The thirteenth episode of Season 6 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX, on October 6, 2009. On that episode, the chefs began the day on the best way possible, they cooked for supposed vegetarians during the challenge, and one chef was probably taking too much from their injury, which could have forced them to leave the competition.
Intro[]
On their way back to the dorms, Tennille noticed that there were only four chefs left, which meant that she beat thirteen other chefs to get to that point. Meanwhile, Dave told Ariel that she was a talented chef despite her poor performance, but Ariel still said that she wanted to get to the final four based on her skills, and not for dodging a bullet. Elsewhere, Kevin boasted that he knew everybody's weaknesses, and unless they would know his, they were all screwed.
Individual challenge[]
At 6:38 am, everybody woke up, while Dave did earlier to give himself a motivational talk. The final four came downstairs, only to see Ramsay pacing in his office in a very bad mood. When the door opened, a mini Ramsay came out, much to the chef’s confusion, and started berating the chefs for their disastrous performance, while telling Dave that if he was a horse, he would have been shot long ago. After, the real Ramsay appeared, and admitted that he wanted to have a little fun with the chefs, before warning them that things would get harder as they were the final four. Then, Ramsay explained that there was nothing more painful in the world than a vegetarian, but in a fine dining environment, they had to cater for vegetarians. For the 80 Vegetarian Portions Challenge, Ramsay said that he wanted each chef to create a vegetarian dish, and make enough for eighty people that would come to the restaurant an hour later.
The chefs got their ingredients, and Kevin noted that it was nothing as he was used to making multiple portions at his country club. Kevin made an Asian style crepe with beet carpaccio, Tennille made a vegetable stuffed eggplant with brown rice and a creamy mushroom sauce, Ariel made a vegetarian lasagna, and Dave made a polenta tower with goat cheese and roasted peppers. Ariel offered to help Dave, but he refused as he wanted to win on his own, but groaned when he lifted a heavy pot with his bad wrist. Dave went to the back room to calm himself down, and refused to show weakness as Ariel confirmed that Dave was the one-armed bandit because of that, and was impressed that he was fighting through that pain. Eventually, the chefs got their dishes cooked and plated what they could get on as time was up.
After, Ramsay said that the guests did not like vegetables as it was revealed that the eighty guests were children. That horrified Dave as he was not working well with children, and Tennille was worried as she made an eggplant dish and stated that she could not win at all. The chefs had to serve their dishes to the kids, but because they did not get all their portions ready on time, they were forced to leave the impatient children at the pass, and plate their remaining portions. While Tennille started to make her dish presentable, she ended up throwing her stuff on the plates due to the rush. Dave served his dishes by using the word sandwich hoping that they would eat it, and declared he sold himself out. Ariel realized that she lucked out with lasagna, while Kevin knew that it would be tough for him as his dish was full vegetarian. Eventually, all the portions were served and the children ate them, while ranking what they liked the most. After lunch, Ramsay revealed to the children that he had a surprise for them, and asked Jean-Philippe to bring the sweets, as a surprised Ariel called it mayhem. Afterwards, Ramsay revealed the results and announced that 40% found that Kevin’s dish was the worst. Then, Ramsay revealed that the top two dishes were Dave and Tennille’s, but with 55%, Tennille won the challenge.
Reward[]
Tennille was rewarded with a Beverly Hills style makeover, and loved getting pampered at the salon. Then, she joined Ramsay for lunch at Nobu where she ate some of Nobu Matsuhisa’s signature sushi dishes. After lunch, Nobu presented Tennille with some of his signature knives designed by Rokusaburo Michiba and manufactured by Henkel that she got to keep, and she thanked the children for that reward.
Punishment[]
The remaining chefs were punished by cleaning up the dining room, with Ariel saying that it was the worst clean up yet. Back in the dorms, Dave and Kevin were surprised that Tennille’s eggplant beat their dishes, though Ariel believed that she cooked elementary. That led Dave to believe Tennille may not have what it was taking to be at the Araxi Restaurant. During the punishment, they complained about the mess, including how they had to scrape gum off the bottom of the tables. Also, Dave took some candy from the ground for himself.
Before service[]
The three remaining chefs were getting their stations prepped as Tennille came back from her reward. Dave was not impressed with Tennille’s make over, while Kevin was a little impressed with her new knife set. Sous Chef Scott told Tennille to get into her chef jacket as they were opening soon, and Tennille realized that she was back to hell. 35 minutes before service, while Ariel knew that the pressure was on, Tennille knew that service would be her most important one yet.
