The eighth episode of Season 3 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on Fox on July 23, 2007. In that episode, the remaining chefs merged into the black jackets, one chef did not even complete dinner service, and a tearful elimination of an emerging cook occurred.
Intro[]
As the chefs went back to the dorms, Bonnie asked Julia if Ramsay saved her for entertainment purposes. Julia expressed surprise that Ramsay kept Bonnie over Brad. Still, she knew it meant Ramsay saw something in Bonnie nobody else did. Bonnie told Rock he could be surprised that she survived over Brad, and Julia asked the men if Brad was a good cook. However, Rock was pleased to see Brad go as the latter was his most formidable competition and thought he could easily beat Josh. Rock went as far to tell that to Josh personally as he did not believe the latter's energy could dictate a kitchen. Still, Josh told Rock that was his opinion because he was still here to win.
Black Jacket Merge[]
The following day, both teams came down to the dining room and met Ramsay. Ramsay told them there was no red or blue team anymore, nor a battle of the sexes. All of them would now become the black jacket chefs in one team. That news excited the chefs as Jen said their individual success would now bank on their success as a team. Sous Chef Scott presented them with champagne glasses for a celebratory toast that soon led to Ramsay spraying everyone with champagne. Josh took the champagne spray head-on, and Ramsay congratulated him for his new talent. The five chefs were sent back upstairs and changed into their new black jackets while congratulating each other on getting this far. Bonnie loved the color contrast of her new jacket as Rock said they came a long way since the beginning. Rock said this was when things got cutthroat.
Individual challenge[]
Back downstairs, Ramsay announced the black jackets' first individual challenge. Each of them would be cooking a dish that some special guests would judge. The description of the guests being trendsetters had Jen believe they would cook for Mariah Carey or the Rock. Ramsay said they would be cooking for the trendsetters outside the restaurant and had Sous Chefs Scott and Mary-Ann to put blindfolds on the chefs. Being led to the SUVs for their challenge, Julia guessed they were cooking for doctors while Josh thought of Hollywood. Once they got to their location, it became clear that the trendsetters were teenagers, and they drove to Alhambra High School. Ramsay explained that for the Alhambra High School Lunch Challenge. each of them had to cook a dish for 100 students, and they had an hour to cook before the lunch period began. The students would vote for their favorite dish, and the chef who had the most points would be the winner. Ramsay said the reward was a trip to Las Vegas with him, and Jen knew he had something planned for them with that reward.
The chefs raced to the kitchen and began working on their dishes. Rock made Kobe beef meatloaf on ciabatta rolls and was ready to tear up Sin City. Josh cooked a baked salmon with pineapple salsa, while Julia served grilled chicken and cheese sandwiches with onion rings. Still, Julia was concerned about the time limit as she feared it was not enough. Bonnie prepared fried goat cheese over a salad and said she wanted to give the students something healthy. Lastly, Jen made baked chicken fettuccine with a herbed butter sauce as kids loved chicken and pasta. After the hour passed, the lunch bell rang, and the chefs had their lunches ready.
The students made their way to the cafeteria and got a plate from each chef. Each chef had a different way of communicating with the students. Jen urged the students to vote for her, Rock used a political way to sell his dish, and Josh casually served his dishes as he had full confidence he would win. Bonnie explained her dish to some interested students, and Julia took a casual approach. Ramsay told them to speed up as the line was getting gridlocked, and while Rock tried to argue that the students were coming from both sides, Ramsay shut him down. Still, Rock called it a fun experience.
Eventually, all the plates were served, and the students tasted the final five’s dishes. After voting for their favorite dish, Ramsay gathered the chefs to announce the winner. Although Rock and Josh expressed confidence in winning the challenge, Julia was declared the winner as she had 51% of the votes. Julia got excited as it proved she was a great cook while Bonnie saw that the competition was getting more challenging.
Reward[]
As promised, Julia's reward was an overnight trip to Las Vegas with Ramsay, and she was allowed to pick one of her teammates to come with her. Josh wanted Julia to pick him, but Bonnie wanted to be picked as she felt the latter would not choose either of the men. Julia picked Jen, and the three of them flew to Vegas on a private jet. Even though Julia had no idea what Las Vegas would be like, she was ready to do anything.
