S14.E01: 18 Chefs Compete

[cooksdelight]

The chefs present their signature dishes, with the winners getting a night with William Shatner.

[mlp]

 

a night with William Shatner.

 

Sounds more like a punishment to me.

[Totale]

[leighdear]

I bailed out half-way through the last season.  No idea if I'll be able to stomach another retread of obnoxious wannabe cooks looking for their 15 minutes of fame.

[cooksdelight]

You can't leave us. They have a new dish this year, supposedly. We're in this together. :)

[cooksdelight]

Well, that wasn't Tori having dinner with Dean. And my friend's table was barely shown. Whatever happened must have been cut, so I'm waiting to hear more.

The girl cut was the right one to go, but Monique is not far behind her.

[WickedTuna]

Sounds more like a punishment to me.

Hee hee. That's what I was thinking.

I dIdn't realize T was a woman until she lined up on the red side with her signature dish. Oops. She sure is aggressive. I'm thinking she might get into something physical this season.

I don't think I could eat anything made by the guy with the huge beard. I about lost my dinner when he stuck almost his whole face in a bowl of food. Blech.

I was hoping Ramsey was going to send Monique home right at the beginning. Sauce from a jar?? Who does that. And the attitude .. wow.

That wasn't Tori Spelling with Dean McDermott was it? Uh oh. I snickered when they said his table was VIP.

[cooksdelight]

It's really sad when a Dean sans Tori sighting was the highlight of the meal for me.

[leighdear]

I echo the beard-guy disgust. I just don't understand how that's allowed in any kitchen, much less on TV.  But then, I can't stand beards anywhere.  No real standouts, but I think T. showed some skills if she can keep the anger in check.  Probably not going to happen.

 

Chrissa looked & acted like she had never been on a kitchen before.  Good first boot, get the dregs out quickly.

 

I wasn't impressed with the stunt at the beginning, jumping off the building.  Lame and unnecessary.

 

New Maitre'd out front, Marino.  We'll see if he can approach the disdain and haughtiness of our beloved and long departed Jean-Philippe.

 

Gordon my darling, why are you making it so hard for me to keep liking you? 

[Kromm]

I only have one question.

 

Why?

 

 

Of course there are a dozen variants.

 

Why is this shit back again ALREADY?

Why am I watching AGAIN?

Why isn't my brain running out of my ears from doing so?

Why don't the producers of this show have even an ounce of originality?

Why am I CONSTANTLY surprised they haven't yet scraped the very bottom of the barrel casting this show?

Why is Gordon Ramsay so celebrated when all he seems to like making is Risotto, Wellingtons, and Scallops?

 

Ah I give up.  I probably DO have another 6 whys in me, but I'm rolling my eyes at the show too much to see straight to type them.

[Brooklynista]

And here we go for more of the same.

Why not start a season where he shows the chefs how he likes his scallops prepared? Or how he wants his risotto served?

And can we knock of the men vs women already??? Why not East coast vs. West coast? Straights vs Gays? Line cooks vs Caterers. I don't care what, just no more men vs women?

ETA: I must figure out how to work " I want a cigarette and a W" in more of my daily conversations.

Edited March 4, 2015 by Brooklynista

[BogoGog24]

The stunt at the beginning was dumb and a waste of time.

Other than that, not much else to say. It's the same old, same old.

[ElleryAnne]

Early in the episode they telegraphed the bottom two being Monique and Chrissa with Chrissa going home, so I was surprised when it looked the the red team managed to serve the appetizers with minimal fuss.  But they made up for it later - although the drama with the cold oven bugs me. That seems like the kind of sous-chef shenanigans the show's been accused of in the past.  I don't buy the idea that the red team was suddenly unable to coordinate the timing of two pieces of meat.  They didn't seem to be having that hard a time of it earlier.  Well, except for Chrissa, who just didn't belong there anyway.

 

This season's opening credit sequence is really lacking in energy. The openings are hit-or-miss anyway, but I think even the editing team has gotten tired of the show at this point.

[cooksdelight]

I thought that Gordon might have bought a Rainforest Cafe and that's his prize, due to the opening.... to send them to the jungle to make hamburgers and salads for kids who are oooohing and aaaaahing at the animated animals.

[Eolivet]

Could be a male winner this year -- it would be interesting to go back and see how many winners have come from the team that wins first. Kind of like winning the first leg of the Amazing Race.

