The second episode of Season 6 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX, on July 21, 2009, airing as a double feature alongside the first episode. On that episode, shrimp was the main ingredient, a disastrous dinner service occurred, and at elimination, one chef did something that nobody before him did and nobody after him will do. That episode is the only one in the show's history where a fight between a contestant and a staff member almost happened, twice.
Intro
From that episode onwards, during the opening sequence, Dave was placed between Tek and Tennille, and Robert was featured last, holding and blowing on a torch.
While being dismissed, Robert was very excited to be brought back in the competition, declaring he would lead his team to victory or die trying. On the blue side, Dave was worried because he knew Robert was strong and could make the red team win over the blue team. Then, Robert gave some tips to the women on how to properly cook the food, with Lovely even comparing to an angel coming down from Heaven. Robert acknowledged the red team was seeing him as the one who would save the day, and declared that statement was true.
Team challenge
The next morning, both teams got down in the blue kitchen, where Ramsay immediately told them they were cooking like idiots, adding that the attention to details from the previous service was missing in both teams. That led him to introduce the Shrimp Cleaning Challenge, where each chef had 10 minutes to clean as many shrimps as possible. Ariel declared the red team had to win that challenge after losing the previous service, and after a quick demonstration from Ramsay, Joseph declared that cleaning shrimp was very easy and that a simple cook could do that. After, Ramsay made Lovely sit out to even the teams at 7 members each, and the Sous Chefs brought a bucket containing shrimps, but Ramsay declared it was not enough shrimps. All of a sudden, when he asked for more shrimps, hundreds of them started raining from the ceiling, with Andy comparing it to a freak ice crustacean storm.
When the 10 minute delay began, all the chefs grabbed pots and rushed to get as many shrimps as they can, before going back to their stations. During the challenge, Tennille declared she made herself a clear system, and Jim jokingly said that some of his shrimps finished a large meal before they got captured, referring to the size of them. Because she was sitting out, Lovely decided to act like a cheerleader for her team, by clapping her hands and telling them to keep on going, but she was more annoying them than anything, especially Tek and Van. Moments later, Joseph looked over to the red team and declared they looked confused and lost because they were women. On the red side, Amanda said the same thing for the men, saying the blue team was disorganized and did not know what they were doing, and that the girls were way more organized. During the last few seconds, all the chefs rallied to complete their last shrimp, and then, time was over.
During the judging, the red team went first, and despite being a little bit worried, Sabrina managed to get 7 of her shrimps accepted. Amanda was determined to not screw up after being nominated the previous night, and she successfully managed to redeem herself after giving a perfect performance of 9 shrimps out of 9, leading the red team's total to 16. Tek continued the streak with 7 shrimps accepted, as well as Ariel with 6, leading the total at 29. When it was Tennille's turn to be judged, she gave the worst performance overall by having only 1 shrimp accepted out of 8, being ashamed and wondering what she did wrong. Robert questioned her judgment by referring to the fact that she was wearing glasses, so she could see what she was doing. Suzanne got the red team's momentum back with 10 acceptable shrimps, and finally, Robert got judged, and he was confident, but his performance was disappointing as only 4 of his shrimps were accepted, and Ramsay declared he was expecting more of him. The red team finished with a total of 44.
The blue team went second, and Andy declared he was loving numbers and that because of their current situation, each member of the team had to average more than 6 shrimps each in order to win the challenge. He was very happy at himself when he managed to get 7 of his shrimps accepted, and Van, the fish cook, kept the team's streak by getting 9 of his shrimps accepted. Tony scored 9 shrimps as well, only missing 1, being very proud of himself, but Joseph only scored 5, a performance Ramsay deemed disappointing. Dave did not fare much better as he scored only 4 shrimps, giving hope to Sabrina. Unfortunately for her, a very confident Kevin gave a perfect performance by giving 9 acceptable shrimps out of 9, and was praised by Ramsay. That led the total of the blue team at 43, and they were only 1 point left from tying and 2 points from winning, with Jim still to be judged. He came down to Ramsay with 7 shrimps cleaned. Ramsay accepted his first shrimp, tying the score at 44 each, and Tony compared that situation to a baseball game, at the bottom of the ninth inning, and Kevin was nervous as well, saying Jim must come through it. His five next shrimps were rejected, so it came down to his last one, which was accepted. Therefore, the blue team won the challenge 45-44. Then, Ramsay asked Tennille why she was that bad, but she did not give any excuses, accepting the blame and being very emotional in the process, knowing she let herself and her team down.
