At the DTP forum at About.com (desktopput.about.com), Jacci Howard Bear is spending the next 26 days (from 11 August) taking you on a rocket ride around the alphabet of design.
So far we've done A (Adobe, alignment, small "a"), B (business cards, balance, baseline), C (calendars, contacts, color), D (dingbat, diphthong, dummy), E (Elements of Design, Eyes & Ears, Envelopes), F (finishing, folding, fonts), G (guides, gutter, greeking), H (hairline, head, how do you DTP), and I (graphic identity).
Worth following, we think.
On a related note, I think graphic design is the only field in which I am aware that you can use words like dingbat and not be arguing, diphthong with a straight face, and dummy without necessarily commenting on your associates intelligence. Why not work in design?
Technorati Tags: graphic design, DTP, Jacci Howard Bear
By Samuel John Klein of Portland, Oregon - Graphic Designer without Portfolio, aspiring artist who dawdled too long.
19 August 2006
[design] QuarkXPress=The Evil? Still?
![[design] QuarkXPress=The Evil? Still?](http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif){kind=link}
Returning to an old saw I just can't quit using, "It' takes 10 atta-boys to make up for one aw, hell". As tired as that's starting to sound, I keep turning up instances where someone burned by Quark's past performance still holds little goodwill toward the quondam layout king and its signature product, QuarkXPress.
This time's bit of evidence for the file comes from the Live Journal blog The Scenic Route (pixeldrift.livejournal.com). It's a short-short entry you can read in its entirety here, but here, AFAIC, is the money shot:
In Quark's defense, the poster didn't say whether the software in question was XPress 4, 5, 6, or even 7, for that matter. And, in the interests of disclosure, The poster links to QuarkVSInDesign with the "Quark Sucks" button (it's at the bottom of the post).
Technorati Tags: QuarkXPress, InDesign, Quark vs InDesign
This time's bit of evidence for the file comes from the Live Journal blog The Scenic Route (pixeldrift.livejournal.com). It's a short-short entry you can read in its entirety here, but here, AFAIC, is the money shot:
The previous designer in my position was a Quark guy. His work has that style to it. I don't know what it is, but just looking at some spreads you almost want to say, "That looks Quarkish." Maybe it's because early, even clunkier versions of Quark influenced designers in their formative years and it just sort of stuck.Grrrness, indeed. One more Aw, Hell Quark has to make up for. Multiply this by the thousands of customers Quark took for granted Back In The Day™, and you'll get some idea why Quark is still in some trouble despite generally positive reviews for XPress 7.
Well, now I'm stuck having to make updates to his old Quark files. Grrness.
In Quark's defense, the poster didn't say whether the software in question was XPress 4, 5, 6, or even 7, for that matter. And, in the interests of disclosure, The poster links to QuarkVSInDesign with the "Quark Sucks" button (it's at the bottom of the post).
Technorati Tags: QuarkXPress, InDesign, Quark vs InDesign
[distractions] Breaking: Heather West To Actually Get Own Restaurant
Just found this bit out while scanning for news on the recently-crowned Hell's Kitchen winner...
The prize, as advertised through the show, was an executive chef position at T-Bone's Chophouse in the Red Rock Casino resort in Las Vegas. Well, Heather will be working there, but not at T-Bone's, after all. It would seem her fortunes have become just a bit more charmed.
On 18 August, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Heather is set to become Senior Chef at the resort's Italian restaurant, Terra Rossa:
Also: I've created this post as a central repository for all things HK/Heather West/Gordon Ramsay that I can find that's interesting, and in anticipation of HK3 next year. If I get enough interesting stuff I'll spin it off into a 'blog or site of its own, when I get enough stuff.
Technorati Tags: Heather West, Chef Heather West, Hell's Kitchen, Red Rock Resort
The prize, as advertised through the show, was an executive chef position at T-Bone's Chophouse in the Red Rock Casino resort in Las Vegas. Well, Heather will be working there, but not at T-Bone's, after all. It would seem her fortunes have become just a bit more charmed.
On 18 August, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Heather is set to become Senior Chef at the resort's Italian restaurant, Terra Rossa:
Read the entire article here, which also comments extensively on the winner of So You Think You Can Dance, Benji Schwimmer.Red Rock President Scott Kreeger said in June that the "Hell's Kitchen" winner would be placed in T-Bones Chophouse in a position based on the chef's skill level. However, management decided her abilities would best be utilized at Terra Rossa, said resort spokesman Jeff Lovari.
The contract details had not been finalized Thursday, said resort general manager Ronan O'Gorman, but hotel officials are looking forward to West working at Red Rock.
"I think it's very, very positive for the resort. It's been an extremely popular show, we've had a lot of exposure, and we've had a lot of response from the public," O'Gorman said. "The phones were ringing right after the show with people asking where they could eat Heather's food."
Also: I've created this post as a central repository for all things HK/Heather West/Gordon Ramsay that I can find that's interesting, and in anticipation of HK3 next year. If I get enough interesting stuff I'll spin it off into a 'blog or site of its own, when I get enough stuff.
Technorati Tags: Heather West, Chef Heather West, Hell's Kitchen, Red Rock Resort
18 August 2006
[designers] Jeff Fisher Rules From Above
If just getting a cool issue of HOW this month wasn't enough, local logo design god Jeff Fisher gets back-page visibility, in a major way.
On the last page of HOW is the feature "Double Vision", where the magazine asks two designers the same question to see what different responses they get. Jeff is hanging from the top of the magazine, kind of like that trapeze kid in Safe Havens, and the question is one he's got a black-belt in: How much time do you devote to self-promotion?
About 20%, as it turns out. See? Self-promo is even important to design gods.
Jeff toots his own horn about it at bLog-oMotives here.
Technorati Tags: designers, Jeff Fisher, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, self-promotion, Oregon Designers
On the last page of HOW is the feature "Double Vision", where the magazine asks two designers the same question to see what different responses they get. Jeff is hanging from the top of the magazine, kind of like that trapeze kid in Safe Havens, and the question is one he's got a black-belt in: How much time do you devote to self-promotion?
About 20%, as it turns out. See? Self-promo is even important to design gods.
Jeff toots his own horn about it at bLog-oMotives here.
Technorati Tags: designers, Jeff Fisher, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, self-promotion, Oregon Designers
[design] Get You Some Periodicals
I love me my design magazines. Some of you who aren't trying to aspire in the design profession may have heard of some of them: Print and Communication Arts come to mind as ones I see on the racks at places like Powell's and Art Media.My favorites are two others that I am happy–nay, thrilled–to skip a meal if I have to to get the subscription money for. One is STEPinsidedesign (usually referred to as just STEP) and the other is HOW Magazine. Both are sumptuous magazines, both well-designed, and both usually inspirational.
As might be suggested by the publication names, they are not merely about design and the design world but also about design from the inside out (as a matter of fact, that's STEP's self-defined remit–and was thier tagline back when they were called Step By Step Design, a name that was changed because it sounds a little too much like a how-to book). Each month they challenge with what designers are doing, how they are doing it, and suggestions about how one could do it themselves.
Design happens on all levels...even those of the cash-starved job seeker.
This month's HOW is a themed issue, the Self-Promotion Design Annual. Self-Promo, it should be self-evident, is an important ingredient in the quest going from non-employed design professional to employed (this is an overt attempt to not portray freelancers (though I prefer the term independent) designers as 'unemployed', because that is a legitimate career path as well). It involves a whole lot of things, from production of promotional material to strategies for publicity to strategies for keeping one's attitude up over what may become months of trying to no obvious result.
So far, I've seen a lot of ups and downs, and come close to the prize only to have it evaporate seemingly like mist on the air.
This month's issue has a lot to offer in the way of insipriation: page after page of competition entries (it is a design annual, after all), and while, of course, not everyone can be the winner, all of these are quite remarkably stellar. A lot of ideas and inspiration there. There's sage advice from contributing writers about pitching oneself, writing proposals, and the most exciting one to me was the article by Jeff Domke.
Jeff's article, titled "How to Land Your Dream Job", is a step-by-step map to what to pay attention to and develop that got him to where he wanted to be–employed in a design firm. After graduating from design school, it took him 14 months to land that job...and he won an award in HOW's 2005 Self-Promotion Design Awards. He has a lot suggestions that even a modest talent as myself can use, and a positive attitude that shows through in his writing.
A good day for me is always when my copy of HOW or STEP arrives in the mail, you see.
Oh, and BTW, HOW publishing produces a range of excellent design books, a few of which are on my shelf right now, including a certain tome by a respected and well known local logo designer. You should check it out.
And get yourself a magazine subscription, if you can. Links to STEP and HOW can be found back up this article.
Technorati Tags: design, print design, STEPinsidedesign magazine, STEP Magazine, HOW Magazine, self-promotion, inspiration
17 August 2006
[distractions] Hell's Kitchen, 2006–The Times' Index
During the months of June to August, 2006, FOX television served the SunDial Earth Station with a nearly fatal distraction: Hell's Kitchen. Hosted by Gordon Ramsay, the three-Michelin-starred Scottish superchef known for his exacting standards, his business acumen, and his hot temper, put twelve aspiring chefs, with skill-levels ranging from six months of culinary school to garde manger and sous chef, through the proverbial wringer. The prize: a highly lucrative and powerful position as excutive chef at T-Bones' Steak and Chophouse, called a "million-dollar" restaurant, in the billion-dollar Red Rock casino complex then being built in Las Vegas, a hand in designing the eatery, and a share of the profits.During that time we were distracted and entertained by this crackling good program, we blogged about our feelings of the show, mixing interpretation and somewhat-inaccurate recap. This reference post provides links to all the articles written.
