The thirteenth episode of Season 16 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on January 12, 2017. In that episode, the chefs reunited with their loved ones, competed in a series of challenges to earn a black jacket, and an early front-runner was sent home.
Intro[]
Before heading back to the dorms, Ramsay warned the chefs that he would turn the competition up more than ever before, and they should all be ready the next day. While Paulie had no idea of what would happen, he decided not to speculate and remain concerned about his own performance. Then, Andrew told Paulie that he was glad he was still around, and the latter said that they had to stick together as they were the only remaining male chefs left in the competition before feeling that the females would try and push them out. Later that night, Heather and Andrew were cuddling with the former playing with his bald spot, while Ryan mocked it as she watched.
The next day, the chefs lined up, and Ramsay announced that he would be rewarding them with black jackets that day, which excited them as six black jackets came down from the ceiling. Heather revealed that it was her goal to earn a black jacket and warned the other chefs that she was out for blood. Then, Ramsay decided to remind the chefs who they were playing for and invited Kimberly’s boyfriend and daughter, Paulie’s mother and father, Andrew’s mother and girlfriend, which made Heather a little awkward about seeing her. Also, Ramsay invited Ryan’s daughter and mother, Heather’s son, mother, and grandmother, and Heidi’s daughter and husband. After spending some time with their loved ones, Ramsay dismissed them, and Ryan reaffirmed that she was doing the competition for her daughter. After, Ramsay announced the Black Jackets Challenge, which was composed of three separate challenges that would produce winners out of each round, two from the first two challenges and one from the final challenge, and the person that did not receive a black jacket at the end was automatically eliminated.
Individual Challenge 1[]
The chefs had 30 minutes to create their own dish using an assortment of ingredients under five domes, which contained six ingredients for each. When Ramsay rang the bell, they had to grab one ingredient from the first dome, and it would continue throughout the challenge until each chef had five ingredients for their dish. After, Kimberly said that she did not care what she had to do, as she was concerned about leaving with a black jacket at the end. The first dome contained protein with Paulie grabbing lobster, Kimberly grabbing tuna, Ryan grabbing hanger steak, Heidi grabbing duck, Andrew grabbing filet, and Heather grabbing chicken. The second dome contained starches as Andrew grabbed couscous, much to his dismay as he thought it was polenta, Ryan grabbed quinoa, Kimberly grabbed sesame seed, and Heather grabbed rice. The third dome contained garnishes with Andrew grabbing Romanesco, Heidi grabbing parsnips as she wanted to stand out as an individual, Ryan grabbing carrots, Kimberly grabbing rice, and Paulie grabbing bacon. The fourth dome contained vegetables with Ryan grabbing mushrooms as she wanted to win that challenge for her family, Paulie grabbing potatoes, Heidi grabbing sweet potatoes, Andrew grabbing beets, and Heather grabbing broccoli. The fifth and final dome contained marinade with Andrew grabbing orange. Soon after, everybody got their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Before tasting their dishes, Ramsay announced that he would be judging each dish one at a time, and after, he would reveal who were the winners of the first two black jackets. Kimberly was the first person to present her dish, she admitted that she could not believe how far she came through the competition as she was the underdog and presented her Cajun sesame encrusted tuna with basmati rice. While Ramsay praised the dish for having an even searing on the tuna, he felt it was too heavy on the Cajun seasoning before deeming it a good dish. Paulie was up next, and he deemed it the playoffs as everybody had a chance for a black jacket. His grilled lobster with potatoes and bacon lardons was praised for a beautifully cooked lobster and having finesse but criticized for lack of salt. After, Heidi’s duck breast with sweet potato purée and parsnips was criticized for not having a perfect execution as Ramsay would have her rather use the parsnips as the purée, but praised the duck for being cooked perfectly. Andrew’s pan-seared spiced filet and couscous flavored with beet and orange were criticized for the couscous being too soggy due to boiling it, but Ramsay praised for a beautifully cooked steak. After, Ryan’s grilled hanger steak with quinoa was praised for a beautifully done protein, but criticized for the garnish presentation, even comparing it as bad as Andrew’s couscous. Heather was the final person to present her dish and revealed her French chicken breast with rice and broccoli. Ramsay praised the dish for its stunning presentation and for nailing the chicken protein. After the judging, Heidi knew how stressful it was to have their black jackets starring at them while waiting for Ramsay’s verdict. After much thought, Ramsay announced that Heather won the first black jacket, and she called it amazing to receive one before realizing that just joined an elite club. Then, Ramsay announced that the second person to receive a black jacket was Heidi, and she was excited about it.
