S18.E03: Hell's Riders

[Drogo]

The chefs are tasked with serving lunch to a room full of Marines and prepare dishes that represent the air (chicken parmesan), the land (NY Strip) and the sea (fish and chips). The first team to serve all of the Marines on their side of the dining room wins the challenge and is awarded a day at Paramount Ranch, where they will have the opportunity to star in their own western film. Later, the most dramatic dinner service ever ends with a shocking contestant walk-out.

[susannot]

The rookie team looks very talented.  The movie was cute.

[ybrik]

Oh show it's like you're not even trying anymore. Seriously you have the person eliminated by walking out and leaving her chef coat in the kitchen give an exit interview saying that she should have told Ramsay to stick said coat up his ass all the while she is wearing the coat in the interview. You couldn't have had her say that outside as she was leaving?

[Colorado David]

eh not too exciting. I can't see Ramsay deliberately sabotaging in that manner - the show producers would find a more devious way to engineer an argument between contestants. And what the heck, regardless of what he did with the pan - he could have thrown it on the ground and demanded Jen make 2 more, would she have balked so badly then? JEEEEZ get over yourself, he runs the pass - he barks, you move, simple.

[preeya]

Someone should stuff a wet towel down Heather's throat. Just STFU, you lost with your fat hand on the door handle; it doesn't make you the spokesperson for the whole team.

She is so annoying.

Edited October 13, 2018 by preeya

[jumper sage]

1 hour ago, ybrik said:

Oh show it's like you're not even trying anymore. Seriously you have the person eliminated by walking out and leaving her chef coat in the kitchen give an exit interview saying that she should have told Ramsay to stick said coat up his ass all the while she is wearing the coat in the interview. You couldn't have had her say that outside as she was leaving?

Ooooh good catch!

[queenanne]

Well, that certainly was memorable, lol.  Too bad Jen cooked poorly nonstop while she was assuring us that "[she] got it", implying that "criticism" = "that a successful course correction has in fact already taken place".  Is her bragged-about "business" based solely around the chef coats, because it doesn't seem to be live matter she works with on a daily basis, based upon current results? 

I never knew so many of these "veterans" to be such obnoxious twits the first time around.  Clearly Heather cannot cook fries if she's helping Jen with salads, not that I deny Jen needed the helping, so no surprise there.  Of course, with the veterans bagging on Bret's plan to "spy" on the rookies (their dead silence greeting his announcement was HI-larious), plus using his Punishment Pass, I bet cash money that the veterans proceed to lose the next six challenges in a row...  Gizzy might be related to Jen, with her braggy "here I go, cooking beautiful fish all day"; cue Chef Ramsay, "Fish as dry as bones!  Far as the eye can see!"  Kanae, at least, gets self-deprecation points for her confessional, as well as wringing a laugh out of me with it; and she's the best-looking female contestant by my lights.  Can't wait to see what is up next week, ha.

Edited October 13, 2018 by queenanne

[mertensia]

7 hours ago, ybrik said:

Oh show it's like you're not even trying anymore. Seriously you have the person eliminated by walking out and leaving her chef coat in the kitchen give an exit interview saying that she should have told Ramsay to stick said coat up his ass all the while she is wearing the coat in the interview. You couldn't have had her say that outside as she was leaving

Yeah, I have no idea why they did that. 

That said, that was a glorious flame-out. I hope someone else tops that next week.

[cooksdelight]

What’s in Heather’s left ear? A piercing or a hearing aid? 

I was watching online but it stalled out halfway through. Laat I saw, Jen was crying and the cowboys and cowgirls were making their movie. 

[aliya]

Jen bothered me the whole time she was in front of the camera. It looked like she was wearing a ton of makeup - that was not holding up well under the heat. She also looked too 'done up' for cooking. I guess it would have been one thing if she was in someone's kitchen making a couple of steaks, but they are in there for awhile, cooking up a lot of food. I dunno. It was like she was dressing for the camera.

And then to mouth off to GR like that??  This was one of the few times where I think he was actually trying to talk to a contestant that he was having problems with and not just scream insults. 

