Bobby Anderson the eleventh cut from 'Hell's Kitchen's fourth season

Bobby Anderson billed himself as a four-star general, however his cooking failed to live up to those standards.


The 37-year-old executive chef from Niagara Falls, NY became the eleventh culinary contestant cut from Hell's Kitchen's fourth season by Gordon Ramsay during last night's broadcast of the Fox reality competition series.

"I do get misunderstood because I'm 6'4 and they think I'm going to try to bully my way through," said Bobby after his ouster. 

"But they get the opposite of that.  I'm a warm and joyful person, and that makes people feel so comfortable around me.  I told Chef Ramsay, 'Thanks for the opportunity.  Thanks for having me.'  It came down to his decision, and he chose the general.  He saluted me. I walked into Hell's Kitchen with my joy, and I'm leaving with my joy."

Hell's Kitchen's eleventh fourth-season episode began following the previous dinner service, which saw Gordon finally eliminate Matt Sigel.


"I'm glad that Matt's not here," said Louis Petrozza, a 47-year-old catering director from Charlotte, NC.  "I really just didn't want to listen to him... With Matt gone, it's anybody's game.  Now's the time.  We're down to the Final 5 of us.  Now it's hardcore."

Meanwhile Corey Earling, a 25-year-old private chef from Brooklyn, NY, and Christina Machamer, a 25-year-old culinary student from St. Louis, MO, put their differences aside and united to complain about Jennifer Gavin, a 24-year-old line cook from Chicago, IL.

"Jen's on her last leg as far as her attitude," said Christina.  "I think Jen will undo herself."

The next morning the five remaining contestants met Gordon in the kitchen, and he gave them a demonstration on how to properly prepare lobster spaghetti.  Once the seminar was complete he revealed that for their next challenge, each contestant would be responsible for teaching a student how to make the dish.

The twist was that the students were "domestic housewives" who weren't domesticated at all and were probably better suited for The Real Housewives of Hell's Kitchen.  The student that cooked the best lobster spaghetti would win the challenge for their teacher.  Each would have 45 minutes, and the teachers were not allowed to do any of the cooking or prep work themselves.


The challenge commenced and Petrozza obviously had other things than teaching how to cook on his mind, as he gentlemanly tied his student's apron and also helped get her hair out of her face.  Corey liked her chances since she thought her student was "tougher" than the others; Jen did some of the prep work for her student when Gordon wasn't looking; and Bobby's student was afraid to kill the lobster.

"I'm definitely hoping the student doesn't mess this up for me," opined Bobby.

Time expired and Gordon tasted all of the students' dishes. 

Petrozza's student had "delicious" seasoning and perfectly-cooked lobster, however the same couldn't be said for the pasta.  Corey and Christina's students prepared well-rounded dishes, with the pasta, lobster and seasoning all complimented.  Gordon thought Bobby's student prepared a dish that looked like dog food, and it tasted that way too.  The lack of culinary skills by Jen's student showed, as Gordon criticized it for being bland.

Gordon called it a "tough decision" between Corey and Christina since their students prepared "two outstanding dishes," however he awarded the challenge's victory to Christina.


"I'm excited.  I really knocked this one out of the park," said Christina.  "I think I would be able to teach anyone who wants to learn."

For Christina's reward, she'd enjoy lunch and a cooking lesson with two Los Angeles restaurateurs -- Mark Peel, the executive chef and owner of Campanile, and Ben Ford, owner of Culver City.  For their punishment, the other four contestants would be required to clean Hell's Kitchen, from the fryers to the floors.

As they cleaned, the contestants thoroughly bashed Christina and her cooking skills.  Jen made sure that she was always cleaning around where Christina was receiving her lesson and was able to pick-up a few pointers.  However she also tasted some of the leftover food that was intended for the garbage.

"Jen was basically eating food that was going into the garbage," said Bobby.  "It was a little weird."

The contestants then did prep work for the impending dinner service, with Christina quickly getting on everyone's nerves as she dispensed advice and barked orders. 


Gordon informed them that not only would the dining area be filled to capacity for the service with 120 patrons, they would also have to over come "one of the toughest hurdles" -- the 12-top, a table of 12 people that all need to be served at the same time.

