The seventh episode of Season 15 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on Fox, on February 24, 2016. In that episode, Ramsay hosted a wedding for one of his staff members, a fierce rivalry began, one chef injured themselves, and an early front-runner was sent home.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Jackie was relieved to be still in the competition and felt she could go home if she were nominated again. Later that night, the chefs decided to unwind on the patio with drinks, but Ariel fell trying to get to the bathroom due to drinking too much. Then, when Ariel was running to the bathroom, she tripped and possibly broke her ankle and felt that her leg was swelling up. Soon, the medic came by to do a checkup, gave his prognosis that Ariel pulled a tendon, and recommended that she stay off her foot for six weeks. That dismayed Ariel as she did not want to leave the competition and decided to go to bed, hoping that it would get better the next day.
Team Challenge[]
The next day, the chefs came downstairs to find the dining room decorated for a wedding, and Ashley hoped it would be a gay wedding like Neil Patrick Harris had. Then, Ramsay explained that while he rarely closed Hell’s Kitchen for a private wedding reception, he wanted the bride and groom to have their wedding there before urging the chefs to make it perfect as the bride was somebody important to him. Ramsay revealed Andi and her husband Bryce as the guests of honor, and Kristin was excited as she finally got to see the former in the competition, citing Andi as a beast in the kitchen. For the Chef Andi Wedding Planning Challenge, each team would create a sample menu that contained two seafood appetizers, two chicken entrées, and two beef entrées. To give the chefs some ideas, Andi and Bryce listed off what they would like for the reception, making the dishes elegant and plentiful. After Ramsay announced what the reward was, an overnight trip to Las Vegas.
The chefs had 45 minutes to cook their dish, and because the blue team was down a member, Joe decided to do both a seafood appetizer dish and a chicken entrée dish. While most of the chefs had a clear idea of what they were making, Manda was unsure of what to make herself. However, Jared gave her some ideas to work with, even though he did not have time for it. Frank believed that Manda did not have a lot of experience and decided to make a beef dish in secret. In the red kitchen, Jackie asked her teammates if she should leave the chicken leg whole, but when Ramsay said he did not want a bone at the reception, she reluctantly decided to switch over to chicken breast. Eventually, both teams cooked their dishes and plated them on time. However, Joe and Ramsay noticed the extra beef dish in the blue pass, and Frank revealed that he was responsible for the extra dish. After Ramsay called it embarrassing, Frank announced they were keeping his steak Diane dish and dropping Manda’s ribeye dish, leading the latter to ask if he had a problem with her or females in general.
The seafood appetizer round was up first as Ariel, Kristin, Joe, and Chad presented their dish. However, Andi and Bryce would only be choosing one of them to be featured on the menu the following night. Ariel’s grilled squid stuffed with lobster claw was criticized for looking phallic. Ramsay compared it to a bison’s penis and found the squid being raw and chewy. Then, Kristin’s shrimp tempura with leek purée was praised for being nice and light and having perfectly cooked shrimp, while Chad’s handmade pasta and prawns were praised for having plentiful pasta and tasting good. Finally, Joe’s seafood chowder was praised for tasting good and coming together. After much thinking, Andi and Bryce went with Chad’s dish, and the blue team led 1-0. The beef entrée round was up next, and Hassan presented his porcini crusted ribeye and Yukon gold purée with caviar on top. While Bryce criticized the presentation for being lackluster, Andi criticized the weird aspect of the caviar on top of the purée. Then, Dannie’s filet with Romanesco was praised for being great and elegant, while Jared’s Asian-inspired veal chop was deemed disappointing by Andi as she felt it needed a lot more salt and pepper. After, Frank’s steak Diane was criticized for having too much sauce, and Ramsay compared the presentation to a Marine’s boot stepping over it. With no further discussion, Dannie’s dish was easily deemed the best, the score was a 1-point tie, and Manda was more disappointed that she did not get her teammates to listen to her. Finally, the chicken entrée round was up next, and Jackie presented her pan-seared chicken breast with balsamic reduction. It was criticized for looking 1980’s, the reduction’s presentation looked like a dessert aspect, and the sauce was compared to cement. Then, Frank’s chicken Francaise was criticized for lacking any flavor. Andi compared it to hospital food, and Jared was disappointed that Frank made two disappointing dishes. Afterwards, Ashley’s pan-fried chicken breast on top of roasted cauliflower was deemed nice and not at all heavy as the presentation looked like, and Joe’s stuffed chicken breast over pancetta Brussel sprouts was deemed well-seasoned and well balanced. In the end, Andi picked Joe's dish as the best, the blue team won the challenge 2-1, and Joe felt awesome.
