The sixth episode of Season 17 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on November 10, 2017. On that episode, pizza was the main dish, one team had a meltdown at Italian Night dinner service, and one chef lied about a nasty cut.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Milly remarked that everybody hated Josh as the latter was not on their caliber, and thanked Ramsay for getting rid of him. The entire red team were ecstatic Josh was gone as Elise knew the former would not have last long, and Dana called it a breath of relief. As everybody gathered at the hot tub to relax, some chefs joked about Elise having a wild sex life, while Robyn deemed Dana vanilla due to the latter being Jewish despite having a nice ass. As Elise went to bed, Van slipped into the hot tub.
Team challenge[]
The next day, the chefs were taken to DeSano Pizza Bakery, and after seeing Ramsay near the pizza ovens, Robyn wondered if they were making pizzas that day. Then, Ramsay gave the chefs some slices to taste. Barbie admitted that despite coming from Philadelphia, where they had authentic Italian pizza, she never worked with a pizza oven. After, Ramsay revealed that Marino was the restaurant owner, adding on that in addition to being the maître d', the latter has owned two pizza restaurants, and Marino presented a ginormous pizza with flags on them. For the Pizza Fusion Challenge, both teams would make their own pizzas, using ingredients from different countries, and they would be going head to head. That motivated Giovanni, who said that pizza was in his DNA. Robyn wanted to cook against Barbie as she wanted a good fight, and they landed on India. Elise wanted to go up against Jared as she wanted to dominate him, and they got South Korea, which excited the latter as he made kimchee back home. Milly decided to go up against Jennifer, and they got Morocco, thought Jared said that nothing from that country screamed: "put me on a pizza." Manda chose to go up against Van due to the latter giving her the creepy eye, and they landed on Vietnam. Nick chose to go up against Dana, and they landed on Greece, which excited the latter as it was something she could work with. For the final pairing, Michelle decided to go up against Benjamin as she wanted to go up against the best, and they landed on France. Because Giovanni was the only chef that was not paired up, Ramsay allowed him to join any of the pairings, and he picked France as he felt Michelle disrespected him by not picking him.
Both teams had 30 minutes to cook their pizzas, and Michelle said she was happy she got France because it was not a difficult country to pair up any type of food. However, Dana complained that there was no room anywhere to cook and called it utter chaos. The blue team relied on Giovanni for help on their pizzas, though the latter felt it was difficult because he was focused on his own pizza. Robyn felt good with her Indian ingredients, while Milly had an idea for a Moroccan pizza. With only 90 seconds remaining, Elise said things were getting hectic and struggled to get her pizza off her paddle, much to Manda's annoyance as she needed the space. Then, Elise's pizza fell apart, she had a complete meltdown, and Barbie tried to keep her calm. Eventually, the chefs were able to cook and plate their pizzas on time. Because both Benjamin and Giovanni cooked under the France ingredients, Ramsay asked the blue team to decide what dish would be judged. They immediately went with Giovanni's as it had a better presentation compared to Benjamin's.
In addition to Marino, Steve Samson came in as a guest judge. Robyn and Barbie were up on their Indian pizzas in the first round, and the latter presented her white pizza with mango chutney and roasted mushrooms. While it was criticized for looking dry, the pizza was praised for tasting Indian. Then, Robyn's garden Marsala sauce pizza with coconut milk marinated chicken and eggplant was criticized for having a spongy eggplant. Barbie won that round, the score was 1-0 for the red team, and the latter smugly thanked Robyn for the win. The Morocco round was next, and while Milly was a little concerned, he noticed that Jennifer's pizza had many unidentifiable toppings on them. Jennifer's Moroccan-styled lamb pizza was criticized for the lack of sweetness despite being praised for the spiciness, while Milly's Moroccan curry meatball pizza was praised for having great flavors, despite being dry as Marino noticed a lack of a sauce. After a tough decision, Milly won that round, the score was tied at one each, and Jennifer bitterly commented at least Samson loved her pizza. On the Vietnam round, Van's Banh hoi-inspired pizza had a weird shape as he had a bit of crunch time, with Ramsay and Marino comparing it to a football and the Texas state, respectively. Despite that, the dish was praised for having mind-blowing flavors, while Manda's Vietnamese Pho pizza was criticized for being undercooked but praised for reminding Samson of an actual Pho. So, Manda won that round, the score was 2-1 for the red team, and she was happy to beat Van after he gave her the creepy eye. On the Greek round, Dana's Greek lamb pizza with feta cheese was praised for the flavors of the toppings, while Nick's Greek sausage and toasted pistachio pizza was praised for the nut element, with Marino calling it a near-perfect dish. Nick won that round, and the score was tied at two each. On the South Korean round, Elise's flatbread pizza was criticized for its small presentation. Ramsay asked if Elise ate half of it, despite having great flavors. In contrast, Jared's shrimp and raw cabbage pizza was criticized for its failed attempt of emulating kimchee. As a result, neither of them scored a point that round, the score remained a 2 point tie, and Elise believed that had she made her pizza properly, then she would have one that round before refusing to believe that she lost. On the final round, Michelle and Giovanni presented their French pizzas, and Milly hoped that the latter had it in the bag. Michelle's brie, Brussel sprouts, and toasted prosciutto pizza were criticized for not using the full extent of the pizza dough but praised for being a good job. In contrast, Giovanni's white pie pizza with shallots was criticized for having a burnt underside. Ramsay was more upset that the blue team failed to see that during their decision, and a dismayed Jared called it a rookie mistake. While the pizza was praised for tasting delicious, it was criticized for poor execution, and Benjamin felt that the blue team should have gone with his pizza. In the end, Michelle won that round, and the red team won the challenge 3-2. Although Giovanni admitted that he should have checked the bottom, he also said that the blue team chose his dish, so they deserve a share of the blame.
