Question for professional chefs who watch Hell's Kitchen?

Question

Why do you think food service is always such a disaster on the show? The contestants are all professional chefs, but the show makes them look completely inept. Are they understaffed for the amount of people they are serving? Is this anything what a real kitchen is like?

Answer 1

The service is a disaster because it's all fake and staged. "Reality" TV is anything but real. The show is set up for the cooks to fail. Someone has to fail every week in order to make this formula work and create TV "DRAMA!" It's all a bunch of crap. Do you think that Ramsey gives a hoot about serving the guests in "Hell's Kitchen?" He is only interested in doing his part to create a great TV show.

The contestants in this "game" are certainly qualified to cook, but you can't just throw a bunch of strangers into a professional kitchen and in a few hours produce a menu. This show misrepresents what a real professional kitchen has to do. It's nothing like cooking at home. At home, you don't have 100 people asking for 20 different things in 15 minutes. There is a choreography that needs to happen in order to produce that kind of food in that kind of time.

There needs to be teamwork, and planning, and all the little things that take time to do before you can actually produce a menu efficiently in a real kitchen. You can't hire a kitchen crew and open your doors for business on the same day.

That show really ticks me off. It ticks off a lot of people in the business because it does not represent the real professional kitchen. If I had ever worked for someone who verbally abused me like Gordon Ramsey does on that show, I would have punched him right in the face as I walked out the door.

On top of that, they don't pick the best "chef's" for the show. They pick the ones who will create the best TV! That's a huge difference.

And if you think the winner is actually going to be in charge of the F+B department in a huge Casino, just look at what happened to last year's winner. None of these contestants have enough skill or experience to get a real $250,000/year job. The person that wins will get paid, but they will be nothing more than marketing material for the Casino. They won't be in charge of anything. I guarantee it.

It's entertaining TV, but it is NOTHING like a real kitchen. Ramsey is laughing his *** off all the way to the bank.

Answer 2

I'm not a professional chef, but I am a housewife and avid cook. Hubby and I watched it for the 1st time last night, we both kept saying, what is wrong with these people.

They work in kitchens and they all seem to be ruining things and having to toss them out and start over. They even had trouble getting a simple breakfast together of pancakes, and eggs. It was insane.

They all seemed pretty lost, maybe it's because none of them have even actually ran the kitchen before and they need a chef barking orders at them to get it right. I'm sure the stress is terrible, but people stop worrying and start cooking.

Maybe it's just me, cooking is so very easy. There is no excuse, and they are lucky they aren't in my kitchen. I'd kill someone.

Answer 3

They might work in kitchen, but not the upscale ones that Chef Ramsay is used to. Just because one works in a restaurant, does not mean that they know everything about cooking. A lot of people cook, but have not gone to culinary school.

The short order cook who is on the series now is quite good, but has no knowledge of fine dining cooking. She admits it, but does her best to help, and has, in fact, bailed out her crew twice now. I cannot believe the others. One is a pastry chef, so that would leave her out of the real dining experience, too.

And yes; I have, on occasion, seen people act like this in the kitchen when I worked in restaurants.

Answer 4

I would say it's the pressure. I am not a chef but I would imagine having someone constantly yelling at you and knowing that any little thing you mess up on will be aired on national TV puts a lot of pressure on them. It's a high stress environment times 10, of course they are going to mess up.

Answer 5

I'm not a professional chef but fancied putting in my imput...lol..This season on Hells' Kitchen....I think alot of the "chefs" there, shouldn't be. They all have some kind of experience in cooking (at where ever they were working before the show)..it's a chance for them to appear on the telly..and I think this season...it's a bit of a put on* ..mind you, I guess working with ppl that don't really know how to boil pasta or crack an egg LOL...it's kind of hard to throw meals together for all those guests...so Hell Ya...It's a Disaster* Welcome to HELLS KITCHEN hee hee

Last season was better. But the good ole Hells' Chef himself , cracks me up* I was born in England and he just makes me laugh with some of the sayings he comes up with. hahahahhaaha

Answer 6

They're usually short order cooks that haven't worked in a pro kitchen.