 

Too bad -- I really like T and her apparent allergies to B.S.

[LakeGal]

I spent half the show wondering if Chrissa washed her hands in the bathroom. It looked like she walked right out of the cubicle and didn't look towards the sinks. I wanted to know if she washed her hands.

[biakbiak]

I wasn't impressed with the stunt at the beginning, jumping off the building.  Lame and unnecessary.

 

And so immediately obvious from the start that they were stuntpeople given the lack of any sort of safety equipment. Hell's Kitchen is stupid and pointless but I assume at least their insurance underwriter occasionally pays attention.

 

Why do I always forget to delete my season pass, why can't their be more things I watch at this time, those are the only two ways I am going to quit this show!

[cooksdelight]

I mentioned earlier a friend was a diner on tonight's show. Some interesting gossip.... Dean McDermott and his blonde date were making out, that his marriage to Tori Spelling is for their TV deals only. All of the angst you see on her show "True Tori" is her version of acting. They are not together.

The food was just OK, nothing special. The people who gush over how wonderful it is are told to do and say that. They pick the prettiest or handsome people to do that. Taping takes a long time, and by the time you do get your food, it's cold. They limit the amount of wine or liquor you get. My friend was glad just to get a meal, as they are told beforehand that they may not get anything depending on what happens in the kitchen. Diners are paid $50 to appear.

[Kromm]

This season's opening credit sequence is really lacking in energy. The openings are hit-or-miss anyway, but I think even the editing team has gotten tired of the show at this point.

I wouldn't even call them hit or miss.  I think they're worse each time.  There's some magical process involved here. I mean it's almost beyond comprehension the ideas and execution could be worse each time, and yet somehow they are.  Maybe it's that each time they're less and less about food?  No, that's not all of it, although that's part of it.  

[Kromm]

I don't think I could eat anything made by the guy with the huge beard. I about lost my dinner when he stuck almost his whole face in a bowl of food. Blech.

This show plays fast and loose with hygiene, not showing hair nets for example, but that beard is too much.  There's a food safety issue there.  A number of them. Hairs fall in food.  Hairs burn.   He's got all of that going on at once.  I know there are probably Muslim countries where ALL the cooks have beards like that, but those countries don't tend to have modern Boards of Health looking over their shoulders. 

[mlp]

I've always enjoyed the opening credits so I was really disappointed by this year's boring production.

 

The guy with the beard - Milly? - had a really long and icky beard at the very beginning and when Gordon was talking to him about it but it looked a lot shorter when he showed up in the kitchen for the first meal service.  In the collage at the beginning of quick scenes from the season, his beard appeared shorter yet.  Maybe I was seeing things or maybe they made him trim it.  So far, he seems nice enough.

 

The right person went home first but I hope that woman with the facial piercings and bizarre eye makeup isn't far behind.  She just looks creepy.

 

Overall, the cast is a lot more attractive than recent seasons - which says nothing about their skills, just makes them less hard to watch.

[KayElektra]

When Dean McDermott is the VIP and William Shatner showing up for a brief second is the "amazing celebrity"...yeah, I'm out.  I already miss Masterchef Jr.

 

This show is just the same shit over and over.  At least other shows try to change it up a bit after what?  14 seasons?  Jesus.

[hacman00]

Seeing William Shatner reminded me of Leonard Nimoy. RIP

I also am pleased that this cast is a little more attractive compared to other seasons and that most of the hot red team members can cook from what little we've seen. Yes I am shallow like that.

I didn't almost pee in my pants. BWHA!

[Donny Ketchum]

This cast looks more competent than last season's, for sure.  Not really any huge screw-ups in the dinner service until the entrees rolled around.

 

I felt a bit bad for most of the women.  They seemed to be doing a good job until the VIP table rolled around.  That seemed to trip them up to a point where they couldn't get it together again.   And to hear them talk after Ramsay kicked them out, they had one table left after the VIP table, and they would've won.  So the men basically got lucky that Christine and Monique fucked up so badly.

 

If we're basing the elimination on the service, I actually kinda thought that Monique or Christine should've been tossed.  Likely Monique for not checking the oven.  But Chrissa will do, too, since I don't think she knows what she's doing.  But yeah, I agree with those who think Monique's not long for the game herself.

 

Could be a male winner this year -- it would be interesting to go back and see how many winners have come from the team that wins first.

I don't know.  Even though I thought he didn't deserve to win HK12, Scott did win, and the women won that first week.

