[Sca-cooks] OOP: Hell's Kitchen

Michael Gunter countgunthar at hotmail.com
Tue Jun 20 16:29:36 PDT 2006


> > Well, i started watching this season's run of "Hell's Kitchen".
> > Months ago, when i heard that "Our Gunthar" didn't make the cut, i
> > was disappointed. Once i saw the new show, i was really glad he
> > wasn't there.

I was mildly disappointed but really didn't expect to get chosen.
Hundreds of people applied. I went to the interview at 8 pm and was
there until 2 in the morning.

I've never seen an episode but figured it would be good for a laugh.
When asked about Chef Ramsey's penchant for evil and if I could
handle it, my answer was that I just needed to remember a lot
of it was calculated for television. Without screaming and crying
and all of that there would be no show.

I don't like 99.9% of reality TV. "Beauty and the Geek" was about
the only exception.

>Maybe dribbles here and there. I was cringing when they had people
>cutting -- what were they supposed to be, precise, 10-ounce
>"sirloin" (actually loin) steaks, and NO-friggin-BODY had a scale???
>And this is a new, state-of-the-art kitchen? No, it's just a
>meaningless challenge concocted by the evil to take advantage of all
>but the brightest bulbs in a very dim string.

It has nothing to do with a real kitchen. Same as putting giant
puzzles together on a beach have nothing to do with survival.
"Hell's Kitchen" is probably working on getting as much challenge
factor as possible to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
I'm sure a challenge is going to come up to see which contestant
can sell the most hors d'oevers to the passing public so the girls
can use skin to win. (ala "The Apprentice")

Ramsey is now working on a Simon Cowell personna of being
an evil bastard so he has to come up with more actions to maintain
this character.

>they're doing something to make it even worse than it needs to be.

Which is the entire purpose of the program.

At least Food Network's Next Star series really gave insights to just
what it takes to put on what appears to be an effortless cooking
show.

>One thing I think I found the least believable were the "candid"
>interview shots of the contestants claiming that they had what it
>takes to handle Chef Psycho, that they had great skills and that the
>chef would be putty in their hands.

Heh. Well, I never felt that way. And these people need to be
knocked down a few then. But, if they are as good with food
as they think then they have that same cockiness that many artists
do as well as being used to being under intense pressure. Kitchen
work ain't for shrinking violets even in the best of circumstances.

>Hel-LOOO!!! This is a "reality" TV show based on the tribulations of
>opening a restaurant. Why would the chef _ever_ lift a finger to make
>something easy? When would he fail to do anything he could to make
>their lives difficult?

Well, in reality the chef may make things difficult but a good chef and
manager works hard on making thing streamlined and cohesive. It's
good business. But it looks like this show is designed not to open
a successful restaurant but to create both real and artificial drama.

>I know what I would say, and I have a suspicion of (approximately)
>what Gunthar would say in response to that question: Chef Ramsey has
>been a calculating SOB for most of his professional life, and now
>he's going to be working hard at it, because now, for the first time,
>it's really part of his official job description. My job is to
>survive that and thrive on it, and I've dealt with worse. We'll see.

That was my intention. But in hindsight, I'm happy to have been
passed over.

>That was good, but Ramsey said he had
>never seen that before in all his years in restaurant work. I'd call
>it a prerequisite, and I suspect he's either not being honest about
>that, has been extremely lucky, or is Bobby Flay.

I agree. In my limited experience in professional kitchens as well
as doing my catering and feast work, the vast majority of folk who
get injured keep on working until they have time to worry about it.
I remember working at La Madeline and the potato soup (heavenly,
btw) was a puree and stuck like napalm. I still have small scars from
drops hitting my hands as I served. One of the crew put a large
pot into the steamer and it splashed his face. This molten lava just
off the cooker gave him second degree burns all over his face. He
was back at work that afternoon.

Just like Anthony Bourdain and his desire to get "Cook's Hands".
Injuries happen. Deal and go.

> > I enjoyed last year's run. This year, patooey. Don't waste the
> > electricity. Or come over to my house and jeer at it with me on
> > Monday evenings :-)

If I want to jeer I'll watch the latest Booby Flay incarnation (does
this guy have certain photos the president of Food Network not
want to get out or something?) where he evidently goes around
and challenges people to prepare their best dishes against him.
On another note, I kind of wonder about all the "unheard of" ties
that he gets. Is it just that ties look better on the w/l column than
losses?

Back on subject, for a much better look at Gordon Ramsey, check
out his show on BBC America, damn I blanked on the name. It's
where he goes and tries to help out struggling restaurants. He's
irascable and can be mean but at the same time there is a definate
humanity about it. It's very good.

>Adamantius (who can recommend any number of cool food-related movies
>on DVD if people need to see cooking on their TV screens)

Hmmm...."Big Night"; "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman"; "Vatel" come to
mind.

Gunthar
(I've been kind of wanting to do a feast, someone sit on me.)





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