Published: April 19, 2008 02:21 pm      

PROFILE: Falls native follows dreams to Hell’s Kitchen

As a teenager, Bobby Anderson admits he wandered the streets of Niagara Falls, unfocused and unsure about what he was going to do with the rest of his life.

These days, the 37-year-old Falls native is living the dream in a place called Hell’s Kitchen, serving as proof that hard work, commitment and a little bit of good timing can really pay off.

“I wanted to show young people from Niagara Falls that it’s possible and that they can make it and become something,” he said. “I look at it like this is my city. This is my hometown. I can’t let them down.”

Anderson, a graduate of Niagara Falls High School who holds a degree in the culinary arts from Niagara County Community College, finds himself in the running for a shot at becoming the next chosen one on the Fox’s reality series, “Hell’s Kitchen.” The program, perhaps best known for the antics of its irascible host, top chef Gordon Ramsey, offers aspiring chefs the chance to prove their worth in the kitchen over a 13-week period. The winner — more like the survivor once Ramsey gets through with them — earns a $250,000 prize and the chance to become senior chef at Ramsey’s new restaurant, Gordon Ramsey at the London West Hollywood.

Anderson landed a spot on the program by pure happenstance. During a visit to New York City, he stumbled upon a casting line for the program and checked in as aspiring contestant No. 1,072. Unable to see the casting call through to the end, Anderson decided to get out of line and head home. As fate would have it, he was approached by a show producer who decided to give him an interview on the spot. And now he appears weekly on a program that registered 22 million viewers during its most recent broadcast Tuesday.

“I think what it was was just me being me,” Anderson said. “I stayed positive and stayed real. They didn’t want phony people. They could see right through the phoniness.”

As for Ramsey himself, Anderson said the master of Hell’s Kitchen is more go than show, both on and off the set. Describing Ramsey as “half-man, half-amazing,” he said he’s learned a lot from Ramsey about not only being a good chef, but a good businessman and person as well.

“He’s tough,” Anderson said. “That’s what he does. He strips you down. If he likes you, he builds you back up. What you see is the real deal. He’s no fake. He’s no television chef. He’s no movie star. He is just a chef.”

Before moving on to stardom in Los Angeles, Anderson cut his chops at a number of local hotels and restaurants. He credits his former mentor, Calvin Long from the Comfort Inn in Niagara Falls, for not only giving him his first break in the kitchen, but for showing him how to do the job the right way without cutting corners.

“He taught me discipline,” Anderson said. “He taught me how to be a professional.”

The 72-year-old Long, who has been head chef at the Comfort Inn for the past 19 years, said Anderson came to work for him at age 16, with a healthy interest in food.

“He liked to talk about food and what he could do with it and what he wanted to do,” Long said. “I thought he was going to do quite well. I just thought he was a really talented young man who could go far in this business.”

With a little training, that is. While admitting his teaching style is far more reserved than Ramsey’s, Long said he did his best to show Anderson not only how to cook proper meals, but also how to respect the business side of running a kitchen.

“I was very tough on him,” Long admits. “When I find a person that has it in him to do better, then I get a little strict with them. I tried to teach him that you’ve got to work like you own the restaurant and that way you care more.”

Long said he’s proud of the way Anderson’s work has paid off and said he thinks his former pupil’s skills in improving dishes by adding his own unique touches give him an excellent chance of surviving Ramsey’s form of hell.

“He’s got a lot of potential in every aspect of the job,” Long said.

Today, Anderson works as a prepared foods manager for Wegman’s. He said his recent stint in television has opened up several avenues, including a possible book deal and opportunities to work in several restaurants across the country.

Under the terms of his deal with Fox, Anderson is unable to discuss the show’s outcome. So far, he has outlasted three contestants and remains in the running.

Anderson said his plan — win or lose — is to stay connected to his hometown and work with young people in Niagara Falls who may be interested in becoming culinary artists themselves.

“I’m from the streets out there and I made it,” he said. “I want to be a positive role model for other people in Niagara Falls.”