Hell's Kitchen 2008 Premieres

The beast is back! Fox's hit television series Hell's Kitchen premiered tonight (April 1) and the dark lord himself - - Gordon Ramsey - - was, as usual, at the helm.

Fifteen new hopefuls boarded a bus to take them to Hell's Kitchen, not knowing that Ramsey himself was disguised and on board to size up the competition. His trick certainly gave him both an eye and an ear full as the cocky young chefs preened and crowed like the big cocks of walk. It certainly raised the question: "Could they live up to all of their claims?"

Meet this year's contestants:

Ben, age 29, is a Former Chef who is currently working as an Electrician;
Bobby, age 37, is an Executive Chef who deemed himself "the black Gordon Ramsey and a Four Star General on the bus ride to Hell's Kitchen;
Christina, age 25, is a culinary student from Missouri;
Corey, age 30, is a Private Chef working out of Brooklyn, New York;
Craig, age 30, currently works as a Sous Chef in New York and insists on wearing a towering chef's cap because he's only 5' 4" without it;
Dominic, age 43, is now a stay-at-home dad who has been out of a professional kitchen for 10 years;
Jason, age 29, is a Sous Chef from Las Vegas;
Jen, age 24, is a Line Cook from Chicago, Illinois;
Louross, age 24, is a Hotel Cook in Las Vegas;
Matt, age 35, works as a Sous Chef in New Jersey;
Petrozza, age 47, is a Catering Director from North Carolina;
Rosann, age 33, is a Former Chef now working as a Receptionist in a law office;
Sharon, age 31, is a Room Service Chef from Las Vegas; and
Vanessa, age 31, is a Line Cook from Montana.

The chefs were asked to prepare their signature dish for Chef Ramsey. A few were memorable but mostly for the wrong reasons.

Petrozza's cornish game hen in a pumpkin was definitely unique but made a huge mess when Ramsey attempted to eat it. Matt's scallops mixed with white chocolate actually made Ramsey upchuck in a nearby trash can.

Bobby's coconut fish was deemed "lazy" because he deep-fried it instead of cooking it properly. Jen's crab and lobster were decidedly raw; not a good thing with that kind of seafood. Ramsey called Corey's dish "blonde, boring, and bland," just like her.

There were a couple of winners however. Ramsey thought Rosann's soup was tasty and perfectly spiced. He also deemed Ben's not half bad. But the winning dish was Vanessa's.

The boys were named the blue team and the girls the red. Each team was told to choose a captain who would ensure that the kitchen ran properly. The girls quickly settled on Vanessa while the boys argued well into the night before finally allowing Bobby to have his way.

While the girls spent the rest of the evening studying Chef Ramsey's new menu, the boys went to bed. That explains why not one among the males could tell Chef Ramsey the next morning what the Kitchen's five entrees would be.

Both teams got off to a slow start on opening night at Hell's Kitchen. It was nearly an hour into the night before a single appetizer was served. Both sides couldn't get the scallops and risotto onto the plate.

Neither team captain stepped up to set the kitchen straight, which led Ramsey to appoint new captains. Louross took the position for the boys and Rosann took it for the girls.

While the girls finally got their appetizers out, their very first entrees proved to be poorly done and never hit the table. Sharon's rubber chicken provoked the Chef into one of his famous tirades, as did Jason's continued overcooking of bland risotto and Dominic's constantly overdone scallops.

Unfortunately, the patrons left the restaurant before the two teams got things in order; making the night the worst first night disaster in Hell's Kitchen history.

Though he preferred to call no one the "winning team," Ramsey decided that the boys had done an even worse job than the girls. Louross, as their captain, was told to put up two members for elimination.

The two men chosen for elimination were Bobby and Dominic. Louross chose Bobby because he didn't take the leadership role that was expected of him and whip the kitchen into shape. He chose Dominic for the wasted food; over 30 scallops that had to be tossed because of poor cooking.

In the end, Chef Ramsey chose to eliminate Dominic because he felt that had little experience or natural kitchen talent.

So far there are no standouts in the 2008 bunch. However, the season is young so hopefully a few chefs will step up to the challenge.