Entertainment
Top 10 Times Gordon Ramsay Was Confused Over A Dish On Hell’s Kitchen
Gordon Ramsay is a television celebrity and an accomplished chef, but patience is not his strong suit. He doesn’t star in Heaven’s Kitchen – it’s called Hell’s Kitchen. If you want to see some fireworks check out the top 10 times Gordon Ramsay was confused over a dish on Hell’s Kitchen.
10. Dropped My Mango
Flambé is French for “flaming” and is a technique used to create some traditional and elegant desserts that requires a delicate touch. The food is covered with liquor such as rum or brandy then lit on fire. Play with fire and you can easily end up with a charred, sticky mess, so aspiring chefs have to be careful. Bananas Foster is one example of this flaming treat, but one of Gordon’s contestants on Hell’s Kitchen decide to push the envelope a bit and prepare a Mango variation on this Flambé for the chef’s consideration. Things were confusing from the start because the contestant questioned the results of his culinary efforts when he admitted to Ramsay that he had dropped his mango. That’s right; he dropped the mango on the floor while he was preparing the dish, but used it in the dish anyway. Chef Ramsay sized up the dish with the quip “it looks like Jimmy’s plate.” This was a reference to a contestant named Jimmy who was known to present dirty plates to Ramsay. Because the producers want to make good television it should not be surprising that the aforementioned Jimmy ended up winning the Flambé challenge. Gordon seemed a little confused by Jimmy’s mastery of the dish because it was Jimmy’s first attempt at making the dessert.
9. Absolutely Dog Beep
Cocky isn’t a very good stance to adopt when going up against Gordon Ramsay on his Hell’s Kitchen show. A contestant named Andrew tried to come in hot on Ramsay with what he called Andrew’s Absolute Penne. Penne pasta dishes are generally popular and not terribly difficult to make so perhaps he hadn’t put his bar too high. Unfortunately for Andrew, Gordon had to remind him that he gives the attitude, not the contestants. With one taste of the penne pasta dish Ramsay demonstrated he was confused about this contestant’s attitude, but not about his opinion of the dish. He called the penne “absolutely dog sh*t!” Obviously this was not the reaction Andrew was hoping for, but if he had watched just one episode of Hell’s Kitchen he would have known to be quiet and work hard to prepare the best food he possibly could. Flippant and cocky behavior is not appreciated unless it’s coming from Gordon himself because he’s the star. Andrew seemed to have gotten confused about how to handle himself, but Gordon reminded him pretty quickly to focus on his cooking. Even with the bad attitude, if Andrew had come through with a delicious meal, Gordon would have congratulated him. It’s amazing to see Gordon confused and angry one minute and the next minute he’s likely to be praising the contestant for a job well done.
8. Beet it!
The contestants on Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen are under a lot of stress as they struggle with performing tasks under his unforgiving stare. We know that stress can cause people to make mistakes they otherwise wouldn’t make, but Gordon expects his cooks to meet a high standard. During a stressful dinner service everyone scrambles to prepare the dishes that customers order, so Gordon was understandably confused when when one of his cooks decided to prepare a beet salad. No one had ordered a beet salad. Gordon responded with one of his characteristically sarcastic remarks asking the cook if he was hearing voices in his head. The frazzled young man had no answer for Chef Ramsay and did not admit to hearing any voices. Apparently he thought he heard someone tell him to make a beet salad, but it seems so random. Of all the things you could not hear someone order why would it be a beet salad? Who would order a beet salad on Hell’s Kitchen? Yes, beets are good for you and are sometimes touted as a “super food,” but c’mon – a beet salad? This is the really confusing part of the story. If you’re going to hear a phantom order why not make it a cheeseburger or delicious piece of cheesecake?
