LAST EDITED ON 06-30-07 AT 03:05 AM (EST)
Here I am substituting for Cyndimaus due to a VCR tape malfunction. *waves to Cyndi*
A Unique Dining Experience
Hell's Kitchen Summary
First off, we are reminded that Jen took food out of the trash can in the last episode. She gets a chance to explain she did this under pressure, because the competition is so heated. Well, Jenn, if you can't stand the heat, what the *bleep* are you doing in Satan's Kitchen? Vinnie chides her about it, and the girls all seem to think he's being insensitive. Vinnie from New Joisey is going to speak his mind, even if he sounds arrogant - foreshadowing, perhaps?
Bonnie claims that no one knows what they are going through. They've had no sleep. It's 3:00 in the morning. "We're in Hell!", claims Bonnie, as the word "Hell" echoes off the walls. Well, who knew?! Haven't any of them watched the previous seasons?
A New Day in HK
Ramsay starts the kitchen line up the next morning. He wants to ask some questions about last night's dinner service.
Ramsay: Jen, will you stay away from the bins tonight?
Jen: I understand that Chef.
Ramsay: Vinnie, any nightmares?
Vinnie: I dreamt of you all night, Chef.
Ramsay: You, me, and a box of quail eggs.
We are treated to a replay of the Chef breaking a quail egg on Vinnie's jacket.
This week's challenge
Ramsay: The secret to a good chef is taste. None of you are pushing your palate to the extreme. This challenge is a test of your palates.
Julia and Brad go first. Mary Ann brings out two covered dishes. Each aspiring chef must identify 2 different foods. The team with the most correct answers will win the challenge. We see Julia and Brad donning blindfolds and headphones. The blindfolds are nothing more than sleep masks.
Ramsay takes the opportunity to call Brad a sack of *blank*, the girls laugh,but Brad doesn't respond, so he must not be able to hear Ramsay. Ramsay checks to see if Brad and Julia can see anything by waving his hand in front of them. They don't respond at all, so it's on with the challenge.
If this was my show, I wouldn't do things the same way as Ramsay, but what can you do when you are dealing with the devil himself. Gordon has to do it his way. He spoon feeds Julia and Brad, while saying, "American cheese".
Julia: American cheese.
Brad: I believe it's cheese, sir. Cheddar to be exact.
Brad claims to be thrown off because he's nervous and he's listening to loud music. The score is one to nil.
Next is fried chicken, one of my favs. Both chef wannabes get it right on the money.
Plain boiled carrots, not one of my favs. Brad guesses it's papaya? Vinnie has a look of disbelief on his face.
Ramsay: It's boiled carrot, you *blank* donut.
They must be some weird tasting carrots, because Julia guesses it's radish.
Ramsay: Bad, um, I mean Brad, you've just been beaten by a waffle house chef. Take your trays with you.
The score is now women 2, men 1, as Melissa and Rock step up to the plate.
Egg yolk. Rock guesses correctly, the boys say "Yessss!"
Melissa: It's so familiar. It's probably the most simple thing in the whole fricking world.
Ramsay: Hey, I want an answer.
Melissa, shaking her head: Potato.
The score is now 2 to 2. Next, they both identify the potato, but neither one can identify venison. Rock thinks it's chicken or turkey, and Melissa thinks it's steak. The score is 3 to 3.
Next up is Josh, the sous chef, versus Bonnie, the nanny. Bonnie exclaims she can hear the Chef even with the headphones on, but they test it out after that, and she can't seem to hear him.
Ramsay: Nice piece of lobster.
I've never met a piece of lobster that wasn't nice. Bonnie guesses langoustine, which is close, but wrong. I guess she heard him wrong, lol.
Josh guesses it's scallops.
Next, a slice of bok choy.
Bonnie, with a devilish smile, speaking to the camera: Ever since I was little I've sampled weird things, just out of curiosity. I love to put things in my mouth.
Me: No comment that could be within the PG13 parameters.
Bonnie: It tastes like bok choy, Chef. The stem end.
Josh: Radish, chef. *buzzer goes off, denoting wrong answer*
Ramsay: This fascinates me. One professional chef, with a glittering resume, and one *bleep* nanny.
Ramsay: Slice of pear.
Bonnie, to the camera: As soon as Chef Ramsay put the piece of food in my mouth, I rolled it around on my tongue and I squished it.
Me: We get it, Bonnie. You have an oral fixation.
Bonnie: It's a pear, Chef.
Josh: Mango, Chef? *buzzer, again*
Women: 5, Men: 3
Rock, to the camera: I know Josh had a pair pear before.
Ramsay, to Josh: Zero out of 3.
Ramsay: Bonnie, well done.
Bonnie beams happily, while Josh looks disheartened.
Josh, to camera: I've let my team down. I've let myself down. No excuses.
The men have yet to win a challenge and now their fate rests solely on Vinnie's palate.
Jen and Vinnie step up, and first taste a piece of seared tuna. Vinnie needs to get this right, or the men lose.
