S13.E03: 16 Chefs Compete

[cooksdelight]

A unique team challenge involves the chefs completing recipes printed on the backs of their jackets. Later, the teams work together to create specialty dishes for VIP guests, which include talk-show host Wendy Williams.

[Totale]

If only it was the late, great Wendy O. Williams, instead.  "What do you mean, shut it down?  I want my goddamned food!"

[kikismom]

Looks like Gordon finally yelled someone into a coma.

Besides the viewers, I mean.

[cooksdelight]

Wendy Williams worrying about her wig catching on fire was funny.

Roe didn't know what an empanada was? The other guy up against her, he talks so fast he makes me nervous.

Wish I could remember which guy said "Everybody likes moist pie."

[ElleryAnne]

I'm so tired of the faux emergencies on this show.  It seems like every season incorporates stock footage of lights and sirens approaching in the dark.  

[atir]

I don't cook a ton but even I know to leave the oven door shut in order to, ya know, keep the heat in so the meat cooks faster. Jeesch. This crop is a bunch of dummies.

 

I hope they do the blindfolded taste test. If they don't know what a "pie" is or an empanada, they should be hilarious when it comes to tastings.

[Brattinella]

So, why wasn't LaTasha nominated?  Because she deflected focus on to the meat?

 

I wouldn't last a minute on this show.  For one, I wouldn't allow anyone to hurry me;  food takes as long as it takes.  Secondly, I would NEVER be part of a prayer circle in the KITCHEN!  That just isn't right.

[Such A Flirt]

Wish I could remember which guy said "Everybody likes moist pie."

 

I think that was the guy with the piercing - Aaron?

 

Good bloody riddance, Denine; such a nasty attitude.

[BogoGog24]

Yes Aaron was the one who said the line about moist pie.

 

I'm not seeing a winner yet from either side. I thought Roe had a good chance from the women's side but after her failure with the challenge I'm not so sure anymore. And Bryant seemed like a strong contender for the men but he was awful tonight. 

 

I hate it when they use a contestant's injury for ratings. Instead of letting us know whether she was okay or not, they're going to make us wait until next week to find out what happens to her. Not cool at all. I'm guessing she probably gets taken to a hospital just to get some fluids into her (probably passed out from being dehydrated), they'll give her an IV, and then she'll be back just in time for service. 

 

Kalen grates on my nerves. Her voice sounds like she has a sore throat and for some reason she reminds me of a giant 5 year old. She also complained that Denine didn't offer to help her, even though she asked her if she needed help and she said no. And she kept opening the oven while trying to cook her lamb...

[cooksdelight]

For me, I'd have voted Denine out on her overall performance for the entire day. She did nothing to help in prep, that I saw. And when she left, she seemed like she really didn't care to be gone.

[Donny Ketchum]

I find it suspect that Ramsay kicked all of the women out for messing up at Wendy's table when that was really only two people who did it, but only kicked three men out of the other kitchen.

 

That said, I was kinda okay with the women losing tonight since it meant a chance to get rid of Denine.  She didn't do anything really wrong in service, but she was useless in prep and seemed to be an overall drain on the team.  Maybe the women can do a lot better with her gone.

Edited September 18, 2014 by Donny Ketchum

[mlp]

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at a casting call for this show.  The contestants they select are so marginal that the rejects must be absolutely terrifying.  So far the only ones I rather like are Fernando and Sade but that may change as we see more of them all.  I can't decide if Sterling is just a big goofball or if part of his behavior is meant to be disarming.  Time will tell, I guess.

[BogoGog24]

Actually I think they cast the rejects, not the other way around. I can't seriously believe the people in that kitchen really have a genuine clue what they're doing. There's maybe 3-5 on each team who have a genuine set of skills, the rest are fodder meant for good entertainment. Because it's more fun to watch the donkeys get yelled at by Chef Ramsay than to watch a perfect service.

[cooksdelight]

I was surprised Sterling did a good job with the scallops, then got thrown out with the other guy who messed up the halibut.

[atir]

I wish they would have discussed the coffee encrusted steak. I was curious about Ramsay's take on that. I like both coffee and steak, but I can't quite wrap my head around that presentation. Plus Roe blowing on the steak to get the fire out? Hells, no.

[cooksdelight]

I use a mixture of equal parts ground coffee/sugar/Lawry's seasoning salt. It is probably similar to what they used, because just putting coffee on Kobe beef steaks would have overpowered them, I think. I wish they'd share some recipes now and then.

[HappyDancex2]

I use basically the same thing, grounds, sugar and salt. There are lots of variations of this recipe blend on the internet.

Denine doing the whole "why should I be punished when it wasn't my fault" thing was ridiculous. I was hoping she would stick around, cause her team to lose the next challenge and then her entire team sits out the punishment and makes her do it. Goose meet gander. Entitled fodder!

The scallops are already very subjective this year. Sterling's first batch looked pale. I like a harder sear on my scah-lahps.

[Surrealist]

Steve about Sterling - "The guy just thinks this whole thing's a joke and a game."

Um. That's because it is.

