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Other Great Reality Shows => Other Reality TV Shows & News => Topic started by: apskip on August 26, 2010, 03:01:19 PM

Title: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on August 26, 2010, 03:01:19 PM
While HK7, Top Chef 7 and Master Chef are over or will soon be, few know that the new season of Hell's Kitchen 8 is starting in less than 4 weeks on Sept. 22. Here are examples of tasks the chefs competing will face:

including baking in the all-new pizza ovens
catering a high school prom
introducing sushi to the Hell's Kitchen menu
serving breakfast to hard-working EMTs
celebrating the series’ milestone 100th episode with a black-tie dinner service  
 
The goal of HK8 participation is to  win a head chef position at LA Market at the JW Marriott Hotel Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE and the opportunity to be the official spokesperson for Rosemount Estate Wines.  

Here are the chefs:

Melissa Doney
Age: 31
Occupation: Executive Sous Chef
Currently Resides: Glens Falls, NY
Hometown: Albany, NY  

Nona Sivley
Age: 29
Occupation: Sous Chef
Currently Resides:Loganville, GA
Hometown: Fort Worth, TX  

Raj Brandston
Age: 49
Occupation: Personal Chef
Currently Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Hometown: Queens, NY  

Louis Repucci
Age: 28
Occupation: Children’s Camp Chef
Currently Resides: Felton, CA
Hometown: Diamond Bar, CA  

Antonia Boregman
Age: 40
Occupation: Line Cook
Currently Resides:Lake Station, IN
Hometown: Chicago, IL  

Lisa LaFranca
Age: 48
Occupation: Corporate Food Director
Currently Resides: Fort Mills, SC
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY  

Lewis Curtis (aka Curtis since there is another Louis)
Age: 26
Occupation: Executive Chef
Currently Resides: Cabot, AR
Hometown: Beebe, AR  

Vinny Accardi Jr.
Age: 29
Occupation: Line Cook
Currently Resides: Las Vegas, NV
Hometown: Queens, NY  

Sabrina Brimhall
Age: 22
Occupation: Prep Chef
Currently Resides: El Cajon, CA
Hometown: Moreno Valley, CA  

Trev McGrath
Age: 30
Occupation: Line Cook / Bartender
Currently Resides: Chicago, IL
Hometown: Chicago, IL  

Russell Kook II
Age: 29
Occupation: Sous Chef
Currently Resides: Chicago, IL
Hometown: Madison, WI  

Gail Novenario
Age: 28
Occupation: Executive Chef
Currently Resides: Wantagh, NY
Hometown: Wantagh, NY  

Rob McCue
Age: 36
Occupation: Law Firm Chef
Currently Resides: Brooklyn, NY
Hometown: Massapequa, NY  

Emily Kutchins
Age: 29
Occupation: Executive Chef, Senior Home
Currently Resides: Chicago, IL
Hometown: Chicago, IL  

Boris Poleschuk
Age: 38
Occupation: Catering Chef
Currently Resides: Manalapan, NJ
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY  

Jillian Flathers
Age: 28
Occupation: Sous Chef
Currently Resides:Pagosa Springs, CO
Hometown: Pagosa Springs, CO  


Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on August 26, 2010, 03:37:26 PM
Oh my gosh! Thanks apskip, I didn't know it would be back so soon!  :hearts:
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: cocina del infierno on September 10, 2010, 08:18:40 PM
Hey all!  I've read along here for the past few seasons of HK and decided it might be time to join in the fun with Season 8 coming. 

Not sure if this qualifies as a spoiler in any way, so am only posting the link, but I'd love to hear your opinions on one major change I just learned about here: http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/hells-kitchen/hells-kitchen-season-8-meet-the-chefs-37120.aspx    :duno: 
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on September 10, 2010, 10:47:41 PM
It's obvious that that one major change is that Jean-Philippe has departed after the first 7 seasons with Hell's Kitchen and was replaced by James. The list of challenges all seem pretty consistent with the past to me. Thanks, cocina del inferno, for the extra information and pictures of the chefs.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: cocina del infierno on September 11, 2010, 09:10:13 AM
You're welcome, apskip.  I am looking for more information on what may have led to this and will post here if I find any.  I'm sure going to miss him!

Chef Scott will be back, as will Chef Andi.  Also, one of the contestants hails from a nearby town, Lake Station, Indiana, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for any local press on her.  (I don't know her personally.)
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on September 24, 2010, 10:29:13 AM
HK8, ep.1- 16 teams Compete

It's a new season of Hell's Kitchen. There is an opening scene with Ramsay as Gulliver being attacked by the chef-Lilliputians who had him tied up. 16 new chefs were ready to be fired from the cannons when shown receiving the letters inviting them to Hell’s Kitchen as competitors. There were 10,000 applicants for those slots. It could be expected to be competitive, combative, frustrating, intense, emotional and draining. The chefs arrived and new Maitre d’ James arranged for them to be blindfolded and driven to what turned out to be the site of the new L.A. Market in the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles. Ramsay announced that the salary for the winner is $250,000 and the responsibility also includes being spokesperson for Rosemount Vineyards. The chefs were then returned to Hell’s Kitchen for their first task/test.

The first test was the signature dish competition, with 45 minutes to cook something that the chef regards as the core dish they can do well. The apparent head-to-head competition between a Red team and Blue team dish was not real because each team can earn a point irrespective of what the other team does, but the team competition is real. Sabrina said “whenever I walk into a kitchen people don’t take me seriously.” Perhaps it is because attempting to cook in stiletto heels is a bit ludicrous, Sabrina. IN the middle of the judging of signature dishes, Sabrina was noticed by Ramsay yawning, which he castigated her for before offering her a chair.

Challenge

Emily - Duck Breast, grape/walnut compote vs. Russell grilled calamari                       1-1                               

Nona- Fried chicken w/ asparagus        vs. Vinny grilled poached halibut w/ lots of oil 0-1                                                                               

Antonia- gumbo(he forced all to eat it; she had not tasted it) vs. Curtis pepper chicken 0-0       

Jillian- herb/vegetable stuffed chicken w/ herb cream sauce vs. Rob pistachio crusted Carlyle rack of lamb                                           1-0

Gail vs. Trev                                                                                                                     0-0                                                                                                                                           

 Lisa vs. Loouis                                                                                                                 1-0                                                                   

Melissa                                                       vs. Boris                                                         0-1

Sabrina bachetta fish w/endive, brown butter, blood orange fennel vs. Raj seafood/vegetable pancake                                                                                               1-0

The totals are Red 3, Blue 3 with only 30% of dishes hitting Ramsay’s acceptable mark.   
The tie-breaker was the worst dish, which was “the biggest insult”, Antonia’s gumbo. Blue won this Challenge and got to enjoy masseuses brought in to Hell’s Kitchen plus fine win and caviar.  Punishment for the women was to clean both kitchens. Antonia passed out during this and was sent to the hospital, leaving her Red team one short for dinner service.

For dinner service, Emily and Raj were put in the dinning room to serve one of 3 mini-pizzas. Lisa had the pasta station; Melissa was an amuse bouche pizza maker as is Boris. Trev’s first salad was overdressed. Boris and Raj were placed together to work on pizza for the Blue team, but this was the blind leading the blind. Making sushi was the next challenge .After 2 hours, diners were fed up and left the Hell’s Kitchen dining room. Ramsay declared no team the winner, with both teams to nominate 2 individuals for elimination. The blue team nominated Raj and Trev. The Red team nominated Lisa and Sabrina. Ramsay allowed Sabrina to beg for mercy, since Lisa was in her late 40s in age. Lisa was asked to take off her jacket and leave.


HK8, ep. 2- 14 Teams Compete

Most episodes of Hell’s Kitchen open with a recap of the prior week’s episode. The chefs got a view of the L.A. Market restaurant. The signature dish challenge performance was mixed. Antonia had a mysterious illness and left HK for good. Sabrina was slow. Raj was closed. It was the worst opening night in HK history. Nona, Lisa and  Sabrina were considered for elimination, with Lisa the one to go.

Both teams are awakened in the wee hours by Japanese drums to get them up and moving to the kitchen. Ramsay brought in Matsuhiro Morimoto, an expert on sushi with a Michelin star to demonstrate to the HK chefs how to do a salmon/cucumber/avocado roll and tuna negeri. Attention to detail is critical. For the tuna negeri they must form the rice and cut the tuna into perfectly even slices, then add wasabi. For the roll, they need to make it inside out by rolling the salmon, peeling the cucumber and rolling it out evenly.  When he had done so, the challenge was to make 9 perfect pieces of sushi in 10 minutes. Here are the results:

Red Team
Monica and Gail 0 pieces good out of 8 presented
Nona and Jillian 8 pieces food out of 9
Emily and Sabrina 7 pieces out of 9
TOTAL Red 15

Blue Team
Louis and Rob 4 (they missed several for no wasabi)
Russell and Raj 4 (Raj missed wasabi on 4)
Boris and Vinny 8 of 9 presented
TOTAL Blue 16

Blue won and got to keep their Henckel Myabi Morimoto sushi knives and went to San Francisco by private jet to the Circle 360 Restaurant with Ramsay, including tasting of Rosemount wines (which were getting good product placement by having cases on display). Matt Lane led a wine tasting to educate the palates of all the chefs. This is particularly important since the winner of HK8. Ramsay also provided back in Los Angeles for a stunning sunset dinner at the Water Bar Restaurant. Punishment for the women was prepping all sushi for both kitchens plus unloading all delivery trucks and stowing the incoming material where it belonged. They also were forced to try each of the “delicacies from around the world” which looks dicey but really are delicacies in different cultures. Some of the women barfed in appreciation, but Gail from the Philippines stated that that food is eaten by all there.