Vinnie, after being asked twice by the Chef: Pancetta?
Gordon, in disbelief: Pancetta.
Vinnie: The blue team lost again another challenge. Dammit!
Jen: This is our third straight win. We cannot be beaten.
Ramsay, to the women: We are going to share the most amazing dining experience. Something you have never, ever done, any of you.
The Punishment
The losers men's team have to prep for both kitchens, because tonight the restaurant is open for service.
Narrator: As part of the blue team's punishment, Chef Ramsay is dishing up something special.
Chef: Beef liver, tongue, pig's feet, tripe, kidneys.
The men are to taste everything on the platter in an effort to improve their palates.
The girls go off to get dressed while the boys commiserate in their rooms. They start to complain about Bonnie's hearing ability during the challenge.
Vinnie confronts Bonnie, saying she used the exact same term as Ramsay did when she said "Bok choy stem." He's wrong, as we have it on tape, but he can't be a gracious loser, no, not our Vinnie from Jersey.
The girls continue to put on their makeup for their date with Ramsay. They climb into the Hell's Kitchen SUV.
Bonnie: I can't believe they had the audacity to accuse me of cheating. I cannot believe it. It's like they're bitter, you know? We're lucky hell's bitches.
Scott, Gordon's Sous Chef: To help you continue to educate your palate, you have pickled palm leaf, grass jelly, creamed herring, pickled herring, calf's liver, trotters, pig's tongue, and cow's tongue. Here's your barf bags, in case your stomach can't handle it.
Really, Scott actually said all of the above. This stuff just writes itself sometimes.
Out With Ramsay or In With Tripe
Ramsay, out with the girls: Ladies, all glammed and ready to go.
Girls: Yes, Chef!
Ramsay: Congratulations! I promise you. This will be a unique dining experience.
Ramsay leads them to dining in the dark. He starts off the "unique experience" by throwing rolls at them.
The boys are having their own "unique dining experience", with eating and trying not to use the barf bags.
The girls are complementing Gordon's sexy in-the-dark voice. Frankly, I thought his voice when saying the name of the dishes during the palate challenge was sexy because he was almost whispering. It's not too often he keeps his voice down.
Ramsay: Behave yourselves.
Bonnie: I can't get fresh with you. I can't even find you.
Me: Back off, Bonnie! He's a married man!
Back with the boys, Brad is worried about the domino effect of puking. If one starts to puke, then everyone might start puking. He's especially worried about Rock. Rock ultimately excuses himself to the restroom after turning a brilliant shade of green. It's not easy being green. Just ask Kermit the Frog.
The girls return after a rewarding day with Chef Ramsay, going to the dorms for a nice leisurely nap. After all, the boys have to do the prep work for tonight's service. Josh tells us how they've been pushing through all day to get their work done, with little sleep.
Tonight's Service
Gordon makes the announcement that at tonight's service, the comment cards on everything the customers eat, will determine which team wins. The kitchen opens.
Customer: I'll try the pea risotto with parmesan shavings and toasted almonds.
Narrator: As Chef Ramsay has often said, getting appetizers out quickly is the key to a successful dinner service.
Josh's first risotto is not cooked properly. Why didn't he test it?
The women get ready to impress the Chef. Bonnie tells Julia her scallops are overcooked. Melissa is stirring her risotto, and talking to Julia, who keeps saying "two minutes".
Chef tells Melissa he needs team spirit, for them to work together as a team, calls her a bimbo, and storms off. Melissa thinks Gordon is putting more pressure on the more experienced. Melissa puts the blame on Julia.
Josh isn't doing anything at all. Rock gets scolded about Josh.
Customers in the blue dining room are enjoying appetizers 45 minutes after opening.
Vinnie overcooks the Wellingtons, and needs 15 more minutes.
Bonnie tries to master her meat in the red kitchen. Chef calls her on way she gives dumb blonde answers and says "yes" all the time. He accuses her of lying to him.
After 2 hours and many setbacks, the red kitchen has managed to serve 14 entrees, while the blue kitchen has only served six. Jean Phillipe tries to placate patrons with bread, but they want food. A woman dressed in red plaid wants to speak to the chef, a dangerous proposition.
Ramsay, after finding out what table the lady in red is at (23, for the blue team): Take this giraffe back to the table, please.
Ramsay finds a few rare Wellingtons, and chides Vinnie for not caring anymore. He wants to know if every other one is right, or every one in three is right. Vinnie, it seems, has maintained his own garbage bin at the meat station. The Chef finds out Vinnie has thrown out 6 Wellington orders and one chicken in his bin, although it looks like a lot more when we see the Chef holding the bin.
Over on the red team, Bonnie is trying to get out some Wellington of her own. Bonnie is so confused. Melissa and Julia are helping Bonnie, but the Chef notices and says too many cooks have *bleeped* the Wellingtons.
Bonnie: I have to start over, Chef.
