Hell's Kitchen Binge

I have never really been into watch reality television, but boy have I fallen in love with Hell's Kitchen. Every episode I look forward to seeing who is going to make a drastically poor decision in the kitchen. There are many things about the show that I can't stand but so many things that I love so let's jump into the good and bad about the entirety of Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen.

PROS

Let's start with the basis of the show. The idea of letting amateur chefs compete for the chance to become a head chef/partner in a multimillion dollar restaurant makes for a fantastic and dramatic journey. The concept alone brings on so many different variables ranging from the physical/creative challenges, individual characters, and so much more.

One of the exciting bits of competitive shows like this is choosing a competitor to support. It reminds me of watching "Survivor" when I was younger (is that show still on?). Episode after episode hoping your favorite chef does well is part of the fun as a viewer. Food, ideas, and improvisation! As someone who loves to cook the show allows me to take ideas from some fantastic chefs. Ingredients that I've never used, combinations that I never knew would go together. If you're a home cook and you want to dab in the fancy stuff, just watch these chefs during their challenges you may learn something.

Personally I find the dinner services to be the highlight of the entire show. During the crazy three to four hour dinner service you see the contestants shed their glamor and either showcase how amazing they are, or get burned by their inability to.

A highlight of the show definitely has to be the narrator. Some of the jokes they write are absolutely, horribly funny and his stoike delivery is spot on.

CONS

OVER FREAKING PRODUCED!!!! I stay away from these shows simply for the fact that (I assume) they have to appease the network they are on. Doing super exaggerated activities, just to edit it in a way that is completely different than its actual content.

Part of what frustrates me about the show, are the post event interviews. Overly dramatic reactions to underwhelming events in the episode. It feels disingenuine to me so I tend to ignore when they cut to them.

Watching the early seasons is kind of rough to listen how the men talk about and treat the women. It baffles me that they talk the way they do about each other in such a distasteful way, but that's part of the real parts of the show that shine through.

Lastly, the absolute worst part of this show, and many others is the editing. The music, the hard cuts, punches, filters, I can go on and on and ON about how much I dislike the editing. They cut mid-sentence, to post event interviews, over exaggerate minimal action and it really bugs me. I understand its a formula that works for television, but I find it less interesting then if we got to see the full context of conversations and events. The recent thing we found out is the "unedited" version is far better than the broadcasted version. Why may you ask? Simply, they get to the point and show you the full context of everything. If you take anything away from this post, is watch the unedited version of Hell's Kitchen.

OVERALL

Hell's Kitchen is one of the few reality shows that has large stakes for the contestants, shows how tough it really is working for a world renowned chef and expresses how important communication is.

If you love food, love watching people grow by getting beaten down, then this show is for you. Also if you haven't watched even a single episode after its eighteen season run I'd be surprised. For me, I'll continue watching this insanely entertaining show.

8/10 Fucking Donuts