Tuesday, June 6, 2006 | 7:12 a.m.
On 6/06/06 we lead with the demonically addictive cooking show "Hell's Kitchen."
It's almost as if it was planned.
The culinary competition program starring frequently agitated English Chef Gordon Ramsay debuts its second season with a two-hour episode at 8 p.m. Monday on Fox. The show brings together 12 would-be restaurateurs in a competition officiated by Ramsay, a self-described perfectionist who has been known to, shall we say, verbally tenderize his contestants.
The winner of "Hell's Kitchen 2," taped in February in a Los Angeles TV station converted to a restaurant (with some segments taped at Red Rock Resort), will work as an executive chef at T Bones at Red Rock Resort. The victor will also be eligible to receive a financial interest in the restaurant (the cherry on the sundae, as it were).
During a conference call from London on Monday afternoon, Ramsay heaped praise on Las Vegas as a culinary mecca.
"Las Vegas is the Monte Carlo of America I have never been in a city like it that houses so many top international chefs," Ramsay said. "It's not a playground with a few casinos. It's a culinary capital of talent from around the world."
Ramsay said he would one day like to join that talent.
"It would be an extraordinary opportunity. I would love to get to Vegas," he said, but "the objective right now is for the winner (of 'Hell's Kitchen') and the restaurant to flourish."
Ramsay explained his often prickly temperament on the show.
"Six months after the program has finished, the winner and the restaurant have to be successful. If it goes to the wrong person, I have not done my job," he said. "If I had (only) $1,000 to give away, there would be no call for that firm toughness. But I treat it as if it's my own kitchen, with my own standards I've spent some time in the kitchen with Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud, and when the (stuff) hits the fan - when a table spending $7,000 on a meal sends the duck back because it hasn't been cooked properly - they're not talking (to the staff) like a parade is going on.
"We're not running a hairdressing salon. We're running a kitchen."
NoteMart
A tough pair to beat: Opportunity Village has recruited Siegfried and Roy to appear at its June 24 Celebrity Poker Tournament. The no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament is set for 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Caesars Palace Poker Tournament Room. All proceeds will go toward construction of an Opportunity Village campus in southwest Las Vegas, the third such facility in the Las Vegas Valley. Also scheduled to take part in the tournament are Lance Burton, Clint Holmes, Frankie Scinta and David Brenner. "It's such an honor to have Siegfried and Roy and many of our community's premier entertainers together for an afternoon of fun with a purpose," Opportunity Village Chief Development Officer Linda Smith said in a news release
Paws for thought: The final numbers are in from Sunday's "Best in Show" Animal Foundation event at the Orleans Arena. Among 64 dogs up for adoption, 61 found homes. The three awaiting adoption - a 10-month-old male German shepherd mix, a year-old male terrier/griffon mix and a 4-year-old cocker spaniel - are at the Lied Animal Shelter's northwest satellite location, 7035 W. Ann Road, Suite 130, inside the Albertson's shopping center.
The "Best in Show" champ was a dachshund/Labrador mix named Fritz (a curious looking canine who rode low to the ground and had a disproportionately large head). He was among the dogs auctioned off and went for $775 (a black standard poodle went for $4,000 at auction, the highest price paid for any of the doggies)
Point, counter point: Tickets are on sale for the Las Vegas Desert Classic V professional darts tournament, set for June 28-July 2 at Mandalay Bay's Bayside C Ballroom. Call 632-7580 or 474-4000, or go to www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com
Is that a Heritage Softail Classic in the rear-view mirror? With another Harley-Davidson dealership opening June 15 in Las Vegas (at 7100 W. Sahara Ave.), and the Sahara hotel partnering with GM and the Las Vegas Monorail on the "Drive" attraction on Paradise Road and Sahara Avenue, we take note of this fact in a recent column by The New York Times' Thomas Friedman. Today GM is worth $15.8 billion and Harley-Davidson is worth $13.6 billion. A Harley gets a lot better gas mileage than an H2, is one reason
Trivia time: Which media-savvy Las Vegas hotel executive turned the big 6-0 this weekend? (Answer later in this item.) Trivia answer: That would be Ira David Sternberg of the Las Vegas Hilton, who flipped the calendar Saturday ...
Been to the Harrah's show yet? Reader reports a red 2005 (she thinks) Mustang with the plate BAREBAK.
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