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Hell's Kitchen Season 5
marigold:
An interesting article:
Gordon Ramsay Lines Up Live Cooking Show: ‘No Cursing, That’s The Deal!’
Gordon Ramsay is gearing up for his biggest challenge to date – a live show.
The foul-mouthed chef has been given the go-ahead for a live cooking show on FOX, he confirmed during a media conference on Wednesday.
“The live cook-along, yes, has been picked up and I can’t wait for it to go live,” Gordon said.
And, the chef, who is known for regularly calling “Hell’s Kitchen” contestants “donkey,” and finding other adjectives he uses for contenders bleeped out, revealed he has been given an ultimatum before the live show happens.
“No cursing, that’s the deal. So I’m f***ed,” he exclaimed.
But before he gets to the live show, the fifth season of “Hell’s Kitchen” kicks off on Fox, this Thursday.
And, Gordon said he’s getting rid of one of the dishes that has become a regular on the show – beef Wellington.
“I’ve taken it off now,” Gordon said. “I’ve thrown the towel in. I’m so frustrated. That dish cooks itself… It’s cooked … It’s a joy. I’m going to admit defeat on that front and take off the beef Wellington.”
Link: http://www.accesshollywood.com/gordon-ramsay-lines-up-live-cooking-show-no-cursing-thats-the-deal_article_13309
marigold:
Did we post this one already I apologize if we did :angel: .... an interesting article:
Marina café hosts reception for Hell’s Kitchen contestant, Destin Chops 30A chef
Marina Café in Destin will host a reception to celebrate Destin Chops 30A’s new executive chef, Giovanni Filipponi, during the season premiere of Hell’s Kitchen, FOX’s culinary reality show, where Filipponi was a contestant. The event will be held in his honor on Thursday, January 29, 2009 from 7 to 9 p.m. The FOX Channel will showcase world-renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay as he returns for a fifth season of what the show’s web site calls “a sizzling and unscripted series.”
Born and raised in France, Filipponi came to the United States to train at The Culinary Institute of America in New York. He auditioned for the show in Orlando last year on a whim and was selected to spend six weeks in Los Angeles to film the fifth season. Thursday night he will view the premiere for the first time with the other partygoers. With 20-plus years of experience, some of his recent credits include serving as executive chef at Café Rendez-Vous in Seaside, Tim Creehan’s Copper Grill in Miramar Beach, Marina Café and Destin Chops (at its previous location overlooking the Destin Harbor).
Jim Altamura, owner and proprietor of both Marina Café in Destin and Destin Chops 30A near Rosemary Beach on Scenic Highway 30A, welcomes Filipponi as he prepares to reopen Destin Chops 30A just in time for Valentine’s Day. “The added quality that Chef Giovanni will bring stirs the anticipation we already feel about this reopening,” said Altamura.
With 30-plus years in the industry, Altamura continues to be one of the most well-respected entrepreneurs in the region with an aptitude for selecting exquisite talent and maintaining a high standard of excellence. His Destin restaurant, Marina Café, has been named one of Florida Trend’s Top 500 restaurants for 15 consecutive years and received both the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and the Distinguished Restaurants of North America Award of Excellence for 10 consecutive years.
His newest venture, Destin Chops 30A, which opened in May 2008, has already been awarded Wine Spectator’s prestigious Award of Excellence. The impressive wine cellar boasts top domestic wines from Napa and Sonoma Valleys, as well as several rare reserve finds from Australia, Italy and France. In addition to their prime steaks, Destin Chops 30A serves up one the area’s top sushi menus. The urban-beach-chic contemporary steakhouse is sure to be a great fit for the culinary arts of Chef Filipponi.
Link: http://www.thedestinlog.com/news/marina_7784___article.html/contestant_30a.html
marigold:
An interesting article:
Hell's Kitchen' Season 5: Conference Call with Gordon Ramsay
He’s got a library of books, multiple television programs, and a worldwide empire of fine-dining restaurants under his name, which likely makes Gordon Ramsay one of the busiest men on the planet, not to mention one of the most accomplished chefs. He’s certainly one of the most intimidating, as Ramsay is known for his confrontational (and profane) style in the kitchen. But today he took time out to talk with the press about his most popular American series, the high-stress and high-stakes cooking competition Hell’s Kitchen, which returns to FOX for its fifth season this Thursday, January 29 at 9 pm.
This year’s grand prize for the winner is bigger than ever before: the top contestant will take on the role of executive chef at a brand new restaurant in the high-class Borgata resort in Atlantic City, along with $250,000. Last season’s winner was awarded the executive chef position at Ramsay’s new restaurant, The London West Hollywood. This time around, Ramsay noted, the top chef will get to help design an entirely new restaurant, including coming up with the menu, which Ramsay hops will provide “perfect platform” to showcase the winner’s skills and creativity in the kitchen.
