hkalex

Well here we go again... Observations: The sad farewell (or whatever it was) will probably just be to one of the dishes on the menu or something. Jen is as annoying now as she was the first time around and because of that she'll last much longer than she deserves. I like Ariel, Kevin and T (I rooted for T in her first season so I'm hoping she's as competent here). I dislike Bret (iirc he was someone who took everything a wee bit too seriously the first time around), Jen, Neutral on everyone else (I don't know if my concentration was down or something but I'm struggling to tell the new chefs apart yet, maybe because we haven't actually seen them in dinner service yet?) So far I'm Kevin to win this series to put an end to the female winning streak(?) Trev, Roe (I didn't watch either of their seasons but I don't presume they'll be outstanding) and most of the Rookies I don't expect to last long and will probably be gone in the first few weeks.

"I can do this" is Hell's Kitchen code for "let's see how quickly I can fuck this up". I'm going an edgic chart for this season (research it if you don't know what this is) and I think Heather could go far. Even though the women had a strong opening night, I think a man will win this season. The men haven't been successful since season 12. Last season, I initially pegged Hassan, Dannie and Jared to do well...look how well that worked out. I'm pegging Heather, Ryan and Johnny. Executive chefs, emotional backstories and quietly competent chefs are usually the best ones I think. I've split them into three categories: The ones who could go far (Johnny, Ryan, Heather) The ones who won't (Jessica, Matt, Kimberly) And the ones who could go either way (pretty much up the rest of them)

Most chefs probably wouldn't appear on HK - S4's Christina's parents advised her against it before she appeared on the show. It doesn't really hold a good reputation. I imagine arguments between the contestants can sometimes be as a result of one of them being an experienced chef and the other being a plant. Interestingly, Bonnie the plant seems to have distanced herself from the show as much as possible. If you check her Twitter, she seems pretty sour about it. I read somewhere that they have to be seen by a psychiatrist or something, but I've also read that "on most occasion", GR sits down with them to offer words of encouragement. It's also somewhat concerning to hear that three contestants have died after appearing on the show - Rachel, Keith and Aaron. From what I've seen about the show, it's like putting rats in a cage purely to see which one survives above the rest.

Thanks for replies. Bonnie, in that sense, was definitely a plant in that she only really had about one good service and it was obvious she was being pegged as "just the nanny" weeks before she reached the final. I get the feeling that Vanessa and Kevin from the latest season were plants too, and that some actual chefs got knocked out early because they weren't interesting enough. Paula from S5 was probably planned to be axed early, but she never really messed up. Something else I've noticed is that a lot of contestants have bashed the show after appearing on it. Jen from S3 (one of my favourite contestants) said that Ramsay wore an earpiece from which he was fed one-liners, and believe it or not, that she was "locked" in a hotel room for a few days. She claimed that someone else actually said in a VT that the show was rigged before he was axed. She also claimed - and if this was true, I really do feel sorry for her - that the stress of the show stopped her from getting her period for six weeks after the show was filmed, and that she had received so little support from the show that she became depressed. I've read somewhere that Ji openly stated the show was designed to make chefs look bad; the sous chefs turning down oven temperatures and such. Tek from S6 similarly claimed things - salt was replaced with sugar, etc. She also alleged that there were so few toilets and showers among them that it was designed to brew tension. Hell's Kitchen isn't really a food program. It's a drama disguised as a food program. Plants like Bonnie and Jackie are always going to crop up.

On an unrelated note, which contestants do you think were "plants"? I've heard a lot of talk about Bonnie being a "plant" but I'm not too sure. Also can someone explain what is exactly meant by a "plant"? I thought it was someone handpicked by the producers specifically for the show but if someone can define it better, that's be helpful.

Thanks for letting me know:) I think a man will win this season. Not because I believe men are better or any of that crap, just by the laws of probability, and because the network won't want to handle claims of sexism for women winning four seasons in a row. The female team will unravel because of personality clashes whilst the men will fall apart over a power struggle - happens every time. Could be a man vs. woman final, though.

I remember you said this a while ago, I have a few questions: Have they changed the signature dish format? It seems to change every five seasons - Season 1-5 judged on no scale, season 6-10 get one point for a good dish, season 11-15 in front of live studio audience and scale of 1-5. Are teams still men vs women? How many chefs?

