The fourth episode of Season 4 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX on April 22, 2008. In that episode, the very first Family Night service occurred, a severe injury forced someone to leave momentarily, and a meltdown by one contestant led to a hilarious elimination.
Intro[]
After dismissing the contestants, Ramsay said he would love to say good night, but he could not due to the night's problems. Then, Ramsay called Ben a punk and useless due to his attitude that night. On the way back to the dorms, Vanessa still felt ashamed of her poor performance and was comforted by her teammates in the back hallway. Vanessa refused to fail at cooking because that was all she knew to do.
Meanwhile, Bobby acknowledged that Hell's Kitchen was a dirty game, and Ben mocked Ramsay's insult of punk. Still, Ben thought Ramsay was testing him and looking at his commitment to returning to the culinary world. Afterwards, Louross said that Ramsay was digging into the personal level.
Kitchen cleaning[]
A few moments later, Ramsay spoke into the microphone and ordered them to clean the kitchens as he refused to leave them in a disgusting mess. That dismayed Corey as she was too tired to clean. Everybody did their part in the red kitchen, but Corey complained that she was too tired and did very little. After a few minutes of hanging around and barely doing anything, Corey returned to the dorms and laid on her bed. That angered Shayna as Corey did not tell them her intention of going upstairs and called the latter lazy for not helping them. Christina stated that if Corey was that tired, she should go home.
Team challenge[]
The next day, both teams lined up in the dining room before Ramsay, who asked Corey how she was feeling. Corey said she was ready to lead her team and step up to the plate, but that statement made all her teammates laugh. When Ramsay asked the women who was their strongest chef, Jen and Corey raised their hands, but the rest of the team agreed on Jen. When Ramsay asked why not Corey, she said it was because they did not like her. However, Shayna recalled that Corey did little during the previous night's kitchen cleaning. Still, Corey thought her teammates were threatened and intimidated by her because they were trying to bring her down. When Ramsay asked the men who was their strongest chef, Bobby immediately nominated Ben in that position, to which Louross agreed. The rest of the men agreed, and Ben said he wanted to be strong and see how far he would get.
After that, Ramsay said that the first three services were a disaster, calling them an all-time low from his experience. Ramsay said he was changing everything by organizing the very first Family Night service in Hell's Kitchen for that night. That took Louross aback as Ramsay took both teams into the blue kitchen. Because pasta would be a staple item on the menu that night, Ramsay introduced the Pasta Making Challenge. Still, Rosann was not intimidated by the challenge due to her Italian background. During his demonstration on how to make pasta properly, Ramsay used Bobby's arms to hang the pasta.
Each team had 20 minutes to make pasta to Ramsay's standards, and the team with the most weight won the challenge. On the red side, Jen acknowledged that the men were stronger physically, but she was determined to win the challenge. On the blue side, a determined Petrozza said he would pump up his teammates. At one point, Matt did nothing except stand still with his arms spread, waiting for the pasta. That annoyed Ben, who said that Matt did not man up. Ramsay told Matt that he might want to rest his arms, which he did, and the latter continued to motivate his team verbally. After a few minutes, Jen started to put some pasta on Shayna's arms, and on the blue side, Ben did the same thing to Matt. Eight minutes left, Craig was holding the pasta to go in the machine, but he was doing it wrong, and Louross told him how to do it properly. However, Bobby, who acknowledged that Craig was holding the men back during every challenge, pushed him to the side and rolled the pasta himself. That annoyed Craig, who thought everybody wanted to make themselves look good and make others look terrible. Craig stood there, not helping, and Ramsay ordered him to move after calling him lazy. On the red side, Corey thought Jen's way of becoming a leader was incorrect due to the latter yelling at the women. With few seconds left, Petrozza almost broke his arm rolling the pasta, with Jen and Bobby having the same motivation. When the time was up, Matt and Shayna's arms were fully covered in pasta.
Before the judging, Ramsay congratulated both teams for the effort, declaring that he saw more energy during that challenge than the first three services combined. Then, Ramsay asked Corey and Jen why they were holding Shayna's hands, and the latter said it was because her arms were tired. After that, Ramsay pulled some pasta off Matt's arm, checked it, and placed it on the balance. The men were at 1.39 lbs of acceptable pasta, which worried Louross as that was a low number. After taking some pasta off Shayna's arm and weighing it, the women's total was at 2.66 lbs so far. They started celebrating, but Jen noticed that Matt's arm and neck still had a lot of pasta. Ramsay took the remaining pasta from Matt's arm off, and after a quick check, the men finished with a score of 5.49 lbs of acceptable pasta. The women looked very nervous, and Ramsay took some more pasta off Shayna's arm. After the women's total elevated to 4.82 lbs, Ramsay took the remaining pasta from the women, weighed it, and the women's final total was 6.57 lbs. Therefore, the women won, and they celebrated by hugging each other.
