Hell’s Kitchen: Day 14
“My goal tonight is to make Chef Ramsay second guess the fact that he got rid of me.” - Jen
Oh Jen, just when we had started to forget you, you come back with the nasty attitude and the chip on your shoulder. Like Mary Tyler Moore, you can turn the world on with your smile.
This is part one of the finale, where final contestants Petrozza and Christina design their restaurants and have to complete a service with some of the eliminated contestants. The returning players are Jen, Louross, Bobby, Corey, Matt, and Ben. Not sure why these contestants are the ones who return, other than they’re the most controversial. They’re not all the most recent rejects, because Roseann would be in the mix if that was the case and not Ben.
I have mixed feelings about these contestants coming back, which I’ll explain after the jump.
I really like it when Hell’s Kitchen gets down to the nitty gritty of two contestants. Finally, the backstabbing and soap opera stuff is gone and we can focus on the two last chefs and their plans for their own restaurants, and there’s just a sense that there’s more breathing room without all of the other players getting in the way. Aside from some comments by Christina about Petrozza having to push his fireplace wall into her space a little bit and her hatred of the stripes that the designer put on her walls (even though she said she liked the stripes and picked them herself), this episode didn’t have any of the nastiness of the other episodes. But that will change next week when the service begins and we have to deal with Jen’s attitude, conflicting personalities, and whatever Matt might do. I kinda wish they didn’t bring back any of the other contestants and just have the final two go up against each other, somehow, some way.
Still not sure why Whoopi Goldberg showed up for 12 seconds and then vanished forever (she didn’t even have a hand in who won the challenge). Unless she comes back for the finale next week, it was like trying to find Alfred Hitchcock’s cameo in one of his movies. I also don’t get Petrozza’s near-orgasmic “Oh my Gahd…Oh my Gahd…Oh my Gahd…” when Whoopi appeared.
Petrozza wins the challenge, by the way, chosen by the five executive chefs from his other restaurants. It comes down to the final chef (of course it does), but in the end Petrozza’s filet mignon with onions and risotto is chosen over Christina’s New York strip steak with succotash and potatoes.
So the finale next week will have the players helping Petrozza and Christina win, but before that, a few observations.
- I think Ramsay’s “I’m wondering if I have the right finalists” trick is manipulative. Not just to Petrozza and Christina but to the audience as well. They pushed it in the coming attractions last week, and for a split second I agreed with Christina when she said she thought they were going to bring back another contestant to compete again.
- The 10 minute season recap at the start is so rapid-fire that I doubt anyone who missed an episode or two would know what the heck happened. And it just proves that the BS stuff like the hot tub and shopping trips are a really boring part of the show. Though it was fantastic to relive Petrozza’s “Hen in a Pumpkin” signature dish from the first episode. Good to see his signature dish changed so drastically in this ep.
- What’s up with the big spectacle in Times Square? You could see hundreds of New Yorkers watching Ramsay, Petrozza, and Christina film the scene in the middle of Times Square, then a giant congrats to the two contestants was flashed on the big screen (though it’s hard to say if that was superimposed later). How did this bit of information about who these contestants were - at least maybe some pics - get out weeks ago? Or did it and I just haven’t heard about it?
- All of the flowers that Petrozza wants in his restaurant? That really worries me.
The Mole: Episode 5
Nicole said something interesting tonight, right at the top of the show. “Why is that everyone I pick as the Mole gets executed and I don’t?” That’s a good question, because you would think that if Nicole is truly concentrating on one person every time she takes the quiz that she would have been eliminated by now. Maybe she’s The Mole! Of course, we can make that case for every single one of the remaining contestants at one point or another. Well, except for the one that was executed tonight, the player that a lot of viewers picked because this person was rather quiet and flew under the radar. Just goes to show you that you really can’t predict who’s going to get kicked off the show.
Something hit me tonight as I watched Paul do a nutty again on Clay and Mark over-react (overact?) about a challenge: one of these people is putting on a show. So maybe Paul’s intense jerk act is just that, an act, and he’s a helluva guy. Maybe Mark’s immature drama is an act and he’s really a cool person. Maybe Nicole’s arrogance and scheming is just an act and she’s really your average, nice girl. But think of this: only one person left on the show can be the Mole, so the other personalities we’re seeing are the real thing. Yikes.
