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Hell's Kitchen Season 5
marigold:
An interesting article:
Gordon Ramsay turns up heat in 'Kitchen'
Gordon Ramsay is perfectly comfortable having a friendly conversation. Heck, he's even downright warm, as he profusely apologizes for calling late. His mother had come over for a visit, see, and he lost track of time.
He is polite and a thorough gentleman. Just once, however, you wish he would lose his cool and scream that you're a donkey.
"What is it with that 'donkey' word?" Ramsay sighs in mock exasperation. "Everybody wants me to call them a donkey. I just came back from Australia, and they don't have donkeys there, and they still wanted me to say it."
It was during the second season of Hell's Kitchen that the famously foul-mouthed chef used the D-word as an insult. Now, as the show launches its fifth season, 42-year-old Ramsay finds himself stuck with a catchphrase.
That's the thing about Ramsay's TV fame: Viewers love to watch him scream, shout and kick things. It kind of puzzles the chef.
"I was doing a book-signing in London, and this man comes up with his children and asks me to write 'Merry Christmas and (expletive) off,' " he says, sounding perplexed. "I can't write that in a book! And he stands in line with his children to ask me this?"
On the other hand, the chefs aspiring to win Hell's Kitchen all seem to cower in fear at the thought of the volatile Ramsay hurling an insult their way. It is part of what makes the show so dynamic: Thanks to Ramsay's nervous energy, you never know when he is going to blow.
"We spend more time with the individuals in Hell's Kitchen than we do with our families," he says. "It's highly emotional and claustrophobic. To be honest, the closer you get to them, the bigger you can kick their (rear)."
If you can't take the heat . . .
And he promises to kick plenty of (rear) during the new season. It's not merely for the cameras. The winner, after all, gets a high-profile job as head chef at the tony Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.
"If you start disintegrating under the pressure, don't become a chef," he says. "Then just make cakes for your family and be a phenomenal person and don't cook in the premiere league of restaurants.
"When I start to see people crack, that's nowhere near the pressure of running your own business, managing a large staff, paying a mortgage, etc. If you want to aspire to be a great chef, there's a price to pay for that."
Ramsay knows that first-hand. He operates more than 20 restaurants around the globe. His books are regular bestsellers. In addition to Hell's Kitchen and his other U.S. program, Kitchen Nightmares, he tapes additional series that air concurrently in his native United Kingdom. And thanks to his chiseled good looks, he has become something of a sex symbol to foodies around the globe.
And despite his Michelin Star reputation, Ramsay knows how to loosen his culinary guard.
"I have a craving for In-N-Out burgers," he confesses. "They're extraordinary. I swear to God, I'm so addicted. The first thing we do when we reach Santa Monica is go to In-N-Out. The kids and I want nothing else."
Not even McDonald's?
"McDonald's?" he asks incredulously. "For God's sake, now you are being a (expletive) donkey."
Link to the article: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090124/ENTERTAINMENT12/901240306/1005/RSS04
marigold:
Hell's Kitchen Season 5
Thursday February 5, 2009
Episode 2:
THE COMPETITION HEATS UP ON “HELL’S KITCHEN” THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5 ON FOX
In pursuit of the grand prize of a “Head Chef” position at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ, the competition heats up between the blue and red teams. The teams face another grueling challenge in their quest for Chef Ramsay’s approval, and tempers flare as both teams struggle to provide the best service. One chef will be eliminated when “15 Chefs Compete” on HELL’S KITCHEN airing Thursday, Feb. 5 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
marigold:
:'(
Hell's Kitchen Season 5
Released by FOX
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12
[EDITOR’S NOTE: BONES and HELL’S KITCHEN are preempted this evening.]
**FOX SPECIAL**—“40TH NAACP IMAGE AWARDS”—(8:00-10:00 PM ET Live/PT Tape-Delayed) CC
TexasLady:
PREEMPTED??? :ascared
(:;) :knuckles: :groan:
TexasLady:
Say it isn't so!
--- Quote ---RAMSAY'S GOOSE GETTING COOKED
By RICHARD PRICE and CYNTHIA R. FAGEN
January 25, 2009 --
He's hellfire in the kitchen, but salty celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay may not be able to stand the heat himself as he faces a crumbling restaurant empire, the tax man and saucy allegations of infidelity.
The pugnacious TV star of "Kitchen Nightmares," "Hell's Kitchen" and "The F Word" is in a pinch.
His flagship London restaurant, Foxtrot Oscar, has shuttered for two days a week. Reports have also surfaced that two other London restaurants, Ramsay's Sloane Street and The Devonshire Pub, are for sale - a claim he denies - and documents show he allegedly owes back taxes.
Last year, the charismatic cook was stripped of two coveted Michelin stars when protégé Chef Marcus Wareing split from him, effectively taking the renowned Petrus restaurant with him.
And he was replaced at London's prestigious Connaught Hotel restaurant by French chef Helene Darroze.
His kitchen nightmares extend to the bedroom, too, with recent embarrassing headline-grabbing accounts that the married Scotsman had a seven-year affair.
To make matters worse, Ramsay, 42, just fired his p.r. guru, Garry Farrow, the man heralded with helping him become the top celebrity chef in the world, not to mention the richest, with a personal fortune of $83 million.
Farrow also managed to suppress the roar of the British media, which skewered Ramsay after his alleged mistress, Sarah Symonds, unleashed bombshell allegations complete with titillating details about his penchant for the sex drug amyl nitrate.
Farrow's company went into overdrive as more women came forward claiming to have had flings with the foul-mouthed food icon.
With 25 restaurants around the world and a business that has expanded so fast - its $52 million take in 2006 has since topped $138 million per year - there is growing disquiet about the health of Ramsay's hastily constructed empire.
"This is an operation which started off with the talents of a great chef, but has become an empire where food is less important than the brand," said culinary writer James Steen.
And for a man who regularly uses his family to promote books and TV programs, the allegations about his personal life are potentially extremely costly.
Even though he's slated to open a restaurant at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, next year, documents show that eight months ago, his company was extended $14 million by the Royal Bank of Scotland. He also allegedly owes two years' back taxes.
New York-based Blackstone Group, a private equity firm that helped bankroll the international expansion of Gordon Ramsay Holdings, is also wrapped up in the mess.
The culinary world is abuzz with rumors that Ramsay's restaurants are asking for extended time to pay suppliers - in some cases, as long as six to eight months, though the chef's reps strongly deny this.
As Ramsay gears up for the season premiere of "Hell's Kitchen" Thursday on Fox, the unpleasant task of restructuring has been left in the hands of Chris Hutcheson, his father-in-law and the chief executive of Gordon Ramsay Holdings.
Establishing the precise impact of the credit crunch on Ramsay's business empire is no easy task. Figures for 2007 should have been filed months ago, but the company often sends in late returns, which has prompted legal warnings that prosecution is imminent.
Well-placed figures concede that the company is "finding life pretty tough at the moment," as evidenced by the fact that there is a newspaper promotion offering dinner at Gordon Ramsay restaurants for just $21 a head. With The Daily Mail
cynthia.fagen@nypost.com
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01252009/news/regionalnews/ramsays_goose_getting_cooked_151984.htm
--- End quote ---
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