The twelve hopefuls were divided, as customary, into red and blue teams, segregated in the beginning by gender:
The Red Team (women):
- Sara, a deli manager;
- Maribel, a cafeteria worker;
- Virginia, a garde manger (salad and cold-foods chef);
- Heather, a sous-chef;
- Polly, a professional caterer.
- Rachel, a personal chef.
- Gabe, a marketing executive with six months' culinary school;
- Tom, also a former stockbroker;
- Giacomo, a pizza chef;
- Larry, a fishmonger;
- Keith, a chef/bartender
- Garrett, a former prisoner and prison cook.
The majority of the shows followed a pattern: Reward/Punishment challenge, spotlight on the challenge winners (and their treat), spotlight on the challenge losers (and thier punishment), preparation for a dinner service, the dinner service itself, then the elimination ceremony, where one of the chefs was selected to go home. Notable differences were in the first epi, where the chefs, after an extremely-brief period of settling in, were commanded to make a signature dish in 30 minutes, and the finalé, where the the two finalists got a good prize regardless of who won or lost.The series aired in two-hour blocks on Monday evenings, on KPTV-12, with the first hour being a rerun of last week's episode and the new episode being shown second. The exceptions to this were the premiere (two new epis) and the finale (which was one two-hour epi, not rebroadcasting the penultimate epi).
The Episodes
- Hell's Kitchen, Three Epis Along. Me catching the bug and playing catchup. Eliminated: Polly, Larry, Gabe, Giacomo (in that order). Blogged: 20 Jun 2006.
- Hell's Kitchen, Epi Four. Eliminated: Tom. Blogged: 27 Jun 2006.
- Hell's Kitchen, Epi Five. Eliminated: Rachel. Blogged: 12 Jul 2006.
- Hell's Kitchen, Epi Six. Elminated: Maribel. Blogged: 19 Jul 2006.
- Hell's Kitchen, Epi Seven. Eliminated: Garrett. Blogged: 27 July 2006.
- Hell's Kitchen, Epi Eight. Eliminated: Sara. Blogged: 04 Aug 2006.
- Hell's Kitchen, Epi Nine. Elminated: Keith. Blogged: 10 Aug 2006.
- Hells Kitchen, The Finalé. Finalists: Virginia and Heather. Winner: Heather West. Blogged: 16 Aug 2006.
During the course of the series we did opine on a few other things that were Ramsay-related but not necessarily series-related. Here they are.
- Last Damned Post on Hell's Kitchen This Week: Seems there really wasn't a Gordon Ramsay dog after all! Blogged: 28 Jun 2006.
- Hell's Kitchen, This Week: HK preempted that week by some Adam Sandler waste-of-time. We were not amused. Blogged: 3 Jul 2006.
- Gordon Ramsay, Straight Up. Intrigued by the character of Chef Ramsay, we go googling. We find out about Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, and we find out that Chef recently won a British-style (loser pays the court costs) libel case. Blogged: 03 July 2006.
- What I Think Will Happen On Hell's Kitchen This Week. Written just before Epi Six, in which we get a little giddy waiting to see it and try writing standup. Word from our agent: Keep the day job. Blogged: 18 July 2006.
Updates!
Interesting things can happen to the contestants in the wake of HK2006. They'll be listed below as I find them. Scroll to the bottom for the newest stuff, and, if there's anything anyone sees that they think would belong here, hey, cha-ching me on the email, baby (or something like that...).
- 19 August 2006: Want to know what's on Heather West's mind now? Meevee.com has an exclusive interview here. Though brief, it contains surprising revelations about Heather's relationships with Garrett, Virginia...and, of course, Rachel. She's going to be a class act, we think. Earlier: MeeVee interviews Keith, Sara, Garrett, Maribel, Rachel, Tom, Giacomo, and thier original review (which had them calling Garrett "Dave" for some reason. At least I got Keith's first initial right when I called him "Kevin" a couple of times. But Dave? Open the pod bay doors, HAL...").
- 20 August 2006: In case you missed it, Keith Greene's site, Kgrease.com, is live (and we understand has been for a little while now). It's 100% flash-based, but, mercifully, the flash file is about 550KB, so if you're on 56K dialup, you'll be able to see it while you're still young. Right now there's links to his Bio, Links, Email Contact, and his four sauces: Mojo Marinade (for chicken or fish), Money Marinade (for steak and chops), "It's Slammin'" mango BBQ sauce, and the ever-famous "Cha-Ching" Sesame Crust ("It's Lamb...and It's Money?" – Gordon Ramsay). If the website checks for the plugin and doesn't find it, it sends you off to Adobe to get the plugin (rather than giving you a choice between downloading it and connecting to a non-flash version). Also, GlitteratiGossip.com links the MeeVee interview with Heather.
- 20 August 2006: This one deserves its own entry here: According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Heather won't be cheffing at T-Bones after all, but rather, Senior Chef at Red Rock's Italian restaurant, Terra Rossa. Read my own posting via this link.
- 21 August 2006: FOX-TV have opened applications for auditioning in the next series of Hell's Kitchen. Eligibility is wide open: 21 or older, legal US permanent resident. They want basic personal information, then answer questions such as: do you have any experience or training? If so, where? And, of course, the all important: What makes you think that you, more than anyone else, can live up to Chef Ramsay's standard? This is the only email you may ever send that requires a gut-check. The FOX-TV application page is here. Also: Chef Ramsay is expanding is restaurant empire into the Americas (Via Slashfood, The Observer).
- 21 August 2006, Even More: Two more interviews with Heather: This one at IGN.com, and this one from TV.com (via Google cache). Particularly interesting were the moments related in the IGN interview that didn't get on the series, such as the daily talk show, the orange bowling, and the dinner party. Also: The Wikipedia entry on HK has been updated with all information on HK2, including very clever and succinct grids showing week-by-week kitchen status at a glance for both HK1 and HK2. And From HK1: Runner-up Ralph Pagano battled Iron Chef Bobby Flay in the 6 August edition of the Food Network program. The secret ingredient: Barramundi (a/k/a Asian seabass). The winner, according to Answers.com: Bobby Flay.
- 22 August 2006: Ever wonder what it must be like to actually eat in Hell's Kitchen? We just stumbled on this article at MSNBC.com which links through to this article by TVGasm's correspondent "B-Side", who was a diner in Ralph Pagano's "Frank and Lulu's" Italian restaurant in the HK1 season finalé (The "Plank" Season). No, they didn't have to pay for thier meal; yes, they were paid for thier attendance; yes, the valeting was for real; no, Ralph's food wasn't all that good. Also: SnogBlog tries out cooking Chef Ramsay's Beef Wellington (from the recipe at The F-Word's site). Verdict: tasted decent.
- 23 August 2006: Winning through despite technical difficulties, SmallPouch blogger perrik posts her witty, somewhat snarky, and unexpurgated ("FOX censors. I don't") review of the Series 2 (The "Donkey" Season) finalé.
- 24 August 2006: From BBC4's The F-Word site, intriguing interviews with Chef Ramsay. Find them all via this link, and if you don't care to click-through, find them via the "Gordon Interview" link in the navitgation on the left. May we particularly recommend this one, however, which reveals The Real Ramsay? His accents: fresh food, local ingredients, the power of the family dinner table; very much the family man. Also, tucked away at the end of that one is this interview with Gordon's wife Tana. She has her own kitchen; she isn't allowed in his. Surprised? Don't worry, it's all good: Read the interview.
- 24 August 2006, More: Chef Ramsay says a generation of women can't cook? Before you jump to conclusions, read about his campaign to get women (who want to go) back into the kitchen. Speaking of which: Us Magazine's Eric Andersson hints (via tmsfeatures.com) that HK2 winner Chef Heather West may be working at a partial kitchen reunion:
Q:When do you go to Vegas? A:Soon! I'm psyched. It's a big task, but I'm going to dive right in. And I've talked to [Kitchen alums] Keith and Garrett about joining the staff.
- 24 August 2006: It's Good to Be The King... The UK's Independent notes that Chef Ramsay has finished the last year as the UK's richest chef, with earnings in USD$124M. 2nd place? Jamie Oliver (via bfeedme.com). Also via bfeedme.com: Chef Ramsay's Baked Apples with Peppercorn. And, speaking of Chef's business empire, meet Gordon Ramsay the publican; the Independent also reports that Ramsay is adding a constellation of country inns to his culinary universe.
- 25 August 2006: Chef Ramsay's sine qua non? Before there was a famous Chef Ramsay, there was Chef Marco Pierre White, a man who came on strong and young to be the first-ever Briton to win three Michelin Stars. Did Chef White make Chef Ramsay inevitable? We suspect so: in an upcoming book to be published by Orion (via the Independent), he muses thus:
Perhaps I created the monster Gordon Ramsay who ended up as a TV personality screaming at celebrities on Hell's Kitchen, doing to them what I had done to him
The Wikipedia entry on Chef White references a photo in his book White Heat containing what's described as Gordon Ramsay as "a terrified commis (a commis is an assistant station chef-ed.)" whilst he was working under him. So, in this case, it's nurture, perhaps. - 26 August 2006: The Company They Keep: As reported by 24 Hours Toronto, quondam Posh Spice (now, of course, mere Victoria Beckham) was seen on the town at Tana Ramsay's recent 32nd birthday party, well into her cups, sans ring...meanwhile, blog Inner Toob reports that international outplacer firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas has placed Chef Ramsay on a list of the worst TV Bosses of all time–the only TV personality who actually exists that can be found there. Also: The BBC detects Gordon Ramsay doing a charity showing at Derby...just not that Gordon Ramsay.
