The first episode of Season 2 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on June 12, 2006, airing as a double feature alongside the second episode. In that episode, twelve aspiring chefs arrived at Hell’s Kitchen, the teams were divided by gender for the first time ever, and opening night was nothing to cheer about.
Intro[]
The season began with a recap of the previous season. Since then, Ramsay became a national superstar in America. Afterwards, clips of that season were shown, but while the narrator mentioned that nearly 10,000 aspiring chefs auditioned for that season, only twelve were chosen. These included cafeteria cook Maribel, pizza chef Giacomo, and prison chef Garrett. In addition, the narrator announced that for the first time ever, it was a battle of the sexes, and an even bigger grand prize was announced. The winner would receive their very own restaurant at the brand-new Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas.
The twelve contestants arrived in Hell's Kitchen on a bus and were greeted by Jean-Philippe. Sara was very excited for this chance in a lifetime. They celebrated with some champagne glasses, got to know each other, and had a first look at the restaurant. Meanwhile, Ramsay, in his office, was checking the contestants' profiles and pictures. He called Keith, who wanted to prove that he looked the way he acted can still kill it in the kitchen, slightly demented based on his photo. Then, Ramsay was shocked when he saw Virginia was putting makeup on at work, while the latter deemed the former hot. Afterwards, Ramsay walked through the hallway, opened the dining room doors, and greeted the contestants by introducing himself and announcing that only one of them would win the competition. The only way that person would win was to impress him and asked all of them to cook their signature dishes.
Signature dish challenge[]
For the Signature Dish Challenge, each contestant had 30 minutes to prepare their signature dish. During the cooking, Tom could not find a corkscrew to open his wine bottle, so he was forced to open it with a knife. However, the strikes against the wine bottle broke it, and Tom admitted that it looked a lot easier in the movies. As the challenge neared the end, Gabe feared that his heart was beating from his neck due to being nervous. Eventually, everybody had their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Before tasting their dishes, Ramsay said their signature dishes were meant to represent themselves on a plate, but when he uncovered the first dome, he asked who made the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Keith revealed that it was his cha-ching sesame-crusted tuna, and when Ramsay asked him what cha-ching means, Keith answered by saying it is his slang for slammin' and money. Ramsay did not believe him when Keith said the dish was light as it looked like a dish for six and asked him to take his hat off so he could put the feta cheese on top of it. After tasting the dish, Ramsay deemed the sauce too hot, but when Keith pointed out that he was supposed to dip it in with care, Ramsay retorted that he would stop eating it with care. After the critiques, Keith found the inside of the hat to be soiled by the feta cheese but still deemed it wearable. Rachel's butterfly shrimps with chocolate sauce were up next, and she deemed herself a proud redneck before refusing to let anybody run over her. Initially, Ramsay was dismayed by the concept, and when Rachel warned him not to eat a red chilli flake in case of a hot mouth, he retorted that his mouth was more fucked than hot. The dish was deemed weird as, although Ramsay found the prawns to taste delicious, he found the chocolate sauce to obliterate the overall flavors. However, Rachel felt that his opinion was based on his different upbringing and that if she ate kidney pie, she would call it crap just as easily as Ramsay disapproved of her dish. When Polly went up, she revealed she cooked for most of her life, and after birthing six sons, she could handle Hell’s Kitchen. However, Polly’s "undone" focaccia bread with garlic dipping oil was poorly received as Ramsay stated he would rather eat poodle shit and refused to eat it. Larry's potato crab cakes with Asian flair and peppers were up next, and he knew how it was like to be underestimated. The dish was deemed hot, and it had undercooked crunchy potatoes, but Larry warned everybody not to piss him off unless they wanted a pit bull. Maribel was the fifth contestant to have her dish judged and presented her Argentine plantain soup. Still, Ramsay spat it out as he found it garlicky, hot and compared the presentation to baby vomit. Maribel deemed it an embarrassment but also called Ramsay a wimp for not liking the spices.
After big disappointments, Ramsay said he was starting to feel sick, did not know if he wants to go any further, and wondered if it could get any worse. When Ramsay opened the sixth dome, Tom became fearful as that was his dish, but step forward. Ramsay saw that Tom was sweating, but the latter called himself a schweatzer. Tom’s shrimp scampi with cooked Caesar salad shocked Ramsay as he was never served a cooked Caesar salad before in his life. Finding the concept to be disgusting, Ramsay took the Caesar salad off the plate and into Tom’s hands before spitting out the shrimps. However, Tom claimed that he could handle the criticisms, and if Ramsay did not care, he would not have broken his chops. As Heather went up, she told everybody that she was a Sous Chef leading a twelve-person brigade and told them not to call her babe or hon. Heather served chocolate raspberry empanadas. Even though Ramsay hated the idea and felt the outside was too thick to digest, he called her dish the best he has tasted so far. When Garrett went up, Ramsay asked him where he learned how to cook, and he said in prison during his sentence. Garrett explained that he was arrested for stolen checks, served five years in prison, and declared he would be an asshole if Ramsay were one to him. Then, Ramsay called down Gabe and had him taste Garrett’s dish, which appears to be seared beef cubes. Wanting to use that to showcase Garrett’s weakness, Gabe told Ramsay it was overcooked. While Garrett accused him of lying, Ramsay confirmed Gabe’s opinion by calling the meat dry, praising the latter for his honesty. However, Gabe’s grilled monkfish was so raw, Ramsay said he could call it sushi. Afterwards, Ramsay unveiled Giacomo's Frutti di Mare and Sara's herb-crusted salmon with crab pasta at the same time, calling both down. When Ramsay offered Sara a taste of Giacomo's dish, he wanted to see if she would blow smoke up Ramsay’s ass by calling it terrible. Fortunately, Sara found it very nice, and Ramsay deemed it not bad, declaring it the best dish of the season and thanking Giacomo for making something edible. Giacomo shook Ramsay's hand and acknowledged he could emerge as a leader. On the other hand, Sara's herb-crusted salmon with peeky-toe crab pasta was overcooked and compared to a big ball of mush by Ramsay, although she argued that she did the best of what she had because he did not barf it out. Finally, Virginia's coconut and pomegranate celery root salad were up, but it had nothing cooked except the toasted nuts. Ramsay said it was fine as far as rabbit food goes because it was raw and crunchy. However, Virginia was still proud of her dish and felt a rabbit would not even eat it due to it containing coconut milk.
Scoring[]
| Signature Dishes | |
| Chef | Rating |
|---|---|
| Keith | Poor |
| Rachel | Mixed |
| Polly | Poor |
| Larry | Poor |
| Maribel | Poor |
| Tom | Poor |
| Heather | Decent |
| Garrett | Poor |
| Gabe | Poor |
| Giacomo | Good |
| Sara | Poor |
| Virginia | Poor |
Teams[]
After the challenge, Ramsay was concerned but was willing to push the chefs to the extreme. Then, Ramsay announced that the winner would become the Executive Chef at a brand-new restaurant, and Rachel was prepared to sell her house when she won. When Ramsay asked the chefs if they were up for the challenge, they all replied they were. After, Ramsay introduced Sous Chefs Scott and Mary-Ann, and declared that for the first time, the teams would be divided by genders. The men in the blue team, cooking with Sous Chef Scott, and the women in the red team, cooking with Sous Chef Mary-Ann. Tom was the only one who applauded that decision and claimed he could not ask for a better situation as he did not have to check on someone anymore. On the other side, Sara wanted to prove that women in the kitchen were not catty.
Before service[]
Once the teams were divided, Sous Chef Scott led the contestants into the dorms. Garrett arrogantly believed that the men would become the strong team, while Heather revealed that the women planned to get the men out first and have an all-female finale. After changing, both teams got down in the kitchen where Ramsay announced the restaurant would be open in 24 hours. The teams had to begin prepping for the opening night, knowing they would not get much sleep that night.
During prep, Tom knew that the men wanted to get out before the women, while the Sous Chefs told both teams what they needed to prep. Polly revealed that she never went to culinary school and had to pay close attention to what was being said so she could get the job done. In the blue kitchen, Tom was sweating in the food, Ramsay warned him that they were in danger of getting closed before even opening and told him to start over. Tom did so and put a headscarf on to contain the sweat. By 2:33 AM, the women’s teamwork allowed them to finish prep early, while the men struggled to prep as individuals. While the women gave each other compliments, Larry could not believe they finished before the men. At the same time, Giacomo was not happy about it as he feared being sluggish could hurt them the following night.
