Ramsay doesn’t get to make the choice all by himself, though. I’m pretty sure if you watch the ending credits, there’s the page that says something about decisions are made with the consultation of the producers or some-such.
I was shocked when they sent ol’ Eddie home. I would think the producers would have wanted to keep him around quite a while, because of people like me who’d root for the underdog.
I was terrified a drop of sweat was going to fall off Aaron’s face into the fish.
I’m surprised Ramsay didn’t “veto” the nominees and get rid of Aaron, I remember that kind of thing happening previously as well. I guess he was just so fed up with the guys at that point he didn’t care who got nominated because he thought they all sucked.
Very impressive that the girls finished the blue side meals also. Quite a turnaround from last week.
I wish I could see more of the training that goes on during the day… it seems like they’re just thrown in the kitchen with no instruction and expected to cook high quality dishes. Are they ever actually taught how to make Risotto and Wellingtons?
What was Rock and the other guy smoking when they were talking in the secret room? Didn’t look like a cig.
Me too! I bet some did. :eek: I wouldn’t want that guy touching my food.
It bothers me that so many of the candidates smoke. Doesn’t that have a dulling effect on their palate?
One of the guys asked Aaron if he really had eaten only an apple. Aaron said he didn’t want to be fat and slow. So maybe it’s possible he was having hypoglycemic episodes. It’s also possible he has something else going on medically, I don’t think it’s all stress or the hot kitchen/fat guy syndrome either.
All the smoking bugs me too, everyone seems to do it.
It does but an astonishing number of professional cooks smoke anyway. It’s part of the kitchen “culture.” In my experience, the cook who didn’t smoke was the exception rather than the rule.
I understand that drug use is pretty high among chefs and kitchen staff. Amphetamine use tends to be really high. If the worst these guys are doing is tobacco, that’s not too bad.
What was Mellisa drinking? Bacardi?
Nope. They played it up as age and weight. I’m nearly that age and nearly that weight, and I don’t fold like that. The guy is sick. He needs to be in a hospital, not on a reality show.
I wonder if Aaron showed signs of potential medical breakdown during casting. I can see the producers picking him because of the conceivable drama. On the other hand, his upbeat personality combined with his ethnicity also make him desirable. I like the guy but he shouldn’t be on the show. I would like to see Eddie get one more chance instead.
I noticed in my years in F&B several years back that many of the folks smoke. Lots of Chef’s and Sous Chef’s enjoyed a smoke out back… didn’t seem to affect their cooking abilities. If anything, it seemed to help them chill out and concentrate in the stress of the job. I don’t think it has hurt Anthony Bourdain’s abilities as a professional taster and chef either.
…or as Ramsey would put it, “What are you, a fuckin’ priss, cigarette wank? Get off my line!”
I think it is important to note that while real life chefs and kitchens are quite volatile places, this show is a distortion, or at least an amplification of the reality. The adversarial process, and Ramsay’s rant a minute, bastardly behavior are purely for the cameras, ratings, and referee of the game… it is a contest after all. If it were a real life kitchen you could expect the hurling of insults, rants, and dressing downs occasionally but most kitchens certainly have a lot more diplomacy, constructive critisicsm, and teamwork that actually involves correction of problems with the head chef’s direct participation. Ramsay, after all, doesn’t really have to work with these guys day in, day out, in a real restaurant putting out quality food. Think a real chef has the option of closing down his kitchen if his help isn’t performing well? Not a chance,
It’s all grossly over the top for pure sensationalism and “entertainment” value.
That was bizarre. He *is *fat, and won’t drop that weight before the next service, whether he starves himself or not. While that doesn’t mean he should gorge himself, he also should eat. Perhaps more than he would normally since he’s on his feet all night. Dieting is stressful, both physiologically and psychologically, and he doesn’t need that right now. Aaron’s crumbling, even with a hell of a lot of coddling from Ramsey and his team, and either Rock was trying to be strategic or got a directive from the producers so we can watch his breakdown in full.
