IamA chef that was on Hell's Kitchen AMA!

Hey Anthony. Love Hells Kitchen, but the last few seasons seem to be more concerned with false drama and conflict. Were you all 'forced' into that, or is it all just clever editing?

I imagine Gordon to be really helpful and awesome off-camera.

Best of luck in the future. Hopefully you have mastered the risotto haha

Very clever editing, we were never really guided into certain situations it all just happened to come about in a way that it could be pieced together with TV magic very well.

Awesome, thanks for the reply.

How long does filming actually take? The show is aired over 18 or 16 weeks, but at times it feels like the show is filmed over a month.

Did you make any friends that you have kept in touch with?

6 weeks actually. From day one to last day. And yes, most definitely, just about everyone from my season keeps in touch. It really makes you, ans this is really cheesy I know but, a family.

That is actually quite awesome!

Has any chef ever has a food allergy that kept them from doing certain challenges or dishes? Or would that kind of stuff be weeded out before the show starts taping?

Not that I ever heard of while I was there. I think something like that might get weeded out. Just so as to not have something like a chef not able to do a certain competition and such. Plus liabilities and all that would be a pain. haha

Where is the other half of this scallop?!?!

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that..

Firstly, what was Ramsay like ? What was it like behind the scenes? Did they give you the recipes before the show ?

He's a really passionate and obviously talented chef. It was really great working with him, even if I was being yelled at. Behind the scenes is really just a lot of sitting around trying to find time to eat. On our first day we did get a binder with the recipes for the menu, yes.

I'm sure it was one hell of an experience. Soooo... Ramsay really does yell at ya ! I wondered about that.

OOOOHHHH yes... he's really yelling. Trust me... and it's scary as all hell

Anthony I've watched countless episodes of Hells Kitchen so I've got tons of questions. But here's one: are people encouraged to smoke cigarettes as often as possible?

No, haha they aren't. But, and this is in my experience, a LOT of chefs smoke. So really if there was any downtime the patio was the place to be and have a smoke. I think I even smoked one time. lol

Haha nice, thanks. How about this - did you ever personally witness Chef Ramsay throw a piece of meat so hard that it exploded on the counter or floor?

Hmm. meat, no. But i heard it! I saw a plates smash off a wall.. or one or two off the ground. I'm pretty sure he hit one of the prep tables hard enough to dent it..

What was your favorite moment from the show? Also, does Ramsay do any teaching during the off camera time for the contestants?

He does do a lot of teaching, he's happy to jump next to you on the line and show you a dish. Now, that said, he's happy do show you... ONCE. If you mess it up still, then the yelling comes. My favorite moment would have to be standing in front of the huge flaming HK.

My wife and I believe Ramsey is cloning himself to accomplish all that he seems to achieve in what appears to be short time spans.

Has that ever seemed to be the case?

I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. It amazing to see that guy go. He is there early morning with us.. leaves to do 5 other shows i'm sure.. then back for dinner service then god knows what. He's a machine.

1. Are Ramsay's rants purposefully over-the-top?

2. Does you feel like the show made you a better chef?

1. It really did. It showed me that I can do a lot more than I thought I could. Pushing yourself to a limit like that and succeeding really sheds a new light on yourself. Made me grow a lot.

2. You know.. different methods work for different people when it comes to teaching. He shows it how to do things, but when we mess then up his method of correction is the yelling. Do I think it's purposely over the top? No, not at all. For some people it's really what they need to get going.

I spent a bit of time working in kitchens a long time ago, and one thing that's always bugged me about the "reality" cooking shows is the part where the contestant gets shown how to make a dish once, and next thing you know they're making it more or less perfectly for a dozen or a hundred people.

That strikes me as odd, because cooking is at least partly about practice and repetition.

So my question is, when Chef Ramsay tasks you with making a dish, how long does it really take until you can reproduce it accurately for the cameras and the diners?

Well funny enough, when we get shown a dish, or given the recipe, we are expected to be able to produce it perfectly right from the get go. We don't get any practice. Our practices are the dinner services. We never got "free kitchen time" or anything other time to practice dishes.

It was really.. here's the dish.. learn it. do it.. or get yelled at. And that pushes you to really hone it in quickly.

