The fourth episode of Season 12 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on April 3, 2014. In that episode, ravioli was the main dish, one team finally won a dinner service, one chef was put in their place for yelling at needed help, and a satisfying elimination of another took place.
Intro[]
While returning to the dorms, Mike said he would not let his team talk trash about him, point the finger at him, or cry about it. However, Chris was upset that Simone was eliminated over Mike as nobody wanted to work with the latter and said Mike was poison. DeMarco said he was better than Mike and he would hang himself if he were eliminated over the latter, declaring Mike had to go with his Jersey attitude and dumb tattoos. DeMarco added that if you were at elimination twice, your confidence decreases, but Jason told him not to say he was confident and asked DeMarco to scream his confidence at them. DeMarco did so, but when Richard had Jason demonstrate, the latter screamed louder. Anton declared that what happened happened. Still, Anton hoped the animosity towards Mike would go as it would mess them up. Tomorrow was another day in the kitchen, and forget what happened last night. Chris agreed, saying it was water under the bridge.
Team challenge[]
The next day, both teams came downstairs, where Ramsay announced that the only thing that bothered him in the last three services was the amount of waste they made. He added that the real reason for that was lack of consistency, revealing that in the previous service alone, they wasted 16 Wellingtons. To drive the point further, Ramsay revealed a dome that contained a bunch of pennies on a plate that he soon dumped, and then, a cascade of pennies came down from the ceiling. Joy was shocked at the amount of money they wasted, especially since she was broke. After the money rain was over, Ramsay had the chefs follow him to the kitchen, and Sandra said if that was not a wake-up call for wasting money, nothing else was.
For their challenge, Ramsay announced that the chefs would make a new dish, lobster ravioli. While he demonstrated how to make the dish, Melanie called it an honor to stand next to him as she watched videos of him cooking. Richard said that while everybody has their way of doing things, it seemed easier when watching Ramsay demonstrate. Afterwards, Ramsay announced the first team to make ten perfect lobster ravioli wins. The chefs would work in pairs, but since the men had an extra member, Ramsay had Gabriel, DeMarco, and Mike work as a trio. Anton was concerned about that as he considered them the weak links.
As the Lobster Ravioli Challenge began, Melanie, paired with Jessica, hoped the women would win the challenge. In contrast, Jason, who was paired up with Scott, wanted nothing more than to beat the women in the kitchen. As the men got organized quickly, the women were taking a slower approach as Kashia, who was paired with Sandra, said rolling the pasta was the hard part, even though Ramsay warned them not to waste their time rolling the pasta. Meanwhile, the men’s organization seemed to be working as Scott and Jason brought up their first dish. It was accepted, much to Jason's ecstasy. Ralph and Richard kept the momentum going with their first successful dish, giving the men 2-0, and Ramsay reminded the women to hurry. As Melanie was concerned the women’s slow start could cost them, Anton and Chris had their first attempt accepted, giving the men 3-0. In the red kitchen, Joy told Beth to put the oil on the pan first so their onions would not burn, even asking the latter if she saw the same demo she saw. At the same time, Ramsay said the sauce was taking too long. DeMarco said that the rest of their team were putting out acceptable dishes quickly in the blue kitchen, as Scott and Jason delivered their second successful dish, making it 4-0 for the men. However, DeMarco felt Mike was standing there and doing nothing there before calling him useless. Then, Ralph and Richard brought up their second successful attempt, making it 5-0 for the men. As Melanie and Jessica brought their first dish, Ramsay said the plate was the wrong size and rejected it, making Melanie feel like an idiot. As Anton and Chris got their second dish approved, making it 6-0 for the men, Gabriel called it a blowout. Bev and Rochelle brought up their first attempt. It was deemed acceptable, exciting Rochelle as the women were finally on the board 6-1 for the men. Melanie and Jessica kept the momentum up by getting their second attempt accepted, and Joy and Beth with their first, making it 6-3. However, Joy said that she rolled the pasta, while Beth supported, upsetting the latter as she did not stand around with her thumb up her ass and claimed it was not the Joy show. The women's momentum continued with Kashia and Sandra serving their first attempt and scoring yet again, making it 6-4 for the men. Gabriel heard bells ringing from the women as Rochelle and Bev brought their second dish and made it 6-5. The men's trio struggled as Ramsay gave them a 90 second time limit, which caused DeMarco to reroll already prepared ravioli to Mike’s annoyance. Jessica and Melanie brought their third attempt up, it was accepted, and the score was tied six each. Jessica said that women were on a roll, but Jason and Scott took back the lead by bringing their third approved dish, making it 7-6 for the men. When Ramsay noticed that it had been two and a half minutes when the trio started cooking, he asked them how long for the pasta. They replied 90 seconds, and Ramsay said the pasta was overcooked. Jason had no idea what was going on in the trio's simple little minds. Bev and Rochelle brought their third accepted dish, while Richard and Ralph brought their third, making it 8-7 for the men. Joy and Beth tied with their second attempt, but Melanie and Jessica took the lead with their fourth, making it 9-8 for the women. However, Anton and Chris tied it nine each with their third attempt. Gabriel, DeMarco and Mike brought up their first attempt on what should be the men’s tenth dish, but Ramsay said that the pasta was too thick, to Chris’ annoyance. That gave Melanie and Jessica the chance to bring up their fifth dish, which Ramsay accepted and gave the women the win 10-9. Jessica called the women’s victory, while Jason was angry at Mike, DeMarco, and Gabriel for only producing one plate in the challenge.
