The ninth episode of Season 2 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox, on August 7, 2006. On that episode, the final three tried to recreate a dish by taste alone, took control of the kitchen one by one, and a shocking elimination happened where one of them is being very rude to Ramsay.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Virginia started crying because she still felt ashamed about her poor performance, and questioned her place in the competition as she still did not know if she survived because of Ramsay, or because she deserved it. However, Virginia did tell Heather that she felt a little more fight back when in front of Ramsay than earlier that night. Heather was still shocked over Virginia’s decision, and felt bad as she told Sara she would survive over the former. However, Virginia was glad that Sara was gone, and yelled that nothing was sure in Hell’s Kitchen.
On the patio, Heather feared that had she put Keith up for elimination, he would have been gone, but the latter felt safe against Virginia as he could easily beat her in the kitchen. When Virginia asked them if she was better than Sara, both Heather and Keith yawned in her face, as it was not important. Virginia left the patio table in anger, and took a moment to herself in the bathroom, where she motivated herself so she could finally convince herself that she deserved to stay. The next morning, Virginia, being determined to not fail on another service, asked many questions to Heather, but the latter refused to answer her, thinking that she would not help her win the competition as she herself wanted to win.
Individual challenge[]
When the final three entered the kitchen, Ramsay was cooking a dish for them, making Virginia shocked. Ramsay congratulated the final three for doing well before presenting them his signature dish, told them to smell it, and then taste it. Afterwards, Ramsay announced Taste It Now Make It Challenge, where each chef had 20 minutes to recreate the dish.
During the challenge, Keith used Chilean sea bass for the fish protein, while the two women used wild stripped sea bass, although Heather started to second guess herself. For the purée, Heather and Keith used mashed potatoes, but Virginia used Tuscan white beans. For the sauce, Keith tried to hide the couscous as he thought it was the right ingredient, but Virginia convinced him to give her some of it. Keith reluctantly agreed, but Virginia called him a brat. For the seasoning, Keith and Heather used cilantro, while Virginia used grapefruit. Eventually, the final three had their dishes cooked and plated on time.
After judging the dishes, Ramsay congratulated all three of them for having very good individual dishes. After deliberation, he declared Virginia the winner as she correctly guessed all the ingredients of the original dish. Ramsay praised her palate, and told her she had to use it from now on. Virginia was very proud of herself.
Scoring[]
| Taste It Now Make It | |
| Chef | Score |
|---|---|
| Heather | 1/4 |
| Keith | 2/4 |
| Virginia | 4/4 |
| Results | Virginia |
Reward[]
Virginia was rewarded with some quality time with Ramsay in the kitchen, and had the opportunity to ask him as many questions as she wants. He would give her some tips on how to cook on the line, run the hot plate, and eventually become a top chef. During the reward, Virginia called it cool to train with Ramsay, and then, he let her have a chance at running the pass. During her simulation, Virginia made Ramsay and the Sous Chefs laugh when she was simulating running the hot plate. While Virginia felt she could not have been rude to people earlier, she truly believed she could be a bitch in the kitchen now.
Punishment[]
After hearing the decision, a disappointed Heather said that no matter how good you were, sometimes it was not your day. Heather and Keith were punished by spending some time with Jean-Philippe in the dining room, polishing all the glasses and silverware of the entire dining room. Back at the dorms, Heather accused Virginia of taking the recipe of the dish used in the challenge in the recipe book she got during her shopping spree reward. However, Virginia accused Heather of being jealous of her success, and did not listen to her as she was proud of herself. When Virginia left, Heather told Keith that she would not help the former anymore, something Keith agreed to do as Virginia did not do well in services. In addition, Keith told Heather to beat Virginia in the finale if it would not be himself.
During the punishment, Heather and Keith tried to listen to what Ramsay was saying to Virginia while polishing the glasses, with the former saying that there is not a lot of things that needed to be taught, but rather executed. When Heather saw Virginia at the pass, she got upset at Ramsay for teaching the latter how to win, but Keith did not think Virginia could grasp it. However, Heather refused to let Virginia take away her dream when she was so close.