Scoring[]
| Blue Team | Red Team |
| 5.49lbs | 6.57lbs |
| Results | 6.57lbs-5.49lbs |
Reward[]
The women were rewarded with a day at the Santa Monica Pier amusement park, and they were transported there in Hummer limousines. Before leaving, Ramsay praised Jen's efforts, and she said that the win made her feel great as she led her team to victory.
Before the women left for their reward, Christina got mad at Ben because he was chewing tobacco and leaving his spit cups all over the kitchen. Christina confronted Ben on his mess and said it was nasty. When Ben got up to get it, Rosann schooled him on the fact he was leaving his dishes in the sink without washing them, claiming that even her kids would never do that. The two of them got into an argument, where Rosann said she would throw in the garbage anything she found lying on the counter, and Ben started mimicking her. They finished their argument with Rosann saying she was watching Ben.
After Rosann and Ben's argument, the women were getting ready for their reward. Corey said that even though her team talked behind her back, she would still have a good time in California. When they got outside, Vanessa was excited to drive in a Hummer limousine as she never did before, even in a regular limousine. During the reward, Christina declared it would have been fun to throw Corey off the Ferris wheel, but being outside was good enough. Shayna tossed some balls at a fairway stand and used the spit cup incident as fuel. As the women rode on the Ferris wheel, Rosann wanted to use their energy to beat the men that night.
Punishment[]
The men were punished by prepping all the new menu items, all day long, for both kitchens. The defeat infuriated Petrozza, saying that challenge was all about muscles and strength, and he could not believe that his team lost. Back at the dorms, Louross blamed Craig for not being a team player, while the latter spent some alone time away from his team. After Ben and Rosann's argument, Petrozza picked up the phone and led his team to the blue kitchen.
During the punishment, Petrozza became exhausted and said that his team needed a day of rest. Then, Craig, Louross, and Matt jokingly hoped the rides would break on the women. Later, Sous Chef Scott asked for a volunteer, and Ben rose to the occasion. Sous Chef Scott took Ben outside and showed him the playground for the kids, including the petting zoo. Sous Chef Scott told Ben to shovel the animal droppings, much to the latter's irritation as he did not know how to call himself the best chef for the men after that chore.
Before service[]
When the women returned from their reward, they saw Ben cleaning the animals' pen, much to his embarrassment. With an hour left before service, the women got changed and prepped the remaining items from their kitchen. Outside, the children were already having fun in the playground. During prep, Christina said that they had to work hard to prep a menu they had learned half an hour before and almost burned herself lifting a hot tray with her bare hand. Jen tried to motivate her team, saying that if they could not do a menu consisting of burgers, pasta and onion rings, they could not do anything. In the blue kitchen, everybody tried to rally behind Craig, who was deemed the weakest link. Still, Craig thought that the pasta station was easy and told them to shut up.
After the teams lined up, Ramsay motivated them by saying that he was not asking for a perfect service, he was demanding it. Also, Ramsay added that the first team who completed their tickets first would win the service. After that, Ramsay told Jean-Philippe that because it was Family Night, he had to take his tie off, open up his shirt and relax a little bit. Jean-Philippe was reluctant to do so, saying he was feeling more comfortable in his traditional suit. When Jean-Philippe almost missed the step on his way down, Ramsay told him to walk straight and called him a doughnut.
Dinner service[]
That night's menu featured fresh pasta, barbecued chicken wings, and hamburgers. When the first ticket was called out in the red kitchen, Vanessa was determined to have a good service, saying she did not want to fail again after her disastrous performance in the previous service. So, Vanessa quickly took vocal control of the red kitchen. In the blue kitchen, Ben and Matt gave each other a high-five, motivating each other, as the former was also determined to lead the men to victory. In the red kitchen, Vanessa's chowder was deemed beautiful by Ramsay, who told the women they had momentum and must not lose it. Ramsay told the men the women sent their first ticket, and afterwards, Louross communicated with Matt over the chicken wings. Then, Ramsay told Matt not to serve raw chicken to a kid, threatening to pickle his balls if he did. Hearing that made Bobby chuckle. Ben brought his first onion rings to the pass, but they were not crispy enough, so Ramsay told him to start again. When Ben was caught staring at Ramsay after the lecture, the latter told him to get to work. Afterwards, Ben delivered acceptable onion rings.
