The thirteenth episode of Season 15 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on Fox, on April 8, 2016. In that episode, the chefs taught their loved ones how to cook Ramsay's dish, the lone male chef got into an argument over cleanliness, and all but one chef received black jackets.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Jared felt he had a target on his back due to the blue team not liking him. When Ashley asked Jared if he was okay, he was disappointed in his poor performance. Even though Ashley reminded Jared that he was still here, Jared felt more pressure due to being the last male chef competing, and the only way to become successful was to keep doing what he did.
Team Challenge[]
The next day, the chefs received a wake-up call from their loved ones at 5:37 AM. Among them were Ariel’s mom, Dannie’s sister, Kristin’s dad, Jared’s mom, Manda’s brother, and Ashley’s dad. After spending some time with their loved ones, the chefs got dressed and went downstairs, where Ramsay explained that there were a lot of great moments he enjoyed in the competition, such as great services, crowning a champion, and the moment where there were six chefs left, before revealing a black jacket in front of them, much to their excitement. Then, Ramsay announced that he had a very special gift for them and brought out the chef’s loved ones with boxes, with Ashley and Jared hoping to make their parents proud. While the chefs expected black jackets inside the boxes, they instead contained straight jackets, much to their confusion. Ramsay explained that they had not earned their black jackets just yet, and all great chefs also had to be great teachers before introducing the Cooking School Challenge. Each chef would have to teach their loved ones how to cook Ramsay’s branzino dish, but they have to wear straight jackets so they could not help them directly, and instead give out verbal instructions, which Manda called not easy to do. After, the loved ones helped the chefs put on their straight jackets, but Jared knew it would be difficult as his mother hated being in the kitchen.
Each chef and their loved one had 30 minutes to cook their dishes, and Kristin commented that her family called her and her father cooking Kristin’s bitchin kitchen as she always micromanaged her father’s work, but deemed it second nature. Ashley was confident with her father as they owned multiple restaurants, but he struggled to find the beans for the dish. Meanwhile, Ariel’s mother struggled to figure out if the oven was on or not, and she commented that they had a love and hate relationship. In the blue kitchen, Manda’s brother was slow cooking the beans, Dannie calmly told her sister what to do as the latter was a chef, and Jared felt very nervous around her mother as the latter was not comfortable with a knife and managed to slice her fingers with it. Eventually, the chefs and the loved ones got their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Before tasting their dishes, Ramsay reminded both teams that while it was still a team challenge, the chef whose loved one has made the best dish closest to the original would win it for their team. The red team was up first, Ariel and her mother were up first, and she called it nerve-wracking to present their dish as it did not look like the original. Their branzino dish was criticized for having a hectic presentation but praised for having crispy skin, which made Ariel proud of her mom. Ashley and her dad were up next, the former was confident about their chances. Their dish was praised for crispy skin and tasting delicious and one point, beating Ariel and her mom’s dish as a result. Then, Kristin and her dad’s branzino were praised for having a beautifully scored fish, nailing the taste, and Ramsay named it the best dish of the red team.
Jared and his mom were up first on the blue team, but he was nervous about presenting their dish. Their branzino was praised for a good-tasting fish but criticized for the lack of green beans due to Jared’s mom cutting herself while prepping them. Manda and her brother’s attempt was praised for a beautifully cooked fish but criticized for having undercooked beans. Despite that, it was deemed better than Jared and his mom’s attempt for its nice seasoning. Dannie and her sister were the final pair to present their branzino, the presentation was praised for being lovely and was praised for tasting good. So, Dannie and her sister’s dish was deemed the best of the blue team, and it was time for Ramsay to decide between her and Kristin’s dish. After a tough decision, Ramsay announced that Kristin and her dad’s dish edged out as it had a better scoring than Dannie’s fish, and the red team won the challenge. Kristin was psyched as she and her father had the best dish of the day, citing it as a proud moment for the two, and the loved ones made their departure after.
Reward[]
The red team was rewarded with a spa day at Berk Williams, which excited Ashley as she was overdue for one. During the reward, Kristin called it the reward they wanted as the blue team needed more maintenance, but Ashley was grossed out when the former commented on Jared’s hairy back.
Punishment[]
The blue team was punished by participating in cleaning day, which included cleaning up the dorms. Dannie was disappointed that the blue team lost again and said that it sucked. During the punishment, Jared was confused about what to throw out, compared cleaning up the dorms to cleaning up after children and complained about the mascara and long hair on the ground. While Jared commented that he was the cleanest male ever, Manda commented that it could have been worse with all-male chefs remaining, but he disagreed with that idea.
