The seventh episode of Season 4 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox, on May 13, 2008. On that episode, the annual Blind Taste Test occurred, one chef made an unlikely comeback, and one of the early favorites was shown the door.
Intro[]
Back in the dorms, Matt threw a huge tantrum at Ben for hiding behind Bobby and declaring himself he was the best. He also added that he was not afraid of anyone, and that now that he was not on the blue team anymore, anything that could happen to them were not concerning him. Ben laughed at his outburst and even provoked him by saying the strong were staying with the strong, referring to Bobby. Matt left in the middle of the argument, calling Ben an asshole, and Ben said that the women were not having an inclining of what Matt was all about.
Jen guaranteed that Matt did not know what he was going to get himself into. In his bedroom, Matt tried to convince himself that he did not do anything wrong during the previous service and that he, at least, was not hiding behind anybody. Back on the patio, Corey questioned his desire to be on the red team. She also stated that it was not fair to get rid of one of their weakest cooks, referring to Shayna, and get him afterwards. She concluded by saying that Matt's days with the red team are numbered, and that he would be the next one voted off.
Team challenge[]
The next morning, the chefs lined up in the red kitchen, with Matt still having his blue jacket on. Ramsay asked Matt how it felt to be on the red team, but he did not know what to answer as he did not have any challenges or services yet with them. Then, Ramsay asked Ben if he was missing Matt, which he answered he was not at all, even saying the blue team was glad he was gone as they were tired of looking at his face.
After, Ramsay had the contestants taste some dishes he prepared, saying that morning's test would be about taste. But, what he did not told to the chefs was that the dishes were missing the meat. His chicken parmesan was actually soy protein, the beef stew was actually a soy-based substitute, and the sausage ravioli was actually meatless ground. During the tasting, Ben claimed he had the best palate in the world, saying he tasted a lot of food in his days. When Petrozza tasted the beef stew, he came the closest to identify the non-existing meat, telling the texture was odd, and he really enjoyed the ravioli saying it was wonderful. After tasting the dishes, Ramsay revealed the truth, much to the amazement of the chefs, and recalled Petrozza almost identifying the wrong thing about the beef stew, but added it was not enough. Then, he introduced the annual Blind Taste Test and, before the challenge occurred, gave Matt a red jacket, saying he was looking terrible in blue.
Both teams were lined up in the dining room, and Ramsay made Jen sit out to even the teams at 4 members each. That news broke her heart as she always hated when she was put on the side when her team was doing something. Each chef had to taste three different foods and identify as most of them as possible. For the first round, Rosann and Petrozza went against each other. Corey declared she was not confident at all in Rosann because she never tasted food from around the world. On the first try, Rosann missed chicken, but Petrozza got it right. Then, Rosann got sweet potato and Petrozza missed it, tying the score. For the last food, Rosann redeemed herself by correctly identifying nectarine, and Petrozza missed it. After one round, the score was 2-1 for the red team, and Ben called Petrozza an idiot.
For the second round, Corey and Louross, being best friends, faced off. Both of them missed the first two ingredients, but Corey correctly identified turnips, while Louross missed it, giving the red team a 2 point lead. For the third round, Christina went against Bobby. Both of them missed shrimp, but Christina correctly identified radish despite second-guessing herself, while Bobby missed it. On the final ingredient, which was chopped truffles, Christina immediately recognized it and even asked for some more, while Bobby guessed mushroom. Jen could not believe that Bobby missed that last ingredient, saying truffles could be smelled miles away.