Hell's Kitchen's eleventh fourth-season dinner service commenced, and Gordon immediately got on Jen's case for being "too static" and "flat-footed." 

Christina and Corey were on the appetizer station, and Christina caught some flack for preparing the wrong number of spaghetti lobster dishes.  However once she did deliver the right amount, Gordon had nothing but compliments for it.

Christina and Corey continued to work well together and the appetizers started to fly out of the kitchen.  For the entrees, Bobby was on meat, Jen had fish and Petrozza was on vegetables.  Bobby was the first to encounter problems when his beef was incorrectly sliced.

"I didn't cut it right so I started off rough," opined Bobby.  "Once I did that, I knew chef was going to be on me for the rest of the night.  Chef was on me man!"


Jen was then criticized for her John Dory being raw, while Bobby had the opposite problem, as his beef was now overcooked.

"Why don't you give me your best?!" Gordon asked Bobby.

"I'm trying," meekly answered Bobby.

"Bobby, can you listen and f**king concentrate now," replied Gordon. 

With no orders coming out of the kitchen Petrozza inadvertently got Jen in trouble when he delivered her John Dory to the pass when none of the other food for the order was ready.  As Gordon gave her a tongue lashing Jen started to argue that it wasn't her fault and ultimately tried to bite her tongue, but couldn't.

"Not good enough," said Gordon to Jen.  "Do you want to go home?"


Jen was getting emotional and tried to explain herself to Gordon in private, but he was having none of it.  He told her to pick-up the energy and stop moping.

"Jen has a problem with authority.  Jen has a problem following direction," said Petrozza.  "There's nothing positive that could come from being disrespectful or questioning Chef Ramsay."

Jen eventually started to communicate better and the kitchen was working well together just as the patrons for the 12-top arrived.  It consisted of a group of Hawaiian Tropic models who were there for a ladies' night out.  Christina and Corey continued to work incredibly well together and nailed the appetizers, which received rave reviews from the models.

However the entrees continued to be an entirely different story, as Jen once again delivered raw John Dory and Gordon continued to complain about her lack of speed and downtrodden attitude.  He eventually took over her station but still found the time to chastise Petrozza for being out of rhythm and having no timing.  Bobby then almost set the beef he was cooking on fire.

Gordon called Bobby and Jen "inconsistent" and said Petrozza was "f**king dreaming."  The entrees for the 12-top table finally went out and received compliments, bringing an end to the dinner service.

While the service was completed, Gordon said it was "too painful," criticized the contestants because they "didn't unite as a team," and added he "seriously expected more."  He said Christina was the only contestant who stood out and gave her the task of nominating two people for elimination.


Up in the dorms, Petrozza told Christina he "wasn't happy" with his own performance and she kicked him while he was down, saying it was "not the first time."  She basically called him selfish in the way he cooks and added he's "dirty," a constant criticism from Gordon.

"But everyone made mistakes," quickly added Christina.  She called Bobby "really mediocre" when conversing with Corey, who agreed.  However it was Jen who thought her time was up.

"I think he's probably going to send me home tonight," she said as she went to pack.

Christina and Corey also badmouthed Jen and were optimistic that she would be the next one booted.

"I hope she goes," said Corey to Christina.

"I hope she goes too," replied Christina.


The five contestants then reconvened in the kitchen.  Christina nominated Jen because she constantly "shuts down" when things don't go her way and has a habit of bringing the entire team down with her.  Christina then nominated Bobby because she expected more from his dinner service performance, which she called "inconsistent."

Gordon asked Jen and Bobby to defend themselves, and Bobby admitted his mistakes.

"My performance tonight was definitely not my best.  It was rough, it was rough coming out of the gates," he said. 

"Tonight you stank," said Gordon.

Bobby said he thinks he's a better cook then Jen because he doesn't crack under pressure like her, and of course, Jen said she was a better chef than Bobby.  Gordon then asked Christina who she thought should go home.

"I honestly think Jen should go home," answered Christina.


Gordon then gave Bobby the boot.

"Although Bobby was big in stature, he fell short in a number of areas," said Gordon.  "I kept on waiting for him to emerge, but he never did. That's why I have to say, 'Over and out, General Bobby.'"

Hell's Kitchen's next fourth-season episode will air Tuesday, June 17 at 9PM ET/PT on Fox.






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio