by Bourdain
I liked last year’s Hell’s Kitchen. And I like a good fat joke as much as anybody. Making fun of the lame, the halt, the dim-witted–surely there’s a place for it in comedy. But this season’s HELL’S KITCHEN is–even for me–an exercise in pointless cruelty so ugly, cruel and squalid in its half-hearted, ritualized beat-downs as to shame all who take part–and all who watch.
I like Gordon Ramsay. I admire his 3 star Gordon Ramsay at Hospital Road–and (unlike many critics) find even his outposts excellent (if not always groundbreaking). I am a fan of his excellent and sympathetic Kitchen Nightmares and thought the Brit doc "Boiling Point" of a while back riveting and realistic television. But there’s not even the pretense of real cooking–or anything resembling quality food on HK this year. Why do they even need a chef for this Springeresque freak show? It might as well be R Lee Ermey (in fact it SHOULD be), pretending to torment this crop of contestants–it being blindingly obvious that all are unemployable in any capacity in ANY kind of busy restaurant. The challenge? WHAT challenge? They never seem to cook on HK! Their job appears to be to pretend to rush around in circles while Ramsay pretends to care. I’ve seen no more than a four top on the range at any one time. The rest of the time, they stand there or mill about like mute sheep, waiting for the blow. Few finished plates are ever seen–and what is seen wouldn’t pass muster at an Applebees. Pathetic, overaged, overweight, emotionally unsuitable and physically impaired Aaron was dragged, barely maintaining verticality, through two episodes, in the clear hope that it might be entertaining to poke a dead horse with a stick. It’s like the old carny grift, "Dunk Bozo", in which a barker invites the rubes to throw a ball at a clown on a diving board. Everyone knows the clown will fall in the water tank. The only question is when.
Really, the only suspense or drama on this show will come after the show, when the "winner’s" new employers/backers have to figure out what to do with a cook who couldn’t hold up a fry station at a 20 seat fish house.
While profitable in the short run, this freak show can’t possibly be good for Ramsay in the larger scheme of things. It "damages the brand." It demeans. (Yeah. I said "demeans." And this is ME talking!) The millions who watch this carnival of feigned cruelty will not be customers of Gordon Ramsay restaurants. And those who might be customers cannot be encouraged by the cheesy artificiality of this season.
I’m all for hazing cooks. For hurling well-timed verbal abuse at them when appropriate (or even just amusing). I have enjoyed, in the past, Ramsay’s Charlie Parkeresque use of invective and insult, as he can be a very funny guy. But everybody seems to be sleepwalking to the slaughterhouse this season, victims and executioner alike. I hope Gordon summons some REAL anger–and some REAL invective to ream great bleeding chunks out of the producers who selected this year’s contestants. And that after a suitable interlude of skull-fucking, he separates himself loudly and publicly from a production team who clearly do not have his interests in mind.
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I have to agree with this. I enjoyed HK for what it was the last 2 seasons, but it’s falling into a formula – the contestants suck, Gordon gets pissed, contestants are scared, Gordon calls them fat, the restaurant closes early every other night.
I think Fox clearly noticed that people think it’s funny when Gordon calls people a donkey and scares these people shitless. So guess what! Season 3 is all about donkeys and getting scared shitless! Everyone looks glassy eyed the second they step in that kitchen – of course they’re going to fuck everything up. And the thing is, if the show were honest, they’d admit that this is a show about people who for the most part don’t know much about cooking, rather than pretending that the contestants are semi-accomplished people looking for a step up. I’m not even sure they’ve actually seen HK before, what with being all surprised that Gordon smashed risotto into your chest, or called you a poopy name.
Fox has started to run the previews for the American version of Kitchen Nightmares, and it’s already clear that they are following the Irrationally Angry Gordon formula. On the Brit version of KN, he gets mad, but he doesn’t fly off the nadle often – for the most part, he comes across like a competent, passionate guy with a killer sense of humor. On these previous, he just yells till his face turns purple. He needs to run far, far away from Fox, because Fox will beat this dead horse into the ground.
I have to admit this season isn’t doing it for me as much as the previous 2. I get the feeling Grrrr is walking through it. You’d think they could have gotten some higher quality people so it could have been more of a learning experience and maybe Grrr would have taken more of an interest. Or maybe he’s just waiting until all of the chafe really does sort out and he’s left with the 2 or 3 that are worth taking an interest in. Julia being one of them.
