Massapequa Chef Goes to "Hell"

Rob McCue can certainly stand the heat, so he's headed for "Hell's Kitchen."

The Massapequa born chef, who now lives in Brooklyn, has been cast in the upcoming season of the hit Fox reality show. 

The series, which features chefs competing to win over hard to please chef Gordon Ramsey, will premiere on September 22.

Ramsey has been known to instill fear in the toughest of cooks, but McCue was anxious to take on the challenge.

"I've always been a tremendous fan of the show," he said, but he wasn't a fan of how contestants reacted to being flambeed by Ramsey.

"God those people crying, I can't understand why those people are crying," McCue said.

"I thought, If I could get on this show, I'd smoke everyone in the kitchen."

McCue, 36, who works as a corporate chef, got his chance, but he found the experience to be an eye-opener.

"What surprised me was getting up in the morning and getting used to working with cast members every day," he said. "It was a full work day, eight to 10 hours, with some rest here and there."

But with the hard work came superb facilities.

"It was a professional kitchen, state of the art," McCue said. "I've never worked in a kitchen where all of the burners worked before.

While McCue is not allowed to reveal the outcome of the competition, he did hint that he got off to a rocky start, when he cooked his specialty: pistachio crusted rack of lamb with eggplant couscous.

"It felt like our first day of culinary school he said."

But McCue, whose brother Steve owns Massapequa's popular eatery Krisch's called his participation on the show, "an amazing, rewarding experience."

He's not sure what his future will bring, but says, "I know I've got to be on TV."

McCue says he has a couple of ideas for cooking shows.  He says he'd love to do a show where he'd teach people how to grill on the roofs and fire escapes of New York City buildings.

He'd also dreams of hosting a more traditional show where he'd travel to different regions and experience the cuisine while interviewing local chefs.

"I'd make fun of them a bit, and pull the realness out of them," he joked.

Wherever the talented chef goes from here, McCue certainly accomplished one goal.

"I wasn't one of the people who cried," he said.