[mertensia]

I admit I'm kind of dying to know what kind of food Chrissa sells out of her food truck.

Monique wins the "Miss Oblivious" award..

I wish he'd sent Monique and Chrissa going. Monique is a dead man walking.

[Julia]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm astonished to see that the woman who runs the grilled cheese sandwich truck (according to a local paper) was cannon fodder. I'm guessing Monique is a plant too. The restaurants she supposedly has been a sous chef in have way too complicated menus for her not to at least have grasped the that 'fine dining' does not involve canned tomato paste.

T seems like a competent cook, but the physical threats thing seems really scripted and needs to stop, thanks.

I know the men were there. I guess none of them either impressed me enough or made a big enough fool of themselves to register.

cooksdelight, if we could declare a moratorium on talking about Dean McDermott's love life, it would be awesome. Especially since he seems to have gotten all puffy and stopped washing his hair. But hey, making out with someone not your wife during a TV show taping is a fairly hardcore bid for attention, so at least he's in there pitching.

Edited March 4, 2015 by Julia

[Eolivet]

If we're basing the elimination on the service, I actually kinda thought that Monique or Christine should've been tossed.  Likely Monique for not checking the oven.  But Chrissa will do, too, since I don't think she knows what she's doing.  But yeah, I agree with those who think Monique's not long for the game herself.

 

 

The only thing is I'm not sure we have an accurate picture of everyone's performance at service, because Ramsay bailed out the red kitchen by sending Chrissa to "help with tableside appetizers." Since I don't think T. needed any help there, he clearly knew Chrissa was a destructive force and wanted to see what the red kitchen could do without her wandering around and screwing them up. Sure, they sank themselves -- but I have to believe if he'd let Chrissa stick around, the damage would've been even worse. He did them a favor, and they took no advantage of it.

 

I agree Monique (and likely Christine) are not long for this (reality show contestant) world, but they were at least making an effort -- Chrissa was in her own little world. The right person definitely went home, in my opinion.

[illini1959]

I spent half the show wondering if Chrissa washed her hands in the bathroom. It looked like she walked right out of the cubicle and didn't look towards the sinks. I wanted to know if she washed her hands.

 

Me, too!

 

Otherwise, same ole same ole. There should be SOME kind of change. I don't even know why I still watch this, mostly sub-par cooks (chefs? right.) with attitude and little else.

 

We'll see how it goes, but unless the show can change in some way I doubt I'll be in for the season.

[fishcakes]

[ElleryAnne]

I spent half the show wondering if Chrissa washed her hands in the bathroom. It looked like she walked right out of the cubicle and didn't look towards the sinks. I wanted to know if she washed her hands.

 

 

I thought it looked like she was getting ready to walk in the direction of the sinks, but the camera cut away quickly -  probably to make people wonder.  I wondered more about why they think they needed to show someone coming out of a bathroom stall, anyway.  This show =/= classy.

 

 

I wouldn't even call them hit or miss.  I think they're worse each time.  There's some magical process involved here. I mean it's almost beyond comprehension the ideas and execution could be worse each time, and yet somehow they are.  Maybe it's that each time they're less and less about food?  No, that's not all of it, although that's part of it.

 

 

I don't even care if they're about the food, as long as they're a bit unique and have some energy.  I've liked a few of them over the years (the Goldberg contraption comes to mind), but lately they've been going downhill.

 

 

Monique is a dead man walking.

 

 

Yeah, she is.  But she was definitely going to be safe this week against Chrissa, because Monique brings more drama.  The only things keeping Chrissa from being invisible were a broken glass and a bathroom break, so she was doomed.

 

 

I also am pleased that this cast is a little more attractive compared to other seasons and that most of the hot red team members can cook from what little we've seen. Yes I am shallow like that.

 

 

Hey, there needs to be some reason to watch, and that's as good a reason as any.  And the camera really likes Sarah, and she's very pretty (IMO), so the editors are probably not unfamiliar with the shallow factor.

[LakeGal]

It would even be a change if he didn't start off the season with male vs female teams.  Anything to change it up would help.

[Uncle Benzene]

Man, I don't know what show you guys were watching, but this show is better than ever! It never ceases to amaze me how after 14 seasons they're still raising the bar. Never rehashing a single plot, always coming up with brand new storylines. How do they keep it so fresh? And better yet, it's all just so damn real! It truly is amazing, and it's what makes this show so great even after all this time.

