The Culinary Chronicles: MasterChef Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares

[Evo]

Anyone else watching this tv show?

The first time I saw it, after a few minutes I was so disgusted with Chef Ramsey that I switched channels. The following week I came across it again, but this time I noticed that most of the contestants were absolutely incompetant and that his insults were actually warranted, although unnecessarily abusive.

I love cooking and had once considered becoming a professional chef (something no one knows).

Anyway, a new episode is about to start on Fox in a few minutes, if anyone is interested. They're showing a recap right now.

 

[fourier jr]

The first time I saw it, after a few minutes I was so disgusted with Chef Ramsey that I switched channels. The following week I came across it again, but this time I noticed that most of the contestants were absolutely incompetant and that his insults were actually warranted, although unnecessarily abusive.

i think they play that up for that show. he's a lot more civil on ramsay's kitchen nightmares.

 

[Mk]

Thank's Evo I'm watching it now. I used to want to be a professional chef too, before I decided I like science better

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

Yes I have seen it. My favourite quote is

"You're cooking the pan you f--king idiot!"



He does go pretty hard on the chef's, it's somewhat amusing. Lots of times I agree that it's somewhat deserved though.

 

[Evo]

i think they play that up for that show. he's a lot more civil on ramsay's kitchen nightmares.

I plan to watch that this fall. I never used to watch Fox, but they have some good shows now like House.

Thank's Evo I'm watching it now. I used to want to be a professional chef too, before I decided I like science better

Then you must be an Alton Brown fan also.

So far, I'm voting for the waffle house chef, she's the only one without an attitude and that seems to know how to cook.

 

[Evo]

Yes I have seen it. My favourite quote is

"You're cooking the pan you f--king idiot!"



He does go pretty hard on the chef's, it's somewhat amusing. Lots of times I agree that it's somewhat deserved though.

So much is bleeped out and it goes so fast, it's hard to keep up with the zingers.

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

I think that quote is from last season (I haven't seen it for a couple months now).

But at that time I think they had an uncensored version on at about 11pm on the food network :-) (if I remember correctly)

 

[Mk]

I plan to watch that this fall. I never used to watch Fox, but they have some good shows now like House.

Then you must be an Alton Brown fan also.

Ah! Definitely! Good Eats is the best! I also like, uh, House (actually my favorite show right now), and Mythbusters, but I guess a lot of people do. I don't think I watch very many other shows. I'm trying to follow The 4400 on USA right now to see if I like it.

 

[Evo]

Ooooh, someone please smack Mellisa! I can't watch her anymore.

Why does she have a goatee?

 

[Argentum Vulpes]

The sad (or interesting) part of Ramsey behavior is most fine dinning kitchens are exactly like Hell's Kitchen. Well most of the people can actually cook, but all of the insulting and swearing is exactly how it happens. Mind you I don't know first hand, but I do have a friend who is a former professional chef, and he says that it is all very accurate.

 

[Evo]

The sad (or interesting) part of Ramsey behavior is most fine dinning kitchens are exactly like Hell's Kitchen. Well most of the people can actually cook, but all of the insulting and swearing is exactly how it happens. Mind you I don't know first hand, but I do have a friend who is a former professional chef, and he says that it is all very accurate.

I can imagine, I've only been in a small restaurant owned by someone I knew, so it wasn't that intense.

A good friend of mine (former astrophysicist) runs a pizza parlour in a college town and that's pretty laid back.

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

Yup absolutely the pressure in a busy kitchen can be very high. I have worked in sizable kitchens and when it gets busy it is easy to do something dumb like burn food when you are trying to do 10 things at once. When you do that it can mean that part of a customer's meal is sitting under the heat lamp getting soggy for 10 minutes while you cook the other part and that means a low tip for the host(ess). Often what happens is someone screws up on something and gets yelled at and then goes into panic mode.

One of the worst memories from working there was when some new guy was panicing because he was behind on like 5 orders(and of course was getting yelled at) and the stress was so high that when he dropped something into the deep frier by accident he plunged his hand in quickly to grab it without thinking... ouch! He never came back to work.

