The first episode of Season 4 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on April 1, 2008. In that episode, the contestants arrive at Hell's Kitchen with a big surprise, a captain for each team is chosen, and one contestant is given a reality check at elimination.
Intro[]
The season began with a brief recap of the past three seasons. The winners from those seasons were shown, and Ramsay said he would push the contestants further than ever. A teaser of that season was shown afterwards.
The contestants flew into Los Angeles to compete at Hell's Kitchen. Vanessa said she was there because it was her destiny to win. At the same time, Rosann thought Hell's Kitchen would be a cakewalk after her ex-partner. Soon, the chefs met up on the bus going to Hell's Kitchen. What they did not know was Ramsay was in the bus with them, in disguise. On the bus, Craig made a mocking appreciation to his competitors as he planned to show Ramsay that he was the only one who could cook. He told everyone off, but Jen was not intimidated based on the hat Craig wore. Still, Craig said that Ramsay could take his hat away if it meant giving it back after he won. Bobby arrogantly thought his competition was beneath him and claimed he was the Black Gordon Ramsay, leading Ramsay to take his sunglasses down and stare at him.
Eventually, the contestants arrived at Hell's Kitchen, greeted by Jean-Philippe. After some hellos, Jean-Philippe claimed he was good at making an impression of Ramsay, which he did by calling out orders and yelling at them. After he did, Jean-Philippe asked Shayna and Jason to do their impressions themselves. Shayna quoted the infamous lamb sauce line, while Jason followed suit on the second half. Still, Jean-Philippe thought Jason's attempt was weak. After that, Jean-Philippe called up the disguised Ramsay, who spoke in his natural voice. While the chefs were initially impressed by the acting, they quickly realized that something was up. Ramsay revealed himself, which excited every contestant, with Rosann even trying to hug him as she sat next to him on the bus ride. Dominic admitted that he did not see it coming. After that, Ramsay instructed the chefs to create their signature dishes as he wanted to see how well they could cook as well as they talked on the bus, specifically reminding Bobby of his Black Gordon Ramsay rant.
Signature Dish Challenge[]
For the Signature Dish Challenge, the chefs were given 45 minutes to cook their signature dishes. Ben wondered what mess he got himself into, while Christina was not happy with the sear she made. Eventually, everyone had their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Ramsay explained that a chef's signature dish explained who they were, and after having travelled with them, he was excited to see what he had. Ramsay revealed Craig's dish first, though the latter's hat perturbed him. Craig said he was a short person his entire life, and the hat made him feel he was tall in the kitchen. Ramsay said he never saw a hat that big in his career and asked Craig if he had small boy syndrome downstairs. Craig's jerked seared Chilean sea bass with rum raisin risotto was deemed too sweet, but the former tried to explain that the sweetness was to balance out the jerk seasoning. However, Ramsay did not buy that and called it terrible. Also, Ramsay told Craig not to come in the kitchen with his ridiculous hat because otherwise, he would stick it in his ass sideways. Still, Craig felt naked without the hat. When Jen went up, she did not believe that anybody else had the same passion as hers. Jen explained that she was a Garde-Manger and offered to carve Ramsay's face onto a watermelon. However, Jen's Dungeness crab and corn risotto with a grilled lobster tail was spat out by Ramsay, who said that the rice was raw. After Ramsay told Jen that because she was a Garde-Manger chef, it confirmed to him that she could not cook. Hearing that angered Jen as she called Ramsay a butthead for what she thought was rude criticism.
After Jen's turn, a series of dishes were shown. Corey's salad was deemed simple, plain, blonde, and boring by Ramsay, who told her it said a lot about her. After that, Ramsay told Jason that his tuna with salsa would not even pass as something tinned in a can, and Shayna's salmon was criticized for being served on a burnt potato pancake. Desperate for something edible, Ramsay pulled off the next dish, which turned out to be Matt's. Matt believed his signature dish would help him stand out and match Ramsay's expectations. Matt revealed his Exotic Tartare dish, which consisted of raw venison, raw quail egg, lime zest, olive oil, diver scallops, caviar, and grated white chocolate. Hearing that caused Ramsay to ask if he was being punked. After reiterating the ingredients, Ramsay asked Matt if he was smoking weed. Ramsay tasted it, and after a couple of seconds, he got ill and started puking it out. Ramsay described it as one of the worst combinations he ever tasted in twenty-one years of cooking. Matt stated he did not understand what Ramsay did not like about his dish even though the latter trashed it.