Reward
The blue team was rewarded with a day at Newport Beach for a seafood lunch with Ramsay, as well as a dessert on a 100 foot mega yacht. Van was excited as he never saw the Pacific Ocean before in his life, and said he was California dreaming. When they got back to the dorms and changed, Tony was excited to get out as he declared the restaurant was literally Hell. They went out by the red kitchen, rubbing salt in the red team's wound in the process.
Arrived there, they went at the Cannery Restaurant, where they were served shrimp cocktails, and Dave said it was nice to go out with Ramsay and not being yelled at by him. Ramsay responded that everybody would get better each service, while recalling that he took a lot of shit in the past and that as he was taking it, he was getting better. By hearing that, Joseph ruined the fun by saying he was not learning anything from Ramsay and that everything he was saying meant nothing. He continued by saying that he did not enter the competition for having a great time and getting out, despite acknowledging it was good to, and that he would constantly keep his eyes on the prize. Dave was irritated by his behavior saying he was hot-headed and intense in the way he was disrespecting Ramsay. Then, the mega yacht arrived with Jean-Philippe wearing white clothes and a blue scarf, and Jim even stated he was looking ridiculous, and Tony said he was having style. Then, the men clinked their glasses, and Ramsay said he would get back to Hell's Kitchen while they would have dessert on that yacht. The blue team entered the yacht, while Kevin declared it could not have been a better day. On the yacht, Jim and Van talked about how cool it was receiving tips from one of the best chefs in the world, referring to Ramsay, but while they were talking about that, Joseph was shown not being impressed nor enjoying the moment. Despite that, Dave declared he would not want to lose anymore if that was what winning was like.
Punishment
The red team was punished by cleaning shrimps and segmenting lemons, removing every seed from all of them, all day long, for a shrimp cocktail during the next dinner service. Ariel declared she was tired of cleaning shrimps and not liking them as well. During the punishment, Tek declared she never spent that much time with a lemon, even joking that she knew that lemon better than some people she slept with.
Then, Ariel threw Tennille under the bus, saying that if she had done her part during the challenge, the team would have won. After that, Tennille declared to her team very seriously that all the lemons needed to be done, acknowledging she had to redeem herself to prove that she was a valuable part of her team. Suzanne was annoyed by her way of telling people and started to confront her in the kitchen, leading to an awkward moment, until Lovely asked when they would eat lunch. Later, Suzanne continued to confront Tennille about her poor performance and questioned her experience, saying she could not believe someone like her never cleaned shrimp before, despite Sabrina defending Tennille. Then, Tennille declared she checked every of her shrimps six times, and was annoyed by Suzanne, saying that she was not a good person despite being able to clean shrimps.
Before service
The blue team arrived from their reward and the red team was still in the red kitchen doing their punishment. They were all wearing their new hats, and when they entered the red kitchen, they picked on the red team, which annoyed them, especially Tek who said they could eat a bag of dicks, called them bastards, and declared the red team needed to win the next service and bounce back. But while the blue team was doing that, Lovely suggested they could make them some dinner.
The next day, during prep, Robert emerged as a leader on the red team, giving specific instructions on how to prep some type of food, which the women really appreciated as they were trusting him. In the blue kitchen, Tony was struggling to properly cut a grapefruit, so Kevin reached over and did it for him, but Tony did not appreciate, saying he jumped over and pushed him to the side, calling him a prick in the process. When Ramsay entered the kitchen, he told Tony to cut the grapefruit over a bowl so they could keep the juice and schooled him on the fact that he was standing still and looking oblivious. Tony threw Kevin under the bus, blamed the grapefruit, and when Ramsay asked him who butchered the grapefruit, which he claimed was looking like a hexagon, Tony said he did. Joseph declared that Tony was in the weeds before the service started and that he was looking like he would wet himself.
