The first episode of Season 13 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox, on September 10, 2014, airing as a double feature along with the second episode. On that episode, the eighteen new chefs went to Los Angeles for their Signature Dish Challenge, and one team performed the best opening night in the show's history.
Intro[]
The episode began with a recap of the previous twelve seasons, even showing a few previous winners, as well as a teaser of that season was shown.
The eighteen new chefs arrived in Los Angeles, and got in the bus, while getting to know each other. Sterling said that he has never been in that part of the woods, and that the only woods he has been was Inglewood and the hood, much to the others' amusement. Sade immediately boasted that a woman was going to win that season, but Aaron quickly disagreed with that. Frank said that he was happy to represent Staten Island, with the promise to raise some hell. Roe proclaimed that she was going to remain at the end, but Jennifer said that her competitors were going to need all the luck in the world to beat her and called herself a force of nature. Then, the bus pulled up to the Pacific’s Cinerama Theatre, much to the chefs' confusion as they were not at Hell’s Kitchen yet, and Steven Ramskill showed up and explained that Ramsay wanted them all to see an inspirational video before beginning the competition. As the chefs went to a theater with popcorn, Bryant admitted that he had no idea what was going on but was willing to relax for a bit. After sitting down, the video began with Ramsay welcoming them to Los Angeles, and reminding them how they were few of the thousands of applicants who made it. However, Ramsay said that before they would enter Hell’s Kitchen, he wanted to show them what success meant for them in the competition.
As the video started, it showed a couple of previous chefs, such as Christina from Season 10 in front of Gordon Ramsay Steak, Paul from Season 9 inside BLT Steak, and Jay from Season 7 in front of Abby Lane Food and Spirits. The video explained that Hell’s Kitchen has been responsible for kick-starting a lot of careers, which Sterling said that it could be him at the end. Then, it showed the chefs themselves as Santos, Denine, Kalen, Fernando, Aaron, Frank, JP, and Janai received their acceptance invitations to the competition. After, Ramsay revealed that the winner of that season would become the Head Chef at Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill at Caesars Atlantic City, and that it would be up to them to make the most of their incredible opportunity. After the video ended, a curtain fell behind the chefs with a live audience, and Ramsay and the Sous Chefs were in the crowd. Then, Ramsay asked if they really thought they were going to relax at the movies, before telling them that their Signature Dish Challenge would begin now.
Signature Dish Challenge[]
The chefs went to the Cordon Bleu culinary arts academy, across the street, and had 45 minutes to cook their signature dishes, as Denine felt the pressure of cooking her dish in front of a public crowd. 15 minutes into the challenge, JP already finished his dish and plated it, but Ramsay found out. Despite JP claiming he would keep it warm, Ramsay warned him that it would become overcooked, so JP decided to start over. Eventually, everybody got their dishes cooked and plated in time.
Back at Pacific’s Cinerama Theatre, Ramsay announced that for the first time ever, he would be judging the dishes on a scale of 1 to 5, and the team with the most points at the end would win the challenge. Denine and JR were the first to have their dishes judged from their respective teams, and Denine presented her inside-out chicken parm. While a little concerned about the weird concept and praying that it would not turn his stomach inside out, Ramsay praised the chicken for being delicious along with the sauce and gave her three points. Then, JR presented his rockfish taco with mango slaw and lemon aioli, and while Ramsay said that it was not brilliant, he praised it for being crunchy and tasty. So, JR received three points as well, making it a 3-point tie. After, Sade and JP competed, and Sade presented her wild mushroom and pea risotto. Ramsay criticized the dish for looking dreadful and having mushy rice while calling it sad, before giving her two points. Before JP's turn, Ramsay asked him if he made another dish after finishing his first one with twenty minutes left, which he answered he did. He presented his Boston baked haddock with fingerling potatoes, haricot verts and lemon buerre blanc sauce. Ramsay deemed the fish dry and the potatoes hard, before reminding JP that he was the only chef who cooked his dish twice, and wondering if he should just let him go at the moment, therefore threatening him with on-the-spot elimination. JP answered that he wanted to stay, and he only scored one point, leaving the score at 5-4 for the red team.