7. Do you Want Tuna With that?
Vegetarians sometimes eat animal based products like milk and eggs, but draw the line at meat, chicken and fish. Vegans, on the other hand, try not to eat anything that comes from an animal. Maybe the contestant on an episode of Hell’s Kitchen who asked Chef Ramsay if he should add tuna to a vegetarian salad can be excused in the interests of clarity. Some people who call themselves vegetarians would eat a salad with tuna in it. Technically, vegetarians who allow themselves to eat fish are called Pescatarians. Chef Gordon Ramsay was having none of it though, however, and and he was clearly confused and irritated by the contestant’s question. Vegetarians can get upset when they order a meatless dish and then are presented with meat or in this can even a little tuna fish. The customer is always right. So even if the meal might call for a bit of animal protein, if they don’t want it the cooks need to pay attention and give the customer what they want. This question about tuna was a relatively minor violation compared to what some other contestants have done, on Hell’s Kitchen, but anyone who has seen the show knows Gordon Ramsay’s tolerance for mistakes and confusion are pretty low.
6. What!? – The boiling Water
Boiling water is one of the most basic skills anyone who cooks has to master so you would think this would cause absolutely no confusion for Chef Ramsay. However, a contestant on season one of Hell’s Kitchen did just that when Ramsay asked why the spaghetti wasn’t ready. The young woman answered that she was waiting for a rolling boil before adding the pasta. Ramsay then asked her if she had added cold water to the pot. She admitted that she had indeed added cold water because she thought cold water boiled faster than hot water. The Chef’s confused reply was a succinct, but devastating “What?” He was clearly frustrated and confused by the contestant’s basic cooking skills or lack there of. Apparently there is a persistent myth about boiling water among some casual cooks and some people who should know better – like aspiring chefs! Some believe cold water boils faster than warm water, but this misconception was addressed by the publication Scientific American. As common sense would suggest, the publication explained that warm water boils faster than cold water because it is closer to the temperature you want it to be.. This would seem like enough to put the matter to rest, but it didn’t help the young cook avoid the embarrassment that comes with being called out by Ramsay on national television.
5. No Wonder You’re Confused
Most of us assume that if someone teaches a particular subject they must know a lot about it – you might even call them an expert. Chef Gordon Ramsay, for example is an expert when it comes to food and cooking. He became confused on an episode of Hell’s Kitchen when he learns one of his contestants is a cooking teacher. But this episode had more to offer because it featured not one, but two contestants who teach cooking to others. Ramsay panned both of their dishes and wondered out loud why people would pay them to teach them to cook since they obviously weren’t very good at it. When Gordon asked “Who’s cooked the diapers?” you knew someone was in for it. The contestant explained that she’d prepared smoked chicken enchiladas – not diapers. Gordon tasted the dish, but promptly spit the offending food into a trash can. The idea that these two ladies were charging money for their “expertise” was clearly confusing to Ramsay. He proceeded to dress down the two ladies for presuming to charge people for their “expertise” when, in his humble opinion, their skills left much to be desired. Later in the episode he explodes at one of these cooking teachers and exclaimed “No wonder you’re f*cking confused!” The unfortunate contestant had over filled several pots of boiling water with spaghetti and then wondered why it took so long to cook it. Boiling water and cooking spaghetti is about as basic as it gets in the kitchen so her confusion was confusing.
4. You’re a Plank
An executive chef named Chris was a contestant on Hell’s Kitchen who offered up a dish he described as Salmon, roasted on plank of cedar wood. This method of cooking Salmon on a cedar plank has a long history with Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest. Traditionally this dish was cooked over an open wood or coal fire, but modern chefs usually prepare this dish in their kitchen. As you probably guessed, Chef Gordon Ramsay was not impressed with this presentation, and he was left a little dazed and confused. Chris explained that the fish had been cooked medium rare, which was the way he’d eat it, but Gordon declared that the tuna was much closer to being raw than medium rare. Gordon, himself, was in rare form and called Chris a plank. He explained that “a plank means an idiot.” Ramsay was apparently confused about Chris’s decision to focus on the cedar plank presentation at the expense of paying attention to the actual condition of the Salmon. It seems like a simple presentation with a superbly cooked piece of fish would have been the way to impress a chef like Ramsay. Chris was confused by the intensity of Chef Ramsay’s reaction, but he should have known exactly how the chef would react. Is it possible Chris had never seen a single episode of Hell’s Kitchen?
