Reality Roll Call

From Fox:

The owners of J Willy’s Bar & Grille in South Bend, IN, are in $1.2 million in debt and have called in Chef Gordon Ramsay in hopes that he can help give them a fresh start. With no one running the kitchen, most of the fare is straight from the freezer or out of a can. To start fresh, Gordon challenges the staff to spend the night cleaning out the kitchen and throwing away all the rotten food lurking in the coolers. The next morning, Gordon brings in fresh ingredients and teaches the cooks how to make various dishes that will be featured at that night’s dinner service. However, when the inexperienced cooks get flustered, the kitchen spirals out of control and brings one customer to tears. Find out if Gordon will be able to bring the restaurant up to his standards or if J Willy’s will be forced to close their doors forever on KITCHEN NIGHTMARES airing Thursday, Oct. 30 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

From Fox:

Chef Gordon Ramsay pays a visit to the Handlebar Restaurant and Lounge in Mt. Sinai, NY, with hopes of fulfilling a couple’s dream to serve good food to good company. In what seems to be a flashback from the 1980s, owners Bill and Carolyn LeRoy are in denial of the restaurant’s outdated dcor and head chef’s lack of passion. Will Gordon get through to hot-headed Bill and be able to turn this restaurant around? Find out on KITCHEN NIGHTMARES airing Thursday, Sept. 11 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

From Fox:

Head Chef Gordon Ramsay revisits the kitchens of six restaurants that were once on the verge of disaster. A year ago, these failing businesses were about to close their doors due to rough financial times and uncertainty about the future. They required the expertise of Ramsay, who stepped in to make some immediate changes. With a dramatic facelift that altered the menu, dcor and mission of each establishment, owners and staff members were finally able to taste success. But have these newly-positive reputations proven to be permanent? Can these restaurants pull themselves out of their former nightmares and into money-making dreams? Or is it time to turn off the grill and hang up the aprons? Find out on the special 2-hour “Revisited: Gordon Returns” episode of KITCHEN NIGHTMARES airing Thursday, Sept. 4 (8:00-10:00 ET/PT) on FOX.

Five star chef and reality television star Gordon Ramsay is launching his own television production company, called One Potato Two Potato.

Having a production company means that not only will he be able to produce new shows, but he will have control of the rights to his shows, Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. Word is that his first project is a cooking show set to air in the U.K.

It looks like Australia has to deal with chef Gordon Ramsay’s foul-mouthed tirades, whether they want to or not.

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is a big hit Down Under, but Sen. Cory Benardi took offense to his bad language. The inquiry viewed an episode where Ramsay used a particular swear word 80 times in one episode. I’m thinking that word was the f-word. He seems to love that word.

Ramsay is the star of the U.S. produced Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, both on FOX. He is also the star of similar reality shows produced in the U.K.

To read the full story, click here.

The last time NBC tried its hand at a restaurant-themed reality show it was in 2003 with The Kitchen. Although it managed to hang around for two seasons, it was no Hell’s Kitchen in the ratings department, and was quietly put to rest. Next season they are going to give it another try with a cooking-based reality show called The Chopping Block.

The food-based competition will differ from similar shows like Hell’s Kitchen and Top Chef in that eight couples will be split into two teams and each team will be given a restuarant to develop from the ground up. They will be given feats each week, ranging from picking the theme and decor for their respective establishments, to actually promoting the eatery.  The competitions will be judged by professional food critics, and at the end of each episode one couple will be eliminated.

This is a moment that I have been waiting for. For three years I have had to fill in the blanks of all of the foul-mouth, epithet filled insults and ranting of Gordon Ramsay on his Fox hit show, Hell’s Kitchen. Sure, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what he is saying, and to me it seems like the F-word is his favorite. But I wanted to hear him actually say it.

The first season of Hell’s Kitchen is going to be released on a three DVD set very soon. Not only will you get to hear all the sweet nothings that Ramsay whispers into the contestants’ ears, but you get some behind the scenes footage as well, including interviews with the producers and directors and a tour of the set of Hell’s Kitchen.

Here’s a sneak preview of the uncensored season one: