Lighting the pitchfork: A brief, fiery moment in the filming at Foxwoods of Gordon Ramsay's 'Hell's Kitchen'

Mashantucket — It was 6:30 a.m. May 7 at Foxwoods Resort Casino. A sun-drenched Tuesday morning might usually be quiet there, but not this day. A crew of people who tended to be dressed in jeans and black T-shirts were milling around and moving cameras outdoors. They were off Rainmaker Drive, in front of the casino building emblazoned with the iconic "HK" logo of Hell's Kitchen — the restaurant founded by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and the TV series of the same name.An outlet of the restaurant opened in Foxwoods' Grand Pequot Tower in July 2023, but the site on May 7 was a faux façade. The TV team had built this for filming of the 23rd season of the "Hell's Kitchen" show, which premiered last week on Fox. (The production team embargoed publication of coverage of that day's shoot until now.) A new set was also constructed inside that was entirely separate from the real restaurant.The reality TV show sets up two teams of chefs competing against each other in various cooking challenges. The ultimate prize: Getting a job at a restaurant. In this case, that means becoming head chef of the Hell's Kitchen at Foxwoods.Eventually, Ramsay strode out from the doors. While he became famous for his bursts of blustery anger in the series (and maybe FOR the series?), he was genial this day before the shoot began. He chatted with various members of the TV show's team. He said good morning to the camera people. He walked over to the press, college journalism majors, and Foxwoods employees and thanked them for coming. They were able to watch the filming of a very brief scene but not the rest of the episode.Before the cameras went on, Ramsay encouraged the gathered folks to be vocal when they wanted the attention of the competing chefs.He eventually said, "Shall we?" and later added, "This is exciting, very exciting."The TV cameras went on, and Ramsay dramatically intoned, "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, the 'Hell's Kitchen' chefs!"Eighteen chefs emerged from the door, nine on the blue team and nine on the red (the color of collars of their chefs' jackets reflect which team they're on). They stood against an exterior wall and, when Ramsay declared, "Good morning," they all responded, in dutiful unison, "Good morning, chef!"Ramsay went on: "Chefs, there is a very important reason why our press is here today and why James brought you all out here. As you know, this is our first time EVER on the East Coast. So we're going to do a ceremonial lighting of the iconic HK pitchfork. Come on, how cool is that?"Applause followed.Ramsay called this an "iconic morning" (and, no stranger to hype, he later also called it a "historic moment") and, after rejecting a more modest lighting method, he took a flame thrower and aimed it at the giant devil-red pitchfork emerging sideways from the building."Are we ready? Let me show you how it's done. Stand back, guys, let's go!" Ramsay said.The pitchfork erupted into flames, sending waves of heat to the people standing below."Amazing! Welcome to the East Coast!" he proclaimed.Two seasons shot at Foxwoods"Hell's Kitchen" has actually been shooting both seasons 23 and 24 at Foxwoods.Foxwoods announced earlier this year that it had entered into a partnership with ITV America to film two seasons of "Hell's Kitchen" on a set Foxwoods built.At the time of the announcement, Jason Guyot, Foxwoods' president and chief executive officer, said in a statement, "We're thrilled to welcome the 'Hell's Kitchen' cast and crew to Foxwoods and are honored to collaborate with ITV America for this pivotal moment in the show's legacy. Gordon Ramsay's fiery star power set against the backdrop of Foxwoods' stunning property guarantees that the next two seasons of Fox's show will deliver an unparalleled culinary showdown and viewing experience for 'Hell's Kitchen' fans."ITV America CEO David George said at the same time that ITV hopes "Hell's Kitchen" is "the first of many series we produce at Foxwoods."k.dorsey@theday.com