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The sixteenth episode of Season 10 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX on August 13, 2012. In that episode, the final six competed in their first black jackets challenge, went up against former runner ups at dinner service, and one of the most hot-headed chefs was finally eliminated.

Intro[]

While going back to the dorms, Clemenza said how great it was to wear a black jacket and wanted to laugh, cry, and scream. When the final six returned to the dorms, they found a Bob Kramer carbon steel knife from Henkels for each of them. A thrilled Christina as she called it insane. As Dana and Robyn celebrated, the former said she looked good in black even though it felt weird to celebrate with the latter. Back at the patio, Clemenza and Justin talked about their wild ride so far as they knocked out two-thirds of the competition. Both agreed it was time to go for the jugular. Then, Justin said the stakes were higher than ever and proclaimed that the best of himself had yet to show.

Pairs challenge[]

The next day, the final six woke up and began walking downstairs, unaware that Ramsay was cooking with two other chefs down in the red kitchen. Once downstairs, Clemenza took notice of the chefs next to Ramsay, along with three covered domes, before wondering what would be under those domes. After, Ramsay introduced the chefs to Ludo Lefebvre and Quinn Hatfield and had the two cook their signature dishes alongside his own. Justin was ready to find out what the challenge would be. The first dish shown was Lefebvre’s capris salad, which had red bell peppers instead of tomatoes, and a feta cheese mousse instead of a buffalo mozzarella ball. After neither chef could identify the ingredients, Lefebvre revealed what he used. However, a hopeful Christina said no harm, no foul. For the second dish, Hatfield showed his seafood pasta but used salsify instead of actual pasta. Like last time, neither chef could get the correct answer even though Clemenza knew it was not pasta, and Dana thought it was a potato. While a little miffed that nobody got any of the dishes correct, Ramsay revealed that they were a warm-up for their real challenge, the Taste It Now Make It Challenge. Barbie got nervous as she knew it would come. That year, the chefs were cooking in pairs with Clemenza cooking with Dana, Justin cooking with Barbie, and Christina cooking with Robyn.

The three pairs had 30 minutes to recreate Ramsay’s dish using taste alone, and Justin said he has been waiting for that challenge to occur. The dish contained a protein with a wrapping, a purée with a smoky flavoring and a sauce. As the chefs tasted the dish, Ramsay reminded Clemenza not to eat it all, even though the latter felt that they were all eating it like six hungry people who were just left out of prison. Christina felt the protein was veal instead of pork, with Dana going with that protein as well, and the pair of Justin and Barbie went with it as well. For the wrapping, Barbie thought it was Serrano ham based on the texture, and Christina and Robyn went with the same wrapping. However, the pair of Dana and Clemenza went with prosciutto as they ate a half-pound of it every day in the kitchen. Dana former yelled that they deserve to lose if they could not tell by now. For the purée, all three pairs used white bean as the base. However, Barbie only picked it out of everybody else using it. For the smokiness, the pairs of Christina and Robyn and Barbie and Justin used bacon. At the same time, Clemenza convinced Dana to use horseradish instead. Justin wanted to use dark chicken broth for the sauce, but Barbie pushed him to use port wine instead due to a tart taste, with the pair of Christina and Robyn using it as well. However, Clemenza and Dana used Madeira instead, and eventually, all three pairs got their dishes cooked and plated on time.

Dana and Clemenza were the first pair to present their dish, and the former was scared by Ramsay’s tasting as she wanted to know the correct answer. When Barbie and Justin presented their dish, the latter was confident that it was 100% accurate. After, Christina and Robyn presented their dish, leaving Justin shaking in his boots due to how close all the dishes were to each other. After the judging, Ramsay revealed that everybody got the veal correct, but Dana and Clemenza got the wrapping correct, confusing Barbie as she thought serrano ham was the prosciutto of Spain. However, Ramsay revealed that he did not add horseradish in his purée and used bacon instead, leaving the three pairs tied. For the sauce, Ramsay announced that he used Madeira in it, and as Dana and Clemenza were the only pair to use it, they won the challenge.

Scoring[]

Taste It Now Make It
Chef Score
Barbie and Justin 2/4
Christina and Robyn 2/4
Dana and Clemenza 3/4
Results Dana and Clemenza

Reward[]

Dana and Clemenza were rewarded with a trip to Silverwood Lake to have a gourmet picnic and drive on their own jet skis. As the two went up to change, Dana said the only thing that would make things better was having her boyfriend over instead of Clemenza. During their reward, the two went on the jet skis as Dana wanted to smoke Clemenza out on the water, while the latter called the experience awesome. Once the two drove their jet skis to the picnic, Dana noticed how they had their own private cove, while Clemenza was in awe of her bikini as the two toasted to their win.

Punishment[]

After hearing the reward, Justin was bummed as he called wave runners his thing. The remaining chefs were punished with doing the waiting staff’s chores, including redoing the tabletops, ironing and folding the linen, and polishing the silverware, which were all done under James’ supervision. During the punishment, Barbie complained that she hated cleaning and did not want to do ironing as James gave out what he wanted to work on. Then, Christina was not happy about the punishment, even feeling that James had a white glove to check everything. As James continued to bark out orders, she lamented that a day at the beach would have been great.