I don’t think anyone watches this show thinks they’re going to learn something. Well I do learn new and interesting ways of cursing people. I mean I still love the genius of “fucking donkey.” I like Kitchen Nightmares and loved the first season of the F Word. I didn’t like F Word as much when they started doing the kitchen contests. Which is strange since HK is my summer guilty pleasure.
My first real cook’s job was in a NYT2* owned by a Frenchman who had staged in Berlin from 38′-late 39′. He loved his stage and after some initial misgivings about Hitler and Nazism came to admire the man and the mission. By his own admission he would have stayed forever if he had not been called back to France to serve in the army ahead of the invasion by the armies of his beloved Fuhrer. (he later became a POW. Ironic, non?)
My chef, I’m sure, would make Gordan Ramsay wet his pants. He certainly cured me of any inclination I may have had to rely on screaming, throwing s**t and ridicule as my principal means of managing my crew.
I suspect that while Ramsay might be ratcheting it up for the camera a bit, he really is a tyrant.
He better hope that he never raises the scratch to open a restaurant in NY bec. you know as well as I do that there aren’t very many NY line cooks who are going to stand for that kind of crap. Nor should anyone.
The histrionics we see from Ramsay on Hell’s Kitchen might make for entertaining TV, but it sure is no fun being on the receiving end of that kind of crap -even when you have reason to believe that the guy doing the screaming is a really good cook.
I could only get thru 45min of the first episode and then I was dunzo, it is entertainment distilled down to a school yard bully with a bit of “cooking.” The first season worked b/c there was a good balance of bombast and semi-reality, but it looks like they focus grouped it to death and drove it into Ramsay’s head to be more of an asshole more of the time. “Gordo, they love it when you are a complete maniacal dick.” On the UK shows you can tell he is ticking the piss and isn’t obviously just being an asshole to be an asshole. So I’m done, but they will probably continue to have decent ratings leaving off where Jerry Springer left off.
I also found it amusing that on top chef last night they ran a vytorin ad right after the challenge was to cook a meal “low in cholesterol” for families from different generations. I’m convinced that by season 4 they will have them make a meal out of gladware. That said, I can understand working sponsorship agreements so the show can happen, if anything it adds a bit of humor.
Also really dig tony on top chef and went to st. john in London 2 weeks ago b/c of a show I saw him tape there and my god was it good stuff.
Well said Tony. Very well said. I gave up after episode 2 and lost any respect I had for Gordon Ramsey.
I just read an article (albeit, not the one linked below, although it makes the same reference) in which Gordon said the only way he could open an outpost of his restaurant empire in NY was by doing HK (and, theoretically, raising his profile). Apparently, he thinks that not enough NYers would know who he was without HK, Kitchen Nightmares, etc.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/02/070402fa_fact_buford/
As a New Yorker, I find that a little mystifying – even a little disingenuous. We know who Joel Robuchon was, ages ago, and he never did a reality TV show . . . Alain Ducasse . . . Jean Georges Vongrichten . . . oh, and arguably one of the best chefs in New York, Eric Ripert of the 4-star Le Bernardin, manages to have a stellar career and revered restaurant WITHOUT a TV show. He’s just got one restaurant, no merchandising or branding and no show, but yet HE seems to be known across the nation.
Point One: It’s the other way ’round, Gordo, mate – if you make it in New York, you don’t NEED a TV show. Maybe TV made Batali and Flay super stars, but both of them were well-known and well-regarded NY-based chefs well before they got their TV shows, and all their restaurants made money from the get-go – Mesa Grill, from back in the ’90s, Po, Lupa, etc. It was about the food, first – not the fame.
Point Two: Worried about not being known in NEW YORK? Is he kidding? A major city that is a seething hotbed of foodies and sophisticated palates? With foodinistas who have tracked his every move since he parted company with Aubergine? C’mon, Frostylocks! Don’t be such a DONKEY!!! Gordon Ramsay certainly “made it” in the UK and enjoyed a global reputation before washing up on our fair shores, and he’s worried about “making it” in New York without the benefit of a high profile TV show? Bollocks! (See Point One: “It’s the FOOD, stupid . . .”)
Methinks Gordo just digs the publicity, and gets some major catharsis inflicting on fresh shipments of hapless yobs the same abuse he got from Marco Pierre, etc. (Mind you, the cattle that are Season’s 3’s contestants totally deserve it.) And I don’t have a problem with that at all – but Gordo should own it, man. Although you don’t need a TV show to open in New York, by the same token, having a TV show is not enough to stay open in New York. His NY restaurant is by no means “dog’s bollocks”, but it hasn’t exactly set NY on fire, either.
