The sixth episode of Season 20 of Hell's Kitchen aired on July 5, 2021. In that episode, Ramsay hosted his eldest daughter's 21st birthday party, one team's luck continued to get better, and one chef lost their last chance to stay after making an inexcusable mistake during service.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Brynn got heated after Payton threw her under the bus that night and confronted him about it on the patio. Payton defended his plea by arguing that he had to defend himself on the chopping block, but Brynn accused him of trying to make her look bad. Payton argued against that but secretly wanted Brynn gone as he got annoyed with her emotional outbursts.
Team challenge[]
The following day, the chefs were getting up as the blue team did a freestyle rap, though Steve could not get past the first lyric. Once downstairs, Ramsay explained how they lived in an era where photos were constantly taken every day compared to 1998. While most of the Young Gun's generation never thought twice of the pictures they uploaded, Ramsay revealed a couple he found from the internet. The first was Antonio in a fur coat, which he called thrifting. Then, Emily's high school showcase photo was shown, revealing that she had muscles. The following photos included Payton with pink hair, a sleeping Trenton, Kiya with uncurled hair, a racy photo of Keanu, and Sam bobbing for apples in his underwear. The last two slides included Steve in a teddy bear costume for Halloween and Kevin kissing a pig head at work. Ramsay's point was every moment from small to milestones was captured on photos and revealed they would celebrate somebody's milestone that day. Ramsay showed a picture of his daughter Megan as a baby and said she turned twenty-one today. Megan came in, and Ramsay introduced her to the chefs. Kevin became smitten by Megan's appearance and accent.
For the Megan 21st Planning Challenge, both teams must cook three appetizers and three entrées for Megan to judge and pick her favorites. The team with the most dishes on the menu won. Josie thought Megan's palate would be the same as Ramsay's and deemed it a tough challenge. Megan explained that she wanted variety on the menu but hated spicy food and broccoli. Before Ramsay could give the go-ahead, Megan jumped in and had the teams begin.
Both teams had 45 minutes to cook their sample dishes for Megan to taste. Brynn knew that Megan was their age and wanted to give her food that was Instagram-worthy. Twenty minutes left, Antonio said he was determined to impress Megan. Also, Antonio said that he, Kevin, and Trenton were the only chefs that have not gone for a reward, which he desperately wanted. Sam asked for blood oranges in the red kitchen as he wanted to make a Sophisticated Summer dish to prove himself to the red team. Four minutes left, Brynn decided to take an open mind for Payton as she figured Ramsay saw something nobody else did, only to get sprayed by his citrus juice. Megan made Pad Thai in the blue kitchen and did not want to mess up on Megan's big day. Eventually, both teams had their dishes cooked and plated on time. Because the blue team had an extra appetizer, Ramsay asked them to drop one for judging. Victoria decided to drop her pulled pork sliders from the judging as she feared they were too spicy for Megan.
The appetizer round was up first as Kiya, Brynn, Sam, Steve, Antonio, and Emily walked their dishes. Kiya's sticky wings were praised for living up to their name with great seasoning. At the same time, Steve's sesame-crusted salmon niçoise salad was deemed too buried for Megan's liking despite finding the salmon cooked well. So, Kiya won that battle as the red team won 1-0, and she was on cloud 9. The second round had Brynn's lobster roll with grilled pineapple praised for having the components work perfectly. In contrast, Emily's roasted red pepper and corn fritters with tequila had a nice balance. However, Ramsay got a bit concerned when Megan said she knew how tequila and lime paired well. In the end, Megan went with Brynn's dish as she thought Emily's dish lacked the pepper component. Brynn was excited to have her dish on the menu. Sam's Sophisticated Bite of Summer dish, a scallop over a blood orange crème, was deemed a Scooby Snack by Ramsay for the final appetizer round due to the small portion. Still, Megan liked the lightness of the dish. For Antonio, his lobster bacon mac and cheese had a perfect cook, and Megan picked his dish. The score was 2-1 for the red team, and Antonio thanked Megan.
