Hell’s Kitchen Left Me Cold
I’ll admit it. I am a fan of most things Ramsey. But too many strange things happened in Hell’s Kitchen this year and it’s left me feeling cold.
If you dig cooking competitions on TV, you should watch Bravo’s Top Chef, where cooking skills are a necessity and it’s not about finding the best entertainer. The contestants’ cooking skills are tested under tough circumstances, and if they don’t know their food…well, their time on the show is short and they’re told to pack their knives and go home. The contestants are often thrown together to work in teams, and the trick is to be a team player and to capture the spotlight. Never underestimate the ego of a chef.
There are three other similar shows: The Next Iron Chef, The Next Food Network Star, and Hell’s Kitchen. Michael Symon was chosen from eight contestants to be the next Iron Chef and the challenges were brutal. It’s not a regular show on the FoodTV Network for good reason: only few hold the title of Iron Chef. The competition is fierce and the reward is culinary immortality. Okay, so that’s a little extreme, but you get my point. I was hoping Chef Symon would win for his mad skills, but I also think he’s kinda hot. And well, hot does count for something.
In the Next Food Network Star, not only are culinary skills challenged, but also teaching skills and stage presence. You must have that certain *something* that finds its way through the camera lens and out to the viewer. And the reward is your own show on the Food Network. You don’t get a restaurant, but you do rub shoulders with some of the best in the game.
And then there’s Hell’s Kitchen. And at the center of it all is the enigmatic Gordon Ramsey. There’s no doubt the man knows his way around the kitchen, but it’s difficult for anyone else to be in there with him. There’s only room for Ramsey’s ego. As difficult as it is to be around him, I’d work in his kitchen any day. He can yell at me for hours and in the end I’d walk away with culinary skills and restaurant knowledge to rival the best. So on the show you fill a kitchen with a bunch of colorful, over-eager wannabe restaurateurs battling against each other to be the senior chef at one of Ramsey’s new restaurants. And then, if that’s not enough, you toss in one giant cup of Ramsey and stir. The winner of each challenge is not always clear, and often, it simply comes down to the whim of Ramsey. Frustrating…but it is his show and his restaurant.
This seasons’ competitors were not fun to watch. Highly annoying is more like it. Their culinary skills were weak and they didn’t play well with others. I was waiting for a hero to emerge, but alas, there was none. If he wants us to watch next season, he’s gonna have to pick better contestants or the show will continue to lose credibility.
A Seat at Hawksworth’s Table
The January/February 2008 issue of Eat Magazine features an interview by Chris Mason Stearns (photograph by Tracey Kusiewicz) with Chef David Hawksworth. I was fortunate to eat Chef Hawksworth’s food in Vancouver, B.C., at West Restaurant on two occasions. Under his direction, West was awarded three consecutive wins as “Restaurant of the Year” by the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, a prestigious four star rating by Mobil Travel Guide, and recognition as one of the “ten of the best, worldwide” by UK’s Sunday Independent. In 2005, Chef Hawksworth won “Chef of the Year.”
When my friend Craig invited me to dinner at West in October of 2005, I knew it was because he liked the food and the restaurant, but I wasn’t prepared for the beauty of the food. My first taste of the Organic Squash and Parmesan Ravioli Sage with Toasted Almond Brown Butter was enough for me to know the meal would be fantastic and my mouth was in for a lovely adventure. Five months later, I visited West again, and the food was equally brilliant.
A few nights ago I started thinking about Chef Hawksworth’s food, so I went online to have a look at the menu. Maybe I could convince Craig to take a drive and visit the restaurant with me. Good thing I checked. It seems the good Chef left West early this year and is planning to open a new restaurant at the Hotel Georgia. From all that I read, he hasn’t yet named the restaurant, though rumors are that it will be called Hawksworth. He’s been working on a cookbook which I will gladly get my hands on.
Late Saturday afternoon, I picked up the phone to call Craig and found out he was in Vancouver and had plans to eat at West that evening. How freakish is that? I told him Hawksworth was gone and a new chef is in his place. He promised to let me know if West is still a great place to eat. In the meantime, I’m hoping for a seat at a table at Hawksworth’s new restaurant slated to open in early 2009.
Carol’s April Fool’s Joke(s)
One of my favorite cookbooks is Thomas Keller’s, The French Laundry Cookbook. Oh my! It’s a beautiful thing. I postponed the pleasure of buying it, for as long as possible, simply to appreciate it all the more when I got my hands on my very own copy. And, I was secretly hoping someone would buy it for me and give me the gift that keeps on giving. The recipes are challenging and cause me to expand the boundaries of my imagination. I’ve read it cover to cover *many* times and still haven’t gotten my fill. Not only is it a great cookbook, it’s also a great “coffee table” book filled with pages and pages of glorious looking food.
And while I’m on the topic of Thomas Keller, take a minute or thirty and view his interview with Charlie Rose on the Charlie Rose Show. I found out Mr. Keller had a role in the development of Ratatouille. A great little movie.
So when I stumbled upon Carol’s blog: French Laundry at Home a few months ago, I smiled for days and days and days. She’s working her way through the cookbook and telling her blog readers about her adventures. I enjoy her humor and her courage. Attempting the The French Laundry Cookbook is clearly not for the faint of heart.
Her April Fool’s posts were hilarious. Did I mention how funny she is? She first posted two disgusting recipes, which, by the way, appear in a cookbook on my shelf (embarrassing). Her second post didn’t fool me, simply because I’ve grown accustomed to her humor and I didn’t believe for an instant that Thomas Keller would discourage anyone from cooking. It’s just not in his DNA.
Thanks, Carol. For the adventure and the laughter.
