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The fourteenth episode of Season 11 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on May 30, 2013. In that episode, the annual Blind Taste Test took place; one chef made a punishment more difficult for their team, and for the first time, the chefs competed in an individual challenge for immunity.

Intro[]

Back at the dorms, Jon and Anthony were still downed by the blue team’s poor performance. Still, Jon thought he was turning more into Frankenstein’s monster than being in a fairy tale, Anthony did not get his logic before concluding that Jon was trying to say that they did not rise up. However, when Jon added more weird comparisons, this time to Atlas, it confused Anthony even more.

Meanwhile, Susan wanted vodka for dinner before calling the elimination ceremony bananas as Ja'Nel noticed how pissed Nedra was. Cyndi was surprised Nedra failed on appetizers as the latter was number one on that station in the red team. However, Mary felt Zach sabotaged Nedra. While Zach told the red team how badly Nedra performed that night, Mary called that claim ridiculous and said he should shut up. She refused to hear it from Zach due to his lying attitude and how he used to bully her. However, Zach told Mary to grow up, mocked her voice, and told her to stop whine and cry. While Cyndi praised Mary for standing up to Zach, Mary threatened to flip if Zach was in a black jacket.

Team challenge[]

The next day, the chefs came downstairs. Ramsay reminded them how they always relied on their senses, primarily the sense of taste. However, Ramsay added that hearing, smelling, sight, and touch were also important before asking a volunteer from each team to test their senses. Cyndi and Anthony were picked. As Sous Chef James came out with a box for the two to touch something, Ja'Nel was confused about the challenge as Ramsay always threw something at them. Ramsay explained that he would put something in the box and wanted Cyndi and Anthony to put their arms inside the box, feel the ingredient, and identify it. While Anthony was apprehensive about sticking his hand into something, he and Cyndi felt the ingredient, eggs, the latter said it felt gross to the touch and that it could be anything. However, both got eggs correct, it was a one-point tie, and Susan was excited to try it out. For their next ingredient, they both got polenta correct, it was a two-point tie. Jon felt that the men had a chance, and for their last ingredient, oysters, Cyndi asked what the hell Ramsay put in the bowl as it felt like snot. Anthony got the answer correct first, and the men won 3-2. Ramsay revealed that they won nothing as it was not the real challenge. The real challenge was the eleventh annual Blind Taste Test. While Jon felt it could be a challenge the three blue chefs could win, he hoped Zach and Anthony, referring to them as idiots, were on their A-game. Because the men had three chefs compared to the women’s four, Ramsay asked for somebody to go up twice. After a quick discussion, Zach volunteered as he had a great palate and did not want to lose again. However, Mary felt it would be a piece of cake as Zach was a moron, while Anthony hoped the latter did not mess up.

In the first round, Mary volunteered to compete against Zach as she wanted to beat the crap out of him. They both put on their blindfolds and headphones. Of their four ingredients, Zach got scallions, turkey, and zucchini. In contrast, Mary could only get the final ingredient, making it 3-1 for the men. After, Zach told Mary that he was the top dog and numero uno. On the second round, Anthony was confident on his palate, while Ja'Nel was nervous about incorrectly guessing ingredients she tasted every day. While Ja'Nel got broccoli, pistachio, and prune, Anthony failed to get all the ingredients correct. As the score was 4-3 for the women by the third round, both Jon and Cyndi got cheddar, but while the former got duck, the latter got parsnip, leaving the score 6-5 for the women. In the final round, Zach was confident he could turn it around, while Mary wanted Susan to kick his butt for herself. While Zach got egg yolk, Susan got cauliflower, giving the women the win 7-6. After the challenge, Susan was happy she clinched it for her team. Ramsay deemed Ja'Nel the star for her team while deeming Anthony a disaster for being the only chef who scored zero points.

Scoring[]

Red Team Blue Team
Chef Score Total Chef Score Total
Mary 1/4 1 Zach 3/4 3
Ja'Nel 3/4 4 Anthony 0/4 3
Cyndi 2/4 6 Jon 2/4 5
Susan 1/4 7 Zach 1/4 6
Results 7-6

Reward[]

The women were rewarded with a seafood lunch at Nobu in Malibu and horseback riding at the Santa Monica mountains, much to Mary’s excitement. As the women walked past the men, Mary mockingly wished them well. During the reward, Susan heard the waves rolling in, and during lunch, Ja'Nel deemed her lunch delicious. During the horseback ride, Mary called her horse, named Luna, easy.

Punishment[]

The men were punished with participating in delivery day and prepping both kitchens for the following night’s service. Zach called it the worst during the punishment as he wished to be in Malibu before calling Anthony’s palate a bottom of a shoe. Later, Anthony got flour all over himself to his irritation, and Sous Chef James had the men sweep the flour off the red carpet as Jon was forced to breathe it in due to the wind. On their next order, which was ice, Anthony signed off the invoice, while Zach’s body was aching due to the amount of stuff he had to carry. Then, Zach announced the freezers were full, Jon asked if they were supposed to have that much ice, and Sous Chef James noticed many ice bags around the kitchen. Looking at the invoice, it was revealed Anthony did not pay close attention to the numbers, and Sous Chef James ordered the men to look for the exact numbers. That annoyed Jon as Zach wanted Anthony to go home for skating under the radar. After putting back the unwanted ice into the truck, Jon complained that they worked three times harder than they should have.

With the deliveries finished, the men began prepping both kitchens as the women returned from their reward. Mary showed Jon the pictures they took, but the latter asked her to stop rubbing it in his face.