Ramsay announced that salmon roll was being added to the Hell’s Kitchen menu. He also stated that Antonia would not be back, as she was medically unable to return to Hell’s Kitchen. Raj is expected by his teammates to be capable of accomplishing absolutely nothing. He nominated Vinny and Jillian to serve pizza amuse bouche in the dining room as Assistant Maitre D’s under James. Hell’s Kitchen was opened and diners arrived. Nothing let the blue kitchen in the first 30 minutes. Red has Emily on the meat station, Nona on the fish station, Jillian on Appetizers and Sabrina on sushi. Gail’s first risotto was “very nice.” Curtis had not figured out how to make sushi, so nothing could go out of the Blue kitchen until he overcame that. Nona cooked a halibut rare instead of medium well done. Vinny had no confidence in Raj’s abilities to get side dishes out, so he recommended to customers that they order meals without side dishes so that would receive them much earlier. James found this out, reported it to Ramsay and Vinny was in deep trouble. Ramsay stated that he was the only individual that would decide what left Hell’s Kitchen and what did not. What Ramsay was really saying was that he had major doubts about Raj’s ability too, but Raj had to be given the opportunity to fail and pay the price for that. The Blue team was struggling with Meat and their team confidence. Boris attempted to “help” Trev on the Fish station, but that went over like a lead balloon. Melissa on the Garnish station was having some problems too. It got bad enough that Ramsay had her swap places with Jillian, who came in from pizza duty to take over the Red Garnish station and quickly solved its problems. Raj now had about 10 different Garnishes out with no apparent orders ready for any of them. This looked like there was going to be a major waste of money as they would have to be trashed to meet Ramsay’s exacting standards. Boris stated that Raj was a “waste of time.” Red completed their dinner service while Blue was a long way from doing that.  The men clearly lost and had to nominate 2.

It looked like those 2 were going to be Raj and Curtis, but at the last moment somebody decided that Boris was worse than Curtis for commandeering the scallops from Trev when that was not necessary. All 3 were at risk, but I think the most incompetent member of the blue team in his assigned role was Vinny. He apparently caught a big break on this one, but Ramsay decided to have him in the mix too. Ramsay’s decision was to eliminate Curtis because of incompetence at cooking. That sounded fair to me, but it could have been any of those 4.

Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: ugot2bekidinmeny on September 24, 2010, 08:19:41 PM
Raj is gonna give me a heart atttack with just his breathing!  I have to make sure i dont watch this :hellkitchen show before i go to bed. or i will have nigthmares!!

seems like this is one fiesty group!! :flipper    on both sides :lol3:
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: KitKat on September 26, 2010, 07:11:29 PM
Raj is gonna give me a heart atttack with just his breathing!  I have to make sure i dont watch this :hellkitchen show before i go to bed. or i will have nigthmares!!

seems like this is one fiesty group!! :flipper    on both sides :lol3:

I agree, and it looks as though this is gonna be a good season even without the beautiful Jean Phillipe......(sp?)
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on September 26, 2010, 07:37:25 PM
You're welcome, apskip.  I am looking for more information on what may have led to this and will post here if I find any.  I'm sure going to miss him!

Chef Scott will be back, as will Chef Andi.  Also, one of the contestants hails from a nearby town, Lake Station, Indiana, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for any local press on her.  (I don't know her personally.)

Welcome to RFF cocina!   I MISS Jean Phillipe!

I love Raj! The look of bewilderment and defiance on his face is priceless.

(http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb138/MissyPhont/Raj.jpg)

Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on September 26, 2010, 07:38:10 PM
Thanks for your always excellent recap apskip.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on September 27, 2010, 02:49:26 PM
You're welcome, apskip.  I am looking for more information on what may have led to this and will post here if I find any.  I'm sure going to miss him!

Chef Scott will be back, as will Chef Andi.  Also, one of the contestants hails from a nearby town, Lake Station, Indiana, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for any local press on her.  (I don't know her personally.)

Welcome to RFF cocina!   I MISS Jean Phillipe!

I love Raj! The look of bewilderment and defiance on his face is priceless.

(http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb138/MissyPhont/Raj.jpg)



Texas Lady,

Enjoy Raj while you can. My guesstimate of relative talent levels shows Raj near the bottom of the stack. He will be eliminated in one of the early episodes.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on September 27, 2010, 03:37:14 PM
I know, I know.. but honestly he is hilarious to watch, like his utter lack of comprehension when he is being yelled at or going into some ninja warrior kick for emphasis makes me laugh.  He really is a loose cannon but unlike any other cheftestant we've ever seen on HK.

Other than Raj who will NOT win, did anyone spot a potential winner yet? Maybe it is too soon. ???
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on September 28, 2010, 09:15:13 AM
No chance to do so yet, but I think Sabrina is worth keeping a close eye on. As we see more episodes I will address your question.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on September 28, 2010, 05:51:38 PM
No chance to do so yet, but I think Sabrina is worth keeping a close eye on. As we see more episodes I will address your question.

Will do.  I'm wondering why the ambulances and police entering Hell's Kitchen in the preview for this week's episode.  ???
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: ugot2bekidinmeny on September 30, 2010, 04:41:55 PM
ha ha ha I think Sabrina was at the wrong auditions.. she should be on the bad girls club!! :lol3: ..

 and bye bye crazy man raj!! :boot:  i knew he was leaving no matter who went up.. chef just wnated to have the drama of course!!

 I see both groups having meltdowns weeks after week! :yess:
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on September 30, 2010, 05:04:44 PM
No chance to do so yet, but I think Sabrina is worth keeping a close eye on. As we see more episodes I will address your question.

Will do.  I'm wondering why the ambulances and police entering Hell's Kitchen in the preview for this week's episode.  ???

WHY! WHY do I keep falling for the ploys?  :groan:

It's hard to avoid watching Sabrina. She's a master at throwing people under the bus, the train, and anything else that is handy. I agree with ugot, she is on the wrong show.  :lol3:

Is this the worst bunch ever seen on Hell's Kitchen? I do believe it is.  :jam:
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: ugot2bekidinmeny on September 30, 2010, 05:33:07 PM
I think this IS the weakest bunch of cooks ever on this show.  in the past there was always a few that can really cook.. now they are just going for the drama. :meow:

 From what i know, read, watched, all of ramsey's other shows have been cancelled.. here and abroad. so i think this is just the captian going down with his ship in this season.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on September 30, 2010, 06:28:31 PM
I don't really get why Boris was thrown out for washing a pan. Maybe he needed a clean pan. I'm beginning to think Ramsay needs anger management classes.  :hellkitchen

Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on September 30, 2010, 08:20:39 PM
It's great to see all the comments starting to appear on this thread.

HK8, ep. 3

The reprise of the prior episode was a sushi challenge involving Mitsohiro Morimoto. The Men won, led by Boris. Nona, Emily and Melissa had major problems during dinner service in the Red kitchen. Raj alienated all the rest of the Blue team. The women won dinner service. The men nominated Boris and Raj, but Ramsay had his own ideas and eliminated Curtis.


All was noisy in the HK dorm at 218am, but by 507am the arrival of numerous paramedics forced all HK chefs to rise quickly and get to the kitchen. Ramsay introduced their next challenge, which was to cook breakfast for these personnel ASAP. The standard meal was 2 links sausage and either French toast or an omelet or scrambled eggs on individual plates plus fresh fruit in a bowl served before any plates could be and glasses of orange juice. This looked like a substantial and hearty meal most would be pleased to eat. Raj was eating the food intended for the teams, so he was severely criticized by Ramsay for that, with the word “donkey” prominent in the verbiage. The Red team won this challenge by finishing before the Blue team had served a single table. That’s domination! Their reward was a pool-side lunch in a luxury hotel but there is a secret additional one, a trip to the Santa Monica Pier to take trapeze lessons at the Trapeze School there, followed by a nice lunch with Ramsay. The punishment for the Blue team was to clean all the glassware in HK, an exacting job under the supervision of Maitre d’ James, plus clean both kitchens. Ramsay made a plea for all chefs who smoke (about half) to stop it in order to improve their palette over the next 48 hours, at which time it will obviously be needed for another challenge. The prep work started for both teams and Sabrina considered it beneath her since she is a prep chef and has been there and done that. This won her the enmity of her teammates, who do not want a prima donna putting herself above the rest of them. Ramsay told the men that they had just had 2 of the worst dinner services ever on HK, so Ramsay was looking for them to have a comeback night. . Ramsay stated that special cocktails will be offered to all diners and he selected Trev ( a part-time bartender) and Sabrina to prepare and serve them on the newly-minted Mixologist station. It was now time to open HK.