[OlfinBedwere]

I find it suspect that Ramsay kicked all of the women out for messing up at Wendy's table when that was really only two people who did it, but only kicked three men out of the other kitchen.

 

Last season (and the one before, actually) it seemed to be the other way around - one of the women screws up, Ramsay just throws her out of service, but one of the men screws up, Ramsay throws the entire team out.

 

A little surprised that Denine went, as it seemed to be Kalen that made most of the screw-ups. Definitely not complaining though, as she was annoying as hell, and only survived last week because Janai did such a spectacularly incompetent job of pleading for her survival.

[xcrayon2215x]

Thought it would be Kalen but Denine sucked last week while Kalen was good the first two services so I understand. So far Fernando is the only one on the blue team that hasn't had two good dinner services, pretty strange. I'm pretty certain we get a female winner this year.

[Mama No Life]

I find it mind boggling that Denine went into what is essentially a team competition while declaring she was just going to take care of herself.  Well have fun doing that at home.

 

Don't like Kalen either, but I LOATHE Bryant and Fernando.  GO HOME

[kikismom]

Wish I could remember which guy said "Everybody likes moist pie."

I want a T-shirt with that line on the front.

 

I will make many new friends.

[Julia]

I want a T-shirt with that line on the front.

 

I will make many new friends.

 

Of all ages and genders, even.

[AZChristian]

I want a T-shirt with that line on the front.

 

I will make many new friends.

 

Hobby Lobby - iron-on letters - magic!

[Primetimer]

Hell's Kitchen finds its balance between yelling and cooking, and Elisabeth Röhm is there to witness the magic.

Read the story

[Calamity Jane]

During the writers' strike a few years ago, my daughter was in grad school at Papperdine in Malibu, where she met a couple of people who were making extra money writing scripts for "reality" shows.  It was a deep, dark secret at the time, and I thought maybe it was an exaggeration, but watching last night's Hell's Kitchen, it just seems glaringly obvious that everything is choreographed like a ballet.  I'll watch for mild entertainment, but with certainty that the winner is already determined.  

[BusyOctober]

I thought I would be rooting for Roe as she so far as been level headed and mature.  However, not knowing she was making an empanada makes me question her cooking chops.  Of course she is still miles ahead of someone like Denine. 

 

I will never understand how a culinary student - not a graduate- thinks s/he will be able to win the position of a head chef.  I don't care how much of a cooking genius one may be, the person would still need some exposure to real restaurant or catering work to have any credibility in front of the hiring manager.  Granted that's real world requirements,and this show is highly scripted dreck, so all logic, common sense and reason must be checked at the fame-whore casting door.

 

I wish the Hell's Kitchen would shake things up and change the menu more often. FOX must've made a deal with beef and scallop vendors for a life-time contracts.  Why do we have to watch these people bungle Wellingtons, risottos and scallops EVERY season?  I've never made a Wellington and they look tricky, so I guess the chefs need skill to cook them properly.  But scallops and risotto? These are fairly simple for even casual home cooks to make.  Too bad the contestants haven't figured it out after all these years.  About the Wellingtons - do the contestants prep them themselves or are they pre-made? Making the duxelle, searing the fillets then assembling them with the prosciutto and pastry is time consuming! These wannabe chefs are always too busy doing pointless "challenges" all day to do any of that detailed labor.

[BogoGog24]

I seem to remember they do prep the Wellingtons themselves because occasionally there would be an issue with the dough, like either the dough had come off or they had put too much dough on it, etc. I could be wrong though. 

[6 MeowMeowBeenz]

But scallops and risotto? These are fairly simple for even casual home cooks to make.  Too bad the contestants haven't figured it out after all these years.

 

 

There have been a lot of allegations of sabotage over the years...producers screwing with the oven temps, hiding the food that was prepped...I have to think contestants practice their risotto and scallops like crazy before they go on the show. 

[Totale]

I use basically the same thing, grounds, sugar and salt. There are lots of variations of this recipe blend on the internet.

 

 

Can't be.  Lenny from Food Network Star just recently invented it when he accidentally knocked the coffee off the range hood onto his salt in the chuckwagon.  He said so himself.

 

There wasn't much non-decorative about Denine to like, but we saw her (twice) offer to help Kalen on the meat station and Ms. "I'm from Texas and know my meat" shot her down every time.  I would have dumped Kalen.

 

Still in love with Elizabeth Rohm after all these years.

Edited September 18, 2014 by Totale

[cooksdelight]

Still in love with Elizabeth Rohm after all these years.

I wish we'd seen more of her instead of Wendy Williams.

The risotto and scallops, people have no excuse for not cooking them properly. I watched them turn on the stovetop burners before putting items in the pans and they were right there the entire time. I call more shenanigans on Ramsay. Sterling's scallops looked barely cooked, even the other chef thought so. But Gordon sent them out. Probably to the non-VIPs in the cheap seats that are never on TV.

In case anyone lives in the Los Angeles area and wants to be a diner, you can go to HK's website and put your name on their waiting list. They pay you for your time.

[Charlesman]

Looks like Gordon finally yelled someone into a coma.