On the third round, Ashley presented her deconstructed chicken and chorizo taco. Ramsay admitted that while it did not look appetizing, he thought the taste was working, and gave Ashley three points. After, Frank revealed his filet mignon bordelaise with grape salad, but Ramsay noticed a large bone on the plate, and asked him where the dog was. Even though Ramsay took the bone marrow out, he said that the dish looked like the dog dumped all over his plate, before spitting it out and deeming it all bad. So, Frank scored only one point, making the score 8-5 for the red team. On the next round, La Tasha and Fernando faced off, and La Tasha presented her grilled hickory-rubbed watermelon. However, Ramsay was not impressed that she spent 45 minutes grilling a slice of watermelon, and called the dish underwhelming, before giving her only one point. Then, Ramsay asked Fernando how old he was, which he answered 28, and a disbelieved Ramsay said that Harry Potter was looking older than him. After, Fernando’s pan-seared pigeon with sweet potato purée and balsamic fig reduction was praised for having a perfectly cooked pigeon, and Ramsay gave him four points, tying the score at 9. On the fifth round, Roe presented her Kobe beef filet with sweet potato mash, which Ramsay praised for its complexity, and gave it four points. When it was Sterling's turn, Ramsay noticed that he looked very excited and asked if he was about to piss his pants. Then, Sterling revealed that he was always 100%, before presenting his shrimp and grits, which he claimed was made it with love. While Ramsay said that the shrimps were cooked perfectly, he only gave Sterling three points as the dish looked a mess, making the score 13-12 for the red team. On the next round, Jennifer and Steve faced off, and while Jennifer’s duck dish with hollandaise got two points for being overcooked, Steve’s lamb with polenta dish got three points for being a solid effort, tying the score at 15. After, Katie’s pan-seared halibut with mango parsnip slaw got four points as she nailed it, and Bryant’s wild mushroom-stuffed pork roulade also scored four points for being ambitious, still tying the score at 19. On the next round, Janai and Aaron competed, and Janai presented her lobster stuffed lamb, but Ramsay called it a horror show and gave her only one point. Then, Aaron presented his hazelnut financier, but Ramsay was not impressed as he was looking for a head chef and not a pastry chef, though Aaron said that his workplace required him to go both ways. After tasting the dish, Ramsay deemed it dry and not properly put together, giving Aaron one point, and tying the score at 20. The final round featured Kalen against Santos. She presented her pan-seared scallops over sweet corn purée with pickled onions and smoked tomatoes, and Ramsay praised it for its sear, and the flavors for working well, but before he gave Kalen her score, he decided to taste Santos' dish. Santos presented his seared skate wing with nut brown butter, and Ramsay gave him three points for nailing the skate wing and having a bit of heat on top of it. After, Ramsay decided to give Kalen’s dish four points, making the red team winners, with a score of 24-23, and Sade being pumped about winning the first challenge.
Scoring[]
| Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
| Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denine | 3/5 | 3 | JR | 3/5 | 3 |
| Sade | 2/5 | 5 | JP | 1/5 | 4 |
| Ashley | 3/5 | 8 | Frank | 1/5 | 5 |
| La Tasha | 1/5 | 9 | Fernando | 4/5 | 9 |
| Roe | 4/5 | 13 | Sterling | 3/5 | 12 |
| Jennifer | 2/5 | 15 | Steve | 3/5 | 15 |
| Katie | 4/5 | 19 | Bryant | 4/5 | 19 |
| Janai | 1/5 | 20 | Aaron | 1/5 | 20 |
| Kalen | 4/5 | 24 | Santos | 3/5 | 23 |
| Results | 24-23 | ||||
Reward[]
The women were rewarded with dinner at the Hotel Bel-Air cooked by Ramsay’s friend Wolfgang Puck, which La Tasha was extremely happy about. Before their reward, Denine asked the men if they could fluff up her pillows. When the women got to the restaurant, Ashley called it the most beautiful place she ever saw, as well as a dream. After Roe said that things could not get better, the women were greeted by Puck himself, who congratulated them for their victory, and Janai managed to hug him after asking him.