Here's the perfect strategy: Say you have limited experience (even if you don't) or that you're relatively new to cooking so you'll get sympathy and you're more likely to go far. People with "limited experience" have done well - Christina S4, Julia S3, Michelle S14. Smoke. Smoke when you win service. Smoke when you lose service. Smoke in the middle of service. Smoke when Ramsay spends fifteen minutes sending someone home. Smoke when giving VT's to the camera. The moment you stop smoking, you lose. Don't be a bitch. Even if you're a good cook, bitches never win. Don't be too nice either, though. You have to strike the balance. Always take responsibility for your mistakes. If you pass the buck, Ramsay passes you on. Always say your challenge dish was inspired by your great-grandmother's death or some bullcrap. When in the semi-final acting as a "leader", assume everything is a mistake. It usually is. Win over your team. Or at least most of them. They're the ones who'll be deciding your fate, ultimately, so they'll be more likely to vouch for you. Or: Be the biggest bitch possible for a number of weeks (to get views) before suddenly turning into a sweetheart with the best cooking skills in the country.

They just have too many, presumably to extend the runtime. I miss back in season two, when they only had twelve contestants, and neglected all those stupid intro sequences. Oh yeah, and sometimes there's a "pumped-up" black guy (Sterling, Bobby, etc.)

I forgot to mention there's always a hot girl, there's usually an Asian, someone from an ethnic minority, and the rest are usually just plants/fodder. I would've thought it's because it sort of fits the "perfect" balance for viewers. It's PC enough because it has diversity, it's easy to remember the individual characters based on looks (because if they all looked as average as Meese, you'd never remember them all) and it provides enough drama. But as you said; it's a TV show for entertainment, not for actual chefs. At the end of the day, you'll support the "chef" you like the most, regardless of whether their dish was crap.

It seems to me that the producers keep recycling the same format of contestants, presumably for the drama. For example, they always have: A heavyset and/or obnoxious black woman (sometimes, two) An overweight man A young mother doing stuff "for her children" A contestant with presumably very little experience who ends up outshining most other people (usually female) The tough-as-nails lesbian who doesn't take "no" for an answer One contestant drastically older than everyone else The "everyone-loves-to-hate" sexist Can anyone think of anymore, or at least why they keep recycling these kinds of contestants?

But it would justify why she returned when Ariel was announced winner. If she'd walked out mid-service, I would've thought she'd have just gone and refused to come back, but she didn't.

Heather will always be my winner. She was better in the first two episodes than most winners were in the entire course of the season. She very rarely made mistakes and when she did, she always bounced back from them. Became the red team sous chef in season six and was really nice to contestants too. I liked Julia also, though. I feel like the "waffle house cook" was being set up to win throughout the season, and when she messed up, it was something very minor (e.g - bringing up the wrong garnish when she had cooked the right one, she just got confused). More deserving of being in the final than Bonnie, no idea how she got there when she was about as consistent as Ramsay's hair.

I've been binge watching the old seasons, and I've come up with ten of my favourite chefs of all time. I'd like to know yours. Heather, Season Two (Winner) Julia, Season Three (4th place) Paula, Season Five (Runner-Up - should've won, though) Dave, Season Six (Winner) T, Season Fourteen (Runner-Up) Jen, Season Three (3rd place) Kristen, Season Fifteen (Runner-Up - as with Paula, should've won though. Had a crap final brigade.) Corey, Season Four (3rd place - I know she wasn't exactly liked by everyone, but you can't say she was a bad chef. Just a bitch at times.) Ji, Season Five (Withdrew - before claiming the show was fixed) Tennille, Season Six (4th place - some with Corey I guess) Wow, Dave's the only guy. It's probably worth noting I've only seen clips of seasons 7-13, and episode 1 of season 1, so while chefs like Sterling could've ended up on the list, I haven't seen much.

I know it probably doesn't matter anymore, but remember Dannie's walkout? She took to Twitter to claim this happened after service was already over, when they were cleaning up or whatever. I thought she was bullshitting, but Ariel backed her up on this. Make of that what you will.