Scoring[]
Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barbie | 1 | 1 | Robyn | 0 | 0 |
Jennifer | 0 | 1 | Milly | 1 | 1 |
Manda | 1 | 2 | Van | 0 | 1 |
Dana | 0 | 2 | Nick | 1 | 2 |
Elise | 0 | 2 | Jared | 0 | 2 |
Michelle | 1 | 3 | Giovanni | 0 | 2 |
Results | 3-2 |
Reward[]
The red team was rewarded with a tour around Hollywood in a double-decker bus, and a trip to the Hollywood Magic Castle. During the reward, the red team got dressed up, but Manda complained that Elise looked like the Oscar statue due to wearing a ball gown for the reward. As they toured around Hollywood, Dana noticed the red team was not arguing for once. At the castle, the magician borrowed Elise's wedding ring for his trick, but she reluctantly did so, with Michelle telling her to relax and Manda calling it her best day ever to see Elise panic.
Punishment[]
The blue team was punished by ironing the tablecloths ahead of that night's Italian Night dinner service and prepping the oils and Parmesan cheese for each table. After hearing that, Jared complained it was the second time he had to decorate the dining room in the competition and felt the red team would have done a better job at it than six men and Robyn. During the punishment, Marino supervised the blue team in the rearranging, and when he told them not to assume everything, Nick snarkily said that he learned that lesson after Giovanni's pizza. However, Giovanni argued that it was not his fault that nobody else checked his pizza. Later, Milly was getting tired of grating the cheese.
Before service[]
When the red team came back from their reward, Nick's jaw dropped over Elise's ball gown and jokingly sang "Here Comes the Bride" when Robyn told him that it was the latter's wedding dress, much to the blue team's humor. Later that night, both teams began prepping for Italian Night, and Manda asked Barbie to taste her pasta as she had Celiac Disease. After, Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell's Kitchen for Italian Night.
Dinner service[]
Melissa Fumero dined in the red chef table, while Devon Windsor and Olivia Culpo dined in the blue chef table, and an Italian seafood entrée was served tableside by Elise and Nick. The blue team received their first order, and while Benjamin knew that he had to keep the blue kitchen flowing as they were working with a new menu that night, he did not tell Robyn when to drop her scallops, much to Ramsay's annoyance. Then, Robyn fired only one order of scallops instead of the two needed, and she blamed Benjamin's poor communication skills because of that. Despite the problems, Robyn and Benjamin got their first appetizers accepted. In the red kitchen, Manda asked for somebody to taste her pasta, and while Michelle told her that it was good, Ramsay discovered that the pasta was raw and crunchy. Manda was annoyed at Michelle for letting her down, but the latter believed that Manda should have known the cook just by look alone. On their second attempt, Michelle thought that Manda's pasta was good, but Elise said that it tasted raw, and after some more cooking, Manda finally got her refire accepted.
