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NBC cooks up a new food reality show with a big prize

nbc_logo_colorOkay, take the idea of Shark Tank (or Dragon's Den if you're a BBC America fan), mix it with the Top Chef folks, offer a great grand prize and hope for the best. That's the recipe behind NBC's new food competition show, United Plates of America. The network is turning to the Magical Elves from Top Chef -- no, seriously, that's the production company's name -- to succeed in the food field where NBC has flopped in the past. Remember The Chopping Block? Remember Rocco DiSpirito's The Restaurant? NBC has more luck with the dieters on The Biggest Loser.

This go-round is not about a single restaurant. It's about a chain of restaurants. To me, that's a questionable goal. Most successful chains start off with one great restaurant and then take off. This concept is go big or go home. Maybe it's more complicated, but it doesn't sound that way.

Continue reading NBC cooks up a new food reality show with a big prize

Hell's Kitchen: Season Finale - open thread

Hell's Kitchen
I haven't watched this season of Hell's Kitchen since the second episode. But I have them all recorded just in case I wanted to get back into it and maybe I'll take one of these weekend days and do a marathon. Of course, since I'm writing this post I already know who won, but it won't ruin the season for me. It's all about the journey (and a chef yelling at people).

So were you surprised by who won?

[Watch episodes and clips of Hell's Kitchen and other shows at SlashControl.]

Some Kitchen Nightmares restaurants survive, some don't

Chef RamsayOne thing I'd like to see on certain TV shows are follow-ups to stories. Specifically I'm talking about real-life shows like Cops or design shows. Another show I'd add to the list is Kitchen Nightmares, the FOX (and Channel 4) show that has Gordon Ramsay going into restaurants and helping them get their act together.

Some episodes of the show feature Ramsay visiting the place weeks or a few months later, but I'd like to see the restaurants a year or two later, to see if they're still doing things Ramsay's way or not (and if they're still in business).

Continue reading Some Kitchen Nightmares restaurants survive, some don't

Yes, The Chopping Block returns to NBC tonight

The Chopping BlockI was deciding whether or not to include exclamation points in that headline, so it read Yes! Chopping Block returns to NBC tonight! But I realized that this is one show that doesn't really deserve them.

Does anyone really remember this show? And if you do remember it but didn't watch it, are you interested in checking it out? And if you did watch it, were you breathlessly awaiting its return or did you simply forget about it because it wasn't very good and/or you didn't think it would be coming back so you didn't want to get to invested in it? I watched and reviewed the first episode, and I found it rather underwhelming. This might be the ultimate example of a network burning off a canceled show during the summer.

NBC is using an exclamation point on the show's web site, so maybe the return of The Chopping Block is more important than we think.

Kitchen Nightmares season 2 - an early look

Chef RamsayIt's rather interesting, when you think about it, that chef Gordon Ramsay has not one but two shows on FOX, Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. And this isn't like Rachael Ray having 22 different shows. She has a show that is syndicated to many stations around the county, and her other shows are on a cable station, Food Network, where she is a brand and one of the top stars. FOX is a major network, with not as many time slots as a cable station, so FOX must really believe in Ramsay to give him shows that air year-round, not just in one season.

Fans of the first season are going to be particularly interested in what happens on the very first episode.

Continue reading Kitchen Nightmares season 2 - an early look

The Adventures of Little Gordon Ramsay - VIDEOS

Little Gordon RamsayWhat's more entertaining than seeing acclaimed British chef Gordon Ramsay go ballistic on Hell's Kitchen contestants and inept restaurant managers? Seeing a 9 year-old Gordon Ramsay go ballistic on inept restaurant managers and his own mom.

That's the gist of these two videos (after the jump) from Caterer.com, a hospitality job site. The first one shows a little Gordon Ramsay (great hair) getting ticked off at the "anemic" school lunch his mom has packed for him. The second clip shows him out at an anniversary dinner with his parents, where he freaks out on a waitress and her boss when the food doesn't arrive on time, even though the restaurant is completely empty.

I know these were made as promotion for Caterer.com, but they should include them as extras on any Ramsay DVDs and show them on his TV shows as well. He even has his own web site.

Continue reading The Adventures of Little Gordon Ramsay - VIDEOS

Dan Marino will NOT be Dancing with the Stars

D MarinoI knew it! In fact, in the comments to Bob's post about who was rumored to be booked for the new season of Dancing with the Stars, I wrote the following: "I love Dan Marino. He's always been one of my all time favorites, but he was known for his arm and quick release, not his footwork!! If Danny is one of the contestants, only his blue eyes will keep him on past round one. I think In Touch is out of touch about this name!"

Well, today Dan Marino's spokesman officially denied the rumor. While Dan was watching the Miami Dolphins scrimmage, his rep told the press that for every year since the show began, Dancing with the Stars has invited Dan Marino to find the dancer in his soul, and every year he's turned them down. Good for Dan.

Continue reading Dan Marino will NOT be Dancing with the Stars

Fox giving us more Kitchen Nightmares

Gordon Ramsay

Looks like FOX likes food, reality shows, and people who swear a lot.