Later, James showed them the ironing boards. When Justin asked if his mother was there, James told him he was doing it himself despite Justin never ironing before. Refusing to iron as it was degrading, Justin instead cleaned the fish tank, only to be caught by James, who gave him both his own shirts and Ramsay’s jackets to iron, leaving him more embarrassed.

Runner up team reveal[]

Later, Dana and Clemenza came back from their reward, with the former teasing Justin by asking if he could iron her dress next. The next day, the final six went downstairs and prepped for that night’s service, but Ramsay pulled them away to the bar area. Ramsay announced that not only would it be the first time the final six were cooking in one kitchen, but he was also bringing in another team for them to compete against, shocking everybody as Clemenza wondered who they were. Taking their attention to his office, Ramsay explained that these chefs not only were previous contestants, but they were all runner-ups. The first one revealed was Season 8’s Russell. Nobody was happy to see him as Christina remembered how much of an ass Russell was back then and hoped to see him burn hard on whatever station he was on. The second runner-up was Season 7’s Jay, although Dana revealed her disdain for the former due to his blue hair. Season 6’s Kevin revealed himself, with Clemenza calling him a force to be reckoned with, and knew it was a dream team being formed before hoping the black jackets were on their A-game. The fourth runner-up was Season 5’s Paula, with Robyn admitting how much she respected the former and asked if she could have a job in Hell’s Kitchen did not work out. After, Season 3’s Bonnie was the fifth runner up to appear, and finally, Season 2’s Virginia was the final runner up to appear.

Once the runner-up team was formed, Ramsay warned the black jackets to be on their game as the former contestants were back for a reason. While Russell believed they were there to whip the black jackets assess that night and that somebody was going home, Justin retorted that it would be the runner-ups who were going home like before.

Before service[]

As both teams went to their respective kitchens, Bonnie called that night redemption as she wanted to win as she did not want to be a number two again. As the runner-ups began prepping, Jay admitted that it was the first time in Hell’s Kitchen he was excited to cook a service. Russell was confident in his team as they were there to kick ass and take home a W. Then, Virginia admitted that she would be shocked if the black jackets won instead of the runner-ups. In the blue kitchen, Christina was pumped as both she and Clemenza were confident they could take the runner-ups. Christina was not intimidated as they were running the show now. After, Ramsay asked James to open Hell’s Kitchen.

Dinner service[]

As service began, the runner-ups received their first order. After Russell and Jay agreed on timings, Kevin reminded Virginia and Jay to work together on scallops. Then, Kevin admitted that he was starting to get back in sync with how things worked in Hell’s Kitchen, compared it to riding a bike, and the runner-ups got their first order accepted. As Jay felt that getting a compliment from Ramsay felt amazing, the latter told the runner ups if they kept their performance as strong as their start, he would be over the moon. Robyn deemed it an easy service in the blue kitchen where the black jackets would beat the runner-ups assess, only to serve Caesar salads with barely any dressing on them. Ramsay said he did not expect a refire for salads at that stage of the competition. That mistake frustrated Christina as all Robyn had to do was put dressing on leaves, but the latter got her refire accepted. In the red kitchen, the runner-ups were performing way past their expected level by serving half of their appetizers. An impressed Ramsay told James that he never saw food leave that fast and immaculate in the red kitchen before.

One hour into dinner service, Robyn asked Clemenza for help to catch up. Still, Clemenza cooked spaghetti, not on order. When Ramsay told him to stop and called him a big man out of control, Paula overheard the yelling and told Russell that she was glad not to be in their shoes. Then, Ramsay angrily asked both Robyn and Clemenza how he could cook something not on order. After Dana called it an embarrassment, Ramsay accused the two of being out of control. Despite Robyn arguing against it, Ramsay was not convinced and asked her and Clemenza if they wanted to go home. After Clemenza blamed Robyn for telling him what to do with no direction, he sarcastically thanked her for getting yelled at. Despite that, the black jackets were now moving onto entrées, but Barbie forcibly told Robyn not to touch anything. In the red kitchen, the runner-ups were on entrées as well, but Jay sent up a sea bass that was caked in pepper. Seeing Jay starting to panic and sweating blue bullets, Kevin decided to jump in before the runner-ups sank and got his attempt accepted. Barbie’s leadership allowed the black jackets to get their first order of entrées out in the blue kitchen. When Ramsay praised her for her perfect meat, she claimed she would not let the runner-ups intimidate her. After being told that it was neck and neck, a communication breakdown occurred on fish as Dana got timings mixed up. Barbie asked Dana if she was stupid as fish cooked faster. Afterwards, a frustrated Ramsay told Dana to ask for help as neither Clemenza nor Robyn was doing anything now. Still, she did not trust them for not being at her level before reluctantly letting Clemenza cook the scallops. However, Justin was not confident in Clemenza’s abilities to cook scallops. His fears came true as Clemenza sent up boiled scallops, frustrating Dana as Clemenza was supposed to help her, not doom her. After being ordered to take control, Dana asked Robyn for help on the scallops. In the red kitchen, the runner-ups, who worked together for the first time that night, bonded together as Paula’s Wellingtons were cooked perfectly. Russell asked Bonnie if he could help her, but when he called her sweetheart, Paula asked if he would be the douchebag who called women that. Even though Russell claimed he was from the south and was used to calling girls sweetheart, he restrained himself when speaking to Paula. Despite that, the confident runner-ups continued to push out consistent entrées.

