chefs gave her squash instead of carrot. And then Chef Scott sent up soup that was spinach instead of watercress, and she caught that one. She got into running the pass, and did a good job.
Danny is up to run the pass next. Jean-Phillipe sabotaged the first ticket under Ramsey's orders. There was a missing appetizer and no time written on the ticket. Oops. He missed it. Danny had problems, with cracking voice and not showing enough confidence. He did spot a problem with Andrea's scallops. A programmed Quality Control was also failed, when he failed to notice that potatoes were raw with skins on. He did pick up his stride getting into it, and did a decent job.
Andrea's turn. She had no troubles being loud. Will she catch Chef Scott's sabotage in using the wrong kind of fish in the Dorey? Nope. She then got very critical and loud about everything. Yelling about seasoning, and being kind of ridiculous, and I'm not sure if she was being over critical. Chef Scott was swearing at her under his breath, and she just kept talking. Andrea said that Scott's excuses made her realize why Ramsey is such a crazy man. Scott wanted to murder her, though.
Ramsey went back to the pass, and Scott was happier that way.
It ended up being their best service. I was actually impressed. No one seemed to seriously mess up. Tough decision. He asked them what was different about him, and Paula guessed his hair (no) and Andrea guess a spot on his jacket (what?) and then she discovered the different thing was a smile on his face, for a fantastic service.
Still, someone's going home.
They have to go back to the Dorm and each person has to decide (for themselves) who should NOT be in the finals.
Andrea decided that Danny should be going home, based on his performance on the pass. He thinks Andrea should be going home, saying she just talked and talked, and was nit-picky. She claimed to just be applying her standards. Because her standards have been so high the whole season, and she's never sent anything subpar to the pass... oh, right.
And when it came to talking to Ramsey, Paula voted for Andrea.
Paula is in the final 2, according to Ramsey.
In the end, no matter how loud she was at the pass, Andrea is going home. I am glad. Paula and Danny have been much more even thoughout the season, and I think they both deserve to be in the finals. Andrea had so many mishaps it's almost embarrassing.
This ought to be a good finale.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Hell's Kitchen: 4.23.09
Will Andrea get her due this week? Will Ben admit he was wrong (like Ramsey wants him to do)? Andrea expects to push back this week and redeem herself. We'll see.
Ramsey called them down in the morning, and was finishing up some dishes. Three dishes from his menu - duck, beef, and fish stew. The challenge is about accuracy. Andrea, Paula, and Ben love the fish, and Danny liked the duck. Well, the Taste It, Now Make It challenge goes with the majority. The pantry is stocked with a huge variety of fish, and other ingredients. They were allowed to go back and keep tasting.
Ben is using Red snapper, and everyone else is using halibut. Andrea chose bay scallops, while everyone else chose sea scallops. For the stock, everyone but Paula used fish stock, but Paula used water. Danny and Paula chose white wine, Andrea used sambuca, and Ben used pernot, and tried covering it with a towel, which Ramsey called him on. Andrea was probably that kid who always looked at other kids' papers in school.
Ramsey tried the stews.
Andrea's got a "quite nice." Ben got "nice." Paula "got nice and light, and quite nice." Danny got "nice flavor, rustic." The fish was halibut, but Ben got the pernot right. The bay scallops were the winner on that, and Ben used too much saffron. It was down to Danny and Paula, and it's close between them. Well, Ramsey uses stock, not water, and Danny won. He got a one on one surprise with Ramsey.
The losers have to hand polish crystal, clean cutlery, and clean the carpets with Jean-Philippe - AND prep for tht night's dinner service. Ouch.
Off Danny and Ramsey go in a limo. They are flying in biplanes! (open cockpit!) Nice. With acrobatic moves. Insane and cool.
Andrea despaired in the loss, whine whine whine, saying her fingernails hurt and she wanted to hang herself with dental floss. Get over it. Debbie Downer needs to get a grip.
Before service began, Ramsey sent them back to the dorm, for a "surprise."
The surprise was a good one - Sets of Gordon Ramsey branded pans. Royal Doulton. I'll have to look them up. They look quite nice. (I'm something of a kitchen snob).
Ramsey says he's wiping the slate clean for service tonight, and going purely on this service. Let's see how that goes.
Ben started off on the wrong foot again, calling orders wrong right off the bat. Paula started off well with perfect scallops, and Ben actually produced a good risotto, and Andrea also did a good job.
Then, Ben put spaghetti into water that wasn't boiling. Ramsey called him on that.
The appetizers were going out well, and the communication was going ok. And Andrea delivered good wellington. Finally.
Then, oops.... Ben produced bland risotto, with no seasoning, and no salt. Paula made her first mistake and missed a call on Dorey, slowing things down a bit. Ramsey told her to turn it up a notch.
Ben was told to make a salad for vegetarians, and asked if he should put tuna on it, and also put croutons on it, when it was asked for as plain with just vinaigrette. Not so good.
And there's a super special patron.. he wants to propose to his girlfriend, and sent a very beautiful ring back to the kitchen to be sent out with dessert.
Danny was kind of floundering on the garnish station, but not too bad. Andrea was working well on the meat station. Ben didn't drop the pasta early, and caused a bit of a delay. Danny looked a bit smug about Ben's mistakes.
Andrea, meanwhile, messed up some Wellingtons. She was doing so well, and then panicked. She did the right thing, though, and told Ramsey about her mistake, and he fixed it.
The proposal dessert was served without drama and it was pretty sweet. Thankfully, she said yes. It would have been hilarious if she had said no, but in a tragic way.
Andrea somehow lost two Wellingtons. Where did they go? She had a miscount. Paula and Danny worked together like pros to get some more in the oven for her.
