The Blind Taste Test, is a recurring challenge in Hell's Kitchen that happened in every single season, since the beginning of the show.
Overview[]
For this challenge, Ramsay has one chef from each team come up and wear blindfolds and sound-canceling headphones that usually blast music. Then, the chefs must taste an ingredient Ramsay spoon-feeds them, and if they get the answer correct, they score a point. The team with the most points at the end is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, Ramsay would call one person from each team for a sudden deathmatch, and the first person to guess their ingredient correctly won for their team.
The main purpose of this challenge is to test the chef's palate as Ramsay is a firm believer that a great palate is behind any great chef.
History[]
Season 1[]
Episode 6 of Season 1 marks the first time this challenge happened, when there were six chefs left, with three on each team. Both Jimmy and Andrew could only correctly guess one out of the four ingredients. Jessica failed to guess all her ingredients, but Elsie gave the strongest individual performance by correctly identifying 3 out of 4. The last pair was Michael against Ralph, and neither of them could correctly guess the first ingredient, but when Ralph mistook spinach for lettuce, the red team automatically won, with a score of 4-1. Their reward was a wine tasting excursion, while the blue team had to wash the dishes from the last service and enter a code to access their storage room during the next dinner service.[1]
Season 2[]
In episode 5, the challenge happened when there were seven chefs left, with four on the red team, and three on the blue team. Because of this, Rachel, from the red team, was forced to sit out. Keith and Maribel scored two points each, Virginia scored three, compared to Heather's two, and both Sara and Garrett scored two. The red team won with a score of 7-6. Their reward was a photoshoot for TV Guide, while the blue team had to clean the kitchens and serve champagne to the red team.[2]
Season 3[]
In episode 4, the challenge happened when there were eight chefs left, with four on each team. Brad identified only one, while Julia identified two ingredients. Rock scored two over Melissa's one. Bonnie scored two, and Josh could not identify one ingredient. With the score being a huge lead for the red team, Ramsay stated that in the event of a tie, he would rule in favor of the women due to the men failing simple foodstuffs. This meant that unless Vinnie would get a perfect score and Jen would fail to get one point, the red team would win. Vinnie immediately failed, which meant that Jen did not have to taste anything, and the red team won 5-3. The red team won a dining service in the dark with Ramsay, while the blue team had to prep both kitchens and eat cow's tongue, liver, and kidney.[3]
Season 4[]
In episode 7, the challenge happened when nine chefs were remaining, with five on the red team, and four on the blue team. Jen, from the red team, was forced to sit out. Rosann scored two points, compared to Petrozza's one, Corey scored one point while Louross failed to get a point, and Christina scored two while Bobby failed to get a point. The last pair up was Matt against Ben. Ramsay had a dish prepared (clam chowder), and they had to identify the ten ingredients inside the dish. Both scored four points, but the red team, who already had a huge lead, won with a score of 9-5. The red team had a spa day on the patio, while the blue team had to clean the kitchens and dorms.[4]
Season 5[]
In episode 8, the challenge happened when there were also nine chefs left, with five on the red team, and four on the blue team. LA volunteered to sit out for the red team. Ben scored three over Andrea's two, neither Giovanni nor Robert scored anything, with Robert even shouting out random guesses, and Carol scored three over Lacey's two. For the last round, Paula and Danny were challenged to correctly identify the ingredients in Ramsay's minestrone soup. Danny was able to tie the score at 7-7, but Paula scored one point for the red team, earning them the win. The red team won a photoshoot for TV Guide, while the blue team had to prep both kitchens and prepare lunch for the red team.[5]
Season 6[]
In episode 8, the challenge also happened when there were nine chefs left, with five on the red team, and four on the blue team. Tennille was forced to sit out for the red team. Ariel scored two over Van's one, Suzanne scored two over Dave's one, both Sabrina and Kevin scored one, and both Amanda and Andy scored one. When Andy failed to identify ahi tuna, it gave the red team the win at 6-4. The red team visited Opaque at the V Lounge in Santa Monica with Ramsay to eat in the dark, while the blue team made palate-cleansing sorbets for the next dinner service, cleaned the sorbet glasses, and took in deliveries of fruit.[6]
Season 7[]
In episode 9, the challenge happened when there were eight chefs left, with four on each team. Autumn scored one point while Fran failed to score, Holli scored one point while Ed failed to score, both Benjamin and Jason scored one point, and Jay scored two over Nilka's one. The blue team won 4-3 and received VIP pass to Seaworld to swim with the dolphins, while the red team took in deliveries from Ramsay's restaurants.[7]
