The ninth episode of Season 17 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on December 8, 2017. In that episode, the chefs fished for their ingredients, a disgusting punishment got worst when one chef tried to weasel their way out, and a shocking and controversial elimination of a big fan favorite took place.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Michelle told Nick that she explained to Elise how the raw chicken was her responsibility and called her a liar for telling Ramsay otherwise. However, Elise continued to say Michelle did not take responsibility for her mistakes, but Nick accused her of saying that due to Michelle naming her as one of the weakest chefs on the red team. Elise denied that and continued to deride Michelle for riding through service, even though Nick told her the former to shut up. The argument continued throughout the night into the next day, and Nick called Elise a bully for picking on Michelle before reminding her how the red team was losing to the blue team and mocking her constant boops.
Team challenge[]
Later that day, both teams came outside to the front entrance to find a large boat parked in the driveway, and Ramsay asked if they all wanted to go fishing. While everybody was eager to, even though Dana commented that all she did on fishing trips was drink beer, Ramsay revealed they would be fishing at the Hell's Kitchen Lake instead. For the Fishing Challenge, both teams would be cooking with Dover sole, red snapper, grouper, arctic char, and cod. To gain more ingredients, they had to collect lures that contained the ingredients and hook the lures into their fish' mouths before throwing them to their teammates across the lake. Each chef could collect a maximum of seven ingredients, and both teams had a moment to discuss who would be cooking what.
Barbie and Van were the first chefs from their teams to collect their ingredients. Since Van already had an idea for a potato-skinned Dover sole, he managed to find Yukon potatoes. However, Robyn had trouble catching his fish as it was slippery. Meanwhile, Elise struggled to catch Barbie's fish as well, and the round ended with both the latter and Van gaining six ingredients. As the challenge continued, Dana found it funny that they could not catch a fish, while Elise wasted her round being too picky on what ingredients she wanted and ended up with three ingredients, which Michelle called karma.
Afterwards, the chefs had 30 minutes to cook their dishes, but Elise was not confident about her chances due to having three ingredients and annoyed Dana with her constant complaining. In the blue kitchen, Van felt good about his dish, but when he went to pull it out of the pan, the potato skin fell off his Dover sole. Despite less than seven minutes left, Van decided to cook another fish and knew he was screwed if he did not pull it out. Eventually, both teams got their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Before judging their dishes, Ramsay announced that the winning team would be sent to Las Vegas, and Dana wanted to go to Vegas and leave Hell's Kitchen. Michael Cimarusti was invited as a guest judge, and Milly admitted that he was a big fan of the former. On the first round, Jennifer and Nick presented their cod dishes, and the former warned the latter that she had a few things under her sleeves as a Massachusetts girl. Jennifer's pan-seared cod with candied pecan and soy sauce was praised for the salty-sweetness balance, for being seasoned well, and having a crispy skin, while Nick's pan-roasted cod with crispy prosciutto and lemon-chive Berblanc was criticized for taking the skin off. So, Jennifer won that round, the score was 1-0 for the red team, and she mockingly told Nick that she would pack her bags. On the grouper round, Robyn's seared grouper with salsa verde and topped with salsa gramma was praised for the creaminess of the sauces, while Michelle's cast iron grouper with a cucumber broth was criticized for being underseasoned. So, Robyn won that round, the score was tied at one each, and an annoyed Michelle asked the former why she could not have produced strong dishes when she was in the red team. On the red snapper round, Elise's snapper dish was criticized for tasting like two completely different dishes, but when she tried to argue that she was at a disadvantage for only getting three ingredients, Barbie got tired of her constant excuses, and Ramsay mocked Elise for that comment. Then, Milly's Caribbean red snapper with cinnamon yams was praised for being flavorable, he won that round for the blue team, the score was 2-1 for the blue team, and Nick told Elise that she could not blame the fact that she herself collected only three ingredients, before mocking her with boops again. On the arctic char round, Benjamin's arctic char with peas and pancetta was praised for having a great presentation and a beautiful dish, while Dana's Atlantic arctic char with chorizo hash was praised for the hash component. After a tough decision, Ramsay and Cimarusti decided to award both the point and the score was 3-2 for the blue team. On the final round, Barbie presented her Dover sole with creamed leeks, and it was praised for being cooked very well. Then, Van's potato skinned Dover sole with bacon and Swiss chard was praised for having a strong concept. After a tough decision, Van won that round, the blue team won the challenge 4-2, and he proclaimed that he was feeling lucky. After, a dismayed Jennifer knew that she would have to unpack her bags.