Before service[]
When all three of them finished their duties of the day, Heather gave the cold shoulder to Virginia when she asked her if she was mad at her. Heather told Virginia she did not want to be her friend anymore as she continued to accuse her of cheating, while Keith showed attitude to Virginia when he told her that Ramsay picked a dish only she was knew because he was attracted to her. Virginia told Keith to shut up, and that he was being rude. When Heather went to bed, Keith joined her, laughing and having fun with her, leaving Virginia alone in her bedroom. Virginia was sick and tired of being an outsider, and got on her knees, in front of her bed, to send some prayers.
The next day, the final three were in the kitchen to prep for service, but Sous Chef Scott warned them that they would get a crash course in Ramsay’s role. Keith said that his strategy was to shut up and cook, while Heather refused to answer Virginia's questions as she did not want anybody to take her dream away from her. Virginia was annoyed by Heather and Keith's behavior as both thought they already won, but took it as extra motivation to prove everybody and herself wrong. When the chefs were lined up minutes before service, Ramsay reminded them that all three of them would run the hot plate, one at a time. They were stepping in Ramsay's shoes, and Heather knew how serious that was as Vegas was on the line. Afterwards, Ramsay asked Jean-Philippe to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
To add a little more difficulty, Ramsay added six tables to the dinning room, and had Sous Chefs Scott and Mary-Ann cook alongside the final three. On the first ticket, Virginia burned her two salmons due to a hot grill, and trashed them. Ramsay asked Virginia to get them out of the bin, schooled her on her careless attitude, and asked her if that was the start of what would come that night. Virginia answered no, knowing she did not want to get mauled that night. When Ramsay asked for the chicken, Heather panicked and said it needed 30 seconds more. Unfortunately, Heather sent it up burnt, and Ramsay asked her to start again without doing the same mistake over, much to her embarrassment. After that, Keith was the first chef to run the hot plate. On his first ticket, Sous Chef Scott sent an overcooked lobster spaghetti, but Keith passed the quality control test by spotting it. However, Ramsay told Keith to show some energy while running the brigade, and be more assertive to what was going on as soon, the brigade would run him. When Keith called his second ticket, Virginia did not answer, and Ramsay had to tell him that she had to answer him. Virginia was unable to give Keith a proper time, which the latter did not give himself. As Keith struggled on the pass, Heather was forced to take over timings as she knew they must control the reins, and asked the former if he had some courage. However, Keith continued to struggle, forcing Ramsay to call out the order again and send him back to the line. As he went back, Keith refused to change who he was.
One hour into dinner service, Virginia’s problems on fish and Keith poor leadership resulted in only 25 tables receiving their orders. Heather was the second chef to run the pass, and asked Sous Chef Scott and Virginia for a proper time on their food to be ready. However, Heather tended to rush because of the pressure, so Ramsay had to told her to stop panicking and calm down. When Keith sent up an unacceptable risotto and Ramsay was telling him the problem, the former refused to look at him in the eyes and talked back to him. Ramsay told Keith that his attitude stunk, and asked him to give a beautiful risotto. In addition, Ramsay warned Keith that he did not have to wait until the end of service to kick him out. However, Keith did not take the threat seriously enough as he tried his best. When Heather asked Keith a time on his risotto, he gave her seven minutes, but she gave him six. Heather’s good leadership abilities managed the team to send many appetizers out. After that, Ramsay pulled Sous Chef Mary-Ann aside to tell her she could attempt a sabotage on the next order. So, Sous Chef Mary-Ann served lumps instead of mashed potatoes. Heather failed to spot the mistake, and when she started arguing about it, Ramsay lost his patience and told her to stop. After that, Heather was sent back to her station, knowing that her second-guessing flaw screwed her.
