The fifth episode of Season 17 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on November 3, 2017. In that episode, two chefs tried their best to get along with their new teammates, fish was cooked on wood planks, and one chef did not even make it to the end of dinner service.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Josh felt uncomfortable going into a different team and knew that he would die unless he adapted to the situation, while Michelle complained that the red team had just started to work well together. Then, Josh wanted to talk with Elise outside, but the latter refused as she refused to acknowledge Josh as a red chef yet, and declared that she was not worried about him as they would send him back to the front of elimination if he messed up. While Josh argued that Elise was not gelling with the new situation, the latter argued that she was gelling with her old teammates and not with him as he was the new guy. Then, Michelle told Josh that he had to come into the red team with an open mind as he was going to work with a lot of strong personalities, but he told her to worry about herself. That dismayed Michelle, but she refused to let that bring down the red team.
Meanwhile, Dana and Jennifer tried to comfort an upset Robyn over the switch into the blue team, and Jared told her that Ramsay only wanted the best out of her. Jennifer added that Ramsay felt Robyn was getting too comfortable, and Dana urging her to get out of her shell. While Jared offered to push Robyn in the right direction, the latter wondered why she had to go into the blue team and did not like being the new person.
Team challenge[]
The next day, Sous Chef Christina called the dorms and asked Michelle to bring everybody out to the front entrance. Arriving outside, the chefs found an animal pen full of barn animals, and Ramsay explained that he had the Sous Chefs build the pen and gather the animals. However, Jared said that as an Executive Chef, his main concern was about how much money each animal would gross for him. Then, Ramsay asked the chefs what they would like to cook with, and while Barbie and Manda said the cow, and Benjamin saying the lamb, Ramsay explained that a true chef needed to think outside the box, and pulled off a wood plank from the fence. For the Wood Plank Cooking Challenge, both teams would cook with one of two wood planks, cedar, and hickory, along with four different types of fish, wahoo, salmon, cod, and barramundi. Each team would have three pairs and one lone chef, and Ramsay gave them some time to decide who would be in pairs and who would be working with what type of fish. While the blue team instantly agreed to let Van cook with the barramundi alone, Elise forcibly decided to cook by herself with the salmon, much to Manda's annoyance. After, Ramsay revealed that both teams would be cooking their fishes on a fire pit outside the restaurant, and Milly was ready to burn with Giovanni.
Both teams had 45 minutes to cook their dishes and had access to any seasoning and produce they wanted. Van revealed to Sous Chef Jocky that he planned on making a Nicoise salad which involved boiling the eggs over the pit, and while he admitted it was risky, he believed that he had it despite the latter's concern. As the blue team began setting their wood planks over the fire pit, Jared compared it to dancing as they had to adjust them to fit everybody's planks. With twelve minutes left in the challenge, Josh felt that the red team's fire pit needed more coal and believed he could take the red team to victory. Despite Michelle's protest, Josh dumped cold coals over the hot ones, which suffocated the heat as a result. After Barbie accused him of tanking them, she annoyingly reminded Josh that white coals were needed to cook food over an open fire. Despite that, Barbie was able to get the fire going again after moving the coals around, but while Elise boasted that she grilled better than a man could, she was having difficulties with the fire pit. Eventually, both teams got their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Ben Ford was invited as a guest judge, and Manda was ecstatic as he was Harrison Ford's son from Star Wars. The cod battle was up first, the pairs of Michelle and Jennifer, and Nick and Robyn were up first, and the first pair presented their black cod seasoned with Mediterranean spices and charcoal eggplant. While the fish was praised for being seasoned beautifully, Ford felt that they could have held back on the vinaigrette and let the smoky flavor come out more. Then, Nick and Robyn's chimichurri basted cod with smoked orange and fennel salad was praised for the balanced smoky flavor, the fish having a near-perfect cook, and they won that round. The score was 1-0 for the blue team, and Nick and Robyn pronounced themselves as Team Gay. On the wahoo round, Barbie and Manda's cedar smoked wahoo with leek ash was praised for a perfectly cooked fish and the idea of using the leek ash, and Manda said that the force was with her. Then, Benjamin and Jared's hickory-smoked wahoo with salsa Verde was praised for the balance on its acidity and having a spot-on flavor of the wood. After tough deliberation, Ford decided to give both pairs a point, the score was 2-1 for the blue team, and an annoyed Jared once again compared ties to kissing his sister. On the barramundi round, Dana and Josh's cedar smoked barramundi with poblano vinaigrette was praised for tasting delicious, while Van's cedar smoked barramundi with Nicoise salad was also praised for the salad idea, and that the eggs were cooked perfectly. After Ford decided to give both teams a point again, the score was 3-2 for the blue team, and Jared annoyingly asked his sister to come down again. On the final round, the salmon round was next, and Elise presented her cedar grilled salmon and mustard aioli. The dish was praised for the aioli concept and having a perfectly cooked fish, while Giovanni and Milly's hickory-smoked salmon with brandy glaze was criticized for the glaze concept. Elise won that round, and the score was tied at three each, with an annoyed Jared commenting he was out of sisters. Ramsay and Ford decided to pick the best dishes out of the two teams to break the tie, with Nick and Robyn's dish for the blue team and Elise's dish for the red team. After Robyn prayed to her magic rock, and Elise was sweating in anticipation, Ford deemed the blue team's dish the best overall, they won the challenge, and Milly thanked the universe for giving them Robyn over Josh. After Ford left, Ramsay announced that for the first time, both teams were going to the same location for their reward and punishment, which was at Apex Ranch.
