Gordon Ramsay Spills the beans (and some blood) on Hell’s Kitchen
Author: Gordon Ramsay Unofficial Fansite // Category: Main Content
In a recent interview (that is featured in its entirity on the monsters and critics website, Gordon Ramsay gives us some amazing insights into this new season of Hell’s Kitchen.
Q: Have you seen a change in the caliber of people who are trying to be on the show?
Gordon Ramsay: I have to be honest, season five for me is: a) the most competitive; b) I will stick my neck out on this one and the top four contestants this year could have quite easily won in any of the previous years.
But of course it’s of great importance, but more importantly I focus on the talent. And I go through that shit fight for the first six or seven weeks and then I get rid of the sort of donkeys and I focus on the talent.
Q. Why is a properly cooked Beef Wellington such a Herculean task for the chefs on your show?
Gordon Ramsay: Don’t. I’m taking it off now. I’ve thrown the towel in. I’m so frustrated. That dish cooks itself. The battle of that dish, 90% of the organization is done sort of for you.
Q. What can you tell us about this year’s grand prize, the Borgata?
Gordon Ramsay: They’re going to take up a head chef position at the Borgata Hotel, fantastic resorts. It’s going to be a fine dining, unique new build, great interior, intimate setting.
And more importantly, a perfect platform. I’m very excited about this. One of the best prizes you’ve ever had so far. But having been there on an occasion, the place is sort of, I suppose, …answer to Vegas just out of New York. So, exciting, fun and very them being part of sort of the design of the restaurant. So more importantly, …. Great.
Q. Can you mention some of the new chef contestants?
Gordon Ramsay: God, yes, I’d love to talk about the individuals.
Ben, extraordinary. Again, tenacious – very, very flamboyant. As you know, I love Chicago; always have in terms of eating out. I always get frustrated when they don’t get the spotlight as much as New York does. But when you look at … and … in New York, and even going back to the days of Blackbird, …what Blackbird’s done in terms of setting the trend.
So, Ben is like having a rhinoceros in the kitchen. He’s non-stop. He’s energetic, a powerhouse. The fascinating thing is when you discipline a young chef, it’s the response that tells you how long they’ve got in this industry and Ben’s attitude was 100% professional in terms of, yes, he got knocked down, but he came back to be twice as strong, which is what I want to see.
Will, on the other hand, cooking is an internal thing; it’s something that comes from the heart. He’s very clever, very articulate; very, very calm in terms of putting it together. I enjoyed working with both of them.
Q: How do the contestants teams, separated by gender, stack up?
Gordon Ramsay: So I don’t know why this year and more than ever before, but being in that pressurized environment and you’ve got eight to ten individuals that are incredibly talented, they’re going to offload and explode. So yes, the ladies this season have been phenomenal. The guys are being sort of grumpy, arrogant and they take longer to learn. So, I can deal with that crap, trust me.
I’ve pulled these quotes from the interview which can be found at http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/features/article_1456611.php/Hells_Kitchens_Gordon_Ramsay_the_full_interview
David Driscoll
The Plonker Club
The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com