After receiving their black jackets, Ramsay told Heather and Heidi that they would be spending the rest of the day in the Black Jacket Lounge, with Kimberly hoping there were strippers as she felt deprived being in the dorms, and he gave Heather key cards to open the lounge. While going to the lounge, Heidi was amazed to receive one of the first two black jackets and not do any more of the challenges that day. At the lounge, the two were amazed over the attractions such as an open bar, darts and bumper pool, and Heather admitted that while she knew she would receive a black jacket, she never thought she would be the first one to receive one.
Individual Challenge 2[]
For the second challenge, Ramsay brought out three security guards with four heavy locked cases and revealed that the four remaining chefs would create a dish in 30 minutes, using the same six ingredients inside the boxes. After opening their boxes, the chefs pulled out their ingredients, and Andrew said that he did not want to go head to head in the final round. Then, Ryan knew that she could not screw up but had no idea what to do with the eggplant as she hated it. Later, Kimberly said that if anybody did not know how to cook salmon, they should get out but wondered what to do with the eggplant before deciding to roast it. After, Paulie knew that with the same six ingredients, it was time to be creative and show their personality on a plate. Back at the lounge, Heidi and Heather wondered when the next challenge was about to begin as the anticipation was killing them. Back in the kitchen, Kimberly discovered she burned her eggplant. After some panicking, she decided to cut off the burnt parts and add them into her white bean and cauliflower purée. Eventually, the chefs got their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Kimberly was the first person up and presented her pan-seared and crispy skin side-up salmon with roasted eggplant, white bean, and cauliflower purée. While Ramsay praised the skin for being crispy and the salmon itself being beautifully cooked, he criticized the weird texture of the purée as the three ingredients did not blend well together as it sounded. Paulie mocked her decision to make baby food out of three ingredients. Ryan’s seared salmon with crispy skin, roasted eggplant and mushrooms, and garlic shallots were praised for a fantastic presentation, a beautiful cook on the salmon, and a delicious purée. The only criticism was that the eggplant was soggy. After, Andrew was up next, and while he knew that the tiniest details would keep people from receiving black jackets, he felt that his salmon with roasted eggplant was perfect. While Ramsay praised the dish for an elegant presentation and having a medium-rare salmon, the eggplant was criticized for tasting bitter. That made Andrew nervous as his dish was bad compared to Kimberly and Ryan’s near-perfect dishes. Paulie was the final person to have his dish judged, and he presented his pan-seared salmon with white bean purée and oven-roasted cauliflower. Ramsay praised the fish for looking beautiful, and while the mushrooms were criticized for still having a bit of crunch to them, the eggplant was praised for tasting delicious. Hearing that made Paulie happy as he could never know what Ramsay’s critics could be, even recalling that he got chewed out for breathing with his mouth open at one point. Back at the lounge, Heather asked Heidi who she thought would go home that night, and the latter felt either Paulie or Kimberly due to their poor performances in the previous challenge. Back at the dining room, Ramsay praised the chefs for nailing the salmon but reminded them that he was digging into every detail.
Ramsay announced that Ryan won the third black jacket and praised her for her massive upgrade from the previous challenge. She felt amazing that she got it together after seeing her family earlier that day. Then, Ryan went to the black jackets lounge to meet up with Heather and Heidi. While Heidi was excited to see the former as she wanted her up with them, Heather was surprised when Ryan told them how Andrew screwed up that round. For the fourth black jacket, Ramsay announced that Paulie was the winner of it, and he knew that he felt he would win one before heading up the black jackets lounge to meet up with the other three. However, Heather did not care if Paulie wore a black jacket as she felt he was easy to beat before wondering how pissed Andrew was.
Individual Challenge 3[]
For the final challenge, Ramsay told Andrew and Kimberly that he has decided to give them total freedom of what they could cook. The two had three minutes to gather any ingredients they wanted to make their own dishes at a local farmers market outside the restaurant and had 30 minutes to cook two portions of their planned dish. Andrew knew that he had no shot of getting a black jacket if he could not beat Kimberly. Once outside, Andrew and Kimberly immediately had an idea of what their dishes would be, and Kimberly decided to grab three filets just in case she messed up on one of them. As they continued shopping, Kimberly acknowledged that she and Andrew have bumped heads a lot throughout the competition and believed that karma would soon get to him. After the shopping time was over, Andrew said that he wanted a black jacket more than anybody and commented on how focused and determined he was.