During the reward, Julia and Jen saw all the famous hotels on the strip as they went to the Green Valley Ranch Resort, which would be the grand prize for that season. They stayed in the villa for the night and had a spa treatment. Julia called it amazing and wanted to do everything to win. As the two received their spa treatment, Julia said she could get used to winning.
The following morning, they headed down to the Red Rock Resort, where they met Ramsay and Season 2 winner Heather West. That excited Jen as she called Heather an inspiration. Heather took them on tour through her restaurant Terra Rossa and had some dishes prepared for the two. As the three women talked, Heather said that her determination won over Virginia and told them to keep their enemies closer. Jen deemed that excellent advice, and after the meal, Ramsay said it was time for Jen and Julia to return to Hell's Kitchen. Julia was happy to meet Heather because it meant nothing was impossible.
Punishment[]
For Bonnie, Josh, and Rock, their punishment was to head back to Hell’s Kitchen and help Jean-Philippe clean the dining room. During the punishment, Josh struggled on one of the cleaning machines, which caused Jean-Philippe to snarkily tell him that the thing needed electricity, not solar energy. That amused Rock, but Josh said this was why cooks belonged at the back of the kitchen. Josh almost killed a vacuum cleaner when it picked up a chicken bone. Later, Rock and Bonnie argued over ironing the tablecloths as the latter said he had an explosive temper. Bonnie revealed that her only job as a nanny was to cook and had no idea about cleaning anything.
Before service[]
The following day, the three chefs left at Hell’s Kitchen headed down to prep for that night’s service. Bonnie was nervous about service because they had to cook out of one kitchen with only five of them. Bonnie accidentally threw out monkfish that she thought smelled rancid, and Sous Chef Mary-Ann chewed her out as Bonnie threw out all twenty-three of the portions they had for service. Worse, Sous Chef Scott said it did not smell bad. That incident broke Bonnie’s confidence, and she feared she could be going home that night.
Bonnie went on a tangent back upstairs that Ramsay was favoring Julia the most and could not believe she lost to a cheese sandwich. Still, Rock argued that Julia succeeded in what she knew best. Jen and Julia made it back to Hell’s Kitchen, but showing pictures of their trip and describing it made the three other chefs annoyed at the two of them. Rock gave them a fake smile as Julia explained the hotel room.
Dinner service[]
Later, Hell’s Kitchen opened, and the first tickets came in. Josh was confident he could get the final five off to a great start with appetizers. Still, Ramsay noticed that Josh already cooked a risotto when there was no one on order yet. After seeing more cooked on the hot plate, Ramsay got confused and chewed out Josh as he lost money, calling him a donut. Rock brought up his scallops, but they were all burnt at the bottom, which dismayed Ramsay even more. Bonnie found it comical that the men were not doing well, and it soon worsened when Ramsay found out Josh had cooked spaghetti not to order. When asked if he did it in his restaurant, Josh said no and claimed it was a mistake. Ramsay told Josh that even his mother would cook it seven minutes before she wanted it and had him bin the order.
Thirty minutes into service, Ramsay informed Jean-Philippe that they would be serving appetizers and entrées simultaneously. Bonnie brought up her Wellingtons, and Ramsay said they were well cooked. However, Julia did not have her fennel ready and was at a loss of where she placed it. An impatient Ramsay took the pan from Julia when she was slow on sending it up. When Julia gave a rude retort, Ramsay asked if she was taking the piss out of it and noted that she looked asleep. However, Julia argued that she never worked on garnish before and said it was hard. At the same time, Josh was caught again cooking spaghetti not to order. Ramsay said that even a scummy Italian restaurant would cook that to order. Ramsay warned Josh that he was pushing him to the limit.
Automatic elimination[]
One hour into service, Josh's appetizers were finally leaving the kitchen. Unfortunately, one of his orders of risotto was sent back for being undercooked. That infuriated Ramsay, who berated Josh for that and yelled how he was screwing not only the tables. Having had enough of Josh's poor performances, Ramsay eliminated him on the spot and ordered him to leave immediately. Josh walked out of the kitchen, but Ramsay ordered him to leave the jacket behind. Eventually, Ramsay followed Josh with the same order while angrily calling him a “fucking useless sack of shit.” Josh soon went up to the dorms, packed his belongings, and left through the loading area. During his exit interview, Josh admitted how he would have given up his right arm to continue service but bitterly admitted that his dream to win was now over. Ramsay did not comment on Josh's elimination, and he did not receive a retrospective montage of his run.