Claudia
“If you can make it here, you’ll make it anywhere . . .”
Yeah, everyone going “ewww, ick!” at the Offal basically killed the last dregs of credibility for everyone on the boy’s team (and I had actually kinda liked Rock, 3rd person dialogue aside, until he started acting like he was gonna barf up the tripe)
Any credibility, as if it ever existed, was killed off when the majority could not recognize the foods that Gordon served them when blindfolded. Please! I am not a chef or a cook, but even I have a semi-developed palate! Shameful…
I was thinking the same thing after I watched this season’s Hell’s Kitchen this week for the first time. Are they cooking anything at all or are they just standing there waiting to be screamed at. Anyway , I thought the punishment for the guys was no punishment at all. Heck I love ox tongue, I adore pork tongue and don’t get me started on the trotters. Now the way it’s cooked is a different matter. The trotters I love in chinese black vinegar. If all they had were boiled ones then a dipping sauce of soy or vinegar would help…
“And when will someone ultimately come up with shows that actually TEACH cooking, TEACH people how to select good produce and use it, TEACH people good kitchen practices, and expand their culinary horizons??”
http://www.altonbrown.com
And to the point of the post–great assessment, Anthony–though Julia seems to have the makings of a solid line cook (if not yet a chef). Most of these people are an embarrassment–It’s bad when I can’t decide between Rancid Crab girl, the Trash Can Gourmet, or Aaron for the biggest idiot on the show to date. However, the point of this exercise seems to be to encourage people to visit Gordon Ramsey restaurants, and while I might go if I had the opportunity, Hell’s Kitchen sure as heck isn’t encouraging me to.
I have been eagerly anticipating Tony’s thoughts regarding Hell’s Kitchen and must admit, I agree with the majority of his comments. However, I wish that he (or someone) would focus on the fact that what has also made this show so “ugly” is Gordon himself; the continuous degrading of contestants does not inspire greatness, but rather, passivity. How does this make one a good cook or dare I say, chef? Don’t misunderstand me; I completely recognize and accept that one must pay his/her dues and go through the “hazing” that Tony refers to. However, making people feel like absolute sh*t does nothing to enhance Gordon’s reputation or the culinary world as a whole. Now, as an aside, the other point to remember is that this is an era of “reality” tv – not that any show called this is true reality. The producers of HK simply want cattle-call contestants, ones who may have some minimal culinary talent, but DO have the personality to make the show entertaining. And isn’t that what it’s all about, folks? ENTERTAINMENT. Now if I may inquire: would any of you go on this show in order to “make it” in the field? Has it come to that?
The sad thing is that while there really seems to be a “boon” in food interest nowadays, crap like this show (and the Food Network) may ultimately serve to kill the golden goose, so to speak. While the public is seeking more and more information about cooking, organic food, sustainable agriculture, and other food-related topics, the folks in the entertainment industry can’t figure out to give them what they want, so they just trot out their usual hackneyed crap and make it food-related. “Hey, people love reality shows, especially when they see others humiliated … let’s see, how can we tie this in with that food thing? I’ve got it! Let’s make it a cooking show with humiliation!” I mean, the whole “celebrity cooking showdown” was a trainwreck to begin with, but Hell’s Kitchen makes it look like Masterpiece Theater. What’s next? When’s VH-1 trotting out “Cooking Boot Camp with the D-List Celebrities?” or “Flavor Flav Cooks!” Will the Speed Network feature a reality show with NASCAR drivers trying to cook? Will the History Channel feature a “reality show” of former dictators in history trying to rule the world while still getting their mise en place worked out? Will MTV have a cooking reality show made up of cute college kids trying to cook while getting into each others’ pants? How about a show on Spike featuring drunken frat boys trying to flambe things by blowing pure grain whiskey out of their mouths?
And when will someone ultimately come up with shows that actually TEACH cooking, TEACH people how to select good produce and use it, TEACH people good kitchen practices, and expand their culinary horizons??
I too have watched the first three episodes of Hell’s Kitchen. Besides the fact that none of the contestants can cook, the menu is crap. What 3 star chef serves pan seared chicken?! It all looks boring and bland. The only thing the show has done for me is to boost my ego a bit–realizing I’m not too shabby in the kitchen after all.
Kitchen Nightmares is a great show. Ramsay looks competent, caring, talented, and even playful. He has his stern moments, but he seems human–approachable. Hell’s Kitchen simply makes him out to be a monster.
