The 6th season of Hell’s Kitchen premiered last night to the usual superlative-laden hyperbole — this season is promised to be ”the most shocking ever” with ”the most dedicated competitors yet” who will ”risk life and limb” to win the competition! Well, we’ll see about that, because yesterday’s two-hour episode yielded a bunch of crybabies and only a couple of standout competitors.
Of the 16 men and women vying for a job as head chef of Araxi restaurant in Whistler, British Columbia, home of the 2010 Olympics, only a few made a good first impression on Screamin’ Gordon Ramsay. Suzanne, who disappointed in the “cook your signature dish” challenge, proved levelheaded in the kitchen and managed to slice and de-vein her shrimp properly during the second hour. And though the spacey Amanda didn’t impress S.G.R. with her margarita French toast or by putting the salmon in the freezer instead of the fridge, she proved a competent shrimp peeler and could turn out to be the kooky girl who actually knows her stuff. Or, you know, she could get kicked off next week. Either way.
The not-so-great ladies included “Crazy Eyes” Melinda, who apparently forgot the lobster tail from her signature dish of poached lobster and Portobello mushrooms, then decided it was a smart idea to throw away eight perfectly good pasta appetizers because their scallop counterparts weren’t cooked properly (she got kicked off after the first half), and Lovely, who is an executive chef at a children’s camp in Illinois but probably won’t cut it in Hell’s Kitchen‘s fast-paced environment.
Since the men managed to clean up during both challenges, not too many emerged from the pack as truly good or truly terrible. On the good side were Jim, who prepared an impressive Ahi tuna with soy ginger vinaigrette during the first challenge, and Kevin, who coolly commandeered the meat station when diner owner Louie got kicked off the show mid-dinner service (he was on the terrible side, along with the hotheaded Joseph.) In Louie’s absence, Ramsay decided to bring back the ever-humorous Robert, who left for health reasons last season. I’m sure he’ll hang out for a while, because Ramsay seemed to like him a lot. Though, to even up the teams, Ramsay put Robert on the women’s side.
Louie and Joseph both get points immediately docked for sexist comments about the women having to clean the kitchen after losing the first challenge — Louie: “Women are the best at cleaning, so it’s right up their alley,” and Joseph: “Women cleaning where they should be” — but they are both also horrible in other ways. Louie was completely out of his element cooking finer cuisine (though I’m sure he makes a mean omelet), and Joseph, although he claims to be 27, has not matured past the age of 15. He’s defensive about every piece of mild criticism and completely defiant of authority. No wonder they cast him — he’s talked back to S.G.R. during every interaction they’ve had so far, and couldn’t even answer the simple question of who the men nominated for elimination without making sure we were aware that he was doing it his own way. And when Ramsay called him out on it, Joseph decided the best way to solve their disagreement was by throwing off his coat and challenging him to a fight in the parking lot (ooh, fight!) — which of course we ended on, because what would Hell’s Kitchen be without a good cliffhanger ending? For my money, although it would be the best thing ever for Ramsay to just kick Joseph off next week, they might let him stick around a bit simply for the drama.
The people I’ll be watching are Suzanne and Kevin, who I thought performed the best in the kitchen, along with Tek, although she didn’t particularly stand out — I just liked her demeanor — and Jim, who was pretty amusing in his interviews. We didn’t hear much from Ariel, so hopefully she’ll stay long enough for me to form an opinion. I think Dave could fly under the radar for a while with his casual attitude, and like Amanda, Van could also turn out to be an unsuspecting dynamo.
What were your first impressions of the latest batch of Hell’s Kitchen contestants? Are you tired of Gordon Ramsay’s incessant screaming? I’m pretty sure Fox must pay him by the decibel-to-profanity ratio. That, or he suffers from the same voice immodulation disorder as Will Ferrell’s character in that one SNL skit. Are you excited for a new season of the show?