When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay said that despite their highs and lows, they managed to make it through. However, Ramsay wanted them to be better, and asked them to put their passion on their plates. After, Ramsay asked Jean-Philippe to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Ramsay called out the first ticket, and reminded them about the needed passion. Kevin communicated with Tennille as he wanted to prove to Ramsay he could win, and got his appetizers accepted. Soon, dishes were flying out in a record time, as everybody was determined to gain perfection. On their next order, Ramsay asked Tennille for the scallops, and while she sent them up, they were rubbery, and Ramsay compared them to a rubber band. Knowing that there was no more room for mistakes, Tennille got her refire accepted, but Ramsay lectured her on paying attention.
A half hour into service, and all of the appetizers were served. Moving onto entrées, Dave got his lamb sliced, but then, he lifted the pan with his bad wrist, and almost collapsed in pain. Dave went to the back hallway while Ramsay followed and admitted that he was watching Dave out of concern, as he was sweating, looking dizzy and out of breath. Ramsay directed Dave to the medic, and after a quick check up, Dave returned and got his lamb approved by Ramsay. However, Kevin felt that Dave should have been medically eliminated if he was in that amount of pain. Entrées were leaving the kitchen at a steady pace, but when Ramsay asked for the sea bass, Tennille brought up a burnt portion along with a raw halibut, and Ramsay found more rejected portions at Tennille’s station. Then, Ramsay found out that Tennille failed to get the sea bass seared properly, and asked everybody to take a look at it, with Dave comparing it to shriveled up leather. Because of Tennille’s mistake, the line was stalled, as the diners were forced to wait for their entrées. Tennille’s second attempt on the halibut came out raw again, and despite her saying that she was not doing it on purpose, a frustrated Ramsay reminded everybody about the promise he asked them earlier.
Forced to start their ticket over, Dave and Ariel asked Tennille for a time, but they did not get any answer from her, until she said two minutes. But, when Ramsay asked Tennille for a time, she said that she needed six more minutes, even though Dave already sliced his lamb. Then, Ramsay pulled her to the pantry room, and yelled that she was not communicating with the team. Despite Tennille saying that she was, Ramsay ordered her to fight back. While Tennille got more open with her teammates, Ariel hoped that Tennille could bounce back quickly. Tennille’s refire was accepted, and entrées were once again being pushed out. Eventually, all the entrées were served and Ramsay told them to clean up.
As they were cleaning up, Tennille was disappointed that she screwed up despite winning a challenge, and called it the worst night she had in Hell’s Kitchen. Meanwhile, Dave was concerned that his injury may take him out of the competition.
Elimination[]
When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay admitted that he was very happy that they started service talking and communicating, and despite some slip ups, they fought back and completed service. However, Ramsay turned to Dave and said that he has never seen a chef suffer in pain like that before, and was very concerned that he may not be able to continue in the competition. However, Dave argued that he could still pull through pain, and stated that his right hand was still strong, while begging Ramsay not to eliminate him because of an injury. Ramsay reluctantly allowed Dave to stay, but warned him that he would be watching him carefully.
Then, Ramsay turned to Tennille and reminded her about her poor performance, and stated that he did not want any nominations, before eliminating her as he refused to prolong her agony. While Tennille was heartbroken about getting eliminated, Ramsay told her that he was so proud that she fought back harder than anybody else, and praised her massive heart. Before leaving, Tennille hugged the other chefs as Ramsay reminded her that she had the greatest comeback of the competition. Tennille received a retrospective montage of her run during her exit interview. That marked the first time that Ramsay eliminated someone during the post-mortem.
Families visit[]
After Tennille left, Ramsay dismissed the final three and suggested that they get some rest, as Dave was relieved to have dodged a bullet. Before the final three could celebrate, Ramsay called them on the phone and ordered them to come downstairs immediately for some unfinished business. They rushed to the dining room, and while Ramsay admitted that he wondered if he made the right decision of keeping Dave, he said that he knew he did. Then, Ramsay revealed a reward for them, which were Dave’s fiancé and sister, Ariel’s fiancé and mother, and Kevin’s wife and son. They were excited to see their loved ones as Ramsay allowed them to spend some time together. Eventually, the loved ones left and the chefs were informed that their next dinner service would be their last, before dismissing them.
Ramsay gave no comment on Tennille's elimination, and she did not receive the coat hanging and burning picture sequence.
Trivia[]
- This marks the first time Ramsay decided to eliminate somebody during the post-mortem.