With Josh gone, the four remaining chefs had to save the service. Julia called Josh's mid-service elimination the worst way to see someone get fired and hoped she did not fall victim to that. Jen was moved to the appetizer station, and she called it a true test to impress Ramsay. Jen managed to get a good order of risotto up, and the kitchen went back on track. However, Julia admitted that she forgot about the monkfish garnish and did not know what was going on. Ramsay was shocked by that announcement and accused Julia was of giving up. Then, Julia did not respond to Ramsay's request for the carrots, but she tried to bounce back. At the same time, Bonnie asked Rock for a time on his turbot, but he forgot about it and snapped at her when she told Ramsay his mistake. Rock called Bonnie a teacher's pet, but Ramsay noted that he hit rock bottom. While some of the diners were having a good experience, others were starting to get impatient. Jen tried to communicate with Rock on appetizers, but he ignored her and sent up his scallops before her spaghetti was ready. Jen managed to catch up, but Rock's attitude in service pissed her. That led to an argument between them where Jen called him out on his behavior, and Bonnie accused Rock of closing up on them. Rock said he did not work with Hell's Bitches, and Ramsay called him out for tossing his order on the hot plate.
Despite the arguing, entrées were going out, and the four chefs made it to desserts. However, another argument between Jen and Rock occurred when Rock put the ice cream base on the counter where Bonnie worked instead of the sink. That led Jen to call Rock an asshole. However, Ramsay overheard it and reminded them that he got rid of Josh and they should start working as a team. More arguing between the two occurred despite Bonnie telling them to stop, and it led Ramsay to bang the overhead to get them to stop. Even though Rock and Jen continued to argue, desserts were all served.
Post-mortem[]
Ramsay was disappointed in the chefs because he thought they could do better after Josh's departure. Still, Ramsay singled out Bonnie for having the best night that service and named her “Best of the Worst.” Then, Ramsay asked Bonnie to come up with two nominees for elimination. Even though Bonnie did not like to be placed in that position, she was glad to be in the final three. As they walked out of the kitchen, Rock continued to snap at Jen and broke away from the women.
The women discussed Rock's anger in service back in the dorms, and Bonnie was concerned that he could not control his temper. Jen said that Rock acted like an ass, broke down by the stress of service and admitted that she wanted to go home. Meanwhile, Rock reflected on his poor attitude in service and realized that he should have talked with Jen after service instead of arguing with her, which severely disappointed him. Bonnie revealed that Rock was a definite choice, but the problem was between Jen and Julia as the second nominee. Julia pleaded her case as she did not want to go home. Bonnie revealed she wished the three women would continue together. Still, Julia was not sure of what Bonnie would do, but at the same time, she was confident she would not go home despite her struggles on garnish.
Elimination[]
Bonnie named Rock as her first nominee and Julia as her second. During their pleas, Rock admitted that his performance was uncharacteristic of what he could do and wanted another opportunity to do better. Then, Julia said she did not want to go home, and she did not give up despite her problems that night. Ramsay was in a hard place as he had a chef that was completely driven by his career and a chef that improved a lot in the competition. Eventually, Ramsay eliminated Julia for her poor performance on garnish and her lack of experience. That decision upset the chefs, but Ramsay praised Julia for her growth and was very proud of her. Then, Ramsay revealed that he would personally send Julia to culinary school because of her potential and offered her another chance in the competition when she was done. During her exit interview, Julia received a retrospective montage of her run.
After Julia left, Ramsay reminded the final three that although the competition would become harder, it would also be exciting. He urged them to be proud of their milestone and sent them back to the dorms. Bonnie did not think she would make it that far and was shocked at how well she improved. Jen thought she had what it took to win and wanted to motivate herself to become a leader. Lastly, Rock was excited to make it to the final three as it meant Ramsay saw something in him.
Ramsay's comment: "To become a great chef, you must have a natural ability. Clearly, Julia does have it. All she needs is a little more experience. After that, she will be ready to run her own restaurant."
Julia received the coat hanging and burning picture sequence, but Josh did not.
Trivia[]
- This marks the first time in Hell's Kitchen history a chef was eliminated during dinner service. and the only time to happen during a black jacket service.
- This marks the first time a black jacket chef did not receive a retrospective montage after they were eliminated.
- With Rock's nomination this episode, everyone who made it to black jackets this season has been nominated at least once. This marks the first time such an occurrence appeared.