I have got to say this --  why do blacks always fall back on the 'you're not going to disrespect me' stance? As soon as she started screaming that, I'm like - get out.  I'm black. Sometimes stuff happens. Sometimes you have to criticize someone at work, some times you get the criticism. It's not disrespect, especially if someone at the level of GR talks to you about your cooking in his kitchen. And while I think the producers have turned off ovens, etc., I don't think GR himself sinks to that level.  But rather than keep her head down, take GR's comments/screaming like a woman, and freaking cook - she goes all off on the disrespect thing and yelling back at him. I wouldn't hire her for a children's party.

And Bret - no one needs you to scout out the other team. Maybe you should have saved that pass for when you have to pick maggots out of the trash or something.

OMGoodness - I'm watching a repeat of the show on YT. Did anyone notice Jen's earrings?  It's like they are big pictures of her (?) in a chef's jacket surrounded by fire. Who does that?

Edited October 13, 2018 by aliya

[xcrayon2215x]

Kevin and T are the best veterans for sure. I'm glad Jen is gone, I can't imagine many guests will go to her now after this. 

[Colorado David]

Not that I was paying all that close attention, but I think whatever Jen took off and put on the kitchen counter was black, not the blue chef's jacket (apron maybe?)  I need to rewatch to see for sure tho.

Yeah Bret's plan makes no sense. One, the other team isn't gonna share anything with you. And two, you can't gain any relevant 'dirt' this early on, there's still way too many contestants to start weeding out single people, you don't know who the strong ones are yet. What a waste.

So I'm assuming the protection pass goes back up for grabs now that it has been used..?

[preeya]

1 hour ago, xcrayon2215x said:

Kevin and T are the best veterans for sure. I'm glad Jen is gone, I can't imagine many guests will go to her now after this. 

 

This is true, but IMHO I think Kevin should tone down his managerial skills a bit. He's opening himself up for criticism by the others and will surely be targeted for elimination.  I do, however, think he deserves to be a finalist.

[preeya]

47 minutes ago, Colorado David said:

Not that I was paying all that close attention, but I think whatever Jen took off and put on the kitchen counter was black, not the blue chef's jacket (apron maybe?)  I need to rewatch to see for sure tho.

Rewatched it. It was black, and it was either a belt or an apron. It had nothing to do with a jacket. She also did leave her (blue) chef's jacket behind and said she wanted to tell GR to shove it up his ass and shit "blueberries."  She will not be missed. I'm just so glad she went out so early as she'd be unbearable if she had stayed longer.

[cooksdelight]

I’d be worried about Jen’s hair getting in my food.

[Colorado David]

I won't miss her either, what a sorry attitude. It's ok to disagree with a head chef if you're a line cook/sous chef/whatever, but you don't need to slam them with comments like that. I'm sorry Jen, will that sort of comment elevate you in the eyes of other world renowned chefs?  Eric Ripert going to side with you on this one? Daniel Boulud going to say 'oui oui, you are correct madam, he should poop the fruit." ?   Just wow, I would think being a chef forces you to curb your tongue most of the time if you are that angry.

[preeya]

6 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

What’s in Heather’s left ear? A piercing or a hearing aid? 

I was watching online but it stalled out halfway through. Laat I saw, Jen was crying and the cowboys and cowgirls were making their movie. 

It looks like a piercing. OR a very sophisticated listening device.

Edited October 13, 2018 by preeya

[Crucial]

I'm glad Jen is gone.  She was way too focused on primping for the camera.  It's like she was there to show everyone up and she did nothing at all.  Done with her drama.  Now get rid of Bret next.  I can't stand his over drama ways.  I think if the veterans get rid of a few more on this team they could be unstoppable. But Brett and the bald guy with glasses who needed a drink need to go.

[cooksdelight]

36 minutes ago, Crucial said:

the bald guy with glasses who needed a drink need to go.

Trev. I couldn’t stand him the first time. He’s a whiny ass.

[illdoc]

This was printed in the Chicago Tribune the day of the season premiere: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-hells-kitchen-jen-gavin-20180926-story.html

[cooksdelight]

That’s borderline breaking her non-disclosure agreement.