Boris criticized Raj for being useless and incompetent. Vinny was on the Appetizers station and Raj on the Fish station. Raj cooked his scallops too soon and had to refire them. Jillian and Emily were on Appetizers for the Red team and Emily was pretty hapless and hopeless there by grossly oversalting her dishes. Raj had grilled a salmon and added his own touch, sauce where one was called for. That drew Ramsay’s ire. Nona asked Emily if she could help out by cooking some grains, but when they were actually needed there is no polenta. Raj was acting the prima donna in the kitchen and in the Confessional. He had this incredibly high and unwarranted view of his own skill level whereas in reality he just had no talent whatsoever and was a huge blowhard. His teammates were unto him and Ramsay was too. Trev decided to confront Raj and they had a bitter verbal battle and almost came to physical blows. Melissa’s Dover sole was grossly overcooked, so she had to start over.  Ramsay commented about Raj: What a ? loser. At 90 minutes into dinner service, Raj was caught eating returned items, which he thought were delicious. Ramsay told him to “shut your fat face and cook.”  Boris’ first attempt at a Beef Wellington turned out raw, which messed up an entire table’s order. Gail was having problems cooking beef and allowing her pan to go on fire. Ramsay’s
response: Your pan’s too hot. She looked like she was ready to quit. Ramsay accused her of losing the will to compete, but she responded that it was still alive. Her next one was OK. Raj ruined 3 consecutive Dover soles, then told Ramsay that there was no more sole for the Dover sole special. Raj now understood the degree of emnity that Ramsay and his teammates have toward him. He stated that “he needed to figure something out quickly.” I hoped and expected that Ramsay would eliminate him in the kitchen, but that did not happen.

The determination of which team won dinner service was left up to the feedback from diner comment cards. The Blue team was rated 54% positive while the Red Team got 54%. Blue won and got to not be picking two for elimination. Red considered who was the worst and, after changing their minds about Gail, nominated Emily and Sabrina. Sabrina stated boldly that she had more balls than anyone else on the Red team and deserved that she had the biggest target on her back but she could hold her own. She wanted Melissa to be on the chopping block in her place in spite of the fact that Melissa had given her crucial help and guidance during the dinner service. Ramsay asked Sabrina and Emily to come forward and state why they should stay. Neither gave a very good answer in my opinion. However, as usual it did not matter because Ramsay had his own ideas of justice. He eliminated Raj due to overt reason of eating customer food during dinner service, but also because Raj had shown no qualifications whatsoever.


HK8, ep. 4

The prior episode Raj was in conflict. EMTs arrived with friends for breakfast. The women won the Breakfast challenge. Raj screwed up by overcooking scallops and undercooking scallops but the men won anyway. The women nominated Sabrina and Melissa but  Raj was the chef eliminated.

Ramsay started this episode by demonstrating how to make ravioli properly. The steps are:
1.   Roll out fresh dough, made form flour, egg, water and salt.
2.   Press the roll of fresh pasta through a pasta machine to thin to a uniform thickness 
3.   Place fillings and seasoning inside a ravioli shape
4.   Close up that shape and seal, then drop gently into boiling water
5.   Time or otherwise monitor the cooking of ravioli so that it isn’t too soft or firm

The challenge was, surprise, to make fresh ravioli out of a huge variety of interesting possibilities for fillings. They had 30 minutes to do it. Each of the 7 team members would be rank ordered by the team as a whole and would face-off against their counterpart from the other team. The results of this were these ravioli:

1. Melissa (chicken, pancetta, walnut cream cause)vs. Vinny (swiss chard, bacon,
     mushrooms, fontina cream)
             1                                                                            0 although quite good
2. Jillian (eggplant, spinach, garlic, ricotta in shells) vs. Rob (curry shrimp mousse, lemon zest and chives)                                       
              1                                                                           1
3. Nona (prosciutto, quail eggs)                              vs. Russell (ricotta, chile)
              0                         1
4. Emily (duck confit)                                              vs. Louis (salmon mousse pine nuts)
     1                         0   
5. Sabrina (shrimp, oregano)                                    vs. Boris (feta, spinach)
              0                                                                           1
6. Gail   (shot ribs with sunripe tomato paste)         vs. Trev (duck, arugula , mozzarella)        
     0  (lost due only to overseasoning)                      1

The Blue team won, 4 to 3. Red was blaming Sabrina and Gail for losing their chances. And overlooking the fact the Nona had also lost.

Ramsay stated that there would be Italian Night the next evening. Red team had to prep both kitchens by making an ample supply of fresh pasta white the Blue team went on helicopters to Palos Verde, a southwestern elite suburb of Los Angeles for some golf practice, closest to the pin tournament and team-building with togetherness. Sabrina again put herself above the prep, which infuriated the rest of the Red team. Trev was also feeling persecuted, as his ravioli had been ranked last by his teammates yet he had won the crucial point for victory. Both teams were hungry to score in the dinner service. The Red team had had to fulfill Ramsay’s requirement that fresh mozzarella be served on Italian Night by having an extra-fresh supply of milk, by milking multiple cows that were placed outside Hell’s Kitchen to provide that milk. I think it was Lewis who termed the coming Blue team effort as “fast and furious; stay tuned.” The special menu included rock shrimp pizza, veal scallopini, grilled pork chop and Vinny’s ravioli item from the challenge. Melissa and Russell were assigned to the Appetizer stations.

HK was opened. Lewis had a stone-cold salmon appetizer to start off. Ramsay noted that Melissa’s first appetizer attempt was inadequate. Louis and Emily were on the Grill station, handling a combination of Fish and the pork chops. Lewis is on the Pasta station. Sabrina on the Meat station did not know how to cook this or that and had to ask her teammates until Melissa gave her special instructions on what to do. Sabrina admitted that she was a verifiable bitch and would try to disrupt her teammates. Ramsay accused Gail of having too-crunchy pasta. Rob had a burned pizza and was sent out of HK to eat it at the bar before he could return (that’s punishment?). Louis tried to do a roast pork dish, but failed due to it coming out raw. He took it in his hand to Sous Chef Scott for guidance. Scott lambasted him for lack of cleanliness.  Boris for no apparent reason decided in the heat of battle to wash pans. Ramsay was incredibly pissed by this and banned him from the kitchen to wash post and pans in the back. Louis was also banned from the Blue kitchen. Vinny was put on the Meat station. The Red team finished up and was invited to help in the Blue kitchen, but with 7 orders left Ramsay had had enough. He sent both teams out of the kitchen and he, Andi and Scott finished dinner service. A couple was there for the purpose of the male proposing to the female and this happened without disruption.

You would think that the Blue team was the clear loser, but Ramsay indicated both teams failed to live up to his expectations. Both teams had to nominate 2. Nona nominated for Red Melissa and Sabrina (although she screwed up and said Gail by mistake first). The Blue team nominated Louis and Boris. I believe that Sabrina’s bitchiness and controversial behavior was so over the top that FOX and Arthur Smith intervened and prevented her from being eliminated as deserved. Ramsay decided that Louis was eliminated and the other 3 sent back into their lines. He stated “Louis dreamed of greatness, but the only thing I would trust him to do was toast marshmallows back at camp.”  Nona could not believe that Sabrina had survived again, asking where the justice was in that?
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: ugot2bekidinmeny on September 30, 2010, 09:02:39 PM
well i did a little research and apparently Eric rupirt and some other chefs have something to say about how ramsey conducts himself with the contestants.. not only here on hells kitchen but  with the current death of a former kitchen nightmares suicide.( this is the second person in regards to ramsey shows that has commited suicide)

I also read that ramsey owes out a ton of money to meat suppliers, wine suppliers,  laundry services and has lost several of his consultant jobs and restaurants.

I hope that if ramsey does get another season of hells kitchen that it will be met with better chefs with a  taste of real competition.

 so far it's the wackos that are making me watch.. not the competitiveness

I don't really get why Boris was thrown out for washing a pan. Maybe he needed a clean pan. I'm beginning to think Ramsay needs anger management classes.  :hellkitchen


Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on October 01, 2010, 06:48:50 AM
ugot2bekidnymeny,
I would not put much credence in the belief that Ramsay's bad behavior is in any way linked to the death of restaurant owners featured on Kitchen Nightmares. The facts are that the restaurant business is highly competitive and about 85% of all restaurants fail within the first 5 years. Think of the enormous stress that process unfolding would have on those owners for an extended period of time. What could be more depressing than having your life savings invested in a failing enterprise? That condition exists before Ramsay ever gets involved with a restaurant owner in Kitchen Nightmares.

I believe that Ramsay's contract with FOX gives him free rein on expressing himself however he sees fit. After all, FOX knew before signing him what kind of behavior to expect. They are getting what they paid for in high ratings partially due to Ramsay's bad behavior.

On the issue of Ramsay owing a lot of money to purveyors in the New York city area, I believe that is true. The London restaurant has been hemorrhaging cash since it opened in 2007 with the U.S. recession affected high end dining. Manhattan diners are resisting the 3 course prix fixe price of $80 which would assure a profitable operation with sufficient volume. Ramsay has had to support it with cash from his British operations
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: ugot2bekidinmeny on October 01, 2010, 09:00:44 AM
Ramsey is devestated that this man commited suicide.. this man's business improved once on the kitchen night mares.. i have friends that not only go there but knew him and his family.. the man started doing drugs.. or continued  and then his wallls started coming apart..  seperation from family, cheating on his wife.. all this information is 3rd/4th hand to me.

 at any rate..  Repirt and some other  high ranking chefs have  several controversial twitter statements that have mentioned thier dislike with how he works on this one particualr show.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/30/eric-ripert-vs-gordon-ramsay-twitter_n_742340.html

In all of the other shows i have seen.. The F Word in particualr(4 seasons of it i have seen, need to catch season 5) he's super nice.. super geniune.. and caring.. along with compasionate.

http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/159/index.jsp

http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/f-word/series-5/

 I think  his hell's kitchen performances are over the top just for the ratings..
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on October 01, 2010, 01:54:16 PM
ugot2bekidnmeny,
You are right that Ramsay is over the top in his zeal for ratings and that he is really a peach of a guy when not on camera. However, his preference for the "F" word was developed during his difficult childhood. I have bought a lightly used copy of the book Humble Pie, Ramsay's autobiography, and you can too for about 1 cent plus $3.99 from BN.com used books (it ships from England). You can read pages 9 to 78 to get a flavor for what Ramsay's first 21 years were like that created the character that he is today.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on October 07, 2010, 06:04:24 PM
HK8, ep. 5

In the prior episode, the Challenge was won by the Blue team in a close contest with Trev’s dish providing the margin of victory, but Trev coming away with the belief that his teammates had little regard for his talents. During dinner service, Melissa and Jillian were major under-performers for the Red team. Boris got himself exiled from the kitchen. When the Red team finished when Blue had 7 more tables left to go, Ramsay ordered the Red team to help the Blue team out, but this worked so poorly that he closed the kitchen to all competitors and he, Scott and Andi finished the last meals. The nominees for elimination were Sabrina, Melissa, Boris and Louis. Ramsay eliminated Louis.

