The eighth episode of Season 6 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX, on September 1, 2009. On that episode happened the annual Blind Taste Test, an incredible comeback by one of the most unlikely chefs during service, and an unexpected elimination.
Intro[]
On their way back to the dorms, Van expressed shock that Robert got eliminated, while Andy wondered how many more times he could be nominated before being eliminated. Dave told Tennille and Van that he honestly thought Robert was a stronger chef compared to Andy, and knew that if Andy was nominated one more time, it could be his last, which Van agreed with. Meanwhile, Sabrina told Amanda and Tennille that she has had enough of Suzanne's know-it-all attitude, with Tennille adding that Suzanne may not realize how close she was to go home.
Team challenge[]
The next day, the teams went downstairs and met Ramsay, who explained that the most important tool for any chef was their palate. So, their next challenge was the annual Blind Taste Test, and Ramsay called Sous Chefs Scott and Heather to bring up the domes containing the food. Andy boasted how strong his palate was, and Ramsay told the red team that because they had an extra person, Tennille would sit out to even both teams at 4 members. Suzanne said that it was a good choice as she felt Tennille was the weakest chef on the red team, and boasted about having a better palate than most people she knew.
Ariel and Van were first for their teams to compete. Ariel got cream cheese, and both of them got leeks, making the score 2-1 for the red team. Dave and Suzanne were up next, and while both of them got turkey, Suzanne got egg yolk, making the score 4-2 for the red team. Dave was not proud of his performance, and gave himself an F. Kevin and Sabrina were up next, and they could only guess grapefruit correctly, making the score 5-3 for the red team. Andy and Amanda were the final pair, with the blue team urging Andy to shine. Andy got lychee, but Amanda got avocado. With the score 6-4 for the red team, Ramsay warned the blue team that if Andy would get the next ingredient wrong, the challenge was over. Andy mistook the ahi tuna for salmon, and the challenge ended with the red team as the winners.
Scoring[]
| Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
| Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ariel | 2/4 | 2 | Van | 1/4 | 1 |
| Suzanne | 2/4 | 4 | Dave | 1/4 | 2 |
| Sabrina | 1/4 | 5 | Kevin | 1/4 | 3 |
| Amanda | 1/2 | 6 | Andy | 1/3 | 4 |
| Results | 6-4 | ||||
Reward[]
The red team got a special culinary experience as they went to the Opaque at the V Lounge in a limousine. When they got there, Ramsay revealed that they would be eating lunch in the dark. While eating with Ramsay, Suzanne started to suck up to Ramsay, much to Sabrina’s annoyance.
Punishment[]
The blue team had to make a palate cleansing sorbet for the next service, as well as cleaning the sorbet glasses and taking in deliveries of fruit. During the punishment, Dave found out that the berries were all in one container, and had to pick them for organization, while Van whacked the pomegranate clean to the point that it almost looked like a crime scene. Later, Sous Chef Scott presented the men’s lunch, and while they were happy that they got duck and risotto, they were soon less happy when Sous Chef Scott blended them all into a smoothie. While Kevin called the smoothie fucking disgusting and Dave stated that you were not supposed to drink duck, Van drank his without any problems. When the women returned from their reward, their giggling and bragging about their reward angered Van.
Before service[]
The next day, both teams began their prep for that night’s service. Despite their victory the previous day, Sabrina still felt that Suzanne was annoying, and the remaining red team alienated her, and formed what Sabrina called the "anti-Suzanne team". Suzanne knew that she was being targeted and hated that she had to be around them.
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay announced that they would be serving a palate cleansing sorbet to the customers, and while he chose Ariel from the red team to serve the sorbets, Ramsay told the blue team that one member would have to work double shifts. After Ramsay announced his goal of having all of the diners getting served that night, he asked Jean-Philippe to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Before the first tickets came in, Tennille told the red team that she would make sure to get appetizers out strong, while Andy told the blue team that he wanted to take the lead for that night. On the first ticket, Tennille told Suzanne that her scallops were getting too dark, but the latter ignored her, much to her dismay. When Suzanne did send her scallops, they were accepted. In the blue kitchen, a determined Kevin got his risottos accepted and both teams got their appetizers out without problems. With the first orders out, Ariel went out to serve sorbets, while in the blue kitchen, Kevin went out for the first order as Van took over the appetizer station. Van’s risotto was rejected for tasting bland, but manage to recover with some extra mascarpone cheese. However, the risottos were not well received by the diners, and an annoyed Kevin felt that his team was relying on him too much.