Back in the red kitchen, Andrew told Kimberly that it was her time to go home, while she knew that the pressure would not leave until she had a black jacket. Back at the lounge, Paulie and Heather were hoping for Andrew to win, though Ryan felt that it would be a close battle. Back in the kitchen, Andrew wanted a purée for his steak dish, but Kimberly felt that he was getting flustered and commented that he looked miserable and nervous. After Ramsay tasted Andrew’s purée, the latter debated whether he would use it but decided to rework it into another component. Eventually, Andrew and Kimberly got their dishes cooked and plated on time, with the latter plating more calmly than the former’s frantic pace.
Andrew was the first person to present his dishes. He knew that it came down to him and Kimberly and felt that he was a better chef than her. Andrew presented his pan-seared New York striploin with a wild mushroom and crab bordelaise, roasted Brussel sprouts with brown butter bacon and lemon zest, and potato purée with goat cheese. Ramsay praised the steak for being cooked perfectly, the Brussel sprouts for being the best he ever tasted, and the sauce not being too heavy, even though the purée was criticized for being too gloopy and that he would never blitz that. After the critique, Andrew felt happy as almost all the components were praised. Kimberly went up with her dish and felt she put everything into her dish and was proud of what she made. She presented her butter-basted filet with mixed trumpet mushrooms, red wine demi-glaze, and asparagus seasoned with olive oil and salt and pepper. Ramsay praised the filet for being cooked nicely and stunning, the sauce for not being heavy, and a perfect purée, but criticized the asparagus for being a letdown as they were bland.
After judging, Ramsay commented how hard it was to decide between the two and announced that he would not be deciding who received the final black jacket. Instead, Ramsay decided to have the four black jackets judge the dishes to decide on the winner. Still, Kimberly did not like that as everybody liked Andrew more than her, especially since Heather was in a flirtmance with him. However, Ramsay revealed that the four would be tasting each dish without knowing who made what and if a tie occurred, he would break it before dismissing Kimberly and Andrew to his office. Back at the lounge, the black jacket chefs heard somebody walking by, and while Heather thought that it was Andrew, Ramsay made his presence known and took Heather back to the dining room to judge the two dishes blindly. While Heather knew that she wanted Andrew in the black jackets, she unknowingly voted for Kimberly’s dish for tasting better than Andrew’s. Back at Ramsay’s office, Andrew told Kimberly that he did not want to see either of them go home as they both did a great job. Back in the dining room, Heidi was up next to the judge, and she voted for Andrew. Then, Ryan voted for Andrew’s dish, and while Paulie could not stand Kimberly, he unknowingly voted for her dish.
Elimination[]
After the voting, Ramsay brought back the four black jacket chefs to the dining room and called up Andrew and Kimberly from his office. Then, Ramsay announced to the black jackets that Kimberly made the filet, while Andrew made the New York striploin, and after tallying the votes, it was a 2-point tie. To break the tie, Ramsay said there was one dish that had the edge and called up Kimberly’s name, giving her the final black jacket of that season, and she was excited over making it. That meant Andrew was automatically eliminated, with Ramsay reminding him that he under-delivered on the purée, but he told him that he would have a bright future in the industry. During his exit interview, Andrew was shocked by his elimination and felt that he let both himself and his son down.
After Andrew left, Ramsay told the black jackets to prove that they deserved getting one. While being dismissed, Kimberly said that she worked her way from the bottom to the top. At the same time, Heather admitted that as much as she wanted Andrew in a black jacket, Kimberly's filet was just a better dish. Then, Ramsay reminded Paulie that he was the last man standing in the competition, and he hated that Kimberly was in the black jackets over Andrew, before regretting that he did not choose the New York striploin over the filet.
Ramsay's comment: "Andrew had three chances to save his life in Hell's Kitchen. Like they say, three strikes, and you're out."
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: The title refers to the introduction of the Black Jacket Lounge, a place where the winners of the Black Jacket rounds would be at.
- This marks the return of the Black Jackets Challenge since Episode 1215 - 7 Chefs Compete, and the first time it was used as an elimination challenge.
- Interestingly, the winners of the first two rounds were a pair of red chefs and a pair of blue chefs respectively, while the final round featured a battle of the sexes.
- Andrew becomes the first male chef to be eliminated through an elimination challenge.