[Mystery]

I think if anything, Jen should have been mad at the sous chef who put down her pan (with, it looked like, a little bit of garnish still in it). But then, as soon as she looked at it, she said "You need more." So I'm not sure what that was all about. And as was mentioned upthread by ybirk, why show her in her t-shirt and then show her doing an interview in her jacket? So strange. 

[defeated]

Quote

14 hours ago, aliya said:

 

OMGoodness - I'm watching a repeat of the show on YT. Did anyone notice Jen's earrings?  It's like they are big pictures of her (?) in a chef's jacket surrounded by fire. Who does that?

 

LOL!  Oh, man, I hate to say it, but I kinda liked the earrings. Jen's behavior was over the top, just a little, but I guess I don't take this show seriously anymore so she bothers me a lot less than some of the other players. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but Gordon seemed pretty shook after the incident, which makes me think it wasn't staged...which I can't say about his other recent shows. 

[Yeah No]

I'm still confused as to why Jen thought Ramsay was trying to sabotage her.  Can anyone explain that to me?  Is it possible that he was or is she as paranoid as she seems?

[aliya]

15 minutes ago, Defeated said:

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but Gordon seemed pretty shook after the incident, which makes me think it wasn't staged.

I was thinking the same thing. I've watched GR for years, including his UK shows on YT. He doesn't get shaken very often, so his response to Jen was very noticeable to me. 

[defeated]

Unless I missed something, he was getting on her for not bringing up enough garnish. When she lashed back, a skillet under the table was pulled out with "barely enough" to finish the plate.  

Its very possible I missed something, but that's what I took from it. 

[OlfinBedwere]

During Jen's original season she reacted to Ramsay's criticisms of her signature dish by calling him an idiot who didn't know what he was talking about, and then later on in the season ranted about how much of a douchebag he was being for politely asking her not to read out the tickets (i.e. the thing that nearly caused Benjamin to get his head dunked in the deep-fat fryer by the then sous chef in Season 7)... except that in that season she was smart enough to only react that way in the interview segments, and kept her mouth shut during the actual service.

I suspect what we saw in the episode was the result of a decade of people telling Jen - or probably more likely Jen telling herself - how amazing and talented she is, completely stripping away any sense of self-control she may have had during her original appearance.

[Kerri Okie]

23 hours ago, Colorado David said:

Yeah Bret's plan makes no sense. One, the other team isn't gonna share anything with you. And two, you can't gain any relevant 'dirt' this early on, there's still way too many contestants to start weeding out single people, you don't know who the strong ones are yet. What a waste.

I don't think it was a "plan" as much as a CYA move after seeing how his team reacted to his using the pass so early on.  He realized they were pissed, so he came up with the lame spy plan to win them back over.  

[cooksdelight]

That reaction to the pass was pure jealousy. If one of them had it, they’d use it in a heartbeat. 

If he’d held it up and said “who wants it?” They would all have been clamoring to go.

[SpaceAgeLoveSong]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

That reaction to the pass was pure jealousy. If one of them had it, they’d use it in a heartbeat. 

If he’d held it up and said “who wants it?” They would all have been clamoring to go.

I agree wholeheartedly, Cooksdelight. Though I'm not exactly a fan of Bret's - he's mouthy, loud, and abrasive - I don't begrudge him using his pass when he wanted to. He won it fair and square with his risotto, and judging him for opting out of the punishment was just petty and immature. 

As you said, any of them would have been clamoring to go if they'd won the pass. Their reaction was just sour grapes. 

Personal aside: This is my very first post here - looking forward to my time here with you guys  :)

[Mystery]

19 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I'm still confused as to why Jen thought Ramsay was trying to sabotage her.  Can anyone explain that to me?  Is it possible that he was or is she as paranoid as she seems?

 

18 hours ago, Defeated said:

Unless I missed something, he was getting on her for not bringing up enough garnish. When she lashed back, a skillet under the table was pulled out with "barely enough" to finish the plate.  

Its very possible I missed something, but that's what I took from it. 