With all the sorbets served, both teams began working on entrées. Ramsay pushed Amanda for the tagliatelle, and despite Tennille offering some help, Amanda ignored her, causing Tennille to state that her teammates were having ego problems. Amanda brought up her tagliatelle, but she made too many portions, and Ramsay accused her of disappearing again. Despite that, Amanda managed to bounce back. In the blue kitchen, the men looked to Andy for the orders, but he did not know what was going, and did not communicate properly. Because of that, the lamb and halibut were not ready, and Ramsay accused the blue team of being confused while lecturing them to pay attention. After that, the blue team got refocused and served their entrées to their appreciative diners. In the red kitchen, Sabrina said that she needed four more minutes on her entrées, but Suzanne announced that her fish was ready, leading Ramsay to ask why they could not work together. As Suzanne impatiently waited, Sabrina managed to send her lamb to the dining room. Unfortunately, it was bloody and rare for the diner, and Jean-Philippe brought it back to the pass. That angered Ramsay and accused Sabrina of doing that on purpose, before sending her out to the dining room to eat her mistake, much to her dismay as she believed it was Suzanne’s fault.
One hour and a half into service, the red team was at a stand still due to Sabrina being in the dining room. Ramsay relocated Tennille to the meat station, and she firmly told Suzanne that she wanted three minutes instead of the two the latter called out. Tennille’s lamb refire was accepted and the women were able to send out entrées again, while in the blue kitchen, the men found a great rhythm as Van’s lamb was cooked perfectly. Ramsay called Sabrina back into the red kitchen and, after lecturing on sending raw meat to the customers, allowed her back to cook. In the blue kitchen, the men were finishing off their last tickets, but Andy announced that he was running out of mashed potatoes, much to his teammates' dismay. Andy was able to get his last bit of mashed potatoes to the pass, and they were barely accepted. In the red kitchen, the women were near the end of their tickets as well, but while Amanda and Sabrina brought up their dishes to the pass, Suzanne said that she needed a few more minutes on her sea bass. Despite Tennille trying to rally the women, Ramsay told her that if she stood at the hot pass for five minutes, she would realize how painful it was watching it all. Suzanne broke her sea bass trying to get it out of the pan, and Ramsay forced the red team to start over again, while giving Suzanne all the wasted entrées. Tennille angrily accused Suzanne of sinking them, but Suzanne argued that she could not let her station look like a dump as the red diners were starting to get impatient.
In the blue kitchen, the men were at their last three tickets, but Andy ran out of mashed potatoes. Dave grabbed more potatoes and began making a fresh batch, as a pissed Ramsay told Andy to go to the three tables and tell them how their entrées were delayed for the mashed potatoes. In the red kitchen, Suzanne asked Amanda for some help on the fish, but their attempt came out stone cold, and Suzanne blamed Amanda for that mistake. Then, a very dismayed Ramsay bemoaned that it was not possible, while urging the red team to speed up. In the blue kitchen, Dave got the mashed potatoes ready, with Ramsay and Sous Chef Scott noticing the fast speed Dave and comparing it to Andy’s slow speed. Dave managed to bring up the mashed potatoes to the pass, and the blue team managed to serve all of their remaining entrées, with the red team finishing not long after.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay admitted that both teams served all their diners, but that it should have been a lot easier by that point, and called both teams equally weak. Despite noting that it was a close decision, Ramsay named the blue team winners, and singled out Dave as the best performer, while urging him not to stop. Then, Ramsay pointed out the red team that while they had an extra person advantage, they got their asses whipped. After, Ramsay named Tennille "Best of the Worst" for having her best service so far, and asked her to nominate two people for elimination.
Tennille was extremely happy of being "Best of the Worst", and told Suzanne that she was her first nominee for being a poor team player and throwing people under the bus. Suzanne disagreed with that, but the rest of the red team agreed with Tennille as the latter reminded Suzanne that it was about the team by that point. Despite that, Suzanne still felt that she did not do anything wrong. Tennille still had to choose a second nominee but struggled with choosing either Amanda, who was very careless in cooking, or Sabrina, who had some rocky services.
Elimination[]
Tennille announced that Suzanne was her first nominee, and Sabrina was her second. While Ramsay agreed with Tennille’s decision, he called down Amanda as well. During Suzanne’s plea, she said that she was pissed that her team did not like her, and felt that she was nominated out of spite, but Tennille retorted that she nominated Suzanne based on both her poor teamwork skills and her poor performance. During Sabrina’s plea, she revealed that she struggled with the meat due to Suzanne, and while Suzanne argued against that, the rest of the red team argued that Sabrina was correct. After Amanda’s plea, Ramsay told Suzanne to get back in line, much to Tennille and Ariel’s dismay. Then, Ramsay eliminated Amanda as he believed that she may not have what it was taking to be a head chef.
Ramsay's comment: "Amanda was a sweet girl, but sweet girls don't make great head chefs."