You know how when you buy a toy for a young child, he or she plays with it for about 10 minutes before eventually getting sick of it and moving on to the next thing?
That seems to be happening to Chef Ramsay.
Sure, he had a blast suggesting that Seth was mentally challenged and that Coe-lleen was a thief in the early part of the season. But he’s apparently gotten sick of shooting those fish in that particular barrel, and now seems interested in finding the one person in this group of fools who could actually run a kitchen. Then again, Lacey is still around.
The continuation of this “Hell’s Kitchen” recap found the women all but busting out the party hats after Lacey was sent to the men’s team, while the men were, um, considerably less thrilled about their new chef. (Why did Ramsay do this again? It’s not like the men were doing too well and needed a Lacey anchor to slow down their momentum. And it’s not like the women were struggling SO much with Lacey that they could never win with her.)
I actually felt a little bad for Lacey at the start. As I mentioned in my last recap, Lacey didn’t have to put herself up for elimination last week (in the spot that should’ve been occupied by Coi) and actually looked like she performed well in the previous dinner service. On top of that, while I understand the women were tired of her attitude, openly high fiving each other over her departure was low-class no matter how you look at it (save it for the confessionals).
Of course, Lacey immediately erased almost all the goodwill she may have earned with me by busting out and permanently plastering her trademark stank, “I’m too lazy/totally over this” face for the first 30 minutes of the show.
It was there during her first meeting with the team when she said she was allegedly “sick of all the drama.” (Said the president of the Drama Club.) It was there while the blue team was shopping in an Asian market during the challenge, which involved creating three Asian fusion dishes. It was there while the rest of the team worked during the challenge (I would’ve thought Lacey would appreciate the opportunity to nap) and while Ben tried to teach the admittedly inexperienced Lacey something. Finally, it was there after the men lost the challenge and Lacey threatened to quit for the 78th time this season and Ben tried to talk her down from the ledge. Sure, Ben WAS blowing smoke up her ass, but what the hell(‘s kitchen) does Lacey want her teammates to do. The red team already tried cursing at her, and now she’s apparently resistant to coddling too?
Meanwhile, on the newly-liberated red team, Andrea grabbed the reins in the Asian market as her teammates shot her dirty sideways glances (but followed her lead anyway). I totally agree that Andrea can be incredibly annoying sometimes, but I don’t really see anyone else on the team stepping up. Also, I finally realized who Andrea reminds me of – she’s Monica from “Friends.” Except that Courtney Cox was playing an overly-intense character for laughs, while Andrea appears to really be this way.
The challenge was judged by Ramsay and Tanya Wenman Steel of epicurious.com. But really, all Giovanni, me, and people watching at home were thinking was “boobs.” (Seriously, lady, why?!) Highlights included J forgetting what he and Giovanni’s dish was called (ok, so that’s a lowlight) and Paula’s Tuna Tempura being so good that it earned a spot in the evening’s dinner service.
The women won and earned a fun sumo wrestling outing that featured Jean-Philippe getting to indulge his unrequited crush on Chef Ramsay by rolling around on the floor with him in inflatable sumo outfits. The ladies then got drunk on some sake and stumbled back to HK. There they found the newly tight blue team, who’d bonded with Lacey over fortune cookie making and origami. Yes, Lacey finally formed a bond with her team by showing them how to make origami. Of course, it would’ve been nice for Lacey to find something FOOD-RELATED she was good at, but succeeding at SOMETHING seems to have gotten her confidence and her spirits up.
With spirits up for both teams, the dinner service was bound to be a success, right? Yeah, not so much. Things looked great in the beginning with Giovanni and LA producing top-notch risotto for their respective teams, but everything nosedived from then on.
The trouble started when a couple of sumo wrestlers showed up and ordered the entire menu (way to shatter those stereotypes, guys!) Andrea repeatedly burned her steaks and tried to hide them (she knows this show is filmed and that there are cameras around, right?), and Coe-lleen leaving an oven door open and serving a raw dessert (how do you even do that?) On the blue side, J undercooked his steak, and Robert (pictured, left) had an unpleasant flashback to his childhood and mentally shut down when Ramsay repeatedly called him “Bobby.” I get that the guy has family issues, but how can you totally shut down like that if you’re supposed to be a professional? It was like he had been brainwashed “Manchurian Candidate”-style.
Also, call me a cynic, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Fox execs knew about the Bobby issue (there HAS to be a psychological profile before the show, right? And if there isn’t there should be) and had Ramsay push him, knowing what would happen, only to give Ramsay an opportunity to show some heart and apologize later. I realize this is far-fetched and conspiracy theory-y, but I wouldn’t put it past this show. Mostly though, I just wish I’d never seen Robert’s butt, even if it was blurred out.
In the end, Ramsay declared this a no-win situation and called each team to nominate one person for elimination. The red team put up Andrea (which she was ok with), while the blue team nominated J. At this point my DVR cut off because Tatiana del Toro was probably rambling too damn much in the American Idol Wild Card show the previous hour and AI spilled over into “Hell’s Kitchen.”
However, online recaps tell me Ramsay sent Coe-lleen home. I mean, it’s not like she deserves to stay (she’s terrible) so I can’t argue that Ramsay made a bad choice. Still, it feels like a copout by Ramsay, who probably didn’t want to decide between two chefs who were a lot more capable than Coe-lleen. (Psst, he should’ve sent J home.)
Goodbye Coe-lleen. If there was ever a personification of the phrase “those who can’t do, teach” you were it.
So what’d you think of this episode? Could Paula be the one to step up and challenge Andrea for red team supremacy? Were you disappointed to see Coe-lleen go or did Ramsay make the right call? Finally, with most of the train wrecks gone, who do you think is shaping up to win this thing?