Forty-five minutes into service, the blue customers were getting their appetizers. Although the onion rings received positive reviews, a chicken wing dish was sent back for being raw. This infuriated Ramsay, who called the whole team out for that mistake and called Matt a prick. Craig thought it was a major mistake and called it nasty if a kid bit into a raw chicken. When Ramsay asked Matt what he was doing, the latter only responded, "Yes Chef, sorry Chef, it will not happen again". That led Ramsay to remind Matt of his tartare signature dish, and the latter could not blink due to how close the former was to his face. Ramsay ordered Matt to wake up, and the latter refused to break. In the red kitchen, Vanessa managed to send half of her appetizers, and the women moved on to entrées. Shayna lit a fire at the appetizer station, and Ramsay warned her not to burn the kitchen down. When Vanessa was about to take it off, some oil dropped on her hand, and she sustained a second-degree burn. Vanessa asked Ramsay for some ice, and Rosann called for a medic, declaring that the latter's hand was blazing red and thought she would break down in tears. Vanessa ran to the back store to see a medic, who applied some healing cream over her hand, but the former was still in great pain. As the cream was not helping her hand, Vanessa was taken to the hospital by the SUV. Vanessa's disappearance caused the women to worry about her. Shayna was worried as she did not know what had happened to Vanessa. Christina asked where Vanessa was, but nobody answered as they did not know either. Then, Ramsay announced that Vanessa was on her way to the hospital, but if they slowed down, they would be in trouble. Despite being one member down, Christina vocally rallied the women, motivating them by saying they could pull it off anyway.
Two hours into dinner service, the women had 12 tickets remaining, while the men had 10. Petrozza sent crab cakes that were deemed very nice by Ramsay, and the customers were satisfied. That led to many entrées being served on both sides of the dining room. When Matt served a burger that was too small, Ramsay schooled him on his mistake and asked him why he was firing burgers so early. Ramsay compared the burgers to ice hockey pucks and threw each of them to the men before angrily throwing one towards the back store when he asked if they were a fast-food joint. Then, Ramsay asked Bobby if he could get a grip, which the latter answered he could. After that, Bobby told Matt how to cook his burgers properly. In the red kitchen, Jen became the vocal leader of the team after Vanessa's departure, giving instructions to Shayna and Rosann and asking for a time. Jen's leadership helped the women send out many entrées. In the blue kitchen, Bobby emerged as a leader by sending acceptable entrées to the pass that Ramsay said was gold star worthy. When Ben saw food coming out, he relaxed a little bit and congratulated Bobby and Matt. However, Ramsay sternly reminded Ben that the men had six tickets left compared to the women's two and suggested that they wake up. Jen and Louross rallied their respective teams to push out their final tickets. In the blue kitchen, Craig brought a meatball spaghetti to the pass when a spaghetti of clams was on order. Ramsay called the ticket again and asked for a spaghetti of clams quickly. When Craig sent it, it came out raw. Ramsay furiously asked Craig to start again, but when Bobby came over to help, Craig repeatedly said he had it. Ramsay asked for a time, but Craig did not answer, and when his entire team did, he disrespectfully shouted two minutes.
The final ticket was called out in the red kitchen, and the women rallied to send it. When they did, Ramsay congratulated them, and Jen was so happy, she wanted to dance. However, Ramsay asked the women to go over to the blue kitchen and help the men out. Ramsay asked Jen to go over and help Ben, who Ramsay called "Chef Ben". Ben was embarrassed about that situation, and Ramsay schooled him on his laid-back behavior and congratulating his team. Ramsay ridiculed Ben, comparing him to the captain who hit the iceberg with the Titanic. When Shayna came over to help Craig, he refused her help, constantly saying he got it. That annoyed Shayna, and she told Craig to accept the help. After Louross gave a little pep talk to everybody, Ramsay called out another ticket and asked Craig how long for the spaghetti of clams. However, Craig failed to answer, frustrating Ramsay, and Matt tried to convince Craig to answer. Then, Ramsay told he was making him nervous, and Craig grabbed a hot pan with his bare hands, burning himself in the process. When everybody, including Ramsay, asked Craig a time, he lost his patience and disrespectfully told them it was coming right now and that they had to listen. Craig threw a pan in anger while everybody stared at him, much to Ramsay's disbelief. After the last entrée was served, both teams switched off and wrapped up their kitchens.
