Among all of the reality cooking shows on television, many viewers love to watch Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen.
In the show, chefs who are looking to work for Ramsay are pit against one another in a series of culinary challenges.
They’re placed in two different groups with each group trying to outdo the other.
With frequent tiebreakers and heated moments on television, some viewers may wonder if the show uses a script or if it’s entirely organic.
Here’s what you need to know about whether Hell’s Kitchen is staged or not.
Is Hell’s Kitchen Staged?
According to the producers, Hell’s Kitchen is not staged.
Instead, they follow a careful casting process which allows them to film organic feuds and tempers as they happen.
Hell’s Kitchen does use a script for Ramsay when he explains or delivers a challenge.
However, when he’s reacting to a dish or speaking to chefs, he does not use a script.
That’s entirely his own dialogue.
That said, since Hell’s Kitchen is a reality TV show looking to keep its viewers, Ramsay is likely encouraged by his producers to react more emotionally than is strictly necessary from time to time.
If a script or staging exists anywhere else in the show, then it likely occurs with the judges.
At the end of every episode, several guest judges will sample and critique each chef’s dish.
In many cases, the points always end up being close to one another.
This might make some viewers believe that the guests receive a script, or they receive encouragement to shift their decision in such a way as to increase the drama.
Producers haven’t given a firm answer in regard to their judges or the judging process.
As such, it’s entirely possible that the judging portion of Hell’s Kitchen does undergo some doctoring and staging to increase the drama.
How Does Hell’s Kitchen Choose Its Cast?
According to Kenny Rosen, who runs the show alongside Gordon Ramsay, the crew carefully chooses the cast of every season.
There is a healthy mix of talent and personality.
Some chefs are chosen because they showcase a real talent that interests Ramsay.
Others have a particular type of personality that intrigues them.
These personalities tend to have quick tempers, egos, a willingness or boldness to speak their minds, or hotheadedness.
In this way, the cast members include both those who can carry each team forward through the challenges and those who inspire drama.
Because they’re mindful of who they choose for their cast, the show is able to film fights and arguments that occur naturally.
The cast often finds themselves at odds with one another.
As a result, especially with those who have short tempers, tempers flare.
They don’t need to feed their cast a script since these fights happen naturally under a lot of stress.
Because of this, most of the arguments that occur on the show are not scripted.
They’re a result of clever casting.
How Does Hell’s Kitchen Set Up The Drama?
One of the aspects of Hell’s Kitchen that viewers can always expect is drama.
Ramsay, on his own, is very dramatic.
However, most of the drama tends to come from the cast members.
Some of this is by design.
The crew hires some people with short tempers in the hope that they’ll explode while they’re filming.
However, they will also do other things to help drive up tempers.
For one, the cast is only given a few short moments to relax and rest.
Without giving them the time to relax, they’re unable to recover from the previous stressful event they just filmed.
As the challenge wears on, they’re all exhausted by the end of it.
That means those with short tempers are ready to blow up at any moment.
Even those who are in control of their tempers can start to feel the stress after receiving little rest.
Another way that the show helps drive the drama is by setting up some tough challenges.
Some of the chefs have great skills, but the challenges are difficult even for them.
These challenges are designed to be difficult to ramp up the stress levels within the cast.
Whether it’s a time limit or a huge order, if the challenge is difficult, then everyone is going to be feeling the pressure.
When something happens that ruins a dish or forces a chef to go back to square one, then they might start to panic.
Panicking leads to further mistakes which also makes tempers flare.
Mix this with short tempers and short rests, and you have a situation ripe for drama.
Finally, the working conditions can also impact the drama.
Kitchens are hot and enclosed.
When you’re under a lot of pressure or stressed, then you already feel hot.
Your body is using a lot of energy to deal with that stress.
Because you’re surrounded by hot stoves and people, it raises your body temperature even more.
As a result, you feel crankier and are more prone to snapping at someone.
The fact that you are surrounded by a lot of people and energy only makes the problem worse.
You don’t have a moment or place where you can separate yourself and ground yourself.
Instead, you’re feeding on the panicked energy of everyone else.
If you find someone annoying, then that feeling may become even worse by the situation you find yourself in.
Due to the working conditions of a kitchen, it can encourage someone to lose their temper and cause drama.
Both by the design of the show and the environment in which it’s filmed, Hell’s Kitchen creates the perfect atmosphere for chefs to bicker and fight amongst themselves.
