One of Rock Hill’s own, Winthrop catering chef Lou Petrozza was featured on last night’s finale of the populer Fox TV Show ‘Hell’s Kitchen’. He’d made it past 14 other people and had just one more to go before winning the grand prize, a 1 year contract to be executive chef at Gordon Ramsey’s newest restaurant, London West Hollywood.
Unfortunately, he lost out to 25 year old culinary student Christina, and in my opinion, the right man didn’t win this one.
Petrozza was just as good a chef, had just as much control of his kitchen as did his counterpart, but what really set him apart was the fact that he’s just a nicer person.
Now, in Hell’s Kitchen one might argue that nice doesn’t have a place, but in reality, people want to work for and with people they like. Sure Gordon Ramsey has the potty mouth of all potty mouths and can be a sorely ol’ SOB, but I’m sure part of that is the act he puts on to drive TV ratings.
At the end of the day, yes, you must demand a certain quality, but I think Petrozza could have done that with class and dignity.
Oh well. As life’s proven time and again for many, many people, you can’t win ’em all. But in this case, even though our own Rock Hill celebrity didn’t win this one, I think we did in the fact he gets to stick around here and doesn’t have to move out to the bright lights and fake tans of LA and Hollywood.
Lucky us.