Hell’s Kitchen: Season 3 Premiere
Posted by Rachel Rubin on Edible TV.
Season 3 of Hell’s Kitchen premiered on FOX this past Monday, June 4, 2007. The season opener was as dramatic as ever. After tasting the twelve contestant’s signature dishes, Chef Gordon Ramsay only seemed to be able to tolerate two of them. That didn’t leave much hope.
Here are the contestants:
Bonnie: Nanny/Personal Chef, 26, Las Angeles, CA
Aaron: Retirement Home Chef, 48, Palos Verdes, CA
Jen: Pastry Chef, 26, Hazelton, PA
Brad: Sous Chef, 25, Scottsdale, AZ
Joanna: Chef’s Assistant, 22, Detroit, Mt
Eddie: Grill Cook, 28, Atlanta, GA
Julia: Short-Order Cook, 28, Atlanta GA
Josh: Junior Sous Chef, 26, Miami Beach, FL
Melissa: Line Cook, 29, New York, NY
Rock: Executive Chef, 30, Sportsylvania, VA
Tiffany: Kitchen Manager, 27, Phoenix, AZ
Vinne: Night Club Chef, 29, Milltown, NJ
After a good night’s sleep, the six men and six women were split up into two teams: boys vs. girls. Then it was off to the kitchen. Hell’s Kitchen is actually a restaurant with real customers. The teams need to prepare the food as ordered by the guests and get it out to the table in a timely fashion. The food is checked by either Gordon Ramsay or his sous chefs and if it is not good enough, the plates get sent back to the kitchen instead of being served and the chefs have to start over.
The contestants were so nervous they could barely function. They had problems with everything from preparing pasta to frying an egg. There was more crying on this episode than I have seen on TV in a long time. I don’t blame Gordon Ramsay for being cranky! Actually, he was quite compassionate with many of the people when they got frustrated. Needless to say, their first experience in Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen was a complete disaster. The women spent the entire time fighting. The men ran out of all the chicken because none of it was cooked right. Most of the diners left unfed. Finally they had to shut it down for the night.
I’m not sure why anyone would sign up for that show, but it does make for delicious television. Right now personalities are just coming out and we do not get to see the culinary highlights of each of the chefs. It is definitely more of a “reality” show where we get to find the quirks of the individuals and watch the various relationships they have with each other, but I am looking forward to this season. It seems to be a good mix of people. The winner will get to run a new Ramsay restaurant at Green Valley Ranch in Las Vegas and earn a $250,000 salary.
Hell’s Kitchen airs on Monday nights at 9pm EST on FOX Broadcasting.
“Down under” we are still awaiting the final of series 2. I look forward to seeing series 3. I truly understand the frustrations of Gordon having to deal with so many mistakes by petty people who are not willing to buckle down and get on with the job in hand…get over your personal feelings and work to earn the reward.