The seventh episode of Season 21 of Hell's Kitchen aired on November 17, 2022. In that episode, the chefs cooked with a unique cooking utensil, one chef got angry when an advantage was used, and while that night's service was an improvement, Ramsay still sent someone home.
Intro[]
While returning to the dorms, Abe felt humbled to be nominated and hoped he did not burn any bridges with the men due to his earlier outburst. Abe apologized and said Hell's Kitchen tore him down, but Brett did not believe the former as he did not want Abe's attitude to sour the men's morale. Meanwhile, Mindy and Tara talked about the twenty-year-olds on their team and how some of them had big egos. Tara was happy to talk with Mindy and said that it would suck for the other if either of them went home. Mindy said she and Tara bonded through the losses and chuckled over their teammates' bickering.
Team challenge[]
The following morning, both teams came downstairs to see a harpist play for them as they entered the dining room. Ramsay explained that musical compositions and cooking are comparable as one single instrument could create beautiful melodies, but more instruments created a symphony. The curtain pulled back to reveal a string section joining the harpist as Alejandro saw the similarities Ramsay mentioned. To test the chef's ability to create dishes in perfect harmony, Ramsay announced that the Dome Challenge would be their next challenge. Each chef would choose five ingredients from five different domes to cook their dishes, and they could grab them when the symphony played. Whatever ingredient the chefs grabbed must be used for their dish. Also, Ramsay provided them with an HexClad wok to cook their dishes in, as it would amplify their flavors. Still, Tara was nervous about cooking in a wok as she had never cooked Asian food before.
The chefs had 45 minutes to cook their dishes and raced to the first dome. They contained proteins, and everyone grabbed a protein in haste, which Ileana compared to a Black Friday sale. As Ileana grabbed lobster, she made a lemongrass chili to go with the dish and said she was not a one-trick monkey. In the blue kitchen, Brett said it was every man for themselves as he wanted first pick of the ingredients. At the forty-minute mark, the symphony played, letting everyone know it was time for the next dome: starch. Mindy grabbed the sweet potato from Cheyenne as she wanted to win, but she told Sous Chef Christina she was cooking out of her ass. Still, Mindy had an idea for a snapper soup. In the blue kitchen, Alejandro debated whether to sear his snapper or poach it without the skin, as it was hard to conceptualize a dish on the fly. At the thirty-five-minute mark, the symphony played again, and the chefs raced to the vegetable dome. Cheyenne grabbed snap peas due to being last and said it would not be a wok in the park for her. In the blue kitchen, Sakari revealed his lobster Cantonese mustard green salad to Sous Chef Jason and planned on using everything. At the thirty-minute mark, the symphony played, and the chefs ran to the second vegetable dome. Tara grabbed galangal but had no idea what it tasted like. So, Tara decided to grate it into her sauce. At the twenty-five-minute mark, the chefs raced to the final dome of the challenge: wild cards. As Sommer shoved Ileana for a good ingredient, Cheyenne was left with Nori seaweed. Many of the blue chefs felt out of place with their ingredients, and Brett felt he was backed into a corner. Sommer planned to use the anchovies in the red kitchen for her broth. Two minutes left, some of the chefs began to plate, and everyone was ready by the end of the time limit.
Stephanie Izard came to help Ramsay judge the challenge. Seeing her come in excited Tara. The first round had Alex and Dafne walk up their chicken dishes. That did not sit well with Dafne, as Alex was one of the strongest chefs in the competition. Dafne's kimchi fried rice with chicken, daikon, nori, and chiffonade egg was deemed bland, and Ramsay felt she should have shredded the chicken than cubing it. Alex's shredded chicken with baby bok choy, Chinese sausage, coconut milk and black vinegar mayo was praised for the mayonnaise component, but Izard felt it overshadowed the chicken. Still, Alex scored that round for his creativity, and the men led 1-0. That disappointed Dafne, but she wanted to use that fire to improve herself. On the flat iron steak round, Sommer's flat iron steak with lotus root and rice noodles was praised for the fried component and having a good amount of heat. In contrast, Abe's flat iron with coconut rice and lotus root had a nice sear, but the rice was criticized for not being well cooked. Sommer scored that round, tying the score at one each. Sommer said she was growing stronger and knew she was improving.
