Last time, the contestants' taste buds were tested, and the red team edged out a win. But they couldn't capitalize on that momentum, losing the dinner service, and Rachel bit the dust after a terrible performance. 12 started, but 6 remain; what could possibly happen this week?

An emotional reaction

As usual, the teams return to their dorms after their elimination, and once there, Heather is on her bed, crying. Well, she did say she'd cry if Rachel left, and that's what happened... Heather does say she'll miss her, and she says to Maribel that she didn't expect that elimination. Well, considering Maribel was the other nominee... Anyway, Maribel plans to not let the others make her feel small. That might be a good idea at this point. Meanwhile, the guys are outside, thinking that Heather, though she is good, isn't as good as they had originally thought. Keith is getting the feeling that he's the strongest one there after how the latest dinner service went. They also agree that the other girls are pretty much done for at this rate. Garrett explains why in a confessional: Heather was their heart, and Rachel their backbone. That would mean that with Heather on the blue team and Rachel gone, the red team has a big uphill climb ahead.

How inspired will they be?

The next morning, at 6:32AM, the teams are still asleep. Cue the sous-chefs, with a pair of bullhorns. That certainly got them up and changed quickly. After that, the sous-chefs get them outside and into a pair of vehicles, and those vehicles take them to Grand Central Public Market in L.A., where Chef Ramsay is waiting. There, he gives them their challenge for the day, which deals with inspiration. They'll have to head around the market filled with fresh foods, come up with 3 dishes (appetizer, entrée, dessert), and buy the foods needed to make them. They have 20 minutes for this part of the challenge. And with that, they're off! On the red team, Virginia is taking initiative in terms of coming up with the dishes, and this bugs Sara. Despite this, neither team has completely decided on their 3 dishes at the halfway point. On the blue team, Heather is getting flustered, but Keith is still confident that they can take down the girls. Back over with the red team, Virginia is trying to buy the biggest chicken breasts that she can get. But after that, they're seemingly getting lost in what they're doing. But in the end, the teams get what they need in time, and they head out.

Once they're back at Hell's Kitchen, they have 1 hour to get into their kitchens and prepare those dishes. In the red kitchen, Virginia asks for the peppers to be really roasted. Sara does so, and we see 3 red peppers, one of them burnt. Kinda makes me glad I don't eat stuff with peppers in them... Maribel has a feeling that the others don't have much confidence in her, as she is told by Sara to watch herself with a hot pan. Meanwhile, in the blue kitchen, Keith and Garrett are taking care of things together. Keith says that he feels it's because Garrett is "weak with his knowledge". Soon enough, both teams are done, and their dishes are ready to be presented to Ramsay. Here we go...

1. Appetizers
Garrett - Roasted Corn, Scallop, and Shrimp Bisque
Ramsay likes the presentation, but he's concerned about the sharp spiky tail that's still on the shrimp.
Sara - Bell Pepper Soup
He says it looks appetizing, but it tastes burnt. I guess we know where that burnt red pepper went, then.

With that, Ramsay says that the blue team has a slight advantage at this point. Moving on...

2. Entrées
Virginia - Chicken Roulade stuffed with Mexican hard salami, sliced tomatoes, and garlic
Ramsay asks how many chickens were used, and Virginia says it's just one chicken breast. That would explain why she asked for big ones. He then says he's pleased that she came with something so inspirational.
Keith - Bone-in Pan Roasted Rib Eye with tomatillo and smoked chili demiglaze
He says the steak is cooked perfectly, and it tastes nice, despite the veggies looking like a mess.

I think that just swayed this one in favour of the red team at this point, but there's still one course left...

3. Desserts
Heather - Fresh Fruit Crepes with mango peach purée
Ramsay says it's nice, but they went soggy.
Maribel - Strawberry Shortcake with Latin ingredients
He would have liked to see more inspiration, but it is quite tasty and refreshing.

Ramsay then declares that the winning team will be spending a night on the town with him, and the losing team will be on delivery duty. So, with that in mind, he declares the winning team to be... the red team. They're quite pleased. Ramsay then says that Virginia is on a roll, since of those dishes, he apparently likes the chicken roulade the best. In a confessional, Heather says that ticks her off, as she doesn't understand how Virginia's dish clinched it for the red team, and she thinks Ramsay may be playing favorites. And, of course, we again see Virginia smiling. I'll leave it at that. Ramsay then tells the red team to think about what they'll wear later, and the blue team to listen for a horn, because that will mean a delivery has arrived.

