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I read a good number of food blogs. Not all of them, of course, as that would make it impossible to do anything else, but most of the important ones. In all of my reading, a lot of people talk about Top chef, but I never really got into it. No, my heart belongs in Hell's Kitchen.I have only come across one post on Hell's Kitchen this season, and I really don't understand. In my humble opinion, there is simply nothing to dislike. Where else are you going to get this mix of tension, ego, and profanity? Is Top Chef like this and I've missed it? I don't know. All I know is that there is very little else I find quite as entertaining on television.
I know several people who absolutely hate Gordon Ramsay. I like to think I see through his mean exterior to the cuddly teddy bear underneath (I have met a few European chefs just like that). His outbursts of exasperation are priceless. I mean, who has not wanted to bang their head on the counter at a co worker's incompetence? Yes, I know that his management style wouldn't go over very well in the US, but it makes great TV.
If you're a fan of Hell's Kitchen, let me know what you think. If you're not a fan, let me have it. Can anyone convince me that Top Chef is better? I don't think so, but you can try.
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5-08-2008 @9:08AM benjikim said... the chefs on Top Chef are 10x more talented than the ones on Hell's Kitchen. In fact, some of the people in Hell's Kitchen shouldn't be cooking at all.
Second, the guest judges on Top Chef are impressive in the culinary world (e.g. Daniel Boulud, Jose Andreas, Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain, etc etc).
I do like Gordon Ramsey, but he's portrayed in a negative manner by Fox. You should really watch the U.K/British version of Kitchen Nightmares, he's actually quite different compared to the American version of Kitchen Nightmares/Hell's Kitchen
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5-08-2008 @9:19AM dai said... shayna i totally agree with you, hells kitchen is alot better than top chef. i love it when he shoves plates of food into peoples shirts, tis very entertaining. on the other hand hes a great chef he has really good leadership qualities, i think hes great at pushing people to their limits, ramsay brings the gets the best out of his chefs.
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5-08-2008 @9:26AM steve said... I love Hell's Kitchen...I appreciate the over-the-top dramatic reality show editing that they use. The artificial tension is so overdone that you know they are in on the joke and doing it tongue-in-cheek. If they actually used higher caliber chefs, like Top Chef, I think the show would be even better. However, it is definitely very entertaining. I wish Kitchen Nightmares would come back!
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5-08-2008 @9:20AM Meredith Krumenacker said... I was never a fan of the shows or Gordon, but my boyfriend is, and so by association I ended up watching both of the shows (Hell's Kitchen & Kitchen Nightmares) since they were both always on in our house . . .
I do think his reactions are a little extreme, and like any reality show, I think the content and characters are edited to make more enjoyable TV. However, I agree with your comment on banging your head on the counter - he does express how he's feeling, which is admirable! I have become a fan since he is entertaining, but the next step is try one of his restaurants to see if he really is as good a chef as he comes across.
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5-08-2008 @9:49AM trish sierer said... I think I respect Hell's Kitchen more than Top Chef. It seems more real...
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5-08-2008 @9:32AM Bob said... Hell's Kitchen is more of 'who can be an adequate line cook'
Top Chef is 'who can actually be a chef'
Top Chef is more about actual cooking, you actually get to see the food they make up close
Hell's Kitchen seems to focus more on drama
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5-08-2008 @9:47AM trish sierer said... I think I have more respect for Hell's Kitchen than Top Chef... Just seems more real.
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5-08-2008 @10:04AM ntsc said... My wife watches Hell's Kitchen so I've seen it, but it has nothing to do with resturant cooking.
My drill sargent in boot camp didn't use that kind of language or attitude. But I do have to admire Ramsey's courage at using language like that to people with chef's knives.
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5-08-2008 @10:07AM Tamidon said... He's fine, and portrayed in a way that doesn't seem consistent with any other things he's been involved in. My problem is the show. They take incompetents with little to no experience(a stay-at-home dad?), throw them on a line,have them do some very pedestrian cooking while under pressure,and then we get to see who cracks. The winner of this gets a job as a "Chef" at one of his restaurants with a 250K$ paycheck? What kind of bull is that? It is so disconnected from the realities of the professional food industry that anyone who has so much as waitressed for 6 months at a diner knows that it's utter crap.
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5-08-2008 @10:07AM Tamidon said... To Trish:
It is not real,it has no connection to the real restaurant world and nothing to do with fine dining or cooking. Your respect must have more to do with the drama than the food or cooking.
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5-08-2008 @10:09AM Ellen said... After having been introduced to Ramsay through his British shows (The F Word and the British Kitchen Nightmares), I find Hell's Kitchen exasperating. Perhaps he was this much of a caricature of himself on the original British Hell's Kitchen, but I simply can't imagine it. Even in the American Kitchen Nightmares he wasn't edited to show half the empathy, heart and real deep caring about food that you see in his British programming. And I have to believe it's about Fox's editing, having seen his UK shows.
