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The ninth episode of Season 15 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on Fox, on March 9, 2016. In that episode, bison meat was the main ingredient, a Cowboy Steak Night themed dinner service took place, and a shocking elimination occurred.

Intro[]

While going back to the dorms, Ashley welcomed Chad to the red team, and he admitted that he thought he was going home. While Dannie was still shocked over being transferred, Kristin admitted that she did not mind the former no longer being in the red team and felt there was a conflict between Dannie and the entire team. She believed that Chad being on the red team would work well before declaring themselves Chad’s Angels.

Team Challenge[]

The next day, Dannie put on her new blue jacket, felt that she looked good in that color, and called every day in Hell’s Kitchen that they had to be ready for. When the chefs came downstairs, they found a bison in the dining room. Jackie feared she would shit her pants in fear, and Ariel contemplated using her crutches to catapult herself out of the bison’s way. Ramsay introduced the chefs to his friend Jack the bison and explained that Native Americans and settlers would hunt bison before Jack peed on the carpet that Ashley compared to a waterfall. After taking a poop as well, Manda complained that Marino would have a fit after. Then, Ramsay introduced the Bison Cut Challenge, and after the chefs went outside, they stood behind a cut of bison they wanted to cook with. Jared and Jackie picked ground meat, Ashley and Dannie picked the filet, Chad and Manda picked the flank, Joe and Ariel picked the ribeye, and Kristin and Frank picked the top sirloin. After the pairing, Kristin felt that she could beat Frank as she assumed the latter would make a burger, while Jared thought that he could beat Jackie in anything but a smoking contest. Then, Ramsay revealed that each pair would work with ingredients from seven different countries, and to pick them, they would have to shoot bows and arrows at their targets, with the winner getting to pick what country they wanted.

The pair of Jackie and Jared was up first, and after he beat her, Jared chose Spain as he wanted to see Jackie struggle on a country that was not Italy. Ashley beat Dannie in their shootout, and she picked Thailand for their dishes as Asian food was her strength. Despite having little confidence, Manda was able to beat Chad, and she picked Italy. Then, Ariel and Joe’s shots went poorly, but the former won as her arrow was on the target, and she picked Japan. In the final round, Frank easily won over Kristin, and he picked France.

The chefs had 40 minutes to cook their dishes using their bison cuts and ingredients from their chosen countries. Ashley was very confident about what she would do as her dad’s owned an Asian American restaurant and wanted to kick the competition in the bison butt. In the blue kitchen, Joe asked if there was any way to rehydrate seaweed. Jared felt that the only two Asian things Joe knew were massages and karaoke before giving him hints on what to do. In the red kitchen, Jackie announced that she was making Spanish meatballs, but an unimpressed Ashley asked if that was a thing, while in the blue kitchen, Dannie knew that it was her chance to prove herself. Eventually, the chefs cooked and plated their dishes on time.

The flank steak round was up first, Chad and Manda presented their dishes, and the former was confident as he worked with Italian food before, telling Manda to bring it on. Chad’s flank steak with truffle cannellini beans and blood orange gremolata was deemed delicious as he nailed the protein. In contrast, Manda’s grilled flank steak with pappardelle pasta and tomato cream sauce was criticized for the choice of garnish used. So, Chad scored that round, the red team led 1-0, and he felt he was bouncing back from his slump. On the ground beef round, Jared’s bodegas with chorizo, red wine, and kale were praised for having authentic meatballs. In contrast, Jackie’s Spanish meatballs with Romanesco were criticized for being dry. After, Jared scored that round, and the score was tied at one each. On the top sirloin steak round, Kristin’s top sirloin au pour was praised for having a beautifully cooked protein, but Frank’s pan-seared top sirloin with roasted Brussel sprouts was also praised for having a great execution. After a tough decision, Ramsay decided to award both a point, the score was tied at two each, and Ramsay welcomed Frank back after a string of poor challenge dishes. On the ribeye round, Ariel’s Japanese ribeye with bok choy and noodle salad was deemed delicious with Ramsay adding on that it felt like he was eating it at a Japanese restaurant, while Joe’s pan-seared ribeye with sautéed daikon radish was deemed beautiful, both of them scored that round, and the score was a three-point tie. On the final round, Dannie and Ashley presented their filet dishes, the former was ready to lead the blue team to victory and presented her grilled bison and grilled bison spring rolls. Ramsay praised the dish for having a beautifully cooked bison. Then, Ashley’s bison with shrimp pad Thai, despite confusing Ramsay for the weird concept, was praised for being delicious. In the end, both scored, and the score was a four-point tie. To break the tie, Ramsay decided to choose the best dish overall and picked Chad’s dish as it had the right garnish with the right cut of bison, giving the red team the win. Chad was extremely happy about their victory and deemed it his bounce-back, feeling that he proved to his new teammates that he meant business.

