Hell's Kitchen Restaurant

If you can’t get enough of Hell's Kitchen, getting a chance to dine in the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant is about as good as it gets. Dedicated fans of the show know that you might not actually get a meal, but you will get a chance to see Chef Ramsay and the contestants in action.

It may look like a typical upscale restaurant on television, but the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant is actually a studio soundstage that has been converted to look like a restaurant. The exact location of the restaurant has moved around from season to season, but it has always been somewhere on a studio lot in Los Angeles.

For every taping, there are two seatings of "diners." The catch is that not every table that gets seated will actually get to order food from the Hell’s Kitchen contestants. Most of the diners are just there as scene fillers and are served takeout food from another local restaurant. It is the producers call as to who actually orders from Hell’s Kitchen and who get served the takeout, and you may not know which category you will fall into until you are seated in the restaurant. Every diner is paid $50 for appearing on the show, and taping may take several hours.

Naturally, Chef Ramsay can opt to "shut it down" at any time during the dinner service, so the diners who order from the Hell’s Kitchen menu may not get their food. The producers encourage diners to be vocal with their complaints about the food and waiting times.

In early seasons of the show, the producers were desperate to get diners on board and posted open calls all over classified ad sites in California. As the popularity of the show has grown, so has the demand for reservations in the restaurant. Although open calls are still sometimes posted on Craigslist in California for the show, the best way to get a reservation is via the Hell’s Kitchen home page. On that website, you will find a link for reservation requests. Note that reservations will be filled when the show is taping, not when the show is airing. The filming schedule might mean that the taping is done well in advance of when the show hits your screen, so keep an eye on the website and sign up for updates so you are notified about when they are opening reservations for the next season.

If reservations are already full when you apply, your name will be place on a waiting list so you can be called if there is a cancellation. Although you will be paid $50 for your appearance, keep in mind that you will be responsible for all of your other expenses associated with appearing on the show and that there is no guarantee that you will get any camera time.

When you apply for reservations, you can specify your preferred date, but the producers do not guarantee that they can accommodate your request.

You can also try approaching the casting company directly for reservations. A. Smith and Co Productions is the company in charge of casting and the producing of Hell’s Kitchen. You can find their contact information on their website. Letting them know that you are a big fan of the show may increase your chances of obtaining one of these coveted spots..

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