August 7, 2007
D.C. Chef Finalist in Hell's Kitchen
It has only been a few months since D.C. last had a reality TV star/contestant to fall behind -- unless you include our very own Marion Barry and the saga of his various trials and tribulations.
But somehow it has escaped our attention that local chef Rahman “Rock” Harper, Executive Chef at B. Smith’s in Union Station, has been competing in this summer’s season of Hell’s Kitchen. The oversight could be due to the fact that his bio on Fox’s website indicates that he is from Spotsylvania, VA, a scant 70 miles away from Union Station.
Now into its 10th week, the show began its two-part finale last night, where Rock Harper faces a head-to-head challenge against Bonnie Muirhead… a nanny/personal chef from California. Compared to the semi-stiff competition that local chef José Andrés faced from Bobby Flay, most Hell’s Kitchen aficionados, as well as Gordon Ramsey himself, agree that the final competition is Rock Harper’s to lose.
Last night, mostly through the magic and wizardry of editing, the show’s producers were able to equalize the two contestants, putting Bonnie in a favorable light while having Rock appear to be struggling with his final preparations. Editing or not, Bonnie managed a win in the cooking challenge with her signature shrimp and lobster fettuccine, against Rock’s southern specialty, fried chicken and crab cakes. This leads into the final competition, where Bonnie and Rock will pit their mini-restaurants, menus, and teams against each others.
Putting things into perspective, will Chef Ramsey really consider giving $250,000 to a nanny? Although the competition has been relatively weak this season, Rock is still an eight-year veteran of B. Smith’s and has put out a solid performance despite his floundering teammates. On the other hand, can Rock put aside his Southern/Cajun/American cooking roots to helm an Italian restaurant in Nevada?
The final episode concludes next Monday at 9 p.m. A viewing party are planned at B. Smith’s for the ending.
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Good luck, Rock! I hope he takes the win.
Speaking of fried chicken, where can I get some?
"...agree that the final competition is for Rock Harper’s to lose."
Make that:
"...agree that the final competition is Rock Harper’s to lose."
Or, maybe:
"...agree that the final competition is for Rock Harper to lose."
If you actually watched the show, Eddie, you'd know that Bonnie isn't really a nanny; as we discovered when she was completely inept at almost any domestic task in the dorm, she's really a personal chef who happens to watch over the kids. And while she wasn't very on-the-ball in early episodes, she's gotten a lot more confident and thus a lot more effective as the show has progressed, while Rock has very consistently been the sort who completely folds under pressure (at least based on the aired footage of him)--in every task where Rock has to take the lead, rather than just doing a competent job cooking some food, he turns into a stammering stuttering fool. He might be a better cook (which I don't think we've necessarily seen yet), but he's definitely not the first person that I'd want running a kitchen (or any other organization), whereas Bonnie actually has some potential.
WOW! D.C. people are sooooo mean!
I think it's funny that guest [3] actually takes this show seriously. It's an awful show.
Surely, I'm rooting for Rock - he's a great guy and while B.Smith's isn't the greatest restaurant, he does have some tasty dishes and, despite the southern theme of the place, Rock manages to have a vegetarian main course on the menu. But that Hell's Kitchen is essentially unwatchable. Absolute cheese.
Oh, and Rock does indeed live in Spotsylvania...he commutes all the way in to Union Station. Insane.
There's a DC bartender that's going to be on an upcoming lesbian reality show (I think it's on LOGO). I barely know the girl and heard the story from a friend, so I'm sketchy on the details.
C'mon, DE. Absolute cheese = awesome.
I wouldn't underestimate Bonnie. She may have made a lot of mistakes in the beginning of the show, but she's improved over time. Rock made a BIG mistake by picking all the men for his final team. Apparently he forgot that the men were constantly losing to the women in the beginning, and Bonnie knows it.
Hell's kitchen is money, I love watching Ramsay just belittle people on National tv! and that blubbering, sniveling retiremento home Chef Aaron???? classic meltdown. Also, I don't know if this is old news or a re-run season I was watching but I think I saw a chef from the Oceanaire (F between 7&8) on Top Chef.
Too bad Ramsey isn't really such a douch. As much as I also love watching him call talented chefs "fat cow" and the like, if you watch his British Hell's Kitchen (the original) he's quite a nice guy (doesn't curse in front of his mummy).
Sordid - Oceanaire is a national chain. Brian, a competitor on this season's Top Chef, is chef at the Oceanaire in San Diego...not the one here in DC.