Last week, the guys got to play some paintball, but after the dinner service, Brad was sent home in a shocking elimination.  With 5 left, it'll be time for a change...

Shock across the room

On the way back to the dorms, Bonnie asked if the reason why she stayed is because she's entertaining.  Hmm.  Now that I think of it, she might have a point there, considering this is FOX airing the show...  Either way, the others do seem shocked, and Bonnie tells the guys that she wouldn't be offended if they are.  In an aside, though, Rock is glad to see Brad go, as he felt Brad was his biggest competition.  Then, we see Rock telling Josh that he feels Josh can't focus well enough to win this thing.  Josh dismisses that as opinion.  We'll see if that is nothing but opinion soon enough...

Back to school

It's a new day in Hell's Kitchen, and with the teams lined up, Ramsay notes that there's 5 left.  Those who have seen the first 2 seasons should know what that means.  Yep, there's no more red team or blue team; they'll now combine into one team!  Scott brings them glasses of champagne to celebrate this occasion, then after a toast, Ramsay starts spraying a bottle at them!  During this, he notes that Josh has a new talent; catching champagne from a distance!  Heh.  Afterwards, Ramsay tells them to get upstairs, where their new jackets are waiting.  Once there, they get changed into those jackets (with black shoulders instead of the team colors, for those who haven't seen them), and enjoy the moment.

Back downstairs, it's time to get serious, because now, they compete in their first individual challenge.  Ramsay tells them that they'll each cook a dish for "a very special group of trendsetters".  Jen speculates that it could involve some celebrities.  Ramsay then says that those trendsetters won't be coming to Hell's Kitchen; the 5 will be going to them!  With that, the blindfolds are on, and the chefs are led to the vehicle outside, which will take them to their destination.  We then hear further speculation; Julia thinks of doctors and nurses when she hears the term "fingers on the pulse", and Josh is also thinking celebrities.  Boy, are they in for a bit of a letdown...

That's because the trendsetters are high school students!  Once the chefs get to take their blindfolds off, they find themselves in the cafeteria at Alhambra High.  Ramsay then explains that they'll have to feed and impress 100 high school students.  He also mentions the prize for the winner of this challenge; it's a trip with Ramsay to Las Vegas!  With that, they have 1 hour before the bell goes off to cook their dishes, so they get going quickly.  So let's see what they're making, as well as the color of their plates...

Rock (purple) - Kobe Beef Meatloaf

Josh (yellow) - Baked Salmon

Julia (orange) - Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Bonnie (pink) - Breaded Goat Cheese

Jen (green) - Baked Chicken Fettuccine

An interesting variety, there.  Should be interesting to see what the teens would prefer.  Soon enough, the bell goes off, and as the students are coming, Ramsay tells the chefs to "sell that dish".  So, while serving the students, they're also talking to them and trying to convince them to see things their way.  Then, with all of the dishes served, the students try the food, and vote for which one they liked.  Afterwards, with everyone done, and the students still there to watch, Ramsay is ready to announce the results.  He says that with over 51% of the vote, the winner is... after a long, drawn-out pause, which includes a commercial break (of course)... Julia!  I'm not really surprised; this is a high school, not a fine dining restaurant like Hell's Kitchen is.  With that, Julia now has 30 seconds to pick one of the other 4 to go with her.  She chooses... Jen.  With that, Ramsay sends the other 3 back to Hell's Kitchen, where JP is waiting with some boring, horrible tasks for them to do.  Then, with applause from the students, Julia and Jen head out, and are driven to a private plane that they'll be riding to Vegas on!

Cleaning, and meeting a winner

Back at Hell's Kitchen, Rock, Josh, and Bonnie are told by JP that they'll have some vacuuming, steam cleaning, and ironing to do.  Everything that they need for the dining room is in the bag sitting on the floor... and in 10 other bags outside.  There's a lot to do, so they'll have to get right on it.  As Rock and Bonnie are busy with some sheets, Josh seems to be having a problem with one of the machines.  JP tells him that "it's not rocket science"; it just needs to be plugged in and turned on.  Yeah.  Then, as Josh is vacuuming, it makes a few noises, sounding like it's trying to suck up something big.  Rock says just to pick it up if it's a chicken bone.

