During the last Hell’s Kitchen challenge, the Red Team and Blue Team were dangerously close. But, it doesn’t mean that our chefs are constantly handing over perfect dishes. While the dinner service was their best ever, raw dishes were still being delivered, and Ashley had such a poor service that she was brought to tears. Lucky for her, it was Jackie who was eliminated.
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“That was the absolute scariest moment of my entire life,” Ashley exclaims. “It was terrible!” She tells her team that if she went home before Jackie, she would have killed herself. Ashley’s parents own three restaurants, and Ashley was afraid that Chef Ramsay might think she only got to where she is today based on that notoriety. (For the record, the other chefs wonder why her parents haven’t hired her at any of these three restaurants yet.) But, going back to Ashley’s sadness, she hugs Jared close, looking to be consoled over such a rough night. So obviously love is in the air for these two, right?
The chefs get an early start the next morning, and meet a jolly ice cream man — oh wait, that’s sous chef Marino. “I thought today I’d give you a little break,” Chef Ramsay says with a devilish smile. The chefs see right through him, and know that every treat comes with a trick. “Every time Marino puts an outfit on, I just want to take him home with me,” Kristin admits. Chef Ramsay caves, and states that it’s actually a blind taste test. Each chef will taste four different ice creams, and have to identify their flavors. Unlike prior blind taste test challenges from Hell’s Kitchen, this one won’t include a dunk tank. The chefs will, however, be blasted with ice cream toppings. When one of them gets three wrong in a row, one of their team members will have to face a topping cannon.
We All Scream For Ice Cream
The chefs go up one on one, and Ariel and Frank are up first. They get avocado, and Ariel guesses cheese, while Frank guesses hazelnut. Both incorrect, of course. Next is coconut ice cream — while Ariel gets it right, Frank guesses pistachio. Carrot is next (gross) and Ariel thinks it’s melon while Frank guesses mint. “Mint? Are you straight guessing here?” Jared says angrily in a confessional. Three wrong guesses for Frank, which causes Manda on the Blue Team to be blasted with cherry syrup. “I look like I just got murdered,” Manda says between laughs.
Ariel and Frank have one last flavor to guess — peanut butter. Ariel gets it right, but Frank guesses “Snickers,” which “isn’t even an ingredient” in Chef Ramsay’s world. (Obviously he’s never been to a build-your-own frozen yogurt location before.) If a contestant gets more than three wrong, their teammate gets blasted with whip cream. Sorry, Manda.
Next up are Ashley for Red, and Jared for Blue. Chef Ramsay starts them off with lemon ice cream. “Even smells fragrant,” Chef Ramsay comments. Ashley guesses correct, but Jared thinks it’s lime. For pistachio, Ashley guesses figs, and Jared guesses cherry. “Jared, I could kill you right now,” Dannie says. She’s getting ready to have the toppings shot right at her. Bacon ice cream is next, and Ashley guesses beef while Jared guesses hazelnut. Dannie gets shot with who knows what. It looks like peanut butter, but I don’t think it’s actually confirmed.
Both of the contestants get their cinnamon flavor correct, which means that Dannie is spared of whip cream. Next to guess are Kristin and Manda, and both get coffee correct. Banana is the second flavor, and while Kristin guesses correctly, Manda can’t be more off, guessing that it’s chocolate. They both get an easy one after that with strawberry, so Chef Ramsay decides to switch things up by giving them a corn flavored ice cream next. Yikes. Manda guesses fish, and is obviously wrong. If Kristin guesses correctly, the Red Team have won the challenge.
Unfortunately, Kristin thinks it’s butter, which means that the game will continue. Based on uneven teams, Ariel is taking a second turn along with Dannie. Green tea ice cream is first, and Chef Ramsay admits it’s his ultimate favorite flavor. Ariel guesses fish (what’s up with the fish guesses?) and Dannie guesses peppers. Apple is the second ice cream up, and Ariel guesses correctly, while Dannie thinks it’s watermelon. Finally, mint is up, perhaps as a joke against Frank. Ariel gets it, but Dannie thinks it’s marshmallow, which means that Jared on the podium gets blasted. Last up is garlic, and Dannie once again gets it wrong, giving her zero for four. The Red Team dominated, especially due to Ariel — she guessed five out of eight flavors correctly.
The Reward
The Red Team will get to go on a $2,000 shopping spree to buy some kitchen supplies. For the Blue Team, they’ll be dealing with durian fruits, known for being the worst smelling fruit in the world. It’s illegal to open up a durian in Singapore based on its massive odor. “Smell you later!” Ashley says to the Blue Team with glee.
Backstage, Manda asks if she’s the only one who got any right, which leads to a lot of silence. “It’s very hard,” Jared tries to say, saving himself from Manda’s fury.
While shopping, Kristin said that it feels like her birthday and Christmas had a baby. “It was cool to let my imagination run wild, and get the most bang out of Chef Ramsay’s buck,” Ariel says, leaning on crutches while looking for some loot.
Not only does the durian stink, but it looks like something you’d find out of an ocean. Frank learns that the durian is to make mocci, and since he’s somewhat unfamiliar with mocci, tries to bond with Chef Aaron to try and save face. He knows that Chef Aaron talks to Chef Ramsay, so it’s possible that brown-nosing might get him farther in the competition. His team watches with disgust — they’re totally not buying it. As for me, this is the first time I’ve seen Frank have a conversation without raising his voice.