- 08 October 2006: It's way past time we made a cogent observation: indeed, the HK/Heather West well has pretty much run dry. As noted in this post, I'm taking down the tent and calling it happy. I very much enjoyed trying to keep track of things, and was...well, be honest, really was hoping it would take off, but alas, no. However, there will be me following the HK bandwagon next year, as well as a lot of people, I'm sure. See you then, donkeys!
Technorati Tags: Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay, Heather West, Chef Heather West, Red Rock Resort, Terra Rossa
16 August 2006
[pdx_misc] The Tom Peterson Alarm Clock "Wake Up!" Sound
We have soundfile!All credit must go to Judy of Persistent Illusion, who wins the award for conspicuous heroism in the face of overwhelming odds (to wit, coping with old technology) in getting us the file and converting it to an MP3. She will 'ere be a friend of this blog (and this blog needs all the friends it can get!)
Anyway! One of the premiums you could get at Tom Peterson's was, along with a little watch with his iconic face on, was this wicked cool alarm clock. Riffing directly off his "Wake Up!" ads, which advertised his all-night sales, at the appointed time, the clock would say:
Wake Up! Hey, wake up and have a happy day!
To hear the sound file, click on the above link. To download it, right (or control-) click on it and choose whatever option saves it to disk (on my Mac, it's Save Link As...). It's not a huge file, only about 63KB in size. Judy would probably want me to point out that it's a bit tinny, and I think that's probably more because of the sound reproduction technology of the day than anything else.
But now, you, too, can have Tom wishing you a happy day when your Wintel powers up...or where ever you want to plug it.
Credit also to Judy who provided the snapshot of her very own Tom clock, which makes her a whole lot more fortunate than a lot of us.
Technorati Tags: Tom Peterson, Portland, Retro Portland, Kitsch
14 August 2006
[distractions] Hell's Kitchen, The Finalé
It's Been an Exciting Trip, y'allIn the beginning, back in June, they were twelve, and one by one they fell off: Polly. Gabe. Larry. Giacomo. Tom. Then Rachel, Maribel, and at last, Keith.
And then it was down to dark horse Virginia, and strong player Heather.
Tonight's 2-hour finalé was all-new. Typical of the 2-hour block was a rerun of last week's epi followed by the new epi. This one did not retelecast Keith's Last Stand; rather, a 10-minute block up at the front of the program recounted a few remarkable seconds of each contestant in the order of elimination.
Then it was the kickass opening titles.
Then, Captain Obvious: "And, now, the conclusion of Hell's Kitchen".
Long Lost Loved Ones
After the elimination of Keith, Heather and Virginia retire to the dorm. They are both wound tighter than a cheap watch, and can't believe they've gotten to be the finalists.
And, whilst celebrating thier victory, an unexpected surprise; Virginia's mother and husband, and Heather's parents.
This is why HK is good TV, and when it's good it's deadly; they know how to tug on the heartstrings. The reunion was a tearjerker for sure, and it was sweet to watch both contestants reconnect and tell what had happened to them thus far. The reunion was as brief as it was sweet, and it was bedtime for the finalists.
Meet the Press
The very first thing next day, Heather and Virginia were tersely summoned to the kitchen by Chef Ramsay. What they found, to thier surprise, was a fully locked and loaded press conference, ready to have at them.
The remarkable part of this was watching the two women, who, save HK, were never TV personalities, handle the press. The questions (the ones we saw anyway) weren't terribly challenging, but the moment to remember was when Heather and Virginia got out front of the podium to do thier happy dance. It was hilarious...and just a little bit embarrassing for Heather. But if they could stand up to the Ramdog, they could cope with this.
It was announced then, with the flourish of a drapery, that the restaurant was to be divided in two, so that each chef could decorate her side and come up with a restaurant experience of thier own.
For one, shining night, both were to have thier own restaurant. The successful one-night-restauranteur was to be the winner.
Two Visions, One Space
Heather went with a young, video-visioned space that served family-style fare, and Virginia went with a sumptuous, cozy space that aspired to luxury. They met with the Red Rock architect and the actual designer of Hell's Kitchen to define thier visions and set them loose. The two head-chefs-for-a-night went at it with gusto and obvious heart...
...but, said Chef Ramsay, there's a bit of business to take care of first. Off to Vegas with you both.
The Last Challenge
The destination, a casino in Vegas, was to be the site of the last showdown. This promised to be interesting, with the determined Heather (who hadn't won a challenge despite her obvious skill) against the charmed Virginia (who, despite her bad luck in the kitchen, had won more challenges than anyone else). The task: an on-the fly taste test of each's signature: Virginia, the chicken roulade, and Heather, the fish and cauliflower pureé.
Twenty passersby, twenty taste tests, twenty votes. It was tight all the way; Virginia and Heather are by now very accomplished cooks. And, at the end of it all (with Virginia deploying her patented full-frontal flirting (hey, don't hate, now...she's good at it)), the two were level-pegging.
One last taster, hemming and hawing, interrupted by a commercial break...gave the challenge to Virginia. I tell you, that lady's good!
Before returning to L.A., however, they had one more surprise. Each was given a ticket to come visit London, and dine in Chef Ramsay's own signature restaurant when they could. No matter who won, they're getting a great trip out of this.
Back Into Hell
Upon returning to Hell's Kitchen, they find the remodeling well underway. And Chef Ramsay has another little surprise for them: thier kitchen staffs. Returning to Hell, we found: Keith, Garrett, Tom, Giacomo, Rachel, and Omarosa...er, Sara.
They then began to choose staffs. The winner of the Vegas challenge got the first go; Virginia, somewhat surprisingly, chose Keith. Heather, rather expectedly, chose Rachel. Virginia then selected Tom, Heather took Sara, Virginia selected Giacomo, which left Garrett to go with Heather.
It was then time to break and go get the teams in shape. Heather came out strong, with a team who looked like they wanted her to win; it was quite amazing to see even Garrett with a great positive attitude. Heather knows how to motivate.
Virginia...well, hmm. Let's just say she needs a bit of polish. She wasted little time in saying that she intentionally went for the weakest links, which went over about as well as one might think it did. We think her idea was to show what she could do with the dead-enders, while giving them a chance to be on a winning team.
Keith once again showed what his "slammin" version of class was by demanding money for performace. He'd guaranteed her that he would give his best in return for money. Tom and Giacomo didn't look very good during this exchange either; eventually, Virginia relented and promised each one $1,000 which, considering the prize in the balance, is actually getting off easy.
Troubles In Paradises
This was about midway through the day of the evening in which each Chef's respective restaurants were to open. Many problems cropped up during construction (which must have been round-the-clock) and each were taken care of in thier turn, portraying management skills on the fly, and leaving us to wonder whether or not, like the mid-service delivery three weeks back, they were 'programmed' in to test the chef's mettle.
Regardless, the remodels proceeded while the head chefs set up thier menus and coordinated thier brigades. The redesign problems faced by Heather were farily mild and were handled with easily identified alternatives, but Virginia's special effect–a 'waterfall wall'–looked abortive until a mere 20 minutes before opening.
But they were solved, the menus planned (with input from Chef Ramsay, who opined that there couldn't be two more different menus) and servers and staff ready. Let 'em in.
The Great Wall of Dining
The diners entered and began ordering; the kitchens fired up under the direction of thier respective head chefs, with Ramsay looking on. One thing they weren't told; the president of the Red Rocks resort was there to sample from both menus, and his input was to have great influence over Chef's choice of the winner.
While each kitchen had thier ups and downs, in all, Heather was solid from one end to the other. She bossed her crew with resolve, excercised excellent quality control, and prevented the kitchen from going off into the weeds.
Virginia's was more error prone. When Tom cut his finger, things started to look grim. Before that, Virginia's obsession with perfection caused her to take posession of plating everything, and they were getting buried. Also, her weak links, while better than before, were still weak, and it kind of showed. Ramsay abused Tom for being a prima donna over his finger cut–which really wasn't all that bad, we've suffered worse–and had to almost harangue Virginia into delegating some help from Keith at the pass. Once that was done, however, the service picked up, and Virginia closed the gap. Unfortunately, in Virginia's haste to get ahead, she was sending out poor-quality entreés by the end–including a fish filét that was all but swimming in oil.
Both finished strong in the desserts, and there was a very entertaining sequence where Heather had to ride Sara about obvious mistakes in plating her desserts.
The Ride is Almost Over
End of service. Both teams gathered in the kitchen, given high praise by Chef Ramsay, and complimentary yet vague insight by President Red Rock, giving both dishes he tried high marks but seeming to favor neither.
The teams dismissed. Heather and Virginia return to the dorm to await Chef Ramsay's decision.
You Have Two Doors. Behind One Of them Is Living The Dream...
Eventually summoned upstairs by Ramsay, both women find themselves before two doors. Chef explains that he's come to his decision influenced by customer comment cards and the input of Prez Red Rock. He gives them respect and admiration for weathering the course, and a job well done.
He issues both chefs a door key, one for each locked door; the winners door will open. On the count of three...One...Two...
...Commercial break...aneyurism...back from break....
One...Two...Three...go.
Heather steps through. The room below, filled with diners, guests, and the other contestants, erupt in cheers. From behind the door, we can see Chef Ramsay embrace Virginia in consolation, but, even here at the Station, there isn't a dry eye in the house.
We had a feeling it would be Heather all along. From that first time she delegated her station in Week 2, when she burned her hand, we had a feeling she had the right stuff. And we all who followed Heather were right. She's a 25-year old chef who got the chance to show that she wanted the summit so bad, and took that and ran with it.
We won't feel too sorry for Virginia, however. No, she didn't win The Prize, but she won our respect, and we think that someone with her palate and design skills shouldn't have much trouble finding some sort of success.
But only one could win, our new hero, Heather West.
