The eleventh episode of Season 17 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on January 8, 2018. In that episode, an unlikely alliance was born, the chefs cooked pasta dishes on a budget, and an early front runner single handily sunk their team at dinner service.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Jennifer said that despite Barbie being eliminated, she was still upset at Elise for talking behind her back. Despite that, Jennifer admitted Elise was a strong competitor, brought the latter into the red bedroom, and suggested they should work together to take out Dana and Michelle. Elise agreed to an alliance with Jennifer as she believed Dana and Michelle were the weakest links on the red team, while Jennifer knew she was making a deal with the devil to be on Elise's good side.
Team challenge[]
At 11:15 PM, the chefs began to turn in for bed, only for Ramsay to call the dorms, and asked Robyn to bring everybody downstairs. That left Robyn to wonder if he was eliminating somebody else that night. Once downstairs, Ramsay reminded the chefs about the grand prize of that season, and after explaining that being a head chef was about managing a business along with running a kitchen, he said that one of the most profitable items in the business was pasta. For the Budget Challenge, both teams would be cooking three portions of their own pasta dish using a $20 budget at a local grocery store the following day. While being dismissed, Dana recalled how she participated in the challenge back in Season 10, and won it previously while feeling very confident in her chances.
The next day, both teams arrived at the grocery store and had 10 minutes to collect their ingredients. While Elise knew buying the ingredients was easy, it was harder to keep in their budget. Benjamin decided to buy the lobster tail for $10.99 as it added to the dish's value, but Nick was not happy when Milly asked for ground chicken. Then, Robyn and Michelle had a communication breakdown with the butcher they were talking to, with the latter forced to make compromises on the ingredients she wanted. Eventually, time was up, and all the chefs were able to keep from going over their budget.
After returning to Hell's Kitchen, both teams had 45 minutes to cook their pasta dishes. Still, when Milly announced his plan on a smoked chicken meatball pasta, Robyn did not think it was a smart move as they were supposed to be making their dishes profitable. However, Milly believed that he was doing many things to elevate his dish's flavor, and was confident in it. In the red kitchen, Michelle said that she was making pork potstickers, which confused Ramsay as that word did not resemble Italian food, leading her to change the dish into an Asian-inspired tortellini soup. Then, Elise revealed she was doing a take on paella, even though that was Spanish food, and a concerned Ramsay asked the red team if they were okay due to the unusual cultures being used. Jennifer was nervous over the dishes Elise and Michelle were cooking but reassured Ramsay that she was making clams and linguini. In the blue kitchen, Sous Chef Jocky warned Nick about his pasta drying out quickly for his English pea and ricotta ravioli dish, and the latter knew that he was taking a risk as there was no room for errors. Five minutes left, Michelle kept calling her pasta dumplings, annoying Dana as they were supposed to be pasta-based, and eventually, both teams got their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Bruce Kalman were invited as guest judges, with Dana feeling the pressure. Each judge would give a dollar value on each dish was presented, and the team with the highest amount of cash at the end would win. Jennifer was up first and presented her clam and linguini with corn purée. While praised for the flavors, it was criticized for having an overcooked texture, too delicate, and Jennifer received $67, which Elise deemed not a great start for the red team. Nick's English pea and leek ravioli with ricotta cheese and butter-poached lobster was praised for the beautiful presentation, having delicate pasta, but criticized for having air trapped in the pasta itself. So, Nick scored $81, and the score was $81-$67 for the blue team. However, Nick felt that Ramsay giving him $23 was harsh when another judge gave him $30. On the second round, Dana recalled that she used halibut back in Season 10 for the challenge, wanted to win again, and presented her seafood pasta with halibut, shrimp, and sautéed peas. However, it was criticized for being too rolled up to the point where Kalman's dish could not break apart easily, the fish being overcooked, and containing too much dairy. So, Dana scored $63, and she got dismayed as it was not the result she was expecting. Afterwards, Robyn's Creole pasta with shrimp, mussels, and clams was praised for tasting perfect, the pasta having a nice texture, she scored $89, and the score was $170-$130 for the blue team. On the third round, Michelle's Asian-inspired tortellini soup was praised for a flavorable broth, the first dish where the pasta's execution was nailed perfectly, and how it perfectly yielded the $20 budget. So, Michelle scored $97, and a shocked Jennifer commented that the former's dish killed it. Then, Milly's smoked chicken meatballs with garlic noodles were criticized for looking average, tasting bland and boring, and tasting dry. So, Milly scored $53, the red team led $227-$223, and a miffed Benjamin accused the former of digging a big ditch for the blue team. On the final round, Elise was confident that her dish would be enough for the red team to finally leave for the day and presented her seafood pasta with sausage. It was praised for being delicious, and Elise scored $93, much to her excitement. After, Benjamin's lobster pasta with pecorino Murano was praised for looking the most thought-out dish, having a lot of lift and lightness, and Robyn hoped for Benjamin to pull it out. However, Benjamin only scored $90, the red team won the challenge $320-$313, and Elise was overjoyed that they did not have to do another punishment.
