Hell’s Kitchen left viewers with mouths dropped once again in the name of drama. For the second time in a row, the Red Team failed a dinner service and the Blue Team swept in to clean up the mess. Can they finally bounce back and stop their bickering for one episode? To do so without arguing might be asking for too much, but that’s entertainment, folks!
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Van enters the lounge and sits with Elise and Barbie. He announces that he loves black women and has his eyes set on Barbie. Elise isn’t fazed by it, but Barbie is quite flirtatious towards her opponent. All odd hook-ups aside, it’s time for the next challenge.
Challenge: An Ingredient for Every Letter
As the all-stars line up in the dining room, Vegas showgirls burst through a Hell’s Kitchen banner with extended legs revealing what Chef Ramsay calls “a game of chance.” Team by team, the chefs must name off an ingredient that starts with the letter that pops up on a screen. The team that does not get stumped gets to pick which opposing team member gets to work with what ingredient. Confused? So was I at first. Let’s just say they’re playing Ping Pong with ingredients. Among the odd ingredient choices came up with were cantaloupe, raisins, maraschino cherries and peanut butter. In 40 minutes, both teams had to come up with something wonderful. And now for the scores:
Red Scores Blue Scores
Barbie – Panseared Halibut – 4 Milly – Monk Fish – 4
Manda – Rib Cap – 2 Van – Fillet – 3
Dana – Ribeye – 5 Benjamin – Wagyu Stripsteak – 5
Robyn – Seared Back Cod – 1 Jared – Black Cod – 1
Elise – Wagyu Ribsteak – 5 Nick – Rib Eye – 5
Michelle – Fillet – 5 Josh – Bacon-wrapped Halibut – 3
Jennifer – Monk Fish – 4 Gio – Grilled Rib Cap – 4
Red Total – 26 Blue Total – 25
Winner: The Red Team!
The ladies win their first challenge! For their victory, they are rewarded with a trip to Santa Barbara where they will stay overnight at President John F. Kennedy’s favorite suite at the five-star Belmond El Encanto Resort and they will be flying on their own private plane. They run off to change and get ready, leaving the men to learn their fate. It’s delivery day. The Blue Team will be bringing in potatoes first and then finishing their chores by digging through trash and separating the disgusting items they find in the dumpsters.
As the girls sit by the pool in their bikinis and sip cocktails, the men are made to eat burgers made from fish remnants complete with tiny bones. One has to wonder how many of the contestants through the years found themselves seriously ill from these Fear Factor-like tasks.
Dinner with the Birthday Boy
It’s time for dinner service. Tonight, Hell’s Kitchen hosts former Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed and MMA Fighter Paige Vanzant. Also, there’s a 12-top, celebrating a 30th birthday, which means both kitchens will need to be in sync to serve this high priority table. Not only must the two kitchens communicate amongst themselves, they must yell from Red to Blue and vice versa.
The first dish is out of the pass successfully, but Josh is struggling to focus. “I’m not as magic as you might think,” he says, but surprisingly turns two risottos into four, doubling the ticket. This sets off Michelle’s risotto that comes back with raw rice and unwanted garlic.
Josh continues to lose focus as he looks to his stopwatch to tell how long risotto will cook. Ramsay takes his watch and tosses it in the pizza oven for the maître’d to fish out. Oh, it gets worse. A two-risotto ticket has now climbed to five! Ramsay makes him sit down with Paige at the Chef’s Table to eat the three wasted plates of food. “This is what embarrassment looks like,” he laughs before she spoon feeds him his embarrassment.
In the Red Kitchen, Barbie is holding up service because of her slow work at the garnish station. She event gets called a “doughnut” for taking Ramsay’s glove as he hands her pot of mashed potatoes back to her. Meanwhile, Gio delivers two differently cooked pork chops to the pass. A rookie mistake!
Here’s the true test. Chef Ramsay calls Jennifer of the Red Team and Benjamin of the Blue Team up to the pass to inform them that the entrée tickets for the birthday table must go out in eight minutes. Jennifer leads her team to a successful delivery, but thanks to Jared, the duck is undercooked. Jennifer must then return to her kitchen and fix the problem for the men. The men continue on a downward spiral as the wellington (always a killer) is served cold. They’re briskly led to the pantry for a discussion with Chef Ramsay. Scratch that. He dismisses them from service altogether.
Chef Ramsay returns to the Red Kitchen to send Elise and Robyn over to plate desserts from the Blue Kitchen. Thanks to the women, the birthday boy is left smiling.
The Men Deliberate for the First Time
A delusional Josh stands by his claim that he did not mess up any of the risottos. They may have tasted okay, but messing up the number of dishes in an order is just as bad. This spurs a new sight. The men begin arguing. Milly sees no threat in Josh and tells him, “I’m gonna keep crushing you, man.” Ultimately, the men decide on two names. Josh and Gio are set in front of Chef Ramsay. Both men made too many mistakes tonight.
Going home tonight is… not Josh!
He is made to take off his jacket and switch sides with Robyn. Robyn is now on the Blue Team. This will most definitely be interesting in the coming services, but the Blue Team had given up on Josh and are more than happy to see him out of their kitchen.
Red Team top dog, Elise, sees Josh’s presence as a big problem. Previews show her resistance when Josh calls for a team meeting. The poker face is even pulled into play during dinner service when Elise refuses to do, well, anything. She stands there, staring off into the distance blatantly disregarding any instruction or communication. Tune in to see if this will be Elise’s undoing on Hell’s Kitchen.
Did Chef Ramsay make the right decision in swapping Josh with Robyn and not sending anyone home? Do you think Van and Barbie will hookup? Is this even a competition which celebrates true talent anymore? Also, is anyone else wondering what happened to the bar menu challenges?
Hell’s Kitchen airs Fridays on FOX at 8/7c. Want more? Like our Hell’s Kitchen Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