And as someone else said, Top Chef is about the food, Hell's Kitchen is about the drama. I would rather see truly talented chefs being inspired by food and trying to do better in competing with equally talented peers, than a group of perfectly adequate line cooks being berated and only producing the same menu week after week after week.
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5-08-2008 @10:45AM jrsygir1 said... good reality tv is like watching a toilet overflow...fascinating, yet horrifying.
hells kithen is mostly just horrifying.
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5-08-2008 @10:53AM Rio Yeti said... I totally agree with Ellen. Ramsay's best show is the F Word (F being for... Food ! Of course !), you can see his passion and it really comes through to the audience.
I also think what makes Top Chef better than Hell's Kitchen is also the creativity involved (or at least shown). You get to the creative process with the candidates when they have to create a dish... and that is personnaly what fascinates me the most.
I watch both shows though :P
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5-08-2008 @3:43PM David said... I really enjoy both shows but follow Hell's Kitchen more closely. One thing that was mentioned above is very true. The chefs on Top Chef are far more talented then the chefs on Hell's Kitchen I would really like to see a season of Hell's Kitchen with some very talented chefs!
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5-08-2008 @11:29AM jason t said... I've been watching both Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen, but am increasingly tempted to stop watching Hell's Kitchen. When it comes to reality TV, I don't have patience for the pure voyeuristic, entertainment type shows. Hell's Kitchen can be entertaining at times, but I just don't care enough about the contestants to feel the drama that the show tries to create. In fact, I sometimes feel a little cynical about the world after watching the incessant fighting. I'm the same way with shows like Survivor and such. With Top Chef, I at least feel like I'm learning something about cooking or food.
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5-11-2008 @7:45PM fitc_dc said... I LOVE Gordon Ramsay, but I like the BBC version of him so much more that I have a hard time commenting on what I call FOX!Ramsay.
Although I like Ramsay better overall, I do like Top Chef slightly better out of the two shows. Mostly because I think the talent on Hell's Kitchen is a bit underwhelming. I just want to fast-forward to the final four. Plus I'd rather see them create their own dishes than trying to memorize someone else’s.
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5-08-2008 @11:45AM andy_m_young said... I watch and enjoy both, but for very different reasons.
To me, Top Chef is championship boxing -- the participants are at the top of their game and take their profession seriously. Hell's Kitchen is pro wrestling, nothing is real and drama is king.
I'd happily eat the food of any of this season's Top Chef contestants; Hell's Kitchen, not so much. C'mon, Hell's Kitchen opened up service with overcooked fish and a rare filet when the order was medium-well. Seriously, how could *anyone* who knows which end of a knife is the pointy one screw up fish or steak as the first orders of the night?
Of course, Hell's Kitchen is looking for a cog to fit into an existing restaurant while Top Chef is looking for culinary entrepreneurs so even if all other things were equal the shows would still be miles apart... which is why I watch both of them I guess...
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5-08-2008 @11:47AM GL said... I like both shows. They are totally different in character and really can't be compared as they shoot for different audiences.
I have found this latest Hell's Kitchen a bit more drab because I never got into these people, but that's how it goes with these shows.
I agree about F Word, too. It's another world entirely.
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5-08-2008 @11:49AM Meg said... I watch and enjoy both, but for very different reasons.
To me, Top Chef is championship boxing -- the participants are at the top of their game and take their profession seriously. Hell's Kitchen is pro wrestling, nothing is real and drama is king.
I'd happily eat the food of any of this season's Top Chef contestants; Hell's Kitchen, not so much. C'mon, Hell's Kitchen opened up service with overcooked fish and a rare filet when the order was medium-well. Seriously, how could *anyone* who knows which end of a knife is the pointy one screw up fish or steak as the first orders of the night?
Of course, Hell's Kitchen is looking for a cog to fit into an existing restaurant while Top Chef is looking for culinary entrepreneurs so even if all other things were equal the shows would still be miles apart... which is why I watch both of them I guess...
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5-08-2008 @12:15PM Bryan said... Hell's Kitchen is OK, but Kitchen Nightmares is more to my liking. I know Ramsay's personality is an acquired taste, but know this: Ramsay is a better chef, and runs a better restaurant than ANYONE on TV, period. Tom Colicchio's, Emeril's, and Bobby Flay's (etc) restaurants are all excellent experiences, but none hold a candle to Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.
It is funny to see the lengths Top Chef takes to minimize the stress seen in Hell's Kitchen - a level of perfectionism seen at top restaurants, made for good TV by placing not very talented contestants in a hostile situation. Ramsay cares about the product, not your feelings, and it shows in the results. It amazes friends of mine that most of Ramsay's employees have been with him for years, as he cultivates a loyalty not seen in the various shows.
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