Frustration... in sign language form

Back in the dorms, we see that all 3 members of the blue team feel cheated, as they felt they should have won. They head to the backyard and vent their frustrations verbally, then Heather proclaims that they will be the final 3. Keith and Garrett obviously agree, as this has now apparently made them determined to send the others home. Then, as members of the red team also head into the yard, Keith lets them know that they felt cheated (adding that it's nothing personal, of course). Later, back inside, as the red team is relaxing, a horn is heard. With that, the blue team gets up and gets right to the delivery dock. There, sous-chef Scott tells them where to put the boxes of wine (the first delivery items), and that there will be another horn later, meaning another delivery will have arrived. They get moving, transporting the wine to the bar in the dining room.

Meanwhile, the red team is now getting ready to head out for a night on the town. After we hear Heather saying she was sweating like Tom that day (that's a lot of sweating), the other ladies head out the front door, and into a limo, where Ramsay is waiting. That's when another horn is heard, and the blue team is heading out once again. The ladies are watching as the blue team is unloading the truck, but as the limo starts to move out, horn honking, Garrett decides to flip them off! (Single deuce, by the way.) Heather thinks that may not have been a good idea, especially since Ramsay was in that limo. We'll see later if this causes any trouble, but for now, as the blue team continues unloading the truck, the red team arrives at their first stop; the Providence. There, they received appetizers. As they ate, Maribel and Sara were on one side of the table. On the other side? Ramsay and Virginia. I'll leave it at that.

Back at the dorms, the horn goes off again. The blue team arrives at the dock to see a lot of bags of ice in the truck. Sounds like that ice machine is still broken. As they unload the ice, they agree that Heather is "one tough b****". Meanwhile, the red team is now at Nick & Stef's Steakhouse, obviously to enjoy some nice steak. There, they get to speak to the owner of that place, Joachim Splichal, and Virginia has a question. Problem is, she has some trouble asking it. After she finally gets it out, and is given a response, she continues talking. And it apparently annoys the other ladies. Later, at 1:42AM, the blue team has settled into bed, ready to get some sleep after a long day of deliveries.

And there's the horn. They're not done yet. They wake up, get changed, and head back to the dock for another delivery. As for the red team, they're still out, at yet another place this time.

Custom menus... and consequences?

The next day, the teams line up in the dining room (the blue team getting there first), and Ramsay has something to say before they start the prep. First, he addresses Garrett, concerning how he flipped the bird at the limo the day before. He says Garrett has no reason to have such an attitude to be doing such a thing. Ramsay then asks him if he wants to go, and he says no. Ramsay then warns him to never do that again. (That's it, eh? Good thing he didn't go with the double deuce, then.) With that out of the way, Ramsay moves on to mention that the teams will now have control of their menus. Just like at this point last season, they will now come up with their own dishes to make and serve for the next dinner service. Ramsay then sends them back to the dorms to create their menus.

Keith has an idea with a dish that involves shrimp, and Heather says to make sure the spiky tail comes off this time. Meanwhile, Sara has an idea for a rack of lamb. She also says that the idea made it so hot, it got her fired. That doesn't sound good, but she seems to convince them to let her go through with it, as she claims the owners couldn't handle that her menu was better than theirs. Excuses, excuses... Anyway, Virginia then presents the idea of sushi, as she says she used to make it. Sara seems to be okay with it, but Maribel has something to say. But Virginia says "no". Oh, boy... Back with the blue team, Garrett brings up the idea of a Lobster Wellington, but it seems to be shot down. Apparently, every idea of his has been shot down. And he's not happy. With the menus ready, the teams are in the kitchens for prep, and they have just over 3 hours to do it. Maribel is apparently moving slowly. And Garrett is still frustrated that he had virtually no input on the menu. Later, minutes before the service starts, Ramsay lines them up and tells them that the 2 menus will be going head-to-head, but the food must still meet his high standards. He then gets them going again.

2 menus, 2 different results

It's 7PM. The restaurant is open. The customers enter, and when seated, they are each asked which menu they'll order from. Just like at this point last year, each individual customer makes his/her own decision as to which menu to choose, and all of his/her courses must be from the same menu. We then see that the red menu features elaborate dishes, like Virginia's Pepper-Seared Bluefin and Hamachi Sashimi and Sara's Colorado Rack of Lamb, while the blue menu features simple dishes, like Keith's Dry-Aged New York Steak and Heather's Pare Tarte Tatin (and, of course, nothing from Garrett).

