I don't often get attached to reality show contestants -- because I rarely watch unscripted competish skeins -- but in this cycle of Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" I'm rooting for Robert, a 29-year-old sous chef from Quogue, N.Y.

You can understand why his co-workers (in the real world, not the "Hell's Kitchen" bunker on La Brea) nicknamed him "Cuddles," according to his bio on the "Hell's Kitchen" home page. He's nearly 400 pounds of cuddly joy, but he's also a fierce competitor. In last night's seg, as he once again did battle with lazy-bones Lacey, he declared (to the camera's delight) that if she won the competish he'd hang up his apron and "become a crack whore."

Yes, he has a way with words, and an unusual pronunciation style that is strangely endearing.  At one point he was carping at Lacey about how she's "not posed to do that" (translation: "not supposed to"). In another recent seg he tripped over the word "remember," which came out more like "menemember."

But more than anything else, I'm rooting for Robert because makes dishes that my husband and I would actually want to eat. He seems equal parts gourmet and gourmand. "Hell's Kitchen's" impossible-to-please boss Gordon Ramsay seems to respect Robert's skill and his obvious passion for great food -- it's real, as opposed to those contestants who jabber on about their passion without putting the goods on the plate.

Robert even got away with mooning the Big Cheese, albeit not to his face, in a confessional moment when Robert invited Gordo to "kiss my ass." Even with ample pixelation, the shot of Robert's wiggling his naked backside at the camera was a wide- screen moment not soon forgotten.

So here's to hoping that Robert rocks all the way to the grand prize, the head chef gig in Ramsay's Borgata restaurant in Atlantic City, N.J. As Robert has mentioned on air, he wants it so bad he postponed his wedding in order to take part in the show.

Hopefully, he'll win, get married and then take a little time off for a weight-reduction program. Because as fun-loving as he is, his weight situation is serious as a heart attack. I sense a father-son type "come to Gordon" confrontation for Ramsay and Robert coming soon.

Gordon Ramsay fell in love yesterday -- with a Bloody Mary sorbet.

"I was slightly dubious about it" at first, he confessed, noting that it is seasoned with Tabasco sauce. "Now I'm over the moon. It's working brilliantly."

Ramsay shared this morsel during a phone chat yesterday afternoon (he was somewhere in England) to talk about the mega renewal deal he's just inked with Fox for two more seasons of "Hell's Kitchen" and "Kitchen Nightmares," plus a blind series commitment and plans for a  live "cook-along-with-Gordon" special sometime in the coming season.

That's a lot for a guy who's already hosting multiple shows in the U.K. and running a growing portfolio of Ramsay-branded restaurants.

"It's a happy problem," Ramsay assures. "I take it all very seriously, and I have an amazing (production) team behind it all."

Mike Darnell, Fox's prexy of alternative programming and Ramsay's biggest fan on this side of the Atlantic, is in awe of Ramsay's work ethic. He doesn't just host "Hell's Kitchen" and "Kitchen Nightmares"; he is those shows, Darnell says.

"Unlike a regular reality show host comes in, does his job and leaves -- these are incredibly demanding television shows for Gordon," Darnell says. "On 'Nightmares,' he spends four-to-five days in each city. He's on camera 12 hours a day. This is a hard-working man."

L.A. pubcaster KCET-TV will pay tribute to multihyphenate Sydney Pollack on Monday by running Pollack's 2005 docu "Sketches of Frank Gehry," followed by a 1994 interview Pollack did for PBS' "Life & Times" with anchor Hugh Hewitt. Pollack, who died May 26 at age 73, was a board member of KCET for the past seven years. KCET prexy Al Jerome will offer host the on-air tribute and offer his own remembrances of the prolific Pollack...

...I've been remiss in posting something on the fab time had by a bunch of us at Variety at Wednesday's party to toast the opening of Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood. (No, the cameras were not rolling behind the scenes in the kitchen, though I think by all rights they should have been.) The delicacies up for grabs around the party were yummy indeed -- I particularly liked the split pea soup, and there were mouth-watering little cubes of Kobe beef and the tastiest shrimp I've had in some time. The atmosphere of the place was user-friendly, with lots of space and rooms to roam through. On hand to raise a glass to Gordon on his L.A. debut were Fox's Peter Liguori, Kevin Reilly and Mike Darnell and his always-charming wife Carolyn; Sean Perry, Ramsay's rep at Endeavor; producer Thom Beers; and thesps Eric McCormack and Melina Kanakaredes. The guest who generated the most celeb-buzz was Ramsay's fellow countryman David Beckham, and his bow tie....

...I've also been tardy in noting the welcome news that John Moczulski has joined KTLA-TV as veep of programming and marketing. Moczulski's a seasoned industry vet and all-around good guy, having served stints in marketing and programming at Columbia TriStar TV Distribution, the CBS O&Os, KNBC-TV and KABC-TV. Most recently, Moczulski's been running a local TV sales ad sales firm TV 10s....

...Betty White alert! Betty was doing her part for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn. on Thursday, taking part in a photo op at the zoo in an effort to tubthump for GLAZA's annual Beastly Ball fundraiser on June 14. GLAZA had a bunch of the eateries who are providing food for the ball prepare a veggie feast for the gorillas. The unparalleled Pink's Hot Dogs is on that list, and the Pink's people brought a raft of veggie dogs for the gorillas to inhale (isn't that how everyone eats a Pink's dog?) on Thursday. Betty, of course, is a longtime champion of our local animal kingdom and trustee of the GLAZA Foundation (interesting that in connection with GLAZA she uses Betty White Ludden). I'll take any opportunity to beautify this blog with the sweet smiling face of the first lady of television.

Lots of TV-centric goings-on around town in the next few weeks. CBS Paramount Network TV gets into the swing of summer with a "block party" on the CBS Radford lot on Tuesday night to herald the June 5 debut of CBS drama "Swingtown," about fun-loving, Quaalude-downing, partner-swapping couples in the summer of '76. It's so nice to see "Swingtown" costar Molly Parker all cleaned up and dusted off from her "Deadwood" days...

...Speaking of CBS dramas, a clutch of "Moonlight" fans are descending on L.A. this weekend for what's billed as the first fan-generated confab on the show, "MoonlightCon," at the Westin hotel out by LAX. Undoubtedly these folks will cook up some stunt to draw attention to their cries for another network to pick up their fave rave, which CBS dropped last week. (That's the hint in an email message today from a "devoted Moonlight fan" who promised me that "the fat lady ain't sung yet!") It doesn't appear that their immortal, series star Alex O'Loughlin, is skedded to stop by, but they will be taking a "Moonlight"-centric tour of the Warner Bros. lot on Friday...

...Some of those "Moonlight" fanatics might want to hop a bus to Culver City on Saturday morning, where Sony Pictures TV is holding open auditions for its revival of "The Gong Show" for Comedy Central. The cattle call will be held at a site near (but not on) the Sony Pictures lot on West Washington Boulevard. Click here for the specifics...

...Finally, the upcoming event we're most excited about is the June 4 party to celebrate the opening of Gordon Ramsay's new eatery at the London West Hollywood. The restaurant's moniker is already a mouthful: Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood. Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" is having a nice hot run behind "American Idol" on Tuesdays in the last lap of the 2007-08 season. He ought to be in a good mood, and for once he won't be able to yell at anyone (but himself) about the food.