Chef Ramsay Gets The Last Word
"I'm looking forward to my next challenge...and f*** you all!", as he gives us a hearty laugh as he goes into the sunset.
Ready For Another Helping?
Various sources have reported that Hell's Kitchen has been picked up for a 3rd series, ETA next year about the same time.
Though we'll have to, we can't wait. But we will.
Technorati Tags: Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay, Heather West
[pdx_misc] Tom Peterson Say "Wake Up!"
A couple of bits of feedback I've gotten lately on an article I did a while back about our old friend, Tom Peterson (you know, the fellow at 82nd and Foster Rd) wondered if I didn't have a sound file of his famous "Wake Up!" commercial.Sadly, I do not. But now I'm curious if anyone has such a file? Does anyone out there have such a file? If you do, follow up here, and we'll link it out to the world...or send it hither, and I'll find some way to host it.
Those of us Mac addicts can't change the wake-up sound on our computers, but wouldn't it be cool, you Wintel folk, if your box gave you a cheery, Tom Peterson-style "Wake up!" when it did?
Technorati Tags: Tom Peterson, Portland Oregon, Portland
13 August 2006
[type] Kerning vs Tracking?
I was recently priviledged to observe a discussion amongst typeophiles over which was better to use–kerning or tracking. It's a fair question, I think, because it illustrates that the two are similar enough in concept (though strikingly different in application) to cause a certain "blurring of the lines" between the two.
Both of them are all about letter spacing. Typographers speak of something called 'text color', and what they mean by this is that, when you look at a page of type, there is a general impression of a tone of darkness (I'm going to assume dark type on a light page). The overall letterspacing will have a bearing on this: tight spacing will cause the color to darken, and loose spacing will cause the color to lighten up.
I can see I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, so let's provide some definitions for the non-typophile:
Kerning refers to altering the spacing between only two letterforms. While the exact derivation of the term is unclear (one reference I use says the term stems from a German word for corner, which I find a little suspect), the kern itself is the area one letterform 'intrudes' into another letterform's space with. As an example, if you consider the word "Tower", the letterspacing between the majuscule T and the minuscule o looks more comfortable if one actually 'scoots' the o just a bit below the top cross-stroke of the T.
On the other hand, tracking refers to letterspacing over a range of letters–from a single word to parts of a sentence to whole sentences and paragraphs and beyond; in fact, another term for it is range kerning. Desipte being similar in concept–it has to do with spacing between the letterforms–it is not the same. Tracking is typically use to apply a standard amount of letterspacing over that range, and is not used with respect to any two individual letterforms. Tracking is usually termed "loose", for more space between than default, or "tight", for less.
Without using any examples, what may become evident here is that one isn't better than the other–one is more appropriate than the other. There are situations where tracking is a more appropriate tool than kerning. I'll illustrate.
A Situation That Calls for Kerning
Kerning is most appropriate when you are letterspacing very large letterforms, such as headlines, or any large text.
The reason that letterspacing is important is that uneven letterspacing tends to arrest the eye. Break open your favorite word processor (or if you have MSWord, for instance, get familiar with it–while they can't do layout, they're amazingly advanced on typography, once one gets to know them) and take some word (like Tower) that has an initial majuscule like T that un unascended minuscule "wants" to kern toward. Now make it real big–72 point or bigger.
If you've not touched the kerning, the program used the font metrics to determine the spacing. And you'll instantly be aware–even if only sublminially–that there's too much air in general between the letterforms, and the spacing of the letterforms themselves seem rather uneven. A typographer laying this out as a headline would put thier I-beam between each pair that looks like it needs it and kern them out (increase the space) or kern them in (decrease the space).
Kerning is best used on large letters, where individual tweaking can even out the spacing in headlines. When the spacing between large letters feels equal, the eye concentrates on the letterforms, and doesn't get 'hung up' on the space between
A Situation Calling for Tracking
Since kerning is most useful when the letterforms are big, it follows that tracking, if adjusted at all, might be most aprpos for letters at body text sizes–say, 10, 12, 13 points.
Consider any regular paragraph of text type, and think about the look of the letterspacing. At that size, the difference between irregularly spaced letters becomes very small, essentially unnoticeable to the untrained eye–which is most of everyone. Kerning is just not that essential.
However, when the eye does take in this text, it takes it in as a field and any overall differences are registered much more readily.
Tracking, at least when I've used it in this wise, is a tool for copyfitting. One of the challenges of the layout artist is to 'shoehorn' edited text (that's what we have editors for) into what is, most often, a predefined space. Adjusting tracking (along with adjusting leading and space before/after) is a quick way to make overset text fit into a space that's a little small.
The catch here is that you can vary it by just a little, but not too much; the eye will notice and attention will be called to the change, arresting your eye in the same way that uneven kerning on headlines will.
The key to the trick is to adjust tracking over a big range–not one sentence or one word, but one or more paragraphs as appropriate. The bigger the range, the smaller the amount of tracking per letterform pair is required. When you spread the change out, you have to change it less, and the final result will blend in better with the rest of the page, and not call attention to itself. The final look will be more professional.
It's a balancing act for the layout artist, and usually comes down to trial and error, but for the enlightened layout artist, it's an entirely doable thing.
And Now, To Summarize
Kerning occurs between two letters only, and is best used when the type is really large, as in headlines and subheads, but not text type.
Tracking is letterspacing over a range, and is best used when you're adjusting the type color to blend in with the rest of the layout, or copyfitting overset text. As Frederic Goudy said, "A man who would letterspace lower case would steal sheep", which has always meant to me that if you're kerning minuscules, you have a whole lot of time to waste, and are probably involved in other unsavory practices...like using MS Publisher.
It's not which is better...it's which is more appropriate.
Technorati Tags: tracking, kerning, typography
Both of them are all about letter spacing. Typographers speak of something called 'text color', and what they mean by this is that, when you look at a page of type, there is a general impression of a tone of darkness (I'm going to assume dark type on a light page). The overall letterspacing will have a bearing on this: tight spacing will cause the color to darken, and loose spacing will cause the color to lighten up.
I can see I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, so let's provide some definitions for the non-typophile:
Kerning refers to altering the spacing between only two letterforms. While the exact derivation of the term is unclear (one reference I use says the term stems from a German word for corner, which I find a little suspect), the kern itself is the area one letterform 'intrudes' into another letterform's space with. As an example, if you consider the word "Tower", the letterspacing between the majuscule T and the minuscule o looks more comfortable if one actually 'scoots' the o just a bit below the top cross-stroke of the T.
On the other hand, tracking refers to letterspacing over a range of letters–from a single word to parts of a sentence to whole sentences and paragraphs and beyond; in fact, another term for it is range kerning. Desipte being similar in concept–it has to do with spacing between the letterforms–it is not the same. Tracking is typically use to apply a standard amount of letterspacing over that range, and is not used with respect to any two individual letterforms. Tracking is usually termed "loose", for more space between than default, or "tight", for less.
Without using any examples, what may become evident here is that one isn't better than the other–one is more appropriate than the other. There are situations where tracking is a more appropriate tool than kerning. I'll illustrate.
A Situation That Calls for Kerning
Kerning is most appropriate when you are letterspacing very large letterforms, such as headlines, or any large text.
The reason that letterspacing is important is that uneven letterspacing tends to arrest the eye. Break open your favorite word processor (or if you have MSWord, for instance, get familiar with it–while they can't do layout, they're amazingly advanced on typography, once one gets to know them) and take some word (like Tower) that has an initial majuscule like T that un unascended minuscule "wants" to kern toward. Now make it real big–72 point or bigger.
If you've not touched the kerning, the program used the font metrics to determine the spacing. And you'll instantly be aware–even if only sublminially–that there's too much air in general between the letterforms, and the spacing of the letterforms themselves seem rather uneven. A typographer laying this out as a headline would put thier I-beam between each pair that looks like it needs it and kern them out (increase the space) or kern them in (decrease the space).
Kerning is best used on large letters, where individual tweaking can even out the spacing in headlines. When the spacing between large letters feels equal, the eye concentrates on the letterforms, and doesn't get 'hung up' on the space between
A Situation Calling for Tracking
Since kerning is most useful when the letterforms are big, it follows that tracking, if adjusted at all, might be most aprpos for letters at body text sizes–say, 10, 12, 13 points.
Consider any regular paragraph of text type, and think about the look of the letterspacing. At that size, the difference between irregularly spaced letters becomes very small, essentially unnoticeable to the untrained eye–which is most of everyone. Kerning is just not that essential.
However, when the eye does take in this text, it takes it in as a field and any overall differences are registered much more readily.
Tracking, at least when I've used it in this wise, is a tool for copyfitting. One of the challenges of the layout artist is to 'shoehorn' edited text (that's what we have editors for) into what is, most often, a predefined space. Adjusting tracking (along with adjusting leading and space before/after) is a quick way to make overset text fit into a space that's a little small.
The catch here is that you can vary it by just a little, but not too much; the eye will notice and attention will be called to the change, arresting your eye in the same way that uneven kerning on headlines will.
The key to the trick is to adjust tracking over a big range–not one sentence or one word, but one or more paragraphs as appropriate. The bigger the range, the smaller the amount of tracking per letterform pair is required. When you spread the change out, you have to change it less, and the final result will blend in better with the rest of the page, and not call attention to itself. The final look will be more professional.
It's a balancing act for the layout artist, and usually comes down to trial and error, but for the enlightened layout artist, it's an entirely doable thing.
And Now, To Summarize
Kerning occurs between two letters only, and is best used when the type is really large, as in headlines and subheads, but not text type.