Scoring[]

Red Team Blue Team
Chef Score Total Chef Score Total
Chad 1 1 Manda 0 0
Jackie 0 1 Jared 1 1
Kristin 1 2 Frank 1 2
Ariel 1 3 Joe 1 3
Ashley 1 4 Dannie 1 4
Results 4*-4
* Best dish named by Ramsay breaked the tie in the challenge and won it for their team.

Reward[]

The red team was rewarded to meet some Hollywood actors from films such as The Hangover and We Bought a Zoo, leading Ashley and Chad to believe that they would be meeting Bradley Cooper and Matt Damon. However, Ramsay revealed that they would be meeting with Hollywood animals, though Jackie called it a death sentence than an actual reward. Also, the red team received Vitamix blenders, which Chad called the best trophy ever. After being dismissed, Ramsay told Chad that he made a great impact on the challenge.

During the reward, Ashley called it crazy that she got to pet an actual tiger, and Kristin got to play with the tiger first as her teammates watched in concern. Jackie was terrified when playing with the tiger as she was deathly afraid of animals and even stated that she was more scared than having a gun in front of her face. Later, they kissed a bear with treats on their lips, and Kristin claimed to have heard 80’s music before calling it the best bear kiss she had.

Punishment[]

The blue team was punished by making bread by hand, churning butter for a special Cowboy Steak Night service, and cleaning the carpet from Jack’s accident early on, which Manda sarcastically thanked the bison for. During the punishment, the blue team was angry with Jack’s accident, and Frank called it degrading to clean up buffalo pee before saying that he felt like a private again. When the red team walked by them, Joe snarkily said that he would save them a spot to clean up, while Manda complained about how much it sucked. Later, the blue team was churning butter, but Joe broke his ceramic from churning too hard and stated that his Midas touch was ruining everything as his second ceramic broke despite not churning it hard that time.

Before service[]

Later that day, both teams began prepping for Cowboy Steak Night which included a new menu. Kristin believed that service that night should go smoother as it was a smaller menu and thought that ranchers were not that picky. After prep, Ramsay had both teams lined up, reminded them about the head chef position at BLT Steak at Bailey’s Las Vegas, and asked them to prove to him that they belonged there. Chad knew that it was the night to perform at their best. Then, Ramsay wondered where Marino was, only for the latter to come downstairs in full cowboy gear. While in disbelief to see Marino dressed up like that, Ramsay asked him to giddy up and open Hell’s Kitchen for Cowboy Steak Night.

Dinner Service[]

For Cowboy Steak Night, the menu featured some classic steak dishes, along with a wedge salad, crab cakes, and a king crab cocktail. Stacy Dash and Phil Dalhausser were in attendance that night. The red team got Dash’s order first, but Jackie was a little concerned with Chad as they just found a flow to services and hoped he would integrate well into it. Despite her concern, Chad and Ariel got their appetizers out to Dash’s table. In the blue kitchen, Jared told Dannie to drop the Can I? attitude, but she was not intimidated due to her boxer persona and wanted to be in control of her station that night. Dannie and Jared got their appetizers accepted and were now working on Dalhausser’s table. Back in the dining room, Dash’s scallops were brought back to the red kitchen for being salty and undercooked, and Ariel took the blame for it. In the blue kitchen, a steady flow of appetizers was leaving the kitchen, and while Frank admitted that he did not like working with women, he thought having Dannie on the blue team was great.

Forty-five minutes into service, Ariel brought up her refire, but the scallops were overcooked, and Ramsay called it a fucking embarrassment. Then, Ariel’s third attempt was sticking to the pan, and after an angry Ramsay called it beyond a joke, he brought the red team to the front, criticized them for making simple mistakes, and asked for somebody to help Ariel out. Jackie volunteered to help as Chad took over appetizers and believed that the scallops would go extinct by the rate Ariel was burning them. Thanks to Jackie’s help, the fourth attempt was accepted and was sent to Dash’s table. In the blue kitchen, the blue team was working on entrées. Still, while Dannie and Frank’s entrées were on the pass, Joe was behind on garnish and was caught tossing his mashed potatoes in the pot. That resulted in the mashed potatoes not being properly mixed, much to Jared’s annoyance, but Joe was able to bounce back quickly. In the red kitchen, the red team was pushing out appetizers and were now onto entrées. Ariel asked Jackie to help her with the tuna, with the former and Ashley warning the latter not to overcook them. When the entrées were sent up, Ashley’s ribeye was boiled on top of being raw, and Jackie’s tuna was burnt, with Ariel accusing the latter of not helping. After Ramsay asked how they could fuck up something so simple, he ordered the red team to start over. In the blue kitchen, Dannie and Frank sent up their dishes to the pass, but Ramsay was waiting on Joe for the fries. However, Joe said that he needed one minute, and when he could not remember what was going out, Ramsay was angry as he expected him to bounce back with at least some knowledge on what was going out. However, Joe felt he was going fast enough, and while he got his fries onto the pass, they were all greasy, with Jared angry to see Joe eat them in front of Ramsay. So, the blue team was forced to start over, and when Frank asked Joe what he needed help with, Ramsay retorted that the latter needed help gaining his confidence back.