The challenge was to design menus for the Beverly Hills High School prom. A committee of 3 students running the prom was linked by video connection to provide input about what they personally liked (fusion, seafood, steak and chicken) and disliked. My impression was that no coherent menu could be developed from that. Ramsay asked each team to create a menu of one appetizer and two entrees and then serve it to a panel of judges who would decide the winner of the challenge. The judge turned out to be the prom committee. The presented dishes and judging results were:

Sabrina (Dungennes crab w/ sautéed shrimp) vs. Vinny (crusted tuna)           Red 1 Blue 0
Red (Pan-seared ribeye w/minor raw tuna) vs. Trev (halibut over light broth) Red 1 Blue0
Emily (pot stickers) vs. Rob (pan-seared rib-eye)                                            Red 1 Blue 0

For the first time I can remember, a challenge (with Ramsay not involved, which makes a huge difference) had resulted in a clearcut 3-0 decision. The Red team won the special reward of a visit to Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park for the day. The Blue team had to setup tables, fold linens, and then cater to the whims of the prom committee on setting up decorations. This caused a lot of friction and conflict between the prom committee and the Blue team.

Ramsay stressed the need for teamwork as he opened Hell’s Kitchen. Vinny and Nona were asked to help Ramsay at the hot plate to plate dishes as they arrived from the teams. Emily on Fish had trouble with soggy crabcakes until Gail helped her out. Boris on Fish was cooking scallops way ahead of the need for them, which meant they would be wasted and there could be raw material consequences later. Ramsay told him unequivocally that he must cook to order, not batch them ahead: “it’s not an option; one table at a time.” This also applied to Melissa, who had pre-cooked 21 steaks ahead of time when there should be no pre-cooking at all. Sabrina’s appetizers were getting accolades from Ramsay. Boris was having trouble with halibut, but then he gelled and worked in concert with Russell on Meat to get the halibut and meat required synchronized. Nona observed that Emily could not consistently deliver Fish on time. Russell got on a roll and was singled out by Ramsay for exceptional performance. Melissa made a mistake slicing meat at the wrong time, before it was tested for doneness. Ramsay started to direct the entire group how to handle this situation, but he was interrupted by Nona. He asked Nona to give the speech that he was going to, but she declined and let him get back into his accustomed role. She reflected on her role in this with “Open Mouth, Insert Foot.” The Red team rebounded. The Blue team continued their teamwork through the completion of dinner service.

Blue had clearly won and Russell was giving the deserved accolades. Sabrina was named “Best of the worst” by Ramsay and that was resented by Nona, who can see nothing positive whatsoever about Sabrina. The obvious nominations are Melissa and Emily. Ramsay eliminated Emily. However, that was not all. Ramsay placed Melissa on the Blue team to give her a chance to recover. He took Trev from the Blue team and designated him as the new leader of the Red team. With the prima donnas on the Red team to manage (Nona and Sabrina in particular since Gail and Jillian are notorious for their low profiles so far in the competition), Trev has a huge challenge to get Red to be productive through teamwork. .


HK8, ep. 6

The challenge was to create an entrée salad good enough to be featured in Bon Appétit magazine. Senior editor Sarah Tenaglia is present to judge the challenge. The pairings of Red against blue and dishes are:

Gail (?, scallops)   vs.  Boris (grilled ?)                                                            Red 1 Blue 0

Nona (2 quail on bed of wilted greens) vs. Rob (pan-seared scallop, vinaigrette)                                        Red 0 Blue 1

Jillian (fruit) vs. Vinny ( ? )                                                                              Red 0 Blue 0                                             

Sabrina (applesauce and pork) vs. Russell (?)                                                  Red 0 Blue 1

Trev (apples, pears, pork, strawberry vinaigrette) vs. Melissa (duck, rocquefort cheese) Red 1 Blue 0

Total is Red 2, Blue 2 so Ramsay used the best dishes head-to-head as the tie-breaker. Those were Gail’s scallops and Rob’s scallops. Rob’s were judged superior and he got the win for Blue. The reward was a special meal at the incredible Getty Villa in Malibu, which is one of the finest museums in the world (and one everyone should visit if they can get reservations when they visit the Los Angeles area) with Rob getting makeup to prepare for his photo shoot with Bon Appetit that afternoon. The punishment for Red was cleaning and prepping both kitchens.

Dinner service started with VIP Tables set up in the Red kitchen and the Blue kitchen. The VIPs were the parties of TV stars (Kelli Williams of Lie to Me for Blue and Mo Gaffney and General Hospital star Nancy Lee Grahn for Red). Those VIPs got exposed to the usual range of Ramsay tactics to elicit good performance from the under-performing teams, but they did have the Salad station people (rob and Jillian as their waiters). Russell had nice meat ready to go, but it needed to be combined with Boris’ shrimp to be allowed to be served. Rob and Trev were on the Salad station for each respective team. Rob needed Melissa to deliver scallops for combinations to get other meals out. Nona did raw scallops and had to refire them multiple times without success. Trev was ordered by Ramsay to get it done fast and right and Trev delivered. Melissa ended up wasting 10 pounds of scallops that she had not been able to cook properly.  That meant blue ran out of scallops, so Ramsay ordered the menu to switch to raw shrimp in its place. I believe James was sent out to notify affected diners. Gnocchi was a problem for the Red kitchen. Ramsay initially focused negative attention on someone else, but it was Sabrina’s responsibility on the Garnish station. Boris on the Garnish station barely got mashed potatoes ready in time to not screw up a large order. Vinny got accolades form Ramsay for perfectly cooked lamb. Trev got the same for his perfectly cooked Wellingtons. Ramsay told Sabrina to keep her head down and shut her mouth when Sabrina was mouthing off.

Ramsay’s conclusion was that neither team won. Each had to nominate one individual. Due to political factors rather than actual performance, Boris and Sabrina were the nominees. Ramsay was having none of that. He insisted that Nona and Melissa also deserved to be there (even though he had insisted on one nominee from each team, not 2). Melissa was selected by Ramsay for elimination. Ramsay’s summary of her time in Hell’s Kitchen was “red jacket, blue jacket, no jacket.”
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: ugot2bekidinmeny on October 08, 2010, 09:27:51 AM
OH BOY! Sabrina may just win this one with the way she fights fights fights!  I dont trust nexts weeks coming attractions.. they are awlays miss leading!

I really hope that if this is on for another season he gets some really talented chefs like we had in the past.

The rewards used to be something that the chefs can use for  thier future now its amusement park rides? :groan:

Please please let this show pick up to a better level! :lol3:
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on October 09, 2010, 08:28:07 AM
Cookware or special lessons for professional development are OK as rewards, but when you note how grueling the filming of a Hell's Kitchen season is on the chefs, I believe they would welcome any type of respite more. An amusement park, massages, a relaxed time drinking beer, these are all things that would help their bodies and minds recover.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on October 14, 2010, 06:02:44 PM
HK8, ep. 7

The usual reprise of the prior episode opened this one:
1. Melissa was sent to the Blue team and Trev to the Blue team.
2. The Challenge was judged by a senior editor from Bon Appetit magazine and a prize for the best dish was a photo shoot for Bon Appetit
3. Rob’s scallops won the prize and also broke the tie between the Red and Blue teams.
4. At dinner service Melissa started OK but Sabrina and Nona had problems.
5. Red nominated Sabrina while Blue nominated Boris. Ramsay thought Nona and Melissa also deserved to be up with those two and he eliminated Melissa.

At the start of this episode Ramsay told the teams that his family (wife Tana and 4 children) would be eating in Hell’s Kitchen’s Children’s Night. A special kid’s menu was planned, so teams had to prep for the regular menu and the children’s menu. There was a cover over a table, which when taken off revealed a roulette table. Ramsay stated that great chefs frequently gamble on their creations and it was time for the teams to do so. Each chef got one throw, except for Vinny who got 2, and the letter on the wheel was the first letter of an ingredient that would be used in the teams’ dish. All chefs had only 10 seconds to select those ingredients and that pressure caused some inherent problems in the combinations of ingredients. The blue team chose:
Vinny – yams
Vinny 2 –
Boris – miso
Rob – striped bass
Russell – asparagus

The Red team chose:
Trev – rutabaga (ridiculous!)
Jillian – cauliflower
Sabrina – bok choy (not a good choice)
Gail – fennel (a really good choice because of the number of things it goes with)
Nona – salmon (got lucky with a protein so a non-vegetarian meal is possible)

Both dishes were evaluated by Ramsay as quite good, although the fried yams and asparagus for Blue and cauliflower puree and rutabaga chips for Red were sub-par. The Red team won because the cauliflower puree had separated but still tasted excellent. The prize for Red was one of the best ever, a trip to Las Vegas to the Rio Resorts Palazzo All-Suites Hotel where they were staying in a 14,000 square foot room. Can you imagine? 4,000 square feet is a huge home and this suite is 3.5 times that size. The women are very impressed and then there is a noise at their door. It is Penn and Teller who arrived to do magic tricks for them. WOW! The blue team got to unload and prep 1000 potatoes for the complimentary French fries that were to be offered at the next evening’s dinner service.