Tracking is letterspacing over a range, and is best used when you're adjusting the type color to blend in with the rest of the layout, or copyfitting overset text. As Frederic Goudy said, "A man who would letterspace lower case would steal sheep", which has always meant to me that if you're kerning minuscules, you have a whole lot of time to waste, and are probably involved in other unsavory practices...like using MS Publisher.
It's not which is better...it's which is more appropriate.
Technorati Tags: tracking, kerning, typography
12 August 2006
[bloggage] Eins, Zwei, Drei...
Vier!
bassrockergirl pril has changed her address.
Please make a note of it. I have.
Technorati Tags: pril, oregon bloggers
bassrockergirl pril has changed her address.
Please make a note of it. I have.
Technorati Tags: pril, oregon bloggers
[bloggage] Haben Sie Druckmaschine?
The German word das Druckmaschine means "printing press". A more precise translation would be "automated press machine", from the compound der Druck, which amongst the various meanings of such is to print something via force impression, and das Machine, which means what it looks like and in this case implies automation.
In other words, an automated printing press. Like I said.
Anyhow! Apparently my use of the word in the name of a world-wide German company purveying printing presses to the trade, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (the -en ending on the word makes it plural) caught the attention of one Bernhard of the blog FRATEXT (http://www.fratext.de, redirects to fratext.blogspot.com)
Only trouble is, it's mostly auf Deutsch. But that's okay; I'm always looking for a way to further my self-schooling in the Mother Language. And, it's all about printing, from the country that perfected printing. So if you know German and you care about printing, then you should go there.
If you're an unreconstructed Englisch speaker, though, never fear; as Bernhard himself says, a couple of entries back:
Technorati Tags: Printing, German
In other words, an automated printing press. Like I said.
Anyhow! Apparently my use of the word in the name of a world-wide German company purveying printing presses to the trade, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (the -en ending on the word makes it plural) caught the attention of one Bernhard of the blog FRATEXT (http://www.fratext.de, redirects to fratext.blogspot.com)
Only trouble is, it's mostly auf Deutsch. But that's okay; I'm always looking for a way to further my self-schooling in the Mother Language. And, it's all about printing, from the country that perfected printing. So if you know German and you care about printing, then you should go there.
If you're an unreconstructed Englisch speaker, though, never fear; as Bernhard himself says, a couple of entries back:
in the future i also will anounce in english at my blog about the printing industry espcially the business of dealing printng machinerySo maybe you should go there anyway.
Technorati Tags: Printing, German
10 August 2006
[design] Jeff Fisher Clarifies NO!SPEC
A while ago I wrote about NO!SPEC, a movement amongst professional (and those who hope to be pro soon) designers to enhance the profession by making asking for speculative work–getting designers to work for free in the form of a "contests" or by other means, in hopes of getting paid–as outré as white shoes after Labor Day...
Or is that before...oh, I donno. Point made, though.
Anyway! As part of the ongoing awareness campaign, Jeff Fisher tells us of a company that wanted designers to send in new designs for an upcoming publication. Read Jeff's blog here to get the skinny on that. Long story short: Calling all designers, design us a cover and send it in. We'll choose the best and publish it and give you mad recognition.
A passage in Jeff's entry brings a whole lot into crystal clarity here:
There is a happy end to the story as the publisher, sensitive to the well-made argument of Jeff (and apparently many others) who wrote in, closed the contest, and replied to him in a very classy, dignified mea culpa, which enhanced my faith in some of the interests I may, hopefully soon, interface with as a designer.
This is what we call a win-win.
Oh, and for more information on the NO!SPEC campaign, just clicky on the pretty button:
Technorati Tags: NO!SPEC, spec, design
Or is that before...oh, I donno. Point made, though.
Anyway! As part of the ongoing awareness campaign, Jeff Fisher tells us of a company that wanted designers to send in new designs for an upcoming publication. Read Jeff's blog here to get the skinny on that. Long story short: Calling all designers, design us a cover and send it in. We'll choose the best and publish it and give you mad recognition.
A passage in Jeff's entry brings a whole lot into crystal clarity here:
For me, the distinction between "design competition" and such "contests" is very simple. "Competitions" are conducted to evaluate and select graphic work already completed by a designer. Most so-called "contests" are requests for the creation of new work for possible review and selection - and that is "spec," or speculative, work. No designer should be asked to work for free as a condition for the chance of being selected as the "winner" or possibly being hired for future work.Now, the terms seemed generous–no entry fee, but that doesn't change the basic fact of the matter that this is 'spec work. And 'spec work bad!
There is a happy end to the story as the publisher, sensitive to the well-made argument of Jeff (and apparently many others) who wrote in, closed the contest, and replied to him in a very classy, dignified mea culpa, which enhanced my faith in some of the interests I may, hopefully soon, interface with as a designer.
This is what we call a win-win.
Oh, and for more information on the NO!SPEC campaign, just clicky on the pretty button:
Technorati Tags: NO!SPEC, spec, design
09 August 2006
[type_design] Kettle Foods Gets Props From FontShop
One of the things I do to keep up with type trends is subscribe to the FontShop monthly e-newsletter. This month's can be seen by surfing here; it's a free subscription to anybody who likes type.One example used is the packaging of Kettle Chips. They've gotten big; they're no longer the charmingly-small company started by Cameron Healy (then N.S. Khalsa) in the early '80s. They are, however, still based in Salem, which I think is cool.
However, the company, even though it's bigger now, still seems to keep to the same core ideas of healthful snacks and foods, well-made, and being a good citizen (they apparently run thier vehicles on biodiesel derived from used cooking oil–that they supply), to which I personally say "well-done".
A company's personality is seen in the designs it uses to brand itself, theme its products and publications, and brand its products. The values that Kettle forwards with its design should be clear: thoughtful hand-crafting, 'natural' products created for people who love chips and snacks but don't want to settle for the usual mass-produced mess–people who care about what they consume, and what it does to them and to the world around them.
Kettle's designs–with the friendly, rough and ready, distressed type and the simple designs and colors meant to harmonize with the contents as well as generate appetite appeal–serve thier purpose very well indeed. Personally, when I look at a bag of Kettle...heck, I want one.
What better endorsement can you have than that?
Technorati Tags: type design, typography, kettle foods, kettle chips
08 August 2006
[distractions] Hell's Kitchen, Epi Nine
NB, 2006,1008:Some minor edits as I went back and corrected things I should of gotten right. Major text essentially unchanged.
Time for blunt language here, people: this epi kicked my ass. There's no other way to say it. Who would have thought that things would have went the way they did?
Well, obviously, not me.
Sherman, set the wayback machine for about, oh, a week ago. I went out on a limb and said the following foolishness:
The Claws Come Out...
...and they're aimed straight at Virginia. Heather and Keith were out for her, and they did everything they could to undermine her. Her survival amongst such odds...
Well, we get ahead of ourselves again.
Heather and Keith came into the epi as HK's strongest Muppets...eh, chefs. As a matter of fact, they were getting so tight and so sure that the hating on Virginia that they started in on last epi just increased, as will be assayed.
The Palate of Doom
The next intra-service challenge involved Chef Ramsay's signature dish (which not even Captain Obvious, the narrator would name). It very much appeared to be a serving of fish in a sort of sauce. Presentation was pleasing but not too artistic–actually, it seemed to be a pretty accessable even to gourmands such as Yours Truly.
The challenge was simple in concept but daunting in difficulty: experience the dish (taste, smell, note everything you can) and reproduce it, from scratch, without the benefit of a recipe.
Think for a minute about what this entails. You're a chef, and you have a dish in front of you you want to reproduce. You have nothing but your wits, and your senses to correctly divine what went into it. You've got to have all senses on high and your palate has to be spot on, at least, if you want to get it right. Now, remember that in the taste test challenge, Virginia shone. She went into this one, thus, with an advantange. Heather and Keith are no slouches, but Virginia looked to be the one to beat here.
They had 20 minutes to create the dish. The kitchen erupted into a flurry as the three tasted, smelt, and frantically searched for the right stuff, returning periodically to check thier assumptions.
The dish seemed to be a serving of sea bass, on a vegetable pureé, in a sauce. Virginia and Heather chose the striped sea bass while Keith went with the Chilean bass, and as for the pureé, Heather and Keith went with mashed potatoes.
And this is where our opinion of Virignia began to change. Looking about for the proper ingredient she was about to go to the potatoes as well but spied a tray with Tuscan white beans. The a-ha moment was so bright it nearly blew out the tellyvision. We knew right then we were suddenly looking at genius about to happen.
This was also where our opinion of Keith began to take a serious hit. Determining that couscous was in the sauce, he located the packet...and tried to hide it. Virginia was too close on his heels, though, and scored them.
After 20 minutes all three had the dishes completed and Chef Ramsay tasted. We find ourselves agreeing with him; the quality was in. They were, as Chef cited, accomplished dishes. But the point was, how close to the mark did they hit?
One was spot-on...and that was Virginia. Her palate and her flash of genius won her through again.
One For Me, Two for You
The reward for winning the challenge was not inconsiderable; for the day, Chef Ramsay took Virginia aside and tutored her in running a restaurant properly, from selected cooking techniques to expediting (that's what Chef does when he's barking from the pass). A bit of good-hearted comedy was had when Virginia tried calling tickets from the pass; Chef, Mary Ann, and Scott banged pans about, shot her static, and were generally obnoxious and uncooperative. Virginia seemed to give as good as she got.
A new Virginia seemed to be emerging here; the wishy-washy, school-girly crushy salad chef was really starting to find her foot with alacrity that was extremely sobering.