Scoring[]
| Blue Team | Red Team | ||||
| Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott and Jason | 3 | 3 | Bev and Rochelle | 3 | 3 |
| Ralph and Richard | 3 | 6 | Melanie and Jessica | 4 | 7 |
| Anton and Chris | 3 | 9 | Joy and Beth | 2 | 9 |
| Gabriel, DeMarco, and Mike | 0 | 9 | Kashia and Sandra | 1 | 10 |
| Results | 10-9 | ||||
Reward[]
The women were rewarded with a day at a Beverly Hills mansion which included their very own butler. As the women went back to the dorms to change, Kashia was ecstatic because she never been in a mansion before. Jessica felt as if she had a home during the reward since she did not have one a year ago. Jean-Philippe greeted them inside the mansion before leading them for high tea, something Sandra said she never had the privilege to do. At poolside, Beth did not see how rich did stuff because she would never leave. At the same time, Bev felt the camaraderie in the women's team and wanted to keep the momentum up in dinner service.
Punishment[]
After hearing the women’s reward, Anton was pissed the men kept losing because the weak links weren't stepping up. After the women left for their reward, Ramsay told the men that he thought they had it in their hands before the stupidity crept on them. He called Gabriel, DeMarco and Mike Dumber and Dumber and Dumber. The men were punished by cleaning up the pennies worth $200,000 and cleaning and prep both kitchens for that night’s service. During the punishment, Jason called the punishment frustrating to clean up that many pennies. When the women walked by them, Anton and Gabriel felt the men were closer than the women.
Later, the men were at the patio on a break as Anton grumbled about picking up pennies while Scott said that Mike and DeMarco were not helping much. Jason and Ralph agreed to as the former said they had to trim the fat off, and the latter accused Mike and DeMarco of not doing anything for the team. When Mike asked Ralph if he wanted to watch over their station, the latter bluntly said he should have, while the former said it was not his fault that one ravioli was overcooked. However, DeMarco sarcastically said that Mike was never at fault, causing an argument between them.
While cleaning up the pennies, Anton asked Mike and DeMarco what was missing from them. DeMarco replied that they needed to communicate more, but said Mike did not want to work with anyone, causing the latter to tell DeMarco off and said he cared what Ramsay thinks rather than what his team thinks. Anton said he was asking everyone's opinion, but while Mike did not want to talk about the past, Richard told him to answer Anton's question. That led Scott to say that all the nonsense must stop otherwise, their service would be doomed as Mike kept telling off the men.