The teams get going, and Ramsay asks for some risotto from Keith, so he can taste it. He says it's nice, and compliments Keith for it. As a result, the blue team has started strong, and they're already getting appetizers out. In the red kitchen, not so much, as Ramsay notes the sashimi is raw. Virginia takes back the dish, and gets going again. As she does, Sara asks if it's her first time cooking those. Virginia responds that she's cooked them for years. Sara can't understand why Virginia isn't accepting her help. I think it's because Virginia thinks Sara will only make it worse. Then, Ramsay asks how long the sashimi will take, to which Virginia says she needs to collect her thoughts first. Uh-oh. That halts the red kitchen's progress, forcing Ramsay to have the blue kitchen's appetizers served alone to tables where customers chose different menus.

At 7:30PM, the blue kitchen's appetizers are still flying out to the dining room, but nothing is coming from the red kitchen. It must be painful for those who ordered from the red menu to watch as those at their table who ordered from the blue menu get their food, while they're still waiting. It's up to Virginia to fix that, but she thinks the sashimi is screwed up. She feels that what they got was just too wiggly, making it hard to cut. Ramsay then calls her over, asking her to look at what she's sending to the hot plate. He yells at about how they apparently can't get sliced raw fish out. He then has Maribel help Virginia with the sashimi, and with the help, it's finally getting served... at 8:04PM.

In the blue kitchen, the appetizers are done, and it's up to Heather and Garrett to prepare the entrées. But Ramsay has a problem with some food that Garrett prepared. He has it sent back, then asks Keith to help get them going. Keith and Heather are trying to help Garrett to fix the problem, but he's still showing frustration. That's when the horn is heard. Sounds like the punishment for losing the challenge the day before still isn't done... The blue team stops what they're doing and heads back to the dock to see that they have to unload a lot. After a commercial break, we see that there are 48 orders from the red menu, and 52 for the blue menu. So, the blue team has more to prepare, and now, they have even more to do. As they're unloading the truck, the red team is still cooking, and they're getting their appetizers out.

Soon enough, it's time for the red team to get their entrées going, and Sara has her lamb ready. But at the hot plate, Ramsay can't believe what she did to it. Ramsay asks her what that was, and all she can reply with was, "I'm learning, Chef." And she claimed that she had done this before in the dorms... Virginia seemed to notice, and I bet she's thinking, "Good thing I didn't let her help me with the sashimi." Ramsay still yells for Sara to come and see it, and gets her to throw it out and start again. Meanwhile, after the blue team had finished with the delivery duty, Garrett has his first entrée ready. But there's a problem: the duck isn't even pink; it's white. So, Ramsay goes into the blue kitchen and tells Garrett to watch how it's supposed to be done. Then, once that is finally out, Garrett is back in the kitchen trying to do something else, but a fire erupts in a pan.

Despite Garrett's problems, the blue team is still getting those entrées served, much to the dismay of those who ordered from the red kitchen. Speaking of which, Ramsay calls for more lamb, and Sara is trying to do what she can. She's not happy that she's not getting help from Virginia or Maribel. Maybe she shouldn't have been acting the way she had in the past, then. After we see JP letting a table of 2 who ordered from the red menu know that they'll have to keep waiting, Ramsay calls for Sara again. He points out on her latest attempt at a rack of lamb that there is blood on it (presumably from the lamb that this came from). The customer wanted medium, but it's still rare. As she takes it back to cook it some more, Ramsay reminds them that the red team hasn't served an entrée yet.

With that, Ramsay decides to take the lamb off the red menu. He tells JP this, before ordering Sara to stop trying to cook any more lamb. Ramsay then tells her that JP has taken a lot of flak due to her inconsistency. We then hear JP saying that he can't wait for this service to end, as he has had enough. Meanwhile, the blue team is still rollin' along, and Heather has taken over Garrett's meat station. The steak goes up to the hot plate, and Ramsay asks who cooked it. Heather says she did, and Ramsay says it was nicely cooked. She knows that her taking over the station is the reason why their steaks are getting served. Back in the red kitchen, it's Maribel's turn to hopefully impress with her fish. It gets served, but the customer says it's too cold. The fish is returned, and Ramsay calls Maribel over. It is noted that it was undercooked, and Maribel takes it back. Ramsay says he can't believe that the first thing she did was returned. Wait. That was the first thing she did herself all service? Oh, boy...

