The ninth episode of Season 21 of Hell's Kitchen aired on December 8, 2022. In that episode, a male chef joined the red team, steak was the main theme, one chef continued to fight against their teammates, and another used a unusual contraband item at service.
Intro
Vlad returned to the dorms and was given a big hug by the men as Dafne was disappointed Ileana was sent home. With the women down to four, Dafne realized they could no longer hide from mistakes. The men regrouped in the dining area as Alex still felt stressed about the Cook For Your Life Challenge, unsure if he could do the following challenge tomorrow. However, the men knew that a team switch would occur the next day as the women were down two chefs and Brett hinted that he would join the red team if he could.
Team switch
The following day, both teams went outside to see a carnival on the restaurant's front steps. Ramsay welcomed them to the HK Carne-Val as Tara said she loved carnivals due to childhood memories. Before getting to the challenge, Ramsay noticed the imbalanced team numbers and said it was time for someone from the men to join the women for an equal five each. Although the women said they wanted Alex on their team, Ramsay put Brett back on the red team. Brett was not upset as he worked better with women in the kitchen because he was raised by strong women in the kitchen.
Team challenge
After Brett joined the red team, Ramsay explained that great chefs thrived on competition, and he was a competitive person no matter what. So, Ramsay revealed the Creative Steak Challenge and explained part one of the challenge. Each chef would go head-to-head with someone on the other team in one of the carnival games they saw. The winner of each game received a five-minute head start over their opponent. After a quick discussion of what game each chef would play, the challenge began.
Brett and Alejandro faced off in the jousting game for the New York Striploin round. Alejandro won that round, while Vlad and Tara competed in the whack-a-mole for the rib cap round. Tara hit everything she could see and scored 31 points, while Vlad whacked with two hands and finished with 28 points. So, Tara won that round. For the skeet ball game, Dafne and Sakari battled in the hanger steak round, and the former finished with 200 points. Sakari scored 210, and he won the five-minute head start, mockingly telling Dafne to better her skeet ball game. Abe and Cheyenne competed in the pie eating contest without knowledge of their protein, and the latter said she did not like eating under pressure. Abe finished first and revealed that their protein was ribeye. The final pair was Sommer and Alex, who played basketball for the filet mignon round. The two faced off, but Sommer's skills in basketball won her the advantage 10-8. Alex admitted that Sommer was better than him.
With part one over, Ramsay sent the chefs with the five-minute head start back into the kitchen to cook their steak dishes. Despite Tara never cooking rib cap before, she knew how to cook a steak and felt confident. In the blue kitchen, Sakari made a jerk rub for his hanger steak to bring out his Caribbean roots. After the five minutes were up, Ramsay sent the other half back inside with a cooking time limit of 40 minutes. They entered the kitchen as Brett thought Ramsay sent him back to the red kitchen to establish himself as a leader and help the team without angering the women. Vlad decided to make an Oscar Meyer steak in the blue kitchen and was confident because he was a Sous Chef at a steakhouse. In the red kitchen, Dafne got overwhelmed by the produce and struggled to put together her dish. But with ten minutes left, Dafne decided to keep it simple and hope for the best. In the blue kitchen, Alex made a Mexican spiced filet to get out of his comfort zone and made a chorizo Berblanc sauce to make it stand out. Four minutes left, Tara had Dafne taste her sauce, who said it needed salt. Everyone had their dishes cooked and plated on time, but Alex was unhappy that he had forgotten his Berblanc sauce.
