Last week on Hell’s Kitchen, Dannie and Ariel had some harsh words to say to each other, and the Red Team was in such poor shape that Chef Ramsay forced Hassan to switch teams and try to even out the competition. While this definitely isn’t a Hell’s Kitchen first, usually Chef Ramsay performs the ol’ chef switcheroo in later episodes. I guess when you have chefs that have the gall to serve Kris Jenner bad food, things need to be remedied quickly.
Jackie celebrates being saved by giving her team the double thumbs up, keeping it classy as always. Supposedly, she’s been nicknamed the “cancer of the team” by her teammates, and while that’s a harsh title, it’s somewhat true.
The next day, Chef Ramsay rallies the troops for a challenge. He starts to talk about how food is often the centerpiece of celebration. For example, when you think of Thanksgiving, you think of turkey. For Fourth of July, hamburgers are king. When the chef mentions Cinco de Mayo, a mariachi band suddenly emerges! He then notes how big tamales are during this holiday.
The Red and Blue teams are broken up even further into groups of two or three members. These new teams will have to create three different platters: one for the Fourth of July, one for Cinco de Mayo platter, and one for Mardi Gras. Each platter must contain three delicious dishes, and the chefs have 45 minutes to prepare them.
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Creating The Platters
Hassan starts by telling his new team to make sure that their ovens are on, as this is a problem the ladies have faced multiple times.
Alan mentions how Jared is a bit much sometimes with his micromanaging. But hey, if that’s the only problem that this team up has, more power to them.
Chad and Kevin are working on a jambalaya, and Chad notes that he constantly has to keep his eyes on Kevin. He admits that truthfully, he could have made all of these dishes by himself.
Time starts to wind down, and Joe and Frank start to panic about their final dish. They have some meat, so they could probably make a quick cheeseburger. The team emphasizes that while it needs to be done quickly, it also needs to be good.
The Guest Judge
The guest judge today is Linda Fears, who’s the Editor-In-Chief of Family Circle magazine. The best platter of the night will be featured in an upcoming issue, which would be a great opportunity for the chefs.
Each platter can earn up to three points. Jackie screws up her plates by including apple as an ingredient in two of them (one being a hot dog), which a flavor that Linda just isn’t feeling. Also, her burger meat is raw. “Why would you give him [Ramsay] a raw burger? What is wrong with you?” Ashley laments to the camera. Fortunately, their corn dish is edible, so they end up scoring one point total.
Frank’s smoked bacon burger is the first dish for the men, and it instantly scores a point. Joe’s jalapeno mac and cheese is the second dish, and gains another point. “You have elevated a classic American dish,” Linda says. Frank’s grilled New York strip is less of a hit, seeming “less celebratory” than the others.
Hassan, Manda, and Dannie are up next. Hassan’s first dish is good, but a little too spicy. Linda awards him a point regardless. Manda’s chorizo tacos are eaten next, and disappoint the judges. Dannie’s dish includes grilled cactus, which shocks and impresses the judges.
Eddie’s chicken tacos are the next dish, and they’re followed by a mole dish and arroz con pollo. Ramsay feels as if the chicken and rice flavors just doesn’t scream “Mexican.”
Ariel’s dish gets a point, but Ashley’s po’ boy sandwich is a disappointment. Their final dish, a shrimp and polenta, gains a point that temporarily puts them in the lead.
Chad and Kevin are the last two to face judgment. Chad’s first dish, as well as his Cajun chicken, are both disappointing — in fact, his chicken is a little too pink for Ramsay’s taste. The men will tie if Kevin’s jambalaya isn’t a complete disaster. But since it’s Kevin, it probably will be.
“The rice is under-cooked,” Ramsay says. The dish just wasn’t worthy of a point. Finally, the women get a win! (Way to go, Hassan.) The best overall platter was Ashley and Ariel’s Mardi Gras platter, which will be featured in Family Circle.
The Red Team wins a trip to wine country, where they’ll learn a lot (and probably drink a lot) of wine. The men will be working with cake and hard candies, which seems like paradise based on some of the punishments that the Red Team had to face in last few weeks.
Enjoying Wine Country
The Red Team gets to bottle their own blend of wine. But guess who doesn’t like wine? Jackie! She’s “more of a beer and shots” girl. The wine she creates back home is called “Jersey Juice,” and probably tastes awful.
Hassan discusses the differences between the two kitchens, and tries to moderate his team a bit over a few glasses of wine. Dannie seems a little unsure about Hassan being the new “leader” of the team, which creates a few awkward pauses of silence. “We’re all wearing the same jackets, you know?” Hassan says.
Hassan thinks that Dannie has a bit of an ego, and thinks she’s the best of the kitchen. “You’re not going to succeed. You’re going to fail, and you’re going to go home,” Hassan argues after Dannie refuses to accept his opinions on how their kitchen should be run. Dannie is just not taking constructive criticism from anyone, even though her team has proven to be a gigantic nightmare without guidance.