Ariel and Ashley sent up their refires two hours into service, but the latter’s ribeye was raw again, and Chad said their ship was sinking fast. That was the final straw for Ramsay as he kicked the red team out of the kitchen, and they were all frustrated with what just happened. In the blue kitchen, Joe received help from everybody but Frank on the garnish. While Manda called it bananas, she said that they had to do something or else they would get kicked out of the kitchen as well. It paid off as the refire was accepted, and the blue team eventually got their remaining tickets completed.

Post-mortem[]

Back at the dorms, Kristin called it the worst service the red team has had so far. When Chad asked where the major breakdown happened, Kristin accused the meat and fish station of falling apart, referring to Ashley and Ariel for elimination. Jackie agreed with Kristin as Ashley was not searing her steaks correctly, but the latter argued that she was not the weakest person on the red team. While Ashley believed the red team would be weaker without her and Ariel, Jackie reminded her that if the fish and meat station did not fall apart, they would not have gotten kicked out of service. Then, Ariel remarked that she was not responsible for the burnt tuna. Still, when Jackie felt she did nothing wrong, Ariel told her that she should have helped out properly and said she was not strong enough before considering Ashley and Jackie for elimination. However, Ashley and Kristin both considered Ariel and Jackie as the red team’s weakest chefs. Still, when Jackie angrily asked Kristin if she thought Ashley was a stronger cook than her, she said yes. Then, Jackie argued that everything she cooked was perfect and everybody was throwing her under the bus. When Chad nominated Jackie based on that service, she angrily yelled that he should have nominated Ashley and Ariel for fucking up service and that she had a strong service. While Ariel agreed with that notion, she reminded Jackie that she struggled more in challenges, and they could not carry her any longer. Then, Jackie retorted that she had been cooking for only three months then, which shocked everybody and angered Kristin. Everybody else deserved to compete more than Jackie as they have been cooking longer than her. Despite that, Jackie still felt that she deserved to run BLT Steak and said that she hated the fact she was not allowed to choke people.

Elimination[]

Jackie announced Ariel as the red team’s first nominee and herself as the second. While Jackie felt that Ashley should have been nominated instead, Kristin explained that they nominated Jackie based on her lack of progress, and they were tired of carrying her forward, to which Ashley agreed. Despite Jackie claiming that it was not true, a dismayed Ramsay called it a mess before calling the two nominees forward. During their pleas, Ramsay called Ariel’s performance that night her worst yet. Still, Ariel believed she was passionate and creative, and while she felt one service should not dictate her fate, Ramsay reminded her that she struggled that night before remarking how disappointed he was. Then, Jackie claimed that she was a natural-born leader and did not deserve to be nominated. After a tough deliberation, Ramsay eliminated Joe from the winning team for his inconsistent performances in services throughout the competition. During his exit interview, Joe called Hell’s Kitchen more difficult than he imagined and called the experience a lot different than watching it on TV.

After Joe left, Ramsay remarked that the field was cut in half, and it was time for the remaining chefs to get themselves together. While being dismissed, Manda called it crazy now that the fat has been trimmed off and the strong people were about to go home. Ariel was upset with herself about her worst performance ever and knew that she would have to push herself to go further. Then, Jackie refused to believe she was the weakest chef on the red team and was angry over what to do now.

Ramsay's comment: "Joe had an amazing taste profile and was a standout in challenges. Unfortunately for him, dinner services were just out of his reach."

Hell's Kitchen Season 15 Episodes
18 Chefs Compete17 Chefs Compete16 Chefs Compete15 Chefs Compete14 Chefs Compete12 Chefs Compete11 Chefs Compete10 Chefs Compete10 Chefs Again9 Chefs Compete8 Chefs Compete7 Chefs Compete6 Chefs Compete5 Chefs Compete3 Chefs CompeteWinner Chosen
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