The Most Dramatic Downfall On Hell's Kitchen, According To Reddit
There's an expression in sports: "That's why they play the game." Grammarphobia says that this means the point of any competition is to see who wins, and that can only occur on the field of contest. All the predictions and statistics under the sun won't secure an outcome until the true victor emerges. It's no different in a cooking competition show. Until the shoulder is roasted, the short ribs are braised, and the sauce is served, it's impossible to tell who can cook, and who is a pretender to the white coat.
The thing to know about any competition program is that they are marathons. Many talented people can serve up a succulent dish nine times out of 10. The challenge is doing it while exhausted, under duress, as other people sabotage them, all with a camera shoved in their faces every second.
On the show "Hell's Kitchen," the conditions are truly brutal. One former contestant claimed in an interview (via Reality Wanted) that they and other competitors were only "getting three hours of sleep," and they were "being filmed 24 hours a day." That's bound to take its toll on anyone. It might also explain why this particular chef began their season of the show as a standout favorite and ended up flaming out in spectacular fashion.
Melissa Firpo went from top chef to 'gremlin' in just 6 short episodes
One of the reasons to watch any competition show is the human drama that comes from seeing gifted people fall apart as the pressure drains them. One such case was that of Melissa Firpo from the third season of "Hell's Kitchen." She started off as the cook to beat. In the very first episode, her signature dish of pepper-crusted steak with roasted asparagus impressed the inflammatory Gordon Ramsay who said "Finally, I tasted something delicious," after sampling her food.
Sadly, as time went on, Melissa gradually fell apart. She was constantly in need of help, according to Reality TV World and the Hell's Kitchen Wiki, and at one point prompted Ramsay to call her a "gremlin," says MTV. One person on Reddit accused her of being an "Up-jumped cavewoman" because she appeared in the kitchen with wild hair and proceeded to burn scallops until she was asked to leave.
Another Reddit commenter felt that perhaps Melissa's hair was the issue. "The worse her hair got the worse her performance became," they noted. Another quoted Ramsay from the show saying of Melissa, "Everything she touches she screws." With this, Reddit has ruled.