Sakari and Dafne went up for the hanger steak round, but the latter was concerned that her dish would be too simple. Dafne's Argentinian-styled hanger steak with potatoes bravas and chimichurri sauce had a beautiful steak and potatoes, but Ramsay felt it needed more sustenance. Sakari's Caribbean-inspired hanger steak with jerk street corn, pineapple salsa and Guinness Jus looked unappealing, but Ramsay liked the sauce. Still, Dafne scored, and the red team led 1-0. On the rib cap round, Tara's rib cap with Worcester, cumin and grilled corn salsa was beautiful and fresh, but Ramsay felt the steak needed more salt. Then, Vlad's lump crab and Hollandaise rib cap had a bland puree, but Ramsay liked the seasoning and cooking on the steak. Vlad scored, and it became a one-point tie. On the ribeye round, Cheyenne's bourbon-flavored ribeye had a great-tasting sauce, while Abe's barbecue-rubbed ribeye had a tasty sauce. However, Abe's ribeye was overcooked, so Cheyenne scored that round, making it 2-1 for the red team. Alex felt that it should have been thrown in the microwave due to the cooking. In the New York striploin round, Brett's fajita-inspired steak had a great sear despite having grainy rice, while Alejandro's curry spiced strip steak was deemed great, and Ramsay called it the best New York striploin he had tasted. Alejandro scored, and it was a two-point tie, making the former feel he was in a dream. The final round had Sommer and Alex present their filet mignons. Sommer's spice-rubbed filet with smashed fingerlings and red wine demi sauce was praised for the sauce component, but Ramsay warned her not to add too much cheese to her spinach as it got mushy. Alex's Mexican rubbed filet with Tennessee-styled cream corn, and grilled broccolini was deemed good, but Ramsay noted that it looked unfinished. Alex revealed that he had forgotten to plate his Berblanc at the pass. Sommer scored that round, and the red team won the challenge 3-2.
Scoring
Blue Team | Red Team | ||||
Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sakari | 0 | 0 | Dafne | 1 | 1 |
Vlad | 1 | 1 | Tara | 0 | 1 |
Abe | 0 | 1 | Cheyenne | 1 | 2 |
Alejandro | 1 | 2 | Brett | 0 | 2 |
Alex | 0 | 2 | Sommer | 1 | 3 |
Results | 3-2 |
Reward
The red team was rewarded with an overnight trip to the Paradise Point hotel in San Diego, where they stayed in the Presidential suite and rode jet skis. That excited Brett, as he never went to San Diego before. During the reward, Tara was thrilled to be riding a jet ski in San Diego as Sommer's driving scared Cheyenne. During dinner, the red team toasted to victory as Dafne wondered what Steak Night would entail. They began making a game plan for stations, but Tara was not concerned as she knew how to cook steak. Still, Cheyenne did not have confidence in Tara as the latter kept shutting down, and Brett did not know much about Tara.
Punishment
The blue team was punished by cleaning the dorms and prepping vegetables for Steak Night. That frustrated Vlad as he scored a point and felt he did not deserve the punishment. During the punishment, Sakari felt humiliated to be wearing a maid apron, and Abe compared the mess to the aftermath of a frat party. When the blue team prepped the vegetables, Alex bet Sakari could not finish preparing all the carrots in an hour. Sakari took that bet and finished with a minute to spare. However, the good moment was ruined when Sous Chef Jason came in with another produce box.
Before service
The following day, the blue team began prepping for Steak Night as Abe revealed he had a dream that an eight-pound turnip tried to eat him. The red team returned from their reward and Alex begged his team to remind him to plate his sauce next time. Once everyone had their stations prepped, Ramsay asked Matthew to open Hell's Kitchen for Steak Night.
Dinner service
The blue team received their first order as Alex and Abe worked on their appetizers. Alex knew it was a new menu that night, and he did not want anything he made to be sent back. Sous Chef Jason warned Alex not to let the crab cakes go cold. In the red kitchen, Brett knew he had a lot to prove and wanted to kick some butt. Ramsay told Brett to add salt to his scampi, which did not impress Tara as it was an easy dish. Abe said he and Alex managed to mend fences in the blue kitchen since their previous argument as the two walked their dishes. However, Alex's crab cakes were cold, and he was forced to do a refire. Sommer and Brett accepted their appetizers in the red kitchen, and red diners enjoyed their dishes. In the blue kitchen, Alex's second attempt was accepted, and both teams pushed out appetizers.