Before the final round, with the score being 5-1 for the red team, Ramsay recalled some great rivalries in the past, including "Yankees VS Red Sox", which Matt inclined for the Yankees, and "Tyson VS Holyfield", and then announced another great rivalry, Matt against Ben. Both of them stepped forward, but blindfolds on but not the headphones. For this final round, Ramsay announced he made a dish consisting of ten ingredients and that each of them would score a point if they would correctly guess one of them. After taking a bite each, Ben guessed lamb, which was accepted, and Matt guessed potatoes, which was accepted as well. For a third ingredient, Ben guessed cream and got it right, and Matt got thyme correct. With the score at 7-3 for the red team and six ingredients left, Ben guessed celery and scored, while Matt correctly guessed onion. With four ingredients left, everybody in the room was feeling nervous, Ben guessed fresh parsley, and after a nervous wait, Ramsay announced he scored one more point, reducing the red team's lead at 8-5. For his final guess, Matt said he tasted carrots, and clinched the victory for the red team 9-5. After both of them took their blindfolds off, Ramsay revealed the dish was a basic clam chowder, and the red team celebrated by congratulating and hugging Matt. While celebrating, Matt said it was a great introduction to his new team, and reminded Ben he wanted him off the blue team, with Ramsay also congratulating him. On his side, Ben was jealous of Matt's 15 minutes of fame and did not want to talk about him.
Scoring[]
| Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
| Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosann | 2/3 | 2 | Petrozza | 1/3 | 1 |
| Corey | 1/3 | 3 | Louross | 0/3 | 1 |
| Christina | 2/3 | 5 | Bobby | 0/3 | 1 |
| Matt | 4/10 | 9 | Ben | 4/10 | 5 |
| Results | 9-5 | ||||
Reward[]
The red team was rewarded with a day of pampering, relaxation and spa treatments on the patio. Arrived there, they were greeted by two women offering them some champagne. Corey really enjoyed that reward saying it was time for her to finally let loose, relax and have a great day. When Matt announced his team he was getting a truffle mask, Jen jokingly told him to not eat it. Then, he jokingly said he was getting a metro sexual treatment, and Corey reminded he wanted to switch teams and that it was the perfect timing. When Matt reminded he helped the women win the challenge, Jen acknowledged he was happy to be on the red team. Finally, he told Jen that someone's trash was somebody else's treasure, referring to the blue team cleaning the dorms at that same time. Arrived on the patio, Ben saw Matt having a great time, but told he did not care because only getting rid of him was a reward of its own. While serving iced tea and Corey and Jen asking some extras in theirs, Ben told Matt how of an idiot he was looking like with his beauty mask and cucumbers on his face, only for Matt to tell him that despite that, it was feeling good. After Ben left, Matt declared to the red team he would love to see Ben be eliminated before he would, and was determined to kick ass during that night's service.
Punishment[]
The blue team was punished by cleaning up the dorms, from returning the beds to washing the toilet bowls. During the punishment, Ben was furious as he was cleaning the stove despite not having cook anything on it since his arrival, Bobby was envious as he would have also enjoyed a little therapy session, and Petrozza noticed how Ramsay was not joking when he said the dorms needed to be cleaned. He found women's hair in the bathroom, saying it was disgusting. Later, the phone rang and Ben picked it up. Sous Chef Scott dedicated him to serve iced tea to the red team, which he did. After he left the patio, Ben came back to the dorms and told Bobby he was mad the latter did not see what was happening.
Before service[]
Later that day, both teams began prep for dinner service, with the blue team feeling confident. Petrozza declared he wanted to win service because if they would not and the red team would, they would look like assholes. On the red side, Matt was extremely happy to be in a new team as he saw it as a perfect opportunity of redemption. However, Corey was not feeling the same way and was more annoyed by his company, saying he would be the next to go. Matt concluded by saying he was seeing a capital V for the red team that night.
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay reminded the blue team to come back during that service as they performed poorly during the Blind Taste Test. He also reminded that service would go back to a fine-dining menu, without any special events. Then, everybody got on their station, and Ramsay asked Jean-Philippe to open Hell's Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Before tickets came in, both teams were seen very confident, with Louross even pumping up his team himself. In the red kitchen, Matt guaranteed his female teammates they would win, and Ramsay told a confident Rosann to get on her station. When Ramsay called the first ticket in the blue kitchen, Ben did not responded and Ramsay lectured him on his laid-back behavior, saying he was more laid-back than an ironing board. After that, Ben responded and Ramsay thanked him for it, calling him "Chef Ben". In the red kitchen, Rosann sent her first scallop appetizer to the pass, but they were boiled on one side and not cooked at all on the other. Ramsay felt disappointed and asked her to start over. She started to get frazzled, but Matt tried to comfort her and tell her she could do it, while Corey noticed Rosann was not prepared on her station and was worried she could turn the service into a disaster.