Meanwhile, Julia and Jen arrive in Vegas, enjoying the sights.  Soon enough, they arrive at the Green Valley Ranch resort, where the eventual winner's restaurant will be located!  And it turns out that they get to stay in an amazing room, with, among other things, a pool table!  Later, as the other 3 work into the night, Julia and Jen get to spend some time at a spa!  Speaking of the other 3, Rock and Bonnie soon get into a bit of an argument over ironing a sheet, and we see some of Rock's temper coming out.  Oh, boy...

The next day, still in Vegas, Julia and Jen leave the Green Valley Ranch resort, and head for the Red Rock resort, where Ramsay introduces them to last year's winner, Heather!  Of course, this comes with a flashback showing her winning last year's competition.  Heather gives them a tour of her restaurant, "terra rosa", then lets them try a few of her dishes!  During this, Heather gives Julia and Jen some advice (which includes keeping one's friends close, but one's enemies closer) that could help them as the competition winds down.  Soon enough, Ramsay lets them know that they've got a busy service ahead that night, so Julia and Jen have to head back, while Heather goes back to running her restaurant.

Oops.

In the meantime, Rock, Josh, and Bonnie will have to take care of the prep.  Bonnie says that she feels nervous, because it's 5 of them serving the restaurant.  We then seeing her smell something in a pan and throw it out.  Mary Ann then asks if they have any monkfish, mentioning that there was a pan full of them, to which Bonnie replies that she threw it out because "it smelled".  Appalled at this, Mary Ann has it dug out of the trash, and she and Scott smell it.  It didn't smell bad to them.  Looks like Bonnie made a big mistake.  This has her understandably worried about how much longer she'll last here.

Later, at around 4PM, the 3 of them finally get a break, and Bonnie starts complaining about how Julia's grilled chicken sandwich won the challenge, saying that wouldn't have worked if they were in Hell's Kitchen at the time.  Soon enough, Julia and Jen arrive, and they have pictures for the others to see.  Of course, this includes one taken of the 2 of them with Heather, and Rock correctly figured that Julia and Jen got some advice from her.  As they explain how the trip went, Julia mentions one of the things that amazed her; a "rear-cleaner" on the toilet!  Well, it may be all smiles now, but the dinner service is looming.  Speaking of which...

Tempers flaring

The restaurant is open at 6PM this time, and the chefs are in the red kitchen, ready to begin.  As orders are brought in, Josh is feeling confident about being on appetizers.  Maybe a bit too confident; Ramsay quickly notices that he has too many risottos going!  He tells Josh that they've already lost some money because of this.  In the meantime, Rock has some scallops ready, but Ramsay rejects them because they're too well done.  And again, Josh is cooking more than necessary, this time preparing spaghetti that hasn't been ordered yet!  Oh, geez.

At 6:32PM, we see some hungry customers.  Then, after a mention that Bonnie is on the meat station and Julia is on garnish, Bonnie brings up some Wellington to be served, and Ramsay says it's nice.  As for the garnish, Julia has a bit of trouble finding the fennel needed for it.  Ramsay tells her to wake up.  He then asks her to bring a pan over, but she's busy with something else, so Ramsay gets it himself.  He says to her, "Come on, please."  Julia's response?  "Oh, whatever."  Uh-oh.  Ramsay talks to her some more.  Then, moments later, Ramsay notices that Josh is once again cooking spaghetti that hasn't been ordered!  Ramsay tells him once again that they're supposed to cook to order, and that Josh is pushing him to the limit.  That's not good.

At 7:04PM, customers are finally getting appetizers, but one of them says that her risotto is undercooked.  The message is relayed to Ramsay, and he calls Josh over to ask what he's doing.  Then, it becomes apparent that Ramsay has had enough; he tells Josh to take off his jacket and leave!  Josh heads to the back while still taking the jacket off, and an angry Ramsay follows him to get the jacket, while still yelling for him to get out!  With that, Josh heads back to the dorm, packs up, and walks out of Hell's Kitchen.  And now, only 4 remain.

So, with appetizers still needed, Ramsay tells Jen to get on that section.  And she manages to get the station back on track, cooking a nice risotto that impresses Ramsay.  Now, things are going smoothly, except for Julia, who is still struggling with the garnish station.  She once again loses track of something that is needed.  Then, later, Ramsay calls for carrots, but Julia doesn't respond.  That's not good.  She is clearly panicking.