I think that was it. She thought she had brought up enough garnish. She had seen the other guy (can't remember his name) put her pan down, with a bit of garnish still in it (what she might have thought was enough garnish to finish the order). It definitely had something in it. But when she looked at it, she said something like "Okay, you need more." When she got yelled at, I think she thought that someone had deliberately left some garnish in the pan just to cause drama. She was already on Gordon's bad side for talking back. 

Edited October 14, 2018 by Mystery

[GreyBunny]

Bret, wrong game show, dude. The spy plan idea, even just to appease his own team, was just stupid. That said, they're assholes for giving him a hard time. He earned it, he can use it whenever he wants. I would have used it too because you don't know how a service will go and you can get kicked out at any time. Might as well go with a reward that was enjoyed.

Jen was nutso, but I enjoyed watching someone throw it back in Gordon's face for a change.

[Colorado David]

29 minutes ago, GreyBunny said:

Jen was nutso, but I enjoyed watching someone throw it back in Gordon's face for a change.

It's fun going back to watch Joseph season 6 - the marine who got up in GR's face because he didn't like ratting out anyone on his team.

[mertensia]

On 10/13/2018 at 2:07 PM, cooksdelight said:

Trev. I couldn’t stand him the first time. He’s a whiny ass.

If I'm remembering correctly he was really really misogynistic.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

I think it was Brett who said something like "Who cares if Jenn is right or wrong? It's Chef Ramsay's kitchen. If he wants you to make more garnish, then make more garnish."

The Red kitchen is catching up fast because they figured out they need to work as a team. The Blue kitchen members are already trying to position themselves for the endgame when it is WAY too soon to do so.

Edited October 15, 2018 by Sir RaiderDuck OMS

[Charlesman]

19 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

That reaction to the pass was pure jealousy. If one of them had it, they’d use it in a heartbeat. 

If he’d held it up and said “who wants it?” They would all have been clamoring to go.

 

Personally, we are pretty much guaranteed to get a reward/punishment where one team spends the weekend in Vegas while the other team has to have fish milkshakes. I would have saved it for that and mocked anyone else who didn't wait for that.

[Colorado David]

Yeah, I'd save it for the seafood challenge. Those shakes are always so gnarly looking. 

I hope we get the blind taste test this season, always enjoy that.

[Rammchick]

On 10/15/2018 at 10:16 AM, Charlesman said:

 

Personally, we are pretty much guaranteed to get a reward/punishment where one team spends the weekend in Vegas while the other team has to have fish milkshakes. I would have saved it for that and mocked anyone else who didn't wait for that.

Considering Brett is a veteran, he should know that's coming eventually.  But he earned it, and could have used it any time he wanted to.  The "star in your own film" thing was too hard to resist.

[Colorado David]

misleading tho. star in your own trailer, more appropriate. you got one scene and non moving at that. yippee.

[chenoa333]

Just an observation, but is it typical for restaurants (especially 5 star) to have their deliveries dropped off at the main entrance of the restaurant? I think deliveries go to the back of the restaurant. Such fakery on this show. 

[cooksdelight]

It’s not a restaurant, it’s a TV filming studio. A friend of mine actually got to be a diner (She’s SAG/AFTRA) and it’s a full fledged studio in the area where a lot of shows are filmed. 

Yes, it’s fakery.

[bluepiano]

I'm actually surprised that Jen is gone this early, considering HK's history of keeping contestants around solely for their ability to be a big time s--t stirrer. Elise would be example number one. I guess Jen crossed some kind of line that even Gordon Ramsey could not tolerate, even for the sake of the drama this show loves.

Still, I half expected some kind of last second reprieve for Jen, given how many times we thought for sure that Elise had to be toast and she was kept around. (But then, her attacks were against other contestants, not the Almighty GR himself).

Edited October 18, 2018 by bluepiano

[chenoa333]

I think this show is coming real close to "jumping the shark". I do enjoy the rare moments when the contestants have to actually create a dish and I like the blind taste test segments. Aside from that, I'm just FFing through most of the show. 

Thanks for that info CooksDelight. So Hell's Kitchen is not a real restaurant? It's just a studio for filming? Filming of "has been" actors and barely famous people. Like Tara Reid, Jay McGraw, the cast of tv series that were cancelled years ago. Aside from the tons of wasted food, this show is laughable.