The network has ordered another season of the Gordon Ramsay restaurant show Kitchen Nightmares. The show is in its first season right now, and is actually doing rather well considering it has been up against the hype of the new Bionic Woman, Criminal Minds, and the Grey's Anatomy spinoff Private Practice. This means we'll see a lot of Ramsay on FOX in the future, since Hell's Kitchen is on the network and does well in the ratings too.

Continue reading Fox giving us more Kitchen Nightmares

Kitchen Nightmares -- An early look

Gordon Ramsay

Before I started watching the British Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America, someone told me that this is a kinder, gentler Gordon Ramsay. One that doesn't swear as much as he does on FOX's Hell's Kitchen. And they were right, he doesn't swear that much. He swears a lot more.

But you do sense that he cares about getting these restaurants going again. The premise is this: Ramsay travels around the U.S. and helps to fix screwed up restaurants. I worked in many kitchens over the course of around 11 years and they were all screwed up in some way or another, so I'm sure he'll have an endless supply of places to fix.

Continue reading Kitchen Nightmares -- An early look

Judge lets Gordon Ramsay film a second season of his show

Gordon RamsayRemember a while back when we told you about Gordon Ramsay being sued by a restaurant manager who accused the celebrity chef of making up scenes and catastrophes for Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares? Here's an update.

A Federal Judge in Manhattan has throw the case out of court. However, this doesn't mean that the case is over. The two parties now have to go into abritration to resolve the conflict. And the lawyer for the restaurant manager says that he expects the case to go back to court at some point.

But it does mean that Ramsay is now free to film the next season of Kitchen Nightmares. The show airs in the U.S. on BBC America. I haven't seen the show yet but I hear that Ramsay is a little nicer in this one and there's a huge reduction in the amount of F-bombs thrown in the kitchen.

New York Times likes first Top Chef winner's restaurant

Harold DieterleThis review confused me for a moment. New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni gives Perilla, the restaurant owned by first season Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle, one star out of four. Now, if you're talking about movies or TV shows or albums, that's probably the "poor" category. But the way Bruni and the Times do it, it actually stands for "good" (if you get zero stars or just get a "satisfactory" rating, that's a bad thing). I wonder what four stars means? Best meal in the history of the universe?

Continue reading New York Times likes first Top Chef winner's restaurant

Gordon Ramsay loves/hates fast food

Gordon RamsaySuper chef Gordon Ramsay has admitted that he goes to fast food places like Burger King and McDonald's and orders food at the drive-thru...in secret. He goes in a car with tinted windows and calls ahead. Though I wonder who but a celeb would call ahead for a meal at Burger King or McDonald's.

He says that "there's something very sexy about the way they flame grill a Whopper." Um, alllllrighty.

But he's really not a fan of fast food establishments. He says the food is bland and that it's bad for you. Another famous chef, Marco Pierre White, recently said that McDonald's offers great value and Ramsay calls that "utter crap."

The new season of Hell's Kitchen premieres this Monday on FOX.

Gordon Ramsay the most admired man in the UK

Gordon RamsayThis poll in the UK edition of Esquire isn't too much of a surprise I guess. I can understand why chef and TV host Gordon Ramsay is the most admired guy, especially in a popular, "of the moment" sort of way. But what I find funny is that he beat scientist and author Stephen Hawking, a man that has literally changed the way we look at space, time, and the universe.

Other people on the list after Ramsay (17%) and Hawking (14%) are Ray Mears (a TV survival expert - probably unknown to many of us here in the U.S.), who got 11% of the vote, new James Bond Daniel Craig, who also got 11%, and comedian/writer Ricky Gervais, who somehow only got 9% of the vote.

The new season of Hell's Kitchen, the U.S. show that Ramsay hosts, starts on FOX, June 4 at 9pm.

[via TV Tattle]

Kitchen Confidential coming to DVD

Kitchen ConfidentialWell, this news is going to make some people very, very happy.

Kitchen Confidential, the comedy that was on FOX last year for about a minute and a half is coming to DVD on May 22. Not only will the two disc set have the four episodes that aired on the network, it will also have the nine episodes that never aired. Extras will include cast interviews and a trailer.

I found this show rather disappointing. It was OK, but just not as funny or involving as I thought it would be. Of course, this was based on two or three episodes, so I'll make an effort to check out the rest. Michael Vartan, Bradley's Cooper's costar from Alias, guest starred on one of the unseen episodes as a French chef. The show also starred Nicholas Brendon, Bonnie Somerville, John Francis Daley, Jaime King and Frank Langella.

Our house wine is brought to you by HBO's Rome

Rome wineHBO has launched yet another quirky, viral marketing campaign - this time to promote the return of Rome on January 14th. From January 10th through the 13th, 100 Italian eateries in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago will be offering complimentary bottles of Rome wine, a cabernet sauvingnon bottled in California and labelled for maximum ad appeal. Rather than have servers push the wine on customers, a card will be placed on each table offering diners "a taste of Rome."

The brainchild behind the promo is Lime Public Relations & Promotions who feel that the campaign is "innovative but tasteful." Lime president Claudia Strauss reported to AdAge that, "The show is all about indulgence, and we just felt this was a great way to bring to life one of the key aspects of the story line." In keeping with the show's over-the-top sex and gore, participating restaurants will also allow diners to drink the blood of Christian martyrs, sodomize select servers and retire to a vomitorium following their meal.

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