45 minutes into service, the red team served their appetizers to the customers. In the blue kitchen, Louross and Bobby were working on their first scallop appetizer, but while Bobby was ready with his scallops, Louross said he needed five minutes for the quail eggs to be ready. That infuriated Ramsay, who told Bobby he had to communicate and not going out for himself. Bobby talked back to Ramsay, telling Louross said it was coming from his part, and seeing that, Ramsay was disbelieved and told Louross to hurry up. In the red kitchen, they moved on to entrées, but when Jen told Rosann to not fire her order yet, Ramsay schooled her, saying she would not start to pull the team down. It was at that moment that Jen started to reveal her ugly side when she said that Ramsay liked vocal and loud people, and that she was trying to be a vocal leader, which she thought she was, but it was not good. After that, Ramsay came to Jen and made it clear that he was calling out the orders while she was cooking. After that, Christina knew that Jen would start to undo herself, and she asked her a time, Jen was completely unresponsive and clamed up, feeling angry at Ramsay about her incident with him. In the blue kitchen, Louross sent an impressive Caesar salad and received a compliment from Ramsay, who said every of his portions had to be like that one. Louross that compliment and a moment of pride to himself. In the red kitchen, Rosann sent raw langoustines, which infuriated Ramsay who schooled her on her mistake. Then, he pulled the whole team over to touch the langoustine, and when he did, he accused Jen of giving up. When she was about to talk back, Ramsay told he has had enough, and Jen was confused as she did not know what he wanted between being vocal or silent. After the team touched the langoustine, Ramsay angrily tossed it and it hit Matt. When Ramsay asked Matt if it hurt, he answered it did not, but Ramsay invited Matt to sue him. Ramsay continued his outburst by schooling the team on their response, Rosann for her mistake, and told Jen to take her garnishes back.
In the blue kitchen, Ben sent undercooked chicken to the pass, so Ramsay schooled him about his mistake and told the team to start communicating. After Ben gave the excuse that he was not used to the brigade system, a disbelieved Ramsay schooled him on his laid-back behavior one more time, with Matt really enjoying what he was seeing from the red kitchen. After that, Christina asked Matt if he could bring her beef entrées to the pass, which he accepted. Ramsay complimented Christina, saying the beef was perfectly cooked. She felt good inside herself as she was getting more confident, but when she thanked Ramsay for it, he replied to not thank him as there were still 20 tickets to go before they could celebrate and pee their knickers. With that, the red customers were enjoying their entrées, while the blue diners were still waiting, with one female customer being embarrassed for the restaurant because she was eating a snack. Moments later, Ramsay schooled Petrozza about the disorganization of his station, stating there was a lot of crap on top of each other. Petrozza acknowledged he could have been more organized as the garnish station was a mess. Meanwhile, in the red kitchen, Ramsay made Matt taste his risotto, only to tell him it was perfect. Matt enjoyed his success, even attempting to convince Christina to taste it, before giving a speech to thank his family, friends and the Sous Chefs for making him the person he was at the moment.
Back in the blue kitchen, Ramsay asked Ben for a time on two Wellingtons to be ready, but Ben only answered that he had two Wellingtons. When Ramsay asked him one more time which of them was ready, Ben declared that none of them were ready, much to Ramsay's dismay. So, Ben asked for six minutes, which made Ramsay confused, but told him once again that was the time he needed. When he was struggling, Ben started giving excuses and even blaming Ramsay himself. When he asked Petrozza where the meat supply was because he was three lamb short, Ramsay heard that and became furious. Ramsay asked him to come to the pass and make him realize the order came in an hour and a half ago, before learning they ran out of lamb. Ben tried to reassure Ramsay that he had it, but Ramsay was still upset, even calling him a "weirdo on Dr.Phil". Seeing this from the red kitchen, Matt was amused and saw that as a revenge from Ben considering him as a scapegoat, and now that he was not there anymore, he got nobody to blame. While Ben restart on his Wellingtons, in the red kitchen, Rosann sent a raw salmon to the pass, which proved to be the final straw for Ramsay. He schooled Rosann on her mistake, and she acknowledged she had a poor performance and that she let herself down. When Ramsay asked Jen if she had her garnishes ready, she answered she did not, while not looking at him in the eyes. When she tried to talk back to him, he schooled her on her cocky attitude, which infuriated her, and after, Ramsay took the tray of the table and angrily threw it on the garnish station. Jen said she was tired of getting disrespected like that, and Ramsay schooled her for not being able to tell her anything as she was always clamming up after taking criticism. He finished by reminding Rosann of her poor performance and left the kitchen by the back store. Rosann became extremely emotional as she knew she let everybody down.
Two and a half hours into service, no food was leaving either kitchen, and customers started to feel angry. When a Wellington order was sent back for being undercooked, Ramsay has had enough and schooled Ben for his mistake, calling him a schmock and a jerk. Ben continued to give excuses, saying he had a lot of pride in what he was doing and that he would keep trying to get the food out. However, Ramsay threw another outburst at him, much to Matt's pleasure who said that karma was biting in the ass, where he told Ben he was not taking the competition seriously and that he would end his misery by shutting down the kitchen. When Ben said he was determined to continue his station, Ramsay ordered him to shut it down and called him a dick.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay told the chefs they were overconfident, lazy, slow, and somewhat pathetic. However, he praised Matt's strong performance on appetizers, saying it was the best risotto that ever went out in Hell's Kitchen. When Ramsay asked Matt why he waited so long to emerge, Matt declared it was because the women were listening and showing respect to him. After that, Ramsay declared the blue team losers, and asked each member of the team to come up with one name for elimination.
While being dismissed, Matt enjoyed his success saying he had his ass kicked since day one and that it was finally time for him to shine. Back in the dorms, Petrozza and Christina congratulated Matt for Ramsay's great compliment to him. On the blue side, Ben acknowledged it was his worst performance yet, but tried to get strategic by convincing everybody he would nominate himself. Bobby told he would do that also, but Louross categorically refused to nominate himself.
In their bedroom, Ben tried to convince Bobby to nominate Louross because he did not man up to his actions, and later tried to convince Petrozza to do the same. However, Petrozza declared he could not nominate Louross and that he still had not made his decision. So, Bobby tried to make an agreement that both of them would nominate each other.
Elimination[]
When Ramsay asked the blue team if their decision was difficult, only Petrozza answered it was. First, Louross announced Ben as his nominee, and after a long relieving speech, Ramsay said Louross he said enough and that he just grown two more inches. Second, Ben nominated Louross, and after that, Bobby nominated Petrozza for lacking the heart of becoming a head chef in a fine-dining restaurant. Finally, after Petrozza said it was a tough decision, he shocked everybody by nominating himself. He declared he could not pick any of his teammates saying they worked hard. Ramsay praised his outstanding level of maturity and said that he was the most gracious man on the blue team. In the end, Ramsay eliminated Ben for being the worst performer of the night, his laidback behavior and not admitting his mistakes.
After Ben left, Ramsay told the chefs to forget the past and focus on what was waiting for them, and concluded by asking the red team for a volunteer to go to the blue team the next morning, as it was down two chefs. Matt immediately refused to volunteer, saying he would rather be called a woman all day than to go back in the blue team. While dismissing the chefs, Ramsay told Petrozza he was a gentleman, who said it was meaning a lot coming from him. Petrozza became very emotional and declared he already felt like a winner despite still having a long way to go.
Ramsay's comment: "Ben left a manual labor job, shoveling ditches, to get back into cooking. But all he did in Hell's Kitchen was dig himself into a hole. A hole too deep to get out of."
Trivia[]
- This marks the first time where a team won four consecutive services, including joint victories. This record is beaten in Season 7.
- This is one of two times the final round of the Blind Taste Test featured a complete dish.