As for picking the chefs for Season Five, Ramsay promises that his foremost concern was skill. Thanks to the growing popular of the show, the application process was the most competitive yet. But Ramsay is a chef who knows and demands the best, so a chef’s talent is far more important to him than whether they will make dramatic prime time television. More visibility and tougher competition means more pressure and scrutiny for him as a host, but it also makes his job “ten times more exciting” with each season.
As the stakes get bigger, it’s even more important to find contestants who are not only talents, but who stay calm through the most stressful situations, and use those conflicts to develop as chefs. And it sounds like he found the right bunch: this year’s top 4 contestants “could have easily won previous years,” Ramsay noted.
The Season 5 chefs were once again split up into male vs. female teams, and Ramsay noted some interesting differences on how gender affects the success the Season 5 teams. The women learn quicker as a group, Ramsay said, and as a whole are “phenomenal” chefs, but they are also quicker to get upset with each other when something goes wrong. The men, on the other hand, seem more aggressive and arrogant, but also more bonded as a team. There’s one aspect that doesn’t differ by gender, though: each chef’s drive to win.
But even this crop of top chefs has its share of big mistakes this season, and Ramsay will be there to tell them off in his signature manner. “I scream for perfection,” he said.
Hell’s Kitchen fans know that Ramsay’s favorite beginning test in the Grand Reopening challenge is Beef Wellington. Not only a personal favorite of the host, Wellington also requires perfect timing and trust on the part of the cook. Well, it sounds like the Season 5 chefs, who prepare the dish during tomorrow night’s premiere, may have butchered the job beyond repair: “I’m throwing the towel in,” Ramsay said in disappoint. “Hands down, no more Wellington!”
One thing every chef in Hell’s Kitchen can expect: “You’re always going to get confronted, you’re always going to get on-the-spot scenarios,” Ramsay says. “That stuff goes on in every kitchen.”
What Ramsay hopes all his chefs learn this season is that when the pressure hits, “you can’t just throw in the towel.” Even if he’s screaming in your face.
Link to the article: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/hells-kitchen/hells-kitchen-season-5-confere-25997.aspx
marigold:
An interesting article:
So what is Gordon Ramsay really like?
We sat down with Colleen Cleek, owner of the Classy Gourmet and a contestant on the coming season of "Hell's Kitchen," to get some details on her appearance. The outcome, of course, is a secret.
Q: What was your biggest concern going in?
A: Ruining my name and reputation at the Classy. I'm not a little (Gordon) Ramsay (the show host), but I'm a lot like him. I don't treat people like he does, but we still have type A personalities. I wanted to do my best and not embarrass myself.
Q: Did you succeed?
A: I know I did. . . . There's only one thing I wish I'd have done differently. But I gave it my all. I was the oldest; I was not the slowest.
Q: How do you think you will be portrayed? Was age a factor?
A: He (Ramsay) plays up my age and the fact that I'm a cooking instructor, a mom, and that I don't have a culinary degree. . . . He'd hold up his hand and whisper: "You're too old, Colleen!" My comeback: "I'm as old as you."
Q: What's Ramsay like?
A: He's a lot like he is on television. He has a reputation of . . . being a hothead, an aggressive but passionate man. I believe all those things to be true. . . . I'd like to get beyond the hothead. I saw parts of a tender person.
Q: Was there some cursing? Did it rub off on you?
A: For a mom, I curse more than most. But I came back with the most filthy mouth! I've been working on that with my kids. Every time I curse I have to throw a dollar in the cursing kitty. Share Our Strength got a check for 50 bucks last month.
Q: Were you starstruck?
A: Not at all. I went there to learn. My attitude was to be a sponge, to learn from every aspect.
Q: What did you learn?
A: I'm one tough broad. And we're so open and fun in Nebraska. We're not so big that you're one of nobody.
Q: What was the most fascinating aspect for you?
A: I've never been on a line or part of a brigade. I'm used to cooking it all on my own. So being thrown into a restaurant that seats 50 people in 30 minutes was the most fascinating. I couldn't understand a word he (Ramsay) said. And do you want to go up there face to face with Ramsay because you were too stupid to hear what he said? It was fascinating to see how it worked and awful to see how it failed and — just the whole process. I was in awe.
Q: What do you hope this national exposure will do for you?
A: I hope it raises the awareness that we have to get back in the kitchen and do cooking for ourselves and our families. . . . I hope it propels the Classy Gourmet and other chefs and changes the way the world eats. . . . And if I can capture enough people, this will roller-coaster for the next 10 years with books, another show.
Q: How are you feeling as the premiere approaches?
A: I was very nervous. . . . But it's almost like a pregnancy — it's coming really soon, but you want it over, too.
Link to the article: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3945&u_sid=10546756
marigold:
There is another really long article with Colleen on the link below:
Link: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3945&u_sid=10546755
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