The first episode of Season 11 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox, on March 12, 2013, airing as a double feature alongside the second episode. On that episode, the new contestants arrived in Los Angeles thinking they would go to Hell's Kitchen, but got a surprise. Also, the Signature Dish Challenge occurred in front of a live audience for the first time, and two chefs from different genders were already annoying their teammates on their own way.
Intro[]
The season began with a montage of the first ten seasons, along with a preview of that one, saying it would make history, and be funny and shocking.
The aspiring chefs arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at 7 am, with Barret even saying that cooking was what he was born to do, and that he had to pinch himself to make sure he was not dreaming as he still could not believe he was there. Outside waiting for the bus, Susan declared that she was not doing failure despite her very little experience, and that winning the competition was the only option. On her side, Nedra declared she would be on top, and when the bus arrived, she declared that the top must be waiting for her. Then, the chefs entered the bus, with Ray declaring that all the other chefs were half his age and comparing it to old school meeting new school, while Zach was super excited to compete in Hell's Kitchen. When the chefs were introducing themselves to each other, Jessica declared she wanted to make a good first impression on Ramsay, Anthony said he was super excited to see Hell's Kitchen, but they realized that the bus was just rolling in circles around the airport parking, which annoyed them. Dan even stated that he came to Los Angeles to cook, and not to ride circles in bus. All of a sudden, Ramsay appeared in the bus television, and announced to the chefs that Los Angeles was not their final destination. He added that they would join him in Las Vegas, which excited everybody, with Amanda and Jacqueline hugging each other, Ray not believing they were going there already, and Jacqueline being very happy as she was about to lose her voice. They took their plane and went to Las Vegas.
Arrived in Las Vegas, the chefs were greeted by showgirls, which excited Anthony and especially Dan, and they were taken on a double-decker bus with Molly, their tour guide, for a tour of the city. During the ride, they went near the Paris Las Vegas where Ramsay's picture was hanging down the Arc de Triomphe, and Gina asked where was him by yelling at the sky. That annoyed Nedra as she was already ready to throw Gina's ass off the side of the bus. When Gina introduced herself, she revealed she was a full-blood Sicilian, and that if her competition was not respecting her, she would knock them down, while adding that it would be bad. Then, they went to Caesars Palace, where a big screen showed an individual picture of every chef, exciting Amanda, Nedra, who felt like a superstar, and Cyndi. After that, the tour guide revealed they would go on Vegas 4D, which was Las Vegas' newest attraction. Zach was ready to enjoy the ride and get a VIP treatment, while jokingly guessing that Jacuzzi bubble baths would be next. They started riding the vehicle, with Jeremy saying that he was not liking it at all and that he was scared, but when they arrived beside a black curtain, it dropped and revealed an auditorium full of people clapping and cheering for them. Susan felt overwhelmed and said that it could not get any better, and Barret sarcastically asking to get the fuck out of here as it was awesome.
After the chefs lined up, Ramsay introduced himself by entering from the other end of the auditorium, and went to the stage to ask for a round of applause for the new aspiring chefs. The chefs introduced themselves at the microphone, saying their names and hometowns, and on Sebastian's turn, he revealed that he was coming from Mexico, while jokingly adding that if he could get passed immigration, he could get passed Ramsay. Danielle said she was ready to bust it out in the kitchen and explode, Jon said he was there to bring it, Jeremy said he had nothing to lose and everything to prove, and when it was Jessica's turn, she said she would outwork every single chef forming her competition, before dropping to the ground and do some push-ups. She added that none of the other chefs were competition for her as she felt she could go up against any of them. When everybody was introduced, Ramsay declared he was scared to shit, introduced Sous Chefs Andi and James, with the latter being brand new, and revealed that the winner would be the Head Chef at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with a salary of $250,000, with Ray saying that his entire life job was depending on that. Ramsay also announced that the Signature Dish Challenge would happen in front of a live audience for the first, before giving the chefs 45 minutes to cook their signature dishes.
Signature Dish Challenge[]
Jacqueline was not expecting to be cooking as she was wearing a dress and wedges. The chefs entered the kitchen, and got to work, with Ramsay asking that the food must be as good as their energy. While cooking, Cyndi said she was not working in an environment like that, and that safety was important for her. Jeremy declared his signature dish would be a stuffed steak, as he liked meat, cheese, and onion, and decided to put them together. On her side, Nedra was extremely nervous as she was running out of time and none of her ingredients were cooked. Everybody cooked and plated their dishes in time.
On the first round, Danielle and Barret went up against each other, and before Ramsay tasted Barret's dish, he asked the latter to turn around and revealed the Hell's Kitchen logo designed on his head with his hair. He served his pork loin roulade stuffed with fresh spinach, pine nuts, and shiitake mushrooms over roasted garlic potato and caramelized shallots. When tasting it, Ramsay immediately noticed the great amount of garlic in the dish, and asked Barret to taste it, while adding he did not wonder why his hair was standing up. Danielle presented her parmesan crusted chicken breast over rice and lemon beurre blanc with grilled asparagus, which were burnt and trashed by Ramsay, and the chicken was burnt underneath, which Ramsay said it should have stayed in the kitchen. Neither of them scored a point, and on the next round, Nedra went up against Sebastian. When he walked to the stage, Sebastian tried to get to the back stage, and when he arrived on the stage, he stated he was trying to avoid it. Before Ramsay would taste Nedra's dish, she requested a prayer before he would bust her balls. Sebastian got on his knees, holding Nedra's hand, and when Ramsay asked her what she said in the prayer, she answered that she requested Lord to not let Ramsay bust her balls, which made everybody laugh. After, she presented her double-grilled potatoes, with rosemary-glazed lamb, which Ramsay praised for being cooked perfectly. Then, Sebastian revealed his shrimp and salmon corn dogs, which shocked Ramsay who asked where the shrimp was, and Sebastian answering it was in the corn dog, rolled like a sausage. Ramsay asked Nedra to taste them, but she found it disgusting and spat it out, before he said to Sebastian that him trying to get out by the back door before coming up was the only good thing he did. Nedra won the round, which she celebrated about, and the red team was leading 1-0.
On the third round, Susan went up against Jeremy, who served his smoked gouda and onion-stuffed steak with mashed potatoes. Ramsay asked him what his job was, which he answered he was a Lead Cook, and if the meat he used was a rib-eye, which he hesitated, going back twice over the fact that it was a rib-eye or not, before saying he believed it was. Ramsay noticed that he did not have a clue what he was cooking despite being a Lead Cook, and he did not appreciate his dish saying the texture was ruined with the stuffing. After, Susan served her lamb and couscous, but Ramsay immediately asked her how many fingers he was holding, which she answered five. So, acknowledging she was not blind, he told that her lamb was raw at best, before asking her if she was trying to kill him and threatening her with elimination. When he tasted the couscous, he spat it out saying it was overcooked, and asked her if it was funny, which she answered not by nodding her head. Neither of them scored a point, and on the next round, Ja'Nel went up against Ray. Ja'Nel served her prawns with spicy Asian pesto capellini, but Ramsay asked if she was on a budget as there were only two of them. He asked her if it was an appetizer or an entrée, which she answered appetizer. He tasted them, and praised the harmony of the flavors in her capellini. Before tasting Ray's dish, Ramsay announced that the latter was the oldest competitor in the history of the show. He served his veal stuffed with prosciutto and gruyere in tomato sauce, which shocked Ramsay for the presentation, but he praised it for being cooked to perfection. Both of them scored, leading the final score at 2-1 for the red team. On the fifth round, Gina served tomato penne pasta with homemade meatballs and tiny sausage-stuffed braciole, but Ramsay compared it to buffet food, as it was bland and the pasta undercooked. After, Dan served his eggs Benedict with champagne hollandaise sauce, tomatoes and sautéed spinach, but the presentation shocked Ramsay, due to his hollandaise having split, who asked him if he threw up on the plate. Dan revealed he used whole butter for his sauce, adding that if it was good for Julia Child, it was good enough for him. But, Ramsay said that Julia Child would turn her grave if she would see that, and added that anybody who would eat that would get the craps, while calling it a joke. Neither of them scored, and Ramsay said to Dan that he should be embarrassed.