 

[arunbg]

I watched an old season of the show, and quite liked it. I guess all the swearing and hustle is "overdone", otherwise it wouldn't be called "Hell's Kitchen" now, would it? I like the way Gordon Ramsay strings all those F words together, it's like poetry

What surprised me was that a dining experience at the restaurant seemed to go to almost 3 hours, that too with a very limited menu. I would be thinking about my next meal by that time!

 

[Moridin]

I am very much a fan of Hell's Kitchen. Have only watched the first season though.

 

[Gale]

One of the worst memories from working there was when some new guy was panicing because he was behind on like 5 orders(and of course was getting yelled at) and the stress was so high that when he dropped something into the deep frier by accident he plunged his hand in quickly to grab it without thinking... ouch! He never came back to work.

Oh god! That's horrible! I nearly gagged when I read that.

When I worked in a kitchen, it was hectic, but not that bad. I worked in a small kitchen, but it was 5 stars or something, very fancy. Maybe cause we were small town folk, and the rich city people ate there because it was "quaint"... the rich people would get upset if anything was wrong with their food, but back in the kitchen, half of us working there had no idea what the problem was, aside from the two main chefs. I even remember a waitress bursting into the kitchen asking "how do you make a cappuccino?"

Hell's Kitchen is too angry of a show to me. Aside from that, I'm just not fond of reality television. I don't really enjoy being reminded of all the horrible aspects of people in every day life...

 

[ranger]

Its all played up drama. Kind of like Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader. But they're very comical to watch.

 

[Evo]

Its all played up drama. Kind of like Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader. But they're very comical to watch.

Don't tell me it's made up.

 

[Evo]

Ok, now I'm thinking Jen would be the best choice.

 

[devil-fire]

i thought that chef guy had everyone whipped into such a panic, that they started to do stupid stuff to cover up small mistakes. for example on one show, a girl threw out a batch of spaghetti and ended up needing spaghetti a little later. instead of telling the chef she didn't have any ready and he would have to wait while it cooks, she was going to pull the last batch out of the garbage and use that. it turns out someone else stopped her but that would have been really bad.

 

[NateTG]

The show's OK. I figure that Ramsey is running things like a 'boot camp' based on the theory that running the contestants through a high stress setting will test them more thoroughly.

Honestly, the 'challenge' and 'team' aspects are a bit lame.

 

[Ronnin]

The finally got rid of goatee girl last night. Last night reminded me or Iron Chef with the theme ingredient being lobster. Mmmm, lobster. They were pretty brave pulling those bad boys out with no rubber bands on their pinchers.

 

[Evo]

Ok, it's about to come on. It's on Fox. Turbo, watch this.

The first show is a repeat of last week, we can watch goatee girl get tossed out again.

It's two hours tonight.

 

[simon009988]

My old driving instructor acts exactly like chef Ramsey, he even had the European accentand everything; if you ever forget to signal or something, it's "@#$%, Are you blind? LISTEN!".
i'm so glad that's all over.

 

[J77]

He really hams it up for the cameras compared to the original British version.

 

[LightbulbSun]

My mom is trying to get on Hell's Kitchen next season. She's a really good gourmet chef, but she said she's going to purposely suck just to be on TV and to have Chef Ramsey swear at her because she would find it funny. I hope she gets on it.

 

[turbo]

Ok, it's about to come on. It's on Fox. Turbo, watch this.

The first show is a repeat of last week, we can watch goatee girl get tossed out again.

It's two hours tonight.

I don't have cable, and rarely watch anything except the news and Nature, anyway. My wife used to watch the Food Channel before we moved (that town had cable TV and we got the basic package primarily for the Food Channel - she liked Alton). Anyway, I don't think that I could watch a show about a busy kitchen with some martinet cranking everyone up. Cooking is relaxing to me, and it's quite gratifying when my "niece" (actually a young cousin) and her new husband ask me how I prepared this dish or that, especially since he is a restaurant manager and she is already a good cook with lots of interesting and spicy dishes in her arsenal. Some of my "secret" recipes (including my "from scratch" pizza sauce and BBQ shrimp marinade/basting sauce) are now favorites for them to entertain their friends with.