 

I mean... the lamb was RAW?!? And the pork was dry?!? And they sent it anyway?!? What the hell? I'd say "Now I've seen everything!" but I know that with this show, I most certainly haven't. What will they come up with next? Oh, and when Ramsay smashed the rubbery scallops with his bare hand? I jumped off the couch!

 

And don't even get me started on when Ramsay said "Monique.............................................. back in line!" Whoa! Never saw that coming.

 

I just really hope all these contestants don't start getting pissy with one another. This show has always been above that kind of thing. Sadly, it kinda seems we might be heading down that road. Hopefully Ramsay and/or Production will nip that in the bud pronto. I, for one, trust them to do just that. Fingers crossed. I'm not sure I could keep watching if they let it get too far down in the gutter.

 

I really felt sad for the customers who had to wait so long to be served. Such bad luck to have gotten reservations on such an uncommonly bad night. I mean, when you dine at Hell's Kitchen, you quite rightly expect a certain level of professionalism...

 

Some serious talent though among these here contestants, that much is already obvious. How does this show keep landing the best of the best of undiscovered culinary talent?

 

I'm just glad Andi hasn't gotten tired of this shit yet, because for the last several seasons, she's been pretty much the only eye candy for this here straight guy. Also, she's hilarious. I wish they'd give here more face time. Hell, if I were to get greedy, I'd ask for Andi to have her own talking heads. That would be fantastic. She's by far the most entertaining person on this show. (On a related note, I really miss Scott and JP. Especially Scott. But especially JP.)

 

Men vs Women, eh? Have they done that before? Or did Ramsay decide yet again to do something he's never done before in the history of Hell's Kitchen???

[Canada]

Can someone please tell me what a W is?  I have some theories, probably none of which are actually correct.

[OlfinBedwere]

I don't mind them starting off the season with men vs. women, it's trying to keep the battle of the sexes schtick going throughout the whole season that I don't like. Back in S12 Ramsay did a pretty major team reshuffle midway through the season, and most of the drama seemed to dissipate after that.

 

For some reason I actually got the feeling that Ramsay was trying to set the women up for victory in the signature dish challenge, as he seemed a lot more conservative in scoring the men (mostly 3s, with the women getting a lot more 4s), but Chrissa and Monique blew it so badly that he couldn't give them the win. In that case, I wonder whether another celebrity was booked for the reward? Sure, William Shatner was in Miss Congeniality, but I always got the impression that he was there to throw a bone to the guys in the audience.

[leighdear]

 

Can someone please tell me what a W is?  I have some theories, probably none of which are actually correct.

That's short for a "Win". 

[nottopbravo]

Did I doze off, or did they not show anything from the table side service?  I believe it was shrimp.

 

Even the people doing the commercial break graphics (which I used to love) are getting lazy.

[cooksdelight]

There's a blonde chef on the ladies' team who I think stands a chance. She's an executive chef and her signature dish got a 5. Can't remember her name, but she's one to watch.

[Donny Ketchum]

Sure, they sank themselves -- but I have to believe if he'd let Chrissa stick around, the damage would've been even worse. He did them a favor, and they took no advantage of it.

I wouldn't say the whole team sank themselves, nor would I say that they took no advantage of Chrissa's removal.  They did plow right through appetizers after she was sent out into the dining room, after all, and were charging through entrees at a good rate.  The only ones who sank them were, again, Monique and Christine when they failed epically on the meat.  They were one table away from completing their service and totally fucked up for everyone.  And even though it was only their fault, Ramsay, for some reason, punished the whole team!  I'm kinda over him doing that, whether for the men or the women.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[hacman00]

I dunno.  I think the men vs women might be the best way to balance out the teams.  For some reason I think all the reward challenges will be really close.  So close that every single one of them will be decided in the last round of judging.  ;)

[Julia]

I imagine sometimes it'll be so close that Ramsay will need a week to think about it before he says someone's name.

 

I also predict that someone on the men's team is going to feel that the possession of vaginas is predictive of lack of cooking skill, to the point that he will accuse one of his male teammates whose skills he doesn't admire of possessing one.

Edited March 4, 2015 by Julia

[BogoGog24]

In the first 2 seasons they mixed men and women on the teams. It was just Red vs Blue, they were not separated by gender, age, sexual orientation, geographical origin, etc. Maybe they could just choose names from a hat so that it's completely random.

