by Gina Scarpa

 

It was a tough night for the blue team this week on Hell's Kitchen. After virtually all the men were thrown out of the kitchen during dinner service, Gordon Ramsay decided to eliminate Rob in the first hour. In the second hour, he asked everyone who they would eliminate and even though only one person voted for Vinny, Ramsay decided that was enough for him and sent him packing. Today, we talked to Rob and Vinny in an exclusive interview about their experiences competing in Hell's Kitchen.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to try out for Hell's Kitchen?
A. Rob: For me, I've been cooking for way over ten years. Professionally, ten years. I've been in a variety of different kitchens. I felt like I had the personality and I knew I was going to be strong throughout. I thought it was gonna be a layup.
A. Vinny: I've been cooking over 10 years. I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America when I was 19. I've worked at some of the best restaurants. I brought 10 years of high end ability to the table. I really, honestly thought I had that in the bag.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was it like to see and work with Gordon Ramsay in person as opposed to seeing him on tv?

A. Vinny: One thing I immediately noticed is that he's a big dude in person.
A. Rob: For me, my first day in there, I remember like it was yesterday. I was like, "Wow! I'm really here!" He's definitely a big presence for sure. It was a unique experience. I looked around and I was like, "It's game time!" He turns up the heat real fast.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: The blue team was really falling apart this week. What was the problem?
A. Vinny: It basically came down to this. The girls beat the crap out of us! The girls were all definitely closer in range and ability. It was easier for them to work together. All five of us in the guys' kitchen are used to being leaders. We're the ones that usually call the shots for the most part. Nobody wanted to swallow their own pride. It was harder for us to gel as a unit.
A. Rob: On our end, we have a lot of talent and experience. These girls just trounce through.  Ignorance is bliss for the girls. That's the word of the day.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It's gotta be tough to get thrown out of the kitchen, especially when you know that people are going to see this on national television.
A. Vinny: It's Hell's Kitchen. Everybody gets thrown out. My blood pressure was not going to rise.   For him, it must have been like, "No matter what I say or do to the guy, I can't seem to get under his skin."  I think that's what irked him. You're not walking into Disneyland. You get thrown out, you get thrown out. You come back and you work hard. If you let every little thing get to you, he's never gonna get off your back and you're gonna end up burying yourself.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Rob, obviously you didn't agree with being eliminated when you were. You said they picked the wrong guy. Who should've gone instead?
A. Rob: For me, if you saw the show, I love Vin but I don't know what happened. Vinny and Russell were thrown out of the kitchen early. The way we always worked it is: if you get thrown out early, you're going up. However, at the end of the day, me and Trevor were the last two left. I should've just said that I needed more time with my dishes and I didn't. At the end of the day, I wish the blue team spent more time getting Russell out of there. He's the reason why we deconstructed. I didn't see at the time but I wish I did.
A. Vinny: That guy was a cancer to our team. Even when we tried making things happen, he was like the monkey wrench in everything. He had a gift for totally screwing us while making himself look good in front of Ramsay at the same time.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Vinny, what's the point of Gordon asking who they would vote out when he's just going to make the decision himself?
A. Vinny: I don't know! Your guess is as good as mine on that one! I think a good part of that is to stir up some controversy. It stirs the pot.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Where are you cooking now?
A. Rob: I'm working as a corporate chef on Wall Street. I'm about to move to a new company that's unveiling a new kitchen in New York. It's called Kitchen NYC. It's going to be an amazing experience. On top of that, you can get to me on my website or Facebook and Twitter.
A. Vinny: I'm working in Brooklyn. I've been there the last couple of months. Little by little, I'm trying to work on some things. If you think a little bit, you'll figure out what I mean. Rob and I have a few things in the works that could be huge. You can always find me on Facebook.

 

Hell's Kitchen airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Fox.

 

(Image courtesy of Fox)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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