It is Family Night in HK. Boris could not turn out acceptable macaroni and cheese for Ramsay’s son, which caused Ramsay. Boris and Sabrina are considered weak links by their teams. There is a HK Carnival going on outside. Ramsay says the diners will enter happy, be happy eating and leave happy so that he can be happy. Fat chance! Each table receives a welcoming basket of French Fries. There is a special Kid’s Menu. Vinny has doubled up the portions, for which Ramsay castigating him. Vinny tried a short cut, serving old extra risotto to Ramsay, but Ramsay was very upset that his family is not getting a fresh risotto. Ramsay said “if you can’t be bothered to do it, the go home.”
Sabrina on Meat constantly asked Trev for help, then got a “perfectly cooked from Ramsay. Ramsay asked “Where’s the beef?” before Boris was slicing a perfectly cooked beef on a dirty cutting board. Ramsay asked the same question to Sabrina, who was ready but Nona on Garnish was not. The Ramsay family table was served except for the macaroni and cheese. Rob could not do it. He asked Russell to help, but Russell declined because he thought Boris needed to stand on his own feet. Trev criticized Sabrina for cooking 2 minute lead time grilled cheese ahead of 6 minute lead time chicken. Sabrina’s chicken was checked by Trev, but Ramsay found it to be cold. The Red team worked together to complete their last entrees.

Ramsay stated that 90% of the customer comment cards showed the guests leaving happy. He was pleased. The teams had to nominate 2 members each for potential elimination but this was a classic red herring, as Ramsay was giving them a pass with nobody eliminated.


HK8, ep. 8

The reprise of the prior episode was:
1. A Roulette Challenge forced the chefs to think fast in choosing ingredients in 10 seconds.
2. Nona’s salmon paid off with a win.
3. It was Family Night and Ramsay’s family was there.
4. Trev and Sabrina were at each other’s throats, but they pulled together to finish.
5. Nona and Rob were chosen by Ramsay for consideration, but he eliminated nobody.

Jillian and Gail will pair up and the others will each create a beef, lamb, chicken and pork dish. They had $60 and 20 minutes to buy ingredients. Sabrina wanted to do lamb and lentils. The Red team had to cut out $7. This is to test ability to turn classic ingredients into high end dining experiences. The dishes will be priced by a panel of guest judges:

Mark Peel, owner/chef of Campanile
Sophie Gayot, owner of Gayot guidebook
Libby Rego, reviewer - Yelp
Justin Wybourn, the general manager of the London West Hollywood Nobu

Sophie judging Beef
Nona (pan-seared ribeye, parsnip puree, broccolini, red wine balsamic reduction) $32 vs. Rob (grilled NY Strip Steak, cipollini onion, crispy shiitake mushrooms) $26

Mark judging Pork
Jillian/Gail (pan-seared pork tenderloin with roasted peach and shallots) $28
Boris (marinated pork tenderloin, stir fry) $26

Libby judging Chicken
Trev ( lemon-roasted chicken breast w/ carrots) $22
Russell (chicken cacciatore w/ rustic potatoes)   $26

Justin judging Lamb
Sabrina (lamb with lentils and carrots in red wine sauce) vs. $28
Vinny (round bone lamb chop w/ red potato)                         $23

Red totalled $110 and Blue only $101 so Red team won a sailboat ride with a waterfront dinner at the Maya Hotel with Mexican band playing. The Blue team wrapped and fumigated the kitchen. Prepping was for specific stations. Boris had hot appetizers, while Russell as sous chef was on his case.

Ramsay gave his pre-dinner pep talk outside. He stated that it is the 100th dinner of Hell’s Kitchen and the Goodyear Blimp is overhead. The gala event is black tie, invitation only. The guests dining at 2 chef’s tables had a special connection to Hell’s Kitchen. It was obvious to me that it would be previous winners of HK, but the chefs thought some celebrities would be arriving. It was Rock of HK3, HK4 winner Christina, HK5 winner Danny, HK7 winner Holli.

Hell’s Kitchen opened for its 100th service. It is an evening of elegance, including a string quartet. Sabrina served caviar to all tables. Ramsay was served a risotto from a previous table and Nona tried to blame Gail for it but it was her responsibility. Ramsay told Boris to get risotto on first vs. capellini because it takes longer. Rob helped Boris to get appetizers out. Trev had recurring major problems on virtually every Garnish item he touched. It seemed that an impostor had taken his place in the kitchen, one who caved to pressure and did not know how to cook garnishes. Gail was cited by Ramsay for perfectly cooked Wellingtons. Ramsay was concerned about gnocchis. 3 Blue diners found the roasted lobster to be chewy due to overcooked by Vinny. Jillian had lobster ready but Trev did not have the garnishes ready for it. Russell was not helping Rob, who wanted to communicate with him. Rob forgot a chicken, but that stacked up all the Blue orders. Trev’s errors finally caused Ramsay to send him out of the kitchen. Ramsay decided to shut down the Blue kitchen after Rob tried to get pink chicken past him. The Red team needed Trev back so they could finish the last table and take over the Blue orders not completed. Jillian was commended by Ramsay for “perfectly cooked.”

Ramsay’s post-mortem indicated that the 4 ladies had done really well. The blue team had to nominate 2 and one was clearly Boris, but there was a tie between Vinny and Rob for the second one. Ramsay brought all 3 up and then eliminated Boris. Most would say this was long overdue.

Ramsay then called Trev forward and the screen stated the infamous words “To Be Continued.” Trev had a terrible night, but has been a consistent positive factor on the Red team. Will he bite the dust for one bad night? I don’t think so as Ramsay likes to give chefs a second chance. also, the blue team is now 2 chefs smaller than the Red team, so the most likely outcome is for Trev to be moved back to the Red team.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on October 14, 2010, 06:42:40 PM
I ma now ready to forecast the final 4 of HK8. The beneath-the-radar performers are Gail and Jillian, both of whom I expect to make the final 4. They will be joined by Russell, clearly the best performer from the Blue team. The final slot will be intensely competed for. I think Vinny is the most likely, but it could be Sabrina. I see Nona and Rob and Trev as the next 3 out. Readers of this thread, what do you think?
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on October 14, 2010, 09:07:33 PM
I agree about Gail and Jill being under the radar, particularly Jill. Russell is good but selfish in my book, he's not a team player, he's out for himself especially if it gives his opponent the boot. I'm not sure Ramsay likes that in an employee. It's the same with Sabrina but I see her being the 4th finalist.

Rob, Nona and Trev all got flustered when the Chef Ramsay hell came their way. Never a good sign. They will be out soon, all three of them.

Good analysis apskip!
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: redwings8831 on October 19, 2010, 05:51:16 PM
I just noticed that there is no hell's kitchen until November 10th. Has to be because of the NLCS and World Series on Fox.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on October 20, 2010, 04:22:21 PM
Exactly right relative to any new episodes of HK8, redwings 8831.

Tonight HK is preempted on FOX by Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
Next week 10/27 is the stat of the World Series.
Nov. 3 will be Game 6 of the World Series unless it is over, in which case a repeat of HK8's last 2 episodes is scheduled.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: Pedaler on October 20, 2010, 07:01:25 PM
I just noticed that there is no hell's kitchen until November 10th. Has to be because of the NLCS and World Series on Fox.

Oh, no.   :'(   

I am so perplexed by the editing this season.  At times most, if not all, of the contestants have been shown in an extremely negative manner which I think could potentially reflect poorly on Ramsay's new restaurant.  I get the feeling that the winner will be more of a spokesperson for the Australian winery than a chef in the new restaurant.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on October 26, 2010, 10:35:15 PM
Watching, they all seem to do so poorly that you have to wonder how they were chosen, and if anyone is capable of being a spokesman or run a kitchen. (I know why some were chosen, for entertainment.)  :lol:  All that said though, I love Hell's Kitchen and have missed not being able to watch because of baseball.

 
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: redwings8831 on November 10, 2010, 06:25:32 PM
New episodes tonight.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: cocina del infierno on November 11, 2010, 03:14:09 PM
No way.   :groan:  No way in hell or Hell's Kitchen would I hire any of them to work for me in any capacity.  If forced to make a choice it would be Nona or Gail. Though Gail's infantile manner in the confessional makes me want to puke, her performance is usually strong.  Nona is solid and seems to be the most mature of all the contestants left.  Russell should have been gone the same day he cursed at teenage customers during the prom episode.  He reminds me of a grade school bully who uses fear and intimidation to rule the playground while simultaneously brown nosing the teacher.   Jerk. 
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on November 15, 2010, 10:57:29 PM
No way.   :groan:  No way in hell or Hell's Kitchen would I hire any of them to work for me in any capacity.  If forced to make a choice it would be Nona or Gail. Though Gail's infantile manner in the confessional makes me want to puke, her performance is usually strong.  Nona is solid and seems to be the most mature of all the contestants left.  Russell should have been gone the same day he cursed at teenage customers during the prom episode.  He reminds me of a grade school bully who uses fear and intimidation to rule the playground while simultaneously brown nosing the teacher.   Jerk.  

Honestly none of them seem capable of running a kitchen. I'd say that Sabrina would have potential but she's not mature enough and I don't think anyone would really want to work for her. I also don't see who could be a spokesman either.

I agree with you about Russell. I had forgotten how he acted with the teenagers but he is not a team player either.

Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on November 18, 2010, 10:37:20 AM
HK8, Ep. 10

This episode started with maximum tension between Russell and Trev. Trev made the effective point that Russell seemed impervious to any change.  Inadequate communications among Blue team members were leading to major timing errors.

In order to highlight the importance of communications and timing, Ramsay administered a challenge. 6 individuals from each team (3 guys twice each, two females twice and two once) were to cook for 5 minutes, then hand off for 15 seconds. The dishes to be cooked were chosen by Ramsay for being very different in cooking time and type of cooking required:
Tagliatelle Pasta with Mushrooms
Salmon with Lobster Ragout
Poached chicken with Green Beans

Here were the highlights of what happened between teams:
Round 1 Sabrina vs. Russell – both rolled pasta and started cooking proteins
Round 2 Jillian vs. Trev – she started sauces and lobster; he focused on salmon and gnocchi
Round 3 Nora vs. Vinny – she poached chicken; he focused on plating
Round 4 Gail vs. Russell – she did not appear to accomplish anything; he poached chicken
Round 5 Sabrina vs. Trev – she did salmon; he finished two dishes but forgot to put lobster in to cook
Round 6 Jillian vs. Vinny – she was rushing to finish just in time and dropped her salmon before plating; he only poached the lobster claw but did get it done

The Blue team won this challenge based on winning chicken and salmon/lobster and losing the pasta dish. Their reward was to receive cash for purchases at culinary supply store plus a special dinner (bay scallop tagliatelle, sea urchin, rose champagne) at Restaurant Melisse, 2 star Michelin under Chef Josiah Citrin. The Red team had to handle Delivery Day plus prep both kitchens and eat cheese sandwiches.

Sous Chef Scott delivered the news that each team was to prepare its own menu of 4 appetizers, 4 entrees and 4 desserts that would be used in a team vs. team elimination challenge dinner service the following evening. Not all of those menus was revealed, but the parts that were included:
RED TEAM
Appetizers – Wild Mushroom Risotto, Lobster Capellini
Entrees – Poached Lobster, NY Strip Steak
Desserts - none identified

BLUE TEAM
Appetizers – Risotto Ravioli, Lobster Bisque
Entrees – Sea Bass w/ fingerling Potatoes, Grilled Lamb chop w/ Puree
Desserts – none identified

Russell and Trev were at each other’s throats as dinner service started. The RED team menu was preferred by most of the early diners.  Nora’s pasta was undercooked. Russell’s first appetizer was deemed excellent. Vinny forgot to put a lamb to cook, resulting in a 6 minute delay, then his second try was undercooked. This was for a special diner, Chef Citrin of Melisse so it was highly embarrassing for Ramsay and for the BLUE team. Ramsay was apoplectic. Gail’s lobster cappellini had problems, with it sent back 6 times in a row. Red team entrees have ground to a halt and when there is a Blue entrée is at the same table the RED diner was envious. Sabrina’s gnocchi accompanying the NY Strip was cooked only partially. Vinny had to switch stations with Russell and Vinny’s sea bass was burned on one side and raw on the other.  Gail was under pressure to produce after 6 minutes cooking time for lobster capellini. Her capellini was bad and the lobster was raw on one side and rubbery on the other. Gail was banished from the kitchen.

Dinner service was completed, but there was no winning team. Ramsay gave all competitors the opportunity to nominate anyone from either team (for the first time in HK8 for sure). Vinny was delusional that he did not have the worst performance of the men that evening. All 4 of the women nominated Trev, but what did they know about Trev’s performance that evening? Ramsay quickly saw through that baloney. Russell picked Vinny and Vinny and Trev picked Sabrina.  Trev was asked to take off his jacket, but it was only to put on a new Black jacket of the unified team. The same happened to Nona, Russell, Sabrina and Jillian. Vinny and Gail, clearly the two worst performers that evening but nominated by a total of one person between them, were asked to step forward. Ramsay told Vinny he was in decline. Ramsay cited Vinny’s abysmal performance as the reason he eliminated him. Vinny admitted that he had his shot and had blown it. Gail acknowledged that she had dodged a bullet.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on November 18, 2010, 10:44:07 AM
HK8, ep. 11

All 6 remaining chefs received a black jacket with the name on it from Ramsay. They were appropriately proud of earning it. He also gave them a bottle each of his Special Reserve Gordon Ramsay brand of wine, which they consumed copiously. He announced the first individual challenge to test the chefs’ presentation and taste skills. He invited several Los Angeles area Michelin-starred or award-winning chefs to come and grade the amuse bouches the chefs would create in 30 minutes. The judging panel was:
Suzanne Tracht
Suzanne Goin
Michael Cimarusti
Ludo Lefevbre
Karen and Quinn Hatfield

Each of the 5 judging groups would award up to 10 points for presentation and up to 10 points for taste, so 100 points was the maximum score. The results were:

Sabrina – fresh bread under grilled salmon, vegetables and garlic           P 35 T 35 total 70
Jillian – grilled pita bread with lemon cream sauce                                    P 32 T 33 total 65
Gail – chicken spring roll, lime soy sauce                                                  P 44 T 43 total 87
Nona – shrimp and grits                                                                             P 34 T 33 total 67
Trev – frog legs and vegetables                                                               P 31 T 31 total 62   
Russell – hamachi crudo with apple/celery broth                                     P 50 T 50 total100

These results establish Russell as the chef to beat, as Ramsay pays attention to the ratings of chefs similar in celebrity to himself. Russell’s win brought the opportunity to tour LA Market    restaurant, already open, with Executive Chef Kerry Simon, then get a private luncheon with Ramsay and Simon. He was also offered the opportunity to bring anyone with him and chose Gail. The other chefs would clean their dormitory and then prep for the next dinner service.

Ramsay wanted to get all the chefs excited about their chances to win the LA Market job. He brought in a covered platter and opened it to reveal $250,000 in cash. He chose Nona to do tableside Steak Diane service, which took her out of the flow of the kitchen for that night. Trev and Sabrina had the Appetizer station, Gail had Fish, Russell Meat and Jillian Garnish. Special diners included baseball star Nomar Garciaparra and Soccer great Mia Hamm.

Dinner service started. Ramsay found Sabrina’s risotto disappointing. Gail’s scallops were done such that they would be overcooked for certain. Trev’s pasta was overcooked. Trev and Sabrina got into a confrontation, which then caused Scott to intervene and tell Trev to pipe down. I would not want Scott confronting me! Trev considered Sabrina to be a whining bitch. Trev and Sabrina were then criticized by Ramsay himself, but they continued to prove that they could not work together. Gail’s halibut stuck to the pan due to overcooking. Gail’s grilled salmon was problematical. Russell’s first Beef Wellingtons were too rare. Sabrina screwed up a simple salad. Jillian was shaking salt into the potatoes rather than using the prescribed “use your fingers” method. Ramsay threatened to shut the kitchen down and send a chef home if the chefs did not improve their communications skills. To me, the basic problem that night had nothing to do with communications skills and everything to do with basic cooking skills.

Ramsay stated “I can’t do this anymore. Get out” and instructed James to close the Hell’s Kitchen dining room. He stated that only Nona, who was fortunate to not be in the kitchen, was exempt from scrutiny but one other chef had to be fired. He ordered the other 5 to come up with the usual 2 nominees. They were Trev and Sabrina, although Gail was very close to a nomination. During this process Sabrina admitted that “I’m very manipulative.” Do you think? Sabrina made a heartfelt plea for both herself and for Trev, indicating that Gail should be the one to go. Ramsay decided to eliminate Sabrina for immaturity, certainly one of her hallmarks. He told Trev to get back in line and Gail to wake up. Gail was pissed that Sabrina had tried to throw her under the bus. Ramsay final words: “I’m not looking for a drama queen. I’m looking for a head chef.”
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on November 18, 2010, 07:29:45 PM
Sabrina's comment when she went to talk to Jillian was a killer for a job. She admitted she was manipulative and would use it to stay in the kitchen. It wasn't very smart and could come back to haunt her. I'm so glad she is gone!

It was laughable that all the women wanted Trevor's help after they had voted to have him up for elimination. Even after he said he wouldn't help, he did help Sabrina by putting the dressing on the salad. (Who could forget that?)

I would not want Scott in my face either.  Whew! :knuckles:

I have to say that Russell seems the strongest at the moment. Jillian, perhaps. I'm disappointed in Gail, but she did come in second with the chef's judging.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: ugot2bekidinmeny on December 02, 2010, 12:42:50 PM
OMG can this season end already! rasmey saves them yet again? wtheck?? :iok keeping trevor is just wrong! just form the editting he needs to leave! :lol:  and to think there is a season 9!

 only person i actually see winning is Nona. Jillian can come close I think the pep talk is what she needed.

 could it be possible to have 2 women at the finale?

 I call this a major trainwreck of a season.  how can ramsey make next season better? UGH!!  :wall:
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on December 02, 2010, 12:50:02 PM
Next season? WORTHY candidates! This season is a trainwreck. I cannot see any of them being a spokesperson. I absolutely cannot see any of them running a kitchen.  

I thought Nona could do it but maybe it will be Jillian, I think Russell will be in the final 2.

Ugot, Trevor drives me up the wall, he's so critical of everyone else but he had major help from Ramsay who did it without screaming at him and he still couldn't perform, yet in his confessional trashes everyone else.   :groan:

I guess Ramsay saved them all because the families were there.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: ugot2bekidinmeny on December 02, 2010, 07:07:39 PM
TL i think it's all for ratings.ramsey's BROKE! and he owes ALOT to rosemount winery.

it's a shame.  how can they go back to work after this show? it's gonna be hard. there were soo many bad edits!

 blah on the season

 :kuss: for you!

Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on December 04, 2010, 05:37:20 PM
HK8, ep.12

Gail, Trev, Nona, Jillian and Russell were the remaining chefs. Who will be eliminated next? Ramsay told the chefs that lunch service downtown was very important because lawyers and agents demand good food quickly so the individual challenge will be to go downtown and create a high-end lunch. The chefs all thought this meant they would be cooking at LA Market. What he failed to tell them was that the lunch would be cooked in mobile units (aka food trucks). The chefs had 1 hour to create  amazing food from the ample ingredients in the truck. Then that food would be tasted by customers and rated for amazingness.

The dishes created were:
Nona - chicken salad with bacon sandwiches
Jillian - herb chicken with veggies
Trev - penne pasta with sausage
Russell - grilled octopus with aioli salad 
Gail - grilled steak with mangos and pecans

Clearly, Gail was taking no risk in sticking to a simple favorite of many, steak. Also, Russell was taking a major risk with octopi, which is not everyone’s idea of a tasty meal. I love octopus, but many people do not. So I am predicting that Gail will get the highest customer rating and Russell the lowest just based on what protein their meals feature.
What happened? 61% rated Russell badly and 41% rated Gail tops, so she won. Nona had 39%.

Gail’s reward as the challenge winner was a makeover with a Hollywood stylist Jose Eber and a new hairstyle from Cojo, a hair stylist to the stars. The punishment for the losers was the usual cleaning of the dorms and then the outside of the food trucks was thrown in for good measure. On her return it was prep time.

For dinner service, Jillian without any prior experience there has been assigned to the Fish Station. She had no idea how to cook scallops, so learning on the job would be fraught with peril. As Hell’s Kitchen opened for dinner service, the first orders for appetizers got hung up by her inability to cook the scallops to accompany the other appetizers. Jillian botched several dishes of scallops before getting it right. Nona took that time to undercook the spaghetti appetizer that was supposed to accompany the scallops. Jillian now gets entrée orders for halibut and she cannot handle them either. Russell helped her out of this, but there was a displacement effect on what he should have been doing. Gail is also having a terrible night on the Garnish Station. She froze up and was unable to cook anything. Ramsay is apoplectic over the poor performances that evening. When some dishes were returned from diners, he took off his apron and exited the kitchen with Scott because “I might hurt someone if I stayed.” Russell and Nona tried to keep it going in his absence. Trev had consistent problems with some steaks and Russell sent them back to him twice. Ramsay returned and Gail garnered his ire by presenting undercooked salmon. He threw her out of the kitchen. Jillian, who had an otherwise OK night, brought undercooked eggs and she was banished too. The remaining three chefs finished dinner service without getting banished.

Ramsay asked for 2 nominations as usual. The 4 women all voted for (actually against) Trev and the second nominee was Gail. Gail was eliminated.
   
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on December 04, 2010, 06:11:34 PM
HK8, ep.13

The Final 4 is Russell, Trev, Jillian and Nona. Ramsay asked them to pair off and create a dish, but that is only a feinting movement. He and Scott were creating the real individual challenge for them, a taste test to recreate his dish by just looking at it and tasting it without knowing the ingredients or recipe. The first component they consider is the protein, which Trev and Jillian thought was veal and Nona and Russell thought was pork. Trev wanted to keep his options open on the puree between yams and carrots; the rest chose pureed yams. Nona thinks the garnish is pancetta, but the rest went with bacon. All four chose chicken stock as the base for the sauce. Trev added wine to his sauce. Trev forgot to put the puree on his dish when it was too late to do so. Who was the closest to Ramsay’s dish? Carrots were correct, but not having them on the plate did not allow Trev to score. The protein was veal, so both Jillian and Trev were eliminated from consideration. The winner is decided on the garnish, which is the pancetta that Nona nominated. She won over Russell.

Her reward was to get a salon day at a Beverly Hills spa to get a facial and several other beauty treatments. She can take one other chef with her and she surprised me by picking Russell. Will a facial help Russell? Probably not, but the relaxation surely will. The punishment is to clean tablecloths, napkins, uniforms, towels, all the bed linens in the dorms and the whole kitchen.

It’s time for dinner service. Jillian opened it with a perfect shrimp. Russell was appreciated for his scallops. Nona made a mistake with too much pepper in the risotto. Russell then brought scallops raw, which drew an immediate rebuke from Ramsay. Trev got a rash of orders and tried to handle them simultaneously. The others could have helped him but they stood by and allowed him to fail. However, Ramsay came to his rescue by helping him get over the crush. Soon after, there was another tide of meat orders that again put Trev into jeopardy. Ramsay stepped in again and discovered that Trev’s cooking was perfect but there were minor problems with timing. Russell had real problems with halibut. He sent up a burned one, then a raw one before getting it right. Nona’s risotto was undercooked, bland and burned all at once. She recooked it and got it right. That finished up dinner service.

Ramsay declared it a successful night, but he still wanted 2 nominations. Those nominations result in a tie before Jillian’s thoughts were considered. Before that really happened, Ramsay told Trev to step forward and then to step back in line. Russell was next asked to step forward and spend brief quality time with meet his girlfriend Megan and his parents. Trev’s sister and best friend are brought in. Jillian’s boyfriend and two sons are brought in. Last but not least, Nona’s husband and son came in. Then this quality time is over and the 4 chefs realize they are safe for that episode. However, Ramsay told them that two of them will be eliminated the next episode.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: kavin on December 08, 2010, 05:32:19 AM
I know Hell's kitchen season 8 is amazing and I have seen it's all episodes. You all have wonderful reviews about this show, i really like it. I'm excited for it's episode 14 which comes on today. What do you think about this episode.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on December 08, 2010, 07:56:34 AM
kavin,

It's a tough call on who will make the Final 2. Before last week, I would have said Russell had a lock on a spot, but he did poorly. My guess is that it will be Russell vs. Nona as she has made the fewest errors recently. Jillian had done poorly on fish and Trev has been spotty on Meat, so my guess is that they will be the ones eliminated. This is the most unpredictable decision from the final 4 to the final 2 that I can recall in all 8 Hell's Kitchen seasons.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: KitKat on December 09, 2010, 07:55:14 AM
*spoiler alert*









I knew the 2 finalist would be Russell and Nona. Russell is so cocky that I hope Nona wins.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on December 09, 2010, 08:55:07 AM
HK8, ep.14, Semifinals

By the end of this episode, Ramsay reminded the 4 remaining chefs that 2 of them would be gone. The individual challenge was to create a fusion dish combining the best aspects of the cuisine of two different countries. Flags were picked to determine which 2 countries each chef would work with:

Nona – Greece and Italy
Trev – Chinese and Mexican
Russell – French and Indian
Jillian – Thai and Spanish

Each country came with a large circular table full of the prime ingredients of that country. There was no limit on how much of what ingredients for the two assigned countries could be used. 3 chefs planned quickly and went right at this, but Jillian took a lot of time to plan and started cooking well after the others. Cooking time was 45 minutes. At the end of that, Jillian in her inimitable style proclaimed hers “my dish sucks“. The dishes presented were:

Nona – shrimp and mussels in a sauce
Trev – carne asada w/ spices and chile sauce
Russell duck and foie gras w/ tamarind sauce, curry powder and marmalade
Jillian – shrimp, white rice, chorizo, spicy red sauce

Ramsay brought in 3 notable chefs to judge this:
Philip Dubose, Asia de Cuba
Helene An, Crustacean
Lee Hefter, Spago

Nona, Russell and Trev all presented their dishes and the judges found major faults with each one of them. Trev’s dish was bland. Nona had too many ingredients. Russell put little of Indian cuisine into his dish since he loves to cook French; it was not spicy enough, and the duck is overcooked.  Jillian came in and swept them away with what Hefter described as “a Thai paella.” Jillian won the votes of all 3 judges.

Jillian’s reward was lunch at Spago after a limo ride with Ramsay. She found on arrival that her husband and 2 kids were waiting for her. Ramsay ducked out of camera range. The punishment for the other 3 was to break down and load the contents of the dorms into a truck, then to prep the kitchen. Jillian returned as prep was underway. Ramsay made it clear he wanted an extraordinary service. He would be turning over “the pass” to each one in succession. He urged them to “run the kitchen so it does not run you.”

Dinner service began and shortly after he turned it over to Russell. Ramsay was looking for two major entities from each chef, quality control ability to spot sabotaged food and control of the other chefs. Ramsay’s quality control test is always a difficult one, as chefs have to taste everything to know whether any part of it is wrong. Russell was his usual bombastic, pressuring way that really rubbed Trev the wrong way. I thought he was deficient, but Russell did notice that Scott tried to pass over pecans as walnuts for the truffle salad.

Next was Nona and she had good control of the kitchen. However, she failed the sabotage test as Scott substituted mashed celery root for mashed potatoes and she did not catch it. She could not tell even after Ramsay told her what was wrong.

Next was Trev and he was getting no cooperation from any of his teammates. Ramsay had to threaten them with dire consequences to get them to react properly to Trev’s requests. Trev did spot Scott’s attempt at sabotage, a substitution of sea bass for halibut.

Finally, Jillian ran the pass and had a lot of trouble with Trev who was undoubtedly seeking retribution for the way she had treated him when he ran the pass. She failed the quality control test as Scott slipped by her a ribeye steak in place of a New York strip steak.

Ramsay gathered the chefs for the post-mortem. He first eliminated Trev for being unable to control the kitchen properly. He made Russell the first in the finals. The final decision was who was eliminated and who went to next episode’s finale. Jillian was judged the weaker and eliminated, leaving Nona to celebrate her good fortune.

In the finale it will be Nona with the excellent palate skills versus Russell with ability to bully others. Who do you think I want to see win this? The answer was Trev but since that is no longer possible now it’s Anyone-But–Russell. Russell closed the episode with the statement that “I am competing with myself,” which I feel is correct and that’s why he should lose.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: ugot2bekidinmeny on December 11, 2010, 07:39:44 AM
 :cmas51 I think TL and I both chose Nona a while ago. so im happy she won!( and if im wrong and i didnt type it someplace but i thought it!)  :cmas19

 :cmas26 kitkat!





*spoiler alert*



I knew the 2 finalist would be Russell and Nona. Russell is so cocky that I hope Nona wins.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on December 15, 2010, 10:20:55 PM
All I'll say at the moment is

***The best woman won!***

Highlight between the *** with your mouse if you want to know who won.   :cmaslol
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: ugot2bekidinmeny on December 16, 2010, 04:29:49 PM
HA HA HA good one TL! nice trick!

All I'll say at the moment is

***The best woman won!***

Highlight between the *** with your mouse if you want to know who won.   :cmaslol
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: apskip on December 17, 2010, 06:34:59 AM
HK8, ep. 15, Finale

An overview of this season started this episode:
1. The competing chefs were the most aggressive, relentless, combative ever.
2. The worst performer was Raj, bodily threatening other chefs
3. Ramsay found new ways to test chefs, such as mobile kitchens
4. The worst performer was Raj, bodily threatening other chefs
5. The red team won most challenges and dinner services. The blue team was continually blaming each other for mistakes and the worst performing blue team ever.
6. Sabrina was not expected to last long, but she made it a long way, but she claimed to be and was an over-manipulative bitch
7. Russell started quietly but then was continuously talking, trashing and fighting; in spite of those faults he was the most consistent in the kitchen
8. Nona started slow, then had several good dinner services, won the Taste test, the Taste It- Then Make It challenge, showing one of the finest palates in Hell’s Kitchen history.

That evening Hell’s Kitchen was transformed by contractors into two separate dining rooms. Nona and Russell had all day to plan menus and check quantities of needed ingredients with Amy and Scott, respectively. Nona’s contemporary southern menu featured roasted Baby Beet Salad, Halibut w/ Red Pepper sauce and Rib-eye + reduced red wine sauce. Russell’s European-inspired menu featured scallops w/ cauliflower puree, Goat Cheese Ravioli and pan seared Filet Mignon.

Ramsay invited Nona and Russell for a surprise, a helicopter trip around Los Angeles ending up at the LA Market restaurant (not very much of a surprise). Ramsay stated they would don parachutes that open automatically and jumping off the Helicopter pad on top of the J.W. Marriott Hotel building to the crowd waiting below, but he was just joking.

This is the prelude to the final cookoff between Russell and Nona for “all the marbles,” the L.A.Market head chef position, the Rosemount Estates Winery spokesperson role and the $250,000 salary (or really bonus). Ramsay started it off by announcing the challenge to construct a stunning five-course meal to be judged by 5 of the most distinguished figures in culinary Los Angeles: Tim Leiweke, President and CEO of AEG for the soup course; Joachim Splichal, Executive Chef of Patina Group for the salad course; David Myers, Executive Chef and Owner of Sona for the pasta course; David Lefevre, Executive Chef of Water Grill for the fish course; Kerry Simon, owner of LA Market for the meat course. Anyone who has watched a Hell’s Kitchen finale knows that the score will be tied 2 to 2 for Kerry Simon to make the final decision on who the winner of this challenge would be.

Nona and Russell had 1 hour to cook their finest 5 course meal. Here was the judging:
Soup (Tim Leiweke judging)
Nona – potato soup w/ bacon, cheddar, chives
Russell – roasted cauliflower soup w/ crab salad, curry oil and on cream
Result – Nona 1

Salad (Joachim Splichal)
Nona - beet, frisee, arugula, watercress w/ grapefruit/champagne vinaigrette
Russell – burrata cheese w/ prosciutto, arugula, white balsamic vinegar
Result – Russell 1

Pasta (David Myers)
Nona – chicken breast over orecchiette pasta
Russell – garganelli egg-based pasta w/ scallops, orange, mint
Result – Nona 1

Fish (David Lefevre)
Nona – pan seared salmon w/ sautéed vegetables
Russell – pan seared Arctic char
Result – Russell 1

Meat (Kerry Simon to break the inevitable tie)
Nona – pan seared rib-eye w/ cauliflower, wild mushrooms
Russell – grilled veal tender w/ red pepper pesto
Rusell – the clinching point

Russell won, which traditionally gives the picks 1, 3, 5 and 7 of the pool of 8 previously eliminated chefs to serve as sous chefs. This is absolutely critical. What is always the case is that particularly the final picks for each finalist are going to be problems, difficult to manage. In this case, Russell picked Jillian, Nona picked Gail, Russell made the controversial pick of Vinny, Nona picked Melissa ( a bit earlier than Melissa deserved), Russell picked Sabrina (I think a good pick), Nona picked Trev ( a good but obvious pick) and Rob and Boris were left. The best choice for both Russell and Nona at this point would have been “None of the above” but Ramsay never allows that as he wanted the chefs to be tested by incompetent sous chefs under great pressure. Russell took Rob and Nona Boris. A crew worked all night to divide the dining room into two parts.

Prep took place the next day until 5pm, then dinner service began as James opened Hell’s Kitchen. Vinny’s fist scallops were not hot enough but his second try was perfect. Trev’s first 2 beet salads were overdressed but he made the adjustment quickly. Appetizers were finished rapidly, then entrees started. Sabrina was keeping a beef filet “wet” when it should be served dry roasted; Ramsay was upset at this. Russell decided to switch Vinny to Meat and Sabrina to Fish to solve his problem, but now he was dependent on Vinny for a more critical station and Vinny hated his guts. Russell told him to just adjust his attitude and get it done. Boris was on Fish for Nona, but he undercooked halibut 3 times despite her telling him exactly how long to cook it. Trev came over to take over to get it done. Key customers were Kerry Simon (whose comment card would be weighted much higher than any other), Russell’s girlfriend and father and Nona’s husband and child. Vinny was resisting Russell’s demands to do everything “immediately.” Rob had the same problem and he forced Russell to publicly rebuke him. Rob told Russell to relax! Russell had let plates go out that shouldn’t have. One was returned for “raw beef.” Melissa appeared to be sinking on Meat after she sent raw beef to the pass, but that did not recur.

Russell need to control led to major over-control of his staff. They naturally rebelled against his “control freak” mentality. I think this was obvious to Ramsay, who silently disapproved of the way Russell was handling his staff. You can bet that if the sous chefs were asked to vote for the better chef, several on Russell’s team, particularly Vinny and rob, would vote against him. Nona occasionally cracked the whip on her staff just to demonstrate to Ramsay she could do it, but her style was not oppressive as Russell’s was. The on-camera comment of Francesca Shuler of Rosemount Wines was that Nona, whose food she presumably ate, had done a great job. Nona felt that her kitchen had pulled together to help her win. Russell was pissed off about his kitchen staff. However, they both thanked their sous chefs for their efforts, the nice thing to do even if it was not genuine from Russell. Ramsay analyzed the comment cards from the diners and I’m sure gave particular attention to that of Kerry Simon. Ramsay made his decision and called Nona and Russell to his office while the fans of both waited in the appropriate space in Hell’s Kitchen. Ramsay told them that the comment cards revealed performance was about even between the two. That meant that Ramsay’s own observations were going to determine the outcome. Who would he pick? I was almost certain at this point that Nona was going to win, as her management style was so much more appropriate than Russell’s. Ramsay sent them to the doors and counted to 3, with Nona’s door opening, revealing her as winner of HK8. She deserved it based on what Ramsay stated was her improvement over time, her phenomenal palate and her passion for cooking. Russell was congratulated by Ramsay for having done a good job. Russell stayed true to form by stating that he would blackball any of his sous chefs if they ever wanted to work where he was chef.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: TexasLady on December 20, 2010, 08:41:09 PM
As apskip pointed out, I believe Russell's cockiness did him in,  He probably can run a kitchen but he hasn't mastered the art of inspiring someone to work for him and in the end, that is why he wasn't chosen. He is at heart a bully. People who are true leaders find ways to bring out the best in a person. Vinny and Trev need someone to appreciate them and screaming at them doesn't work.  

Trev hates Russell, no brainer that he would work harder for Nona. She let Boris continue to try and get his halibut right, and he did. He needed calming down and he performed and I believe redeemed himself as well.  

All in all I thought it was a good finale and a good choice.
Title: Re: Hell's Kitchen 8
Post by: Pedaler on December 23, 2010, 10:18:57 AM
Congats to Nona.  Russell was such a pill.

I found it interesting from an interview of Nona that she finished 45 minutes before Russell at the final dinner service.  Combine that with Russell's sour demeanor, Nona's win was a no brainer.


Quote
I finished service about 45 minutes before Russell did. You want to be excited -- I was like ‘I’m so excited’ but I wasn’t like ‘I got this.’ I knew that the service had totally been nailed, but it’s not just about the service. It’s about everything -- the customer comment cards and what Chef Ramsay things.


http://www.examiner.com/tv-in-national/hell-s-kitchen-exclusive-interview-nona-sivley-talks-winning-season-eight