Meanwhile, the blue team has moved on to desserts. Heather gets some finished, and they get served. Soon after, Scott yells to them that they have one last table to serve, and Heather gets the food for that table to the hot plate. With that, the blue team has finally managed to do something that hadn't been done this season until now; complete a dinner service! Considering they had a delivery to unload during the service, and the fact that the red team still hasn't even served an entrée yet, that is very impressive! Of course, it doesn't help that the red team had elaborate dishes that they haven't exactly perfected yet. Speaking of which, Maribel is having trouble with a salmon dish that Sara came up with. Ramsay yells at Sara about its impracticality, then asks if they can just cut the salmon into a slice without screwing it up. Sara's response: "Yeah. Consistency?" At this point, the lesson to be learned is to never try to turn Ramsay's own words against him, as that's considered a challenge of authority. Ramsay calls her over, calling her a "fat-mouthed, little ****". He yells at her about how she's screwing with something that's not working.

After that, he tells the red team to stop, then calls the blue team over and explains that 11 tables are still waiting for entrées from the red team. And he's so determined to get this whole service completed, that he decides to ask the blue team to help the red team complete the entrées! Ramsay then walks out of the kitchen, leaving them to get it done. And, with the sous-chefs presumably handling the quality control at the pass, they do finally get it done.

Desperation for one

With the customers gone, thankfully with full stomachs, the teams are lined up in the kitchen. Ramsay compliments the blue team on completing their service, then tells Keith that this was his best performance so far. He then lets Garrett know how lucky he is to be in the same kitchen as Keith and Heather. Ramsay then tells Sara that this was her worst performance ever, and it's obvious that the red team has lost. He tells them that the menu they designed was "way over their heads", and that this time, they'll each have to nominate a teammate for elimination, as there was no "best of the worst" this time.

The teams return to the dorms, the red team is out in the backyard, and that is when Sara admits to not having cooked lamb in many years. As Keith sits down out there, Virginia asks Sara why she suggested the lamb if she hadn't cooked it in so long. As the rest of the blue team also enters the scene, Sara counters by saying she's not the only one that failed tonight. Virginia tells her to shut up. Heather is enjoying seeing this, especially since it's becoming apparent that Sara is the most vulnerable at this point. Sara then tries to pass the blame to Maribel, saying she wasn't with them during prep. But Maribel knows that it's Sara that has been screwing up the most. Sara then tries to claim that Virginia thinks she's the "Golden Child of the Day", but Virginia counters, saying she never said that. Sounds like Sara is really getting desperate now.

The least deserving of the 3

Time for the elimination. The red team is lined up, and Ramsay asks if they each made their decisions. He then drops a bombshell; he doesn't want to hear their nominations! Instead, he asks all 3 of them to step forward! Any of them could be gone in mere moments! Now, it's their chance to tell Ramsay why they feel they should stay. Sara says that she feels she's responsible for a lot of the team's dynamics, and though she can't cook lamb, who can? Ramsay then asks Virginia about what Sara said, and she responds that it makes her sick. She wonders why Sara would be so confident that she'd know what she was doing with the lamb, when she didn't have a clue. Frankly, so am I. Anyway, Maribel says she should stay because she has a lot of drive, and she tries to give the others her 2 cents, but they don't listen. Virginia says that she didn't feel that she was bullying Maribel around. Apparently, she forgot about when she said no after Maribel asked to speak up.

Ramsay then sums things up like this; Sara had her head inside her butt, so to speak, when he tried talking to her, Virginia is as good as what she put on a plate, and the sashimi was "shocking", and Maribel was like a rabbit, going around but accomplishing nothing. So, with that, Ramsay declares that the one that is going home tonight is... Maribel. Wha? Well, as she takes off her jacket and hands it over, he explains that she does work hard, but she's not a leader. And apparently, that was what did her in this time. Still, though, Sara has to consider herself extremely lucky that she's still in it. With that, Ramsay reminds the remaining 5 contestants that it will continue to get harder.

There's 5 left, so next week, the teams merge. Apparently, one of the women will come between Garrett and Keith. They visit the site of the restaurant where the winner will be an Executive Chef. Then, old rivalries could end up sinking their chances of completing the service, and one of them will make the biggest mistake that one could ever make in Hell's Kitchen.