Scoring[]
| Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
| Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michelle and Jennifer | 0 | 0 | Nick and Robyn | 1 | 1 |
| Barbie and Manda | 1 | 1 | Benjamin and Jared | 1 | 2 |
| Dana and Josh | 1 | 2 | Van | 1 | 3 |
| Elise | 1 | 3 | Giovanni and Milly | 0 | 3 |
| Results | 3*-3 | ||||
- * Best dish named by Ford breaked the tie in the challenge and won it for their team.
Reward[]
The blue team was rewarded with a horseback ride at Apex Ranch, and while Milly said that he only saw horses during police riots, Van was excited as going to a ranch was like going back home for him. During the reward, the blue team arrived in convertibles, and Nick jokingly told Michelle that the pile of shit was bigger than her. Milly got a baby horse to ride on, Jared felt like John Wayne, and Robyn felt nervous on her horse.
Punishment[]
The red team was punished by cleaning up a stable at Apex Ranch, much to Barbie's dismay. Back at the dorms, Manda blamed Josh for being the reason they lost after he screwed up the fire pit and groaned that they were stuck with him until they lost before reminding Josh on how he dumped cold coals over a hot fire. However, Josh argued that they needed fire, and that was why he dumped the coals, but when Elise retorted that cold coals did not help, the former called her a bully in response. While Elise denied being a bully and called Josh being a soft man for calling her that, the latter accused her of taking HCH that morning, along with being a master manipulator.
During the punishment, the red team arrived at the ranch on a school bus, and the farmer showed them the stable they had to clean. As the red team got to work, Michelle complained that she did not want to talk as the smell would get in her mouth, while Jennifer commented that despite doing some bad punishments before, that one was the worst. Later, Manda asked Josh to help her move some buckets up to the trailer as she was getting tired. Still, when Josh accused her of not doing it properly, Manda angrily snapped at Josh, and that led to an argument over his condescending attitude. Then, Manda called Josh the stupidest person she had ever met, and Elise promised to back up Manda as she did not want Josh's disrespect either.
Before service[]
Later that night, both teams came back from Apex Ranch and began changing for that night's service. However, Jennifer told Robyn about how everybody in the red team was against Josh, and the latter himself felt alienated from both teams and that there was no other team to go to. Despite that, Josh said that he wanted to prove that he deserved to stay. Near the end of prep, Ramsay gave both teams some last-minute details on the dishes, and after, he asked Marino to open Hell's Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Shaun Brown was in attendance that night, and a smoked salmon rillette special was served tableside by Van and Barbie. On their first ticket, Ramsay caught Benjamin putting oil in a nonstick pan for the scallops and reminded the latter that they were not frying the scallops that night. Then, Benjamin responded to Ramsay's calls with "oui chef," and an annoyed Nick reminded the former that they were not in France. Despite that, the blue team began sending out appetizers. In the red kitchen, Josh received an order from the bar menu, but Manda told him not to put the fish & chips in the same fryer as he would get batter all over the place. While Jennifer felt that everybody was ganging up on Josh, she wanted to see him cook and thought he would surprise them. However, Josh went missing for a while as he went to get bowls for the fries, Ramsay accused him of switching off due to his slow speed, and then Michelle told Josh to refire the fish as they looked dark. That dismayed Jennifer, and Manda said that if Josh could not fry anything by that point, then he should get a job as a receptionist at a law office. Ramsay himself asked Josh how he could get behind on bar food, but the latter argued that he was working hard and wanted to show the red team what he had. Despite his problems, Josh's bar food was accepted, and both teams were pushing out appetizers.
