Kitchen Nightmares is infinitely more entertaining than Hell's Kitchen

[The Fake Shemp]

Hell's Kitchen is Survivor with cooks, but Kitchen Nightmares is legitimately cool.  I hope they didn't cancel this show.

[pilonv1]

Are you watching the UK or US version? The UK version is so much better.

I like Hells Kitchen because they get distinguished mentally-challenged chefs on there who cant cook and he yells at them.

[MrAngryFace]

He'd probably shoot me if I got on the show.

[The Fake Shemp]

I don't understand why the producers and Ramsay bring on the quality of chefs they do for Hell's Kitchen when the winner takes over one of his restaurants.  There must be some kind of clause or it's a very limited position or something.  I tell you one thing, he puts them through a rigorous, boot camp-like training that is unrivaled by any other cooking reality show.  It's funny watching some of the chefs in Top Chef complain about making meals in 15 minutes like eight episodes in, when Hell's Kitchen makes its contestants cook like within 25 minutes right when they get off the bus.  If Ramsay got chefs as talented as the ones on Top Chef for his own show, I'd imagine the winner would be battle tested and talented.

Kitchen Nightmares is entertaining because you get to see him work in real kitchens.  It's funny how "common sense" some of his changes are, but folks are full of too much pride and/or ego to institute them unless yelled at by a world class chef.

[Fresh Prince]

I think the original Hell's Kitchen was supposed to give the 'average person' the opportunity to work in one of his kitchens, but after the first season they must of dropped the idea and stuck to inept cooks. Also I think the contract is for a year so they can kick them out.

[duckman2000]

In the UK version, it genuinely feels like he's trying to help the restaurant. The US version felt like an improv Hells' Kitchen, designed to ridicule.

I don't understand why the producers and Ramsay bring on the quality of chefs they do for Hell's Kitchen when the winner takes over one of his restaurants.  There must be some kind of clause or it's a very limited position or something.

I'm honestly wondering if some of these people aren't legally distinguished mentally-challenged. Not in a "ha ha dumb dudes in the kitchen" sort of "distinguished mentally-challenged", but suffering from actual mental distinguished mentally-challenged. It feels almost like a freakshow at times, and it makes me uneasy to watch entertainment that seemingly takes advantage of if not the mental readiness then at least the exposure need of these "contestants". I record it these days,  so that I can watch that, and then watch Top Chef right afterwards to make me feel better about everything.

[pilonv1]

Yeah I'm not a fan of the US one. I love the UK one, because you can see he's putting everything behind them trying to not only improve the restaurant, but also get the chefs to improve themselves.

It's always funny, I cant remember one where he's gone back and they've kept doing what he suggested though.

[The Fake Shemp]

I like both the UK and the US Kitchen Nightmares.  I don't get the complaint that he isn't behind the US restaurants, when he brings in design teams, new equipment, helps the chefs one-on-one, etc.  It's more confrontational than its UK counterpart, but that's Amiruka for y'ah!

[duckman2000]

I like both the UK and the US Kitchen Nightmares.  I don't get the complaint that he isn't behind the US restaurants, when he brings in design teams, new equipment, helps the chefs one-on-one, etc.  It's more confrontational than its UK counterpart, but that's Amiruka for y'ah!

That's the thing. He isn't helping the restaurants to get on their feet by their own engines, as in the UK version. It's basically half a show of ridiculing and pissing on the restaurant and its staff (complete with the Fox brand lame ass voice over bullshit and "dramatic" overcooked score), followed by Extreme Kitchen Makeover, to turn the ratshit castle into prime restaurant property. It's your typical American dumbtardification, and I don't understand why they have to drag every god damned import through this process. America has a rich restaurant culture, it deserves better than this.

[The Fake Shemp]

I disagree. 

First, he rarely makes over an entire restaurant or kitchen (I've only seen one episode where he actually replaced an entire kitchen).  His staff usually makes a few cosmetic changes - like new linen and dishes or new chairs or a new sign or something.  Or he buys them a piece of equipment that is vital to the part you gloss over, which is where he creates a new menu or something to make the restaurant stand out.  The research he does in finding new markets for the restaurants is half the fun and seeing how folks react.  Seeing him work with the cooks too is pretty neat.

It has FOX melodramatic production values, but it's not all bad.

[duckman2000]

Well, to be fair, I've only watched one and half episodes of the show, maybe I caught one of the more extravagant ones. I do know though that the FOX "reality" format makes it very difficult to stomach. If there is a sense of reality to the actual content, the dramatic music and that god damned narrator quickly sweeps all of that away.

[pilonv1]

I agree with duckman, I like the fact they have to do better just with what they have.

[DJ_Tet]

Heh, if you look her up online, the chick who won the second season who was supposed to run that restaurant in Vegas, you'll see she was quickly demoted to some sort of pastry chef 


Also, from the second season, the blonde older dikey chick died.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

The only cooking show I can (and do) watch is Top Chef.  The people on that show are legitimately talented unlike the scrubs that come directly from your local Applebee's to the set of Hell's Kitchen.  But I gotta admit to watching HK when they had that weepy distinguished mentally-challenged guy on there....that was funny.

[DJ_Tet]

One guy on that season 2 that I watched was actually a struggling actor (surprise.)

He was the most entertaining, though, but it always bugged me that the guy who sung the Dukes of Hazzard theme song in a cell phone commercial was on Hells Kitchen pretending to be a chef.  His cell phone commercial mysteriously stopped airing once he was on that show too.

[duckman2000]

The only cooking show I can (and do) watch is Top Chef.  The people on that show are legitimately talented unlike the scrubs that come directly from your local Applebee's to the set of Hell's Kitchen.  But I gotta admit to watching HK when they had that weepy distinguished mentally-challenged guy on there....that was funny.

Yeah, Top Chef is fucking ace. Although I've taken issue with the show a few times this season. The way the eliminations work, it doesn't always seem right. If one chef has been excelling throughout almost the whole show, it doesn't make sense that he or she would be eliminated for one screw-up. And in general, I really don't think the "safe from elimination" works well with a show like this.

And then there was the block party there, and I never understood why they didn't allow the people who attended the party to rate the food, as opposed to being rated by a gang of culinary snobs who probably don't attend a whole lot of block parties themselves.

Other than that, it's definitely the cooking show to watch if you want to watch a competition between real talented chefs. I've always wondered how they feel about shows like Hell's Kitchen, with its prestigious awards for mediocre chefs.

[Junpei the Tracer!]

Hell's Kitchen is Survivor with cooks, but Kitchen Nightmares is legitimately cool.  I hope they didn't cancel this show.

He was on Conan the other day,he said was filming Season 2.