I hope he ditches HK and focuses on the new Kitchen Nightmares U.S.A., to be shown on Fox this fall.
I totally agree. I was truly saddened to see them KEEP Aaron as long as they did. I do not know how this year’s crop made it on the show. While the Top Chef contestants have seemed to go up in talent, HK has gotten progressively worse. I thought the folks in season 1 were varied, interesting and had some talent. And who didn’t love/hate K Grease from season 2, but this season so far is horrible. The only one I would want behind the line is the Waffle House cook.
As for Kitchen Nightmares, I love the BBC show. My fear of course is that Fox will want the HK Ramsey for the US version. We will see.
We watched previous seasons so we’ve tuned into this one as well, but I have to agree with your diatribe. It’s all “show” and no SHOW. We watched 2 episodes of “Kitchen Nightmares” last night and it’s so much more pleasant and what it should be: it’s real restaurants with real and sometimes terribly pressing bad situations (with closure looming and sometimes people’s homes at stake as well) and him coming in and forcing everyone involved in the restaurant to overhaul and fix what’s wrong immediately. At the end of each show, I’m almost always left with a desire to have a cute, small restaurant like the featured one in my own town, or a desire to visit the actual featured restaurant should I travel to that area, as well as amusement and affinity for the players involved in the tribulations during Gordon’s visit. There’s just as much entertaining swearing and screaming, but no “theatrics” and it’s just so much better television. To me, this is what “reality” TV should be, not turning everything into a game show. I suppose it’s because Hell’s Kitchen is on a major network and they force this kind of crap; look what they did to “On the Lot,” which could have been good, SHOULD have been, but instead they’ve forced the square peg AI-format into the round hole.
I too can’t belive the ineptness at the contestants selected. Do they just have a slate of “types” and then fill in the types accordingly? (physical/mental disaster, bimbo, know-it-all, humble-but-proud, etc.)
Jean Philippe is a sexy man and that is the only reason I watch…..
I feel that this television show is exciting, powerful, dramatic, and very intense.if you want to Watch Hell’s kitchen Episodes online click here. This site provide better quality pic.
Thanks to you Tony that I have also developed interest in cooking now.
All I have to say is that you, sir, are my hero. Your honesty, blended with your ever endearing wit never fail to point out what most of us (at least those of us who are at least mostly sane) are thinking.
Wow! I don’t know where they find these jackasses, but I can probably guess. Anyone who has time to do this show, obviously is either not gainfully employed, or their employer is happy to be rid of them for a few weeks. I have not worked in the business for over 11 years, and I could run circles around ANY contestants who have EVER been on this show. These people wouldn’t have lasted past the first weekend dinner rush in my kitchen.
Here’s a good Marco Pierre White interview with a reference to Ramsay and the new series of (the British?) Hell’s Kitchen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bjQy0S6Un4
Gentle David, I do not know your industry background, ie years put in, etc but if you choose to generalize an entire profession based on your experiences, perhaps you should consider a change of venue. yes, pride and ego are often packed with knives, but if you are hanging around the kitchen monitoring cooks/chefs behaviors maybe you should be refilling water glasses and worrying about front of the house a little more. Most cooks don’t want the circus that comes with public life, and don’t overinflate their stature any more than any other profession. A quick informal poll of my colleagues shows we don’t care how they do it across the street.Anyone with sense surely will not see Ramsay’s behavior as a guide for management. This is tv, Get mad at the caricutures of servers on other shows (Bumbling nonprofessionals), leave the cooking and kitchen culture to those who chose to do so. We can work together if you put your biases behind you.
My belated 2 cents;
1. It’s FOX.
2. What do you suppose Gordo is getting paid? Would you turn that paycheck down? (so he’s doing it for the money and likely more so for the pub, which raises a great question..does it serve him well?)
3. It’s FOX. (classy, yet not overdone)
4. This show is about LCD entertainment (that’s lowest common denominator in this case). The topic just happens to be one that we love. It’s not a cooking show. I’d like to thank FOX for making me realize that I’m no better than those who watch American Idol. That’s more humbling that being called a donkey.
JP and JB both, Claudia. They each have their own charms.
The vast majority of American restaurant kitchens are managed by chefs and cooks who have never worked in a 3 star place and never will. But all, with rare exception, view themselves as culinary stars and GR’s equal. Therefore, they see his behavior as reinforcement of their own bad management techniques and even a source of new forms of abuse. On behalf of my fellow servers, I cringe at what this show is teaching our bosses.
