The ninth episode of Season 13 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX, on October 15, 2014. On that episode, a sudden injury forced a chef to leave the competition, another single handily sunk their team at dinner service, and Ramsay made an unprecedented move before elimination.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Sterling said that he knew he would not be eliminated, while Roe admitted that she was happy that nobody got eliminated as they all worked well. Frank, feeling grateful to have survived once again, decided to write Ramsay a small letter showing his appreciation.
Team challenge[]
The next day, the chefs went downstairs, and Ramsay announced the reward before the challenge. The winning team would spend an overnight trip to Las Vegas, exciting everybody, and Sade said that she wanted to win because she already lost four challenges in a row. After, Ramsay introduced the Craps Challenge, feeling that no other challenge were representing Las Vegas more, though Steve said that he was missing his bourbon. Because the red team was one member down, one of them would have to roll twice.
The blue team went first as they won the last service, and Aaron said there was no way they could fuck up. Sade rolled a C, and while Bryant wanted her to get chicken, she picked cauliflower. Jennifer rolled a P and chose potatoes, Fernando rolled a C and chose Chilean sea bass, Roe rolled a D and chose duck, and Bryant rolled an L and chose leeks. La Tasha rolled an L as well, but because leeks were already chosen, she picked lime, which Sade mocked. Santos rolled an M and chose mache, Sterling rolled an L and chose lemons, much to Jennifer’s dismay. Aaron rolled a D and picked daikons, and Frank rolled an H and chose heirloom tomatoes, which did not make Jennifer happy as they already had two acidic ingredients. Steve rolled a T and chose tomatoes, and on his second attempt, Frank rolled a P and picked pine nuts, with a concerned La Tasha hoping that the red team had their creative juices flowing.
Each chef had 30 minutes to create their own dishes using the selected ingredients. Steve was confident as the blue team’s ingredients worked well together, while the red team struggled to figure what to make out of their ingredients, with Frank blanking on what his original idea was. In the blue kitchen, Sade was seen hoarding a lot of the ingredients for her dish, as she wanted to redeem herself after the last challenge, even if it meant her dish was better than the men’s. Eventually, both team’s got their dishes cooked and plated in time.
Ramsay revealed he would only be judging one dish from both teams, and asked them to name one hero dish that would represent them. The blue team tasted each other’s dishes, but none of them tasted Sade’s dish, much to her frustration. In the end, the blue team chose Bryant’s dish, while the red team chose La Tasha’s dish. La Tasha presented her pan-seared duck breast with a citrus roasted heirloom tomatoes chutney, scalloped potatoes seared in duck fat, and a toasted pine nut pesto. Not only did Ramsay praise the dish for having a beautifully cooked duck, but was also amazed that she was able to use the red team’s dysfunctional ingredients well together. After, Bryant presented his Chilean sea bass with cauliflower purée, melted leeks, sweet tomato jam, and tossed mache in olive oil. Ramsay praised the dish for having a beautiful presentation and a moist sea bass. After a tough decision, Ramsay named La Tasha’s dish the best, and the red team won the challenge. But while the red team celebrated, Bryant called Ramsay’s decision bullshit, and stood by his dish being better than La Tasha’s.
Reward[]
In addition to the aforementioned Las Vegas trip, the red team was also rewarded with a flight in a private jet, and stayed in a mega-suite at the Planet Hollywood Hotel, with Jennifer exclaiming that she fucking loved Ramsay. Before heading back to the dorms to pack, Frank gave Ramsay his letter with a handshake, though Aaron thought it was a love letter, and Sterling told Ramsay that he loved him.
Sterling was excited to fly in a private jet to Las Vegas, and the red team toasted their victory on the plane. Arrived there, they went to the hotel pool to relax, with Frank flirting with the bartender, much to the women’s amusement. Later, they ate dinner at Ramsay’s BurGR.
Punishment[]
Ramsay told Bryant that while it was a tough decision, it was his unseasoned daikons that costed the victory. Despite Bryant arguing that he wanted to keep the original texture, Ramsay reminded him that he had to season them no matter what. Then, Ramsay said that Sade’s dish was the most eye-catching one, and asked her to show it to him. Sade’s Chilean sea bass with tomatoes leek sauce was praised for its beautiful presentation, tasting better than Bryant’s dish, and even expressed surprise that her dish was not chosen, before asking the blue team to taste it. While Bryant arrogantly said that it tasted salty, Sade retorted that it was at least better than his own dish.