One hour into service, both teams were pushing out appetizers, and the blue team was moving onto entrées. Giovanni wanted to redeem himself after his challenge failure, but while he and Van thought that their lamb was good, Ramsay discovered that it was very raw and brought the blue team into the pantry room, which Milly dubbed "Ramsay's dungeon." There, Ramsay accused Van of giving up and warned Giovanni to either get himself together or he would take over. When the blue team came back into the kitchen, a dismayed Jared thought that Giovanni and Van were the meat All-Stars and that the two of them could not cook a single lamb together. Van told Ramsay that they could get the refire ready in three minutes, but later, Giovanni announced that they needed three minutes to rest the meat, with a dismayed Ramsay calling it a joke. Then, Ramsay caught Van smiling throughout that, brought him back into the pantry, and asked the latter if he was ready to go home. Van said that he was not and apologized for smiling, as he laughed whenever he was nervous. After coming back, the blue team got the refire accepted and served their first order of entrées. In the red kitchen, the women received their first entrée order, and Ramsay reminded Michelle to ask for help as she was alone on meat. Michelle kept moving as she did not want to get behind on orders, but when she was walking to put the lamb in the convection oven, she slipped, and Manda deemed it karma. Despite that, Michelle got her lamb accepted, and in the blue kitchen, Jared was overwhelmed as there were a lot of garnishes that were being fired that night and was dragging the blue team because of it. Milly accused Jared of lying to them because of his poor performance, and Jared continued to call out inconsistent timings despite the proteins being ready to go. Then, Jared called for a medic as he claimed he cut his finger, but Ramsay saw that there was no cut and told Jared that he had a bigger cut on the end of his dick before sending him to see the medic. Robyn believed that Jared only called for a medic because he was crashing and burning that night. When Ramsay asked the blue team if Jared was bleeding to death, they all said no, and Van said he would have seared off his own cut on the flat top. In the red kitchen, Elise asked her teammates if they needed any help, but they were fine on their own, despite Elise claiming that she has been trying to become a better team player as it was the reason for her multiple nominations in Season 9. However, Barbie refused to let Elise bully her way into her own work, and the red team told the latter to go back to her own station.
In the blue kitchen, Jared came back and told everybody that he was bandaged up with no stitches needed, but Ramsay told him to grow some. Robyn and Giovanni sent up their entrées, but Ramsay discovered that Robyn's salmon overcooked. After showing the blue team, Ramsay dismayingly asked what happened to them as they were not the same team that performed strongly on the opening night, brought them to the back hallway, and yelled that they were no-stars instead of All-Stars. Then, Ramsay called the medic forward and asked him about Jared's cut. When the medic said that he did not see one, Ramsay kicked the blue team out of service before calling it the worst performance he had ever seen in his entire life. While going back to the dorms, Van called that night a nightmare and dismayingly commented that all he could do was smile about it. Back in the dining room, Nick discovered that his teammates were gone, came back into the kitchen, and after Ramsay told him how the blue team was a disaster throughout the night, Nick was sent back upstairs to join his teammates. In the red kitchen, the women completed their final ticket.
Post-mortem[]
Back in the dorms, Robyn told Jared he should not have called for a medic as he clearly did not have an injury, but he argued while he messed up, others made mistakes as well. When Nick asked what happened in the blue kitchen, Jared explained how Van and Giovanni sent up raw lamb, but Van and Benjamin recalled Robyn's problems with fish that night. However, Robyn argued that she recovered from the scallop mishap earlier, and Milly told Van he was his consideration as he was the one that sent up the raw lamb, and it was a major sin. Nick agreed with Milly, but Van said he was not ready to go home as he could cook and considered Robyn and Jared for elimination, which Giovanni agreed with. When Robyn pointed out that garnish sunk the kitchen that night, Jared argued that he had blood all over his hands, even though the former told him that he did not cut himself. However, Jared argued he did have blood on his towel, pointed out how Van and Giovanni sent up raw lamb and how Robyn did not drop scallops on time, and felt he was getting pummeled like a nerd. When Robyn asked how they could make future services better, Benjamin wanted to get through that night only, making Robyn feel that she was the outsider of the blue team as the former told her to chill out, and she left the room.
Elimination[]
Before asking for the nominees, Ramsay commented how far the blue team has fallen, and not only had the red team caught up with them, they were passing them. Benjamin announced Jared as the first nominee for elimination and Robyn as the second. During their pleas, Jared said that he was a stronger chef than Robyn, and while he admitted that he got lost that night, he felt he was a very vocal presence in the previous services. However, Ramsay reminded Jared that the only thing he was vocal about that night was for calling up a medic for a fake cut, despite the latter's arguments that it was there. Then, Ramsay asked Robyn if she was bonding with the blue team, but she answered that she wanted to go back into the red team due to the disastrous performance of the blue team that night. When Giovanni called her out on that, Robyn argued that the blue team had poor communication skills and pointed out she never asked to be in the blue team in the first team before claiming she was not a quitter, unlike Jared. After a tough decision, Jared was eliminated for his poor performance on garnish, being inconsistent throughout the competition, and lying about an injury.
After Jared left, Ramsay said that he was running out of patience and warned the chefs that they would be put through a test never seen before in the competition. While being dismissed, Giovanni felt that Robyn's plea to go back into the red team was disrespectful, while Jennifer felt that the red team was solid without Robyn and that the blue team would crumble. Then, Van sad that Robyn would be the next one eliminated as they could do better without her.
Ramsay's comment: "Medic? More like pathetic. While Jared's cut was imaginary, now he knows what it really is like to get cut."
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: The title refers to the Pizza Fusion Challenge.