Ramsay then calls for some turbot, and Bonnie is waiting for Rock, but he ended up losing track of where it is.  Bonnie explains to Ramsay that she's just waiting for the turbot, but Rock snaps a bit, not happy about being called out like that.  There's that temper again.  Later, with some customers still starving, Jen tries to communicate with Rock, telling him not to send the scallops up until her spaghetti is ready.  But when Ramsay calls for the scallops, Rock sends them up anyway.  Ramsay then calls to Jen for the spaghetti, and she soon gets it up there.  Jen then tells Rock not to do that to her again, but Rock doesn't want to talk, apparently trying to control his temper.  But Jen presses the issue, and they argue.  Oh, geez.  As a result, Rock is ticked, and when he brings up some more food, he just drops it on the counter at the pass.  Ramsay notices this.  Oops.

But despite the arguing, entrées are still moving out, and soon enough, they make it to desserts.  But communication is still an issue; Rock asks about a tub, and Jen says it's an ice cream base.  She then tells him to put it by the sink, but he puts it in a different spot.  Jen sees this, and puts it where she wanted it, as Rock is apparently saying something to her that's bleeped out.  Ramsay hears this, and asks them if they're going to argue.  But soon after, Rock, in a fit of anger, is trying to explain something while ignoring pleas to stop.  Then Jen is like, "Big man," causing Rock to snap again!  Ramsay is getting sick of this, and he yells to shut up!  Soon enough, they do manage to complete the service, despite a few more insults quietly flung out.

A tough decision, and tears

With the customers gone and the group lined up, Ramsay says that they can still do better than that.  He then says that Bonnie has had her best night ever (apparently despite throwing out monkfish during prep), so it'll be up to her to decide which 2 of the other 3 to nominate for elimination.  Yep, even though Josh has already been ejected, they're sending another one home.  Bonnie, in an aside, says she didn't want to be put in that position, but at least it means she's now in the final 3.  On the way back to the dorm, Jen tries to talk to Rock, but he says he doesn't want to talk, and he ends up going in a different direction than the rest.

In the backyard, the ladies are talking about Rock's temper, and that he couldn't control it during service.  Jen ends up crying about it, saying that people hate her, and she wants to go home.  Be careful what you wish for...  Meanwhile, Rock is sitting alone in the blue bedroom, and we hear him saying that though he didn't like the way Jen approached him, he should have waited until after the service to let her know.  Rock knows that his temper got the best of him, and he's worried that that'll cost him.  And even he is crying now.  Back in the backyard, Bonnie knows that she'll have to put up either Jen or Julia, which is something she doesn't want to do.  She plans on putting up Rock for sure, but deciding one of the others is proving to be tough for her.

An even tougher decision, and a surprise

With the group lined up in the dining room, Ramsay asks for Bonnie's nominations.  For her first, Bonnie chooses Rock, because of his temper.  For her second, Bonnie chooses... Julia, because of her problems with the garnish station.  So, when prompted, Rock and Julia step forward, and are given a chance to plead their cases.  Rock says that his performance tonight was uncharacteristic of him, and he can and will do better next time if he has the chance.  Julia says that she just refuses to give up, even on a hard night like this.  So, given the choice between a man clearly driven to get to the top and a woman who has made such an improvement, Ramsay says it's a very tough decision for him, on a personal front.  After some careful consideration, he decides that the person leaving... is Julia.

As Julia takes off her jacket, Ramsay tells her that she has done very well, and because of this, he has a surprise.  He is going to send Julia to culinary school!  Ramsay sees the talent in her, and he then says that once she is done with culinary school, he wants to see her return to Hell's Kitchen!  Talk about a really nice consolation prize, eh?  But she does deserve it; Julia did so well despite having been a short order cook, and Ramsay feels that after culinary school, not only will she be able to do better, but he's apparently giving her a chance to do better in a future season of the show!  As for the other 3, he tells them that it will get harder, but also more exciting, so they'd better get some sleep.

They're getting close to the end, and next week, they're in for a big surprise!  And at dinner service, the heat is on; each chef gets to take control of the kitchen at the hot plate for a bit, but with the pressure on, one person will snap at Ramsay!