Entertainment Today speaks to Hell's Kitchen boss

17 September 2007 - Entertainment Today's Michael Underwood spoke to Marco Pierre White at Hell's Kitchen this morning.

Michael Underwood:  Can we talk about the eviction last night first of all?  Aneka Rice going.  What are your thoughts on that?

Marco Pierre White:  I think it was right.  It was the right time for her, she was struggling.  She found it very difficult and she's found it very difficult for the last two weeks.  She's struggled and we've had to support her and help her.  I think in the end she was kind of enjoying it but not really if she was honest with herself. It was too tough for her.

MU:  Were you surprised the night before about Abigail Clancy going?  It seemed to shock a lot of people.

MPW:  Abigail was very hard working, she was very together.  It was very sad that she left the show because she deserved to be there.  Other people should have gone before her.

MU:  Now, plucking was what was going on yesterday.  Partridge plucking.  The trickiest challenge you've set them to date.  Were you impressed with the way they dealt with it?

MPW:  I knew they'd find it difficult, that's why I set it for them. I think what's important is that people work with real produce rather than things coming in packets.  It's not quite the same.  If you get your hands dirty and understand what happens in a kitchen, so from the partridge to the pie, they see the difference.

MU:  What are you going to set them tonight?

MPW:  I haven't worked out my strategy yet.

MU:  Really?  Do you keep it quite last minute?

MPW:  I'm living in my greenhouse.  I take my office into my larder because it's very cold so I can do all the shellfish there.

MU:  You mention the greenhouse. Brian yesterday was saying he thought you were going a little bit off the rails.

MPW:  I've got an ear piece in and they're talking to me at the same time as I'm doing my job. So they don't tell the world outside that I've got an earpiece so the world outside thinks I'm going mad inside my greenhouse.

MU:  So you're having to do all those things?  Juggling with the tasks, making sure they're doing their jobs properly, making sure you're on top of things.  And you've also got people in your ear shouting instructions down there.

MPW:  I'm just a bingo caller really. I just put in the orders on the blue line and the red line.

MU:  How have you dealt with adjusting to the whole TV thing with this show?  Obviously it's quite intrusive I guess?

MPW:  Well to be honest, firstly, I just come to work and do my job.  My job is to feed to 76 people every day which we do, and to inspire and teach celebrities to cook.  Every day I have to change my strategy because the rules change every day.  It goes down and down.  I've got from 7.30-9.15pm for all the orders to cone in and I have to get all the food out by 10.30pm otherwise we fail.  So for example last night, I had to have all main courses out by 9.48pm and we got them out by 9.47pm so we had one minute to go. That's how close the timings were. So I have to juggle.

MU:  Now there's a lot of controversy in this series. We had Lee Ryan who left quite early on and Jim Davidson.  What are your thoughts about those two instances?  Do you think they were avoidable?

MPW:  Well what happened with Jim, I wasn't there, I don't know what was said, it's none of my business, it was outside of the kitchen.  So I stay away from that.  Lee?  He's not the brightest of boys is he?  He's not the sharpest tool in the box.  When he said  - I can't use the word because I don't want to get in trouble again - but you know, when he said 'they live in caravans', it's not true.  I think he should Google the word or I think he should go to the English Oxford Dictionary to understand the true meaning of the word.

MU:  When you first met these celebrities and they all arrived, what were your feelings on them?  You seemed quite non-plussed really.

MPW:  Well half of them I didn't know who they were, I didn't have a clue, I didn't know why they were there.  What was important to me was to work out whether they're there for the right reasons.  That's what was important.  After 15 minutes with them, I knew who was there for the right reasons and who wasn't. That's why I put them in their various positions.  Like Rosie.  Fantastic lady.  We miss her dearly.  She was a proper person, intelligent, interesting, correct.

MU: Are you happy with the four remaining celebrities that are in here?

MPW:  I can't be emotional about it. I can't think like that.  That's what I've got, that's what I've got to work with, I've got to keep on pushing forward.  Tonight we've got 76 people to feed again within a time frame.

MU:  Who would you put your money on?

MPW:  Who do I think should win? The person I think should win is Adele.  From day one she's worked very hard, she's pushed, she's tried hard, she's got her act together.  At the cost of her personality.  I said to her 'Allow your personality out.  All people are doing is see you work.'  She's done fantastically well.

MU:  Have you enjoyed this experience?

MPW:  Firstly, I grew up in the kitchen.  I spent 22 years there. It's 7 1/2 years since I was in the kitchen.  It's a long time ago.  Do I enjoy it?  I can't think like that. I have to detach myself emotionally.  When I leave the programme I'll look back and reflect and process my thoughts.  But there are times I find funny.  There are times I think 'What am I doing here?'  Last night I said to Barry, 'Can you take the berries off the lobsters and put them in a bowl for me?'  Five minutes later I said 'Barry where are the berries?'  He said 'They're in the bin'.  I said 'Matthew!  Can you get Barry a job please?  He's just thrown all my lobster eggs away.'  I couldn't believe he'd done that.  Last night we had a laugh, Barry and I.  He said 'I know when I've really upset you Marco because you just say 'Matthew, can you just get so and so a job?'

MU:  Would you do it again if they said 'We'd love you to come back and do another Hell's Kitchen?'

MPW:  I can't answer that question.  I don't know.  I have to process my thoughts.  It takes a lot out of my life.  I'm not just here for 17 days.  I've been here for nearly a month working on it.  That's a long time without seeing your children or your wife.

MU:  I read today that you don't do the cooking when you're at home.  Is this true?

MPW:  I don't do much cooking at home. But I'm fascinated by bottles.  So every time I'm at home I want to look in the cupboard for bottles and think 'What can I do with them?'  Every so often I cook.  But I cook a lot in the countryside.  I love supermarket shelves.  I love the aisles but I've been married three times so I would wouldn't I?

Courtesy of GMTV. Watch the final of Hell's Kitchen tonight @ 9pm ITV1