So why, exactly, do we have three food competition reality shows running at the same time? I'm guessing that part of it is the fact that reality shows have traditionally started as summer replacement series and so there is an aligning of the planets around that. Maybe the food gods just like seeing me fidget as I endure three hours of programming a week.

I was thinking about that when I came across two reviews comparing and contrasting the Big 3 (as Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef and The Next Food Network Star shall be collectively known from now on). One is a blog entry and the other is a newspaper article, but they both seem to hit on all of the usual points.

Namely, those points are the fact that HK caters to the sadistic crowd, TC is for "serious" foodies and TNFNS is the feel-good show focused on personality. Regular viewers of all will undoubtedly see nuanced differences between the shows and may protest, but I think that pretty much captures things in broad strokes. The shows know where their bread is buttered and keep that in mind. If good art challenges you, then popular entertainment gives you what you want (or at least what you think you want).

The one show that has really broken with its traditional format this season has been TNFNS. I understand the urge to get the contestants out of the kitchen and into some interesting situations. The challenges have been fairly successful in their own rights, although they did come off a bit like a group episode of Dinner: Impossible. The producers felt they had to shake it up a bit and that's understandable.

The problem is that the new format hasn't given us enough insight into the central question of the show, which is who would make the best Food Network personality. Unless they plan to skip the food preparation show in favor of a more lifestyle program (and there is no indication that I've seen that they will) when it comes to their six-episode commitment to the winner, we're going to need to know less about whether Rory can make a lasagna in an Army base's kitchen and more about whether or not she's a complete disaster reading from a prompter. I'm not the only one thinking this, as I've seen a bunch of bloggers and folks in the comments section saying things along the lines of, "I think X is interesting, but I have no idea what his/her show would be like."

And so, TNFNS is getting back to it's roots next week. They'll be doing a full on-camera demonstration. And is there any doubt that the presence of Alton Brown will make this the best episode of the season? Nobody on the network has a greater understanding of the camera, how it works and how the on-air talent works with it than Alton Brown. Plus, from the preview, it looks like he's in his scruffy, Grizzly Adams mode, and that's always a good sign.

I, for one, am looking forward to getting down to brass tacks with these guys, and figuring out whether it will be worth tuning in when the new show debuts.

Labels: Hell's Kitchen, The Next Food Network Star, Top Chef

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TVFF, The Hungover Gourmet & Tom Colicchio: Great (?) Minds Think Alike

Thursday, June 21, 2007 | posted by Mike

Well, maybe that's true for the second two, but I'll leave judgement on the first to you, dear reader.

A couple of days ago, I shared my thoughts on the whole "judging" thing when it comes to food television reality shows. Then we had a comment from Dan, a.k.a. The Hungover Gourmet, in yesterday's post saying:

Have you seen the second ep yet? The dismissal seemed like one of those decisions based more on who was more likely to be a better character than anything.

Of course, this illustrates the underlying question that we all have when it comes to these shows. Are these individuals being retained for their culinary skills or for their ability to draw viewers?

Time for the usual disclaimer. The Next Food Network Star is really about both, so let's leave them out of this. And Hell's Kitchen judging is based upon the side of the bed Gordo picks each morning. We're really talking about Top Chef, and now one of that show's judges has weighed in on the matter. Tom Colicchio leads off his latest blog entry with a discussion of the criteria given to the judges on the show. His post is in response to comments on his previous post asking exactly what goes into the decisions. It's clear that he takes his job as judge seriously.

And why not? In the case of each of these shows, the judges are people who are hired because of the legitimacy that they bring along with them. They have a responsibility to their own reputation to make sure they are part of an operation that is on the up and up. It can be a goofy process. It can be a process with which we don't agree. But it has to be a legitimate process.

It's good to see that they, too recognize this fact and care enough about the audience to say so. And it's great that they have a venue to talk about things like this. But, hey...the really important thing is that Tom Colicchio is listening to what all of you are saying in the comments. He cares what you think...even if Mario doesn't!

Labels: Hell's Kitchen, The Next Food Network Star, Top Chef

 

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Food Reality Shows: They'll Be the Judge of That

Friday, June 15, 2007 | posted by Mike

This was the first week that we've had the big three (The Next Food Network Star, Hell's Kitchen and Top Chef) food reality shows airing during the same week, so I think this is a good opportunity to do a little compare and contrast when it comes to one of the more intriguing aspects of these shows. That would be the method by which contestants are eliminated and what that process means to us as the home viewer with a rooting interest in one or more of the contestants.

What got me thinking of this was this past week's TNFNS, which eliminated Nikki despite the fact that Colombe was staggeringly terrible when she got her chance to perform in front of the judges. I would think that many who watched the show figured that Colombe would be on the chopping block, particularly considering the fact that she was close last week. Now, the cynical among you might say that Colombe is skating on her looks.

