Well Fed Network

Posted by Sarah Caron on Edible TV.

I’ve found that it’s rare in the world of food television to have two contestants on a show like Top Chef or Hell’s Kitchen who are the last finalists and both likable. Look at Top Chef last season — I was among many who were rooting for anybody but Lisa to win …

This season of Hell’s Kitchen, which wrapped up last Tuesday, was different. In the finale, there were two likable people: the older gentleman Petrozza and the young recent-CIA grad Christina. No matter who won, I was happy.

Tonight, my husband pointed out an interview on Comcast.net, that just furthered that impression … apparently, an error on set led to not one but both doors opening during the finale.

Here’s what Petrozza told Comcast:

Oh, this freaks everybody out. You want to know something crazy? There was a malfunction [and my door opened too]. Crazy, right? But, it wasn’t like it was this horrible thing. It actually worked out perfect. Ramsay saw it was happening and he goes, “Petrozza,” and he grabs me and he pulled me towards him and kinda hugged me and held me at the same time. And I realized that my door shouldn’t have opened. And he said, “It’s ok, Petrozza. It’s alright, man.” I said, “I’m ok, I’m ok.” Ya know? And I understood what happened. It took me a few seconds to understand what was happening and I was a little confused as you can understand. But when her door opened and she went downstairs and then Ramsay and I went downstairs, I felt relieved that it was done. I felt that I had made some good friends and I was very successful at what I attempted. It was all good.

See? Class. He could have thrown a hissy fit on national television at that point … instead, he accepted it and graciously took his defeat in stride. I swear, he looked genuinely happy for Christina too at the end.

And I will let you in on a little secret: despite his foul, offensive mouth and overwhelming attitude, I would work for Gordon Ramsay in a heartbeat. I think he has a great deal of integrity and, yes, class. After watching the BBC America version of Kitchen Nightmares, I was hooked. My husband says working for/with Ramsay would be too, too much stress for him … but I think his raging presence would only serve to make me a more capable person.

Thoughts?

Photo from Fox.