And yeah “don’t die on me” was referring to someone screwing up in the kitchen or something, not someone actually in mortal peril.
I wondered if a real life restaurant would be as picky about the dishes as Ramsay on HK? One of the fish fillets that he said was burnt just looked a little more browned to me, I’ve been served worse (though I don’t go to fancy restaurants). Also there was some chicken he rejected because it was burnt on the bottom and Aaron said it was the maple syrup. Well, sugar does carmelize and get pretty dark, I would think that would be expected when using a sugary glaze. I can see the really sub par stuff (the sticky spaghetti and overly spiced stuff) not being sent out but surely some of the other stuff gets a pass unless the customer complains?
Meh, I have no sympathy for him merely because he’s small. He didn’t assert himself, come through when needed, or even put up that much of a fight at the end when forced to say something on his own behalf.
If you’re going to put yourself in this situation, knowing full well you’re going into the kitchen with a genius who also happens to be a verbally abusive ass, then man up and get a hold of yourself. I have more respect for the gal who cried silently when he yelled at her about the lettuce. At least she took it.
It’s also that a whole day is compressed into about 35 minutes. So they only show the rants and screwups. I’m sure that 3.5 of the 4 or 5 hours serving dinner are relatively calm.
As some of the obnoxious contestants pointed out, this isn’t a waffle house but instead is supposed to be a high-end fine-dining experience, so I think the pickiness is appropriate.
I’d like to see Eddie get another chance too. I must say, I was impressed with Eddie’s remarks when he left–there were no “It was So-and-so’s fault,” or similar. Eddie just said it was his fault for not being more aggressive. Not what we’ve come to expect from eliminated contestants.
Aaron has some sort of problem, although I have no idea what and I’m not about to guess. But between the “zoning out” (and Ramsay’s remark of “He’s not there”), his need to leave the line for a nap, and his wish to introduce himself to the guests seated in the restaurant for some unknown reason, he’s just not right somehow.
Aaron’s a likeable guy, but I don’t think Hell’s Kitchen itself or running a kitchen of a restaurant at the level of the one in the prize is for him. Eddie, on the other hand, strikes me as the kind who thrives on the kid of stress and challenge that exists in these environments. I do think he is capable; he just needs the chance to prove it. And to be, as he admits, more assertive.
The short answer is, I think it depends on the Chef and the Restaurant. I would expect the haute, $100 a plate, french, avant garde restaurant that they are trying to emulate in Hell’s Kitchen to have very stringent and exacting quality control, and rightly so. I agree with Ramsey that the Sole was overdone. Sole is a very delicate fish and should be sauteed blonde…that sole while not exactly burnt was definitely brown. On the other hand, I think Ramsey is picking nits about half the time for ammunition and effect.
Personally, I think Eddie was the wrong choice to let go. Josh should have gotten the axe. Although Eddie had some minor quality issues, he was getting food out. Josh didn’t even seem to be able to get out his entrees… overdone Wellington, overcooked chicken. That guy was the backbone of the team in that kitchen and he failed pretty badly. Aaron, was rightfully not on the chopping block only because he wasn’t in the kitchen.
Fish doesn’t have to be burnt to be overcooked. Devilsknew’s comments are pretty much accurate. If you’re working at a Perkins, no one’s going to overly critique the precise doneness of the food, but at a high end joint, the execution and temperature of the dish are part of what they’re paying for. Fish can be particularly tricky and few too many or too little seconds on the grill can make a big difference. It may not look burnt but the texture of the flesh can be totally ruined (by high end standards) once it gets past a certain temperature. At an Appleby’s. no one is paying for perfect execution and the quality of the core ingredients is not the same anyway. The kind of places run by the Gordon Ramsays of the world get where they are and can charge the kind of prices they do precisely because the fish is going to be cooked exactly right every time and the patrons of those kinds of places can tell the difference.