For the entrée round, Josie, Payton, Keanu, Trenton, Megan, and Kevin walked their dishes. Josie's Filipino steak and eggs were deemed wonderful, but Trenton's pepper jam chicken lollipops were praised for the stickiness and the rice gelling well. So, Trenton scored that round, and the score was tied at two each. Payton's pan-seared salmon with prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and mixed herbed rice was criticized for having too much rosemary for the next round. Then, Megan's rice noodles with a soy-ginger peanut sauce were praised for being reminiscent of a Pad Thai, and she scored that round. With a score of 3-2 for the blue team, Keanu presented her smoked shrimp and grits. After Ramsay bugged Megan about smoking, they enjoyed the dish. Kevin's New York striploin with purple potato purée was praised for having a perfect cook, but Keanu scored that round. Ramsay asked Megan to pick her overall favorite of the six she picked, with the score tied at three each. After Antonio prayed she picked a blue chef dish, Megan picked the Pad Thai. With that, the blue team won the challenge, and Megan rose the roof internally. Ramsay congratulated the blue team for finally winning a challenge.
Scoring[]
| Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
| Dish | Score | Total | Dish | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appetizers | 1 1 0 |
1 2 2 |
Appetizers | 0 0 1 |
0 0 1 |
| Entrées | 0 0 1 |
2 2 3 |
Entrées | 1 1 0 |
2 3 3 |
| Results | 3*-3 | ||||
- * Best dish named by Megan broke the tie in the challenge and won it for their team.
Reward[]
The blue team was rewarded with a flow riding experience on the roof of Planet Hollywood and lunch proved by Café Hollywood. Trenton was happy as the blue team went up to change because he finally left Hell's Kitchen for a reward. During the reward, Emily was ready to get her surf on as the blue team each had a turn. While most wiped out, Kevin called it a dream come true. Megan took a hard faceplant after wiping out, but she recovered.
During lunch, Antonio toasted the blue team's reward as Emily felt refreshed before tonight's service. Steve asked what the red team were up to, but Trenton knew they were busting their ass on the punishment.
Punishment[]
The red team was punished by decorating the dining room for the party under the instructions of a strict party planner. Keanu knew that it was not a day to make mistakes and called the punishment a serious one. Because Brynn still had her Punishment Pass, Ramsay gave her a choice to use it, even though Trenton begged her not to. Brynn decided to stay with the red team because they were down a member.
During the punishment, party planner Joelle said they must keep on schedule and barked out orders to the red team. Even though this was the red team's first punishment, Payton knew it was not new to him and Sam. Joelle rejected the table placements and asked for someone to decorate the cake. Brynn deemed Joelle a demanding person, while Keanu said she had ten paper cuts while folding the candy boxes. Brynn had to restart after miscounting the candy.
Before service[]
Later that evening, both teams were ready for the service to begin. Ramsay told the blue team to open up that night while telling the red team to get out of their comfort zones. Then, Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell's Kitchen for Megan's 21st birthday.
Dinner service[]
In addition to the standard menu, the challenge-winning dishes Megan picked were added. The red team received their first order as Josie said she learned from her mistakes last time on appetizers. Josie knew that she had to be flawless for Megan as she got her flatbreads accepted. Antonio took the lead on appetizers in the blue kitchen as he knew there was one chance for a 21st birthday. Antonio said he would never forgive himself if he messed things up, only to send up an undercooked carbonara. Ramsay pulled Antonio and Victoria to the pass to see it, warning them that it was not the night to make a mistake. Trenton reminded Antonio that their dishes must be perfect that night, but the latter got the refire accepted.
Eventually, both teams got Megan's table split in half. As the blue team worked on their half of the table, Steve noted the pressure as they must be on their game, which is slim. While the red kitchen got all their appetizers up to the pass, Ramsay noticed that the blue team was missing an appetizer. Ramsay pushed Antonio to get the order ready in thirty seconds and asked Victoria to help him. Victoria knew that it was not acceptable to be late that night as she knew Ramsay would rip them apart for any mistake they made. Fortunately, Antonio got the appetizer out, and Megan's table received their dishes. With appetizers out, Ramsay called out the red team's first entrée order. However, Sam called out a flustered order, leading Kiya to get nervous about him and Payton on meat as both sucked in the previous service. Sam walked up the New York Striploin, but one of them was rare after Ramsay sliced into it. That left Kiya frustrated as she accused them of touching it too much. In the blue kitchen, Ramsay called out the first entrée order. Kevin wanted to bounce back after their rough start on appetizers and wanted to lead the pack. As the blue team sent their entrées to the pass, Ramsay accepted them and praised Megan for the steaks. However, Megan told Ramsay that Steve deserved the credit, and Ramsay said he loved this version of the blue team. Sam and Payton served their refire in the red kitchen, but it had raw white fat on the meat. Josie told the men to ask for verification on the cook and felt they would not send up a proper steak. So, Josie stepped in and felt their steaks, leading the third attempt to be accepted.
