‘Hell’s Kitchen’ interview: Amanda Giblin on Gordon Ramsay, red team’s dominance
Fox served up a double-dose of “Hell’s Kitchen” on Monday night, and we will have a review of all that transpired in the kitchen coming up a little bit later in the week. (Admittedly, we’re suffering from a bit of May sweeps / upfronts backup right about now.) For now, we wanted to take you back in time for a few minutes for a chat with the recently-eliminated chef Amanda Giblin.
As with most of the other chefs we’ve chatted with all year long, she was not only generous with her time, but gave us some insight into what exactly was going on within the world of the Fox cooking competition. Is Gordon Ramsay really as frightening as he seems, and were she and her fellow team members ever able to relax while out on some of the challenge rewards? Take a look ahead to find out.
CarterMatt – Do you think there is any one reason why you chose to do ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ in particular out of all the reality shows out there?
I like to push myself to see what I’m made of. I like to push myself out of my comfort zone. That’s how I learn, how I challenge myself. I kind of did it on a dare. I had a couple of people in my family (and) my girlfriend, she kind of dared me to do it to see what I was made of. I was a huge fan of the show, and I used to be one of those people who sat at home saying ‘oh my god, how do you mess up a risotto … I could do it better than them!’ So, I tried out!
What did you think about Gordon before you went out there? Was he exactly the guy that you thought he would be?
I knew he was a tough guy. I kind of was apprehensive. A lot of people would tell me ‘why would you go on that show when he’s going to yell at you all of the time.’ I work in places where I’ve had an executive chef scream at me, so I thought I was prepared for it. I’m a pretty thick-skinned person, so it was kind of just ‘yes chef, yes chef’ and you let it roll off your back. It’s a new day the next day, and you can’t take it personally. One of the lessons that my executive chef told me throughout my career is when a chef stops yelling at you, it means they’ve given up on you and that’s bad. So when Chef Ramsay screamed at me, that meant that he was confident that I could do the job, and he wanted me to come through.
You and your entire team had a chance to really impress Ramsay on a number of individual challenges, and you dominated. Can you describe what some of those rewards are really like in the context of the competition?
It’s so exciting. I got to experience some things that I think if it wasn’t for the show, I wouldn’t have done . We got to do so many amazing things, and it is very cool to be able to say that I was a part of something so great. The women this season, we absolutely killed it!
One of the things I’ve wondered is whether or not you are really able to relax on some of these trips, or if you’re always worried about what is coming up next in the kitchen.
Well, we did have time to relax and enjoy what we were doing. To be honest with you I think that’s why the girls were so successful: We kept winning, and we got a chance to [spend time with each other] and see how each other work. It really allowed us to have such a camaraderie that made us stronger in the kitchen.
Do you wish at times that you did have a bigger personality on the show? I know there are some conspiracy theories out there who say that the people who have the big personalities tend to stay longer.
I actually am proud of the fact that what you see on the show is truly me. What you see is what you get, and I just do it.
So now that you’re gone, are you still firmly team red, even though they helped to have you eliminated?
I’m firmly still team red. I’ve made a lot of friends on the red team, and I talk to a lot of them on a daily basis. I actually work with Jessica, so I get to see her every day. It was just a great experience, and I support those ladies. Being a woman and supporting other women, it’s just great to see in something that is such a male-dominated profession. It’s nice to see women in the kitchen being so strong and winning.
Photo: Fox