When Dominic's dish was revealed, the former got nervous. He told Ramsay that he spent the last ten years cooking for his family and was not a professional chef. Still, Dominic did not think Ramsay was worse than his children. Dominic's chicken cacciatore with roasted orzo did not impress Ramsay as he expected something more exciting from the 45 minutes given. Still, Dominic was relieved that his dish did not make Ramsay sick, unlike Matt's. When Ramsay pulled off the eighth dome, he saw a soup. That led Rosann to come down, but she was nervous about getting reamed like everyone before her. Rosann revealed that she had five years of cooking experience, but she currently worked as a law office receptionist on temporary leave from cooking. Her spicy mussel soup was praised for being seasoned perfectly, and Ramsay said that Rosann, the law office receptionist had a palate. However, Ramsay's brief moment of positivity was ruined when he saw a pumpkin as the next signature dish, much to his confusion. Petrozza came down as it was his dish, claiming he had no specialty due to being well-rounded. Petrozza revealed his Cornish Hen-in-a-pumpkin. When Ramsay lifted the pumpkin to look at the potatoes, he asked Petrozza how much oil and fat he used for frying them. Petrozza declared he used some butter, but when Ramsay squeezed the potatoes, they started dripping in grease, making Petrozza correct himself, saying he used a lot of butter. Ramsay trashed the potatoes and looked inside the pumpkin, asking what was for trick or treat. Once Ramsay saw the hen inside the pumpkin, he asked Petrozza how he was supposed to get in there and eat it. Petrozza said it was a tableside dish. So, Ramsay told Petrozza to serve him a plate himself. After looking at the mess, Ramsay declared he would like to stick Petrozza's head inside it. When Ramsay tasted it, he said it was dry, with the pumpkin not even seasoned. Ramsay told Petrozza he had more chance of sticking a candle inside a pumpkin rather than making him happy with the hen. After getting back in line, Petrozza declared that he thought his dish was memorable as Ramsay wanted.
After that, Ramsay declared that Sharon's chicken with asparagus was not up to scratch for Hell's kitchen, while Ben's dish, appearing to be sausage patties over mashed potatoes and gravy, was deemed not bad despite not setting Ramsay alight. Christina's seared chicken with shrimp over lettuce was described as a good concept with terrible execution, and Louross was told that he could have done a lot more with his steak dish. With only two dishes left to look at, Ramsay pulled off Vanessa's pan-roasted halibut. It was praised as the best dish by a mile due to its beautiful seasoning and light fragrance. Hearing that pumped Vanessa up. That left Bobby's dish as the final one by default, and Ramsay asked the Four-Star General Black Gordan Ramsay to come down. Still, Bobby said that everything he boasted on the bus was true and was ready to prove it to Ramsay. Bobby's Hawaiian butterfish with roasted Thai pepper sauce was scolded by Ramsay after he found out the fish had been deep-fried. Ramsay found it embarrassing lazy to do that, but Bobby arrogantly said he was still a Four-Star General.
Scoring[]
| Signature Dishes | |
| Chef | Rating |
|---|---|
| Craig | Poor |
| Jen | Poor |
| Corey | Poor |
| Jason | Poor |
| Shayna | Poor |
| Matt | Epic Fail |
| Dominic | Poor |
| Rosann | Good |
| Petrozza | Poor |
| Sharon | Poor |
| Ben | Decent |
| Christina | Mixed |
| Louross | Poor |
| Vanessa | Good |
| Bobby | Poor |
Team captains[]
After the challenge, Ramsay started to question if he had the right fifteen chefs in front of him that were worthy of the grand prize. Ramsay said that season's pressure would be immense because the winner would become his Executive Chef at his brand new restaurant in Los Angeles, the London West Hollywood, with a salary of $250,000. Louross wanted to win as that would make him a triple L. In contrast, Jason said that winning Hell's Kitchen would make him the guy who had pockets full of money and beat off women with a stick. Ramsay introduced the contestants to the Sous Chefs, Scott and Gloria. Also, Ramsay told them that for the first time, they would be going into service with a team captain. Ramsay instructed the teams to decide who they thought should captain their teams for the opening night.
Once the chefs made it to the dorms, the teams split off into their separate rooms. Corey chose Vanessa as the women's captain because of her great signature dish. Everyone else unanimously agreed, making Vanessa feel she had to lead well or else she could be done. In contrast, the men took far longer to decide as everyone on the team wanted to assume that role. That frustrated Craig as it was becoming a circus act. Back at the kitchen, the women sat down and studied the menu, including fifteen new items. Christina felt stressed about memorizing that many dishes in little time. Elsewhere, Bobby nominated himself as the men's leader and promised to lend a hand to anyone struggling. The rest of the men agreed to that, and Bobby said he was ready to kill it. Once they made their decision, the men went to sleep immediately without looking at the book. By 12:55 AM, the women were still studying.