Have you mastered risotto yet???

God I hope so... No one has thrown it back at me since the show.. so... it's gotta be pretty good. haha

Do you know how the diners got to be on the show?

I was a big fan of the show before I got to be on and would look into it all the time. A friend of mine actually got to go to one and it was a matter of looking around online, the specific place escapes me at the moment, and filling out a request then going on a wait list.

And I believe the show just pulls from the wait list and emails people telling them what day they are set to eat. And then there is a long process for that too.. maybe I'll get her to do an AMA having eaten there. lol

Was any of it fake?

I can't speak for anyone else. But no. Nothing i encountered, or did.. was ever fake. And all the confessions or whatever you want to call them.. was just us getting everything in our heads out. that's not to say editing isn't a magical

Hey Anthony! quick question- how nervous do you actually get before a challenge? Before elimination? All the chefs always look petrified - before feeling the wrath :) is it as bad as it looks?

it's terrible!!!!! Lol. Waking up every morning not knowing what the heck is going to be thrown at us for challenges. Elimination is just awful and makes you feel sick. Because yes it's a competition and the point is to beat everyone, but man wondering if it's going to be you.. Or seeing a good friend have to take that l long walk. Nerves get shot on that show. FAST

So... how's your ankle lately?

we're divorced

Why does it seem so hard to get food out to the customers? I just don't understand why it's so difficult to send up food that's not raw in the middle for example.

It's a lot of pressure and stress. Dinner service in a restaurant is stressful enough. But adding who we are cooking for and competition the yelling. It gets into your head and messes with you. You really have to buckle down and get into the mindset that this is what we do everyday and we have these problems hardly to never. Trust me.. it really gets to us too when we did those things, because we know better.

Hey, thanks for doing this, I've always been interested in the BTS of shows like Hell's Kitchen. Aside from having to learn the dishes in such a short time, do you also have to do all the prep and how much time do you get to prep? I'm guessing the sauce bases and those tight little Wellingtons take a few hours at least?

Yes, we do all the kitchen prep, sometimes for both kitchens if we lost a challenge. I believe service usually started about 6. We would typically get up early.. challenge.. and then if you got a reward do that and the other wold prep. Yeah i'd say 4-5 hours of prep a day

Hi, did you get the good fortune of being cussed out by chef Ramsay? Gimme the highlights please.

I'm almost positive no one has ever escaped that wrath. Highlights? Umm god... I was called a fuck wit a few times.. Donkey... idiot.. Lol. you name it

What is one of the major things you have learned from Gordon Ramsay? What have you taken on board them most?

A major thing I learned is that you really can't settle for anything less than the best. That doing that is not only robbing your customers but it's letting yourself down too. If I make a dish, why wouldn't I make it the best I possibly could. And I take that and apply it to anything in life now. If i'm going to do it, then I simply cannot give it any less than my absolute best and if I'm not giving it that it's not acceptable.

Hello Anthony! Hope you are doing well. What is the one thing you are most proud of while being on the show?

Umm.. just being there is one thing right off the bat. You know? Have to be proud of the fact that i was chosen out of thousands. Another big thing was the acknowledgment from Ramsay. I mean he really breaks you down but does try to build you up. And when you stand toe to toe with him and he holds out his hand telling you to not give up and that he really sees something in you. That's something to be proud about.

Hot food, hot plate?

Hot plate yes. And food.... never scorching hot. But yes hot.

How do they make the risotto so quickly? I think it's parboiled, bit when I tried it like that, it didn't come out like the risotto I expect.

We do par-cook the risotto. About 15 minutes in boiling stock. THen we cool it quick and have it ready. So it's about a 5 minute pickup

Who's your favorite contestant so far on this season of Hell's Kitchen?

I wish I had watched more, I really haven't been able to . But I like Jennifer

Did you or any of the other chefs yell back at Gordan Ramsay? I would think that with that much yelling going on, someone would snap.

I know on past seasons that has happened. not too much on my season. yes, it can be frustrating and really break you down but in the end you have to take a step back and realize he really IS trying to make you a better chef..

YOU CALL YOURSELF A CHEF?!?! IT'S FUCKING RAW YOU DONKEY!

Flashbacks..... oh god the flashbacks!