The fourth episode of Season 2 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on June 26, 2006. In that episode, the first team switch of the season occurred, lunch was served at the restaurant for the first time, and a very bad dinner service from both sides resulted in two firsts.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Tom was pissed at his teammates for nominating him and said they would regret their decision. Tom confronted Garrett as he thought the latter had his back and expected he would have his, but Garrett argued that it was not an easy decision. However, while Garrett admitted to liking Tom, he felt the men would be stronger without him. Later that night, Tom commented he had nowhere else to go if he was eliminated as he went through four jobs in his life and was running out of chances to change career. Tom went on the patio and talked with Heather and Rachel about how he brought more than the 21-year-old’s, but Heather felt he was not getting it. She felt Tom underestimated their experiences as chefs, the sacrifices they made, and he should not be cooking. When Tom claimed he sacrificed everything to be there, Heather and Rachel got irritated about his comment. Heather commented she gave up time with her family to cook. However, Tom said he only cared about the money, disgusting Heather as she cared about the experience. Rachel told him she and Heather were born to do that. Heather was not happy that Tom was treating cooking like a game because it was all she knew what to do, but he did not care.
Team switch[]
The next day, both teams came downstairs, but with Gabe, Larry, and Giacomo's eliminations, the men were two people down. Ramsay bluntly told the men that they lost the battle of the sexes as they were dwindling. Then, he singled out Heather, Sara and Rachel as emerging leaders in the women. However, that comment pissed Virginia as she thought being bossy was not the definition of a leader. Because the men were in dire need of a leader, Ramsay transferred Heather into the blue team, which pissed her off because she now had to work against her girls. As Heather received her blue jacket, Ramsay said there was now a woman in the blue team to show the men what balls were. Although Keith did not think he needed a leader, he was tired of telling Tom what to do. At the same time, Sara was happy to see Heather go as she thought it was a perfect opportunity to take the reins of the red team.
Trip to Los Angeles[]
After the switch, Ramsay took all the contestants out of the restaurant to visit one of the most successful restaurants in Los Angeles. Tom thought they were going to Spago, Heather thought it was a Wolfgang Puck brand restaurant, and Sara was excited over going on a field trip. After a long walk, they arrived at Pink's Hot Dogs, which at the time was the busiest restaurant in Los Angeles, with 2000 customers each day. Tom was upset as he thought they were going to Spago. All the contestants ordered a hot dog to eat, with Rachel ordering the Gordon Ramsay hotdog, and Tom revealed he worked at a hot dog place when he was in college. Ramsay invited him to go behind the counter to make a hot dog, and when he did, Keith stated that Tom belonged there. Tom made himself a chili cheese dog, and afterwards, Ramsay asked him to get out before he sweats in the food, referring to his incident during the opening night’s prep. After eating their hotdogs, with Virginia wishing she had the Gordon Ramsay dog, Ramsay declared that Hell's Kitchen would open for lunch for the first time in less than two hours. So, the contestants ran back to the restaurant to begin prep, but Keith was the slowest to run because of his stature, stating that was how K-Reese rolled.
Once back in Hell's Kitchen, both teams had two hours to learn the menu and prep. The Sous Chefs told the teams that the menu would be simple as it included hamburgers, pizzas, French fries, and pasta. Rachel asked how hard that could be. In the blue kitchen, Sous Chef Scott asked Heather if she expected to be in the blue team that day, but she knew the men needed to focus and said she was on their side. In the red kitchen, Virginia and Rachel wanted to prove that even without Heather, they would be strong, but Sara felt Rachel would crumble because of Heather's departure from the team.