And it was so close to a perfect service. Ramsey said they could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but they switched off at the last 10% of service. They have to come up with a consensus of one person to leave.
I say Ben, based purely on tonight. Ben claimed to be several levels above her in skill. I think they are about on par.. but Danny said that Andrea's Wellington mishap was killer. Danny asked Andrea if she's ever run a kitchen, and she said yes, and he said "how many people in the kitchen," and she said that she didn't want to get into details. Hmmm. Paula brings up the fact that Ben falls apart at some point in every service, and Ben said that Paula made more mistakes than either Andrea or himself. I don't think so.
So, it looks like a tie, not a consensus. Ramsey had the both of them step forward. They both give their standard (and often heard) reasons they should be kept, and Ben is going home. I actually think that was the right decision tonight. Ramsey sent him off with a "well done," so maybe he is better than the editors showed us..
I think it's going to be Danny or Paula. If Andrea wins, I would be shocked. They get a "little treat" and some VIPs to cook for at the end of the show... for next week. They get to take turns running the pass next week. That's always fun.
Did you think Ben should have gone home tonight?
Ramsey called them down in the morning, and was finishing up some dishes. Three dishes from his menu - duck, beef, and fish stew. The challenge is about accuracy. Andrea, Paula, and Ben love the fish, and Danny liked the duck. Well, the Taste It, Now Make It challenge goes with the majority. The pantry is stocked with a huge variety of fish, and other ingredients. They were allowed to go back and keep tasting.
Ben is using Red snapper, and everyone else is using halibut. Andrea chose bay scallops, while everyone else chose sea scallops. For the stock, everyone but Paula used fish stock, but Paula used water. Danny and Paula chose white wine, Andrea used sambuca, and Ben used pernot, and tried covering it with a towel, which Ramsey called him on. Andrea was probably that kid who always looked at other kids' papers in school.
Ramsey tried the stews.
Andrea's got a "quite nice." Ben got "nice." Paula "got nice and light, and quite nice." Danny got "nice flavor, rustic." The fish was halibut, but Ben got the pernot right. The bay scallops were the winner on that, and Ben used too much saffron. It was down to Danny and Paula, and it's close between them. Well, Ramsey uses stock, not water, and Danny won. He got a one on one surprise with Ramsey.
The losers have to hand polish crystal, clean cutlery, and clean the carpets with Jean-Philippe - AND prep for tht night's dinner service. Ouch.
Off Danny and Ramsey go in a limo. They are flying in biplanes! (open cockpit!) Nice. With acrobatic moves. Insane and cool.
Andrea despaired in the loss, whine whine whine, saying her fingernails hurt and she wanted to hang herself with dental floss. Get over it. Debbie Downer needs to get a grip.
Before service began, Ramsey sent them back to the dorm, for a "surprise."
The surprise was a good one - Sets of Gordon Ramsey branded pans. Royal Doulton. I'll have to look them up. They look quite nice. (I'm something of a kitchen snob).
Ramsey says he's wiping the slate clean for service tonight, and going purely on this service. Let's see how that goes.
Ben started off on the wrong foot again, calling orders wrong right off the bat. Paula started off well with perfect scallops, and Ben actually produced a good risotto, and Andrea also did a good job.
Then, Ben put spaghetti into water that wasn't boiling. Ramsey called him on that.
The appetizers were going out well, and the communication was going ok. And Andrea delivered good wellington. Finally.
Then, oops.... Ben produced bland risotto, with no seasoning, and no salt. Paula made her first mistake and missed a call on Dorey, slowing things down a bit. Ramsey told her to turn it up a notch.
Ben was told to make a salad for vegetarians, and asked if he should put tuna on it, and also put croutons on it, when it was asked for as plain with just vinaigrette. Not so good.
And there's a super special patron.. he wants to propose to his girlfriend, and sent a very beautiful ring back to the kitchen to be sent out with dessert.
Danny was kind of floundering on the garnish station, but not too bad. Andrea was working well on the meat station. Ben didn't drop the pasta early, and caused a bit of a delay. Danny looked a bit smug about Ben's mistakes.
Andrea, meanwhile, messed up some Wellingtons. She was doing so well, and then panicked. She did the right thing, though, and told Ramsey about her mistake, and he fixed it.
The proposal dessert was served without drama and it was pretty sweet. Thankfully, she said yes. It would have been hilarious if she had said no, but in a tragic way.
Andrea somehow lost two Wellingtons. Where did they go? She had a miscount. Paula and Danny worked together like pros to get some more in the oven for her.
And it was so close to a perfect service. Ramsey said they could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but they switched off at the last 10% of service. They have to come up with a consensus of one person to leave.
I say Ben, based purely on tonight. Ben claimed to be several levels above her in skill. I think they are about on par.. but Danny said that Andrea's Wellington mishap was killer. Danny asked Andrea if she's ever run a kitchen, and she said yes, and he said "how many people in the kitchen," and she said that she didn't want to get into details. Hmmm. Paula brings up the fact that Ben falls apart at some point in every service, and Ben said that Paula made more mistakes than either Andrea or himself. I don't think so.
So, it looks like a tie, not a consensus. Ramsey had the both of them step forward. They both give their standard (and often heard) reasons they should be kept, and Ben is going home. I actually think that was the right decision tonight. Ramsey sent him off with a "well done," so maybe he is better than the editors showed us..
I think it's going to be Danny or Paula. If Andrea wins, I would be shocked. They get a "little treat" and some VIPs to cook for at the end of the show... for next week. They get to take turns running the pass next week. That's always fun.
Did you think Ben should have gone home tonight?
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