Scoring[]
| Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
| Dish | Score | Total | Dish | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seafood Appetizer | 0 0 |
0 0 |
Seafood Appetizer | 1 0 |
1 1 |
| Beef Entrée | 0 1 |
0 1 |
Beef Entrée | 0 0 |
1 1 |
| Chicken Entrée | 0 0 |
1 1 |
Chicken Entrée | 0 1 |
1 2 |
| Results | 2-1 | ||||
Reward[]
As promised, the blue team won an overnight trip to Las Vegas, which included a zip line experience, even though Joe feared heights and a stay at Caesars Palace presidential suite. While Manda was glad that the blue team won, she was still pissed at Frank for pushing her dish off. However, Frank argued that if Manda wanted his attention, she should scream say his name, though Manda refused to do it as it would make her look crazy.
During the reward, Chad noted that the rewards were getting bigger. At Las Vegas, Manda was stoked as she never did zip lining before. While most of the blue team loved it, Joe was scared until he saw the phenomenal view of the city and was glad that he did not chicken out. Later that night, the blue team went into their presidential suite at Caesars Palace, Jared called it out of control unbelievable, and Manda remarked that she would have never received that treatment as she was a single mother of three on food stamps before they relaxed by the pool.
Punishment[]
The red team was punished by helping the wedding planner Kristin Banta with the finishing touches for the following night’s service and make macaroons. While Kristin stated that she wanted to go to Vegas, she did not want to be with her teammates there. During the punishment, Banta gave them the task of polishing the wine glasses, and Hassan was smitten by her appearance, comparing her to an angel wrapped in an angel and stuffed in an angel. Then, he said that he would love to be Banta’s pool boy and do everything for her, but Jackie called Hassan a creep. On break for lunch, Ariel complained that her foot was killing her. While the medic suggested that she get an x-ray, Jackie got concerned as a broken foot would mean being in a cast, and would mean Ariel’s time in the competition was over. Despite that fear, Ariel wanted to know what was going on with her foot, and Hassan carried her to the taxi so she could go to the hospital.
Later that night, the red team made macaroons, but Jackie was dismayed that they were on their 43rd batch out of 200. Then, Ariel came back with a boot cast and crutches but said that she did not need crutches to cook and revealed that she broke her fifth metatarsal. While Kristin admitted that she did not like Ariel, she knew that the latter was a strong cook and was worried that Ariel would become a big handicap for the red team.
Before service[]
The next day, both teams began prepping for service, but Jared admitted that he was nervous as it was Andi’s wedding and called it a big deal despite Chad trying to calm him down. When Ramsay came into the kitchen, he noticed Ariel’s boot cast. After telling him about her situation, Ramsay warned Ariel to be careful.
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay reminded them that he wanted Andi and Bryce’s evening to be flawless. After, Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen for the wedding reception.
Dinner Service[]
Besides the challenge-winning dishes on the menu, the main table would be shared by both teams, with everything going out at the same time. After Marino introduced Andi and Bryce to the guest, Joe remarked how stunning she looked and felt that Bryce was a lucky man. However, Hassan still had his eyes on Banta. While Ashley noticed that Jackie burned the garlic for the risotto, the latter decided to keep cooking it. However, Sous Chef Christina forced her to refire, much to Jackie’s annoyance. When Jackie did send up her risotto, it was missing a half portion for two, and a dismayed Kristin said she did not want Jackie to ruin it for them again. While the patrons in the dining room were distracted, in the blue kitchen, Joe knew how much Andi was to the Hell’s Kitchen family and knew that the pressure was high. Then, Ramsay caught Chad picking out the scallops from the pan despite reminding him that they had to be slid off at once. Not only was Joe’s risotto missing herbs, but Chad’s scallops were also overcooked. After forcing the blue team to feel them, Chad was disappointed and hoped to bounce back. Fortunately, Chad and Joe’s refires were accepted, and both teams were pushing out appetizers.