Team challenge[]
Before the doors opened for the Lunch Service Challenge, Ramsay said that the customers they would serve did not like to wait. Soon afterwards, a swarm of children came running into the dining room. A dismayed Garrett predicted that it would be crazy, and Maribel said it was for the kids. Before tickets came in, Heather gave each of the men a station to run, and Tom noticed how organized she was compared to them. Then, Ramsay told Keith to pull up his pants and warned them to move their bottoms, complaining that he could not say that without swearing. In the red kitchen, Sara cut her finger, and Sous Chef Mary-Ann and Rachel helped her get her injury healed fast. However, Sara did not appreciate the effort and said she needed space and a minute to herself. Garrett and Tom got into an argument in the blue kitchen because the former was setting up the latter’s station. Heather quickly calmed the situation down but knew if they could not get over their macho bullshit, she would start breaking heads. In the red kitchen, there was a power struggle when Sara could not get her pizzas done. Both Rachel and Maribel came to help her at the pizza station, but Sara refused, saying she could handle it by herself. However, Rachel thought Sara should have asked for help if she needed some as it was for the team's good.
After a few minutes, both teams sent acceptable food out in the dining room to the children who were making a big mess and screaming all over the place. Thirty minutes into service, the children became more satisfied when the food arrived at the tables and calmed down. In the red kitchen, Sara sent up square pizzas, but while Ramsay told her to treat the kids with respect, she accused Rachel of rolling them. Moments later, the blue team had three tickets left to serve, while the red team had 4. Both teams rallied to complete their tickets, and both finished at the same time. All the contestants celebrated their first completed dinner service, with Rachel feeling wonderful, and the children left a very messy dining room.
After service, Ramsay congratulated both teams as the whole point of the challenge was to complete a service for once and told them to keep that momentum for the next dinner service. To decide on a winning team, Ramsay said he asked all the children to rate the food out of 10. In the end, the blue team was declared the winners as they manage to score 9,85 out of 10, compared to the red team's 9,84. Garrett felt great to finally win a challenge as it was a long time coming.
Reward[]
The blue team was rewarded with a day at the Santa Monica Beach amusement park to feel like children again. As the blue team changed for their reward, Keith was happy to have Heather on the team as she was killer, and Garrett jokingly renamed the blue team “Three Men and a Little Lady.” During the reward, Heather was ecstatic as she never went to an amusement park in years, and they spent their first few moments playing some boardwalk games before going on the rides. Later that evening, Keith and Heather bonded on the Ferris Wheel. Keith wanted it to be them in the final two because it matched the Hell’s Kitchen logo.
Punishment[]
The red team was punished by cleaning up the big mess left by the children in the dining room. During the punishment, Sara said she was rethinking her decision to have children now, and Maribel called the mess a rainbow-colored mess on the floor. Sara inhaled helium and made weird sounds while spraying water on the floor, but Rachel was pissed as she busted her ass to help her team win and felt that Sara did not care if they lost. Later that day, Rachel and Sara began a heated argument based on the latter’s attitude. For lunch, Sous Chef Mary-Ann brought a cake that she smashed to the floor. Rachel got so angry she mimicked a choking gesture to her neck with her pencil.
Before service[]
The next morning, the blue team was very confident with the acquisition of Heather as a new teammate as she helped Keith keep his pants up with a safety pin. Garrett said the blue team needed to win as they lost the previous two dinner services before feeling that having someone like Heather would help them big time. In the red kitchen, it was quiet because of the animosity between Sara and Rachel as both wanted to lead the team. Virginia felt very uncomfortable about that situation and was getting scared. While Rachel did not want the animosity to last, Sara predicted some defeats for the red team before hoping to see the former eliminated.
Later that night, Ramsay had both teams line up. He told them as the fourth service, this was where they had to bounce back. Then, Ramsay said that the ice machine was broken, and as part of the red team’s second punishment, someone had to get ice when he needed it. Afterwards, Ramsay opened the restaurant.