Two hours into service, despite some struggles from different chefs on the hot plate, they managed to send out many of the main courses into the dining room. Virginia was the final chef to run the pass, and Ramsay ordered her to run Hell’s Kitchen. On her first ticket, Virginia was not taken seriously by Keith as he thought she sounded like a cartoon character, and Heather asked Virginia to repeat the order because she did not understand her well. Despite her rocky start, Virginia was very energetic, and Ramsay told Sous Chef Scott to send a Chilean sea bass instead of salmon. Virginia successfully spotted the mistake, and asked for a salmon. Ramsay praised her quality control. With that compliment from Ramsay, Virginia was determined to finish her turn at the pass strong. Virginia gave clear instructions to Heather, and with three tables left, Ramsay took back control of the hot plate. Ramsay reminded the chefs that although they all fight individually to stay in the competition, they must work as a team as well. Virginia started to struggle on fish, and lacked communication and teamwork with Heather, making Keith comment how difficult it was to work together and compete against each other. Despite that, the final three rallied to send the last tables and complete dinner service.
Post-mortem[]
Ramsay reminded the final three it was a good service, and that a great chef had to make tough decisions every day. So, Ramsay asked them to nominate one person who they do not think deserves to go in the finals based on performances on the line and the pass.
During deliberation, Virginia said she would not be surprised if she would leave, but also knew it was Ramsay’s decision as she had been nominated multiple times. However, while Heather deemed Virginia as the weakest line cook, she felt Keith was the weakest leader, and the two women talked about his quiet behavior on the pass. While Keith was confident about his performance, Heather tried to talk to him about how he could have been louder. However, Keith told Heather to not mess around, before wondering if the latter would throw a curveball at him. Meanwhile, Virginia was already packing her bags as she knew she would be sent based on her inexperience, but Keith reminded her about Heather’s frantic performance on the pass.
Elimination[]
At elimination, Keith nominated Virginia for her inexperience on the line and getting confused by her leadership, while the latter nominated the former for his lack of leadership, and the lack of fire. Finally, while Heather acknowledged that Keith could have been louder, she nominated Virginia for not giving her the demand for respect. Afterwards, Ramsay called Keith and Virginia up to the front to plead their case. Keith wanted the opportunity to be in the finals and wanted to realize his dream of Vegas, while Virginia said she was not an old dog and could replicate Ramsay’s skills if he was willing to teach her. After hearing their pleas, Ramsay called it his most difficult decision ever in Hell's Kitchen, before eliminating Keith for his lack of leadership skills. After Keith gave his jacket to Ramsay, he stood in front of him and questioned the latter’s judgement, arguing how he was a better leader than anybody since the beginning of the competition, with people who did not knew much about working in a kitchen. While Ramsay told Keith he personally did not think he was ready to lead, the latter accused the former of eliminating him in favor of Virginia because he has a "hard-on" for her. Ramsay schooled Keith on his rudeness, even when the latter argued that he was rude to him before, and told him his comment proved he made the right decision because his attitude did stink. On his way out, Keith hugged Heather, ignoring Virginia, and received a retrospective montage of his run during his exit interview.
Ramsay's comment: "You got two choices. You run the team, or the team runs you. And sadly, the team ran Keith. If Keith could only lose the attitude, underneath all that, there's one talented, talented cook."
Celebration[]
After Keith left, Ramsay congratulated Heather and Virginia for making it to the final two, and reminded them that one of them was going to win their own restaurant in Las Vegas. He told to get back in the dorms, and get some rest. Back at the dorms, both were excited and shouted all over the place, when they saw champagne bottles waiting for them on the table with a letter of congratulations. They opened a bottle, drank a glass, and somebody knocked at the door. Before the people were revealed, the episode ended in a cliffhanger.
Keith did not receive the coat hanging and portrait burning sequence.
Trivia[]
- As this was Virginia's sixth nomination overall, she officially set the record for most nominations in a season. She also set the record for most consecutive nominations in one season with four nominations in a row since Episode 206 - 6 Chefs.
- This episode marks the debut of the Taste It Now Make It Challenge.
- This is the first time the final three ran the pass in the final black jacket service.
- As of this episode, Heather becomes the only chef left that has not been nominated once this season.
| 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 |