Twenty-five minutes into service, Ramsay checked on the red team for the entrées. However, Tara caused a fire to erupt on meat and got burned. Feeling she was being watched, Tara tried to calm down and bounce back, only for Dafne to be late on garnish. Dafne blamed Tara for being inconsistent in her communication, but the latter got her ribeye accepted. With Brett serving his salmon, Ramsay turned to Dafne for the garnish, but she managed to get them accepted. Ramsay called out the first entrée order in the blue kitchen, and Alejandro felt nervous as any little mistake would spell doom. Vlad tested the steaks for a temperature check and gave Alejandro the okay to walk his salmon, only for the latter to serve raw fish. Ramsay showed it to the blue team and revealed that the ribeye was undercooked as well. In the red kitchen, Tara got scattered on orders, but she felt she could do it, only not to answer Ramsay's question for a time. Brett felt that Tara's lack of communication would doom the red team as dishes went to the pass. However, Tara's ribeye was raw, and Brett's salmon was raw, frustrating Ramsay as Cheyenne's fears came true. In the blue kitchen, Vlad got his refire accepted, but Ramsay was waiting on Alejandro for the salmon. Alejandro got it accepted, and in the red kitchen, Tara and Brett got their refires accepted.
Alejandro and Vlad worked on the next order one hour into service, and the latter felt confident as he used a cake tester to feel the warmness. When the entrées were sent up, Ramsay saw that Alejandro's salmon was wrong and dragged the blue team into the back pantry room. Ramsay revealed that the salmon was overcooked and showed that the filets were cold. Ramsay deemed it a joke and warned the blue team to get a grip or leave. Alex told the team to focus as Vlad felt embarrassed, comparing his situation to sinking like Jack at the end of the Titanic. Vlad had Alex help him on the steaks, even though Abe felt the former should know what he was doing. Still, the refires were accepted, and both teams completed service.
Post-mortem
When both teams lined up, Ramsay said he did not expect a night like that and said the biggest problem both teams had was their inability to get in sync. Both teams were named joint losers, and Ramsay asked them to nominate two each.
During deliberation, Vlad knew he would be a nominee as everyone on the blue team agreed it was not their best service. Alex nominated Alejandro and Vlad, which Abe and Sakari agreed with. However, Alejandro was not ready to go home and wanted to see another day in Hell's Kitchen. On the red side, Brett admitted that the fish was a mess, while Dafne felt she struggled at garnish because it was her first night at the station. While Brett admitted to his mistakes, Sommer nominated the former and Dafne. However, Dafne argued that she did not upset the team's flow that night, as Brett nominated the former and Tara. Dafne nominated Brett and Tara as the former, and Cheyenne accused the latter of not being heard that night. Cheyenne felt that Tara's lack of communication angered Ramsay the most, but the latter felt that her night was fine other than the two bad steaks. Now realizing that Cheyenne considered her a weak chef, Tara confronted the former's terrible attitude.
Elimination
When both teams came downstairs, Ramsay said Steak Night was supposed to be a lift, but he called it an embarrassment. Abe announced Vlad as the blue team's first nominee and Alejandro as the second, while Tara announced Brett as the red team's first nominee and herself as the second. When Ramsay asked why, Sommer explained that Tara shut down when she got flustered. During their pleas, Alejandro felt he had stronger services and promised not to screw up again, while Vlad felt he was adapting and at the top despite letting the meat station get the best of him. Then, Ramsay accused Brett of being all over the place, but the latter felt he needed time to cook each protein. Still, Ramsay reminded Brett that he had been cooking salmon all week. Lastly, Tara told Ramsay that she tried to do everything herself because she did not have the red team's support despite their claims that she did not communicate. However, when Ramsay asked for the red team's opinion, no one agreed with Tara. Ramsay was sad to see the red team giving up on Tara, but she was determined to bounce back and win back their trust. After listening to their pleas, Ramsay called Tara up and sent her back in line as he had not given up on her like the red team had. Vlad was eliminated for his poor performance on meat and poor use of a cake tester. During his plea, Vlad felt he stayed true to himself and said the cake tester bit him.
After Vlad left, Ramsay warned the chefs that he would not hesitate to eliminate someone if they hung their heads down and did not communicate with him. While being dismissed, Brett felt the red team was stronger with him and would bust his butt, while Alejandro planned on being the best version of himself. Then, Tara swore she would bring her voice out and bring out her wrath on the red team.
Ramsay's comment: "It's called cake tester for a reason. It tests cakes, not steaks. Vlad, that was bad."
Trivia
- Title Reference: The title refers to the carnival games used for part one of the Creative Steak Challenge.
- This marks the fourth time Ramsay sent a chef back into their original team after participating in an earlier team switch. The three other seasons include Season 7, Season 8, and Season 18.