Punishment[]
The men were punished by setting up the dorms from the newly renovated Hell’s Kitchen for both teams, as well as carrying the women's luggage to the dorms. Then, Fernando knew that his wife would bug him for setting up the beds there, but not back home. When they arrived at Hell’s Kitchen, Sous Chef James showed them the boxes they had to carry and where to place them in the dorms. During the punishment, Bryant powered through carrying a mattress by himself as he wanted to get their punishment done quickly. However, JR was getting tired and claimed that he has not sweated that much since 2006, before deciding to go upstairs and take a break. However, Bryant was not happy about JR's decision as he was working his ass off, and Santos was not happy as well, before telling JR to get back to work. However, JR said that he did not come to Hell’s Kitchen to make beds, but to cook and live the good life.
Before service[]
When the women came back from their reward and saw the men carrying their belongings to the dorms, Katie told them to get used to it as the women were here to stay, and Jennifer mockingly asked for a pillow fluffer. Then, they stayed up studying the menu. After the men carried the women’s luggage, they were exhausted and went straight to bed.
The next day, all the chefs began prepping for the opening service, and Sous Chef Andi gave them brand new J.K Henkel knife kits for them to use in the competition. The women moved through prep easily as Roe wanted to keep their momentum going after winning the challenge. In the blue kitchen, Santos gathered the men for a pep talk as he did not want to see any of them go home.
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay reminded that opening nights were always challenging, before telling them that the main key to success was communication. After, Ramsay asked his new Maître D’ Marino if he was ready, and when Marino answered he was, Ramsay asked him to open Hell’s Kitchen for the thirteenth time.
Dinner service[]
Greg Grunberg, Scott Grimes, Paul Feig, Bob Guiney, and Eve La Roe were in attendance, and a tableside appetizer of prawn scampi was served by Denine and Sterling. Marino was late getting the first tickets to Ramsay, and Ramsay asked him if he was suffering from jet lag. The men got their first ticket, and while Aaron admitted that he has not made a risotto since culinary school as his French restaurant did not make them, he was confident in his abilities as a chef. However, Aaron did not communicate with JP and JR about the time, and JR was forced to send up his scallops, much to Aaron’s annoyance as he was not ready yet. When Aaron sent his risotto, it was under seasoned, and Ramsay reminded Aaron to season his dishes. In the red kitchen, Ramsay reminded La Tasha to cook and taste her risotto, and she was hoping to rebound after scoring only one point at the previous challenge. Her first risotto was deemed perfect, and the red team was off to a strong start on appetizers. In the blue kitchen, the men were still on their first ticket as Aaron was getting his new risotto done. Fernando sent it to the pass, but it was deemed overcooked, and an angry Ramsay compared the blue team to kindergartners, before forcing them to restart their ticket. As the men worked again, Ramsay reminded them that the only one that served food was Sterling as he was forced to serve his tableside dishes to incomplete tables. In the red kitchen, the women continued their great momentum as food was going to the dining room. Janai was working on her last order of scallops to finish the appetizers but sent up eight scallops instead of the ten needed. After a quick math lesson by Ramsay, which Sade found funny, Janai sent her missing scallops, and the women began working on entrées as Roe took the lead. In the blue kitchen, Fernando took the leadership role for the men and communicated with JR and JP. Fernando sent his risotto, but Ramsay kept pestering JR for the scallops, much to the latter’s annoyance, who asked if Ramsay wanted raw scallops. When JR sent the scallops, they were indeed raw as a dismayed Santos said that their snowball was getting bigger. Then, Ramsay revealed that the lobster tail JP sent was raw as well, before calling JP just pathetic and JR just ridiculous, as Santos accused both of them of sabotaging. Despite that, the men were finally able to rebound, and sent their first table, though Ramsay said that it took 53 minutes to do so and ordered them to get it together.
