Last week on Hell’s Kitchen, the chefs had to deal with communication — a simple task that many, many failed at. After the ladies lost, they all seemed to turn on Jackie, who decided to use the punishment time to air out her dirty, sailor mouth. We also had Meese, who threw out a perfectly good meal. But it was Vanessa who went home. Poor Vanessa. She’s had such a rough edit.
Dannie is in disbelief over Ariel’s decision to go rogue with her nominations. “Everyone besides you thought that Vanessa was the weakest chef,” Ariel says. After all, Chef Ramsay decided to send her home. While Dannie is still confused over this decision, Ariel decides that the best way to shut her down is by simply yelling that the conversation was over.
It’s 5:25 a.m. when the chefs wake up to to find hunting gear. Chef Ramsay is waiting for them by a pier, enjoying the great outdoors. “How many of you have gone duck hunting before?” Ramsay asks. Three of them raise their hands. However, the ducks they’ll be hunting today are of the rubber variety. Each duck has an ingredient labeled on its bottom, and our chefs, who’ll be working in teams, need to gather them and create a delicious dish.
Each pair of opponents will gather five ducks, and all of the five ingredients need to be used in their dish. While the opponents will be sharing ingredients, their dishes will go head to head when they’re back in Hell’s Kitchen.
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The Hunt For Ingredients
Chad and Ariel are one of the teams, and Ariel is quick to throw back ducks. Like bacon. She actually tossed bacon back. Jackie and Frank are also teamed up, and Jackie is certain that her dish will be much better than Frank’s.
The chefs have 45 minutes to complete their dishes. Manda’s nervous, since she’s never cooked ducks so large before. “They’re like Ashley’s boob job,” she says, in regards to size.
Jackie tries to experiment with a puree. “I’m a little nervous, since I’m doing a last minute puree that I’ve never ever done before,” she admits. But no matter what, she’s on a mission.
Frank never cooked duck at all, so he’s extremely nervous. Yet knowing Frank, I bet he’ll think his dish is the best in the kitchen.
Joining Chef Ramsay to judge the duck dishes is Chef Josiah Citrin. Both dishes will be judging the dishes on a scale from one to four, which means that the highest a dish can rank is eight.
Judging The Duck
Joe and Manda face off first, and their dishes feature bok choy. Joe mentions that his includes a tamale, which upsets Ramsay a bit. “This dish is not Mexican,” Gordon notes. Manda’s dish is a bit on the mealy side, and Gordon thinks it’s terrible. The men lead the women six to two.
Ariel and Chad both have underwhelming dishes, but the men still lead. Jackie’s dish gets five points total, and Frank celebrates getting seven. The women are trailing by six points.
Dannie’s dish is next, and gets five points. Alan’s deep fried dish is too greasy, and only earns two points. Meese has an unconventional cut, and while it looks stunning, it only gets twos from both chefs. Hassan’s dish is, in his words, “visibly appalling” but only scores two points total.
Eddie’s dish is nearly inedible. “We should be shut down,” Ramsay says while examining the plate. “The customer would actually choke on this.”
“When you’re in Hell’s Kitchen you can’t be that dumb,” Jackie comments. While it has some problems, it still gets a total of four. Ashley presents a blueberry sauced duck, and the chefs both think it’s a bit clumsy. She gets a total of six.
Jared and Kristen end the competition. Once again, Ramsay uses the phrase “clumsy” when describing Jared’s plate. Both chefs give him a three. Kristen incorporates purple sweet potato chips with her dish, and Ramsay gets an overcooked bite. She gets three points total, which is an embarrassment to the ladies. The men end up winning the reward.
Their prize? A luxury yacht trip. They’ll also get dinner at a penthouse, and a “few more surprises” that Ramsay doesn’t disclose. (I bet it’s dinner with the Chef Ramsay.) The girls will be getting a large shipment of duck, and will have to prep the duck for an appetizer that will be offered during dinner service.
Another Painful Loss
“It looks like a voodoo shed or something,” Kristen says about the mountain of duck heads. Ariel quips about the team being completely unable to follow directions.
Meanwhile, Eddie is double fisting oysters on the yacht and making jokes about “not being shellfish.” Surprisingly, the men actually acknowledge the joke, and don’t treat Eddie like an embarrassing Dad.
The ladies have to face yet another unappetizing lunch. Jackie goes to town on some duck feet, and then makes some lewd gestures. Everyone is, obviously, disgusted. Being human garbage disposal isn’t necessarily a good thing, Jackie.
Let’s go back to the guys. One of the “surprises” is a visit with Gordon Ramsey himself! (I knew it, you guys!) The men have a fun time joking with him over dinner, asking him if they could use him as a reference on their resume once the show has ended.