Dinner service[]
As service began, Rachel had to communicate with Sara to get salads Saint-Jacques quickly. In the blue kitchen, Heather felt like the men's babysitter as she was telling Garrett how to do his risotto and asking Tom if his pan was hot enough. In the red kitchen, Sara did not communicate well with Rachel when she was about to plate her first appetizer, but that irritated the latter as she called it out three times. Garrett sent up unsalted risotto in the blue kitchen, and Ramsay told him to taste his food before sending it. In the red kitchen, Rachel sent up stiff risotto, and Ramsay told her to start again as risotto was supposed to relax on a plate, not stacked up. When Ramsay asked Rachel if it was because Heather was gone, she answered that it was not, as her only focus was on dinner service. In the blue kitchen, Garrett finally succeeded on the refire, which impressed Ramsay as it was music to his ears. Still, in the red kitchen, Rachel sent up a risotto with too much liquid. Ramsay compared it to a soup and asked Rachel for some quality control, causing the latter to acknowledged her mistake and declared that Ramsay would have a great opportunity to get rid of her. In the dining room, one of the customers at a blue table sent back lobster spaghetti because it was too cold. Ramsay schooled Garrett about his mistake for forgetting to taste and asked if he wanted to go back to prison. However, Garrett felt motivated by that as he wanted to bust his ass and prove he belonged in Hell’s Kitchen.
Forty-five minutes into service, Rachel served six tables of appetizers, and the red kitchen moved onto entrées. When Virginia asked Sara if she was ready with her turbot, Sara answered that she was. So, Virginia sent her Wellingtons to the pass, but Sara did not bring her turbot, saying she did not even start cooking it. Unaware of Sara’s sabotage, Ramsay accused Virginia of lying to him and sabotaging her team. Ramsay accused Virginia that she was not a team player and that she was out for herself, making Sara laugh in her head because her sabotage plan worked. However, Virginia was pissed at Sara for sabotaging her, but the latter had no remorse. Garrett was about to send up his last lobster spaghetti in the blue kitchen, and the blue team was moving on to entrées. However, Tom never started cooking the quail that was called an hour before, angering Ramsay. In the red kitchen, the red team was about to complete their first order entrées. Still, Maribel's mashed potatoes were overcooked to the point Ramsay compared it to glue. Ramsay asked Maribel to make some fresh ones and told her if it was the last thing to eat in the country, he would rather starve. Tom revealed that the first Wellingtons that were needed were undercooked in the blue kitchen, but Keith reassured Ramsay that they could be ready in four minutes. After that, Tom was schooled by Ramsay about his miscommunication.
An hour and a half into service, the red kitchen was not sending many entrées, despite them being enjoyed by the customers. In the red kitchen, Virginia and Rachel sent up quail dishes with the bones still on them, making the former ashamed about that mistake. Rachel said to Ramsay she was trying to get used to his procedures. Ramsay schooled Rachel about that comment and delegated her to get ice for the restaurant, causing her to sprint outside. In the blue kitchen, Ramsay was irritated by Tom's way of organizing his cooking as he was cooking orders for the following tables and not listening to him. After Ramsay accused him of not have passion, Tom's duck in his pan began to burn, and Ramsay had to tell him to leave it and removed the pan from the stove. In the process, Ramsay called Tom a fucking dick and a donkey. Then, Ramsay asked Keith to get on the meat station to cook for Tom and told the latter to shut up, open his big eyes, and watch what Keith was doing. Meanwhile, Rachel, who left the restaurant to get some ice at the supermarket, forgot some money to buy it. Rachel got on her knees and begged the man in front of her to pay for her, which he accepted. On her way back, Rachel fell to the ground and ripped one of her bags. While she was gone, Virginia, Sara, and Maribel succeeded in sending out many entrées. Maribel acknowledged that Rachel’s disappearance made the kitchen run smoother as Ramsay was not constantly yelling at them. Afterwards, Rachel came back, poured her ice into the machine, and returned to the kitchen, stating she busted her ass on her way back.