When the teams were lined up, Ramsay announced that shrimp scampi tableside would be served during that service. Then, he dedicated Van for the blue team, and Tennille for the red team, to take charge of those tableside stations. Van was excited, stating that his charisma would help him get through service, while Ramsay told him to not bench-press the tables and give the customers an old-fashion Texas smile. Tennille was not happy about that because she hated shrimp, but Ramsay told her it would be a perfect opportunity to redeem herself after her poor performance during the challenge. When the chefs got on their stations, Tony was the only one who still was not ready, and Ramsay told him twice to cut the grapefruit over a bowl, and threatened him to kick him out before service would begin. Despite that, Ramsay ordered Jean-Philippe to open Hell's Kitchen.
Dinner service
Before tickets came in, Joseph, Kevin, and Van motivated themselves, with Joseph saying he would do everything he could to work as a team. In the red kitchen, Robert led the women, and the red team told themselves to communicate. Before he went to the dining room, Van asked Ramsay for some rags, but Ramsay told him to fuck off in the dining room, before asking who would get him toilet paper after he sat down on the toilet. Van answered himself would get some and acknowledged he had to stop asking Ramsay for stuff, before going to his station in the dining room.
Ramsay called the first ticket in the red kitchen, and for the appetizers to arrive at the same time, Tennille would have to coordinate with Robert and Suzanne. In the dining room, Tennille said she did not know what charm she should put on, but she would do it anyway. Then, she went to a table, asked the customers if they ever had celebrity impersonators, before telling she was supposed to be Whoopi Goldberg, referring to her strong resemblance with the actress. After, Ramsay called the first ticket in the blue team, but Tony was so excited and thrilled to cook scallops that he cooked them without communicating to anybody. Ramsay asked him why he did that, while Jim told he never called scallops to be dropped, and Ramsay schooled Tony on that mistake, before Tony said he would redo them. Despite that, Tony managed to keep a positive attitude. In the red kitchen, Lovely was cooking her scallops, but her stove was still off. Ramsay told she could not cook without gas, and she threw Tek under the bus, saying she told her it was on. Tek declared it was her responsibility to turn her own gas on, and Lovely apologized to Ramsay. In the blue kitchen, Tony told he was ready with his scallops, and Ramsay told Van his team was ready to serve the appetizers. However, Ramsay discovered that Tony's scallops were raw, and questioned his vision because he could not spot that mistake despite having glasses. Ramsay asked Tony what could he cook, which Tony answered he could cook anything, but Kevin said that maybe he could cook at home, but not on the line. Because of that mistake, Tony went in the dining room to tell the problem to Van, who did not appreciate and told him to move. Tony went back in the kitchen, and was helped by Kevin who got very aggressive when he told to flip the scallops. Joseph acknowledged Tony needed Kevin's help because of how lost he was, and Kevin told Jim that he was sending the scallops to the pass.
