I don’t know if you know this, but I’m pretty obsessed with cooking competition shows.
Straight up, I could watch them for hours on end, as they not only inspire me to keep learning how to cook incredible dishes, but entertain the heck out of me with some funny moments. One particular person I’ve been obsessed with is Gordon Ramsay and his Fox cooking shows- specifically Hell’s Kitchen.
For 20 seasons, this cooking competition show has brought the heat to the kitchen with incredible moments, spicy feuds, and so much more. From the beginning of the show to the latest seasons, here are some of the biggest and craziest moments on Hell’s Kitchen so far.
“Where’s The Lamb Sauce?!” (Season 2, Episode 1)
Arguably, this is one of the most memed moments of the show, and for good reason. During Season 2, Episode 1 of Hell’s Kitchen, the contestants were trying to serve lamb without a particular sauce that is supposed to pair with it. After a series of mistakes, Gordon understandably explodes and asks his chefs “Where’s the lamb sauce?!” over and over again, upset at their constant errors.
It’s one of the funniest moments of the show, hands down, but no matter what, nothing can quite beat the delivery that Gordon gave it.
When Gordon Almost Got Into A Fight With A Giovanni (Season 5, Episode 10)
Giovanni on Season 5 of Hell’s Kitchen had some talent, but in the end, what got him eliminated was when he talked back to Gordon, which is a big no-no. In Episode 10, Giovanni was being yelled at by Gordon during dinner service due to poor performance, calling Giovanni a “dickface” and telling him to clean up his act.
Giovanni, however, fought back, and this enraged Gordon, so much so that he got up in the man’s face and threatened to eliminate him right then and there. This ended up being Giovanni’s last dinner service on Hell’s Kitchen, so it looks like there was some truth to that threat.
Kimmie And Robyn’s Constant Feud (Season 10)
Season 10, is one of my favorite seasons of Hell’s Kitchen, specifically because of this feud. Robyn and Kimmie were two contestants on the season and from the beginning, these two were constantly butting heads, whether by trying to get the other eliminated, throwing the other under the bus, or by other means.
It’s hard to pick out a singular moment with how often they were going at each other, but they were certainly not the best of friends.
When Gordon Punched Salmon (Season 16, Episode 4)
Because sometimes, you need to take out your aggression in some type of way.
Season 16 of Hell’s Kitchen started off easily, but Episode 4 is where things really started to heat up in the kitchen. When Gordon is brought a less than adequate salmon from his chefs after several failed attempts, he slams his hand directly down onto it, smashing the salmon into pieces.
As someone who has cooked salmon many times, with recipes from many different kinds of cooking shows, it pained me to see such a beautiful fish go to waste, but that’s what happens when you upset the master chef himself. And, while we’re singling out this particular moment, Gordon has smashed many salmon in the past out of anger.
When Gordon Made Out With A “Contestant” (Season 7, Episode 1)
For those who don’t know, Gordon Ramsay is a married man and has been for over two decades now, so when this happened, it was quite the surprise at first. In Season 7 of Hell’s Kitchen, during the first episode, Gordon takes a particular interest in a woman with dark hair, complimenting her several times, hugging her, kissing her on the cheeks and then finally, kissing her full on the mouth.
This isn’t that surprising later on, because it’s revealed moments later that it was actually his long-time wife, Tana Ramsay, in disguise, so everything is good in loveland here!
And When Gordon Called Siobhan A Donkey (Season 7, Episode 8)
Gordon has had some interesting insults throughout his time on Hell’s Kitchen, but for some reason this one always stands out to me the most. During Season 7, Episode 8 of Hell’s Kitchen, Gordon is snapping at a contestant, Siobhan, for her less than stellar scallops that she produced, insulting her and calling her a “donkey.”
It’s so funny always to hear him call someone that, but this moment was one of the first times we ever see him use this insult and the way he says it is always so freaking hilarious.
When Joseph Tinnelly Confronted Gordon During His Elimination (Season 6, Episode 2)
Look, I’m always a fan of fights, whether in movies or TV, but I was genuinely nervous for Gordon during Season 6, Episode 2 of Hell’s Kitchen. During elimination, when Gordon was confronting Joseph Tinnelly for his poor cooking skills and “shitty” attitude, Joseph decides to take that personally and storm right up to Ramsay, insulting him and trying to provoke him into a fight after being eliminated from the show.
Gordon, being the professional he is, doesn’t start a fist-fight with Joseph, who is taken away by security, all while Gordon curses him out with a string of insults that would make a sailor blush, as he walks away. It was such a tense moment.
When Gordon Insulted A Customer And Says He Looks Like “A Quail” (Season 7)
The biggest rule of going to Hell’s Kitchen is not to expect the food to come out soon, or for the food to be perfect at first, because things just happen. When something bad occurs, just politely tell someone to bring back the food and it’ll come back right.
But, a customer in Season 7 decided to confront Gordon personally, getting up from his table and walking to the kitchen, saying that the meat he received was “low-grade dog food” at best. Obviously, Gordon was quite insulted by this and told the customer to “fuck off” before saying that he looked like “a quail.”
I didn’t know someone could be called a quail as an insult, but coming from Gordon, it most certainly is.
When Jeff Insulted Gordon and Stormed Off (Season 1, Episode 3)
One of the most infamous moments in Hell’s Kitchen history happened during its third episode ever of Season 1. Jeff, one of the contestants, got fed up with Gordon insulting him for his poor cooking and called Ramsay an “asshole.” After that, he took off his jacket, and stormed off the set.
And, not just that; he quit the whole competition. It was the last we ever saw of him. But you know what they say - if you can’t take the heat in the kitchen, better get out.
When Gordon Told Every Black Jacket To Get Out Of The Kitchen (Season 4, Episode 10)
For those who don’t watch Hell’s Kitchen, the show starts off with two teams, red and blue, and by the end, is combined into one when the black jacket team is selected, with the finalists for the season who'll compete for the grand prize. These are supposed to be the cream of the crop, best of the best chefs.
Which is why this moment is so huge.
In Season 4, Episode 10, when all the black jackets were selected, everyone on their first dinner service kept making mistake after mistake, and soon, Gordon ordered everyone out of the kitchen and that the service be shut down. Considering that, at this point, these are supposed to be the best competitors left, this was a huge miss and showed that sometimes, people don’t work well together. I’ll never forgot Gordon’s upset face.
Hell’s Kitchen will hopefully be returning soon - maybe even popping up on the 2022 TV premiere schedule - since it has been renewed for a few more seasons. Hopefully, we’ll be able to add even crazier moments for us to talk about before long.
