I had never watched the show before this season, but Andrea is local (and I'm not that far from AC), so I've been following the show.

I'm with you--obviously--about last week's eliminated contestant. She was NOT executive chef material at all. How could someone who ALWAYS blames others possibly be the kind of leader needed to run an upscale restaurant. I actually saw a news report that hinted at the winner--but they didn't say for sure, so I won't reveal what I suspect.

Has been a very interesting, dramatic show this season--is it always that way? I'm involved in a different type of food contesting, and in the 20 years I've been competing, I've NEVER seen anyone ever try to sabotage a rival. That really goes beyond the pale, IMO.

I quit several weeks ago!

Sorry Mike, I can't watch someone be so ugly, loud and hateful as Ramsey...he's the one who's a waste of good air time.

I'll never understand why any aspiring chef would consider being on that show; there's got to be a better/easier way to succeed.

DH and I love Hell's Kitchen. What a character! For us, it's a fun way to spend an hour after work.

I'm not a big fan of drama and those awful, dark Law & Order shows right before I have to go to sleep.

Bring me a show where there's chopping, slipping, and yelling! LOL!!

Love Hell's Kitchen and Top Chef both. Although they have different objectives - Top Chef is more about cooking and creating, and Hell's Kitchen is more about managing.

I've been watching HK for 4 years. Yes, Ramsay is loud and sometimes dramatic, but he's good entertainment and he is absolutely on point about service, management, customers, food prep etc. He has high standards and doesn't suffer fools lightly. Oh dear.

As for Lacey, how the heck did she get on the show in the first place??

Yes, good season because none of them seem like they could run a kitchen. I'll be in New York 4/19 & 20th to for a taping of The View (got tickets) so I'm stopping by Hell's Kitchen which isn't too far away. Not sure if I can get in.

Hell's Kitchen is filmed in California, isn't it?

They're always going to California locations, not New York locations...

I didn't watch the first season, but I became TOTALLY hooked with the second season.

Yes, Lacey was probably the worst of the worst this year, and could have been the worst contestant ever. Seth was also a huge load of useless.

Carol was right in one way about Andrea - her mouth never shuts up. But, Carol couldn't perform, Andrea can.

I was actually kind of shocked to see L.A. go. I thought she would go farther.

My bets for who has the best chance to take the prize right now?

Robert and Giovanni.

I really don't think any of the women are strong enough to do it this year.

I about fainted when Lacey said "I can't cook meat, Chef" How in the world did she manage to get on there at all?

I think that Danny is a sleeper, and I like Giovanni and Paula. I think Ben and Robert both are loud mouths.

yes I watch it,and enjoy it thoroughly...I missed it last week due to the ER finale tho :(

There's a Hell's Kitchen in New York, so I thought that was the place. It's not...oh well, more time to do something else.

I should have realized they tape in LA because I WATCH THE SHOW. Dummy me!!

Deb, Hell's Kitchen in NY is a neighborhood, not a restaurant.

Yep....I found that out. Thanks lynn d.

I enjoy the show. I think I started watching the first year. Didn't see every episode but at least this year I was able to catch up. Virtually every year there's someone who gets kicked out early on who has IMO the most potential and talent and should have gone on. One thing that Ramsay changed though is he'll overrule the choices when he thinks there's an injustice or something. The first year he didn't and the tatooed guy that won it bumped out his biggest competitor and who was a far better chef. Ramsay was surprised but he went by the rules. Curious though, I've noticed this year that he's being a little more particular on certain things, at least it seems to me. Perhaps because it's for HIS restaurant?

If I were to pick the top two now, I'd turn away Giovanni since I think he overrates himself. He's trying to stay in the background and do an endaround to get in there. To me the two best are Robert and Danny. Were it me picking, I think Danny is the best of that bunch. No way will Ramsay give it to Robert. If he's the finalist, he will be turned down, simply because of his weight. Ramsey is a gym rat and anyone with poundage won't go far with him. My guess? Danny & Gio will likely be the only 2 males left within two weeks, if it takes that long.

But like I said, the best doesn't usually wind up the winner in Hell's Kitchen so it'll be interesting to see.

I do enjoy when Ramsay pulls no punches with the pompous customers that come to the window. Some just never learn! Every year there's one it seems who thinks they're going to pull the old customer is ALWAYS right thing and he puts them in their place! And when that woman whistled at him... it was priceless. I would likely have alluded to looking in a mirror but he took care of her. I don't know how much is staged with planted people or what, but I think it is an entertaining show.

I can't remember the name of the show, oh wait, it was Cooking Under Fire with Ming Tsai and Todd English that I also enjoyed. They'd give the "86 pan" to the contestant they were kicking out. I think I saw Top Chef once but don't have cable so won't see it much either.

As I said above, this is my first year watching this show.

One thing I don't get about the contestants is that they don't seem to 'get it'. Okay, maybe I'm not getting something. But the position to be filled is that of executive chef--that's basically a manager. it's the person who has to not only design the restaurant's menu and handle the food issues, but they also have to meld the personalities working there into a cohesive group that can get things done efficiently, economically, and deliciously. They need to be a team leader first and formost. Don't these contestants realize that the person who SHOULD get the job is the one who can mold their team into a unit? They all seem so cutthroat, so 'me first', so egotistical, so willing to sabotage someone else on their team.