The next day, at 7 AM, both teams were back in the kitchen prepping, but while the women were energized thanks to the extra hours of sleep, the men felt the toll of the long hours of prep. Larry said he only got 45 minutes of sleep and was running on fumes. Minutes before service, Ramsay had both teams lined up, reminded them about opening night, and warned them that no matter what happened, someone was going home. Then, Ramsay asked for two volunteers without telling anybody what they were volunteering for. From the red team, Heather, Rachel, Sara, and Virginia raised their hand quickly. Still, Giacomo was the only one who did and did it very slowly from the blue team. Ramsay eventually chose Giacomo and Heather to be the kitchen donkeys during that service, meaning they were responsible for keeping their kitchen immaculate. Giacomo regretted that decision as he would not have volunteered if he knew what it was for, but Heather was very enthusiastic about it. While Rachel deemed losing Heather an unfortunate situation, she still felt the women could beat the men that night.
Dinner service[]
Before the first ticket arrived, Virginia asked Rachel how long a chicken should cook for before holding up her hands to show how nervous she was. In addition, Ramsay reminded Tom not to sweat in the food. Eleven minutes after opening, the first ticket came in the blue kitchen. Giacomo and Heather, as the donkeys, were already hard at work as the former went to get Keith some ladles and the latter mopping the floor. The first ticket of the red team came in seventeen minutes after opening, but Polly was already struggling on the appetizer station and was helped by Rachel, Maribel and Sous Chef Mary-Ann. In the blue kitchen, Ramsay warned Tom that he did not give a fuck if he did the first order himself.
Twenty minutes into dinner service, Polly’s first risotto was overcooked, glued to the plate, and the mushrooms were missing. However, Ramsay was more dismayed that Polly produced a dish like that even with help and asked her if she was happy to send that. Polly answered no, and Ramsay told her to trash it and start again, which she called demoralizing. Tom sent up raw scallops in the blue kitchen, and Ramsay told him to start the table again and move his ass. However, Tom felt he was lost in the woods.
One hour into service, customers have only eaten bread since service began, and Ramsay asked Polly for a time on the refire. Polly said six minutes, but Sara tried to overshadow her by saying two minutes. When an annoyed Ramsay asked who was running appetizers, Polly said she was and pushed Sara off her station. A hurt Sara told Polly not to crawl up her ass like a hemorrhoid just for trying to help. When Polly sent her refire to the pass, Ramsay asked her to taste it, and she said it was bland. So, Ramsay refused to serve it and asked her to start once again. Tom got his refire accepted in the blue kitchen, and appetizers were leaving the blue kitchen, making him feel he did well despite a slow start. Unfortunately, one of the men’s customers complained his risotto had no pumpkin in it. He had a heated argument with Jean-Philippe over it despite the latter noticing he nearly finished the risotto. Then, the customer went to the kitchen himself to speak with Ramsay, but when he asked for more pumpkin, Ramsay offered him to ram it right up his ass and asked him if he would rather like it whole or diced. Embarrassed, the customer went back to his seat. After that incident, a minor fire erupted on Tom's station, he tried to put it out by blowing on it but was unsuccessful. Eventually, Tom was saved by Gabe, who turned the gas off for him.
An hour and a half into service, Polly was on her fourth attempt at her first risotto, but Ramsay was fed up as they put more food in the trash bin than he has seen in ten years. So, Ramsay made Polly switch stations with Heather, making her the new kitchen donkey and the latter running appetizers. Polly felt that by now, things were going downhill, and being nice was not cutting it. With Heather seeing how poorly things were, she was ready to get it done as she called out three minutes. Tom failed to notice his stove was still off in the blue kitchen due to the fire incident. He was slow communicating to Ramsay about it, and the latter told him to think with his head next time. After, Ramsay told Larry, who was standing still like the Statue of Liberty, to be livelier and understand what is going on, even if he did not have much to do. So, Larry said he was ready, and an exasperated Ramsay said God bless America. After only three minutes on appetizers in the red kitchen, Heather sent an acceptable risotto to the pass. When it went to the dining room, Sara started cheering, only to be calmed down by Heather. However, Ramsay heard that, schooled Sara on her behavior, and said there was nothing to cheer about as the first table went out after nearly two hours of service. However, Sara felt she should not have been shouted at and felt like a little worm on a big hook.