Before service[]
Later that night, both teams began prepping for service. After prep was finished, Ramsay had both teams line up and announced that it would be a very important night as both kitchens would host VIPs at the chef tables. The red team served Lil’ Jon, and the blue team served Cesar Millan. Then, Ramsay announced that it would be the final team service of that season, and the team who completed all their tickets first would receive the first black jackets, with Manda calling it a three-by-three race that night. After, Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
In addition to the VIPs, Steve Aoki and Katy Tiz were in attendance that night in the dining room. The blue team received Aoki’s order first, and Jared said that he wanted a black jacket like a fat kid wanted candy, even saying that he would sell his mother for one. However, Jared ignored Dannie’s warning about putting more salt into the carbonara, it resulted in an overly salty taste, Manda compared the taste to seawater and annoyingly told Jared to get it together as it was a race. In the red kitchen, the women worked on Lil’ Jon’s order. Ashley wanted to make sure that the food was perfect and Ariel’s appetizers were accepted. In the blue kitchen, all the blue team was on the appetizer station, which allowed them to serve Aoki’s table, and they were pushing out appetizers. In the red kitchen, the women were continuing to push out appetizers, but Kristin served a plate of uneven scallops that had four scallops instead of five, and Ramsay ordered her to get it together quickly. Despite Kristin managing to get her missing scallop accepted on time, an annoyed Ariel felt that the former should have known how to count to five.
Forty-five minutes into service, the blue team was moving onto entrées, with Millan’s table up first, and Manda did not know if the red team was flying through their own dishes. However, when Jared sent up his mashed potatoes, Ramsay discovered a long black hair in it and demanded to know whose it was. Jared claimed that it was Manda’s, but she denied it as her hair was brown. Despite that, Jared’s refire was accepted, and Millan’s table received their entrées. In the red kitchen, the women completed their appetizers and were moving onto entrées. However, Ramsay reminded Ashley to speak up more, and Kristin knew that everybody needed to step up a level with black jackets on the line. Ashley delivered her steaks slowly, with Ramsay commenting that he moved faster than her despite being twenty years older than her, but it was accepted. In the blue kitchen, Jared wanted to keep pushing food out, but Dannie’s steaks were blue with raw fat on them, and he stated that they were cold to the touch. Things got worse when Manda’s snapper turned out to be burnt as well, and Ramsay commented that she should have a stronger prescription for being unable to see it. In the red kitchen, the women continued to push out entrées, with Ashley commenting that she could see herself in a black jacket soon.
Two hours into service, Manda was determined to bounce back no matter what, but Dannie was slow on meat, especially when she announced that she needed more time on her Wellingtons, much to Manda’s impatience. While Dannie refused to serve cold food, Jared was annoyed as she was not giving out food, and Ramsay reminded her that the customers were suffering from her mistakes before the former announced that she needed one minute to reheat them. In the red kitchen, the women continued to push out entrées and eventually completed their service, with Ramsay and Sous Chef Christina rewarding them with black jackets. The red team went into the pantry room to celebrate their milestone, and Kristin was happy that they were in there with good news. In the blue kitchen, Ramsay informed the blue team that the red team just completed their service, and a defeated Manda wondered who was going home beside her. Eventually, the blue team completed service.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay congratulated the red team for making it to the black jackets while chewing out the blue team for their nightmare performance and deemed them the clear losers. Then, Ramsay asked everybody to agree on two nominees from the blue team.
During deliberation, Kristin felt that none of the blue chefs had the ball to become black jackets and felt that all three should be up for elimination. Then, Kristin asked them why they deserved to become black jackets, and Jared claimed that he was a strong contender throughout the competition before recalling back to the black hair in his mashed potatoes. However, Manda still argued that it was not her hair and felt Jared was trying to save his ass. Then, Jared reminded Manda about her burnt fish and Dannie’s slow-paced performance, but the latter called him a liar, much to his frustration. Then, Dannie commented that she did not want to deal with the drama any longer, but Ariel asked how she could become a head chef with that kind of attitude. Kristin commented that she did not see Dannie’s passion, and a frustrated Ashley said that she was tired of Dannie acting like she was better than everybody else before saying that she was not. After, Jared asked what the final decision was, and Kristin retorted that all three of them should go up.
Elimination[]
Manda announced Dannie as the blue team’s first nominee and herself as the second. During their pleas, Manda said that she never gave up and that she grew stronger every day, and while Ramsay reminded Dannie about her second poor service in a row, she argued that she never gave up as well and that she fought every single day. After listening to their pleas, Ramsay called up Jared to the front, and while he recognized the latter’s hard work, he asked him for his jacket and gave him the fourth black jacket, much to his excitement. Then, Ramsay asked Manda and Dannie to each take off their jackets and told the former that while she missed her family, she showed every day that she was passionate about cooking. So, Ramsay gave Manda the final black jacket and eliminated Dannie for her declining performances and running out of chances. During her exit interview, Dannie was shocked as she tried to lead the blue team but considered her future a bright one.
After Dannie left, Ramsay congratulated the final five for making it to an exclusive club and called the competition wide open. While being dismissed, Manda was happy to have stayed over Dannie and knew that she had it, while Jared knew that he deserved his spot in the final five and warned the female chefs to watch out for him. Then, Ashley knew that Dannie was somebody nobody was comfortable around to be with. While Ashley welcomed Jared and Manda to the black jackets, she warned them that they would be going home if they messed up.
Ramsay's comment: "Dannie may be a boxer in her spare time, but her lack of fight tonight proved she just couldn't go the distance."
Trivia[]
- This is the final episode where Ramsay gave out black jackets during elimination.