Before service[]
The following morning, both teams were up and dressed. Afterwards, they went down to their kitchens for prep. Bobby took the leadership role well and checked on the men, motivating them as they went. Matt praised Bobby for that as the team spirit was high. Jason said he did not want to lose to a girls' team, as he thought the only thing he would lose to a woman would be an ironing contest. The women acted slow to Sous Chef Gloria's liking in the red kitchen, and Vanessa was quiet. That caused Corey to doubt Vanessa's capabilities as a leader and feared their night turning into a trainwreck. Moments later, Christina slipped while carrying pots.
Later that evening, Ramsay had both teams lined up and said this should be the most successful opening night. Bobby was confident that the men would not lose, but Ramsay asked him to name the five entrées from the menu. Having not studied the menu last night, Bobby could not answer that question. Ramsay asked Matt the same question, but he failed to do so. Then, Petrozza could not do the same when asked. Ben was embarrassed that they had no clue what was going on, and a fed-up Ramsay asked Christina what the five entrées were. Christina correctly answered five items, much to Ramsay's relief. After, Christina said the men sucked, and they would go down in flames, much to her delight. A frustrated Ramsay scolded the men for looking like dicks before they opened. Still, Matt argued that cooking a menu was different than knowing one. Afterwards, Ramsay announced an amuse-bouche served tableside as a pre-starter. He assigned Petrozza and Shayna to those roles and asked Jean-Philippe to open Hell's Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
When Ramsay called out the first ticket in the blue kitchen, he noticed that Jason was missing. Jason was seen on the patio, smoking and picking his toes on his right foot. Ramsay went into the back store to scream his name so he would come. Craig compared Jason to a disappearing magician as the latter finally showed up and got on the appetizer station. In the dining room, Petrozza and Shayna started working on their tableside flambé appetizers. While Shayna enticed her guests, Petrozza got a little crazy on the flambe. Ramsay told Petrozza not to set the place on fire and called him a donkey. In the red kitchen, Sharon worked on appetizers but was pushed around a lot by Jen. Jen was concerned about Sharon, who called her Barbie because she thought the latter looked ditzy. When both of them gave a different time, Ramsay asked them who was running the station. Jen answered Sharon, but she did not trust her that much. In contrast, Sharon became irritated by Jen's overbearing behavior. When Sharon sent up her first risotto, Ramsay told her to taste it and said it had no seasoning. Ramsay asked her to start again, and Sharon shifted some of the blame on her teammates. After that, Ramsay told Vanessa to wake up, but she thought she could not do anything at the moment, despite being the captain. Sharon made one more risotto than needed and discouraged Ramsay. Jason sent his first risotto to the pass in the blue kitchen, and when Ramsay asked if he tasted it, Jason let a big burp go. Ramsay asked the men to taste it. Bobby acknowledged it was terrible, leading Jason to start again and Dominic to bin his scallops. Bobby said that Jason sucked and thought he could run the entire kitchen himself. Still, Bobby claimed to be a nice guy and did not want to overbear his team. Ramsay called out Bobby for not assuming his leadership duties, but the latter told the former he did not want to dig in. Still, Ramsay told Bobby to show some confidence and support. Even Ben acknowledged that even if he did not know what was happening, he had to show some balls. Ramsay tasted Sharon's refire in the red kitchen but spat it out due to having more garlic than normal. Ramsay drank water and told Sharon to put on some makeup before putting Jen on appetizers. Still, Sharon argued that she could look nice while cooking.
Forty-five minutes into service, no food whatsoever left either kitchen. Jean-Philippe even suggested to a customer to give him his smile, which the customer found useless. Jason sent a burnt risotto in the blue kitchen, and Ramsay told him to sit down at the pass and eat it. That made Jason embarrassed and wished he was back home. Petrozza tried his best to keep the customers from hunger and make them happy in the dining room. In the red kitchen, Jen claimed she had mad skills despite her age, only for Ramsay to discover flippled quail eggs when they were not needed. Christina claimed it was not hard to fry an egg, and Ramsay asked Rosann to take control. He ordered Vanessa to hand over her captain's title to Rosann, who quickly became vocal and asked times. Vanessa acknowledged she sucked as a captain, but Jen questioned Ramsay's decision of not picking her as captain instead of Rosann. At one point, Rosann asked Vanessa if she was mad at her when she corrected her on an order, but the latter told her she was not. In the blue kitchen, Dominic got schooled by Ramsay about boiling scallops as they turned out rubber. Dominic admits he could not sautee a scallop, and he was mocked by Ramsay when he cooked more than needed. After that, Ramsay asks Bobby to take control of the disgusting and embarrassing mess. He mentioned how Jason did not care, Dominic was dreaming, Matt was standing still, pissing in his pants, looking for his tartar, and Louross was running around like a toilet brush. Ramsay asked if anybody would take control, and Dominic asked Bobby to jump in. However, Bobby refused to, saying they got it, and he did not want to join the chaos. Hearing that angered Craig as that was the equivalent of quitting. In the red kitchen, Jen finally sent out a good risotto out, and she enjoyed a moment of proudness to herself.