Forty-five minutes into service, the blue team began working on their first order of entrées, and Robyn felt comfortable with the men after their victory from earlier. However, Robyn accidentally dropped the chicken order on the ground after pulling them out of the convection oven and told Nick to flash two more chickens. However, Ramsay sternly reminded Robyn that she should only tell him about that from now on and was more annoyed when Nick said the refire could take five more minutes. In the red kitchen, all of the red chefs worked hard, but Elise stood around meat without lifting a finger. Dana and Manda got pissed by that as the latter accused Elise of doing the bare minimum. In the blue kitchen, the blue team was on their next ticket, but Milly was confused about what garnishes were needed for each entrée and asked Nick what to do, even though Benjamin commented that he should have the menu memorized by now and that the cream was going to separate from the crop. Then, Milly did not respond to Robyn's request to slice her Wellingtons and sent up his garnishes up to the pass with no warning. That led Ramsay to remind Milly to communicate with his teammates and asked the blue team if they wanted to lose that night.
One hour into service, Josh's unorganized performance had him asking where the eggs went for the garnish, and Ramsay was getting impatient as the proteins were already at the pass. Manda decided to help Josh out as she refused to let him sink them that night, called him a buffoon, and felt he was rude to her. However, Ramsay discovered that Josh's spinach was too watery and garlicky and that his mashed potatoes were liquid. When Michelle asked if she should refire her halibut, Ramsay commented that she might have to due to Josh's slow performance. Then, Josh argued with Manda when the latter tried to help him out on garnish, but Elise told him to work as they seriously needed garnishes. After, Josh decided to work on the lobster garnish, but Sous Chef Christina told him that lobster was not on order. Manda told him to get the mashed potatoes ready, but when Josh told them to stop yelling at him, Sous Chef Christina said they would after he produced something, which Elise appreciated. Then, Ramsay caught Josh carrying ice-cold potatoes in his hands and angrily reminded him that the Wellingtons were at the pass. Despite Josh arguing that he was doing his best, Ramsay retorted that it was not good enough and kicked him out of service. As Josh walked back to the dorms, he apologized to Ramsay for letting him down and believed that his team was toxic towards him before saying that he never felt so alienated before. Back in the red kitchen, Manda called Josh's departure the greatest thing Ramsay has done for them and felt that the red team was a strong female group, while Dana felt everything was going around for them as Elise started to help out. It paid off as their entrées were accepted. In the blue kitchen, Robyn felt that her Wellingtons were ready and that she was getting her groove back, but Ramsay saw that they were ice cold, much to her dismay. However, Robyn revealed that she had another one at her cutting board, and Ramsay asked the blue team to remind her never to send up cold meat to the pass.
Automatic elimination[]
Back at the dorms, Josh realized that he gave up his whole life to come back and decided to go back into the red kitchen to fight his way back before proclaiming that he was not going down without a fight. However, Josh's presence confused the red team, and when Ramsay asked them why Josh was back, they had no idea why, with Michelle telling him to leave. Then, Ramsay brought him to the pantry room, and while Josh argued that he wanted to come back, Ramsay told the latter that despite putting his balls on the line for him several times, Josh was holding cold garnishes in his hands when the proteins were on the pass, before asking where else could he go from there. Although Ramsay acknowledged Josh's big heart and talent, he told the latter that he was not ready to be his head chef and eliminated him on the spot. After Josh gave Ramsay his jacket, the latter wished him well and had Marino escort him out the front entrance. During his exit interview, Josh believed that he might get another chance in the future as he gave it his all.
After Josh left, both teams got their final tickets out.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay confirmed that Josh ran out of lifelines and was out of the competition. However, when Ramsay asked the chefs if they were going to miss Josh, nobody said that they were. After, Ramsay decided to name both teams' joint-winners and that nobody else would be going home that night, but warned them to adapt and prove to him they were worthy of continuing in the competition. While being dismissed, Manda said that the red team's mission now was to get rid of the remaining male chefs, and while Robyn admitted that service that night was not perfect, she at least survived and that nobody from the blue team was sent home that night. Then, Elise said that she could not deal with somebody like Josh that could not cook and strongly believed that she would win in the end.
Ramsay gave no comment on Josh's elimination, and he did not receive the coat hanging and picture burning sequence.
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: The title refers to Josh's problems with both the red team, dinner service, and Ramsay, leading to his elimination in the middle of service.
- This marks the first time the title contained the name of one of the contestants.
- With this episode, Josh has set the record for shortest tenure on a new team as he failed to make it through the dinner service before being eliminated midway.
- This marks the only time to date where both the winning team and losing team went to the same location for their respective reward and punishment.