Two hours into dinner service, the black jackets were pushing out entrées as well. Still, Ramsay was determined to finish the final order of appetizers before finding raw seasoned scallops. While Dana claimed she had no idea who did that, Ramsay lectured that seasoning them raw will cause them to try out and overcook. Eventually, Robyn admitted to making that mistake to help Dana. Still, as Christina was four minutes away from her pasta, Ramsay demanded an explanation from Dana and Robyn. Robyn tried to loudly explain her side, only for Ramsay to threaten to throw her out the front door if she shouted, and then, she argued that there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Ramsay angrily agreed with Robyn, but while a smug Dana felt the former was getting kicked out, Ramsay ordered her into the pantry room. There, Ramsay warned Dana that she was sinking, urged her to command her station if anybody touched her fish, and told her to find a voice. Agreeing with Ramsay, Dana decided to do the scallops herself and finally got the order of appetizers out. Afterwards, both teams got their final entrées out with minor problems.

Post-mortem[]

With both teams lined up, Ramsay reminded the black jackets that not only did they cook together for the first time, but they went up against a strong team. However, Ramsay named the runner-ups the winners, exciting Bonnie as it felt good to win, while a pissed Clemenza hated to lose. After the runner-ups left, Ramsay told the black jackets that while it was not a bad service because it was their first time working together, they still made careless mistakes which made it a frustrating experience for him. So, Ramsay asked the black jackets to name two people for elimination.

During deliberation, Dana said there should be no reason for her to be nominated as she did fine until Clemenza and Robyn messed up her station. Then, when Dana brought up the scallop incident, Robyn immediately tried to defend her actions as she did not cook them. Still, Christina asked Robyn if that meant she walked away from it. However, Barbie felt that Dana should not be blaming others as it was her second night on fish and deemed it an error of judgment. After, Dana nominated Clemenza for sending up raw scallops. Still, Clemenza felt Dana should be nominated for making fish slow that night. Then, Barbie nominated Robyn for not finishing what she started, but the latter argued that she did until Christina brought up the scallops again. Deciding that she could not handle Robyn’s attitude anymore, Christina chose the former as her first vote after Robyn accused everybody of wanting her gone. However, Robyn believed that she did not mess up that night and was confident that Ramsay would agree.

Elimination[]

Barbie announced Robyn as their first nominee and Clemenza as their second. During their pleas, Robyn felt she deserved both the black jacket and a chance to stay and claimed to have kept to her word of teamwork, despite most of the safe chefs visibly disagreeing with her. Then, Robyn felt she was trying to fight through her way into helping. When Ramsay asked who she felt should be up instead of herself, Robyn believed Dana due to not communicating and asking for help when she needed it. However, Dana argued that she had everything under control until Clemenza and Robyn screwed her on the scallops. Then, Ramsay asked Clemenza if he was done. Clemenza disagreed and claimed he was 110% ready to go despite being up four times, but Ramsay felt six instead. After much thought, Ramsay called up Clemenza’s name, shocking everybody, only to send him back in line. Then, Ramsay eliminated Robyn for her confrontational attitude, declining performances, and not admitting to her mistakes. Before leaving, Ramsay praised Robyn for her passion and hunger, and during her exit interview, she received a retrospective montage.

After Robyn left, Ramsay admitted that he still had no idea who was going to Vegas. While Clemenza promised to step it up for him and the team, Ramsay doubted that he could see him in Vegas, but he could change his mind if Clemenza were hungrier than ever. While being dismissed, Clemenza was bothered by Ramsay’s comment but felt it added a spark under his ass. Dana said there were only four people in her way before proclaiming that she would win.

Ramsay's comment: "Making it to the black jackets was a dream come true for Robyn. But cooking against the runners-up was a reality check for her and for me."

Trivia[]

  • Kevin would return in Season 18 as a contestant. Jay would return in Season 19 as the blue team's Sous Chef.
Hell's Kitchen Season 10 Episodes
18 Chefs Compete17 Chefs Compete16 Chefs Compete15 Chefs Compete14 Chefs Compete13 Chefs Compete Part 113 Chefs Compete Part 212 Chefs Compete11 Chefs Compete Part 111 Chefs Compete Part 210 Chefs Compete9 Chefs Compete Part 19 Chefs Compete Part 28 Chefs Compete7 Chefs Compete6 Chefs Compete5 Chefs Compete4 Chefs Compete2 Chefs CompeteWinner Chosen
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