The blue team was punished by taking part in Double Delivery Day, including taking orders of ice, wine, and a 650 pounds halibut, with Ramsay warning them not to overexert themselves as it would be a long day. During the punishment, Santos said that delivery day sucked, and later, Sade openly complained that it was her fifth straight punishment, which Bryant mocked to Santos, and called her a sore loser. Back in the dorms, Sade confronted the men for ignoring her dish, and while Bryant responded that she should have fought back, she retorted that she did, before reminding him how his dish cost them the challenge. That led to an argument where Sade called Bryant a fucking idiot, but Steve calmed them down, reminded that it was what it was, and suggested that they focus their attention on the next service. However, Sade felt that she was not part of the blue team, and was only focused on making it to the black jackets, and eventually winning the competition. After, they went back to work and carried the halibut into the dining room. At 3:29 AM, they had to do one more delivery, and Steve complained that his body was sore after all the heavy lifting, especially his knee.
Steve's exit[]
The next day, Steve was still sore, and told Bryant that he could not straighten his right leg. While Bryant was concerned about Steve’s condition, he hoped that he would recover quickly for the next service. The medic decided to send Steve to the hospital for x-rays, and Steve swore that he would not go out on a bad knee.
As the blue team began prepping for service, the red team came back from their reward. As both teams were prepping, Bryant wondered what would happen to Steve, with Aaron confident that he would come back. Before Ramsay gathered the teams for briefing, Sous Chef James informed him about Steve’s condition, and told him that he was on the patio. When Ramsay came to a leg-braced Steve, the latter explained that his leg would not straighten, his knee was swollen, and had shooting pain. While Ramsay was disappointed to hear that, he reminded Steve that the competition would get tougher, with a lot of running around, and told he was not comfortable letting him continue with only one proper leg. While Steve was upset that he was forced to leave, Ramsay praised him for being strong in the blue kitchen, having a lot of great accomplishments, and even hinted at a possibility of him coming back in an eventual season. As Ramsay went back to the kitchen, Steve swore that Ramsay did not see the last of him. Ramsay gave no comment on Steve's departure.
Before service[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay informed them that Steve would not be continuing in the competition, citing that his knee injury was too serious for him to stand on, and that he did not feel comfortable taking the risk as his health was more important than anything else. While the men from the blue team were down by that, Sade rudely said that it worked for her as there was one less person to compete against, although she told Steve to get well.
After, Ramsay hoped for both teams to ride off their strong previous service, and revealed that he would open the chefs table to some legendary figures from the music industry. The blue team would be serving Stewart Copeland from The Police, and the red kitchen would be serving Steven Tyler from Aerosmith. After asking both teams to rock service, Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
In addition to the aforementioned chefs table VIPs, Don Felder and Gena Lee North were in attendance, and a tableside order of steak Diane was served by Sterling and Fernando. Roe knew that she had to get the red team off to a strong start on appetizers, and she and Sterling were able to get their first order accepted. After, the VIPs arrived, sat in their respective kitchens, and while Roe called it amazing as she was a huge Aerosmith fan, Sade was more focused on winning service, and sending a red chef home. Santos got his risotto accepted, the blue kitchen sent food at a steady stream, and he said that he was in the zone after serving Copeland’s table. In the red kitchen, Ramsay urged the red team to continue their strong start, and Frank was confident as he has done fish for years. However, Frank did not drop his scallops in time after he sent his lobster tail, and when he sent them, they were overcooked, and Ramsay reminded him that someone was supposed to eat them, not play fucking tennis with them. Moments later, his lobster tail was overcooked, and Ramsay asked Frank if he left his brain in Las Vegas. Then, Ramsay brought the red team to the pantry room, berated them on how it was the thanks he got after their Las Vegas trip, and asked Frank what the fuck was going on. Even though Frank promised to bounce back, La Tasha was annoyed as he was sinking them. On their second attempt, the same story happened as Frank did not have the scallops dropped in time, and La Tasha decided to do the scallops. Her attempt was accepted, and appetizers were once again leaving the red kitchen. In the blue kitchen, the blue team began their entrées, and because of Aaron, Bryant, and Sade, they were sending food at a strong pace. Aaron said that they were fucking killing it, and added that they were doing it for Steve. In the red kitchen, it was Steven Tyler’s table next, and La Tasha supervised Frank to make sure the scallops were perfect. They were deemed perfect, and the red team was able to serve Tyler’s table.
