More Info on ‘That Show’: White to Be Host of 2009’s ‘The Chopping Block’
Ha-hah! Sometimes finding things out is a game of putting puzzle pieces together. Funny thing, I didn’t even know I was working on a puzzle. Couple days ago, I saw something, said “aha” and posted how NBC was making (and casting) a US version of “Last Restaurant Standing” for the fall season.
Then I stumbled upon something else from a few days before that and it turns out there’s more news: The show has a name already and a host. And it looks more like it will be, not the fall but, the spring (or winter) season for its debut.
Legendary British chef Marco Pierre White has been tapped for a new reality show on NBC. The Chopping Block is skedded for 2009 and will feature eight American couples running two neighboring restaurants in Manhattan, with one couple being eliminated per week. Of course, this being reality television… there will be the obligatory challenges and mystery tasks.
White has prior television experience; he’s the current host of Hell’s Kitchen’s UK incarnation.
Yes, White took over the hosting lead started by Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay — and I don’t blame him a bit — didn’t want to do the version the UK producers wanted which was to continue with “dumb celebs” not real chefs who wanted to achieve something. And most of the actors, Ramsay found out years ago weren’t “into doing actual hard work”. There’s a famous clip on You Tube where a contrite, non-cursing Ramsay (yes, I swear you read that correctly) is smacked hard in the face by some prima donn ancient actress queen because Ramsay had the nerve to actually expect her to cook something in the kitchen, the very job she and her agent agreed she would do. After that (I’m betting) Ramsay said to the producers either give him real cooks or if they were going to keep doing it with has-been actors to bleep-off. And that’s when White took over the UK series.
As to this new American show for 2009 …. I hate to say this but I’m not sure if this version of Last Restaurant Standing will work or not. The major thing I like about the British one is that it really is eight real and seperate restaurants in eight seperate towns. When you have two teams in two storefronts next to each other it’s much more of a fakery gimmicky thing isn’t it? It’s basically a version of the “Restaurant Elimination Challenge” from Top Chef that they do yearly.
… Eh, we’ll see. Could work; could sink. Either way guess we’ll find out in about a year from now.