Scoring[]
Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jennifer | 1 | 1 | Nick | 0 | 0 |
Michelle | 0 | 1 | Robyn | 1 | 1 |
Elise | 0 | 1 | Milly | 1 | 2 |
Dana | 1 | 2 | Benjamin | 1 | 3 |
Barbie | 0 | 2 | Van | 1 | 4 |
Results | 4-2 |
Reward[]
As promised, the blue team was rewarded with an overnight trip to Las Vegas, got to stay at Caesars Palace, and received a ride on the tallest Ferris wheel, the Link High Roller. Then, Ramsay had the red team muffle their ears with their hands and told the blue team that they would be travelling in a private jet, much to their excitement.
During the reward, Milly admitted that he never flew in a private jet before and proclaimed that he would fly like that for the rest of his life. At Las Vegas, the blue team met up with Sous Chef Christina at Gordon Ramsay's Pub and Grill, and Robyn recalled how the former won Season 10 before becoming Ramsay's right-hand woman and wanted to take any notes she said. On the Link High Roller, Sous Chef Christina told the blue team to take in the view and reminded them that the Caesar Palace strip would be somebody's home, as Benjamin wanted to become the Head Chef of the Hell's Kitchen restaurant.
Punishment[]
The red team was punished by participating in fish delivery and prep them for the following service. Back at the dorms, a downed Jennifer admitted that she thought the red team had it. During the punishment, an annoyed Dana thought they were done with deliveries after the previous one, and Jennifer wanted to be delivered from their punishment. Then, Michelle gave Elise some tips on how to debone one of the fish, but Barbie passively mocked Dana's method of deboning her salmon. That dismayed Elise as she thought there was some unity growing, did not understand Barbie's process, and said she could not handle the latter's shade any longer.
For lunch, Sous Chef Jocky gave the women protein shakes to drink, but they all turned out to taste disgusting. Refusing to go through with it, Barbie decided to dump her shake into the trash can, but Sous Chef Jocky gave her another one and informed the red team that they all had to finish their protein shakes thanks to Barbie's actions. That angered Elise, who called Barbie a lunatic and wanted to send the latter's ass packing. Jennifer called Barbie an asshole as the red team reacted disgustingly to their drinks, while Dana, Elise, and Michelle all vomited.
Before service[]
The next day, the blue team returned from their reward, and both teams began prepping for that night's service, which included an Asian Fusion menu. Dana hoped it did not turn into confusion night. Ramsay gave both teams tips on implementing the new menu before asking Marino to open Hell's Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Aleks Paunovic and E-40 were in attendance that night in the dining room, and the chef's tables were booked with Cheryl Burke eating in the red kitchen and Dan Bucatinsky eating in the blue kitchen. Barbie welcomed Burke at her table, as she was a big Dancing with the Stars fan, but that annoyed Elise. After receiving their first order, Ramsay told Barbie to lead the red kitchen, but Elise felt that the latter did not know how to do that and decided to take the leadership role. However, that annoyed Barbie, who believed that the red team was team petty, and Dana got annoyed by Elise's repetitive call-outs. In the blue kitchen, the blue team received their first order, and Robyn received help from Bucatinsky's table on order. When Robyn talked with the chef's table, an annoyed Nick called her a ham and told her to focus on the grand prize before thinking that he should hire her as his Sous Chef. Then, Robyn was slow on the cod, and an annoyed Ramsay told them to speed up as they were slowing down.
One hour into service, Elise and Barbie had a brief shouting match over cooking times, which Jennifer called old news as the two's egos were hurting the red team. When Barbie and Elise argued again, an annoyed Sous Chef Christina ordered the two to shut up as there were guests in the kitchen, but when the entrées were sent up, a pissed Ramsay brought the entire red team into the pantry room to show them Barbie's ice-cold New York striploin. After Ramsay lectured Barbie not to send up entrées that were not ready, Dana commented that it was the sixth time that night where she said that the latter sucked. In the blue kitchen, Van was uncharacteristically quiet on the following order, which Robyn noticed, and then Milly sent up raw New York striploin, with the latter feeling that things were in slow motion. Despite Milly claiming that he needed ten more minutes on the refire, Benjamin pointed out there were thirteen other steaks on the meat station he could have used. Despite that, Milly got the refire accepted, and in the red kitchen, Elise was sent by Sous Chef Christina to check on Burke's table, but Barbie beat her to the punch. When one of Burke's guests commented that his duck was too pink for him, Barbie offered to cook another one despite his refusal. That led to Elise apologizing for the table on Barbie's behalf, deemed the latter a nut case, and Barbie still wanted to cook another duck despite the man's refusal. As Elise and Barbie continued to argue, an annoyed Ramsay brought them to the pantry room to get the full story and ordered them to work out their differences in there. However, the two continued to bicker about the duck.
One hour and a half into service, Van was once again uncommunicative with his team for the chef's table. Ramsay was pissed when he did not communicate about the salmon and accused Van of being too laid back. That caused Milly to accuse Van of having a longer night at Las Vegas than himself due to the latter's slow movement, and things got worse when Van sent up an overcooked salmon, causing Ramsay to accuse him of shutting down. However, Van got his refire accepted, it was sent to the chef's table, and both teams completed service without any more mistakes.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay said that while both teams completed service, he was surprised by the amount of pain it took for that to happen. So, both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate two each.
During deliberation, Van was nervous as he did not have a perfect service and he could be up for elimination. Milly told Van that he had the most struggles the entire night, and Nick felt the latter could improve on his communication. Despite that, Van refused to nominate himself and considered Robyn for being frazzled that night, which Nick agreed with. However, Robyn felt the blue team was only considering her out of fear she was doing better and considered Van and Milly for elimination, which Benjamin agreed with. However, Milly refused to believe that he was weak over one poor steak and felt that the blue team did not think he could become Ramsay's head chef at Las Vegas. Throughout the blue team's discussion, the red team's deliberation was heard very loudly, which an annoyed Nick deemed ridiculous.
On the red side, Barbie accused Elise of running her mouth by reading the ticket orders, and a fed-up Jennifer yelled she was sick and tired of the constant yelling before considering Elise for elimination based on the arguing that night. While Elise argued she was not the weakest chef, Michelle argued they were better off without the attitude, and Dana said the entire team got in trouble due to the two's arguments. However, Elise argued Barbie should go home because she has continued to struggle on meat and called the latter both a lunatic and crazy, causing the two to go back to arguing.
Elimination[]
Nick announced Robyn as the blue team's first nominee and Milly as the second. While Ramsay agreed with the choices, he also wanted to speak with Van and brought the three down. During their pleas, Van said that he was a hard worker and that he only wanted to make people happy, while Robyn said that she was loyal and felt that she did not deserve to be up for elimination, which caused Ramsay to send her back in line. Then, Milly said that he had the most passion for the blue team and was confident in his cooking standards. In the end, Van was eliminated for not communicating with his team and shutting down, much to the red team's shock. Still, before leaving, Ramsay urged him to keep his head up high and continue on his journey. During his exit interview, Van said that while he was not the weakest chef on the blue team, he would rather not argue about it and only wanted to make people happy with his cooking.
After Van left, Ramsay said that he was not done yet, and asked Dana for the red team's nominees. Dana announced Elise as the red team's first nominee and Barbie as the second. During their pleas, Barbie admitted to her mistakes and claimed that she was trying to get along with her teammates, while Elise argued that she was the strongest chef on the red team. In the end, Ramsay spared the two and sent them back in line but warned them all that they need to work on their weaknesses. While being dismissed, Dana called it an intense elimination before expressing frustration that Barbie was still around, while the latter refused to lose again. Then, Milly said that the blue team was no longer his friends as he now sees them as employees.
Ramsay's comment: "Van's always had one of the loudest voices here. Tonight, not only did he lose his voice but also his dream of becoming my next head chef."
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: The title refers to the ingredient gathering portion of the Fishing Challenge. It is also a reference to restaurants using the phrase "Catch of the day" to promote fish items on the menu.