[cooksdelight]

Yes, here’s some interesting info about filming:

Quote

The US version was filmed for the first two seasons in the former KCOP tv studios at 915 North La Brea Avenue, Hollywood. Season 3 was filmed in Century Studios at 3322 La Cienega Place, L.A. but from season 4, filming has taken place at 8660 Hayden Place, Culver City. (This is the location of the former RIO Forty Acres backlot.) Its actually where the military camp was in the tv series Gomer Pyle USMC.

 

[bluepiano]

I was always certain that "Hell's Kitchen" was a studio set and not a real restaurant open to actual human beings walking in off the street. (As opposed to all those "VIP diners." Translation. SAG extras).

So the first Hell's Kitchen restaurant will be the one GR is opening in Vegas, with this season's winner as Head Chef. But with so many dining options in Vegas, it's hard for to understand who would actually choose to eat there. It would be pretty funny if they made it a dining-theater experience that replicated the show,  with someone playing Gordon Ramsey berating the staff. I doubt that will happen, but they at least will need to have Beef Wellington on the menu for some authenticity. 

[AZChristian]

6 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

I was always certain that "Hell's Kitchen" was a studio set and not a real restaurant open to actual human beings walking in off the street. (As opposed to all those "VIP diners." Translation. SAG extras).

So the first Hell's Kitchen restaurant will be the one GR is opening in Vegas, with this season's winner as Head Chef. But with so many dining options in Vegas, it's hard for to understand who would actually choose to eat there. It would be pretty funny if they made it a dining-theater experience that replicated the show,  with someone playing Gordon Ramsey berating the staff. I doubt that will happen, but they at least will need to have Beef Wellington on the menu for some authenticity. 

Gordon already has 3 restaurants in Vegas . . . and the Steakhouse in the Paris hotel has Beef Wellington on the menu.  I've had it.  It is to die for.

[suziespend]

Did anyone else notice that the French fries were the pre cooked ones in a bag? I was surprised at that after all the dissing Gordon does about canned and pre made stuff 

[aliya]

7 hours ago, suziespend said:

Did anyone else notice that the French fries were the pre cooked ones in a bag? I was surprised at that after all the dissing Gordon does about canned and pre made stuff 

So, years ago there was some flap about pre-made food delivered to some of Ramsay's restaurants. I believe his excuse was his people made the food in a central location and sent it out to the restaurants. I guess if you have a few places in one location, this might make sense. If it's made fresh everyday, I'm not sure I see the harm in it, but who knows? Anyway, I wonder if the pre-made fries are like that - his food, just made earlier or somewhere else? It's like the wellingtons - I think those come in pre-made. I haven't seen them being made, just being cut or cooked (and badly).

I did a search: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/apr/18/gordon-ramsay-preprepared-meals-offsite-kitchen

[Colorado David]

On 10/19/2018 at 5:08 PM, bluepiano said:

I was always certain that "Hell's Kitchen" was a studio set and not a real restaurant open to actual human beings walking in off the street. (As opposed to all those "VIP diners." Translation. SAG extras).

So the first Hell's Kitchen restaurant will be the one GR is opening in Vegas, with this season's winner as Head Chef. But with so many dining options in Vegas, it's hard for to understand who would actually choose to eat there. It would be pretty funny if they made it a dining-theater experience that replicated the show,  with someone playing Gordon Ramsey berating the staff. I doubt that will happen, but they at least will need to have Beef Wellington on the menu for some authenticity. 

Yeah, notice how no one ever pays their check. I guess you could argue they could be editing around it, but meh more evidence all staged. I do wonder if they do get to eat the dishes the contestants cook, if not what a waste.

Now Beef AND Lobster wellington, so twice the chances to yell at the chefs.

Edited October 21, 2018 by Colorado David

[cooksdelight]

There’s a casting website out there somewhere, I cannot remember what it is. But I signed up when I used to travel to LA monthly figuring I’d be available sooner or later. But they wanted to know if I was SAG/AFTRA and since I’m not, it went nowhere from there.