The List
The girls decide to ask their sous chef, Christina, for some advice on how to tighten up their kitchen. They decide to make a list of ingredients, which Jackie writes F-bombs all over. Christina is anything but amused. “Have a seat and sit down,” Christina orders of Jackie. “This is a professional kitchen.”
Jackie thinks she’s hilarious, and is upset that Christina “disrespected” her. Eventually, Jackie finally decides to apologize. “I don’t want you to think I’m not serious about this,” Jackie says. Christina wants Jackie to show her some proof, which Jackie understands. “I mean, it’s a cooking competition, not a personality competition,” Jackie says.
The VIP Dinner
We’ll have two celebrities at dinner tonight. The girls will be cooking for the one and only Kris Jenner, and the men will be cooking for Dita Von Teese. Dannie and Frank will be serving a duck confit appetizer tableside.
The girls get started quickly, and once again forget to turn the gas on. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and it probably won’t be the last.
Eddie gets to welcome Dita, and he’s absolutely enamored. “Oh my god, she’s beautiful” he admits to the camera. Dita makes a comment about how it’d be more interesting if the servers were shirtless, which Eddie seems to enjoy. Chef Ramsay quickly gets him back in the kitchen, and totally kills Eddie’s ability to flirt any further.
Manda is also a little starstruck, saying she’s blinded by Kris Jenner’s smile. The girls are so nervous about Kris, that they totally botch their risotto. “Kris Jenner has just put out a (expletive) cookbook!” Ramsay yells.
Kris hears the backlash against Manda, and utters a brief “yikes.” Manda promises Chef Ramsay that she can, and will do better. Unseasoned risotto is a rookie mistake.
Hassan’s main focus during this dinner service is making sure that Kevin doesn’t screw up. He’s doing his best to lead, and his direction is much appreciated — the men are quite steady with delivering their entrees.
Jackie is on meat, and Ramsay notices how pink it is. He calls a group meeting of the Red Team to show them what a disaster it is. “You can’t see that’s pink?” the chef asks Jackie. “Get it back in the oven!” Meese comments that “There’s no place for her in Chef Ramsay’s kitchen.
Eddie is still trying to woo Dita, saying that the brief connection they had could very easily be seen as a date. (Good luck, Eddie. I’m pretty sure she’s out of your league.)
The Red Team Falls Apart
There’s still some tension between Jackie and Meese, as Meese fails to communicate with Jackie about the timing for the garnish. “I don’t want my guests eating on an installment plan!” Ramsay yells, causing Kris Jenner to crack up at her seat.
But this is no laughing matter for him. After seeing a sad plate of mashed potatoes, he calls all the girls in the back and says that he’s seen better potatoes in prison. Kris Jenner sees the chefs flee, and wonders if they’re “grounded.” I have to say, Kris Jenner has been one of the most entertaining VIPs that the show has had in recent years.
Soon after, Chef Ramsay orders the Blue Team to work on desserts and help the Red Team catch up. Ashley thinks that Hassan is “screaming” in their kitchen, and Hassan responds with, “This is how I talk!” The girls just stand around and watch the men succeed. Christina makes sure that the Red Team thanks the men for completing their dinner service two nights in a row.
Gordon Ramsay is not a happy camper. “What an embarrassment,” he says to the Red Team. “Start thinking about two people that your team would be better off without.”
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The Nominations
Kristin thinks it’s time to make a huge change, and wants to get rid of Jackie immediately. Ashley mentions that while she screwed up, she also had to help Meese with the garnish.
Jackie tries to save her name by saying that she only screwed up one chicken. “We can’t have someone on our team that thinks it’s okay to serve raw chicken breast,” Kristin exclaims. She nominates Jackie.
Chef Ramsay asks Manda for the nominations. First up is Jackie, based on her less than desirable attitude. Second is Meese, based on her garnish error. “She’s not talking during service,” Manda says.
Meese can’t explain her silence, but thinks she can learn better communication skills with time. Jackie thinks that she’s a team player, and believes that she can be a leader. “I joke around during the day, that’s my personality,” Jackie says when Chef Ramsay notes that she doesn’t seem to be popular among her kitchen.
Who’s Going Home?
Unfortunately, Chef Ramsay thinks that Meese just isn’t ready for this, and sends her home. “I was fighting to make a better life for my family and I blew it,” Meese says between sobs.
But Chef Ramsay isn’t done yet. He calls Hassan down, and says he’s the most vocal and confident of his kitchen. Based on his skill, he’ll be moved over to the Red Team. “Find out what the men are doing and the ladies aren’t doing,” Ramsay says. Alan is a bit worried, since he thinks that Hassan will add a lot to the Red Team. But fear not — the Blue Team will still be strong regardless of whether or not Hassan is around to lead.
Hell’s Kitchen airs on Wednesdays at 9pm on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
