When this season of "Hell's Kitchen" began, one of the characters to emerge from the pack was Bobby, who claimed himself to be "the black Gordon Ramsay" and "the four-star general" to Ramsay's commander-in-chief. He got put up on the chopping block in the first show for failing to lead the men's team. He took a hands-off approach to everything.

Since then, he seemed to have mostly rebounded and was one of my favorites to win it all. Until last night. Ramsay told the remaining chefs that they'd be serving a party of 12, a huge challenge for cooks to get everything coordinated so everyone in the group gets her food at the same time. And I do mean her, as for some reason, the 12 were Hawaiian Tropic models. Anyway, Bobby and Jen got put up for elimination and Ramsay chose to kick Bobby off.

Here's what the four-star general (who is apparently on a first-name basis with his C-i-C) had to say:

MSN: Bobby, I have to confess I didn't expect to be talking to you this soon. I thought you were going to be the winner.

Bobby: Yeah, everybody was saying that. I live in western New York, and people are sad in western New York. Even though we lost four Super Bowls in a row, they know how to mourn pretty good in western New York.

MSN: Why do you think you came up so short in this last service?

Bobby: I don't think I came up really so short. If you look at it, Gordon didn't have to yell at me, he didn't have to belittle me. It was just one of those nights where it was my turn to get the shine on and I worked my way through it. There were a few mishaps but there was nothing that was huge. He didn't have to shut the kitchen down and he didn't have to kick me off the station. So I tried my best and my best wasn't good enough.

MSN: Why do you think he kicked you off instead of Jen?

Bobby: You know, I don't get into why he kicked me off and kept Jen. But my thing is, Jen had a couple go-arounds with Gordon. The ratings like that, the show likes that. I can see a couple more outbursts from Jen and Gordon together.

MSN: So what do you think you gained from being on the show?

Bobby: What I gained was a head full of knowledge, not only from a cooking staff point of view as well as from a business standpoint. Gordon is an amazing businessman aside from being a chef. So I came away with that, being a better businessman and a better chef.

MSN: What would you have done differently if you had it to do all over again?

Bobby: I probably wouldn't do anything differently. I walked in there as a four-star general, I left a general. Me trying to turn back the hands of time, I wouldn't do anything differently.

MSN: Do you think it was a little boastful, though, to consider yourself "the black Gordon Ramsay," to consider yourself a four-star general?

Bobby: Not at all, because that's what I am in the kitchen world. When I claimed myself to be the black Gordon Ramsay, later on in the show, I settled down. Some of the tactics Gordon used, I don't use in the kitchen. So I still stayed the four-star general. I still stayed a confident leader. I didn't break down. I didn't cry. I didn't get disgruntled. So I did what a general does.

MSN: Now were you embarrassed when you found out you were saying all that stuff with Gordon right there in disguise?

Bobby: Was I embarrassed? No, I wasn't embarrassed at all. I'm glad he heard that. I know once he heard that all the focus was going to be on me, like, "What does this guy really know?" Halfway through the show, it started showing. Gordon left me alone. He didn't belittle me. He didn't yell at me. He didn't really put me down, because I was an exceptional chef there.

MSN: What was the worst insult he levied at you?

Bobby: Early in the season, he took me out the kitchen and told me I wasn't a leader. In the last challenge, he told me basically my dish wasn't serveable to a poodle. So you know, it wasn't too bad.

MSN: What's going to become of you from hereon in?

Bobby: I took some time off to get rid of the headaches and to get rid of the Tourette's Syndrome. I'm not dropping the f-bombs as much. So I'm open for anything -- TV, commercials, Food Network. Who knows?

MSN: Who do you think's likely to win out of the four remaining chefs?

Bobby: I like Petrozza, and for some strange reason, I like Jennifer.

MSN: What do you think the highlight of being on "Hell's Kitchen" was for you?

Bobby: I think the highlight was from a small city where I came from and to make it to Hollywood, and not only to make it to "Hell's Kitchen," but to be portrayed in a way of a true leader who didn't crack under pressure, I think that was the highlight. Even being kicked off was the highlight because when I got kicked off, I still remained a gentleman.

- posted by Raoul