I started watching it in despair at the lack of anything else on at this time of year, but gave up after about 20 minutes because, after Ramsay’s comments in Australia I feel like a hypocrite sitting and huffing about the sexist contestants when I’m prepared to sit and watch Ramsay as if he’s some kind of hero. Also last season was the first season I’ve ever seen and I enjoyed it well enough, but I don’t think I have the energy to sit through another that promises to be more of the same.
Ha! My wife and I laugh every time they refer to it as “the MOST God-awful, shocking, in-your-face, unbelievable episode — EVER!” They must’ve borrowed writers from Fox News to create their hyperbole….
It was the best start to the season in a couple of years. GR is a brilliant chef and amazingly entertaining to boot. The histrionics on the show really help to weed out those competitors who can’t hack the stress involved in a busy kitchen.
am i the only one that though melinda looked a whole lot like that surprised chipmunk video circulating a few years ago? maybe she can be on meercat manor since she was the first to go.
Well….I’m not impressed. While there was some good casting and some interesting surprises, I thought bringing Robert back was just “meh” for me as I thought he was a bit overrated last season (let’s face it, he wasn’t gonna win, and the only reason he is back is because the woman who made it to top three shouldn’t have). I’m unimpressed with the talking back. I don’t enjoy the dressing downs, I think Ramsay can go waaayyyy overboard for ratings, but it looks like they cast a lot of immature people who are gonna throw temper tantrums when Ramsay does. And this nonsense with the fight?!? From a former MARINE?!? Ugh, totally embarrassing. This show is clearly done. Only good spot? Seeing Ramsay stand up to the Belgian for ragging on Van. To bad Ramsay doesn’t follow his own advice. You had to know sooner or later this show would become a cesspool of foul language and fights.
This format is so tired. Wish Ramsey would do more of an “F Word” style show over here, although it would probably lose its charm if it were Americanized (as so many of the imports tend to).
Great start to what will no doubt be a superbly entertaining new season. I LOVE that Chef Ramsey yells at them incessantly. He is hilarious, but ultimately just wants them to become their best. Like my man Robert said. Speaking of Robert, he needs to get it going. Don’t want him to go from hero to zero.
I hope when he or she gets to Canada they learn to wash their hands and wear a hair net. We have health standards here to make our food safe.
lmao really. How do you make a dish and forget the lobster tail? or humm how bout some french toast..I think not. Anyway it’s a hell of a show to watch..
You know, I watch every season and always come away feeling like these people wouldn’t last 5 minutes on my REAL favorite cooking show, Top Chef. This season, the general incompetence (with a very few exceptions) is enlivened by a complete lack of respect for authority (yes, I’m talking about you, Van). I cannot believe this episode almost featured two fist fights, one with my favorite maitre’d. I’ll keep watching, just like I have to slow down at car accidents. But I won’t admit it to my friends and family.
The new crop of chefs is really disappointing. The only one who really stood out to me was Kevin. And I was excited to see Robert back. He was my second choice to win last season (after Danny) and was sad to see him go. I was thankful that Melinda is gone. She was a little creepy with the pursed lips and bug eyes! lol And the whole “most shocking ever”, “Hell’s Kitchen first” is getting REALLY old and annoying! My husband and I were laughing about it last night!
lmao… How do you prepare a meal calling for a lobster tail and leave it out.hummm, How ’bout some french toast. Hell of a show to watch..love it.
I’m just waiting for the day (and it will happen – trust) that someone hauls off and whallops Ramsey over the noggin with a skillet.
My husband and I love Hell’s Kitchen — although, as chefs, it’s not as stressful on the line as they show on TV. It’s entertaining, nonetheless. It doesn’t hurt that GR really knows his stuff. I am psyched that Robert is back — good-natured and talented. I hope he makes it. He’s just likeable and I guess that’s why he was asked to come back.
I’m sorry- did you have a word or time limit? This is a TERRIBLE recap. You need to study some of the other recappers at ew.com (try Josh Wolk, Adam B. Vary, Micheal Slezak, Annie Barrett, Dalton Ross- the list goes on and on).