Season 8[]
In episode 9, the challenge also happened when there were eight chefs, with four on each team. Russell scored two compared to Gail's one, neither Sabrina nor Rob scored a point, both Jillian and Vinny scored two, and Nona scored three points over Trev's one. The red team won 6-5 and were rewarded with a $2000 shopping spree at a local boutique and dined at the XIV, while the blue team removed recycling from garbage, ate cheese sandwiches, and prepped both kitchens.[8]
Season 9[]
In episode 10, the challenge happened when there were eight chefs, with four on each team. Both Carrie and Tommy scored one point, Will scored one while Elizabeth failed to score, both Jennifer and Paul scored one, and Elise scored three over Natalie's one. The red team won 5-4 and was rewarded with a horseback ride, champagne, and a view of the LA skylines in Hollywood Hills, while the blue team had to in a delivery of 200 pounds of grapes and make jam out of them for a Steakhouse service.[9]
Season 10[]
In episode 12, the challenge happened when there were nine chefs left, with five on the red team, and four on the blue team. Kimmie, from the red team, was forced to sit out. Brian scored three over Christina's two, Barbie scored one while Robyn failed to correctly guess one, and Tiffany scored one while Clemenza failed to score one. Dana scored two, and finally, Justin made Hell's Kitchen history by correctly identifying all four ingredients. The blue team won 7-6 and were rewarded with a day at the water park, while the red team had to take in deliveries, grind peppercorn, and change the oil in the fryers.[10]
Season 11[]
In episode 14, the challenge happened when there were seven chefs, with four on the red team, and three on the blue team. Instead of a red member sitting out, Zach, from the blue team, volunteered to go twice. On his first run, Zach scored three compared to Mary's one, Ja'Nel scored three while Anthony failed to get a point, and both Jon and Cyndi scored two each. On his second run, Zach scored one along with Susan, giving the red team the win at 7-6. The red team had a seafood dinner, while the blue team had to take in deliveries.[11]
Season 12[]
In episode 14, the challenge happened when there were eight chefs left, with four from both teams. Rochelle scored three over Joy's two, both Gabriel and Anton scored one, Scott scored two while Jason failed to correctly guess any, and Kashia scored one while Melanie also failed to score. The red team won 6-4, and they were rewarded with a private skating lesson with Olympian Rachael Flatt, while the blue team had to take in deliveries of ice and make ice cream.[12]
Season 13[]
In episode 11, the challenge also happened when there were eight chefs, with four on both teams. That season also saw a new change, in which there was a punishment for their teammate if the chefs could not identify the ingredients, and this became as a regular for subsequent seasons. This season the punishment was the dunk tank placed outside, and if the chefs could not identify three or four ingredients, their teammate would get sent to the dunk tank. Roe could only identify one ingredient, resulting in La Tasha getting dunked once, while Santos failed to score, resulting in Bryant getting dunked twice. Sterling scored two, keeping Roe from getting dunked, but Fernando failed to score, resulting in Santos getting dunked twice. Jennifer also failed to score, leading in Sterling getting dunked twice, and Sade scored one, leading Fernando to get dunked once. Finally, La Tasha scored one, which resulted in Jennifer getting dunked once, and Bryant scored three, saving Sade from getting dunked. With the score tied at 4, Roe and Bryant, being the best performers to their respective teams, were asked to do a tiebreaker. Roe got the first one right, giving the red team the win. They won a day at the Santa Monica Pier and lunch at "The Lobster", while the blue team had to clean both the living area and kitchens.[13]
Season 14[]
In episode 11, the challenge happened when eight chefs were remaining, with four on both teams, and kept the changes from last season. Milly scored a perfect four, saving Meghan from getting dunked, while T scored two points, saving Michelle from getting dunked as well. Josh scored three, saving Alison from getting dunked, while Nick only scored one, leading to Randy getting dunked. Meghan scored three, saving Milly, while Michelle scored two, saving T. Alison scored two, saving Josh, while Randy scored one, resulting in Nick getting dunked. With the score tied at 9, Milly and Josh, being the best performers for their respective teams, were tasked with a sudden death challenge. Josh won it for the red team by correctly identifying avocado. The red team won a trip to Petrossian for a caviar tasting and a $500 shopping spree, while the blue team had to make sangria and set up for a charity service.[14]
Season 15[]
