Gordy's Girl!

Maybe it’s because I used to have very bad road rage, but I love me some Gordon Ramsey! Whether he’s crossing into a culinary Hades in Hell’s Kitchen or showing us a restaurateurs’ worst dream in Kitchen Nightmares, I’m there. Needless to say, I will be there tonight as Ramsey crushes the hopes and dreams of some amateur cooks in Master Chef.

As much as I love Gordy, who is another graduate of the British School of Assholatry. (Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan are other esteemed graduates), I cannot fathom why anyone would want to be on one of his shows. Listening to his ranting is great fun, but being on the receiving end has to be terrifying. How can you collect a thought or even hear yourself think, not to mention prepare food, when someone is screaming at you and hurling vicious insults.

Would an appearance on Hell’s Kitchen really do that much for a budding culinary career? The results have varied.

Season One: Michael Wray was supposed to get his own restaurant but was offered an opportunity to study under Ramsey for a year instead. It was a proposition he originally accepted but later declined. He’s now selling custom knives.

Season Two: Heather West was supposed to get a stake in a new Las Vegas eatery but that never happened. She ended up as a senior chef at Terra Rosa at the Red Rock Spa and Casino in Vegas. She stayed for a year. She was a sous chef on Hell’s Kitchen in Season Six and is now an executive chef at the Monterey Restaurant in Long Beach, NY.

Season Three: Rock Harper did become the head chef at Terra Verde as promised. Now, he’s the executive chef at Ben’s Next Door in Washington DC.

Season Four: Chrisitna Machamer is the senior sous chef under Ramsay at London in West Hollywood.

Season Five: Danny Veltri is working at Fornelletto’s at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City.

Season Six: Dave Levey was hired on as an employee of Araxi in British Columbia and not as the head chef. She stayed for a minute before moving back to Jersey.

Being featured on Kitchen Nightmares has not been a dream come true for most restaurants featured on the show. Most have gone out of business. Some blame Ramsey for the drastic
changes he made, but in his defense, restaurants have a high failure rate generally and these establishments were fledging to begin with.

No matter the result, watching Ramsey, for me anyway, is a guilty pleasure and one I will be indulging tonight with Hell’s Kitchen and the debut of Master Chef.