Break out the swear jar, Chef Gordon Ramsay returns on Monday night (July 18th) for the 9th season of Hell’s Kitchen. Eighteen ambitious new “donkeys” have signed up for the gig, with this year’s winner landing a head chef spot at the BLT Steakhouse in New York City.
As usual, the 18 hopefuls run the gamut of the food world; line cooks to executive chefs to a restaurant consultant, whatever that means. The opening night will run much as usual with the new crop of Ramsay’s whipping boys introducing their signature dish for chef to sample. My guess is that at least 6 will be spat into the garbage, with a full on vomit being a distinct possibility. My picks for most likely to be trashed are Elise Wim’s exploding garlic dish, Gina Melcher, who claims to have no signature dish (uh-oh), Paul Niedermann’s eggplant voltini with a red pepper emulsion (is that a side or a type of paint?), and Will Lustberg’s sheep’s milk ricotta gnudi which, in his bio, he claims, “can’t go wrong” (another uh-oh).
Let’s be honest, I love this show, but the opening few weeks are when we get the real entertainment. For every real culinary contender, there is one that is a chemically off-balanced, crazy-eyed, accident waiting to happen. The two most likely to fit that bill, based solely on their bio picture, are Jason Zepaltas, a Zach Galifianakis look-a-like whose picture looks like a mug shot, and Elizabeth Bianchi, a bleached blonde beauty that looks like she will crumble under the icy gaze of Chef Ramsay.
It’s tough to guess based on the bios, but what we do know is that at least 6 of this crowd will be hopeless, and are there for no other reason than to up the entertainment factor. Until this lot is weeded out, Hell’s Kitchen will look less like “Top Chef”, and more like “Open Grill Night at the Waffle House”. I for one can’t wait till the fun begins. So be sure to check back every week for my HK update, and if you want to check out the bios of this season’s contestants, you can do so by clicking here.