One hour into service, the women were getting entrées out at a blistering pace, and Ashley said that things were looking pretty good for them. In the blue kitchen, the men were doing their best to catch up and Ramsay decided to begin cooking entrées. However, JR and JP were confused on what to do, and an annoyed Steve told Bryant to go over and help them. However, JR rejected Bryant’s help, and Bryant said that JR was out of his mind. As the pressure to send the halibut from Steve and Ramsay peaked, JP decided to bring the halibut, even though he felt it was not good enough. Indeed, the halibut was raw, and Frank called it nuts how much things were messed up for them. After yelling how the raw halibut was an example of the disastrous performance by the fish station, Ramsay kicked JP and JR out of the kitchen, and relocated Fernando to the fish station. After, Ramsay warned the men that he could not take one more mistake and urged them to get it together. Despite Sterling believing that they could still pull through, Fernando sent up raw halibut, and an angry Ramsay kicked the rest of the team out as well. Back in the dorms, Steve angrily yelled that four of them screwed the team up. In the red kitchen, the women got their last ticket, and finished one of the strongest opening performances of the show’s history. After, Ramsay named the women clear winners, and Denine was extremely happy about it.
Post-mortem[]
After service, Sous Chef James came to the dorms, and told the men that Ramsay wanted to see them, which Santos knew was not a good sign. However, Ramsay stopped them while they were going downstairs and, after calling their performance a disaster, named them clear losers for their lack of communication, before asking them to nominate two people for elimination.
While JP knew that he got kicked out of the kitchen, he felt that there were others that performed as bad as he did, and nominated Aaron and Fernando for their mistakes, which Frank agreed with. Then, Sterling nominated JP and Aaron, Aaron nominated JP and JR, and Steve nominated JR and Aaron. However, JR said that he got his dishes out in time and believed that Aaron and Fernando’s slow performance on appetizers were the reason why they lost. However, Bryant yelled that he offered to help JR, but he shoved him away even though he sucked. Sterling calmed everybody down, and asked who the nominees were, as Santos reminded that there was $250,000 on the line.
Elimination[]
Bryant announced Aaron as the first nominee for causing their slow start, and JP as the second. Both of them were called down, Ramsay reminded Aaron about his poor performance and how he let go of the reins, and Aaron promised not to let that happen again. Then, Ramsay asked JP if he knew how to cook fish, and JP answered that he did. After, Ramsay told the men that while they named the right people, he was struggling to decide who to send home as he felt both should go. During their pleas, Aaron said that he was passionate despite being thrown into the weeds, while JP blamed Aaron for causing the men to lose. However, Aaron reminded that he, at least, owned up to his mistakes while JP did not, though JP said that he did. After Ramsay told Aaron to wake up and get back in line, he eliminated JP for his poor performance on fish, and not taking responsibility for it. During his exit interview, JP still blamed Aaron for the men's loss, while deeming himself as a strong cook.
After JP left, Ramsay told the men to redeem themselves, while telling the women that he hoped their perfect service was not a fluke, before dismissing everybody. While Aaron was relieved to have survived elimination, he knew that he had to step up, or else he would go home. La Tasha said that she hoped the men learned their lesson as the red team would continue to lead the way.
Ramsay's comment: "Everyone in Hell's Kitchen starts at the bottom. Unfortunately, JP stayed there."
Trivia[]
- This episode debuts the new scoring system for the Signature Dish Challenge.
- This episode marks Marino's debut as the new Maître D' of Hell's Kitchen. It also marks the first time in the show's history where none of the original staff members, barring Ramsay, appeared in an episode.