For the season premiere of Hell’s Kitchen, my wife and I had my family over again. It was so much fun to watch the show with them for the season finale that we wanted to enjoy their company again. Once again, Lucie stole the show! She’s all over the place now; we had to divide our attention between her and the show. We were all excited to see what was in store this year. And boy, were we ever surprised!
Chef Ramsay sure knows how to pick ‘em. Right away we formed some opinions on some of these chefs and had them altered minutes later. For the first cook-off, Chef Ramsay asked the competing chefs to create their signature dishes. From what I saw during that challenge, Boris seemed like he was a step above some of the other chefs. Later on, I realized that my first impression of him was not accurate at all. As always, there were a few unique chefs, Raj, Vinny and Sabrina jump to mind.
This year’s initial challenge was a little different than previous years; one chef’s signature dish was so bad that Chef Ramsay had it passed around among the other chefs. How embarrassing it must have been for Antonia. Unfortunately, before the competition got started Antonia had a medical issue that forced her out of Hell’s Kitchen. Yeah her signature dish was terrible, but it’s always disappointing to see someone leave before they really get a chance to show what they can do.
The men won the first challenge and got to enjoy some time at a Cellar 360 where Raj drank a little too much wine. He went on to tell us, “I only try to drink once a week, 
but I drink pretty heavily that once a week” He’s a real treat to watch and I hope he sticks around for quite awhile. At one point he was so pumped up (or drunk) that he went into a whole routine where he demonstrated his “ninja skills”.
Sabrina on the other hand is quite the handful. She was yawning during the signature dish challenge, prompting Chef Ramsay to pull up a chair for her. It looks like she’s more of a hindrance during prep and dinner service. I think she’s gonna be the outcast on the women’s team.
Let’s get back to Boris. After dinner service, he went so far as to tell Raj that he is a waste of life. Is he serious? How could he say that? That really changed my view of him; I lost a lot of respect for him. I think Vinny is the one everyone should be mad at. He didn’t have any faith in Raj and suggested to guests that they skip the sides. When Ramsay heard that, he was furious! That should have been the focus of the Blue Team’s anger.
When the show was over, Chef Ramsay had sent both Lisa and Curtis home. I think those chefs may not have been the best ones to send home, but they weren’t overly impressive either. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Hell’s Kitchen: A New Season Begins, and First Impressions Aren’t What They Seem
Survivor – The Premiere
Well here we are, another season of Survivor has begun. and already we can see that there are quite a few unique individuals competing. As soon as the tribes arrived on the beach they were given their first challenge, to find the Medallion of Power. It’s an added new twist designed to shake things up. Brenda found the Medallion pretty quickly and ultimately chose to give it away in order to get some fishing gear and the ability to make fire. The tribes were also surprised to find out they would be divided by age; they had no idea that that was the determining factor. One woman looked a little upset that she would have to admit that she’s over 40.
When the tribes arrive at camp, we really get to see what these people are like. Of course, everyone is a little taken aback that Jimmy Johnson is there. I thought it was funny that one of the guys jokingly acted like he didn’t know who he was, “Jimmy….?” he asked. On the La Flor team we got to see Jud in action. Right away, the other guys picked up on the fact that he’s not entirely with it. He’s a bit goofy and kinda fits the “dumb jock” stereotype. The tribe has nicknamed him Fabio, for obvious reasons. Kelly B. came clean with her team about her prosthetic leg; the team was very supportive about it and upbeat. Unfortunately, that leg is like a target on her, the rest of the tribe know that if she was there at the end, she would get the sympathy vote. Jimmy Johnson sat his team down and let them know that he would help them as much as he could and that he doesn’t expect to win the million dollars – he thinks that no one would vote to give him a million dollars. That team huddle was classic Jimmy Johnson – he really motivated his team. I think it will be cool to see more of that.
At the challenge, the Espada team was given the opportunity to use the Medallion of Power to get a head start before the challenge began, but chose to make a statement and chose not to use it. That strategy may have made all the difference – Team La Flor won it by a slim margin. The time leading up to Tribal Council was quite revelaing, the top 2 names up for elimination were Wendy and Jimmy J. I was surprised to see how tentative some of the tribe was when it came to choosing someone to vote off. 
The decision was made a lot easier when Wendy opened her mouth and tried to convince the team that she was valuable. She only made herself look bad – I don’t really care that she doesn’t have blisters on her feet. Who does? REALLY? Tyrone was priceless as she was going on and on about herself, check out that face!. He said it best after he wrothe her name down, “Wendy Jo, you gotta go!”
Survivor – Youth vs. Maturity
I couldn’t believe my eyes. I just saw a commercial for the upcoming Survivor season and saw that Jimmy Johnson was going to be a contestant. That’s crazy – I gotta watch now! The concept this year is youth vs. maturity, the tribes are split based on the contestants ages, the dividing line being 30 years of age. It will be quite a 
change from past Survivor seasons which is nice to see. As I mentioned prior to the beginning of Heroes vs. Villains, the formula was getting a little stale. But, I watched last season and really enjoying it. The twist on the game this season adds a new dimension which will make the show more fun to watch. Survivor Nicaragua begins on Wednesday, Sept 15th at 8:00pm (7:00pm central). For more info on the cast click here or visit the Survivor homepage.
Hell’s Kitchen – Back Again !
It’s hard to believe, but another season of Hell’s Kitchen is upon us. My best friend called me recently to say that he had just seen a commercial for the upcoming show. When I finally saw it myself I was pumped! I know we just finished watching last season, but you can never have enough Gordon Ramsay in your life (unless you watched Master Chef!) From what I saw in the preview and online, it looks like it will be another season full of interesting characters and a few good laughs. Click here for more Hell’s Kitchen info and to see the preview video to get a little taste of what I’m talking about. The new season begins Wednesday, September 22nd at 8:00pm (7:00pm central). See you then…DONKEY !!