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Fifteen Chefs Compete
February 5
Last time, we met the 16 culinary
combatants looking for a little respect from world-reknowned chef Gordon
Ramsay. The person who ultimately gets it will be the newest chef in
Atlantic City. However, opening night at Hell's Kitchen went terribly
wrong with a blackout, and when the lights came on, Wil was sent
packing. Now 15 remain...
The guys think Seth is a waste of time and space, while the ladies
apologize to Lacey for going off on her, but at the same time, she needs
to start having confidence in her own abilities.
At 2:53, the chefs head up to bed, looking forward to getting eight
hours of shut-eye. Three hours later, though, here comes Hell's
Kitchen's Mighty Marching Machine.
Chef Ramsay is outside at 6a ready to divulge the meat and potatoes of
today's challenge... In two piles of red and blue bags are everything
that was wasted from the night prior. Needless to say, both piles were
rather large. Normally, they'd be going through that trash, but Hell's
Kitchen just got a shipment of scallops. The purpose of this morning
exercise in torture is to respect your product.
That said... it's time for delivery, and there better not be any wasted
product or you're a dead m(^_^)f(^_^).
Colleen takes matters in her own hands and dives into her scallop bin.
Yay wet-and-stinky-t-shirt contest.
The second part of the challenge will both give an appreciation to where
fresh scallop comes from and test attention to detail. The scallops are
to be shucked, then de-skirted to leave a clean scallop for tomorrow's
dinner service. The team with the most clean scallops as determined by
Gordon Ramsay's nothing-less-than-excellence standards wins. At the
chef's request, Andrea will sit this challenge out to even up the teams.
And we have no person in the kitchen that has shucked a scallop before.
Un-shucking-believable.
After time...
Carol: 8 out of 8
Paula: 1 out of 10
Coi: 6 out of 6
Colleen: 5 out of 6
LA: 8 out of 8
Ji: 4 out of 4
Lacey: 3 out of 6
TOTAL: 35 out of 48
Ben: 3 out of 11
Danny: 9 out of 10
Giovanni: 13 out of 15
Robert: 5 out of 5
Charlie: 2 out of 2
Seth: 3 out of 5
J: 1 out of 6
TOTAL: 36 out of 54
The men win this one, and with this win comes a reward, a helicopter
ride to Catalina. The ladies, on the other hand, will stay behind and
set up a raw bar for tomorrow's service. Oysters, scallops, the whole
nine.
Meanwhile, Lacey sulks. Ji hopes that talking helps turn things around.
She ends up giving up AGAIN, disappointing everyone in her life. She
will not participate with the team in the challenge, and Carol has no
respect for her because of that.
Robert gets an important call from Chef Ramsay. They meet in his office,
where he says that the helicopter insurance policy will not cover anyone
over 300 pounds. So while the rest of the team heads off in a chopper,
Robert will have to ferry to Catalina.
They say no man is an island... but while the guys go submarining...
Robert comes pretty darn close. And while the ladies are up to their
gills in oyster juice... Lacey comes pretty darn close.
Meanwhile, Seth gets grilled on Chef Ramsay's life... His birthday is
tomorrow as this episode is taped... He was born in Glasgow... His last
book was called "Humble Pie"... He and his wife Tana have four
children... Holly... Megan... Jack... and Nicola... Seth is scary.
Back at the restaurant, Lacey decides that it's time to get up, six
hours into the punishment.
The ferry finally arrives, but the day ends, and it's time for Robert to
go BACK into the ferry. At LEAST he gets to take his team with him.
Still, though... that sucks.
Next day, it's a new day and a new Lacey. She's a little more spry,
which is more than what can be said for Ji, who twists her ankle.
Medical looks at it, and Ji's unsure if she can continue.
Thirty minutes before opening the doors, Ji is still being tended to,
but she will have to work wounded. Ramsay rallies the troops and
explains that the raw bar will hopefully allow for more time to get
appetizers out. Ji informs him of her ankle. She'll perform in the
service, but it's more or less touch-and-go at this point.
Operating the raw bar for the Spice Rack is Paula. For the Blues
Brothers, it's Robert.
With that... "Jean Phillippe... Open Hell's Kitchen, yes?"
Time to eat.
Robert starts by sweating like a pig. Carol starts by burning garlic.
The blues... have to make Charlie. It's all about doneness of the rice,
the stock, and let the soup fall where it may. Robert is doing the best
he can with the raw bar, and it's showing. His service gets raves.
Forty-five minutes into the service, and appetizers are leaving the red
kitchen... but not for long. Colleen can't cook a scallop for jack, and
Lacey has to show her. Charlie's risotto, made by Ben, and Colleen's
scallops, made by Lacey, all pass.
An hour and a half into the service, the blues are delivering
appetizers, but they have lobster-less lobster spaghetti. Women have
moved onto entrees... and they've got a Louisiana salmon... Blackened on
the outside, raw on the inside. Yummers. Colleen... isn't a cookery
school teacher, isn't she? If you recall from last week, Colleen has
NEVER received ANY cooking lessons. Concerned for the poor saps that pay
her for lessons, Chef Ramsay sends her out of the kitchen and onto the
raw bar.
Men are rock stars on the entrees at two and a half hours into service.
At the red kitchen, Ji walks and focuses...
For the first time, the chef's quality is beginning to show. The tickets
are about to finish in only their second service, a new Hell's Kitchen
record. Red kitchen has to serve five tables. Blue has to serve four.
Whoever completes their orders first... wins. MOVE YOUR ASS!
The blue team is hungried.... and at the end of the night... all of
their tables are DONE first. Blue Team wins as we shut down for the
night.
Ji goes into the back to put her foot on ice. She didn't give up, and
that's to be admired. What isn't to be admired is Colleen's lackluster
effort on fish ("You know what they say on this industry... those who
can't cook, teach."). The ladies will have to nominate two for
elimination, while Ji goes back into recuperation.
The ladies come to a consensus, calling Lacey out. Lacey calls Carol
out. They nominate Colleen first and Lacey second.
Lacey admits that she did not have confidence in herself, while Colleen
says she's 100% committed and better than Lacey. Colleen just wants one
more chance to prove herself.
Before Chef Ramsay can announce his decision, though... Ji decides to
withdraw herself due to injury. She feels that she's at half power, but
she also wants the girls to win. Rather than take her jacket, he wants
Ji to keep it as a symbol of her courage under fire tonight. With a
standing O, Ji exits Hell's Kitchen.
"Ji showed great courage; unfortunately, her injury got in the way of
her dream. She had a chance to win this, but sadly we will never, ever
know."
It's a good night for the blues. Can they continue on that? Find out in
two weeks when the steak begins to fly. |