Before service[]
Later that evening, both teams began prepping for service as Melanie wanted to prove they could still kick the men’s ass despite having a relaxing day, while Gabriel wanted to rock it out. After prep, Ramsay had both teams lined up, and reminded them about how terrible the previous three services were. Refusing to let that continue, Ramsay announced he decided to go back to basics by making that night's service Steak Night. That excited Melanie as she was a master on the grill, while Ramsay wanted that service to be successful. Jason was confident the men would succeed, and told DeMarco to step up. DeMarco knew it could be his last chance as unless the men win and he himself performs well, he could be going home, and had to prove to his team he could cook. In the red kitchen, Joy told the women to say a pray as they had to complete service, and Ramsay told Jean-Philippe to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner Service[]
Sharon Case, Suzanne Whang, and Vanessa Marcil attend that night’s service. A special tableside chopped salad appetizer and prime rib entrée were served by Beth and Rochelle from the women, and Gabriel and Scott from the men. After the men received their first ticket, Ramsay told Ralph to nail that order since it was for a VIP table. Ralph felt confident, focused, and wanted to show Ramsay what he had, but when he announced his wait for crab cakes, Ramsay said they were not on order. While Jason sarcastically congratulated Ralph for misremembering the order, the latter admitted his mistake. When Anton asked if they were waiting on crab cakes, Jason said they were not on order. In the red kitchen, the women received Marcil’s, but Joy told Bev to pour some of the oil out of the pan since she used too much for the ravioli, and complained she had to teach the latter at the wrong time. When Ramsay tasted the water, he said it lacked salt, and told Bev it was so basic that even his 10-year-old daughter knew pasta needed salt. While Bev acknowledged her mistake, she was mad at Ramsay for yelling at her like a kid even though she was the oldest women on the team as Melanie told her to bounce back. In the blue kitchen, Ralph called for a minute on his ravioli, but Mike poured them all in a pot too soon, angering Ralph as he told Mike to wait for his order. However, Mike told Ralph to get out of the way and let him help. Ramsay asked why Mike was doing nothing, and while the latter replied nobody wanted his help, Ramsay told him to help and told Ralph to let Mike do something. Ralph said that Mike had terrible service since the first day, and was not going to let him lead, and when the latter brought up the ravioli, it had no lobster. Ramsay brought the dish back to the men and asked them what was missing, but while most of them said lobster, DeMarco accidentally said crab. Ramsay reminded them that they practiced making them all morning and ordered them to get a grip. In the red kitchen, Joy called out times for both the risotto and ravioli as she wanted to prove she can be a good leader and get the women out the gate. Joy brought the risotto to the pass, and Ramsay accept it, much to her relief, but Ramsay said that while the women were off to a good start, they shouldn't celebrate yet. As appetizers from the red kitchen were being sent to the dining room, the blue diners have yet to be fed as Gabriel tried to keep the customers busy by cleaning his plates in front of them, although he felt like a dumbass doing so. After telling a table about how he burned his hair off trying to make banana fosters, he begged for the food to arrive.
One hour into service, the men received their next order, and Ramsay told Ralph that it had crab cakes on them. Richard said he needed four minutes, and was confident he could get food out as he has been cooking for 30 years. He brought the crab cake and Ralph brought the ravioli, but Ramsay said that the crab cake was cold. Jason said that crab cakes were so simple to cook that even a monkey could do one, and was dismayed that Richard failed to check them before sending it up to the pass. After, Ramsay warned the men about the dire consequences if they send up one more cold dish, and while Mike asked how long for crab cakes, Richard replied they were ready. Anton told him to pierce the crab with his knife, and afterwards, Richard said they were ready. Just when Ralph was about to walk up with ravioli, Ramsay asked if it was the same ravioli from earlier, but the former replied that they were fresh. Then, Ramsay revealed that not only were the crab cakes stone-cold again, but the ravioli was watery and had no seasoning. That prompted him to send Richard and Ralph to the dining room to eat their mistakes and told Jean-Philippe to give the two chardonnay’s for drinks. As the two ate their mistakes, Richard hated getting berated as he was too old for it, but Ramsay told him to sit back down and eat. Then, Jean-Philippe told Richard and Ralph that while he knew they wanted to return to the kitchen, they could not unless they finish eating. Meanwhile, Ramsay had Anton get appetizers out, but the latter suddenly had to make risotto from scratch because Mike did not step up, making him believe the latter had enough. Anton brought up the risotto and Ramsay approved, allowing the men to finally send out appetizers to the dining room. In the red kitchen, appetizers continue to make it to the dining room, and were moving onto entrées. Melanie was certain the women would make it to that service since she was on meat, and when Rochelle asked how long, Melanie told her to begin slicing as she herself was bringing up the filets. As Melanie did, Ramsay said they were cooked perfectly, and she was happy to finally get some praise for her strong suit as entrées continuously made it to the dining room. Meanwhile, Richard wanted to go back to the kitchen, but Ralph said they had to finish their drinks first. Afterwards, the two came back in, Ramsay called out the men's first entrée order, and Richard thought they would be good if they could get the filets out. When Anton asked how the filet was, Chris replied it looked good, but Jason told him not to put it up if he was not confident. While Chris was certain his filets were good, Ramsay saw they were rare after slicing into them, and DeMarco said that their service was sinking like the Titanic as Ramsay ranted how backed up they were on both appetizers and entrées before Chris accidentally set the sink on fire trying to get the refire ready. In the red kitchen, Joy could hear the men struggling as Ramsay urged them to keep their momentum going. Sandra said she felt a rhythm going on as everything was going as it should be, and as DeMarco was in the back hallway briefly, he saw the women working together, comparing them to both a machine and the Russian military. After Kashia brought up her chicken, Ramsay said it was cooked perfectly, and Sandra said there was nothing sweeter to hear than that, before proclaiming they would complete service.