With Jen mastering the risotto and Rosann's leadership, appetizers came out of the red kitchen. The men were at a standstill in the blue kitchen, with Dominic waiting for Jason's call. When a disgusting sauce was sent to the pass, Ramsay told the entire team to taste it and called it snot while throwing it back on the stove. Ramsay kicked the counter and called the men useless for not having the balls for not admitting it was terrible. At that point, Louross, disappointed that his team never tasted their food, started to be more vocal and gave out direction. Ramsay asked Bobby to lend his captain badge to Louross as he had a set of balls to direct the team. However, Bobby argued he was not the person who complained about losing leadership as he was still a Four-Star General. Louross gave clear instructions to his team, relieving Ramsay. In the red kitchen, with appetizers going out, the women began serving entrées. However, Corey's chicken was rubbery and dry, and Ramsay had the women pass it around to feel it. Corey feared that glass would be shattered afterwards. After passing it around, Ramsay threw it towards the back store and schooled Corey on that mistake. Louross gave new life to the team in the blue kitchen as Jason finally got his appetizers correct. Jason felt like a million dollars, but it was too late as most of the tables walked out of the restaurant. After Ramsay told both teams to look at the empty dining room, he shut down the restaurant. Everybody cleared down, as Dominic said there was nothing to be proud of that night, and Craig felt embarrassed. Rosann cried in shame due to the mess the women had.
Post-mortem[]
When the teams were lined up, Ramsay said no entrées left either kitchen and reminded Bobby that he hid behind his team, performing like a coward. Also, Ramsay told Jason that he sunk his kitchen. Afterward, he compared Vanessa's performance to having a mouse on service and told Corey that her chicken bounced off the wall and nearly left the restaurant. Despite those struggles, Ramsay still declared the men the losers. Because Louross tried to get the blue kitchen back on track, Ramsay named him "Best of the Worst" and asked him to choose two of his teammates for elimination.
During deliberation, Louross said the men died from no communication and energy, which he found embarrassing. While Petrozza was relieved that it was over, Jason disagreed as he knew he could be going home. Jason thought he did better than Bobby despite a poor night and hoped the latter had a foot up his ass. Ben wanted Bobby to go due to leaving them dry and hard. In contrast, Bobby decided not to talk to Louross as he did not want to kiss the latter's ass as that was not his style. Dominic told Louross that he did everything people asked him to do but knew he did poorly. When Louross talked to Jason, the latter said he did poorly but so did everyone else. However, Louross knew Jason had a miserable night and was in a tough spot over who to nominate. Later, Jason told Bobby that it was them as nominees that night.
Elimination[]
Louross named Bobby as his first nominee and Dominic as his second. During their pleas, Dominic said he was misdirected due to Bobby and said he binned thirty scallops that night. Then, Bobby tried to skim past his lack of leadership, but Ramsay did not have that and asked Bobby for the truth. Bobby admitted he did poorly as a captain, which Ramsay said was the first honest answer he gave him. After both of them pleaded their cases, Ramsay said that both nominees could have done better that night. Ramsay eliminated Dominic for his poor performance on the fish station and lacking the experience of working in a fine-dining restaurant. However, he warned Bobby to wake up. During his exit interview, Dominic called being the first one eliminated a real heartbreaker and said his dream of working for Ramsay was now dashed.
After Dominic left, Ramsay reminded Bobby that he threw in the towel while telling Jason dodged a bullet. Still, Jason promised he could do better. Ramsay deemed it the worst start to a season, especially when the prize is on the line. He warned the chefs he was not taking it lightly. While being dismissed, Bobby thought that comment was Ramsay's way of telling him to bounce back, which he was ready to do so. Lastly, Jason thought they embarrassed all the male chefs that night, but he refused to lose to the women again.
Ramsay's comment: "To be a great chef, you need passion, creativity and talent. Dominic had passion, but that was it."
Trivia[]
- This season's opening episode is the most-watched episode in Hell's Kitchen history with 11.85 million viewers.
- This marks the first time the red team won the opening night and the first time a male chef became the first person eliminated from the competition.
- This marks the debut of Sous Chef Gloria.