But the issue here is that we really aren't in a good position to be able to judge who should be eliminated, and this goes for all of the shows. We're not there 24/7 and we're not able to see what goes on in a way that allows us to form a full opinion. This is especially true because, as I mentioned in my gripe about Top Chef last week, it's very hard for us to be able to form a sound judgement about food. On American Idol, you can hear whether the person is a hack or not. We don't have that luxury with food. Licking your television screen will not get you any closer to the answer. (Although you will have a cleaner screen.)

We're at the mercy of the show's editor, who pulls together all of the footage, figures out what the important stuff is and then puts it together in a way that is designed to heighten the dramatic tension. Of course, dramatic tension = not knowing who's about to get booted. So there are probably going to be a few red herrings in there. Hell's Kitchen really has a habit of doing this, especially after they get done eliminating the no-brainers at the beginning. Of course, that's FOX, and I suppose I just assume blatant manipulation from them.

That's why the judges are so important on these programs. Yes, they have to be interesting characters in their own right. But the most important thing for them to be is trustworthy and clearly possessing the necessary expertise that allows them to act as the viewer's proxy. If we can't clearly see and believe in Tom Colicchio's palate, Gordon Ramsay's ability to run a kitchen or TVFF's Favorite FN Exec® Bob Tuschman's eye for on-air talent, we're never going to be able to fully buy in to the drama of the show. And if that's the case, why watch?

Got a thought on this? Always suspicious of that disclaimer that reads: "The judges' decision were made in collaboration with the show's producers?" Feel free to weigh in with a comment below.

Labels: Bob Tuschman, Hell's Kitchen, The Next Food Network Star, Top Chef

 

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Arreverderci, Eddie!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007 | posted by Mike

Our time together was much, much too brief.

Hell's Kitchen "86'd" our favorite character (we use the term "character" because none of these conetestants are real people) last night. Gordon Ramsay said it was because Eddie couldn't control his station. That may be true, but I think he got rid of him because he couldn't think of any more "tiny" jokes, having to recycle the "that fish is the size of Eddie" line three or four times.

I just guess that we'll have to turn our love to Aaron, the crying Asian cowboy. To Aaron's credit, I think he only broke down in tears once last night. He did, however, bail out on his crew in favor of a nap in the dorm. Not exactly what you would call a team player.

At the risk of looking too self-congratulatory, I would like to point out a post a while back in which I said, "...with a name like Vinnie, there is some meathead potential." And, sure enough, he's just like every other "Vinnie from Jersey" I know -- and there are a disproportionate number of Vinnies here in the Garden State.

At this rate, I'll have nobody to root for.

Labels: Hell's Kitchen

 

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"Hell's Kitchen" Spoiled?

Thursday, June 07, 2007 | posted by Mike

NOTE: This post is spoiler-free. Click on the link to the article at your own risk.

Might the cat be out of the bag just one episode in to the new season of Hell's Kitchen? Well, if you believe the folks at the online betting site bodog.com, it might just be.

The Internet is a wonderful place, where you can gamble on not just sporting events, but a wide range of other "competitions" of questionable integrity (and, yes, I am including the United States Presidential Elections in there). One of the things you can bet on is the outcome of reality television programs, and so some folks with some disposable income have been placing bets on the contestants on Hell's Kitchen. And then, a whoooooole bunch of bets were placed for one contestant in particular.

Sound fishy to you? Well, according to an article one E!'s website, it raised a red flag with the people at bodog.com and they suspended wagering on the show. This has happened a few times in the past, particularly with Survivor, although the accuracy of the voting has been so-so. If you want the full story and the name of the individual who has been getting all of the votes, you can check out the SPOILER-RIFIC article. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

Well, I read it. Had it been one of the other two competition shows, I probably wouldn't have. But, when it comes to the importance of avoiding spoilers, I think the list goes like this:

1. The Next Food Network Star
2. Top Chef
3. Hell's Kitchen

Why? Because, unlike Star, you're not really ever going to see these folks again. The Kitchen winner gets a place in Vegas that you'll never visit and even the Top Chef winner just kind of fades away, unless they're in the news for possibly cribbing another chef's recipe or being dragged back for a mildly obnoxious "all star battle," as they did last night. (More on this later.)

With Star, we've got (for better or worse) the winner for at least one short-season run of his or her new show. Yes, it might end up banished to 8:00 am on Saturdays (Hearty Boys), but they will be around for a little while, so you might as well let the drama unfold.

Labels: Hell's Kitchen

 

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Review: "Hell's Kitchen"

Tuesday, June 05, 2007 | posted by Mike

If you're looking for thoughtful, (hopefully) insightful commentary about food television, scroll down to the next post. This is a review for Hell's Kitchen.

The Next Food Network Star recruits its participants by asking them to submit an audition video. Hell's Kitchen recruits its participants by visiting an insane asylum. There is simply no other explanation as to how they manage to gather such a motley crew of masochists.

Chef Gordon Ramsay started off the season premiere with a wink. Promising to refrain from yelling and cursing, Gordon appears at a nicely set table. Of course, it all a charade and the show quickly moves to its bread and butter, a humiliating (for most) "signature dish" audition that obscenely and hilariously mirrors the significantly more restrained version seen on Star. That's about the last thing they really have in common.

