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How Gordon Ramsey broke my heart.

(post, Maggie Restivo)

I am a huge fan of cooking shows. It all started at a young age with the old school, original Iron Chef shows. Now my cooking show addiction has expanded to include: reruns of Iron Chef, Iron Chef America, Food Network Challenges, just about anything else on the Food Network Night Time line up, Gordon Ramsey's The F Word on BBC America, and Top Chef. 
  I am fortunate enough to have a DVR, so I almost never watch these shows when they are originally on. I record most of them and watch them when I can. I must say I do love my DVR. To me it means that I will always be able to watch something I want to watch, not just whatever is on at the time. This season I decided I would give Hell's Kitchen a go. My boyfriends parents are fans of the show so I figured it would be worth a watch. I missed the first episode of the season however, I made sure to set my DVR to record all new episodes. I was so excited for another one of Gordon Ramsey's shows. What I love about Kitchen Nightmares and The F Word are the great recipes, featuring simple, elegant flavors. Ultimately, Ramsey teaches people to respect the food they are preparing.
  So last night was the big night. My boyfriend and I were both home, and hunkered down on the couch with our ice cream. We pulled up the DVR menu and selected Hells Kitchen, excited about what we were sure would become our new favorite show. Boy where we wrong. Our first clue that we were in for a disappointing night was the introduction of the contestants. They were not chefs, or even chef hopefuls. They were line cooks from the local Italian chain restaurants. Our second clue was when they announced the competitions for the episode. They challenges were not about creating dishes, or even duplicating Chef Ramsey's dishes. It was all about getting dirty, and angry at your teammates. All Chef Ramsey did was yell and cuss at everyone, there were no more reactions of blunt truth, or honest advice. It wasn't about simple flavors, or elegant plates. It was about people ripping on other, backstabbing, and crying. 
   Gordon Ramsey you broke my heart. For someone who preaches the gospel of respecting your ingredients, I cannot believe you would let Fox Network disrespect food, people, and your name like that.