On the next round, Amanda's scallops with couscous were tasty, Jon nailed his scallops with corn risotto, and both of them scored a point, giving the red team a 3-2 lead. After that, Cyndi's steak with cheese penne was delicious, and Michael's seabass with chorizo hash had finesse and was seasoned beautifully, but only Michael scored, tying the score at 3. Then, Jessica presented her pan-seared Wahoo with vegetable succotash and lemon thyme vinaigrette, and when she revealed she was working at a steakhouse, Ramsay made fun of her saying that she cooked a fish despite working at a place like that. However, her succotash was delicious and her Wahoo was seasoned beautifully. After, Anthony served a New Orleans barbecue scallops po' boy, but Ramsay was not impressed. Anthony said that he put the rice on the side in a bowl to make the dish look neater, but when Ramsay flipped the little bowl of rice over, the rice stayed together, showing Anthony it was not difficult to do. After tasting it, he declared the dish fucking disgusting, while adding that Anthony just embarrassed New Orleans cuisine. Jessica won the round, giving the lead 4-3 for the red team. On the next round, Mary and Christian went up against each other, but when Mary began to describe her dish, Ramsay plugged his ears as her voice was way too high-pitched. In a lower voice, she introduced her pan-seared duck breast with red wine and orange reduction on arugula and potato rosti, but her duck was not cooked properly and still had raw fat, which Ramsay retorted that she definitely butchered her dish. Christian presented his pasta alla norma with ricotta salata and basil, which despite looking a mess, got flavor and Ramsay praised his passion inside the dish. Christian scored over Mary, and tied the score at 4. On the final round, Jacqueline and Zach faced off, and Zach served a grilled pork chop with mustard greens and potato puree, which was flavorful despite having dry pork. Finally, Jacqueline presented a roasted margarita duck breast with sweet potato rosti and Brussels sprouts, which had a good presentation and seasoned beautifully. Ramsay deliberated during a very long time to decide the winner as both dishes had great presentation and execution, while Jacqueline's duck could have been done with two minutes more, and Zach's pork could have been done with two minutes less. In the end, Ramsay gave the point to Jacqueline, and she clinched the victory for the red team 5-4.
Scoring[]
| Blue Team | Red Team | ||||
| Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barret | 0/1 | 0 | Danielle | 0/1 | 0 |
| Sebastian | 0/1 | 0 | Nedra | 1/1 | 1 |
| Jeremy | 0/1 | 0 | Susan | 0/1 | 1 |
| Ray | 1/1 | 1 | Ja'Nel | 1/1 | 2 |
| Dan | 0/1 | 1 | Gina | 0/1 | 2 |
| Jon | 1/1 | 2 | Amanda | 1/1 | 3 |
| Michael | 1/1 | 3 | Cyndi | 0/1 | 3 |
| Anthony | 0/1 | 4 | Jessica | 1/1 | 4 |
| Christian | 1/1 | 4 | Mary | 0/1 | 4 |
| Zach | 0/1 | 4 | Jacqueline | 1/1 | 5 |
| Results | 5-4 | ||||
Reward[]
The red team was rewarded with a VIP night in Las Vegas, at the Caesars Palace, which Ramsay said was full of surprises left. First, they entered a presidential suite, where some ice sculptures with Hell's Kitchen logo and Ramsay designs, fruits and a woman on a table covered in sushi were waiting. Mary said the suite was gorgeous, and revealed that she never went to Las Vegas before and that even the air was smelling good as they must manufacture delicious smelling air. Then, Cyndi noticed the woman with sushi on her body, and was amazed, saying it was absolutely nothing she ever dreamed of. The women clinked their champagne glasses to victory.
Later, they went down and saw Celine Dion's wax sculpture, which excited Susan, and then, they received VIP tickets for Dion's concert that night, and Nedra celebrated. Then, Celine Dion herself came out by the backstage door, which excited everybody, and Gina grabbed and hugged her, which she felt not many people were having this opportunity in life. Jessica was in disbelief that she met Celine Dion in person, and the entire team took a picture with her. After, they went to the VIP section of the show, watched the show, which Susan said the whole experience was unforgettable and that she would never get the opportunity of repeating that ever.