Oui. Gordon seems to have a thing for maitre ds whose names start with Jean. *G* There’s Jean-Philippe, Jean-Baptiste, and I’m pretty sure there’s a Jean-Christophe in there somewhere too.
Sorry, it’s a Jean-Claude, not a Jean-Christophe. Though I could’ve sworn I saw a Jean-Christophe on one of his shows, maybe.
But JP and JB are the best. *fangirls*
So, Sorcha, ma petite . . . ees eet Jean-Baptiste who threels you no end, or -?
OK, Sorcha – Ramsay’s “Jean” Maitre d’s:
Jean-Philippe Susilovic at Petrus, Banquette and Savoy Grill:
http://www.gordonramsay.com/petrus/chef/restaurantmanager/
Jean-Baptise Requien at Gordon Ramsay at the London (and Maze at the London and the London Bar, as well) in NYC:
http://www.gordonramsay.com/gratthelondon/chef/restaurantmanager/
Jean-Claude Breton at Ramsay/Royal Hospital Road:
http://www.gordonramsay.com/royalhospitalroad/chefs/maitred/
Looks like “JB ” (Jean Baptiste) is your man, Sorcha – not only is he NY-based, but his bio clearly states he’s been Gordon’s TV show “co-conspirator” for ages . . . (!)
10 dogs bollocks, seven “wankers”, six “f***’s sake”, and three complaints about the risotto. Everyone cries.
I suggest everyone stock up on booze now.
Am I alone in thinking Thomas Keller isn’t going to ask about hiring these numb-nuts in my lifetime?
Don’t forget three or four frustrated hands-in-the-hair.
Also, any bets on whether we’ll get more politely-snarky JP tonight? He’s so awesome.
F***ing Donkey is a serious weapon. Use the force wisely. I’ll actually shotgun a Sparks if he uses that beauty. BTW how many “spot on”
I’m with you on JP, Sorcha. I love how he encouraged the wedding planner to go up to the passe in the middle of service and tell GR that the bride’s and groom’s parents were to be served next.
JP: “So . . . ‘oo had a talk with Gor-DEN?”
WP: “Yesss . . .”
JP: “And ‘ow deed it go?”
WP: “Very well, I think -”
right after Gordon tore the WP a new one. Oh, lovely. First class weasel (in this particular “eenstance”)!
Wonder if he sent “the giraffe” (the very tall lady) up to the passe to complain, as well, or if she did it on her own? Most likely, it was the producers . . .
Probably. I mean, who in their right mind would do that in a Gordon restaurant? Unless maybe they have a fetish for being yelled at by hot, pissed-off Scots – hm, on second thought…
Gordon does have a talent for hiring adorable maitre ds. Jean-Baptiste (F-Word) is another one I love.
Jean-Baptiste and JB (I mistyped) are the same maitre d’, non? I have to check Gordo n Ramsay Holdings.
I counted:
“1 f*****ing lamb”
3 “donkeys!”
1 “f*****ing donkey!”
1 “f****king elimination!”
1 “doughnut” (I’m pretty sure GR said “doughnut”, not “donkey”)
2 “in the f*****king shit/shitter.”
A few stray “f****king”s as adjectives
2 “Where the f****k is Jen?”
2 “Turn on the f****king gas!”
1 “F*****king talk to each other!”
1″f****king hand”
and 1 stray “f****k”.
OK, so I was right abouit Brad and the “f****king donkeys!” count, but seriously underestimated the F count. Very disappointed in the lack of “bollocks” in last night’s tally . . . (!)
My sense is that the winner was picked in order to get those photos of him with the winning team, which kinda meant that the girls were never going to lose.
Still, ‘Rock’ acted like a spoilt 6-year old; can you imagine a chef pulling that in front of his crew? He’s still the best of a bad bunch (kinda like being the honour student of the short bus crowd), which should speak volumes. I still wouldn’t hire any of these numb-nuts to cook eggs at Mel’s Diner.
I think Ruhlman and Bourdain should pop out of a cake in the last episode of HK wearing tassles and beat senseless whoever the two finalists are. Then they can go on a three-day bender with Gordo at the Green Valley Ranch (where they filmed ‘American Casino’ on A&E a few years back; it was the one where one of the main managers died during filming) and make Melissa work the Sunday Brunch “more friatta, lady in the blue and green moo-moo?” Look at it this way- a casino out in the middle of nowhere probably doesn’t need to worry about Michelin ratings; my sense is that it’s all Sysco, all the time (I know- maybe they can have Sandra Lee work there as a bartender).