Over an hour and a half into service, the red team began working on entrées, and Jennifer was hoping for a complete service. However, La Tasha noticed that Frank flipped his salmon, and reminded him that it had to be cooked skin down. While Jennifer’s Wellingtons were perfect, Frank’s salmon was cooked to fuck, and Ramsay was forced to send an incomplete order. Sterling accused Frank of drowning like hell, and a pissed Sous Chef Andi told Frank that he owed her a salmon as he fucking sucked. In the blue kitchen, the blue team approached the end, and Santos felt that they had it in the bag, before beginning their final ticket. Meanwhile, one of the red customers was waiting for her fish entrée, Marino apologized for the wait, and Ramsay informed the red team that while the blue team has already finished their service, they still had seven tickets left. La Tasha knew that they were struggling, but hoped for some teamwork and communication to work well. Their next table was Tyler’s table, but Jennifer noticed a bunch of overcooked salmon on Frank’s tray. After, Ramsay ordered Frank to show him the tray, and despite Frank claiming that he would not have served them, Ramsay was shocked at how he overcooked them. Then, Frank sent a raw halibut, Ramsay accused him of not caring, and La Tasha accused him of losing his mind. Finally fed up, Ramsay ordered the blue team, minus Fernando, to come and help the red team, and Frank felt like the biggest piece of garbage due to how he fucked his entire team. Because of the blue team’s help, the red team was finally able to serve all their tables.
Elimination[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay called that night an interesting one as, while the blue team continued to excel, the red team took a big step backwards, before deeming the blue team the winners by a mile. After, Ramsay reminded the red team how the blue team finished seven tickets ahead of them, and asked Frank what happened. Frank admitted that he tried to fight back, but knew that he fucked up his team because of his efforts, and apologized to everybody. After, Ramsay asked the red team to nominate two people for elimination based on everything that happened that far. While going back to the dorms, Sterling knew it would be a hard thing to do as, while Frank was an obvious nominee, nobody else struggled.
Moments later, Ramsay realized that it was not a fair decision, and called everybody back to the kitchen. Then, Ramsay explained that while Steve’s medical departure would normally count as the elimination of the night, he announced that it would not be the case that night, before eliminating Frank on-the-spot for his disastrous performance on fish, and being the reason they fell way behind. Before leaving, Ramsay told Frank that he appreciated the letter he wrote, but not his cooking. During his exit interview, Frank was still disgusted about his performance, but knew that he would always have the passion for cooking.
After Frank left, Ramsay warned the remaining chefs that elimination could happen at any time, and suggested that everybody would take that warning by being at their best, before dismissing them. Santos knew that with nine chefs left, he could smell the black jackets, while Jennifer was determined to take it all the way, and win it for her family.
Ramsay's comment: "Frank wrote me a letter of gratitude. And then, with his performance tonight, he wrote his ticket out of here. Ciao, Frank."
Frank received the coat hanging and burning picture sequence, but Steve did not.
Trivia[]
- Originally, this episode was billed to air on November 5, 2014. However, because FOX preempted the previous episode due to the live airing of Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, this episode was pushed back.
- This marks the second time Ramsay eliminated someone during the post-mortem since Episode 613 - 4 Chefs Compete.
- This is the second time since Season 7 where two chefs were eliminated unusually in one night, with Steve withdrawing due to health reasons and Frank being eliminated during post-mortem.
| Hell's Kitchen Season 13 Episodes |
|---|
| 18 Chefs Compete • 17 Chefs Compete • 16 Chefs Compete • 15 Chefs Compete • 14 Chefs Compete • 13 Chefs Compete • 12 Chefs Compete • 11 Chefs Compete Part 1 • 11 Chefs Compete Part 2 • 9 Chefs Compete • 8 Chefs Compete • 7 Chefs Compete • 6 Chefs Competee • 5 Chefs Compete • 4 Chefs Compete • Winner Chosen |