25 minutes into service, and because of Kevin's help, appetizers were finally getting out of the blue kitchen. In the red kitchen, Robert was confident in making his first risotto as it was his second appearance on the show, but Ramsay told him he put rice over burnt shallots. He blamed that mistake on the fact he was a little bit anxious, and acknowledged he had to turn the oven on before cooking. Ramsay pulled him to the side and asked him why he did that mistake, but Robert did not give any excuses. In the dining room, Tennille witnessed that mistake, and declared he was not a saver or a God, and that he was like everybody else, except that he was fatter and talked more. Then, Robert got back to his station, and a minor fire erupted in one of his pans, discouraging Ramsay, who told him he was doing terrible at the moment despite having done well on the previous season. Suzanne gave him some encouragement, and in the dining room, Jean-Philippe came to Van and gave him some tips. However, Van did not appreciate that interfering and aggressively told him he was working. Ramsay spotted the argument between the two of them, and went in the dining room to ask them to keep it cool in front of the customers. Then, Van picked his cart and went to a red table. Jean-Philippe told Ramsay about that problem, and Ramsay called Van to the hot plate and asked him to give a scampi special to the right table, before asking what was the matter between him and Jean-Philippe. The latter told there was a language barrier, but Ramsay reminded him Van was speaking English like him, before Jean-Philippe told Van was from Texas. Ramsay was discouraged and pulled out his tongue, and Van apologized to the table before going to the right one. Meanwhile, the red team sent many appetizers out, but Tennille served a raw shrimp to a woman who revealed she was pregnant. Then, she went to the hot plate to tell Ramsay she would need 5 more minutes, which infuriated Ramsay who told her to tell her team she was way behind. Ariel was not impressed and told she should get her shit together. Meanwhile, Van was working on his scampi appetizers by telling the customers to watch their eyebrows and that his shrimp was "Van-licious". However, at one point, his pan dropped and shrimps fell on the floor, and when he tried for a second time, the same thing happened. When he went back to the kitchen to get another pan, Jean-Philippe told him not to run in the dining room, but he did not appreciate that comment saying he would not let him tell what to do. When Van was about to go back in the dining room, Jean-Philippe started to lose his patience and aggressively asked Van to listen to him. The two of them were about to fight each other, with Tony, Andy, Kevin, and Jim commenting on the situation, before Ramsay pulled both of them in the pantry room. Jean-Philippe told Ramsay that Van was not having any respect for the dining room, but Van did not even care what he said. Ramsay schooled both of them and asked them to do their own jobs so they would come together. When they got out of the room, Jean-Philippe sarcastically told Van "Ladies first". In the red kitchen, Tennille got back in the kitchen to tell Ramsay she was way behind. So, Ramsay pulled the whole red team aside and Tennille revealed she was six tables behind. Ramsay told her she sunk her team, but she denied that fact, and Ariel acknowledged she indeed sank the team and that they were in big trouble.
An hour and a half into service, the red team was stalled waiting for Tennille to catch up. In the blue kitchen, Andy sent his lamb to the pass, which was accepted, but when he moved on to the chicken, he sliced it but it was still undercooked. So, he put three pieces of chicken back in the pan, but Ramsay was discouraged when he saw them and compared them to chicken nuggets. Then, he pulled Andy aside, schooled him on his mistake and calling him a donkey. Joseph said that Andy was having a meat thermometer on his arm and that he should check his meat with it as it was not looking good on him. After that, Ramsay went to the meat station and asked Andy if he would cook like that in Whistler, and Andy answered he would not, before Ramsay angrily threw the pan in the sink. While Andy was starting over, in the red kitchen, Sabrina declared her chicken was coming up, but she acknowledged it was raw, so she put it back in the pan, while Suzanne was trying to interfere with her job, telling her what to do. Sabrina did not appreciate, and the two of them got into an argument, where Sabrina told her to shut up so she could get it done. One minute later, she sent her chicken to the pass, Suzanne acknowledged it was still raw, and Ramsay came back saying to Sabrina that the chicken was pinker than her lip stick. Suzanne gave all the credits of noticing the raw chicken to herself, saying Sabrina should listen to her in the future. In the blue kitchen, Ramsay called an order and asked Tony for the halibut immediately, but he repeated that a second time because Tony did not understand it the first time. He put the halibut in the pan, but Ramsay noticed he did not season it, discouraging him. Because of that, Kevin had to take over the fish station once again, and cooked the halibut on the garnish station. In the red kitchen, Lovely sent her sea bass to the pass, but it was raw, and Ramsay schooled her for that. She denied that mistake, even blaming Ramsay's vision and age, but on her second attempt, her sea bass was burnt. Suzanne lost faith in Lovely and declared she did not think she could cook. Then, Ramsay angrily threw the sea bass in the bin, and Lovely had to start over. In the blue kitchen, Kevin sent his halibut to the hot plate, but it was raw, which he acknowledged. Ramsay called the entire blue team to ask them what they could do, and Joseph suggested to cook the fish himself, not wanting to have a bad finish, and Jim said that the situation was crazy. Five men were on the fish station, and Ramsay berated Tony for failing to control his station. Joseph took vocal control of the fish station, Dave said he did not want to take charge, and Joseph asked his teammates to shut up and relax, as they were looking like chickens. Ramsay was discouraged as there was more shouting than cooking. Then, he looked over to the red kitchen, and Sabrina's chicken was crispy and burnt, discouraging even more. That was the last straw for Ramsay, who called both teams aside, schooled them because no food was coming out, and declared he would do something he never done before. Dave acknowledged it was a desperate time and that everybody would go home. After, Ramsay ordered both teams to prepare shrimp cocktails for the customers because it was not cooked, with Sabrina acknowledging that situation was embarrassing. Ramsay told Jean-Philippe about that news, and shrimp cocktails went out in the dining room, with Jean-Philippe telling the customers that it was compliments from the chef. When the cocktails were sent out, Ramsay pulled both teams in the blue kitchen, with Tony comparing the situation like if Ramsay was having a machine gun and blow everybody away. Ramsay declared that the chefs turned the restaurant into a shrimp stand, before asking them to shut down both kitchens. Joseph did not feel good about it, and declared they were looking like broken men.
