Hell's Kitchen - FANTASTIC! I loved every moment of it!

[Rabrrrrrr]

Watched the second half of the first episode, then all of the second episode.

Wonderful!!

A great big Rabrrrrrr double-thumb's-up on this show.

I wish Dewberry wasn't canned and that Jeff was, but, well, there ya go.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

1. I actually enjoyed it too

I watched mainly because I used to cook in a particularly hellish gourmet restaurant while I was in college.

I wanted to see how terrifying this Gordon Ramsey was. Bit of a teddy bear compared with my chef, I have to say.

I absolutely loved the way he treated the customers, however.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. He's great at telling customers off!

"You told my dining partner to fuck off"

"Go tell her I meant it."

Wonderful! And I have to say that, for as tough and nasty as he supposedly is, he really isn't that bad. Much more bark than bite.

And he's definitely passionate about his art. I appreciate that.

[swimmernsecretsea]

4. And how he told the waiter to escort the ladies back to plastic surgery?

I was DYING of laughter!

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. Oh, yes! That was brilliant!!

[Modem Butterfly]

2. Dewberry cracked under pressure

He might as well have asked Chef to can his ass.

BTW, I love how they interview the losers out by the dumpster.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. Aye, he did. But if it were me, I would have given him another chance

because he clearly WAS capable of doing what he was supposed to do, and I would have let little jeffy-poo sod off.

However, Dewberry would have gotten only ONE more chance from me - he might very well have proven unable to control his emotions in the kitchen.

[NWHarkness]

8. I think Dewberry was the right choice.

While I didn't like Jeff, at least he tried to perform, even while in pain.

Dewberry is the worst kind of guy to have in the kitchen. That attitude of "I'm lost and I don't care anymore" is worse than someone screwing up their dishes. It causes extra burden to fall on everyone else in the kitchen and creates a ripple effect that can bring the whole operation down. Because he's lost, someone else has to step in and pick up his slack, then someone else has to take over that guys duties.I'd rather hire an inexperienced kid off the street and put him on the line than put up with that.

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. And he walked out at one point, which definitely isn't good

I can understand why Dewberry was the one taken out, he was the logical choice given the immediate circumstances.

But something in me feels that Jeff will prove worthless and will be gone soon, and that Dewberry had potential, even though he was a total screwup in that episode, and could have been trained. I'm not entirely sure he is trainable to keep his cool and not get so easily flustered, but I would have been willing to take the chance on him over Jeff.

[NWHarkness]

7. I spent 25 years in the restaurant business

I loved every minute of this show.

Ramsay is tough, and why shouldn't he be? Nothing should command more care and attention than food you are going to serve someone.And, frankly, I wouldn't hire most of these contestants to wash dishes.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Where did the contestants come from?

Someone mentioned in another thread that not all of them have even worked in a restaurant. That surprised me - I figured they would all have had kitchen training.

And darn right a chef should be tough. Any artist - or anyone doing any job, really - should be that tough and passionate and perfectionistic.

[ET Awful]

15. Actually one of the women on there who seems the most competent

has no restaurant experience, but cooks for 6 kids. If you ask me, that's an even tougher job :)

[Rabrrrrrr]

17. Which one was that?

I wish I had seen the first episode so I would actually know who these people are.

[ernstbass]

18. The one w/ no experience

is the one who didn't know how to make grill marks on the meat.

[ET Awful]

20. I forget her name, but she looked to be Mexican maybe?

(I only say that because one of her first dishes was a Mexican dish) I couldn't say that for sure though.

edit: Just checked the website, her name is Elsie from New Jersey. Cooks for her 3 kids and 3 stepkids.

[ernstbass]

19. The majority of the contestants

have restaurant experience - some sous chefs, one executive chef, several personal chefs.

[Steve Nash is god 13]

11. I want to see that

[Rainbowreflect]

12. I am curious why people enjoy watching shows that are

all about insulting & being rude & mean to other people.
I just don't get it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. It's not about insulting and being rude. It's about cooking

and being a chef and working in a high-end restaurant.

[ET Awful]

14. I mean . . . with a name like Dewberry, you just KNEW he wouldn't last

I mean . . . WTF were his parents thinking?

That said, I think the little moaning gall-stones (or kidney stones whatever they were) dude should have gotten the boot instead. He was an annoying little wanker.

[Rabrrrrrr]

16. Very annoying little wanker.

I had assumed that Dewberry was the guy's family name, and that that was what he went by. Come to find out today, in this thread, that's his first name. Egads!!!!

He looks and acts like a Dewberry. What an evil name to give to a child.

Jeff never took responsibility for his failures, either - it was always someone else's fault, or the fault of something else. Chef would criticize others, and they would take it - with Jeff it was never "okay, chef, you're right, I fucked up" it was always "But...."

Fucker.