In episode 12, the challenge happened when there were 7 chefs left, with 4 on the blue team and 3 on the red team. This time, the chefs had to taste ice cream flavors, and the dunk tank was replaced by two cannons that shot out ice cream toppings and whipped cream. Because the red team was down a member, Ariel went up twice. She scored two on her first run while Frank failed to score any, Ashley scored two as well while Jared only scored one, and Kristin scored three while Manda scored two. On her second run, Ariel scored three while Dannie failed to score, giving the red team the win at 8-3. They won a $2000 shopping spree at Roland Kitchenware, while the blue team prepped durian fruit for the next dinner service.[15]
Season 16[]
In episode 9, the challenge happened when 11 chefs were remaining, with 6 on the red team, and 5 on the blue team. That time, Ramsay had them taste baby food, and the dunk tank was replaced with a highchair and catapult. Since the blue team was down a member, Wendy volunteered to go twice. On her first attempt, she got a perfect score of four, saving Shaina, while Heidi got two points, saving Andrew. Kimberly got three while Devin scored only one point, resulting in Wendy getting splattered. On the next round, Koop scored two compared to Ryan's one, resulting in Kimberly getting splattered, Paulie scored three over Matt's two, Heather scored three over Shaina's two, and Andrew scored two over Wendy's one, which resulted in Shaina getting splattered. With the score tied at 13, Andrew and Wendy went into a Sudden Death, where Wendy clinched the win by correctly identifying turnip. The blue team won massages at the Intercontinental, while the red team took in deliveries of wine and ice.[16]
Season 17[]
In episode 10, the challenge happened when 9 chefs were remaining, with 5 on the red team, and 4 on the blue team. That time, Ramsay had them taste herbs and spices in a mashed potato purée, and the dunk tank was replaced with a mashed potato cannon and a gravy bucket. If the taster would get two wrong, their teammate would be shot by the cannon. If they would get three wrong, their teammate would be dunked with gravy. And if they would guess all four wrong, their teammate would get both the cannon and gravy treatment. Robyn scored 3 while Dana failed to score any points, resulting in Michelle getting both the cannon and gravy treatment. Nick scored 2, resulting in Robyn only getting the cannon, while Jennifer failed to score any points, resulting in Dana getting both the cannon and gravy treatment. Benjamin scored 3 while Barbie scored 2, resulting in Jennifer only getting the cannon. Both Milly and Elise failed to score their first two ingredients, resulting in Benjamin and Barbie getting the cannon, but when Elise failed to correctly guess her third ingredient, it automatically gave the win to the blue team 8-2, leaving Michelle not having to taste anything. The blue team went to Roy Yamaguchi’s Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant for lunch and received Vitamix Blenders, while the red team had to clean up the dining room and separate peppercorn while grinding them by hand.[17]
Season 18[]
In episode 10, the challenge happened when there were eight chefs left, four on both teams. That time, Ramsay had them taste gelato flavors, and the dunk tank was replaced with a pedestal full of punishments. If the taster would get two wrong, their teammate would be shot by a spaghetti cannon. If they would get three wrong, their teammate would be dunked with marinara sauce. And if they would guess all four wrong, their teammate would get rained on by Parmesan cheese. Trev failed to get all of his ingredients, resulting in Jose getting all three punishments, while Heather scored 2, resulting in Kanae getting only the cannon punishment. Motto scored three while Mia scored a perfect 4. Bret scored two, resulting in Motto getting only the cannon punishment, while Ariel scored 3. On the final round, while both Jose and Kanae scored on coffee, the blue team automatically won the challenge 10-6 due to them holding the lead for most of the challenge. They were rewarded with a spa day at Southern California’s Premiere Korean Spa, while the red team had to clean up the dining room ahead of a private dinner service for two charities, polish all their silverware, and make fresh gelato by hand.[18]
Season 19[]
In episode 9, the challenge happened when there were nine chefs left, five on the blue team, and four on the red team. For the first time since Season 14, Ramsay had everyone taste the ingredients as they were, while the punishment area was now a booth. If the taster would get two wrong, their teammate would be dunked with ice cream. If they would get three wrong, their teammate would be dunked with chocolate sauce. And if they would guess all four wrong, their teammate would get dunked with maraschino cherries. Declan scored a perfect 4, while Nikki failed to get all of her ingredients, resulting in Jordan getting all three punishments, while Kori got three over Adam's one, resulting in Declan getting both the ice cream and chocolate sauce punishments. Both Mary and Amber got two ingredients each, resulting Adam and Kori getting the ice cream punishment, and both Jordan and Cody got two each as well, resulting in Mary Lou and Amber getting the ice cream dunk. For the final round, Kori went up again, but she and Marc could only get one ingredient each. After both failed to get butternut squash correctly, the challenge ended with the blue team winning 10-8 as it was now impossible for the red team to catch up. The blue team received a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon and an overnight stay at the Caesars Palace’s private villa, while the red team took in delivery of beef and prepped them for Steak Night.[19]