Meanwhile, Heather and Keith were strawbossed by Jean-Phillipe in the menial task of polishing the restaurant's glassware and cutlery, all the while stewing in thier own juices. Now, we know we don't see it all, that editing takes out a hell of a lot, but they just couldn't choke down the possiblity that Virginia just might have gotten through on dint of her own talent. No, it had to be either her flirting with Chef or, hey, maybe that recipe was in the cookbook she got at that Sur la Table shopping spree.
They just became ugly, right up there on TV in front of millions of viewers. I certainly wouldn't be proud of that behavior. Sure, we can put it down to the pressure of being so close to the brass ring and all (not to mention the jealousy inherent in missing out on being tutored by a God of Cookery) but still, I wouldn't look back on that with anything other than a bit of shame.
But, hey, that's just me.
Cooks Behaving Badly
The rest of the day went no better for poor Virginia. Heather and Keith were cold and angry toward her, all but plotting her demise in front of her. When Virginia asked Heather questions about cooking techniques, all Heather returned was sullen silence. And later that night, in a particularly disturbing scene, Heather and Keith clowned around, Heather laying down on her bed and Keith flopping down on top of her (what, no ambulance called? Sorry...)
Due to the layout of the dorms, thier cutting up could be heard by Virginia, who had long ago drew the conclusion that she was the odd one out. It was tough watching her cope with the...well, snotty...treatment she was being dealt.
Too Many Expediters?
Dinner service the next night had a few remarkable ingredients thrown into the mix: Scott and Mary Ann, the sous-chefs who so far had played a minor, supporting role in the proceedings, got in to help out the kitchen due to the otherwise-low chef count, and additionally, to aid Chef in certain culinary escapades.
The twist on tonight's service was that, at some point during the service, each one of the contestants would get to stand in Chef's shoes; each one would get the chance to expedite for a time, and prove thier mettle in the context of the actual dinner service.
Leadership skills had to be in, and in hard. As Chef intimated, the expediter had to run thier brigade...not the other way round. And with emotions on high and the finish line in sight, this was a thing easier said than done. As an added filip, Chef would throw the sabot in at certain junctures to see how on-point Heather, Keith, and Virginia were.
During Keith's turn, while the service didn't exactly pancake, things didn't go well for him. The key to expediting in a kitchen full of high-strung chefs seems to be make yourself alpha dog straight away and don't relent. Keith relented; he had to repeat himself. However, he successfully blocked his bug, which was Scott's overcooking of the pasta. Taste the food before it goes over the pass; that's what quality control is all about.
Heather's turn, and she worked out pretty well. The delegation and direction on-the-fly skills she'd shown so ably before allowed her to take control of the kitchen with no doubt. Chef's sabotage this time, lumpy mashed potatoes, was not stoppped by Heather–she second-guessed herself, wondering if she'd actually correctly seen that they were lumpy, and erring incorrectly.
Virginia was stronger that Keith but not so strong as Heather. Her sabotage was the subsitution of the wrong fish for a dish, which she caught, rather stunningly quickly.
From our POV, Keith was the weak link of the night. He exhibited weak leadership and was extraordinarily curt with Chef Ramsay, leading him at one point to threaten to send him home right in the middle of the service.
The Last Elimination
The three were dismissed with the instruction to think hard and each be ready to nominate one of thier colleagues for elimination.
The lobbying got underway in earnest, but when it came time to nominate, there were no surprises, at least as far as Heather and Keith went; they both ganged up on Virginia. Virginia nommed Keith, tellingly acknowledging his obvious skill but noting that the fire, the passion that usually showed when K-Cheese rolled just wasn't there.
Chef is looking for a strong leader. The prize, remember is an Executive Chef position at a big-money Vegas restaurant, and a share of the profits. If the Chef can't lead, the quality of the product will suffer and your restaurant won't make you any money, slammin' or otherwise.
Heather had it. Virginia actually had it. Keith...well, he can cook, and rather brilliantly at that, he was a weak leader. Instead of leading his kitchen, his kitchen led him. On his only nom of the entire series, Keith was out.
K-Grease Shows True Color
Now, Keith had Chef's regard in many ways. He could have gracefully retired, shaking Chef's hand and perhaps getting a "job well done".
But, no. This, you see, isn't how K-Grease rolls. No, how he does it here is to shuffle and shift around, unhappy, and then cut loose with a patented profanity laden complaint about how he'd been so strong the rest of the way, and then accusing inappropriate conduct between Virginia and Chef.
Ramsay was only taken aback a little: "Why d'you have to be so rude?"
Keith: "You're rude to me all the time."
Chef: "So?"
Exactly. The point isn't that Chef's being rude to you; the point is that he knows, better than anyone, that if you don't run your kitchen, your kitchen runs you. And your kitchen must never run you: Chef knows, as nobody there could, that you have to make yourself alpha chef, if you care abot the quality of your product and the experience of the diners you serve. Keith, in this one, clear moment, demonstrated to the viewers why he's not fit to be an executive chef yet. He has this certain attitude that he just can't get rid of. He thinks it makes him unbeatable and charming. This is so far from the truth it's a toll call, and it's what's bothered me about him ever since he surged to the fore.
It's why the whole "K-Grease" persona is so lame. It's why, in the penultimate episode, he's going home. As Chef said, "And that, your attitude, is why you will never run a high-class restaurant."
We couldn't have said it better.
A Rather Silly Apology
The reader may have noted a marked softening of our attitude towards Virginia. You'd be right. Along with a whole lot of other people, we counted her out and made fun of her.
She got through on her wits and her gumption and we'd be ugly fools if we didn't give her credit for that. And enduring the really ugly scoffing from Heather and Keith won us over finally and completely; we've gone from detractors to fans.
This may seem rather silly, given the nature of this blog, and that this, after all, is a distraction–but a pretty possessing one, and even in as much as Virginia probably has much better things to do than trolling the 'net, seeing what people are saying about her, but after watching her come into her own in this next-to-last-epi, we've got to answer what we've already said about her–it's on the record, after all.
We were wrong about Virginia. In our defense, we've got to say, given her earlier behavior, how could we have known that she was the dark horse? In the space of one epi she's gone from wishy-washy and kind of whiny to impassioned and posessed. We think it's understandable that we discounted her abilities, given the timing and the editing of the show, but in the end, we were judging a book by its cover, and that was wrong.
Good on you, Virginia. We still think there may be some charm working on you, what with your almost preternatural ability to escape elimination, but you have what it takes, and when times got thier worst, you were at your finest–and we mean when Heather and Keith were ganging up on you. We hope they remember that.
And, hey, in the event that Virginia does cruise the 'blogs looking for what people are saying about her, congratulations, babe. We know that this was said and done months ago, with the ending kept under wraps, but to us, it's all in progress, so, good luck next week.
You proved you deserved to be there.
Next Week: Hell's Kitchen Gotteraemerung
The previews suggest at least one ring of a media circus. As last series, when the restaurant was divided and Ralph and Michael got to create thier own eatery on each side of the divide, that's what's going to happen this time.
The catch: the two finalists' kitchen staffs will be the chefs who've been elimmed over the course of the series, bringing all thier baggage along with them. If Heather and Virginia don't run thier kitchens, they certainly will be running them...hell, they'll be throwing them under the bus.
We expect a satisfying conclusion. And which one will take it? Heather has an edge in the kitchen, but the lump of coal that was Virginia has transformed under pressure into a rough-cut jewel. She could still surprise us all.
We admit it; we just can't decide. It could go either way.
Until then, diners.
Technorati Tags: Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay, Heather, Virginia
Time for blunt language here, people: this epi kicked my ass. There's no other way to say it. Who would have thought that things would have went the way they did?
Well, obviously, not me.
Sherman, set the wayback machine for about, oh, a week ago. I went out on a limb and said the following foolishness:
Virginia's looking straight into the face of the end of her Hell's Kitchen career. We find that, over the course of the series, we've read the chefs pretty well, though Virginia's tenacity has surprised us and earned our grudging admiration.Keep that in mind, will you? And with that said, let's go.
It's going to be down to Keith and Heather.
The Claws Come Out...
...and they're aimed straight at Virginia. Heather and Keith were out for her, and they did everything they could to undermine her. Her survival amongst such odds...
Well, we get ahead of ourselves again.
Heather and Keith came into the epi as HK's strongest Muppets...eh, chefs. As a matter of fact, they were getting so tight and so sure that the hating on Virginia that they started in on last epi just increased, as will be assayed.
The Palate of Doom
The next intra-service challenge involved Chef Ramsay's signature dish (which not even Captain Obvious, the narrator would name). It very much appeared to be a serving of fish in a sort of sauce. Presentation was pleasing but not too artistic–actually, it seemed to be a pretty accessable even to gourmands such as Yours Truly.
The challenge was simple in concept but daunting in difficulty: experience the dish (taste, smell, note everything you can) and reproduce it, from scratch, without the benefit of a recipe.
Think for a minute about what this entails. You're a chef, and you have a dish in front of you you want to reproduce. You have nothing but your wits, and your senses to correctly divine what went into it. You've got to have all senses on high and your palate has to be spot on, at least, if you want to get it right. Now, remember that in the taste test challenge, Virginia shone. She went into this one, thus, with an advantange. Heather and Keith are no slouches, but Virginia looked to be the one to beat here.
They had 20 minutes to create the dish. The kitchen erupted into a flurry as the three tasted, smelt, and frantically searched for the right stuff, returning periodically to check thier assumptions.
The dish seemed to be a serving of sea bass, on a vegetable pureé, in a sauce. Virginia and Heather chose the striped sea bass while Keith went with the Chilean bass, and as for the pureé, Heather and Keith went with mashed potatoes.
And this is where our opinion of Virignia began to change. Looking about for the proper ingredient she was about to go to the potatoes as well but spied a tray with Tuscan white beans. The a-ha moment was so bright it nearly blew out the tellyvision. We knew right then we were suddenly looking at genius about to happen.
