'Out Of The Frying Pan ... Straight Into HELL!'

Season 13 of Gordon Ramsay’s hit culinary competition series HELL’S KITCHEN will have a two-hour premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 10th (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

In the first hour of the premiere episode, Chef Ramsay extends star treatment to the newest batch of contestants when they arrive in Hollywood for a silver screen experience. But the Hollywood ending is cut short when Ramsay splits the chefs into two teams – men (Blue) vs. women (Red) – and asks them to present their signature dishes in front of a live audience. Later, the chefs struggle to work together during their first dinner service, and one team’s performance is so disappointing that Chef Ramsay forces them to leave the kitchen.

In the second hour (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), the Red and Blue teams will go head-to-head and dig as many Geoduck clams out of intricate sand sculptures and then recreate Ramsay’s Geoduck sashimi. The team that creates 15 perfect dishes will soak up the sun on a luxury yacht with Chef Ramsay, while the losing team will clean up the sand and prepare the Geoduck nigiri and chowder for dinner service.

At the end of another fiery dinner service, one more chef will be sent home.

With the cast just announced, we here at Exclusive Magazine are proud to reveal that there will be a Sterling Heights, MI contestant on the show for the very first time!

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Steve Rosenthal ... to HELL!

Hell's Kitchen is going to say you are from "Detroit," but are you actually from Detroit or a suburb, perhaps? "I actually grew up just north of Detroit city, in Sterling Heights."

Growing up, was being a successful cook the only thing lil' Stevie wanted to be? "When I was growing up I always had a love for food but it wasn't until I was 24 years old, when I decided to go to culinary school and become a chef."

Being that you are 34 years-old, before you got chosen for Hell's Kitchen Season 13, what had been your finest "cooking hour," shall we say? "Choosing my finest hour in a kitchen is really hard to say, because there have been so many great moments. One of my proudest moments was one of my first jobs working at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Boston, but there's always something about being part of the restaurant opening in seeing be successful."

And just what did you have to go through to get entered into Hell's Kitchen in the first place? "To get on HELL’S KITCHEN took a lot of passion, dedication, and determination."

Has this 13th season show with you in it actually finished taping, or is it still being filmed? "Yes HELL’S KITCHEN is done taping. It was probably some of the hardest but best days of my life being on the show, and I got to meet some amazing chefs and became really good friends with them."

And with that above question in mind, just how easy IS it to recreate Gordon Ramsey's Geoduck sashmi ... having first dug out as many Geoduck clams out of some intricate sand sculptures?! "Making Chef Gordon Ramsay's geoduck is all about the finesse and going to the sand sculptures was a lot of fun, cause you got take out some aggression from living in the same house with the same people every day all day long."

As we're not called Exclusive Magazine for nothing, please reveal something about what we can expect to see from you on the show! A moment to watch out for, so to speak. "It's hard to pick out a certain moment, without giving too much away, but there is one moment that keeps coming to my head and that's when I had to cook a dish twice!"

Indeed, now you have gone toe-to-toe with Gordon Ramsey, what can you say about him?! "I have so much respect for Chef Ramsay. Whatever he says, I just want to learn from it, because inside I know I have to cook food that is up to his standards and his level. And he’s gotten to this point in his career for a reason!"

Your signature dish is a rack of lamb with spinach and eggplant puree and pearl onions! Man, now I'm hungry, but where/when did such a culinary concoction first come to mind? "I used to work for a lamb farmer for Border Springs Farm, and I knew I wanted to use lamb in my sig dish since it’s one of my favorites."

You are currently an Executive Chef, but is that at a restaurant here in Sterling Heights, MI? "I am from Detroit and that when my heart is. But I left Michigan about 11 years ago. When I decided to become a chef I wanted to travel around the United States to learn new and different cuisine. I have moved from Dover, New Hampshire to Las Vegas to Boston and currently I'm living in Washington, D.C. were I am now the sous chef at the Old Ebbitt Grill right next to the White House."

Finally, we here at Exclusive Magazine LOVE Penguins (the birds, and NOT to eat!). So, we're wondering if you have any love for them also, or any stories, perhaps? "I've always loved animals, including penguins! When I was child my parents always had a dog in the house, birds and a fish tank."

Interviewed by Russell A. Trunk

www.fox.com/hellskitchen