Forty-five minutes into service, Ramsay found out that Dannie was not using a nonstick pan for the scallops. While Dannie claimed she could not find any, they were in front of her face as an annoyed Hassan dropped one on her flat top. Dannie’s scallops were stuck to the pan, and Jackie stated they should have called 911 on Dannie for violating the scallops. After, a fed-up Ramsay decided to cook the scallops himself, and an annoyed Kristin commented that Dannie did not know how to ask for help. Despite that, both teams served Andi and Bryce’s table and finished the last order of appetizers. Ramsay called both Hassan and Jared forward to the pass, commented on the terrible start from both teams, and said he wanted five minutes for the main table’s entrées. Both teams worked hard on getting the entrées ready, with Hassan and Jared communicating on times. Still, Ariel felt Hassan was running like a headless chicken than cooking the actual chicken. Jared brought up his chicken in the blue kitchen, but despite praying it was acceptable, it was pink. Jared feared he could be going home that night and that everybody would remember it for the rest of their lives. In the red kitchen, Hassan himself served pink chicken, and a very pissed Ramsay warned the red team that if they made one more mistake, he would be kicking them out of service as Marino tried to keep Banta calm over their situation. In the blue kitchen, Jared made sure that he did not make the same mistake again. The refire was accepted, and Ramsay was forced to send the blue team’s entrées out before the red team was ready. Back at the dining room, some of the diners had to share their entrées with Andi’s mother due to the slow pace of both teams.
Hassan sent up his chicken refire one hour into service, but it was raw again, and a pissed Ariel asked why he could not produce it. Then, a furious Ramsay brought the red team to the pantry room and threw the chicken to the ground. Hassan took the blame and revealed that he had more ready. Deciding to have the red team cook more chicken to be on the safe side, Ariel admitted that she had no idea what happened to Hassan, and the third attempt was accepted. In the blue kitchen, the blue team were working on their final ticket, but Chad sent up raw salmon, Ramsay asked how he could be struggling on the easiest entrée, and Jared was pissed as Chad worked in Michelin star restaurants before. Despite that, Chad’s refire was accepted, and both teams completed service, ending Andi and Bryce’s night on a high note.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay reminded them that it was a wedding service for a loyal friend, and he could not even look Andi in the eyes due to being very embarrassed over what happened that night. Both teams were named joint-losers and were asked to nominate two each.
During deliberation, Kristin was upset as it should have been a seamless service and immediately considered Dannie and Hassan for elimination, to which Jackie agreed. However, Dannie did not like that decision, declared that she would not be going home ever in the competition, and considered Hassan due to struggling in the past few services. However, while Hassan acknowledged that he did poorly that night, he felt that he was making the red team better, and going home would tear them apart. While the red team easily agreed on Dannie and Hassan as their nominees, the former argued that she was not going home.
On the blue side, Jared considered Chad for obvious reasons, but Chad remarked that Jared was not perfect either and felt the latter’s raw chicken made him weak before announcing Jared and Joe as his nominees. That made Joe think that he was the default of the blue team’s nominees. Still, while Jared reminded Joe that he was not ready for appetizers, Frank reminded Jared about the raw chicken. However, Jared felt that he finished strong and remarked that it would be a cold day in hell if he were ever nominated.
Elimination[]
Kristin announced Hassan as the red team’s first nominee, with Dannie as their second, and Joe announced Chad as the blue team’s first nominee, with Jared as their second. During their pleas, Hassan said that the competition meant everything to him, and despite acknowledging his rough night, he believed that the red team would be worse without him and that he was better than Dannie. However, Dannie retorted that Hassan was dreaming, she was the strongest chef on the red team and was trying everything for her team. Then, Chad said that he brought a level of skillsets to the kitchen, but Ramsay reminded him that he had to cook as well. After, Jared believed that he was a strong cook and leader and took cooking more seriously than anybody else. In the end, Hassan was eliminated for his poor performance on meat, declining performances since being on the red team, and having his worst night ever. During his plea, Hassan still felt that he was a strong chef and believed that the red team would go back to yelling and screaming at each other.
After Hassan left, Ramsay called that night one of the roughest services they have had so far and urged the chefs to fight back with passion quickly. When being dismissed, Dannie believed that the red team wanted to get rid of her for being a threat but declared that she was not going anywhere. Then, Kristin called Dannie crazy for thinking she was the strongest chef due to the scallop incident. At the same time, Jared felt that he had everything to be the head chef at BLT Steak and wanted to show Ramsay what he had.
Ramsay's comment: "I thought a move on the red team would give Hassan a chance to shine. Unfortunately, it only shined a light on his shortcomings."
Trivia[]
- This marks the second time both teams were named joint losers in three consecutive services, following Season 12.