Scoring[]
| Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
| Chef | Amount | Total | Chef | Amount | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer | $67 | $67 | Nick | $81 | $81 |
| Dana | $63 | $130 | Robyn | $89 | $170 |
| Michelle | $97 | $227 | Milly | $53 | $223 |
| Elise | $93 | $320 | Benjamin | $90 | $313 |
| Results | $320-$313 | ||||
Reward[]
The red team won a go-karting experience along with lunch, and Ramsay told Michelle that since her dish was the best of that day, it would be featured in that night's service. During the reward, Elise said while she would have rather had something than a go-kart race, she was competitive in what she normally did. Jennifer was seen driving like an old grandmother, according to Dana, and the latter and Elise fought for first place, only for her to win. During lunch, the women toasted to not having to do another punishment, and Dana believed with Barbie gone, they could finally go through a dinner service without fighting. However, Elise did not speak up about that as she felt they were all pretending to get along and told Michelle that Barbie was not the sole problem with the red team. However, Dana said the in-fighting was the major problem keeping them down and dismayingly commented they could not even enjoy a reward without bickering. Afterwards, the red team continued to eat with the mood soured.
Punishment[]
The blue team was punished by cleaning up the racks in the pantry rooms, and Robyn felt Milly should be very disappointed by costing them the victory. During the punishment, Milly knew everybody hated him for his low-scoring dish, but he wanted to work hard on the clean-up and kill service that night. However, Milly did little of the clean-up, irritating Robyn.
Before service[]
Later that night, both teams were seen prepping for service, but the blue team was confused by Sous Chef Jocky's thick Scottish accent when he asked them questions. Later, Michelle showed everybody how to prepare her dish that night, but Ramsay reminded her that they all knew how to poach tortellini before asking Marino to open Hell's Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Tyler Hilton, Sebastian Roche, and Kesha Sharp were in attendance that night. After receiving their first order, Elise and Jennifer communicated with each other, the former commented that it was the first time that season where she was on hot appetizers and knew that while there was nowhere to hide with four people in the kitchen, she was confident in her risotto. It paid off as Elise and Jennifer's appetizers were accepted, while in the blue kitchen, Nick and Milly were keeping pace. With appetizers moving out quickly, Ramsay decided to move onto entrées in the blue kitchen, and Robyn felt that it was her time to shine. However, Robyn accidentally talked over Ramsay's callout, irritating the latter as he lectured her not to make unimportant announcements on her lamb, leading Milly to comment that they should all shut up when Ramsay is talking. Then, Robyn was momentarily late on slicing a second Wellington on the ticket. It was sent up cold, and Benjamin said that she should be focused that night to have a good service. Despite that, Robyn's refire was accepted, and the blue team sent out their first entrée order.
Forty-five minutes into dinner service, Ramsay asked Dana for an update on the meat, but when the latter opened the convection oven, she announced that she needed to refire the Wellingtons as her initial batch was scorched and it may take 20 minutes for her refires to cook. Despite that, Ramsay allowed them to flip to another ticket, even though Jennifer called it the worst, and then Dana sent up raw lamb. That left Elise speechless, and Ramsay yelled the red team was currently behind. In the blue kitchen, Robyn failed to repeat the order Ramsay called out moments ago, and while she was able to recite it eventually, Benjamin felt it was diarrhea coming out of her mouth before not communicating with her on slicing times. Then, Robyn sent up two Wellingtons when only one was ordered, Ramsay asked her what was wrong before bringing her to the pantry room and ordered her to wake up after she blamed Benjamin for screwing her up. However, Benjamin told Robyn off in response.