In the blue kitchen, Anton brought the filet with sauce, but Jason said he had to acknowledge him and told Anton not to run up like a jackass. When Jason brought up his fish, Ramsay said that the filet was still cold, angrily ranting that the easiest steak to cook was dragging the kitchen down. Adding insult to injury, Ramsay brought the men to the red pass and told them that not only were the women able to get their appetizers out, they also had three orders of entrées left. Then, Ramsay brought the men up to blue pass and said they had three more orders of appetizers, with Anton clearly seeing how bad the situation was.
Two hours into service, the women were on their final table. After completing their order, Ramsay praised the women, especially Joy and Melanie, on their service and told them to help the men get their nine remaining tables out, leading Melanie called it a gangster service. The men were not happy to see the women in their kitchen, and while Richard said they were good, Ramsay reminded him that he served stone-cold crab cakes twice and said he did need help. Joy told Richard to take the help as it would help get out the kitchen faster, Sandra told Jason that his salmon needed three more minutes, but the latter argued not to cut the salmon open as it would lose its valuable taste. Jason continued to argue with Sandra, even calling her a dumb little cunt, until Ramsay took them both up to the pass as Joy could not believe Jason was arguing with Sandra on his station. While Jason apologized for his behavior, Ramsay reminded him that he told Sandra to get on his station and while the former may not like it, it was his choice. After, Ramsay told Jason and Sandra to go back to his station, and the latter claimed she was not intimidated when Jason was yelling at her. With the women's help, the men were able to serve dishes in the dining, but while Anton had nothing against the women, having them help the men was extremely embarrassing.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay announced he finally had a respectable service from the women and congratulated them as they were the clear winners. Then, Ramsay told the men to nominate two people for elimination.
During deliberation, DeMarco called the men's service an abomination and was disgusted that a station ran by two men failed to deliver. When Scott asked where the hang-ups began, DeMarco blamed meat and appetizers, but Ralph argued he was not going to put out bad risottos. While Jason told Ralph that it was slow on appetizers, the latter felt he banged out everything despite being alone. Then, Gabriel noticed Mike was missing as the latter went to the bathroom, while Ralph felt the latter gave up just as Mike came back. Jason bluntly told Mike that he was going up no matter how much he fought against it, leaving the latter to note that he was a target no matter what he did. After, Chris felt Richard was the second problem of that night for the cold crab cakes, but the latter reminded him and Anton about their raw steaks as Jason felt Anton was rushing a little bit. Anton said they were out of their minds if he was going up for elimination as he felt he had not screwed up once since the beginning, before reminding Chris about having two bad services in a row, and DeMarco about having three bad services in a row. However, DeMarco angrily realized he was being pushed out as the others refused to accept their mistakes and called them out on that.
Elimination[]
Ralph announced Mike as the men’s first nominee, and DeMarco as the second. During their pleas, DeMarco felt he was ready that night, was not the weakest link of that night, and cared compared to Mike. Then, Mike felt they got rolling after Ramsay convinced Ralph to help, but the latter said it was not true as the former instead stirred risottos and did only one ravioli. However, Mike claimed that he could not help somebody who did not want it. When Ramsay asked him why the men had little trust in him, Mike admitted that he had no idea. Richard said it was because Mike was playing both the hiding and finger-pointing game since day one, and Jason added on that while it could be one thing for Mike to own up to a station, he felt the latter has not done so yet. Then, Mike made a request to Ramsay to give the men what they wanted by removing him from the blue team and place him with the women as they would appreciate him more than the men, but the women visibly disagreed with that idea. In the end, Ramsay denied Mike’s request, and eliminated him for his poor attitude and lack of passion. Mike left without accepting Ramsay’s handshake. During his exit interview, Mike felt he was the fall guy for the men before feeling there was no camaraderie in the men and hoped to forget about them like they would of himself.
After Mike left, Ramsay warned the men that he did not want any more excuses and asked for one of them to lead them quick. While being dismissed, Kashia felt good to work as a team, DeMarco refused to quit no matter what, and Jason was relieved to see Mike go, believing the men had a solid core and would be a force to be reckoned with.
Ramsay's comment: "There once was a cook named Mike. He couldn't cook fish or any other dish, so I told him to take a hike."
Trivia[]
- This marks the first time Ramsay denied a nominated chef's request to change teams.
- Due to the three consecutive joint-losses in the first three episodes, this marks the latest a team has won a dinner service since the season began.
- Gordon's comment on Mike's elimination is very similar to Zach's from Season 11 and Matt's from Season 4.