The blue team is catching up with their entrees. Table 22 found the fish salty, but another table finds undercooked spaghetti. Josh tastes the crab spaghetti and says the customer is full of horse *bleep*. I hear the words "crab" and "spaghetti" and I'm reminded of last weeks bad crab and garbage bin spaghetti. I hope that's not the same stuff from last *bleeping* week. Ugh!
Ramsay tells the teams if there is one more dish back, he's going to shut the kitchen down. We see customers writing on their comment cards.
A customer is seen complaining at the table about the venison being too dry.
Chef asks Bonnie why it's going to take 11 minutes for entrees. She tells him the chicken is still cooking, but the Wellington is ready. He wants to know why, if the Wellington takes twice as long as the chicken to cook, the Wellington is ready, but the chicken is not. He complains of having to put things into "nannified" words, so that Bonnie can understand.
Bonnie: I don't think Chef Ramsay really likes me. I just think I came into this competition as an idiot and I'm going to leave an idiot. I think I'm a nanny with a good palate and ears good enough for me to hear everything the Chef said during the taste challenge.
Bonnie delivers chicken to Chef and he doesn't like it, asking her for another chicken. The other chicken proves to be too dry. The Chef is frustrated and ready to quit. Jean Phillipe shows up with some cold chicken from the tables. Chef calls everyone over to him, telling everyone about the cold chicken, salty garnish, and he drops the plate on the floor, breaking it.
Josh is disappointed when the Chef closes down the kitchen, because, according to Josh, they were so close to finishing the service.
Bonnie, crying: I'm just not cut out to be here. I'm not. I can't cope with it.
Julia and Melissa try to comfort her.
Bonnie, to the camera: I cook for 4 people, and if I don't have something ready, it's okay. If their spaghettios are cold right out of the can, they don't complain. They know me, it's not a big problem. I wanna go home. *sniff*
Rock, to his team in the kitchen: We panicked. The same way we put out the first six wellington, we gotta put out the last six.
Chef Ramsay is revealing what's on the comment cards. The good news is the customers enjoyed the majority of the food. The bad news is that 65% of the customers won't be back because the food took to long to arrive at the table.
Ramsay: Your restaurant would fail with those numbers. That's why there's no such thing as a winning team tonight. Forget it.
Ramsay: Rock, you were solid. I felt presence. Thank God for that. Nominate one from your team. Cut the crap and get straight to the *bleep* heart of the problem.
Ramsay: Melissa, you will not be nominating anyone, cause you were bad. You were pathetic!
Chef does an impersonation of Bonnie, acting all dizzy in the kitchen, that is spot on.
Ramsay: Jen, you will nominate one from your team to leave, because you weren't brilliant, but you weren't bad.
Rock and Jen compare notes. Rock knows who he's choosing already, but Jen doesn't seem to know right away.
Vinnie and Bonnie both assume they will be chosen for elimination. Vinnie tells Jen she should nominate her toughest competitor. She thinks it should be based on tonight's performance.
Rock nominates Josh, because he's maxed out his potential. Jen nominates Melissa, based on tonight's performance and the lack of leadership qualities.
Chef is disappointed in their choices and over rules them, choosing Bonnie from the red team and Vinnie from the blue team. He asks them why they should stay. Vinnie says he's the most qualified chef. Ramsay tells him he needs a little bit of humility to keep his a$$ in Hell's Kitchen.
Bonnie: I've always been able to guide my team when I'm doing prep. I needed help on service. I was crap. I'm sure when you started out you made a lot of mistakes. I'm learning from my mistakes.
Chef: This is not an easy decision. The person leaving Hell's Kitchen tonight is Vinnie. I can't go any further with you. You've peaked. Take your jacket off, and get out of Hell's Kitchen.
Vinnie, voiceover as he walks away: I can't do what he does. He's got years of experience on me. He knows what oysters and caviar taste like from Japan. He knows what spices from India are like, and I don't know that. There's a lot of things I'd like to do over. There is (sic) no second chances in Hell's Kitchen.
Chef Ramsay: A lot of the weak links have gone. I'll go crazy if I get fed any more excuses or any more dry cold chicken.
Bonnie: You can't cry in a kitchen. Maybe I'm just too sensitve to be here. I don't know. They don't seem to mind when I cry at the nanny job.
Josh: Rock wants me off. Apparently he does. He's put me up twice, but you're not my chef. You're not the one who matters here, Chef Ramsay is.
Gordon: Vinnie talks the talk, but he doesn't walk the walk. The bottom line with Vinnie is, he's a crap cook.
Vinnie's jacket gets a ride on the hook and his picture goes up in flames.
Next time on Hell's Kitchen
The aspiring chefs go shopping for a special occasion. The chefs are cooking for a wedding reception. Julia tells Melissa she's supposed to listen to her, not Bonnie. Bonnie says, "Excuse me, am I going crazy. Did I actually just hear that?"
Chef Ramsay has his hands full. He yells at Melissa about poisoning somebody. He tells someone to apologize to the Bride and Groom. The Bride is seen crying at her table. You don't want to miss this special edition, next time on Hell's Kitchen.
Thanks for reading!
A 2007 Sharnina original