That seems to be happening to Chef Ramsay.
Sure, he had a blast suggesting that Seth was mentally challenged and that Coe-lleen was a thief in the early part of the season. But he’s apparently gotten sick of shooting those fish in that particular barrel, and now seems interested in finding the one person in this group of fools who could actually run a kitchen. Then again, Lacey is still around.
The continuation of this “Hell’s Kitchen” recap found the women all but busting out the party hats after Lacey was sent to the men’s team, while the men were, um, considerably less thrilled about their new chef. (Why did Ramsay do this again? It’s not like the men were doing too well and needed a Lacey anchor to slow down their momentum. And it’s not like the women were struggling SO much with Lacey that they could never win with her.)
I actually felt a little bad for Lacey at the start. As I mentioned in my last recap, Lacey didn’t have to put herself up for elimination last week (in the spot that should’ve been occupied by Coi) and actually looked like she performed well in the previous dinner service. On top of that, while I understand the women were tired of her attitude, openly high fiving each other over her departure was low-class no matter how you look at it (save it for the confessionals).
Of course, Lacey immediately erased almost all the goodwill she may have earned with me by busting out and permanently plastering her trademark stank, “I’m too lazy/totally over this” face for the first 30 minutes of the show.
It was there during her first meeting with the team when she said she was allegedly “sick of all the drama.” (Said the president of the Drama Club.) It was there while the blue team was shopping in an Asian market during the challenge, which involved creating three Asian fusion dishes. It was there while the rest of the team worked during the challenge (I would’ve thought Lacey would appreciate the opportunity to nap) and while Ben tried to teach the admittedly inexperienced Lacey something. Finally, it was there after the men lost the challenge and Lacey threatened to quit for the 78th time this season and Ben tried to talk her down from the ledge. Sure, Ben WAS blowing smoke up her ass, but what the hell(‘s kitchen) does Lacey want her teammates to do. The red team already tried cursing at her, and now she’s apparently resistant to coddling too?
Meanwhile, on the newly-liberated red team, Andrea grabbed the reins in the Asian market as her teammates shot her dirty sideways glances (but followed her lead anyway). I totally agree that Andrea can be incredibly annoying sometimes, but I don’t really see anyone else on the team stepping up. Also, I finally realized who Andrea reminds me of – she’s Monica from “Friends.” Except that Courtney Cox was playing an overly-intense character for laughs, while Andrea appears to really be this way.
The challenge was judged by Ramsay and Tanya Wenman Steel of epicurious.com. But really, all Giovanni, me, and people watching at home were thinking was “boobs.” (Seriously, lady, why?!) Highlights included J forgetting what he and Giovanni’s dish was called (ok, so that’s a lowlight) and Paula’s Tuna Tempura being so good that it earned a spot in the evening’s dinner service.
The women won and earned a fun sumo wrestling outing that featured Jean-Philippe getting to indulge his unrequited crush on Chef Ramsay by rolling around on the floor with him in inflatable sumo outfits. The ladies then got drunk on some sake and stumbled back to HK. There they found the newly tight blue team, who’d bonded with Lacey over fortune cookie making and origami. Yes, Lacey finally formed a bond with her team by showing them how to make origami. Of course, it would’ve been nice for Lacey to find something FOOD-RELATED she was good at, but succeeding at SOMETHING seems to have gotten her confidence and her spirits up.
With spirits up for both teams, the dinner service was bound to be a success, right? Yeah, not so much. Things looked great in the beginning with Giovanni and LA producing top-notch risotto for their respective teams, but everything nosedived from then on.
The trouble started when a couple of sumo wrestlers showed up and ordered the entire menu (way to shatter those stereotypes, guys!) Andrea repeatedly burned her steaks and tried to hide them (she knows this show is filmed and that there are cameras around, right?), and Coe-lleen leaving an oven door open and serving a raw dessert (how do you even do that?) On the blue side, J undercooked his steak, and Robert (pictured, left) had an unpleasant flashback to his childhood and mentally shut down when Ramsay repeatedly called him “Bobby.” I get that the guy has family issues, but how can you totally shut down like that if you’re supposed to be a professional? It was like he had been brainwashed “Manchurian Candidate”-style.
Also, call me a cynic, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Fox execs knew about the Bobby issue (there HAS to be a psychological profile before the show, right? And if there isn’t there should be) and had Ramsay push him, knowing what would happen, only to give Ramsay an opportunity to show some heart and apologize later. I realize this is far-fetched and conspiracy theory-y, but I wouldn’t put it past this show. Mostly though, I just wish I’d never seen Robert’s butt, even if it was blurred out.
In the end, Ramsay declared this a no-win situation and called each team to nominate one person for elimination. The red team put up Andrea (which she was ok with), while the blue team nominated J. At this point my DVR cut off because Tatiana del Toro was probably rambling too damn much in the American Idol Wild Card show the previous hour and AI spilled over into “Hell’s Kitchen.”
However, online recaps tell me Ramsay sent Coe-lleen home. I mean, it’s not like she deserves to stay (she’s terrible) so I can’t argue that Ramsay made a bad choice. Still, it feels like a copout by Ramsay, who probably didn’t want to decide between two chefs who were a lot more capable than Coe-lleen. (Psst, he should’ve sent J home.)
Goodbye Coe-lleen. If there was ever a personification of the phrase “those who can’t do, teach” you were it.
So what’d you think of this episode? Could Paula be the one to step up and challenge Andrea for red team supremacy? Were you disappointed to see Coe-lleen go or did Ramsay make the right call? Finally, with most of the train wrecks gone, who do you think is shaping up to win this thing?
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