This was also where our opinion of Keith began to take a serious hit. Determining that couscous was in the sauce, he located the packet...and tried to hide it. Virginia was too close on his heels, though, and scored them.
After 20 minutes all three had the dishes completed and Chef Ramsay tasted. We find ourselves agreeing with him; the quality was in. They were, as Chef cited, accomplished dishes. But the point was, how close to the mark did they hit?
One was spot-on...and that was Virginia. Her palate and her flash of genius won her through again.
One For Me, Two for You
The reward for winning the challenge was not inconsiderable; for the day, Chef Ramsay took Virginia aside and tutored her in running a restaurant properly, from selected cooking techniques to expediting (that's what Chef does when he's barking from the pass). A bit of good-hearted comedy was had when Virginia tried calling tickets from the pass; Chef, Mary Ann, and Scott banged pans about, shot her static, and were generally obnoxious and uncooperative. Virginia seemed to give as good as she got.
A new Virginia seemed to be emerging here; the wishy-washy, school-girly crushy salad chef was really starting to find her foot with alacrity that was extremely sobering.
Meanwhile, Heather and Keith were strawbossed by Jean-Phillipe in the menial task of polishing the restaurant's glassware and cutlery, all the while stewing in thier own juices. Now, we know we don't see it all, that editing takes out a hell of a lot, but they just couldn't choke down the possiblity that Virginia just might have gotten through on dint of her own talent. No, it had to be either her flirting with Chef or, hey, maybe that recipe was in the cookbook she got at that Sur la Table shopping spree.
They just became ugly, right up there on TV in front of millions of viewers. I certainly wouldn't be proud of that behavior. Sure, we can put it down to the pressure of being so close to the brass ring and all (not to mention the jealousy inherent in missing out on being tutored by a God of Cookery) but still, I wouldn't look back on that with anything other than a bit of shame.
But, hey, that's just me.
Cooks Behaving Badly
The rest of the day went no better for poor Virginia. Heather and Keith were cold and angry toward her, all but plotting her demise in front of her. When Virginia asked Heather questions about cooking techniques, all Heather returned was sullen silence. And later that night, in a particularly disturbing scene, Heather and Keith clowned around, Heather laying down on her bed and Keith flopping down on top of her (what, no ambulance called? Sorry...)
Due to the layout of the dorms, thier cutting up could be heard by Virginia, who had long ago drew the conclusion that she was the odd one out. It was tough watching her cope with the...well, snotty...treatment she was being dealt.
Too Many Expediters?
Dinner service the next night had a few remarkable ingredients thrown into the mix: Scott and Mary Ann, the sous-chefs who so far had played a minor, supporting role in the proceedings, got in to help out the kitchen due to the otherwise-low chef count, and additionally, to aid Chef in certain culinary escapades.
The twist on tonight's service was that, at some point during the service, each one of the contestants would get to stand in Chef's shoes; each one would get the chance to expedite for a time, and prove thier mettle in the context of the actual dinner service.
Leadership skills had to be in, and in hard. As Chef intimated, the expediter had to run thier brigade...not the other way round. And with emotions on high and the finish line in sight, this was a thing easier said than done. As an added filip, Chef would throw the sabot in at certain junctures to see how on-point Heather, Keith, and Virginia were.
During Keith's turn, while the service didn't exactly pancake, things didn't go well for him. The key to expediting in a kitchen full of high-strung chefs seems to be make yourself alpha dog straight away and don't relent. Keith relented; he had to repeat himself. However, he successfully blocked his bug, which was Scott's overcooking of the pasta. Taste the food before it goes over the pass; that's what quality control is all about.
Heather's turn, and she worked out pretty well. The delegation and direction on-the-fly skills she'd shown so ably before allowed her to take control of the kitchen with no doubt. Chef's sabotage this time, lumpy mashed potatoes, was not stoppped by Heather–she second-guessed herself, wondering if she'd actually correctly seen that they were lumpy, and erring incorrectly.
Virginia was stronger that Keith but not so strong as Heather. Her sabotage was the subsitution of the wrong fish for a dish, which she caught, rather stunningly quickly.
From our POV, Keith was the weak link of the night. He exhibited weak leadership and was extraordinarily curt with Chef Ramsay, leading him at one point to threaten to send him home right in the middle of the service.
The Last Elimination
The three were dismissed with the instruction to think hard and each be ready to nominate one of thier colleagues for elimination.
The lobbying got underway in earnest, but when it came time to nominate, there were no surprises, at least as far as Heather and Keith went; they both ganged up on Virginia. Virginia nommed Keith, tellingly acknowledging his obvious skill but noting that the fire, the passion that usually showed when K-Cheese rolled just wasn't there.
Chef is looking for a strong leader. The prize, remember is an Executive Chef position at a big-money Vegas restaurant, and a share of the profits. If the Chef can't lead, the quality of the product will suffer and your restaurant won't make you any money, slammin' or otherwise.
Heather had it. Virginia actually had it. Keith...well, he can cook, and rather brilliantly at that, he was a weak leader. Instead of leading his kitchen, his kitchen led him. On his only nom of the entire series, Keith was out.
K-Grease Shows True Color
Now, Keith had Chef's regard in many ways. He could have gracefully retired, shaking Chef's hand and perhaps getting a "job well done".
But, no. This, you see, isn't how K-Grease rolls. No, how he does it here is to shuffle and shift around, unhappy, and then cut loose with a patented profanity laden complaint about how he'd been so strong the rest of the way, and then accusing inappropriate conduct between Virginia and Chef.
Ramsay was only taken aback a little: "Why d'you have to be so rude?"
Keith: "You're rude to me all the time."
Chef: "So?"
Exactly. The point isn't that Chef's being rude to you; the point is that he knows, better than anyone, that if you don't run your kitchen, your kitchen runs you. And your kitchen must never run you: Chef knows, as nobody there could, that you have to make yourself alpha chef, if you care abot the quality of your product and the experience of the diners you serve. Keith, in this one, clear moment, demonstrated to the viewers why he's not fit to be an executive chef yet. He has this certain attitude that he just can't get rid of. He thinks it makes him unbeatable and charming. This is so far from the truth it's a toll call, and it's what's bothered me about him ever since he surged to the fore.
It's why the whole "K-Grease" persona is so lame. It's why, in the penultimate episode, he's going home. As Chef said, "And that, your attitude, is why you will never run a high-class restaurant."
We couldn't have said it better.
A Rather Silly Apology
The reader may have noted a marked softening of our attitude towards Virginia. You'd be right. Along with a whole lot of other people, we counted her out and made fun of her.
She got through on her wits and her gumption and we'd be ugly fools if we didn't give her credit for that. And enduring the really ugly scoffing from Heather and Keith won us over finally and completely; we've gone from detractors to fans.
This may seem rather silly, given the nature of this blog, and that this, after all, is a distraction–but a pretty possessing one, and even in as much as Virginia probably has much better things to do than trolling the 'net, seeing what people are saying about her, but after watching her come into her own in this next-to-last-epi, we've got to answer what we've already said about her–it's on the record, after all.
We were wrong about Virginia. In our defense, we've got to say, given her earlier behavior, how could we have known that she was the dark horse? In the space of one epi she's gone from wishy-washy and kind of whiny to impassioned and posessed. We think it's understandable that we discounted her abilities, given the timing and the editing of the show, but in the end, we were judging a book by its cover, and that was wrong.
Good on you, Virginia. We still think there may be some charm working on you, what with your almost preternatural ability to escape elimination, but you have what it takes, and when times got thier worst, you were at your finest–and we mean when Heather and Keith were ganging up on you. We hope they remember that.
And, hey, in the event that Virginia does cruise the 'blogs looking for what people are saying about her, congratulations, babe. We know that this was said and done months ago, with the ending kept under wraps, but to us, it's all in progress, so, good luck next week.
You proved you deserved to be there.
Next Week: Hell's Kitchen Gotteraemerung
The previews suggest at least one ring of a media circus. As last series, when the restaurant was divided and Ralph and Michael got to create thier own eatery on each side of the divide, that's what's going to happen this time.
The catch: the two finalists' kitchen staffs will be the chefs who've been elimmed over the course of the series, bringing all thier baggage along with them. If Heather and Virginia don't run thier kitchens, they certainly will be running them...hell, they'll be throwing them under the bus.
We expect a satisfying conclusion. And which one will take it? Heather has an edge in the kitchen, but the lump of coal that was Virginia has transformed under pressure into a rough-cut jewel. She could still surprise us all.
We admit it; we just can't decide. It could go either way.
Until then, diners.
Technorati Tags: Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay, Heather, Virginia
06 August 2006
[type_design] Monotype and Linotype Get Married
As I noted in this post on Designorati:Typography, two big type founders just tied the knot: America's own Monotype Imaging, and Germany's Linotype GmbH. More precisely, Monotype bought Linotype from it's parent, the German press maker Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.
Reaction overall ranges from mild bemusement to "oh, is that so?". Most likely this is due to the fact that the average Joe or Jane Typeshopper won't really see a difference; Linotype will retain its offices in Bad Homburg (which is just a fun pair of words to say) and its own unit's managment. They even plan on keeping thier marketing separate, right down to maintaining separate e-tail sites.
This seems to be about assets and global competitiveness than anything else.
Technorati Tags: type design, Linotype, Monotype
Reaction overall ranges from mild bemusement to "oh, is that so?". Most likely this is due to the fact that the average Joe or Jane Typeshopper won't really see a difference; Linotype will retain its offices in Bad Homburg (which is just a fun pair of words to say) and its own unit's managment. They even plan on keeping thier marketing separate, right down to maintaining separate e-tail sites.