Individual challenge[]

The next day, Anthony felt his position on the men was shaky after yesterday and wanted that day to be the day he worked his ass off. Then, Ramsay called the dorms and asked Susan to bring everybody downstairs. Ramsay reminded the chefs that the winner would become his head chef at Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill in Caesars Palace. With everybody getting close to the black jackets, the sight of one amazed Zach, and Susan wanted it more than anything. However, Ramsay revealed that he wanted more information on who deserved a black jacket and said there would be an individual challenge during the team phase for the first time. Ramsay said he wanted to see how much they have grown since the beginning. The chefs had 45 minutes to cook any dish they like, and Cyndi said she loved working outside the box and wanted to bring it hard. Ramsay revealed the winner would be immune from elimination no matter what happened in service. Anthony knew he had to perfectly nail his dish as there were only three blue chefs left.

As the challenge began, Susan wanted to do lamb as a way to redeem herself from the Signature Dish Challenge and wanted to show Ramsay how she made leaps and balls, while Ja'Nel called it a ballsy move as the former had it hanging over her the entire competition. In the blue kitchen, Jon talked to himself while working on his dish. While Zach said that he had no problem with that, it was Jon answering his own questions that made him think the latter was one step away from the looney bin. However, Jon said that talking to himself was how he processed his mind, and it did work for him. With 10 minutes left, Zach knew everybody was bringing out their best for immunity and decided to make something different, comparing it to sending somebody to the moon for the first time. In the red kitchen, Susan found her lamb to be undercooked in the middle, while Cyndi told the former to step it up as she cannot hold her hand in an individual challenge. Eventually, Susan was forced to plate her dish as time was running out. Everybody got their dishes cooked and plated on time.

Before the judging, it was revealed that it was the King of the Hill Challenge as one chef would be seated in the winner’s chair but could be dethroned if a dish was better than theirs. The last person left on the chair at the end was the winner. Ja'Nel was the first chef to have her dish judged, and Ramsay recalled her tiger grilled prawns back in the Signature Dish Challenge being good despite there being two prawns. Ja'Nel’s pan-seared duck breast with cumin-scented sweet potato purée and orange glazed green beans were praised for being cooked beautifully, even though she mistook the green beans for carrots during her description leading Ramsay to hand her water in response. After, Ja'Nel sat in the winner’s chair, and Ramsay said she set the bar high. Anthony was up next and knew being safe was crucial as his name was high on the list if the men lost. Before tasting his dish, Ramsay recalled Anthony’s scallop po boy and how disappointed he was in the dish but noted he made a lot of progress in the competition. Anthony’s seared ribeye with caramelized carrots was deemed overcooked and having raw carrots, and he failed to dethrone Ja'Nel. Before tasting Susan’s lamb dish, Ramsay recalled her poor history with that protein in the past. While Ramsay loved Susan's tenacity, she once again served raw lamb and did not dethrone Ja'Nel. Jon was the fourth person to have his dish judged and said it was his chance to shine to challenge Ja'Nel and dethrone her. Ramsay noted that Jon made a good start with his scallop dish. Jon’s seared ahi Mahi with citrus quinoa and tropical fruit syrup was praised for having a wow factor, having a perfectly cooked fish, and tasting delicious. As a result, Jon successfully dethroned Ja'Nel, although the latter was annoyed that she lost by a nudge.

While Jon was confident that his dish was the best, he knew there were three other chefs to face off against. For Mary, Ramsay recalled her poor duck breast. While Mary's pan-seared filet with red wine reduction was praised for a beautifully cooked filet, it was criticized for having an overpowering reduction that looked like paint. Mary did not dethrone Jon, and the latter hoped he could survive two more chefs. When Zach went up, he felt great about his dish even though Ramsay reminded him about his poor pork and apple dish. For Zach’s surf and turf, Ramsay was not impressed by the size of the filets as the size of the prawns dominated them and even asked where the rest of it went. Zach revealed he used half of a half filet medallion, which Susan called bullshit on after he claimed the rest would be used for a tartare. Then, Ramsay told Zach that the dish was improperly balanced, and he did not dethrone Jon. Cyndi was the final person left to have her dish judged and knew everything was at stake. Ramsay recalled her tri-colored filet dish but noticed she went somewhere different with her pan-seared halibut and succotash. While Ramsay praised the fish, Jon wanted to see something wrong, which came true when Ramsay felt the sauce was a little too creamy. As Ramsay struggled to make a final decision, Cyndi was confident she was going to win. Anthony wanted Cyndi to win as if Jon win, it would only leave the latter with two choices if they lost, and the episode ended as a cliffhanger.

Goofs[]

  • Ramsay called out Anthony as the first person to score no points in the Blind Taste Test. This is untrue as there have been several people before Anthony who failed to score any points in said challenge.

Trivia[]

  • With this episode, the blue team set the record for most consecutive challenge losses in a row with six.
  • This marks the first time an individual challenge took place during the team phase of the competition.
Hell's Kitchen Season 11 Episodes
20 Chefs Compete Part 120 Chefs Compete Part 219 Chefs Compete17 Chefs Compete16 Chefs Compete Part 116 Chefs Compete Part 215 Chefs Compete14 Chefs Compete13 Chefs Compete12 Chefs Compete10 Chefs Compete9 Chefs Compete8 Chefs Compete7 Chefs Compete Part 17 Chefs Compete Part 26 Chefs Compete5 Chefs Compete Part 15 Chefs Compete Part 25 Chefs Compete Part 34 Chefs Compete2 Chefs CompeteWinner Chosen
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