In the third round, Cheyenne's pork tenderloin roulade with snap pea stir fry was praised for stuffing the pork and using the hoisin to her advantage. Brett's fried pork tenderloin with vermicelli pasta was deemed bland, and Cheyenne won that round. The women led 2-1. In the lobster round, Sakari's Cantonese-styled lobster with Concón fried rice looked visually appealing, but Izard felt he should have made full use of the wok and chopped it up. Then, Ileana's Tom Kha stew was not brothy, and Izard awarded no points to her or Sakari. The women still led 2-1, but Ileana thought she deserved a point. On the fifth round, Vlad's tempura shrimp and soba noodle salad were juicy and flavorable, while Tara's garlic butter lo mein topped with sauteed shrimp was nailed perfectly. Izard awarded both a point, and the women led 3-2. That shocked Dafne as she had not seen Tara score before and hoped for what Mindy had brought. In the final round, Mindy and Alejandro walked their snapper dishes as the latter presented his fried snapper with yuzu dashi. While Ramsay deemed the fried cook smart, Izard felt it needed more seasoning. Then, Mindy presented her poached snapper soup with sweet potatoes, mushrooms, roasted garlic, and fried carrot slivers. The broth was praised for being an elevated vegetable broth, and after a tough decision, Izard gave Mindy the winning point. The women won 4-2, and Izard deemed Mindy's dish the best of the day. That made Mindy proud as she dreamed of winning a challenge for her team.
Scoring[]
Blue Team | Red Team | ||||
Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alex | 1 | 1 | Dafne | 0 | 0 |
Abe | 0 | 1 | Sommer | 1 | 1 |
Brett | 0 | 1 | Cheyenne | 1 | 2 |
Sakari | 0 | 1 | Ileana | 0 | 2 |
Vlad | 1 | 2 | Tara | 1 | 3 |
Alejandro | 0 | 2 | Mindy | 1 | 4 |
Results | 4-2 |
Reward[]
The women were rewarded with a rooftop dance party, which Sommer said they needed it. Also, Ramsay said there was a gift for them up in the dorms, and they found brand-new HexClad sets. Mindy was happy as she had wanted a brand-new set for a long time.
During the reward, Tara knew Sommer would have loved it as the women and Alejandro put on headphones for a silent disco. Tara found it a cool experience as Mindy wondered what Alejandro was listening to. As the group went into the pool, Ileana dug the sushi in the pool and wished she did not have to go back to Hell's Kitchen.
Punishment[]
The men were punished by prepping beets for a beetroot risotto for a special that night. Ramsay asked Alex and Alejandro if they wanted to use their Punishment Passes, and the latter said he would use his. Alejandro decided to swap places with Sommer, claiming he wanted to throw her off her game and did not want to be around weak chefs. Sommer was unhappy as she scored a point for her team and felt she deserved the reward. As Sommer ranted at Alejandro for crossing her, she rejected Abe's attempt to calm down. That led them to bicker about Sommer's attitude, as Abe did not want her to spoil the men's morale. For Alex, he decided to stay with the men and grate beets.
At the dorms, Sommer wanted to talk about the argument she and Abe had, but the latter felt she was still mad. Sommer told Abe not to talk down to her, but the latter felt that her attitude was why the women disliked her. The arguing annoyed the rest of the men as Abe coldly welcomed Sommer to the men's side. During the punishment, Alex said he refused to eat beets and would rather lick a tree instead. The men began making beet-related puns and serial killer jokes, but Sommer found it annoying and wanted to see a man go home even more. Then, Brett brought up Abe's attitude towards Sommer, and Alex felt the former was too aggressive. Sakari felt Abe should not have come down on Sommer.
Before service[]
As the men and Sommer finished their punishment, the women and Alejandro returned from their reward. Both teams prepped for that night's service as Mindy told Ramsay she knew how to make carbonara when he asked. Once everyone was ready, Ramsay asked Matthew to open Hell's Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Matt Walsh, Andy Richter, Jim Tavare, and Charles "Bucky" Lasek were seen in the dining room that night. Also, the menu featured beetroot risotto. As both teams got their first orders, Vlad did not respond to Ramsay's questions, leading the latter to call him rude. Vlad began to communicate, and Alex said that getting the former to communicate was to get a baby turtle to come out. Alejandro got his risotto accepted, and Vlad got his scallops out. Mindy began to shut down on communication at appetizers in the red kitchen, but the rest of the women pushed her back up. Then, Tara did not respond to Mindy's questions about the scallops, which Cheyenne called her out on. Also, Cheyenne felt that Mindy had no confidence during service as Dafne began to guide the latter on cooking the carbonara. Dafne felt Mindy should lead on her own by now, and Sous Chef Christina told the latter she gave her too much for a single portion. Then, Tara walked up only one order of scallops when two were ordered. Ramsay ordered another order of scallops and found no communication from Mindy. Sommer felt the two older women were not performing well at services, but Mindy refused to give up and prove to the younger women she belonged at Hell's Kitchen. Tara and Mindy fixed their mistakes, and the appetizers left the red kitchen.
