Brian Damage
07-04-2007, 11:41 AM
FOR the winners of "Hell's Kitchen," life after their run-in with devil chef Gordon Ramsay has been like throwing fat on the fire.
Neither last season's champ, Heather West, nor the winner of season one, punk rock chef Michael Wray, are actually living the dream exactly as it was promised.
West, 27, was promised a job as the executive chef of T-Bones Chophouse, the high-end steak house at luxurious Red Rock Casino Spa in Las Vegas. She now works as a senior chef at the resort's less prestigious Italian restaurant, Terra Rosa.
A casino official said that West was better suited to work at Terra Rosa because it has an open kitchen that keeps her visible to patrons who occasionally recognize her from the show - and sometimes ask for her autograph.
Since the restaurant already had an executive chef, she was given a lesser title, but has been working closely with the resort's head chef to beef up her credentials.
Wray turned down his prize, a chance to run Hell's Kitchen, the TV station-turned-restaurant where the show is filmed in Los Angeles.
Instead, he accepted an invitation to travel to London to work and learn from Ramsay but after just a few days, he flew back to the U.S. to create his own custom-made cooking knives.
The winner of the current season, to be named later this summer, will be offered a job as a top chef at Red Rock's sister resort, The Green Valley Ranch (a hotel/casino made famous in the Discovery channel reality show, "American Casino").
West and Wray could not be reached for comment.
On the show, wannabe super chefs are mentored (and usually berated) by Ramsay, a foul-mouthed, short-tempered kitchen maestro who owns more than 13 top-rated restaurants around the world. Each week he fires a contestant until only one is left.
The Fox show is filmed in an old local TV station in Los Angeles that was converted into a restaurant by the series' producers - specifically for "Hell's Kitchen." The contestants live in a dorm that is part of the building which, like the kitchen and dining room, is chock-full of cameras and microphones.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07032007/tv/short_order_tv_don_kaplan.htm
Neither last season's champ, Heather West, nor the winner of season one, punk rock chef Michael Wray, are actually living the dream exactly as it was promised.
West, 27, was promised a job as the executive chef of T-Bones Chophouse, the high-end steak house at luxurious Red Rock Casino Spa in Las Vegas. She now works as a senior chef at the resort's less prestigious Italian restaurant, Terra Rosa.
A casino official said that West was better suited to work at Terra Rosa because it has an open kitchen that keeps her visible to patrons who occasionally recognize her from the show - and sometimes ask for her autograph.
Since the restaurant already had an executive chef, she was given a lesser title, but has been working closely with the resort's head chef to beef up her credentials.
Wray turned down his prize, a chance to run Hell's Kitchen, the TV station-turned-restaurant where the show is filmed in Los Angeles.
Instead, he accepted an invitation to travel to London to work and learn from Ramsay but after just a few days, he flew back to the U.S. to create his own custom-made cooking knives.
The winner of the current season, to be named later this summer, will be offered a job as a top chef at Red Rock's sister resort, The Green Valley Ranch (a hotel/casino made famous in the Discovery channel reality show, "American Casino").
West and Wray could not be reached for comment.
On the show, wannabe super chefs are mentored (and usually berated) by Ramsay, a foul-mouthed, short-tempered kitchen maestro who owns more than 13 top-rated restaurants around the world. Each week he fires a contestant until only one is left.
The Fox show is filmed in an old local TV station in Los Angeles that was converted into a restaurant by the series' producers - specifically for "Hell's Kitchen." The contestants live in a dorm that is part of the building which, like the kitchen and dining room, is chock-full of cameras and microphones.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07032007/tv/short_order_tv_don_kaplan.htm