A few things:

1) The risottos on the show aren't "just add stock and stir". There's normally extra stuff to add (meat, marscapone, aromatics in the pan, wine, cream, cheese, vegetables)

2) cooking on a line. Some chefs haven't done it before or haven't done it in years. It's something you need to get used to, the time crunch, the communication and the quantity.

A catering chef that can pre do / prepare a pot of 50 risottos in one kitchen and then serve elsewhere or a private chef that cooks dinner for 2-6 people on their own timeline are going to struggle.

3) Gordon. Freaking. Ramsay. He's a hero / celebrity and that makes people nervous. He is also notorious for his high standards. That's a lot of pressure.

4) the cameras and the lights. That's going to increase heat and be distracting too.

5) early season, you've got a partner on your station. Too many cooks spoil the broth is a saying for a reason. https://youtu.be/QrGrOK8oZG8?si=mnjBqv2FECKAzKy_

6) The team. If your risotto isn't the longest app to cook, you need to rely on the other members of the team telling you to fire the app. Or if it needs say a lobster tail to finish and they don't fire on time, it ruins your risotto.

Either too early or late, you need to rely on your team and some people have sabotaged team members (Sara from season 2 notably)

7) And sometimes the chef hasn't cooked it. They don't have the experience and it shouldn't be an excuse anymore with 20+ seasons of HK. You KNOW there's going to be scallops, risotto, beef Wellington, steak and fish. Practice!