Thursday, August 11, 2011

Hell's Kitchen Power Rankings - Season 9

EDIT: Just as Will revealed he's in the top 2, Elizabeth revealed she's in the top 6. Check out her Facebook pic (she's wearing a black jacket..only rewarded to the top 6): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=574425724. Same goes for Paul (no shocker there): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=42417971.

I don't care what anyone says, Hell's Kitchen is one of the better hows on television right now. Yes it's trashy reality TV and yes I know Breaking Bad is on television, but nothing puts a smile more on my face than hearing Chef Ramsey yell at people. Season 9 isn't one of the better seasons mainly because there aren't people like Aaron (RIP) and Raj, but this season still has plenty of good moments. There are 9 remaining chefs left and I've listed their rankings in reverse order in terms of overall performance up to this point.

9. Tommy: Tommy should have been kicked off earlier, but he has remained on the show because of some fluke good performances here and there. Jonathan is a better cook and leader than Tommy, but because Jonathan is overly emotional his time on the show ended sooner. Tommy isn't vocal, has trouble more than half of the time in the kitchen, and is annoying as fuck (this won't get him kicked off, but makes me want him off the show more). If the blue team loses he'll be off next and even if they don't lose Ramsey might give him the boot.

8. Carrie: I'd much rather see her go far on the show then Elise, but in reality Carrie is much more likely to go home earlier. Her horrible performance in the beginning has put her at an unfair disadvantage, but she's not a strong cook. She can cook well, but under pressure she fucks up pretty regularly.

7. Elizabeth: A shitty spot to be in because it means you're the last one voted off right before the black jackets come out. Elizabeth has been somewhat under the radar and once Carrie (the last of the mediocre chefs) gets voted off she'll become the weakest link. She's not a bad cook, but hasn't really done anything to impress Chef Ramsey and she has huge communication issues which will be her downfall.

6. Natalie: I originally had her going far, but lately she's been struggling (especially on her last 3 services). I expect her to bounce back the next couple of services, but if she screws up once or twice more (which is more of capable of doing) it's goodbye to Natalie.

5. Elise: Can't stand her, but there's no denying that she can actually cook and deserves to still be in the game. Her attitude sucks, but she has proven herself to have the ability to handle the pressure of Hell's Kitchen. I think her attitude will ultimately send her home; either by saying something wrong to Chef Ramsey or the other Chefs getting even further disgruntled with her that they sabotage her. I won't be surprised if she makes it to the top 3 or 4, but no way she's making it to the finals.

4. Paul: A great cook ,but has demonstrated weakness. He was around 2 or 3 about 2 weeks ago until he screwed up terribly on the fish station and wasn't able to recover. Everyone's allowed to make mistakes, but the competition ahead of him is too strong in my opinion for Paul to advance to the finals.

3. Jamie: Jamie is definitely the type of chef that Ramsey's looking for. A good chef and vocal, but also extremely respectful to Ramsey. She could be a finalist.

2. Jennifer: Since a few weeks ago, I've had Jennifer pegged as this year's Nona (weight jokes aside). She's been flying under the radar until the last episode when the red team selected her as "their leader" (which only helps her cause), but hasn't really screwed up much yet and has demonstrated her ability to communicate.

1. Will: Will is easily the strongest Chef in Hell's Kitchen. Minus the last episode when Wolfgang Puck hated his spaghetti he's been PERFECT which no other Chef has been this season. The only issue with Will is that the "obvious" choice for a winner tends to come in second, for whatever reason (think Russell in Season 8 and Kevin in Season 6). The only advantage that Will has over these two is, while still a little cocky, isn't nearly as much of a douche as Russell and Kevin. Plus, if you look at his interview on the Hell's Kitchen site you know he's in the top 2 based on his answers (saying that his biggest accomplishment would be to win the head chef position at BLT Steak even though these interviews were conducted after their appearance on the show).

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