The next order was Megan's twelve top. While Sam asked for seven minutes, Ramsay made it easier by giving them eight minutes. Payton was confident about the Pad Thai as he cooked noodles before and knew how important it was to be perfect for Megan. Both teams got their entrées up to the pass, and Megan's table received their order. However, Megan found her noodles bland compared to earlier that day, and her friend agreed. Seeing this, Marino took Megan's dish back to the red kitchen. Infuriated by that, Ramsay called the red team down and had them taste the Pad Thai. All of them said it was bland and Ramsay demanded to know who seasoned them. Unfortunately, nobody spoke up until Payton said he cooked the dish. Keanu accused Payton's brain of being noodles, and Marino rubbed more salt in the wound by revealing that the blue team's Pad Thai was flavorable. Josie told Payton to get his thumb out of his butt, and the latter got his refire accepted. Moving onto their next order, Sam said that his biggest obstacle was temperatures as Keanu and Brynn gave their two cents for the lamb. Then, Josie walked the lamb from the oven, and Sam hoped it was cooked properly. After slicing into it, Ramsay called the red team down and asked questions about it. Sam seared it, Payton seasoned it, Keanu placed it in the oven, Brynn timed it, and Josie walked it. All of that led to a raw lamb which Ramsay called a teamwork level screw up on the highest level. Having had enough, Ramsay kicked the red team out of service and asked them to nominate three people as he was cutting the fat early. Meanwhile, the blue team worked on their final order as Trenton was glad they dug themselves out of the hole and finished strong. Once desserts were served, Ramsay thanked the blue team for waking up.
Post-mortem[]
Back in the dorms, Brynn was mortified about the lamb as a pissed Kiya reminded Sam about accounting for rest time. Brynn reminded Payton that he was on meat with Sam and asked if he knew about rest time. Payton said he did, but Josie reminded everyone that she was the one who walked the raw lamb after taking it out of the oven. Then, Brynn asked about the bland noodles, but Payton had no answer. That frustrated Keanu as Payton was responsible for cooking the dish for Megan. Brynn got embarrassed that Megan's noodles were sent back and nearly had a meltdown. Kiya quickly nominated Sam, Payton, and Josie as the red team's nominees, while Brynn got more emotional. Even though Payton got annoyed by that, Brynn shouted that she was pissed with the red team's poor performance that night, and they were back in the same position as last time.
Elimination[]
After both teams went to their respective spots, Ramsay chided the red team for failing to deliver on what he hoped was a perfect service. Keanu announced Sam as the red team's first nominee, with Payton as the second and Josie as the third. During their pleas, Sam said he was ready to fight and took responsibility for the problems on meat. Payton admitted to his mistakes that night, especially for serving Megan bland noodles, but he felt he grew stronger every day. Lastly, Josie admitted to knowing better than to intervene on other people's stations. After listening to their pleas, Ramsay sent Josie back in line but warned her not to send up somebody else's mistake. Payton was eliminated for serving bland noodles to Megan and running out of chances due to his irregular performances. Still, Ramsay acknowledged Payton's fight. During his exit interview, Payton was disappointed in his performance that night but called it an amazing journey.
After Payton's elimination, Ramsay dismissed the chefs for the evening. Sam called it a horrible night and thought it was a wake-up call to bounce back. Then, Josie learned to worry about herself more as it was a similar mistake she made before. Lastly, Victoria saw the red team struggle but was happy that the blue team was winning.
Ramsay's comment: "Payton struggled on the blue team and the red team. One thing's for sure, I don't want him on my team."
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: This episode references Megan Ramsay's 21st birthday party held at Hell's Kitchen.
- This marks the fourth time Ramsay asked a team to nominate three people for elimination, and the first time he made this request two episodes in a row.