Season 20[]
In episode 10, the challenge happened when there were nine chefs left, five on the red team, and four on the blue team. The punishment area this year featured movie related items being dumped onto the chefs. If the taster got two wrong, they would be dumped with caramel corn. If they got three wrong, they would get dumped with nachos. Both Antonio and Steve got one ingredient correct, resulting in Megan and Sam getting both punishments. Both Kiya and Trenton got one right, with Steve and Antonio getting the caramel corn punishment. On the third round, Megan scored three over Brynn's two, resulting in Kiya getting the caramel corn dump. Then, Emily got three over Josie's two, resulting in Brynn getting the caramel corn punishment. For the final round, Megan went up again for the blue team and got one out of two correct. However, Sam got failed to catch up and it resulted in the blue team winning 9-6. They went bowling with Marino while the red team cleaned up the dining room for that night's service. Brynn used her Punishment Pass and swapped positions with Steve.[20]
Season 21[]
In episode 11, the challenge happened when there were eight chefs left, four on both teams. The punishment area this year was a big pasta bowl. If the taster got two wrong, they would be dumped with alfredo sauce. If they got three wrong, they would get dumped with marinara sauce. If they got four wrong, they would be dumped with parmesan cheese. Dafne scored two, resulting in Cheyenne getting both sauces, while Sakari got nothing, resulting in Alejandro getting all three punishments. Tara scored one point, resulting in Dafne getting both sauces, while Alex got nothing, resulting in Sakari getting all three punishments. Brett got one point, resulting in Alex getting both sauces, while Sommer got nothing, resulting in Tara getting all three punishments. Lastly, while Alejandro scored three over Cheyenne's two, resulting in Sommer getting the alfredo dump, the red team still won the challenge 5-4. The red team went to Horse of Hollywood for horseback riding and a picnic. The blue team baked macaroons.[21]
Season 22[]
In episode 11, the challenge happened when there were eight chefs left, four on both teams. The punishment area this year was a satellite dish shaped bowl. If the taster got two wrong, they would be dumped with moon milk. If they got three wrong, they would get dumped with space sprinkles. If they got four wrong, they would get dumped with moon cheese. Ryan scored two, resulting in Johnathan getting the milk dunk, while Carmen got one, resulting in Sammi getting milk and sprinkles. Donya scored two, resulting in Carmen getting milk, while Jason got one, resulting in Ryan getting milk and sprinkles. Both Dahmere and Leigh scored two points, leaving Jason and Donya getting the milk dunk. Lastly, while Johnathan got two right, with Dahmere getting the milk dunk, Sammi got nothing, resulting in Leigh getting all three punishments. The blue team won the challenge 7-5 and received a $4,000 shopping spree at Sur la Table. The red team cleaned the dining room for Charity Night.[22]
Trivia[]
- The red team won this challenge the most, with 14 wins out of 22 seasons.[1][2][3][4][5][6][8][9][11][12][13][14][15][21]
- Justin (Season 10) is the first contestant to get a perfect score during that challenge.[10] Wendy (Season 16) is the first female to do so.[16]
- Justin (Season 10)[10], Milly (Season 14)[14], Wendy (Season 16)[16], Mia (Season 18)[18], and Declan (Season 19)[19] are the only contestants to receive a perfect score on the Blind Taste Test. Coincidentally, they were all members of the blue team during this challenge, and all of them except Milly won the challenge.
- Wendy is the only contestant of this bunch who didn't make it to the black jackets.
- It is a lot harder than it looks. Most contestants say the blindfolds and headphones cause a sensory overload while doing the challenge.
- Robyn is the first chef to have won this challenge in the two seasons she was in (Season 10 and Season 17),[10][18] followed by Ariel (Season 6 and Season 18).[6][19]
- Seasons 3 and 4 are the only seasons where the chefs tasted three ingredients.
- Seasons 4 and 5 are the only seasons where Ramsay had the final round be a guess all round.
- Jen (Season 3) and Michelle (Season 17) are the only chefs that did not taste anything without sitting out. Michelle is the only winner to do so in Season 17.
- Jason (Season 12) is the first finalist who got a 0 out of the maximum score, while Alex (Season 21) is the first winner to do so. Sammi (Season 22) is the first female finalist to do so.