Post-mortem[]
When the teams were lined up, Ramsay named the women the winners for serving all their tickets and for bouncing back after a slow start. Also, Ramsay declared Jen the best cook in both kitchens for emerging as a star. That compliment made Jen's heart melt as she appreciated it. After that, Ramsay told the men that if Family Night was a movie, it would have been a horror movie on their side as it was embarrassing. Ramsay asked Craig if it was that difficult to cook pasta, to which the latter answered no. Then, Ramsay turned to Ben and told the latter he was surprised by him that night. Ben thanked Ramsay, thinking it was a compliment, but Ramsay added he was surprised at how terrible he was as he expected more from him and told him he maybe should not have quit his day job that early. Lastly, Ramsay named Bobby "Best of the Worst" for making him feel safe in the kitchen, urging him not to break the trust that was there. Ramsay asked Bobby to nominate two of his teammates for elimination, saying he was not short of choices.
Back at the dorms, Bobby acknowledged that he began the competition roughly, but the tables were starting to change to his advantage. After Ben said he thought Ramsay hated him, Vanessa returned from the hospital and was warmly welcomed by everybody. Vanessa revealed she would see a plastic surgeon on Monday and had no idea what would happen as she had no use of her right hand. Christina told Vanessa the news that their team won the service. Craig told Ben that the pasta incident was not his fault, and he knew that Matt and Ben did not perform well like he did. Craig refused to talk with Bobby about his standings as he knew he would be nominated, but he did not want to be a pet dog to the team. Ben asked Bobby for a private talk with him, and the former said he did not know if he would like to be put up only because Ramsay hated him. Bobby laughed as he recalled that Ben had some bad services and that the latter always seemed at the wrong place at the wrong time. Ben acknowledged that although he was a close friend of Bobby, it did not mean anything as they were trying to win a competition. Moments later, Matt joined the conversation and was asked by Bobby who he should nominate. Matt answered Craig for his lack of communication and for disrespecting Ramsay. While Matt admitted to his poor performance, he said that Craig was hopeless.
Elimination[]
Bobby nominated Craig as his first nominee and Matt as his second. Ramsay called both of them down but declared he would not want to go any further, stating there was another one who should also step forward. Ramsay did not call his name, stating he knew who he was, and Ben immediately recognized himself and stepped forward. During their pleas, Ramsay told Ben how disappointed he was in him, but the latter argued that cooking was a gift from God as he wanted to work harder after his nomination. Still, Ramsay told Ben he should be embarrassed if he was in his shoes. Then, Craig admitted he did not have a great service, but he argued about having a drive and motivation to do better. Still, Ramsay reminded Craig that he gave them an easy menu that night, and he was cooking pasta. Lastly, Matt claimed that he had changed since entering the competition, but Ramsay reminded him about the raw chicken incident. Matt admitted that he was embarrassed by that mistake and promised never to do it again.
After all three of them pleaded their cases, Ramsay thought they should all leave, but Ben told the former he would give 100% daily. Matt followed by saying he would give 125%. However, Craig declared he did not know what percentages were but would give just over that. In the end, Ramsay eliminated Craig for failing to keep control of his station and his poor attitude during service. As Craig left, Ramsay sarcastically thanked him for giving him a huge headache. During his exit interview, Craig said he wanted to get a restaurant out of his experience, but he felt he did not perform as he should have.
After Craig left, Ramsay warned Ben and Matt that they were on their final straw. While being dismissed, Ben started to question his skills, but he refused to go home. Then, Matt thought his heart would jump out of his chest and refused to be nominated again. Ramsay welcomed Vanessa back and urged Jen not to stop, a compliment she appreciated as she called herself a new her.
Ramsay's comment: "I can teach someone how to cook, but Craig was a bad cook with an even worse attitude. There was no hope for him."
Trivia[]
- This episode introduces the Family Night dinner service.
- This is the first time Ramsay nominated someone without saying who their name was, forcing the chef to go up themselves.