Prepping For Dinner Service
As the chefs are starting to prep for their dinner service, Hassan is completely confident that his new Red Team will absolutely dominate the Blue Team. “Teamwork makes the dream work, right?” he says as a motivator.
Meanwhile, the Blue Team isn’t as motivated. Jared and Alan have a bit of an argument, with Jared saying that Alan is slowly, but surely, bringing him down.
Tonight is Family Night at Hell’s Kitchen, which means that a lot of the dishes will be kid-centric. Fish and chips, burgers, and chicken fingers have been added to the menu, and a grilled cheese station is present. (Can every Hell’s Kitchen episode include grilled cheese section please?)
While the food is fun, it doesn’t mean that scallops still won’t be dropped tonight. The Blue Team gets yelled at quickly over mismanaging some of the seafood. The Red Team gets a quick lead with Hassan leading, delivering perfect pizzas to the line.
The Blue Team Crumbles
Kevin still isn’t getting it together with his scallops, overcooking them this time. Ramsay decides to step in and give him a tutorial on how they should be cooked. Soon after, Joe starts a big kitchen fire. “Now you’re making history, you’re going to burn down the restaurant,” Ramsay quips.
Ariel and Jackie seem to be having a blast making grilled cheese, goofing around with the kids, including a young British child actress named Millie Brown who can do a heck of an American accent on command.
Back in the Blue Kitchen, Ramsay still isn’t happy with the scallops. “What is going on here?” he says, secluding the men outside of the kitchen. He promptly kicks out Kevin for failing to understand scallop basics. But the thing is, he’s not kicking Kevin out for the night — he’s kicking Kevin out of the entire competition. Now this might be a Hell’s Kitchen first.
It’s currently 6:49 pm, and Ramsay is pretty much done with the Blue Team. (And, uh, can I predict an early winner? I think it might be Hassan.)
The men re-enter the kitchen and are determined to rebound from their multiple fumbles. Out in the restaurant, maitre d‘ Marino has a special ticket for the Red Team — it’s a VIP birthday! And, well, things don’t really go as planned.
Bad Tuna
Dannie fails to listen, and needs to re-fire her tuna after some harsh words from Ramsay. The Blue Team, on the other hand, finally serve up one successful dish. But their success doesn’t last long, after Alan’s risotto goes from soupy to congealed.
Dannie finally re-fires her tuna, but turns the heat up a bit too strong. It’s extremely overcooked, and Ramsay takes all of the girls off their stations to witness the mistake. It’s time to try this tuna for a third time.
Joe thinks that no matter what, his kitchen still has a shot of winning the night. Chef Ramsay disagrees. “We’ve had every possible mistake tonight,” he exclaims, after having the chefs touch some raw fish. And with that, the Blue Team gets kicked out of the kitchen. “It was embarrassing tonight,” Eddie states.
Along with the tuna, the Red Team also decides to serve up some raw beef. And just like the Blue Team, they’re kicked out of the kitchen. Woof.
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Who’ll Be Nominated For Elimination?
Jared thinks that Joe’s lack of leadership and accountability made him the weakest tonight. “Alan was the biggest problem by far,” Joe says. Alan sent out a bunch of under-seasoned risotto. And if there’s anything these chefs should be good at, it’s risotto. It’s a key Hell’s Kitchen dish.
The Red Team also needs to submit some team members for elimination. Manda’s name is mentioned for some reason, but Hassan is pretty set on Dannie being a nominee. Kristin says that she can see herself as a BLT chef, so obviously she should stay in the competition. She wants Jackie out, since Jackie is a huge pain in everyone’s behind.
The Elimination
Ramsay asks Eddie for the Blue Team nominees, and he says that Joe and Alan will be on the chopping block tonight. Joe thinks he deserves to stay because he’s constantly learning and growing. Ramsay notes that Alan’s risotto looked like it came from a toilet before asking him why he should stay, and while he admits his shortcomings, thinks that he can do better.
Without much hesitation, Ramsay quickly gets rid of Alan, since he’s “just not feeling it.” However, Joe definitely dodged a bullet.
“I’m not done yet,” Ramsay says. “Kevin’s gone. Alan’s gone. How many of you will be leaving tonight?”
Chef Ramsay asks Kristin for the nominees. “We didn’t vote, Chef,” she says. Dannie says that every member is devoted. That said, every member who is asked individually has a different response. Supposedly Amanda and Kristin had the most votes, so they step forward.
Manda says she’s a natural leader, and since she left her kids for the show, she’s obviously motivated to win. Kristin says that she remains humble, and doesn’t understand why the team thinks she’s weak. Ramsay’s decision is to send Kristin back in line, and send Manda over to the Blue Team.
“You have another chance with a team that I hope will believe in you,” Gordon says. “I refuse to have a repeat of tonight’s performance with any of you.”
Hell’s Kitchen airs on Wednesdays at 9pm on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