Forty minutes into dinner service, the men began firing entrées, and Abe felt he was driving the ship on garnish. However, Abe served cold mushrooms despite claiming they were hot and deemed it a stupid mistake. Then, Alejandro told Abe to fire more fries for the order, as Vlad could not believe they were slowing down on garnish. Ramsay warned the men not to let Abe drag them down as he would be going home if he did. Abe refused to be the donkey of the day and got his fries accepted. In the red kitchen, the women began firing entrées as Cheyenne felt there should be no reason she or Ileana could struggle on meat. However, Cheyenne walked up a raw lamb, and Ramsay told her to put it back in the pan quickly. Cheyenne got concerned as she did not want to let the woman down and be seen as a liability, but she got the refire accepted. The men worked on their next order in the blue kitchen as Sakari said he was there to win. However, Ramsay caught Sakari cutting into the Wellingtons too early, warning him that it would oxidize the meat. That disappointed Sakari as he hated making mistakes, and then, Brett walked the entrées to the pass. However, the lamb was raw, and Ramsay told Brett to heat it up in the pan. Brett knew Sakari made that mistake, and he could tell the latter was disappointed. Still, Brett got the refire accepted.
Ninety minutes into dinner service, Ileana said she needed six minutes on her Wellingtons, only to find that her batch was still raw. Knowing that Ramsay did not like to be waited on, Ileana got nervous as Tara pulled off her halibut to prevent it from being overcooked. As Ileana struggled to find a decent Wellington from her pile, Tara was forced to send up her halibut as Ramsay did not want it overcooked. After seeing raw Wellingtons on her board, Ileana said she needed two more minutes, forcing Ramsay to send out an incomplete table. Refusing to let Ramsay down, Ileana got her heated Wellingtons to the pass, but they were rare. Ramsay was not pleased and told Ileana and Cheyenne that their timings were off. Sommer was unhappy that they were messing up on their final ticket and felt Ileana had dropped the ball too many times. The men were on their final order in the blue kitchen as Abe knew the stress of having dishes on the pass to Ramsay's expectations. Fortunately, the dishes were accepted, and the men finished their night. In the red kitchen, Ileana walked her refired Wellingtons and got them accepted. Afterwards, the night ended on a strong note.
Post-mortem[]
After both teams lined up, Ramsay called it a comeback service as, while not perfect, it was their best service. However, Ramsay said he must continue to trim the fat and asked both teams to nominate two people for elimination.
During deliberation, Dafne knew the process was getting difficult as they were going through the smaller details of who messed up. Sommer nominated Ileana and Mindy, the latter for shutting down multiple times on different stations. Dafne agreed with Sommer as she expected more from Mindy. Even though Mindy knew she had a few bumpy nights, she did not know what else she could do to convince the women otherwise.
On the blue side, Alex knew they had a few bumps that night as Brett considered Sakari for the raw lamb. Still, Vlad pointed out that Brett took the lead on meat that night and felt the latter should take responsibility. Then, Alejandro nominated Abe, with Brett and Vlad pointing out his sluggish performance on garnish. Abe denied being the weakest chef and said he would not leave. Meanwhile, Tara and Mindy left as the younger chefs talked alone. Cheyenne brought up the possibility of nominating Tara instead of Ileana, as the former only worked appetizers and fish for most of her time in Hell's Kitchen. That led Sommer to wonder if she should change her vote.
Elimination[]
After both teams came downstairs, Ramsay said that although it was their best service, he was raising his expectations. Sommer announced Mindy as the woman's first nominee and Ileana as their second. Vlad announced Abe as the men's first nominee and Sakari as their second. During their pleas, Sakari called himself a selfless chef and would learn from his mistakes, while Abe felt he was a natural-born leader. When Ramsay asked Abe why he was nominated again, the latter felt the men feared him, but he would not stop fighting. Then, Ileana said she was resilient and would continue to grow, while Mindy admitted to making mistakes despite waking up as a gritty person. After a difficult decision, Ramsay eliminated Mindy for having bumpy services and not being communicative that night at appetizers. Still, Ramsay told Mindy that he respected her for changing careers as she made the right decision. During her exit interview, Mindy said it was hard to go, but she knew her daughter would be proud of her for coming to Hell's Kitchen.
After Mindy left, Ramsay reminded the chefs to keep fighting and never let anything get in their way. While being dismissed, Tara was spooked to be the only forty-year-old left in the woman, but she knew she must show them she was a force to be reckoned with. Then, Ileana refused to go home as she wanted to prove to Ramsay she was a fighter. Lastly, Abe said he was not afraid of being nominated as he wanted to make the grand prize position his.
Ramsay's comment: "Mindy had the guts to get her this far, but I have to go with my gut and cut her loose."
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: The title refers to the chefs using woks to cook in the Dome Challenge. It is also a pun on the Aerosmith song "Walk this Way".
- There were two pieces of music the symphony played for the Dome Challenge. The first was Vivaldi's "Summer" while the second was Mozart's "Ein Kleine Nachtmusik".
- This is the first time since Season 12 where the Dome Challenge was used during the team phase. In the previous times it was used, it was done during the black jacket phase.