This season’s HK is a total joke. I’ve lost some respect for Ramsay but still, his Kitchen Nightmares unedited on Channel 4 in Britain is pretty special…
http://www.mininova.org/tor/715666
Someone said it in a comment elsewhere & it summed up my feelings exactly: I watch Hell’s Kitchen cuz Gordon is HOT. I get goosebumps whenever he yells :SHUT IT DOWN!!!.. (thus I’m always hoping they don’t finish a service
Any guesses on tonight’s show? I’m going with 13 “F*ck”, 5 hand on the hips moments, and 1 “donkey” if we are lucky.
Carolina, does that include the time-honored “f***cking donkeys!” combo? I’m going with 3 FDs, 5 “Bollocks!” (or “dogs’ bollocks!”), and just two d***ks, for tonight. I think Brad is going down, and Bonnie will be the next to have to switch sides . . . oh, and 3 bounce-off-the-tips-of-your-toes-in-adrenaline-frenzy frustration.
I hear you, Carolina – I guess you mean his “disproportionate anger” at losing?
Oh, no shit about Melissa’s . . . . Spawn! Even if that thing had sprouted up mid-taping, hell – they’re in LA, the Center of the Known World for face work! Dermatology, cosmetology, plastic surgery, Botox, electrolysis – whatever! (”Make-up, quick! She’s CRUSTING!”) Go on nationwide TV with galloping crud erupting on her face? Man, I’m surprised they even let her on the subway with that – let alone the train to the plane to JFK to LAX.
BTW, if it WAS impetigo, as Sorcha mused, that is highly infectious – and truly ucky. You don’t want to see the Internet pictures, but let’s just say . . . well . . . you wouldn’t want to be in a kitchen with it, either . . .
Update: According to today’s NY Daily News, Melissa’s blemish is a burn/blister as a result of being splashed by hot oil. Although it looked kinda hairy to me, not just blistery . . .?
Her hair was pissed off at her for never brushing it and bitchslapped her.
Her hair was pissed off at her for never brushing it and bitchslapped her.
Oh, SNAP!
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/07/11/2007-07-11_she_takes_heat_but_is_still_out_of_the_k.html
are we going the Imus route…nappy head ho
I told my husband what that thing on Melissa’s chin turned out to be, and he said, “Hot oil? What, she tried to suck-start a grill?”
No, I wouldn’t call Melissa or anyone else names, a la Imus – I might call her . . . growth . . . a few names, though.
Sorry for not being more specific, the humility comment was meant more about his reaction to failure, instead of taking the loss as a reason to work harder, he freaked out. Humility probably wasn’t the correct word choice.I am not so atriculate tonight and it’s way too late for another frap so I’ll stop.
As for the new species on Stereotype NY accent’s chin, whoa! It was like Spawn or something. She should seriously consider coughing up the cash to get that looked at.
Like ELECTROLYSIS! Dayaaammmmn, I thought she’s been taken over by a sasquatch or something – I didn’t recall seeing that . . . growth when they got all up close n’ personal with the contestants in Ep 1. She’s from Brooklyn? She’d have gotten a beatdown for going out in public like that . . . even in Bensonhurst. Ma’don! Gyyyyyackkk!
I’m leaning toward impetigo myself, but I’m not ruling out a soul patch. I mean, if you’re going to be a woman with facial hair, you may as well do something with it.
I think Rock was madder at the decision over the lobster bisque than the actual punishment – he’s had some crappy punishments before and took them in good part. But I think Rock knew he was wronged over the bisque, and the garbage detail just infuriated him more. And so what if he WAS seriously pissed off? He kept working. The extra punishment was totally uncalled for, and I don’t think the way to cool off a pissed off cook – justifiably pissed off or otherwise – is to humiliater him on national TV. Especially not after all the hand-holding Gordo did with Aaron, and all the crap he put up with from Melissa. As for the “humility” part – aside from the fact I don’t see Rock as arrogant and in need of a little humbling, even if he WAS arrogant, so what? Rock can deliver. He can back up whatever view of ability he might have of himself. Melissa had an over-inflated view of her abilities, and was passive-aggressive bossy. SHE could not deliver, and SHE needed some humbling. If any line cook needed a can of whup-ass opened on them, it was Miss Sprouting Mole/Festering Carbunkle – what WAS that thing under her lip, anyway? An infected piercing? A soul patch? What?