3. Silence of the Tartare
Andrew, a farmer and contestant on Hell’s Kitchen has apparently confined himself to only eating the animals that he butchers himself. But Andrew also prefers raw food as he explained to a confused Gordon Ramsay when he presented a dish he was obviously very proud of. He chose to prepare steak tartare, which is a fancy way of saying he likes to eat raw meat. Raw ground beef is not for everyone, but raw steak served with a raw egg and an assortment of spices is certainly an accepted part of fine dining. The trouble with Andrew is that he seems to enjoy butchering animals and eating their raw meat a little too much. During one clip the unconventional cook explained that he wanted to win Hell’s Kitchen so he could buy a pair of walk-in coolers. Two of these coolers would make it easier for him to butcher his animals. Putting Andrew’s somewhat odd tastes aside for the moment, the really important thing is whether or not Gordon liked the dish. He took a nibble and dismissed it as bland. Perhaps he forgot to use an assortment of spices as most Steak Tartare recipes call for. It seems that Andrew would have to go back to the drawing board with his recipe and wait a bit longer for his walk-in coolers.
2. Nailed It
You would think the contestants who get on Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen would acquaint themselves with his particular management style. Gordon’s style might be summed up as annoyance fueled by impatience. He does not stand for foolish behavior and will pounce at the first sign of weakness. Regardless of these realities there are always cooks who come on the show and proceed to make a point to be arrogant as if they are inviting the chef’s derision. A good example of this phenomenon was a professional chef named Chad. When he declared “I nailed it” just before he presented his dish to Chef Ramsay, viewers well knew he was in for a rude awakening – so why didn’t he know he was about to get torched? The dish he was so proud of was a Black Garlic and Tuna recipe that seemed to hold promise. This sounds like a tasty dish, but one look at it and you realize something must have gone wrong because the fish has been soaked and slathered with dark goo. Chef Ramsay asked him “Why so heavily doused in Black Garlic?” Chad had no answer so Gordon and the viewers were left confused about whether this is what he intended for his tuna recipe or if his recipe simply got away from him in the midst of the turmoil. A lot of turmoil surrounds the contestants on Hell’s Kitchen, but they have to be mindful to not confuse Chef Ramsay or they are likely to feel his wrath.
1. Say it Ain’t So Joe
A contestant on Hell’s Kitchen named Joe seemed to be in over his head when he prepared a lobster dish for Chef Ramsay. Joe was supposed to be making a delicious lobster salad, but when he presented his dish to Ramsay it appeared to be incomplete. Chef Ramsay did not hide his confusion, in fact, he actually lifted up the nearly empty plate and asked “Where’s the lobster?” Joe was visibly upset and was reluctant to answer the question, but he was on the hot seat and was expected to answer the Chef immediately. His answer only increased Gordon’s confusion which was “I tasted a piece.” It looked like he tasted more than a piece because there was very little of anything on the plate. It’s understood that cooks taste their food to see if it’s the way they want it. Sampling is one thing, but eating most of the entree is something else entirely. Joe’s fellow contestants clearly took delight in his predicament and couldn’t really stifle a round of snickering at his expense. Ironically, what little lobster Gordon could find on the plate met with his approval. This was good news to be sure, but Chef Gordon’s confusion about the missing lobster seemed to far outweigh his positive reaction to the food he could find on the plate. Contestants should already know that this kind of peculiar behavior is going to get noticed and called out in a very public way. As Gordon reminded Joe – Hell’s Kitchen is a cooking contest not an eating contest.