Two hours into service, both teams have completed appetizers, and the pressure turned on Virginia and Gabe on their respective meat station. Gabe said he needed 10 minutes because his oven was not hot enough, and his Wellingtons were not well done. Ramsay was discouraged as they were very far in the shit, but Gabe felt a little frustrated as the former was not watching every little move he made. In the red kitchen, Virginia had the same problems as she brought up undercooked Wellingtons to the pass, and Ramsay asked her to start over. Seeing that, Maribel wished she was on meat instead and wondered why Ramsay had her standing around like a smuck. Then, Virginia became confused and struggled to answer Ramsay's questions as she had no idea what was on the menu. However, Ramsay told Virginia that he did not care what she sent up as he wanted food. After, Virginia could not find the lamb sauce and tried to pass veal sauce instead, but Sous Chef Mary-Ann told her she could not do that. So, a desperate Virginia went into the blue kitchen to ask Keith if she could borrow him some lamb sauce. Keith categorically refused to and asked her to go back into her kitchen, which she did, making her more dismayed.
Three hours into service, the customers received plenty of wine but very little food. They started to shout, "I want my food!" all over the dining room. Witnessing this, Ramsay ordered Jean-Philippe and both teams to shut down the service. Keith was embarrassed as the men failed to kill it, while Heather was embarrassed by that night’s service.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay said there was no winning team that night, so it came down to which team did worse overall. Then, Ramsay reminded Sara's cheering after two hours and one table and gave out his own cheer by spelling out crap. After, Ramsay said that Larry spaced out in a stare. Even though neither team produced enough food, Ramsay declared the women the losers for serving zero entrées whatsoever. After reminding the blue team they did not win, Ramsay named Heather "Best of the Worst" for being able to send food out after several unsuccessful attempts by her team in the first hour and a half. Ramsay asked Heather to name two people for elimination.
During deliberation, Heather was rattled as she never thought about being singled out as the one who sent her teammates home and asked her team how they felt. Maribel expressed anger as she was not given an opportunity to cook, while Polly felt like an idiot, especially when Sara tried to overtake her on appetizers. Heather knew Sara should have kept her mouth shut that night instead of repeating two minutes fifteen times before being approached by the latter. Sara apologized about the cheering, but Heather asked how she could smile afterwards because her dream could have ended at that moment. Later, Virginia was dismayed about failing that night, and Heather told her she did not want to see her go home.
Elimination[]
Heather nominated Polly as her first nominee for elimination and Virginia as her second, despite convincing the latter she does not want her to go home. During their pleas, Virginia wanted to succeed despite her mistakes and wanted to try harder, while Polly said her maturity would outshine her lack of experience. Although Ramsay felt that both should go home, he eliminated Polly for being the worst performer of the night and lacking the knowledge and experience. During her exit interview, Polly knew that while her family would be surprised to see her back so soon, she was happy to have left being herself instead of becoming a lying and conspiring person.
After Polly left, Ramsay said he was anxious because they knew what the stakes were, and so far, neither of them deserved it. So, Ramsay urged them to show him some passion and desire. While being dismissed, Virginia felt the women hated her, and she hated herself. In contrast, Tom felt that even though he was getting singled out, he wanted to turn it around. Then, Heather said that the only way to go now was up after that night, and Garrett knew why it was called Hell’s Kitchen, as it was trying to break him. Finally, Sara predicted that the audience would talk down on the women after that night and admitted that they were right.
Ramsay's comment: "This is a journey, and right now, we're going to hell and back each and every week to make sure we find the right person. And Polly? No chance."
Trivia[]
- This episode features a couple of first for the series:
- First time the teams were divided into genders.
- First time a burning picture sequence took place after the coat hanging.
| Hell's Kitchen Season 2 Episodes |
|---|
| 12 Chefs • 11 Chefs • 9 Chefs • 8 Chefs • 7 Chefs • 6 Chefs • 5 Chefs • 4 Chefs • 3 Chefs • 2 Chefs/Winner |