The eleventh episode of Season 13 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX, on November 26, 2014. On that episode, the annual Blind Taste Test and a private dinner service took place, and an early front runner was sent home.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, a pissed La Tasha called Aaron’s decision to quit disrespectful, with Roe and Sade agreeing with her. However, La Tasha admitted that after listening to Aaron’s hot air blather on, it made her realize how much more she wanted the prize, she said that both teams were equal with four each, and believed that Aaron was not the only weak chef on the blue team.
Meanwhile, Santos said that the blue team had to work together, and told Sade that the three strongest chefs on the blue team were the three remaining men. Fernando knew that the next challenge could be the Blind Taste Test, and believed that they could take the red team down.
Team challenge[]
The next day, La Tasha received a call from Sous Chef James, who told her to tell the other chefs to go outside. When they got there, they saw a large tarp covering something which Jennifer could not identify. Ramsay explained there was nothing more important to a professional chef than the palate, before announcing the annual Blind Taste Test was the next challenge, which confirmed Fernando’s belief. However, Ramsay revealed that for the first time ever, the chef’s performance would not just affect the score, but their teammates as well, and Sous Chefs Andi and Sous Chef James revealed two dunk tanks, which petrified La Tasha as she was only beginning to swim. If a chef would get two answers correct, their teammate would stay dry, but after the third wrong answer, their teammate would get wet.
La Tasha and Bryant seated in the dunk tank for the first round, which was between Roe and Santos. Of their four ingredients, Santos got all four wrong, resulting in Bryant getting dunked twice, while Roe only got prosciutto, resulting in La Tasha getting dunked once, making the score 1-0 for the red team. On the second round, while Sterling scored two points by getting mascarpone cheese and peanuts correctly, Fernando did not score any point, resulting in Santos getting dunked twice, and the red team led 3-0. Sade only scored one point by identifying shitake mushrooms, resulting in Fernando getting dunked once, while Jennifer did not score any point, resulting in Sterling getting dunked twice, and the red team led 3-1. On the last round, La Tasha and Bryant competed, and while both got potato, Bryant got bell pepper and mozzarella, while La Tasha did not get the rest, resulting in Jennifer getting dunked once, and the score was tied at 4. To break the tie, Ramsay announced that they were in sudden death, and asked both teams to pick one chef to compete. Bryant was chosen for the blue team, and while Sterling volunteered for the red team, La Tasha wanted Roe to go instead as she trusted her palate more. Bryant did not identified fennel, but Roe did, and the red team won the challenge.
Scoring[]
| Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
| Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roe | 1/4 | 1 | Santos | 0/4 | 0 |
| Sterling | 2/4 | 3 | Fernando | 0/4 | 0 |
| Jennifer | 0/4 | 3 | Sade | 1/4 | 1 |
| La Tasha | 1/4 | 4 | Bryant | 3/4 | 4 |
| Roe | 1/1 | 5 | Bryant | 0/1 | 4 |
| Results | 5-4 | ||||
Reward[]
The red team was rewarded with a day at the Santa Monica Pier, and a lunch at The Lobster. Roe was happy as it was the red team’s fourth win in a row, and that they were killing the blue team. At the Pier, they played some games, and rode on the rides, even though Jennifer did not want to be on the roller coaster. At The Lobster, Sterling loved both the view and lunch, and said that he was living ghetto fabulous.
Punishment[]
The blue team was punished by cleaning the dorms. During the punishment, Santos and Sade noticed that it was her seventh punishment in a row, and she claimed to be three shades lighter than she arrived due to being stuck in Hell’s Kitchen for so long. Later, Santos got annoyed with his teammates telling him how to clean the floors, when he felt they were not on their hands and knees with him.
Before service[]
When the red team came back from their reward, Sterling received a call from Ramsay, who told everybody to head to his office immediately. Arrived there, Ramsay revealed that for their next service, they would be hosting a private VIP service for firefighters, some of which had received the Directors Award. After a quick change, the red team went to the kitchen to prep, as La Tasha wanted to see a blue chef be eliminated. Meanwhile, Sade knew that there was a sense of urgency.
When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay told them that service would test them on their leadership skills, each kitchen would be serving a twelve top table who would receive a five-course meal, with each of them responsible for a course. After urging them to make sure they served the courses together, Ramsay opened Hell’s Kitchen. When the two tables were seated, he welcomed them, and service began.