This seems to be about assets and global competitiveness than anything else.
Technorati Tags: type design, Linotype, Monotype
[design, blog] Serendipitous Searches
I note, with irony situational and sardonic, that a search hit from google.co.uk contained the words "getting graphic design jobs".
Still trying to crack that nut meself.
Technorati Tags: design, blog, job search, The Zehnkatzen Times
Still trying to crack that nut meself.
Technorati Tags: design, blog, job search, The Zehnkatzen Times
04 August 2006
[distractions] Hell's Kitchen, Epi Eight
One more epi under our belt, and the end is in sight.Welcome to Are You Being Served, Gordon Ramsay Edition
The Picking Up Where We Left Off Part
Garrett's gone. We are down to four: The Faux Rapper, The Chipmunk, The Groupie, and The Omarosa. With The Ex-Felon gone (I'm guessing here, folks, please no lawsuits!) the pressure is off temporarily and everyone begins sizing each other up.
There's no real alliances to be made, no power groups to form. Everyone is kind of on thier own now, but Kevin and Heather seem to be clicking still–which has disturbed me from the first and still does even now. It was, however, passing cute the way she called him "K-Greasy". In another room, Virginia is having even more crippling self-recrimination and Sara is comforting her, which, now that I think of it, is just as disturbing as Heather and Keith's bonhomie.
Taking It To The Street
Come the next day, the next intra-dinner-service challenge. To thier immeasurable delight, the chefs are told that they will be running thier own restaurant for the day. What could it be? Where? While visions of chophouses danced in their heads, they are blindfolded and loaded onto a van to be taken to...
...a construction site. But not just any construction site, a construction site with four gleaming, sparkling-clean roach coaches, each individualized with a smart placard exhibiting the HK logo and each of the four chef's names, each in a different color.
Today's challenge is to prepare a lunch for and satisfy a crew of about 100 construction workers. Each chef had an hour to prepare for them. By the each now:
- Keith: Lobster on a bed of greens.
- Virginia: Turkey proscuitto and feta cheese panini (actually sounds good)
- Heather: Grilled chicken sandwich and OMG FRIES!
- Sara: Seared quail with a micro-greens salad (miniaturization strikes again)
- Keith: Just being himself
- Virginia: Full frontal flirting
- Heather: Alcohol in the onions...'cos construction workers looove alcohol! AND MORE FRIES OMG FRIES!
- Sara: Apparently, speaking Spanish
At the end of the lunch break, all the workers returned comment cards rating which ones they liked in order of preference. The winner of this challenge will, therefore, be completely immune from The Ramdog's whim.
Back at the the restaurant, Chef reviews the action and states the prize, a very special one; the winner of the construction workers' poll will recieve immunity, a guaranteed spot in the final three, on top of whatever other prize there was. But the bad news first...the #4 spot (relentlessly termed 'the worst') was...Heather's chicken sandwich with alcoholic onions (cue Heather's absolute meltdown). The #1 spot...Virginia's pannini sandwich.
Looking back on it, it was a lock really. Anyone here have a pannini? They are teh rock! And when you pair it with Virginia's rack...of self confidence and open...and friendly attitude, you have a sure-fire winner–or, as Kevin might tell you, "slammin' money".
To The Table
So, Virginia wins, not only getting the pass to the next (and next-to-last) round, she also gets a $1000 shopping spree at Sur Le Table. Now, as local foodies know, there is a local one to Portland, on NW 11th across from Powell's City of Books. This place is better than that kitchen place at the mall, possibly even better than Kitchen Kaboodle. It's a cook's wet dream on steroids.
Virginia made out like a complete naïf in there.
What is that big knife-thing? Why it's a cleaver, dear. That's what we call it here. And a "Kiss the Cook" apron? Just the thing for the aspiring executive chef that wants to impress one Gordon Ramsay. And can I get one of your books, Chef? I've looked all over the store, where are they? Why, right here, in front of your face, luv. Sure, I'll autograph it for you. I'll try real hard to say something nice there.
A Case or two of the...Oh, skip it
Meanwhile, back in HK, the three losers get to shuck crabs for tomorrow night's service. Nobody was very happy with Virginia, though they didn't moan and groan too much. Heather showed her absolute coldness toward crustaceans by saying "Welcome to Hell's Kitchen" to one she was hauling out and then saying to another entering the pot "Get it...it's just like a bath".
Cold, man, I'll tell you, cold.
Virginia did come back to the kitchen itself after her shopping spree to say hello to her colleagues, but that didn't go well. Of course, when someone comes home, the question is "What did you get me?" Well, here's the haul:
- For Sara, a cow creamer. For, you know, all the times Ramdog called her a cow. Get it? Oh, the rich humor!
- For Heather, an Ove Glove. 'Cos, you know, that time when Heather burned her hand. Such sensitivity!
- And, for K-Cheese, a...crab cracker. Hey, good thinking, V! Just a way of saying Thank you for taking me along to Vegas that time, here's a cheap tool that you are probably already using right now.
The Seventh Dinner Service
The crab goes on the menu, the restaurant opens, and the waste hits the air-impeller.
No, actually, it started off...well, well. Everyone clicked, starters fairly flew out of the kitchen, communication happened. Chef Ramsay had nice things to say about the crew.
Did it continue?
Well, what do you think? These are, after all the leftovers from a crew that has been called, alternately, Muppets and donkeys. Tonight, though, were it not for Heather, they'd not gotten through at all; tonight saw the return of the early, strong dynamic Heather, not the inconstant Heather we saw through the middle of the series. Virginia is suddenly overwhelmed with the veggies and starts to shut down, Sara makes a mess of the fish station, and Keith...
I'd better say something about the complication for the night. Tonight, three master chefs (whose names I've never heard of but I trust that they are) are invited in to sample what the HK chefs can produce. The chefs choose the dishes they are going to present to them. Sara is sending out something called a salade St-Jacques, Keith is sending out spaghetti lobster, and Heather is nailing the Wellingtons.
Sara's salade gets mixed reviews; Keith actually screws up cooking the spaghetti, which is amazing because even I can successfully cook spaghetti (he actually reboils the already-cooked pasta, in fear of having to face Chef Ramsay with the news that he undercooked it to begin with), and Virginia causes a fire in her pan, making it neccessary for Heather to run around to the veggie station to complete the Wellingtons.
The only success on the plate here were Heather's Wellingtons, which were perfectly prepared, though even that was marred by Virginia's screwup, which resulted in veggies that tasted charred.
Indeed, as the dinner service progressed, Heather really came into her own, leaping from station to station as though she'd consumed a case of Red Bull before dinner. The only thing that kept her from completely assuming Sara's fish station was Sara almost physically defending it from her.
Immunity isn't Forever
The lowest point of the evening was Virginia's; after burning cabbage, forcing Heather to pull a serving of duck back from the hot plate where it was ready to go, Chef Ramsay comes to the conclusion that she's coasting on her immunity, so he revokes it.
"You are no longer safe," he said, making sure she heard. It got her perked up, but there was no hope; she had really gone too far down the wrong road.
The service is completed, but only Heather looked good here. Her mission is to nom two of the other three for the chopping block.
The Lobbying, Oh, The Lobbying
The lobbying amongst the three eligible was kind of strange. Heather had a chance to tell Sara what she's needed to hear for so long but pulled her punch; Virginia actually started saying that it was time for her to got, that she really had no place in running a kitchen. Heather decided to deal with this by nomming both Virginia and Sara (Keith was weak, but not as weak as those two), reasoning that Virginia would be gone because of her sad performance and Sara (who knew she was weak but didn't want to go) would be spared.
Virginia Snatches Victory From The Jaws of Sara
The elimination ceremony starts, and Sara and Virginia are called forward. The standard question–why do you deserve to stay in Hell's Kitchen–had Sara coming up with a version of her standard disingenuity, that there had been mistakes here and there, but she thought she had what it took.
Virginia started in on her usual ramble, but said that, in essence, she didn't think she deserves to win. This gives Chef an opportunity to make good on his immunity word; it becomes up to Virginia who will go home. Either herself, if she's sincere about her not deserving to win, or Sara, if she decides to stay.
The tension is brought to a point as Virginia dithers and Sara tries to get another word in (which Chef isn't having, BTW)...
Virginia decides: Hell no, she doesn't want to go! She deserves to stay!
And, of course, sic transit Sara, her usefullness outlived. She shan't pass this way again, and we won't miss her.
Next Week, in Virginia's Last Epi
In the next (next to last, that is), epi, the last three are going to get a taste of the Big Ramdog Life, each doing the head Chef job in turn. They're going to find out that cooking is one thing, and Cheffing is quite another. I'm looking forward for real adventure. These people are going to hand each other thier own backsides.
And, lets just be honest here; this is going to be Virginia's exit. She's survived on borrowed time; the amount of bullets she's dodged suggest that there may be a God and that Virginia's His current project. She's said herself that she just can't hack it in a hot kitchen service, and every time she goes into that kitchen it's obvious she can't really hack it; she gets overwhelmed way too easily. And with only three chefs in the kitchen? It's going to be brutal.
And, So, It's Prediction Time
Which, kind of, we already made here. Virginia's looking straight into the face of the end of her Hell's Kitchen career. We find that, over the course of the series, we've read the chefs pretty well, though Virginia's tenacity has surprised us and earned our grudging admiration.
It's going to be down to Keith and Heather. Now, if the competition went like last season, expect the restaurant to be riven in twain, with each side redecorated and themed in a manner of Keith and Heather's choosing; then, it's battle of the restaurants, in which the winner will be the people's choice.
Until then, diners.
Technorati Tags: Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay
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