As I say, as a first season watcher, I must be missing something, but it seems to me that most of the competitors are acting as if they're entered in a bake-off, where they have no responsibility to anyone else. I've seen more cooperation between contestants at the Pillsbury Million$$$ Bake-Off, where they each ARE cooking solely for themselves, than I do among the teammates on HK. Seems to me, the contest is (or should be) for the best leader who happens to also be a good cook, rather than just for a good menu designer or the best line cook.

Anyone who's been watching the show for years have any enlightening comments for me?

Azzalea, I've been watching it every year since season 2 and it's always like this. I guess it's only natural that the "I'm gonna win this" mentality supercedes the "lets blend into a team."

Usually as the contestant field narrows they start coming together, because they have to. There's fewer members on each team to do the same work and they have to start clicking to win.

Eventually they merge into one team and that's when you really start to see who stands out.

I'm betting on either Danny or Paula to win. Mostly because they've been under the radar, and sometimes I think it's edited that way to add more surprise.

I've been watching since season one and love the show. My vote is going to Danny, I think he has what it takes to run a kitchen. He rarely gets flustered and being an executive chef is all about being a team player. Robert is also a good team player, but he needs to build confidence.

Giovanni lost if for me when he didn't know what polenta was. He's an executive chef, plus an Italian, how do you not know???

All I can say about the girls team is, thank goodness Lacy is gone.

I was sad to see Colleen leave. She's gorgeous and has the spunk to tell Ramsay that she teaches manners too!

azzalea, you perception isn't really off. I think a part of this is like all the "reality" shows where they pick people to cause trouble and conflict, ala Wife Swap. The key to winning Hell's Kitchen is to "get by", stay under the radar and whatever cliche I can come up with. If you ever saw Monty Python where they did the thing about camouflage it illustrates. They had someone camouflaged in a field. Then said don't know where he is? Stand up. They'd stand up. BANG! He'd fall down! How about the others? #2, stand up? He'd stand up. BANG! Fall down. How about #3? Stand up. #3, stand up. #3? As you can see, #3 has learned the secret of camouflage is not to show yourself. I think that's the secret. Giovanni was doing this quite successfully but his shortcomings caught up with him.

I agree the head chef position includes many things including leadership, coaching, teaching, mentoring, intimidating and more. You need to be a leader, but a true leader has to be able to take direction too. Your goal in this show is more to be the lead assistant since Ramsay is the ultimate leader and if you fight him, you're through. And in fairness, if you have a bunch of leaders together, trying to lead the leaders isn't easy. Hence, you go about it in other ways.

But this is a competiton for the position, not on who's the best chef/cook. Similar to American Idol in that American Idol is NOT a singing competition. It's a popularity contest. Sanjaya put a real fear into Simon Cowell, so much so he said he wouldn't return to AI if Sanjaya won. Reubon Studdard won because he had sympathy votes, Clay Aitkin is far more successful.

There's one other thing that a few on there have realized, but several don't. You MUST be able to admit you're wrong, that you did the inexcusible or whatever. If you don't over-defend yourself, you go much farther with Ramsay. (As someone would with me.) When he interviews people on why they should stay, if they make excuses and the other says they goofed up and are learning more and more, the latter will be the one to stay, even if the former is far more talented.

Oh, and after watching it for several seasons, it's not the person who SHOULD get the job that always gets it IMO. And with the editing, it's difficult to know the whole story.

There's also a Hell's Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis, MN.

And I forgot, there's also a Hell's Kitchen in Duluth, MN too. I believe they're under the same ownership from the indications on the webpage.

do you know what i think is crazy? they all seem to smoke...now how do you tell exactly what something taste like when you have that taste in your mouth?

The restaurant in the show is not a real restaurant. It is a soundstage set up to look like an actual restaurant and all the diners are paid extras. Some of them don't even get to eat the food prepared by the chefs and are just there for the camera.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hell's Kitchen info

Pop! There goes my balloon, LOL.

Mine too Donna. My Mom lives right around the corner from there and DS and I were going to go see it the next time we were in town.

Did you really think they would be serving paying guests at a real restaurant? Hell's Kitchen isn't a restaurant, it's a competition reality show.

It's no different than getting tickets to Dr. Phil. Frankly, I'm surprised that they get paid for rating the contestants.

This is like taking your chances by going to a school of dentistry or hair cutting. You know going in that you're not getting a polished, professional, experienced service.

Well, no, I didn't think they paid to eat there, but I did have this idea that during the competition, the restaurant was used and that they were sort of like an audience at Dr. Phil's show. Don't know much about Dr. Phil's show, either. I kind of assumed there was no charge for a ticket, but kind of hard to get. I am so naive.

I'm sorry Donna, I didn't mean to imply you were naive.

But they separate the two kitchens and the dining area and during the finals it's cordoned off in half so each finalist can design their own decor.

It just never ocurred to me to think this was anything but a set. The live audience just sits at tables instead of in bleachers.

I didn't mean to offend.

Oh, I wasn't offended at all. I've been watching the show for the last 3 seasons and I know that they change the decor. I guess I was just so focused on the competition it honestly never occurred to me that it was just a set.

I too noticed the number of smokers on the show. Seems disproportionately high to me. Plus given how so many shows can't even show smoking I have to wonder about the incentives, if any, that are there. Just seems strange. And they're never standing outside smoking, huddled in a circle by the back door...

Seems to me one of them, ("LA" maybe?) actually made a comment on one of the shows this year to the effect that I smoke so that might affect it, but it tasted OK to me.