Did anyone else see the story this week about how Gordon Ramsay was diagnosed with an ulcer for having eaten so much bad food in Hell's Kitchen? I guess he's pretty upset with Fox for choosing such idiotic and incompetent contestants. And if you didn't think they were bad before, then I'm sure you do now after a serving of Fried Finger Special.
Back at the house, the teams talk about the impending culinary warrior swap. Corey immediately starts bullying Jen to volunteer to make the switch. She tells Jen that she would be a better asset to the Blue Team. Rosann interjects saying that if they're bad, they could bring Jen down. Corey says that only means that Jen is weak. Corey is such a jerk. I think they should have sent Rosann over there because she is dead weight. Why get rid of such a strong player? But Corey says that if Jen left, she'd have more control over the Red Team, and since she's a power hungry crazy person, this is her goal. Jen tells the women that she'll have to sleep on it and then tells us that Corey is a "manipulative ass bitch" who thinks she's stupid.
The next morning, the teams meet in the dining room, and RamJam immediately asks for a volunteer to join the Blue Team. There is silence and then Jen finally speaks up. Jen says that she doesn't want to play it safe and wants to check out the competition.
Christina tells us that she's glad Jen's gone because she's a roadblock. It's pretty obvious that Corey and Christina are threatened by Jen. But that's that and now it's time for today's challenge.
Everyone get ready for the 20 Item Challenge! Can you handle it? Each kitchen will have 20 ingredients in it, and each chef will have to prepare one dish. All 20 items must be used as a team but none of them can be repeated. They have 45 minutes to complete their dishes.
Both teams divide their ingredients, and one of the ingredients is a VERY large and VERY alive crab. Confused, it saunters off the plate it's sitting on. I really hope that it runs around like Sebastian in "The Little Mermaid" during that scene with the French chef where he scurries away from the butcher knife and hides under and behind various things. And then the chef finally catches Sebastian, but mistakenly thinks he's dead, so he throws flour in his face and stuffs him with breadcrumbs. That would be AWESOME. Tragically, nothing like that occurs.
The Red Team is moving along swimmingly until BAM! Matt chops off his finger while cutting the pancetta! I'm so excited that this happened immediately into the show, and we didn't have to wait for it because I've been looking forward to this all week! And, by the way, it's not really his whole finger, it's the very tip of his thumb. Corey mistakenly says that a half-inch is gone, but it's nothing that dramatic. Still, it's enough to really hurt, and Matt dances around like there's ants in his pants. Of course, he responds to the situation by massively cringing. He even does a fun new type of cringe that involves him worriedly biting his bottom lip. For a minute, I wonder if he'll bite that off too, and tiny pieces of his body will keep getting cut or bit off. Again, tragically, nothing like that occurs.
Matt gets whisked away to a closet where a First Aid peep checks it out. The Red Kitchen keeps things moving and works to finish Matt's dish. Then Chef Ramsay comes over with a rather astute question, "Where's the top of the finger?" Oh, THAT! You know, it's just chilling in the Cannibal Special! No biggie! Anyway, everyone looks around for the finger, and then Christina says to check in the pancetta, which is busy frying in a pan. So they are literally cooking up Matt's finger. Maybe that's his karma for being so damn annoying all the time. But we never do find out where the tip went. I request a sequel episode. I want to know where it is!
The Blue Team is a lot quieter as there is absolutely no communication per usual. Chef Scott points out that they need to start paying attention because ingredients are being repeated by different people.
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Comments (8)
Was it just me, or did it seem like Ramsey changed his mind about who he was getting rid of?
I know he's an annoying bastard, but putting Rosann back in line - then eliminating her - seemed overly cruel and not his style.
Don't get me wrong, he's a total ass in the kitchen, but in general he seems like a guy who just expects perfection.
I'm ready for Jen, Matt, and Corey to go - and I'm surprised at how much Petrozza is growing on me since the first few episodes!
1 of 8 | Posted by lonebutterfly | Posted on May 24, 2008 12:08 PM
So far the only chefs I'd have any faith in winning are Bobby and Petrozza. It amazes me that a guy who stuck a hen in a pumpkin the first week is my favorite to win!
Matt's performance last week was a total fluke. He was so motivated to show up the Blue team that he willed himself to have the service of his life.
2 of 8 | Posted by FreewayShark | Posted on May 24, 2008 1:02 PM
Oh, the humanity! It was quite nauseating to see Matt lose the tip of his finger. It seems like working with Ramsay is a safety hazard. What if one day Ramsay's barking causes someone to accidentally dump a scalding vatt of porridge on themselves, burning themselves beyond recognition, disfiguring themselves and ruining their lives. All for the love of reality television. Then the poor disfigured permanently scarred chef will have to go live on some reservation and be the cook at some retreat for freakish outcasts of society where they will all dance wildly screaming "GABA GABA ONE OF US! GABA GABA ONE OF US!" as they accept the new member to their unfortunate fraternity. Well, Chef Ramsay, I hope you will be able to live with yourself when that happens, I truly do. Oh, wait, that's right Chef Ramsay, I forgot. You don't care. Hmmph. Well, anyways there are some more very fine articles on reality tv and reality in general at jviz.blogspot.com
3 of 8 | Posted by jimmyfungus | Posted on May 24, 2008 1:02 PM
The idea the working with Ramsay is a safety hazard is kind of bizarre, jimmyfungus. Have you ever watched any of his other shows? On BBC's kitchen nightmares, he spends his entire time getting really bad incompetent chefs to perform to their best. I think the problem is that FOX gives him completely awful chefs who have no real experience working in a the kitchen of a gourmet restaurant. Most of them cannot handle the pressure.
Anyway, I'd agree that Petrozza and Bobby seem the best suited for a win right now. That said, and as much as she has an awful personality, Corey rarely fucks up in the kitchen. And since the show is usually won by the person who fucks up the least, she's got to be considered a contenteder.
4 of 8 | Posted by Anonymous | Posted on May 24, 2008 4:53 PM
I, too, only eat fish for the tartar sauce. I don't know how I lived for almost 36 years without tasting Hollendaise sauce, but I will now spend the rest of my life making up for it.
Rosann being 33 totally shocked me- I would've put her closer to 40.
5 of 8 | Posted by laska | Posted on May 24, 2008 5:41 PM
I could have rooted for Jen if she didn't have such a big mouth. But I will say, she was much more reserved handling Corey than what I could ever be.
Bitch would have been socked in her mouth right about now.
6 of 8 | Posted by you you you | Posted on May 25, 2008 10:33 AM
I was shocked that Rosann was eliminated too, but only for the simple fact that RamJam put her back in line before he shoved her out the door. I totally didn't see that one coming.
I still can't get over the absolute lack of talent the show has this season. FOX didn't even go for appealing characters, since hardly anyone has yet to impress me in any way. My favorite to win right now is Petrozza, which sure enough means he will be eliminated in the next couple weeks.
7 of 8 | Posted by jaded | Posted on May 26, 2008 6:08 PM
Ugh. I agree with the general consensus here that all this seasons contestants stink.
Petrozza is alright I guess, but as jaded said, that probably just means he's the next to go.
Excellent recap though!
8 of 8 | Posted by Nemesiis | Posted on May 29, 2008 9:30 AM