Whatever criteria Kitchen has used in the past for choosing contestants was obviously tweaked a little bit, because they managed to really outdo themselves with this year's crop. Ramsay delights in getting to each of them, from the over-sized Asian Cowboy who inexplicably bursts into tears at least two or three times in the episode to Eddie, who has some sort of kidney disorder. I know I'm not supposed to laugh at Eddie. I know it makes me a bad person. But now that Ramsay told him he had a fantastic "little palate," I can't stop giggling whenever he shows up on screen.

From there, it shakes out the same way as it did in yeas past, with the group being divided into two kitchens and struggling to get dishes past Ramsay, who acts as the last line of quality control, watching out for uncooked chicken and overdone pasta. This year they split them into groups according to gender, although this hardly qualifies as groundbreaking in the world of reality television.

And that's pretty much it when it comes to Hell's Kitchen. It's a televised, culinary train wreck, albeit one that's a hoot to watch. Think of it as the devil on the one shoulder, opposite the more angelic Star.

Labels: Hell's Kitchen

 

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"Hell's Kitchen" Contestants Announced, TVFF Gets Hometown (Kinda) Rooting Interest

Tuesday, May 15, 2007 | posted by Mike

Who are we kidding? Nobody actually roots for a particular contestant on Hell's Kitchen. The only thing we root for is a psychotic break followed by a cleaver attack.

But, since I'm sure they'd just edit out any of the really good violence, I suppose we'll have to be content with the actual competition. And Reality TV World has the latest news on the upcoming season of the Gordon Ramsay starrer, presenting a full run-down of the twelve competitors who will face off with each other (and the feisty redhead) in the third iteration of the Fox reality/competition program.

The twelve contestants who will be competing on Hell's Kitchen 3 are:

- Aaron, a 48-year-old retirement home chef from Palos Verdes, CA
- Brad, a 25-year-old sous chef from Scottsdale, AZ
- Eddie, a 28-year-old grill cook from Atlanta, GA
- Josh, a 26-year-old junior sous chef from Miami Beach, FL
- Rock, a 30-year-old executive chef from Spotsylvania, VA
- Vinnie, a 29-year-old night club chef from Milltown, NJ
- Bonnie, a 26-year-old nanny/personal chef from Los Angeles, CA
- Jen, a 26-year-old pastry chef from Hazelton, PA
- Joanna, a 22-year-old chef's assistant from Detroit, MI
- Julia, a 28-year-old short-order cook from Atlanta, GA
- Melissa, a 29-year-old line cook from New York, NY
- Tiffany, a 27-year-old kitchen manager from Scottsdale, AZ

So, it looks like we have the requisite "old guy" (Aaron), but I'm not seeing the "non-food service professional" this year. It was always fun to watch Ramsay berate someone who has now clue how to operate in a professional kitchen, but it was also a nice bone to throw to all of us armchair cooks who secretly harbor dreams of making it happen some day. He/she will be sorely missed.

But I do have to go with Vinnie, the 29 year old "night club chef" from Milltown, NJ, which is just a hop, skip and jump from TVFF's branch office. I'm still not sure what a "night club chef" is (perhaps he's able to cook despite deafening techno music?), and with a name like Vinnie, there is some meat-head potential, so I do reserve the right to jump off the Vinnie bandwagon. But I do have to give a fellow Garden Stater the benefit of the doubt.

Just a reminder: The new season starts on June 4th.

Labels: Gordon Ramsay, Hell's Kitchen

 

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Hell’s Kitchen Post Mortem

Tuesday, August 15, 2006 | posted by Mike

Last night’s two-hour episode put a lid on this, the second season of Hell’s Kitchen. I’m assuming that you all saw it (or that you made a conscious decision not to see it), so I’m not feeling up to recapping the whole thing. If you want a full accounting of what happened, check out Foodite’s recap.

A couple of thoughts do come to mind, though:

• At the risk of incurring the wrath of Adam over at Men in Aprons, I have to admit that I’m now officially a Gordon Ramsay fan. I was on the fence for a while, but the last line of the show (which is also the title of Foodite’s recap) pretty much solidified the fact that Ramsay is in on the joke, and that he has a good sense of humor behind all of the bluster. Again, I know some of you feel differently. Feel free to rip me in the comments.
  
  
• They have already announced that there will be a third season. Judging by the way Fox likes to capitalize on its reality shows (see: American Idol), we can probably expect the next season to debut in about six weeks.
  
  
• Virginia is just plain dumb. Why would you choose people who you know don’t like you, then proceed to tell them that they were chosen because they were “weak?” Did you really think that you were going to get them to give full effort by promising them some money? Plus, Tom was a complete waste of space. Actually, he was worse than a waste of space because he managed to cut himself, thus creating a distraction and having to leave his station. Is it any wonder that Heather won because Chef Ramsay thought she had control over her kitchen?

All right. Time to get ready for the next season of Top Chef.

Labels: Hell's Kitchen

 

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