What a sad day indeed. This is not only my last entry, but everybody else's final be reel blog entry. But fear not, for there are now countless new television programs and movies that have been recommended. As for me, my final recommendation is yet another Gordon Ramsay show- Hell's Kitchen.
Not too long ago I did a review of Kitchen Nightmares, the sequel in many ways to Hell's Kitchen. Gordon Ramsay's television empire all began with Hell's Kitchen. The structure is a reality television show that follows a progressive elimination format to narrow down a field of 12 to 20 aspiring chefs to a single winner over the course of the season. The grand prize which is awarded to the last man (or woman) standing is typically the head executive chef of a successful and prominent restaurant as well as $250,000. The show is primarily filmed in a modified warehouse in Los Angeles which includes the actual restaurant, side by side kitchen facilities, and dorm rooms where the chefs live while on the show. At the start of each season, Chef Ramsay breaks the chefs into two teams. The red team always consists of the women applicants, and the blue team is made up of the male applicants. The odds of being selected for this show are extremely slim considering that every year there are tens of thousands of people trying to get some screen time. This structure of gender divided teams is normally followed up until the very end when only two people are left. But Ramsay will occasionally put one woman on the men's team or vice versa to add more challenge in the kitchen or if he feels there's too much drama. Every episode begins with a challenge followed by a dinner service later in the same day. When the red team or the blue team wins a challenge, they are rewarded with some sort of recreational activity outside of Hell's Kitchen. For example, one of the episodes that I watched earlier today showed the men's team getting the opportunity to fly to Las Vegas for the day and stay in a VIP suite at Palms Resort. On the contrary, Chef Ramsay always makes the losers stay inside the restaurant and do difficult, menial work for a punishment. This can be cleaning all of the rooms, prepping both kitchens for the next dinner service, taking large deliveries of food, wash both teams' clothes, and so forth.
From an objective standpoint, the purpose and structure of the show are well formed. I enjoy shows that involve some sort of competition where someone gets eliminated at the end of each episode. Since the contestants are always chosen at random, the group of people in Hell's Kitchen is always diverse in experience and skill. For the vast majority of the time, Chef Ramsay is berating the men and women on goth teams. As the expediter, he has to check every dish that leaves the kitchen and make sure it is living up to his impossible standards. Shockingly, most dishes are prepared incorrectly and have to be made again. Almost all the dishes are sent to Chef Ramsay grossly under cooked or overcooked. As teams that consist of all chefs in some capacity, it's hard to believe that most of them can't properly create the appetizers, entrees, or deserts. In addition, I enjoy the editing present in Hell's Kitchen. Every episode there is some sort of dramatic feud that takes place or somebody makes themselves look like a complete fool. When something entertaining happens, the emphasis of the show is put upon that and non diagetic audio is always added to enhance suspense or comedy. A perfect example of this is present at the end of every episode when one or two people from the red team and blue team are put up for elimination based on their poor performance. The dramatic music in the background always kicks in and keeps you guessing who will be sent home.
As I've previously stated in my review of Kitchen Nightmares, my favorite subjective aspect once again in Hell's Kitchen is Ramsay's quick temper and assertive presence on the show. He screams at members of the red and blue team during every single dinner service if they are not living up to his standards and often flings insults at them. Furthermore, I really enjoy the moments of comedic relief when they're available. Ironically enough, Ramsay is actually very friendly and funny outside of the kitchen. Sometimes he accompanies the winning team on one of their rewards and behaves in a completely different manner. He is always very kind, making people laugh, and expresses his pride in whoever wins the show and the head chef position grand prize.
My final rating of Hell's Kitchen is Good Good. Here is a video of the signature dish challenge in season 10, the introduction to every season. Watch it here.
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