[cooksdelight]

I think Gordon's antiquated way of thinking is to split them by sexes in the hopes of a catfight on the women's team and a brawl on the men's. Or vice versa, depending on who's pitching the hissy fit.

[Bella]

I think Gordon's antiquated way of thinking is to split them by sexes in the hopes of a catfight on the women's team and a brawl on the men's. Or vice versa, depending on who's pitching the hissy fit.

 

Bingo! He's shown time and time again that his brain is firmly lodged in some decade prior to his birth, and he loves drama. 

[Julia]

Only, he's one of the few men at his level who actually hires women for positions of responsibility. I wonder how much of it is him and how much is his (koff) progressive friends at Fox/Shine.

[Donny Ketchum]

In the first 2 seasons they mixed men and women on the teams. It was just Red vs Blue, they were not separated by gender, age, sexual orientation, geographical origin, etc. Maybe they could just choose names from a hat so that it's completely random.

Nope.  It was just season one that did that.  I remember season two well, and the two teams were split by gender at the start.

[ElleryAnne]

I remember season two well

 

 

That's impressive.  I barely remember last season on this show.

[MsTeller]

I hate to sound this unkind and I am being serious not snarky. I really worry that Chrissa may have some type of disability or is in some way "off." She seems like a sweet person but there is definitely something different going on with her. I was relieved that she was sent home quickly just so that she was not being yelled at and emotionally damaged for the whole show.

 

Overall, I like this group better than the past few groups. (At least so far.)

 

It still kills me that every single year someone serves Chef Ramsey bottled sauce/frozen pasta/canned vegetables without fail despite his having the exact same reaction every time it happens. 

 

Interesting stuff about Dean McDermott. It really confirms the suspicions I have had for quite a while.

[Kromm]

I hate that T, who seems to be a really good cook, exposed this nasty ghetto side.  I was hoping for at least ONE season where they didn't have a ghetto-chef character.  The only variations typically are that half the time the ghetto chef is a shit cook, and half the time not.  

It still kills me that every single year someone serves Chef Ramsey bottled sauce/frozen pasta/canned vegetables without fail despite his having the exact same reaction every time it happens. 

Actually to my memory isn't been several seasons since we last saw this. But yes, seeing someone doing it is kind of like them not knowing how to cook risotto, scallops or wellington.  You should KNOW (if you applied to this shitty show).

Nope.  It was just season one that did that.  I remember season two well, and the two teams were split by gender at the start.

This hatred of the gender split has been SO universal a complaint here and on TWoP it leads me to conclude that Ramsay's production dudes either actually AREN'T looking at online reactions, or are clever enough to know we watch (all pissy) anyway.  

 

Maybe Twitter doesn't tweet the complaint and its only the boards.

There's a blonde chef on the ladies' team who I think stands a chance. She's an executive chef and her signature dish got a 5. Can't remember her name, but she's one to watch.

The red team in fact got two fives (and the men none) despite the women losing.

 

If they'd done the thing they often do where the actual points received went into the total (and not just the number of head to head wins), the women would have won the challenge maybe (although the women did have a few ones, so maybe not).

Seeing William Shatner reminded me of Leonard Nimoy. RIP

Shatner's PR people were probably shaking their fists at the TV when this aired due to the timing of it.

 

Remember that many people don't think that hard about what they see on reality TV or use logic when thinking about it.  Wanna bet there were tons of people screaming at the TV "why would Kirk be at Hell's Kitchen in L.A. the day after he couldn't make Spock's funeral" (despite there being months between the events). 

[MrsEVH]

Alison reminds me of a black Amy Winehouse and Chrissa reminds me of Mindy Cohn (Natalie on Facts of life).

[Calamity Jane]

I only have one question.

 

Why?

 

 

Of course there are a dozen variants.

 

Why is this shit back again ALREADY?

Why am I watching AGAIN?

Why isn't my brain running out of my ears from doing so?

Why don't the producers of this show have even an ounce of originality?

Why am I CONSTANTLY surprised they haven't yet scraped the very bottom of the barrel casting this show?

Why is Gordon Ramsay so celebrated when all he seems to like making is Risotto, Wellingtons, and Scallops?

 

Ah I give up.  I probably DO have another 6 whys in me, but I'm rolling my eyes at the show too much to see straight to type them.

One more question - WHY do people not practice risotto, wellingtons, and scallops ceaselessly before they come on this show?