Two hours into service, the red team was making up for lost time, and both teams were at their final three tickets, leading Ramsay to announce that the first team to finish would win. That made Milly determined to beat the red team as the blue team got another order sent out, and in the red kitchen, Dana said that she was responsible for the last three tickets. In the blue kitchen, Robyn knew that she was under pressure as the last two tickets were all meat and refused to lose it for the blue team as they decided to cook their two tickets together. In the red kitchen, the red team was able to get their second to last ticket out, while in the blue kitchen, they were still waiting on Robyn's duck breasts as they needed to rest. In the red kitchen, Dana sent up the Wellington for the final ticket, but while she felt she was under control, it was overcooked, and Elise complained the hits were still coming. Then, Dana sent up her backup Wellington, but it was raw, leading a dismayed Ramsay to send the red team to the pantry room, ordered them to head back to the dorms, and asked them to name two people for elimination as he and Sous Chef Christina would finish up. While being dismissed, Elise was upset they got booted on the final ticket, accused Dana of having a meltdown, and hoped her alliance with Jennifer was still there. Meanwhile, the blue team got their final two tickets accepted.
Post-mortem[]
Back at the dorms, Jennifer knew that it would be difficult due to the dwindling numbers, while Elise considered Dana for her poor performance that night and Michelle for not listening and not accepting responsibility. Jennifer, as part of their alliance, agreed with Elise, but Michelle did not believe that the red would be stronger without her as Dana considered Jennifer and Elise for elimination. When Elise argued she did not have a bad night and they were intimidated by her, Dana called her a bully, and Michelle reminded Elise they could not base it off on just one night, leading the latter to accuse the two of being a clique called "Dachelle." Then, Michelle considered Dana for elimination but struggled on the second choice as they would have a three-way tie for nominations. Later, Elise and Jennifer agreed if Ramsay asks them who the weakest chef on the red team was, they would say Dana.
Elimination[]
Before asking for the nominees, Ramsay reminded the chefs that everything now would be under a microscope as he was starting to imagine any one of them as his next head chef. Dana announced that the red team had a three-way tie on nominations, and Jennifer announced that while Dana was the first nominee, the second nominees were tied with Michelle and Elise. When Elise claimed that "Dachelle" voted together, Michelle reminded the former that she voted for Dana. Despite being dismayed by the further infighting from the red team, Ramsay called the three women down to the front. During their pleas, Elise claimed she was a leader and wanted to lead, while Dana said that she was not the weakest chef on the red team despite a poor night. Then, Michelle said she did not take things personally and defensive like Elise, with Dana adding on how the latter fought with everybody in the red kitchen. Although Elise denied that, Dana reminded the multiple fights the latter had with everybody, with Robyn even reminding Elise about the argument they had over meat after the opening night. In the end, Ramsay sent Michelle and Elise back in line before eliminating Dana for her poor performance on meat and being the reason the red team got kicked out of service. Before leaving, Ramsay told Dana that while he was originally excited to bring her back, she had her worst day in her entire run on the show and felt she was not leadership material. During her exit interview, Dana called the red team a disaster, believed Elise should have gone home instead of herself, and argued the latter's bullying nature was a façade for being insecure.
After Dana left, Ramsay warned the remaining chefs come the next day, they would all face a tough day in the competition and it was important for them to stand out as individuals. While being dismissed, Michelle accused Jennifer of not being honest with her votes and Ramsay saw through the latter's lies, Elise claimed Michelle would not last long being on her own, and Jennifer wondered how long her alliance with Elise would last.
Ramsay's comment: "In two seasons, this was Dana's first time ever being nominated. Unfortunately for her, it was also her last."
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: The title refers to pasta being the main theme in the Budget Challenge. It is also a pun on the phrase "Trying to pass the test".
- With Dana's nomination this episode, everyone in this season has been nominated at least once in both of their own personal runs in Hell's Kitchen.
- The red team's go-kart race reward scene is edited in a similar style to the "Mario Kart" games.
- With this episode, Dana becomes the first chef to win the Budget Challenge in two different seasons.