The Red Team have returned, and both teams are in the midst of prep work. Chef Ramsay addresses the Blue Team, and reminds them to communicate with each other. As for the ladies, Chef Ramsay reminds them that they’re down six team members, so working together and getting dishes out in a timely manner is key. With that, Hell’s Kitchen opens. And hey, Meredith Baxter is here tonight!
The Dinner Service
Kristin is working on risotto, and is quick to communicate. She mentions that nothing but perfection will do at this stage of the game. Chef Ramsay is quick to compliment her work, and Kristin is pleased. “Come hell or high water, I’m getting a black jacket,” she states.
Frank is working on fish tonight, and is working alongside Dannie on appetizers. Frank decides to communicate with his team this week, but is quick to be annoyed by Dannie for her confusing timing. “Come on you, so slow!” Chef Ramsay tells him, after he fails to deliver his scallops quickly.
Chef Ramsay gives the team some feedback quickly. He’s quick to tell the Red Team that they had a solid first hour. Hopefully they keep their momentum. Soon after, Kristin makes a mistake by not giving a full portion of risotto to one of her plates. Ariel also gets blasted for some scallops, which means they have to get back in sync quickly in order to keep this dinner service together.
“I am willing to do everything and anything to make sure we don’t go down tonight,” Manda says. She’s cooking snapper tonight, but it’s not up to Chef Ramsay’s standards. “Raw fish!” he yells. “It’s under-cooked! Come on, Blue Team!” Chef Ramsay is also focused on Frank, hoping he bounces back quick. He’s so focused on Frank that he decides the best way to motivate him is to stare at him while he’s cooking.
“Young man, would you like to go home?” Chef Ramsay screams at him. Frank seems a little delusional, and doesn’t understand why he’s being watched.
So, Does Chef Ramsay Send Him Home?
Jared comments that this is a typical Frank maneuver — if he doesn’t touch it last, he refuses to take the blame. That said, two snappers are sent back based on being under-cooked. It’s everyone’s problem but Frank’s, per Frank.
Things get confusing over in the Red Kitchen as well, with Kristin admitting that she can’t totally understand the orders. She notes that things have been tough for her recently. She just went through a divorce, and her profession was a big part of it. But, that’s not an excuse for her to cook green beans instead of baby asparagus, per Chef’s orders. While the Red Team tries to explain themselves over the wrong vegetable, Chef Ramsay is simply not happy.
Back in the Blue Team, a well done New York Strip was served up by Jared. “At this point, you have to prove that you can cook f*cking steak,” Frank says. Once again, they’re hoping to bounce back from this.
Jared’s second attempt steak was “gashed.” He sliced it to test the temperature. Jared admits that New York Strips are difficult for him, and Chef Ramsay says that if he can’t save the steak, he’ll drop him right off at the airport. I like you Jared, but — really? You’re trying to win a prize to work at a steakhouse!
Manda also has difficulty timing her garnish. “I had to re-fire it, because there were steaks that were gashed, and God knows what else!” Manda yells. After Chef Ramsay sees the finished result, he assumes Manda just gave up.
Boo Hoo, Blue
Chef Ramsay is embarrassed by the Blue Team, and he’s sure to let them know. “I’m over Frank. He has such a f*cking attitude,” Manda exclaims, saying that she thinks that as a Marine, she figured Frank would be a little more of a team player. Angry words aside, the Blue Team finally manages to get their entrees out.
The Red Team admits that they’re stressed with one less teammate than their opponents, but still manage to turn things around. They finish up their service, and feel like heroes.
Of course they win, but that doesn’t mean that Chef Ramsay is full of glee. He’s way too ticked off at the Blue Team, and thinks that perhaps all four of their chefs should be going home tonight. Manda, of course, gets ticked off, and hopes that anyone on her team gets voted out except for her. As per usual, Manda has false views that she’s the only person holding the team together.
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The Deliberations
The Blue Team still deliberates, and Jared thinks that everyone, truly, lost it for their team. Jared mentions Manda’s name for garnish based on lack of communication, and she blames it on re-fires on the meat station. She also said that Frank laughed at her once instead of answering her. Frank thinks that Manda is just looking for a fight.
“Manda, you weren’t the calmest, and you had a huge attitude,” Frank blatantly states before leaving the room. He knows he’s under fire tonight, and doesn’t want to be in the room while the rest of his team gossips about him.
The Elimination
Chef Ramsay asks Manda for the nominees, and Manda says that the first nominee is Jared, based on the meat station. Second nominee is Frank, for the same reason. Chef Ramsay has both chefs step forward.
As per usual, Chef Ramsay asks both chefs to give their typical monologues about why they should stay in Hell’s Kitchen. Jared says that he doesn’t think he’s the weakest team member at all. After all, he communicates in the kitchen more than his teammates, namely, Dannie and Manda. Frank tries to defend his snapper, saying that he told the other chefs to watch it before it went out. Manda admits that she was told to watch the snapper, and while she checked the tail, she didn’t check the middle. “Chef, Dannie is the one that ran them to the pass,” Jared says. Dannie denies any of this. “So the snapper walked up by itself?” Chef Ramsay asked. Despite video footage, Dannie stands by her story.
Despite the whole Blue Team being a mess, Chef Ramsay decides to eliminate Frank. He blames the females. Because, let’s face it — Frank is an awful person. Like, I’ve danced around it before, but now that he’s out? Frank is honestly the worst.
And in talking about men and women, let this be known – Jared is officially the last man standing.
Hell’s Kitchen airs on Wednesdays at 9pm on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