 

 

 

And just a few days after drawing out a sentence so long that he caused someone to lose consciousness on Masterchef!

[Rambler]

Wow the women’s team went downhill fast. It almost makes me believe all the conspiracy theories of the producers fiddling with the oven temperatures once they saw the lack of screaming that went on during that first dinner service.

 

I was surprised that Denine got the boot because she seemed the type that they would want to keep around to stir up drama, but possibly when she started a fire in the kitchen and then did nothing to put it out, it was something Ramsey was not going to put up with.

 

My early front runners for this season are Katie and Santos, based on the theory that the top contenders will do well on the signature dish challenge and then are basically invisible during the early dinner services. I don’t know if this theory actually works in practice, but it sounds good so that’s what I go with.

[Donny Ketchum]

A little surprised that Denine went, as it seemed to be Kalen that made most of the screw-ups. Definitely not complaining though, as she was annoying as hell, and only survived last week because Janai did such a spectacularly incompetent job of pleading for her survival.

 

Thought it would be Kalen but Denine sucked last week while Kalen was good the first two services so I understand. So far Fernando is the only one on the blue team that hasn't had two good dinner services, pretty strange. I'm pretty certain we get a female winner this year.

Ramsay is an odd case to me in that sometimes, he eliminates someone based on one service, while other times are based on cumulative performance.  For Denine, this was the latter.  I guess he remembered her being up for elimination last week and wanted to nip her being a repeat visitor in the bud.  But yeah, if he'd based it only on this week, Kalen would've been gone, for sure.

 

There wasn't much non-decorative about Denine to like, but we saw her (twice) offer to help Kalen on the meat station and Ms. "I'm from Texas and know my meat" shot her down every time.  I would have dumped Kalen.

Yeah, Kalen was more of the guilty party this week, as Denine really didn't do anything wrong.  But I imagine Ramsay just didn't want to risk anything more with her while he thought he could still work with Kalen.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Donny Ketchum

[cooksdelight]

For me, Denine showed she's lazy and will not help her team in a brigade. No way she'd ever survive in any busy restaurant, certainly not running one of Ramsay's.

[Surrealist]

I'm so tired of the faux emergencies on this show. It seems like every season incorporates stock footage of lights and sirens approaching in the dark.

THANK YOU!

I'm so tired of seeing someone faint in almost every episode of a Gordon Ramsay show.

I should feel bad saying that because these people might genuinely be ill, but these instances are executed in a way that makes me think the contestants or visitors are in cahoots with the producers.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Surrealist

[joeyjoey]

Wendy Williams worrying about her wig catching on fire was funny.

Roe didn't know what an empanada was? The other guy up against her, he talks so fast he makes me nervous.

Wish I could remember which guy said "Everybody likes moist pie."

I looked at it again, and WW deserved to have her wig in peril after asking for 'steak sauce' for her Kobe Beef.  Foodie my a@#.  I wonder if the chef didn't deliberately set it on fire when she heard that.

 

I don't know why but It kinda reminded me of that british comedy 'Chef' when Lenny Henry went off on somebody when they asked for salt.

[cooksdelight]

I missed the part about the steak sauce! OMG, how dare she! *snark*

That's like asking for ice cubes for your red wine.

[Julia]

In fairness, it's not just kobe (although I assume they mean wagyu) beef, it's kobe filet, which means that it's very, very soft and it tastes like nothing at all. I wouldn't ask for steak sauce, but I'd want to see a fair sized chunk of compound butter.

[cooksdelight]

Wasn't Gordon pouring some kind of sauce on the plate at the pass?

[Julia]

I'm suprised they let Denine go so early. She's goodlooking, sullen and stupid. Usually she would be there until three or four weeks before the end.

 

I thought it was kind of hilarious, in a sad way, that Katie's idea of an insult was that the guys were "acting like girls." Way to internalize the whole kitchen sexism thing, dear.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Julia

[Andromeda]

I looked at it again, and WW deserved to have her wig in peril after asking for 'steak sauce' for her Kobe Beef.  Foodie my a@#.  I wonder if the chef didn't deliberately set it on fire when she heard that.

I don't know why but It kinda reminded me of that british comedy 'Chef' when Lenny Henry went off on somebody when they asked for salt.

I'm of the mind that if I want steak sauce, if it tastes better to me with it, then so what? No one else is eating it, and I'm paying for it, I deserve to have it my way. I'm also free to drink any wine with any dish (not worrying about that pairing stuff).

 

Glad Denine is gone. What an attitude. She needs to grow up. Sterling is so bizarre. I wonder about his mental stability. I'm 100!

[Tinkerbellechains]

Frank is not the sharpest tool in the shed is he? The monkey/wrench comment he made, followed by wait... That's not right, was sad but funny at the same time.

[atir]

Aw man, I didn't hear the steak sauce request either. That clearly is not something a foodie would do.

[Jersey Guy 87]

 

For me, I'd have voted Denine out on her overall performance for the entire day. She did nothing to help in prep, that I saw.

 

Nobody has ever been eliminated by Ramsay for being lazy during prep or the punishment - there's zero incentive to do either of those things since it has no bearing on his decision.