Punishment[]
The blue team was punished by returning to Hell's Kitchen in a school bus, riding during 8.5 hours in Death Valley, without any air conditioning, and Ramsay added that the last time it has been looked over, it was set to make it. While entering the bus, Dan felt like a dumbass and was not looking forward to an eight-hour ride in an old bumpy school bus back to Los Angeles, while adding that once someone sings "The Wheels on the Bus", he would lose his mind.
An hour into the ride, the men were exhausted and drinking a lot of water, with Zach even stating that he was considering saving his sweat and drink it afterwards. Anthony stated a punishment like that could not happen again, and then, Sebastian started to talk about his thinking of the competition for a very long time, with Anthony declaring that he became one of the worst things about the punishment, Barret considering to throw him off the window, and Zach asking for a time out and suggesting to play the quiet game. Every man seemed to be annoyed with Sebastian constant talking, except Michael.
More than two hours later, the bus stopped in the middle of the freeway, making everybody worry about what was going on, even some believing they had a flat. Jeremy declared he saw that in a horror movie, Ray asking if they were shitting him, and Zach was waiting for the Wile E. Coyote to come out and attack. Finally, Jon said that anything could happen when somebody would hang in the desert with someone for a very long time, before they arrived at a bus stop, happily taking a break from Sebastian's motor-mouth, where they went to the bathroom. During the break, Ray declared that losing a challenge would not happen again for the blue team, and that he could not wait to get in Hell's Kitchen and prove that men could cook better than women.
Before service[]
After Celine Dion's show, the red team entered the plane to Los Angeles and arrived to Hell's Kitchen. They left seven hours after the blue team, but they still arrived first. They were greeted by Sous Chef Andi, who showed them the dorms. When she entered the restaurant, Cyndi declared she was dreading the day she would walk out that door, Nedra was ready to get in and start cooking, and Ja'Nel declared they were already getting down and dirty in the competition. Then, Amanda played air guitar, and an inebriated Jessica fell off the wall.
A few moments later, the blue team arrived from their school bus ride, and they were greeted by Sous Chef James. When he entered, Zach declared he was tired and exhausted, but was ready to get down to business as he was belonging in Hell's Kitchen. The women told the men how they got a VIP treatment with Celine Dion, with Mary showing them their picture with her, and Anthony declaring it not fair. Amanda was the only woman who was not sorry for the men as she hoped to win every challenge. The men went to the bedroom and bonded as a team.
After that, everybody was focused on studying the menu, except Gina who was annoying her teammates with her puppet Alfredo Al Dente. Ja'Nel struggled to study with that in her face, Nedra was in disbelief that she brought a puppet, and Cyndi said that Gina was acting like a two-year-old. A fed up Nedra gave an ultimatum to Gina, saying that she should get the fuck out of there before she would kick her ass and her puppet's, while adding that the crazy bitch Gina had to be the first person eliminated. After an intervention in the red team, where Nedra called Gina a little cuckoo, Gina responded that she was getting along with everybody as she was make everybody laugh all the time. She finished by saying that she was not liking the way her teammates were looking up on her.
The next morning, everybody woke up early to begin their prep for opening night, except Gina who was still in bed. She declared that every part of her body was soaring, while asking if somebody put something in her orange juice. Even though she was feeling like an idiot, she was determined to do what she had to do. The chefs went down in the blue kitchen, where they were given their new set of knives, but Gina was in a very confused state, as she was wondering where she was and not seeing things as they should be. The blue team were very confident during their prep and had a great teamwork, with Dan determined to not get another one on the chin. In the red kitchen, Gina was completely lost and unfocused, with Jessica saying that she must get her shit right quickly. When she felt that she would drop on the floor, Andi came to her and asked her what was going on, which Gina answered that she could not function. Ja'Nel felt that she already gave up, and Andi called a medic in the back store for Gina, who sat down. A medic came running from the dorms, Susan, Cyndi, and Mary acknowledged that the red team was screwed because of Gina's state, and when Ramsay came in the kitchen to brief the red team, Gina was crying with the medic asking if she knew where she was, before the episode ended as a cliffhanger.
Trivia[]
- This is the first time the Signature Dish Challenge took place outside of Hell's Kitchen, held in Las Vegas. It is also the first time a live audience saw the challenge.
- This episode marks the debut of Sous Chef James as the new blue Sous Chef.