Hell's Kitchen Fiction or Reality?

We all heard of Chef Ramsey and the Hell's Kitchen. Chef Ramsey is known for his yelling and swearing on the television show. The best part about the show is when he criticizes the Chefs and throws their entrées on the floor. I have seen numerous Chefs cry and get emotionally upset after a little discussion with Chef Ramsey. Is he just putting on a show to make the network more interesting? Watching a cooking show without all that drama will probably be boring. Do you think this really happens in the kitchen in a regular business?

The kitchens at a restaurant are usually behind closed doors with an exception to a few restaurants. What goes on behind the scene is a mystery to many of us. The only thing the customers get to experience is the peaceful and quite dining room. I can say the kitchen is not as quite as the dining room. The kitchen is the heart of any restaurant. The kitchen is where the magic happens. Hundreds of orders are coming in at one time. The Chef must monitor and execute these orders to be prepared and delivered in a time matter. From the time the doors open to the time it closes there are always something cooking in the kitchen.

As a Sous Chef I have experienced working under many great Executive Chefs. He is ultimately responsible for all food times and presentations. Imagine one hundred orders are at your hands throughout all the stations in the kitchen. Your job is to monitor and execute these orders. However, something goes wrong. The cooks forgot an entrée or ticket. The time is ticketing and new orders are continuously coming through. You are communicating with your cooks but nothing is getting done or coming through.

The frustration is starting to build up. The shouting starts right now. Your Executive Chef is starting to look at the ticket times and getting impatient. The front managers are running in the kitchen questioning him about orders. Then all of the sudden, you start to hear all the negative things in the world. The profanity, yelling and shouting are coming to reality. Better hope all the presentations on the dishes are correct. You might get a broken plate on your foot. Here the hours of shouting begins. The criticism about your dish presentation and ticket time will never stop until the rush is over.

I do believe that the show Hell's Kitchen does answer some mysteries in the kitchens. I have seen many similar acts happen throughout my experience. They do show the pressure on the cooks and Sous Chefs. It teaches them great values. Never to give up no matter what the situation may bring you.