Finally, the "Hell's Kitchen" crew had a dinner service that had Chef Ramsay beaming at the end of it. But someone had to go home, and in the end, Ramsay chose to boot off Jen for her inconsistent attititude rather than Corey. Here's what Jen had to say for herself:
MSN: Jen, I'm sorry to see you got kicked off of "Hell's Kitchen" last night.
Jen: I know! What a bummer!
MSN: Was it harder that basically everybody did a good job last night? Would you rather have had a service where you totally screwed things up?
Jen: No, I definitely, I'm proud of myself for how I performed on the show. And I acknowledge the fact that I went far. I would have liked to see myself last longer. But I'm glad to see myself leave on the heels of a good dinner service. Chef Ramsay never really too much complained so much about my cooking. It was more so my attitude. I'm young. It's something I'll work on with age, I guess.
MSN: Why did you have so many attitude problems, not just with Chef but with the other contestants?
Jen: I think people are forgetting that it is a competition, and it is a competitive environment. Everyone's out to win and I'm naturally a competitive person. I have a competitive personality and I'm just real. I wanted to win and it was pretty much no-holds-barred. I didn't come on there to make friends. I came on there to win and to get a good experience from the whole deal.
MSN: But isn't part of winning a competition like "Hell's Kitchen" being at least friendly, if not outright making friends?
Jen: I don't necessarily think it's about being friendly. You should exhibit teamwork, definitely, because in every kitchen there has to have teamwork and everyone needs to be in sync for it to be a successful dinner service. So I tried to at least keep up the communication in the kitchen. One time I did shut down was when Chef Ramsay yelled at me, but I don't respond well to negative criticism, being constantly yelled at and put down. What gets me motivated is positive criticism. I've worked in numerous restaurants and numerous brigades. I've worked on brigades with 40 other cooks, in an extremely busy environment and it's not like that. I respond to positive responses. That makes me want to do my job well and successfully. That was really where my attitude came from.
MSN: But knowing that you respond more positively to positive criticism, why go on a show like "Hell's Kitchen," where you know at least part of it is that Chef Ramsay is going to yell at chefs who aren't doing things to his standards?
Jen: Well, I went on the show with the intention of not getting yelled at. I know I'm a solid cook. That's a common misconception that a lot of viewers have, that the people who go on the show are not skilled, are imbeciles and things of that nature. But I've been to culinary school, I've graduated from culinary school. I've studied in France. I lived over there for six months. ... I had a lot of culinary experience under my belt going onto that show, so I really did not plan on getting yelled at. I planned on trying to excel in everything I would do on the show so he wouldn't have a reason to yell at me. I do take criticism well. Just not that form of it. My reason for going on the show was to learn something. This looks great on my resume. It built me up as a person and a chef. It raised my expectations. That's my reason for going on the show, definitely.
MSN: What did you gain from being on "Hell's Kitchen?"
Jen: Wow, it's been great. I can say ever since the second episode, I've had numerous news stations and networks contacting me. They love my personality. Whether people love me or hate me, people are definitely going to remember me and continue to talk about me. It's given me a lot of exposure. And I've gained a lot of respect in the culinary industry. I've been at the National Restaurant Show and that was great. The Taste of Chicago is coming up, and a huge demo with it. So I've gained a huge fan base, a lot of supporters. And people who hate me love to hate me, so they're willing to watch whatever I do to say they hate me even more. I'm sure bottles of champagne popped in homes all across America when I got eliminated. But that's OK. Whether it's good or bad, they're going to remember Jen.
MSN: So what are you going to be doing at Taste of Chicago?
Jen: It's huge. The Mayor's Office contacted me and wanted me to do a cooking demo. It's not just in a booth. It's on Dominick's Chef Demonstration Stage. ... There's a lot of heavy hitters there and they picked me for the busiest day, the Fourth of July. I'm extremely excited about that.
MSN: What would you change if you could do all over again?
Jen: If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm being perfectly honest with you. Things happen for a reason. And God definitely has something greater in store for me. Winning "Hell's Kitchen" would have been great, but the response and the support I'm getting from my time on the show. Sitting back and watching myself has been funny, because I had no idea I was actually like that. It was crazy when you see yourself on TV. But for the most part, I thought I was funny. I was controversial and sure, disliked. But I loved the ending, when they showed my past wins and trials and tribulations that I'd overcome there. It was great. I didn't cry on the show when I got eliminated, but I got teary when I watched it because I was like, "Wow, I'm really a strong woman." I set a good example for a lot of people, you know?
MSN: One of the things that puzzled me a little was when you won that challenge and you got to go to Vegas, why did you pick Corey of all the people you could have picked to go with you?
Jen: [Laughs] It's funny you asked that. My family said the same thing. "Why did you pick her?" But a lot of people understood: you keep your friends close and your enemies closer. At that time, I'm still in a competitive frame of mind. So I'm thinking, if I end in the final two, who would I be in the final two with? I thought Christina was totally inexperienced, never worked in a restaurant before, well Red Lobster. Petrozza, Chef was always riding him about his cleanliness. He doesn't have a chance. So maybe it's Corey. She hasn't done anything spectacular. She hasn't won any challenges. But at least she stays under the radar and hangs on the coattails of Christina. I figure she'll probably emerge one day. But it never happened. I wasn't going to take Christina just because she came in second place. We didn't get along. As a matter of fact, I didn't get along with anyone on the show.
MSN: What do you think of the three remaining candidates? [Pause] Hello?
Jen: Yes, I'm here. They're all great, superb, human beings.
MSN: Are you serious?
Jen: No.
MSN: So what are you going to be working on from here on in?
Jen: Well, I'm working on a lot of things. The Frosted Glass Martini Bar and Grill is a concept I've come up with. It's an upscale martini bar and grill that I plan on locating in the Evergreen part of Chicago. I'm working on that. I'm talking to these networks and seeing what somebody's going to do for me, what shows they have for me. Maybe it's doing some hosting for some shows. ... I can't really go into too much detail. I'm really excited. I'm really proud of myself. I think if I would have won the show, I couldn't have done as much because I'd be committed to that restaurant. One thing I did learn from being on the show: with my personality and who I am, I'm not meant to be working for someone else. I'm just trying to market me, and I'm a good person at heart. People who know me outside that competition and what they saw on reality TV know that I'm funny and I'm caring. I'm just great to be around. I really am.
- posted by Raoul
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