Review: Hell's Kitchen Season 4 Premiere 2008

With the many advertisements revealing season four's drama on Hell's Kitchen, the season premiere has arrived on FOX television. Chef Gordon Ramsay is back with his short temper, foul mouth and his well-known attitude, putting loads of pressure on the participants. That is what makes it so great!

Different from season three, the season four winner will receive the title of Senior Chef at Gordon Ramsay's new restaurant, Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood. Last year's winner, Rock Harper, won the title of Head Chef in season three. Captain's badges were passed along the teams this year to signify who was the leader of the kitchen.

It was great to see chef Ramsay disguise himself as a contestant, riding on the bus with all of the new participants of Hell's Kitchen. He got a little insight on their attitudes and intentions. One came from Bobby, 37, from Niagara Falls, NY who called himself "The Black Gordon Ramsay." That was far from the truth. More on that will be coming up.

After chef Gordon Ramsay let everyone in on his secret, being a disguised passenger on the bus, he sent the contestants into the kitchen to make their signature dish. When presented with the dishes, Ramsay was not pleased with most of them. Craig, 30, from Ceram, New York, served his dish wearing a very tall chef's hat. Ramsay was not only repulsed by the dish presented but was also disgusted with the hat. A combination of venison, caviar, capers, lime and white chocolate, served by Matt, 35, of Pinehill, New Jersey, was so disgusting it made Ramsay vomit. Matt presented the dish in hopes it would help make him stand out, while chef Ramsay thought he was just about to be punked after being presented the signature dish.

Another dish, with a kindergarten title of "Hen in a Pumpkin," served by Petrozza, 47 of Charlotte, North Carolina, did not impress Ramsay in the least. Just the title of the dish alone made me laugh. The side of potatoes served with the dish was dripping in greasy butter. Petrozza's Cornish Hen inside of the pumpkin was very bland and the presentation of serving the dish table side sounded like something in a horror movie.

On the lighter side of the season premiere, Rosann, a receptionist and former cook, serves up a dish that was "perfectly seasoned." Vanessa, a line cook from Bozeman, Montana, served a great Halibut dish to Gordon Ramsay. Because Vanessa had the best dish, her team chose her to be the leader of the kitchen. This proves to be a mistake. Just because Vanessa cooked up a good dish, it does not instantaneously make her a great leader, as her team soon finds out. On the men's side, choosing a leader took them way too long which hurt their team as a whole. Bobby, a.k.a. "Black Gordon Ramsay," was chosen as the team's leader. When chef Ramsay asked the teams what the five dishes were, the women had no problem spouting them out. The men, on the other hand, had no clue. Then it came time to show what they have got as the orders started pouring in.

Bobby, an executive chef, showed no leadership in the kitchen whatsoever. He was often seen standing around and expecting everyone to deal with their own problems. Vanessa, on the red team, showing no leadership lost her position. The leadership position was passed on through the red team's station when they finally managed to have halfway decent risotto and appetizers to serve. Bobby, obviously not a leader, lost his captain's badge to Louross who at least attempted to show some leadership in the blue station.

In the end, Louross had to choose two people from the blue team for elimination. The two chosen were Bobby and Dominic. I completely disagreed with him having chosen Dominic for elimination. Just because he is a stay at home dad does not mean he would not succeed in the kitchen. If you go back to the season three episodes, Bonnie Muirhead, who was a nanny and a personal chef, made it to the final cut. Jen Yemola, who was constantly taking criticism from others for only being a pastry chef, pulled through for her team but was later eliminated.

Overall, you cannot really judge a person by their current career. Could Ben, currently an electrician, have what it takes to win Hell's Kitchen season four? What about Rosann, the receptionist from Staten Island, New York? Only time will tell. Digging through the fox.com message boards it seems everyone is judging by the contestants' careers and titles. I think that is a big mistake and future episodes may surprise them. I also believe Bobby should have been the first cut as it seems he is going to be a constant problem, but maybe that is what they need in the show for future ratings.