Can’t Take the Heat? Don’t Go in the Kitchen – The Chopping Block’s Khoa and Denise Quit

Even more disturbing, Khoa appeared to make this decision unilaterally. Denise went along with it, sure, and supported her cousin’s decision, but there wasn’t much time to sit down and talk about this move. Khoa spoke up and spoke for both himself and his partner when he expressed the desire to leave. He did so right at the moment Marco would about to eliminate Zan and Than. Maybe talking it over with his partner would have been a wise thing to do – or at least a considerate thing? Denise didn’t appear to mind, but it’s not hard to imagine the person who would have been steaming mad that their partner was causing them both to self-destruct – and that anger would have been justified.

Denise is spared the brunt of this criticism since it was Khoa who spoke up and it was Khoa who showed the most signs of cracking in the kitchen. But she should be to blame for letting him do this. She’s an accessory in the reality show “crime” of quitting, and thus, she’s in this Hall of Shame entry right alongside her cousin.

Marco said that Khoa should be given “respect” for this decision. Zan called it “one of the most selfless, amazing things” he’d ever seen. Convenient, since it was his butt that Khoa saved. It’s tempting to give Marco a shameful finger wag for letting Khoa get off so easy. Marco was supposed to be tough on those in his charge, according to his reputation; instead, Marco let Khoa and Denise off easy.

We’ve seen plenty of quitters in reality TV over the years, and they’ve almost all ended up in this very Hall of Shame. Remember Osten from Survivor: Pearl Islands? Neither host Jeff Probst nor the show’s producers felt Osten deserved any respect, as evidenced by the way they treated him for quitting. Osten never even got an exit speech; the show ended with his torch on the ground. That’s a sign of disrespect if ever there was one, and Osten totally deserved it.

A few others have quit Survivor, including Jonny Fairplay and Kathy on Micronesia most recently – and they’re in this Hall of Shame too. Sue and Jenna had personal issues behind their decisions to remove themselves from the game in All-Stars, so it’s hard not to cut them a little slack, but still – somebody else might have loved to have played the game. If you don’t think you’re ready for it, don’t do it – and Khoa broke that rule.

Several people have quit The Apprentice (Michelle, Verna, Vincent Pastore, and Gene Simmons come to mind) and that’s been shown to be an easy way to get on Donald Trump’s bad side. He doesn’t like quitters. He doesn’t like it when people even suggest they should go home. He doesn’t like it when you have immunity and waive it, putting yourself in harm’s way, as Bradford did. If Trump can dis a quitter, so can Marco. Why play nice? This is your show, Marco, and Khoa disrespected it by quitting the first chance he could. Throw him out on his can, the way your culinary offspring Gordon Ramsay often does – with a biting insult.

Khoa seems like a nice guy, but like so many other areas of life, you’ll get eaten alive in the kitchen if you’re a nice guy – and Khoa appeared to be swallowed whole. Denise enabled Khoa’s decision, and so she’s guilty too. Khoa gave up an opportunity of a lifetime for no good reason – simply because he couldn’t handle the stress – and that’s just a big no-no. Maybe he should rethink his dreams of owning and operating his own restaurant – because as Marco tried to tell him and everyone else, it’s not going to get any easier than what they experienced on the show.

They say if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen – and Khoa and Denise followed that advice well. Unfortunately, it was the wrong move, and that’s why Khoa and Denise are now in the Reality TV Hall of Shame.

Chris Harris is a newspaper journalist from Somerset, Kentucky. You can email him at wokosaurus@msn.com.

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