Dinner service[]
Fernando and Roe were in charge of the scallop risotto course, and Ramsay gave seven minutes to the window. He noticed that the red team’s scallops were already seasoned, and while Roe said that she was trying to get ahead, Ramsay told her that it would make them dry, so she cleaned them off. Fernando and Roe were sent to the dining room to describe the course, and after, the red team was ready to plate their dishes, but the blue team were behind. When they did start to plate, Sade announced that they did not have enough portions for each plate, Fernando said that they were two plates short, and Ramsay lectured the blue team that he was not going to send ten risottos as they had to be sent altogether. Sade got annoyed at Fernando as he was an executive chef, and should have known better than that. In the red kitchen, they noticed that they were two plates short as well, and Jennifer called Roe a fucking idiot for not knowing how to count to twelve. Despite that, both teams were able to send all their risottos to their respective tables.
Jennifer and Santos were in charge of the seared tuna course, but Santos told Bryant to do most of the work, making the latter feel that he was doing the dish himself. In the red kitchen, Jennifer wanted to show Ramsay that she could be a leader, and everybody but Sterling was working, until Jennifer told him to check on the potatoes and the rest of the course. While Jennifer described her course to the point, Santos dragged on about the course until Ramsay pulled him back in the kitchen. Despite Santos’ slow performance, the blue team got their plates ready, and Ramsay was forced to send their dishes before the red team were ready, though Jennifer sent her dishes moments later.
Sade and Sterling were in charge of the pan-seared salmon, though La Tasha was skeptical about the latter's performance as a leader. Then, Ramsay told Sterling and Sade to describe their course, but Sterling accidentally spat food onto Ramsay’s cheek. Jennifer felt that they were more in control of Sterling’s course than himself due to being scattered brained. In the blue kitchen, Ramsay told Sade that the salmon was overcooked as she left it in the pan for too long, and Santos felt that they fucked the course up. Fortunately, Sous Chef James revealed that they had more salmon in the back, though Bryant felt that Sade got lucky. Despite that, both teams were able to send the salmon to the tables.
The last entrée course was the New York steak, and while Bryant knew that he could lead the blue team, La Tasha warned her teammates not to fuck up her course. Bryant gave directions to his teammates, but Santos was not paying attention, much to his annoyance. Then, Santos was shredding the steak instead of slicing it, and Bryant compared it to a 10-year old having a play knife. So, Bryant sliced the beef, and both teams were able to send their dishes together.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay said that while the firemen and guests left happy, he was not as both teams fell short of his expectations. So, both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate two people each.
During deliberation, La Tasha considered Sterling, though he argued that he was a fighter. For their second nominee, Jennifer boasted that she was doing well in the challenges, but Roe reminded her that she failed to score any points during the last one. La Tasha considered Roe, but while she felt La Tasha was threatened by her, and that she was doing well in services, La Tasha reminded Roe that she got kicked out of an earlier one. On the blue side, Fernando said that he did not feel the full support from his teammates on his course, but Sade felt that he was trying to cover his own ass as he did poorly in both the service and the challenge. Santos thought that his course went fine, but Bryant felt that he took far too long in the dining room, and did not even cook anything, with Fernando and Sade stating that Santos’ leadership went poorly as they were lost. However, Santos felt that he did not deserve to be nominated, and stated that if he would survive, he would come back stronger. Then, Santos considered Sade for burning the initial salmon, with Fernando saying that it would have been disastrous in a restaurant setting, but while she claimed that she figured out a solution, Fernando reminded her that it was Sous Chef James who solved the problem.
Elimination[]
Jennifer announced Roe as the red team's first nominee, and Sterling as the second, while Bryant announced Fernando as the blue team's first nominee, and Santos as the second. During their pleas, Santos said that he had more passion than his teammates, Fernando claimed to have been more consistent than his teammates, and while he argued that they were threatened by him, Sade and Bryant retorted that they were not. Roe said that she had more leadership on the red team, while Sterling said that he could lead by example and not yell at everybody. In the end, Fernando was eliminated for his weak leadership in service, but before he left, Ramsay told him that while he was plating food like a proper chef, he was not feeling that he could lead just yet. During his exit interview, he called it was surreal that people that haven’t shown as much potential as him we’re still there, that Bryant has a rollercoaster of emotions going on in his head, Santos could not make the right judgement, and believed that he had more cooking technique and passion than anyone there.
After Fernando left, Ramsay told the remaining chefs that their own personal creativity would be tested the next day, before dismissing them. Sterling said that despite being nominated numerous times, he felt that he only had to prove to Ramsay what he had, while Santos warned Bryant that he better watch out.
Ramsay's comment: "Fernando's cooking was adequate, but his leadership was lacking. Being my next head chef requires both."
Trivia[]
- This episode marks the second time that a fourth consecutive male contestant was eliminated, following Season 2.
- Fernando's elimination set a record for the most consecutive male contestants eliminated, with four, beating the previous record of three. The record would later further be extended to six two episodes later.
- From this episode forward, the Blind Taste Test now features a punishment booth for the guesser's teammates.
- This marks the first time the Blind Taste Test ended as a tie.