Post-mortem
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay declared that service was worse than the first one, and asked Tennille what was the big deal when she served raw shrimp to a pregnant woman. When Ariel heard that question, she made a surprised facial expression as she did not know that happened. After that, Ramsay named both teams losers, and asked them to nominate two people each for elimination.
Back in the dorms, Tennille declared she was not comfortable putting any of her teammates up as she was not in the kitchen, as well as being in denial about her poor performance, with Robert reminding her she served raw shrimp to a pregnant woman. Tennille said she did not know she was pregnant and that she did not do it on purpose. In the blue team, Tony acknowledged he messed up straight away and waited for Andy to do the same. But, he did not, which infuriated Tony. Then, Dave declared that the fish and meat stations were the biggest problem, adding that he would put himself up if he had been on meat. Andy declared he did not put himself up because he was having more experience than anybody else and thought he could do that job at the Araxi. In the red team, Suzanne quickly named her team's problems, saying that Lovely's sea bass was burnt, but Lovely declared she did not make any fatal mistakes, such as serving a pregnant woman something that was raw, referring to Tennille. Then, Suzanne considered Sabrina for the chicken incident, but Sabrina was annoyed by her way of talking to her like she was a 5-year-old. In the blue team, Jim considered Van for almost punching Jean-Philippe in the face. Van confronted Jim, saying he would punch him in the face and that he could suck his dick. Van angrily mimicked Jim, who said he had a "fuck the world" attitude and that he should bring himself out with all that anger. Van left the conversation and was calmed down by Robert, before going on the patio. Then, both teams made a group decision and went down in the dining room.
Elimination
Ariel named Tennille as the red team's first nominee for serving raw shrimp to a pregnant woman, and Lovely as the second for her overall performance and experience. After that, Ramsay asked Joseph for the nominees of the blue team, but instead of following the instructions like everybody else before him, he decided to go on the counter-attack, for no apparent reason, answering that his teammates could speak for themselves as they knew who they were. Ramsay did not appreciate that answer and called him a smartass. So, Ramsay asked Joseph the question for a second time, but Joseph named Tony and Andy without valid reasons. Then, Ramsay called him stupid, and asked him a third time, which he answered Tony by adding that he knew why. Then, Joseph started to confront Ramsay by revealing that they chose as a group, and there was no need to have pressure from anybody because they were men. Ramsay asked him if he wanted a medal, but Joseph stood his grounds saying his teammates knew who they were and that his team chose as a group. Then, Ramsay stepped forward to try to get him back to earth and follow directions, but Joseph started rambling about the fact that he was not a bitch, confronting fellow contestants, such as Robert, Ariel, Suzanne, and Tek, telling everybody to shut their fucking mouths. Then, temper started to flare, Joseph took his jacket off, threw it to the ground, and walked aggressively towards Ramsay to try to fight him, but as he approached him, the episode ended as a cliffhanger, with the mention "To be continued...".