In the two challenges tonight, I think a lot of the players were completely illogical. In the first, everyone is ticked at Mark because they think he took the exemption instead of the key. But why would they be so pissed at him? I mean, he was the last person left at the prison, so why wouldn’t he take the exemption? Hell, even Paul was tempted and he left a lot earlier (as it turns out, Mark didn’t take the exemption, though if he’s the Mole it’s a smart move). In the second, everyone is mad that Craig took the exemption after he got one by sheer luck, saying the word “exemption” first (of course, maybe it wasn’t luck, maybe he said it on purpose because he’s the Mole - then again, maybe the show made up the whole “first one to say exemption” thing, it really could have been any word they thought of after the fact). What, they wouldn’t have taken the exemption if given the chance?
And I’m so tired of these complaints about challenges (the “Travelers” challenge - too bad Traveler isn’t on anymore, we could have had a crossover episode). Everyone thinks it’s not worth it to be “humiliated” by wearing a llama costume or wearing stilts or riding a unicycle? Why the hell did the even sign up for this game? Mark really pushed this. You know what? I actually believe Craig when he says that even though he took the exemption he picked those things because he thought it would be fun. I think Craig is the guy I’d like to hang out with in real life, Mole or not.
I’m not sure what we’re supposed to think about another tie in the quiz. Only one second separates two players? The one executed tonight is Kristin, who seemed nice and was quiet (hey, turns out she probably really is!). All of the most controversial players - Mark, Paul, Nicole - are still around, along with the still-sick Craig (?), religious lawyer Clay (and no, Paul, those things aren’t contradictory), and musician Alex, who was the only one who really seemed to want to dress in a funny outfit tonight.
Next week: highlights from the season so far, but a new episode too.
Some observations/questions:
- Is there some significance with that damn lemon pet that Paul carries around? It will be fun to see the clues that the show laid out for us when the show is over.
- Some of the questions on the quiz are so specific that if you’re not the Mole and you concentrate on one person and they aren’t the Mole, you’re screwed. For example, a question tonight asked if the Mole used a sleeping bag in the prison challenge. Only one person had a sleeping bag and that was Clay.
- During his argument, Paul said “My whole life is a hypocrite.” Wow.
- The Mole is keeping a journal at over abc.com. I haven’t checked it for clues yet.
Tila Tequila Hosts Masquerade Ball
Tila Tequila Hosts Masquerade Ball
Fans of the MTV reality show “A Shot at Love” had their chance to hang with Tila Tequila for New Year’s Eve at her Masquerade Ball last night.
Filmed live at MTV’s Times Square studio, the gig featured some fun personalities, including Damien Fahey and Lyndsey Rodrigues, as well as appearances from cast members of Tequila’s show.
And for all you music buffs out there, the Masquerade boasted performances by Mary J. Blige, Kid Rock, Fabolous, Paramore, Good Charlotte, Wyclef, Boys Like Girls, and Flo Rida.
Tila wore a wicked looking blue corset-inspired dress, complete with lace gloves and some fun black plastic jewelry. She later changed into a black cocktail dress, showing off her killer body.
Jen Aniston’s Hot New Driver
Ever since June 3 when John Mayer was pulled over in his rickety old Land Rover for not having a license plate, the “Wonderland” singer has been driving around town in Jennifer Aniston’s cars.
“Obviously, she trusts him,” a source tells “She lets him drive her car even though his car is parked at her house.”
Mayer was given what police call a “fix-it ticket,” meaning that within a certain time he has to show the California Highway Patrol he has rectified the crime we’re calling plate-gate. Until then, Mayer isn’t driving any of his four cars (a Porsche Cayenne, two Land Rovers, and a flashy GT Mustang) two of which lack license plates.
Swapping cars isn’t the only commingling going on, obviously. Despite the fact that Mayer and Aniston haven’t been dating long, they already appear to have influenced each other—or maybe even swapped personalities.
“Before, she was kind of ghost, but now she is out a lot more,” a source tells “With her other relationships she has been a little more secretive, but this one she is not hiding.”
As for Mayer, he has picked up a trademark Aniston trick of covering his face with a scarf in front of the paparazzi.
“Jen used to do that all the time and he never did,” a source tells “She is clearly influencing him and vice versa.” No biggie. We’ll start worrying about their Freaky Friday personality swap when she launches a singing career and he becomes an out-of-the-closet thespian.
—Reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum