The thirteenth episode of Season 13 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX, on December 10, 2014. On that episode, the final six competed in their first black jacket challenge, and for the first time ever, they competed against their own Sous Chefs at dinner service.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Roe said that she earned her black jacket, while both Sade and La Tasha said that their black jackets felt better than any other they have worn. Later, La Tasha knew that they would be competing as individuals the next day, and that she would have to beat the best to become the best.
Individual challenge[]
The next day, Roe answered Sous Chef Andi's phone call, who ordered everybody to go outside to the SUVs. Nobody knew what was going on, with Jennifer asking where the fuck they were going. Later, the chefs arrive at a parking lot, with Bryant hoping that the challenge was not going to be avoiding a stabbing, and Ramsay explained that the reason he brought them there was that he wanted to show them an empty billboard in front of them, reserved for the winner of the next challenge. Then, Ramsay revealed that in addition, the winner would become the spokesperson of Omaha Steaks, which La Tasha felt was the prime exposure. For the Presentation Challenge, each of them would create their own steak dishes that not only tasted good but was also visually stunning.
Returning back to Hell's Kitchen, the chefs had 45 minutes to cook their steak dish. While Jennifer and La Tasha quickly grabbed their steak cuts, Roe was torn between ribeye and filet, so she decided to use both as a dinner for two. Bryant decided to go for a simpler flavor, while Sade decided to use a dry rub and picked cinnamon as her spice, and Santos used every spice to make his dish pop. With 10 minutes left, La Tasha did a high sear on her ribeye, but Roe felt that it was not a good choice for that cut. Eventually, the chefs finished cooking and plating their dishes.
Bruce and Todd Simon, from Omaha Steaks, were invited as guest judges, and Ramsay revealed that they would only be tasting the dishes that were the most eye-catching. After the chefs revealed their steaks, the judges announced that the top three were Roe, Santos, and Sade, much to Bryant’s disappointment, and Jennifer was angry as she could have won the challenge by taste alone. Roe’s ribeye and petit filet with Swiss chard was praised for having a perfectly cooked tenderloin, and smoky barbecue flavor, but criticized for having an overpowering seasoning on the ribeye. Sade’s dry rubbed New York striploin with cinnamon, cayenne, and African pepper was praised for being delicious, but criticized for the cinnamon flavoring as it overpowered the meat’s taste. Finally, Santos’ hickory smoked steak with dry rubbed mustard was praised for being fabulous and having a nicely cooked steak. After much discussion, Roe was declared the winner, and she was happy to have won a big reward.
Reward[]
In addition to the billboard and spokesperson reward, Roe was rewarded with a photo shoot featuring her challenge-winning dish, along with a $1000 shopping spree at Surface for kitchen supplies. While Sade congratulated Roe, she secretly wished that she got the photo shoot. At Surface, Sous Chef James came with her, and she was able to purchase a lot of equipment while remaining in the budget. Later, Roe met Marino, who revealed her billboard already being up in Los Angeles, much to her amazement.
Punishment[]
The remaining chefs were punished by cleaning both kitchens, taking deliveries of 200-pound beef shoulders, breaking it down, and portioning it. Santos felt that he should have won the challenge and was confused about how Roe won with a his and hers steak dish. During the punishment, La Tasha felt that they were rubbing in their loss after watching Roe get her makeover in the dining room. When taking the deliveries, Sous Chef Andi asked how many black jackets were needed to carry beef shoulders, and Santos compared them to Fred Flintstone-sized portions. While breaking the beef, Bryant decided not to help, but instead went to the red kitchen to prep for service, though Sous Chef Andi pulled him back to the blue kitchen, reminding him that it was not the time for that.
Before service[]
Roe came back from her reward and showed everybody the picture of her billboard, but Santos was not impressed. After, everybody began prepping for service, with Roe learning that her challenge-winning dish was going to be featured. Despite trying to explain how to cook it, nobody paid attention, and Jennifer called Roe a fucking cocky bitch.
When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay reminded them that it would be their first black jacket service and wanted them to be the dynamic team he hoped for. Then, Ramsay revealed there would be another team cooking in the red kitchen, and they would be going up against Sous Chefs Andi, James, and Ramsay himself, much to their surprise as Sade knew it would not be an easy night. After, Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Penn Jillette, Steve Blake, and the Omaha Steak brothers were in attendance. Sade told the chefs they could not let the Sous Chefs beat them, and they went to their respective stations. La Tasha sent a raw lobster tail but managed to bounce back as she refused to let the team down. In the red kitchen, Andi was fast and efficient in sending her appetizers, and she said it was fun showing the chefs how it was really done. In the blue kitchen, Bryant was pushing the team to pick up the pace as he refused to let La Tasha make another mistake. However, La Tasha served overcooked scallops which Santos considered a rookie mistake, and Ramsay revealed that Santos’ Caesar salads still had black shit on them due to being overseasoned with pepper. Then Ramsay chewed them out for making rookie mistakes, and reminded Santos he was supposed to be helping, not hurting. Then, Marino told Ramsay one table has gotten annoyed for waiting 20 minutes for their appetizers, Ramsay urged them to get organized, and the team managed to recover by sending appetizers again.
In the red kitchen, the Sous Chefs were beginning entrées, and James said he liked to move fast and furious, though was late on a chicken order. In the blue kitchen, Ramsay decided to fire two tables at once to speed up, and they managed to complete the appetizers. Moving onto entrées, the first ticket was Blake’s order, and Sade said that they needed to step it up and get it together. La Tasha’s halibut was praised for being beautiful, and Ramsay urged them to keep up the great momentum. In the red kitchen, James was caught plating his mashed potatoes even though Ramsay said that was his responsibility, but the Sous Chefs were near the end of service. In the blue kitchen, the chefs were in an all-out sprint to push their entrées, and Roe was prepping her steak special. While Santos warned Roe that her steak was undercooked, she served it anyway, even though Bryant said it felt under. However, Roe ignored Bryant and Jennifer's concerns and sliced it, only for Ramsay to berate her for that mistake, and said he thought she would have nailed her own dish. When Bryant came to help Roe, Ramsay asked what Santos was doing as he was running around doing nothing, and Bryant accused him of having a broken wing. Despite that, the steak special was served, but Roe yelled at Santos for trying to help her on meat, only to be slow herself. Then, Ramsay brought the black jackets to the front, berated Santos for running around like a blue ass fly, the latter called the meat station a shit show, and Roe complained about too many shit cooks crowding her station. Then, Ramsay urged them to complete their five remaining tables, which they did.
Post-mortem[]
When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay said that service was uneven as the Sous Chefs finished five tables ahead of them despite being three chefs in the red kitchen, while the six of them were not communicating, nor listening. Then, Bryant was named "Best of the Worst" for his strong performance and asked to nominate two people based on everything that happened so far.
Bryant realized that it could be his first major decision in front of his future boss and asked everybody to tell him what happened. La Tasha admitted that she had some of her dishes sent back but reminded that she bounced back. Then, Bryant reminded Santos about the overly peppered Caesar salads, but Santos argued that the meat station had more problems. While Roe tried to explain that she told Santos where everything was, Bryant reminded her that she should have owned her mistakes. Then, Santos said that he should have been told what to do as a floater, but while Sade pointed out that he was standing around, Santos felt that Roe was the weakest link, with Bryant asking her how she could not know how a steak was done by feeling it.
Elimination[]
Bryant announced Roe as his first nominee, and Santos as his second. During their pleas, Ramsay noticed that it was their second time nominated together in a row, Santos’ third time in a row, and Roe’s fifth time overall, before accusing her of having the billboard gone to her head. Roe said that she kept her composure and felt that if anybody other than Santos would have helped her on meat, it would have been better as the latter did not do what she told him. Ramsay asked Santos if it was true, but he said that it was not, and argued that he was the strongest on the team, but Ramsay reminded him that he did more talking than cooking. In the end, Santos was eliminated for being nominated three consecutive times, and not contributing a lot during that service. During his exit interview, Santos felt that Ramsay sent the wrong person home, claimed that he gave everything, and did not receive a retrospective montage of his run.
After Santos left, Ramsay told the chefs that there was not a lot of challenges left and urged them to bounce back. Roe was shocked that she survived her fifth nomination but felt that if Ramsay kept her for that long, she might be the eventual winner. However, Jennifer asked how many times Roe could survive, and wondered if she should take some drastic measures to get her out for good.
Ramsay's comment: "Santos dodged a bullet in the last two nominations, but tonight, there was nowhere to hide."
Trivia[]
- This episode marks the new record of male contestants eliminated consecutively, with six.
- This marks the first time since Season 11 where Ramsay named someone Best of the Worst.
- This marks the only time that the Sous Chefs have confessional interviews.