Two hours into service and only half of the diners in each kitchen received their main courses. In the red kitchen, Virginia sent rare Wellingtons, which were requested medium, and Ramsay noticed that the Wellingtons were covered all night with egg whites instead of egg yolks. When Ramsay told Rachel about it, she acknowledged the mistake but did not seem to care about it. That was the final straw for Ramsay, and he pulled the red team off the line, calling Virginia a letdown since the beginning. An angry Ramsay slams the pass and went into the blue kitchen. Ramsay asked the red team and the blue team to come to him and furiously threw his apron and towel at Tom. Then, Ramsay told both teams he had enough and could not believe one of them is trying to win a restaurant before deeming both team’s joint losers. Ramsay asked both teams to name one person each for elimination before kicking them out of the kitchen.
Post-mortem[]
During deliberation, Virginia cried about Sara's sabotage technique and felt betrayed by the latter. Virginia could not take being called a liar by Ramsay and asked Sara why she was so passive-aggressive. However, Sara tried to excuse herself by saying she wanted Virginia to learn from her mistakes.
On the blue side, Heather was embarrassed by that night as she, Keith and Garrett acknowledged that Tom was the reason why the blue team sunk that night, along with all the other times. The trio all agreed to nominate him, and Tom, who stayed apart from them, talked to himself at the table with empty chairs, trying to convince himself he would come back the next day. On the red side, when they were debating on who to put up, Virginia knew they were all going to go against her, but Rachel told the former to step up for herself. Virginia considered Maribel to be a weaker cook than Rachel and Sara, but Maribel considered Rachel the weakest for holding the team back due to her poor appetizers.
Elimination[]
Before asking who the nominees were, Ramsay compared the contestants to fast food cooks but reminded them the prize was not a fast-food restaurant. After telling Keith he was the one bright star in the blue team, Ramsay asked him who his team's nominee was. Keith announced Tom as the blue team's nominee. After telling Sara she showed some initiative, which Virginia disagreed by shaking her head, Ramsay asked her who the red team's nominee was. Sara announced Virginia as the red team's nominee. Ramsay questioned that decision and asked Sara if the red team considered Rachel, which she answered they did but felt the latter did not make a lot of mistakes compared to Virginia. Ramsay told Rachel it was her worst performance since her arrival, to which she agreed and called Tom and Virginia down.
During their pleas, Tom felt he would not give up, was not going to let the humiliation get to him, and was ready to show Ramsay he was not going easily. Then, Virginia said her heart and soul were in food but was willing to respect Ramsay’s opinion about that night. After both of them pleaded their cases, Ramsay asked Rachel if she was happy, but she answered him he was not and even volunteered to take Virginia's place as the red team's nominee, an offer Ramsay considered tempting. But in the end, Ramsay eliminated Tom for being a consistently poor performer and lacking the experience to work in a kitchen. During his exit interview, Tom said that he loved working in the kitchen and would not give up on his dream, but found it scary to look for a job now and asked Ramsay for a recommendation.
After Tom left, Ramsay told the remaining contestants to think long and hard about that night as he deemed it the worst service he ever experienced and was about to throw the towel. However, Ramsay asked them not to give up on him while he was not giving up on them. While being dismissed, Heather was relieved that Tom was gone as she felt the blue team could come back without him, but Rachel was dismayed Ramsay was not seeing her strengths. Then, Virginia felt the red team were now against each other, while Sara warned the others to watch out.
Ramsay's comment: "Tom's got a big heart, sadly he's a really crap cook. Why on earth he's ever decided to attempt to become a chef? We'll never know."
Trivia[]
- During the retrospect of the three eliminated men, Larry received the portrait burning sequence for the first time since his exit.
- This marks the first time Ramsay reassigned a female chef to the other team.
- This marks the first time in the show's history Ramsay named both teams joint-losers. It is also the first time he ejected a full team(s) in the middle of dinner service.
- This marks the first time a team lost three services in a row.
- This marks the first time a fourth consecutive male contestant was eliminated.
- This episode introduces the Service Challenge.
| Hell's Kitchen Season 2 Episodes |
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| 12 Chefs • 11 Chefs • 9 Chefs • 8 Chefs • 7 Chefs • 6 Chefs • 5 Chefs • 4 Chefs • 3 Chefs • 2 Chefs/Winner |