The seventh episode of Season 7 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX on June 29, 2010, airing as a double feature alongside the eighth episode. In that episode, Hell's Kitchen hosted a 50th wedding anniversary, one chef sustained a bloody injury, and another one was nominated despite not having a bad service.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Benjamin was not happy to be on the red team as he knew they were so fragmented, even stating it was a joke. All the members from the blue team gave him hugs, with Jason praising his talent and the fact that they all loved him. On the patio, Nilka apologized to Benjamin because she knew that he was not happy about that decision, and when he joked that they would all die before the next service, Holli did not find him funny as they were a team, so he did not have to be an asshole about it. Finally, Benjamin left the conversation by jokingly saying that he would hang himself.
Team challenge[]
The following day, the chefs went to the dining room. Ramsay announced that they would be hosting a 50th wedding anniversary during the next service. The celebrated couple of Sal and Marcy entered the room, and the chefs gave them a round of applause. Fran acknowledged that being married for 50 years was an accomplishment of a lifetime after remembering that she was married for almost 20 years. Ramsay asked the couple if it was love at first sight, which they answered not, and added that their first date was at a country dance, where she asked him to dance. Holli was infatuated by them, saying that babies and old people were the cutest things. They revealed the menu that was used for their wedding reception 50 years ago. After, Ramsay introduced the 50th Wedding Anniversary Planning Challenge. Each team would have 30 minutes to update and add a modern touch to the dishes on that menu: chicken Kyiv, steak Diane, and trout Almondine.
When the countdown began, both teams went into their respective kitchen and organized who was doing what. In the red kitchen, Benjamin agreed to work on the trout by himself. In contrast, Fran and Holli worked on the chicken, and Siobhan and Nilka worked on the steak. However, Nilka revealed that she had no idea what a steak Diane was and struggled to blow out the fire that erupted in her pan. In the blue kitchen, Jason and Ed worked on the steak, Autumn and Salvatore worked on the chicken, and Jay worked on the trout by himself. Jay was determined to step up as the leader of the blue team after Benjamin was no longer there as he claimed it would be their teams going up against each other. Then, Salvatore went to him and proposed an idea of a chicken meatball. Jay agreed but reminded Salvatore that he had to make it awesome, while Autumn was worried that it might not be what Ramsay was looking for. Benjamin emerged as the definite leader in the red kitchen, making sure that everybody knew what they were doing. Siobhan praised his leadership by saying that they were working in calmness rather than chaos. Benjamin himself was feeling better about the red team and added that the women could be strong. Autumn and Salvatore discovered that one of their meatballs was undercooked with two minutes left, and Jay acknowledged that Salvatore dropped the ball once again as he had the Midas touch but in the wrong way. Everybody plated their dishes in time, but Salvatore plated the raw meatball, much to Autumn's concern.
Nilka served her and Siobhan's steak Diane with crab, mushroom, red wine, and parsley on the first round. Still, Ramsay told her they did not go with the traditional steak Diane as there was no cream, Cognac, or mustard. Nilka was embarrassed as she looked like a fool, and she admitted that she did not know what a steak Diane was. Despite that, Sal and Marcy appreciated her dish. After, Ed served his and Jason's pan-seared filet with mushrooms, crab cakes, and lobster, which was deemed very good by the couple. Ed and Jason won the round over Nilka and Siobhan, scoring 1-0 for the blue team and dismaying Fran. On the second round, Autumn presented her and Salvatore's chicken meatballs. When she lifted her dome, Holli almost laughed and wondered what that was. Autumn revealed it was an inside-out chicken, and Salvatore took responsibility for the idea. When it was tasted, Ramsay remarked that one of them was undercooked. He refused to taste it, and Salvatore called it a disaster. Then, Holli presented her and Fran's panko-crusted chicken with roasted garlic, lemon, and parsley butter, which the couple appreciated. She won the round over Autumn, tying the score at 1. Benjamin and Jay faced off on the final round, with the latter declaring that Benjamin was his biggest competition. Benjamin served his trout with mint purée, almonds and vanilla, and it was deemed mild by Marcy but good by Sal. After, Jay served a pan-seared trout with lemon, fennel leaves and almonds, and it was considered the best by Marcy, but Sal voted for Benjamin. So, Ramsay judged both dishes to break the tie. After tasting, Benjamin won the round over Jay, clinching the victory 2-1 for the red team. Siobhan was thrilled to have finally won, acknowledged that Benjamin saved their day. Despite Ramsay telling Jay that he had nothing to be ashamed of, he still thought it was a tie.
Scoring[]
Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
Dish | Score | Total | Dish | Score | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steak Diane | 0 | 0 | Steak Diane | 1 | 1 |
Chicken Kiev | 1 | 1 | Chicken Kiev | 0 | 0 |
Trout Almondine | 1 | 2 | Trout Almondine | 0 | 1 |
Results | 2-1 |
Reward[]
The red team was rewarded with a day at a 1950s themed diner while wearing red shirts from the 1950s, and Fran was excited because she loved the 1950s music and dance. While being dismissed, Nilka was excited to have Benjamin on her team and compared him to Lebron James. Moments later, they were changing, and Holli thought that Benjamin would be a little bit shaky as he would go out with four women.
On their way out, they passed by the dining room and rubbed salt in the blue team's wound, with Nilka wanting them to know how it felt like losing. So, Nilka walked by the dance floor they were working on, jokingly claiming that she wanted to check if it was steady, and Holli told them to have fun with the cake. Arrived outside, they entered in their 1950s style convertibles, which excited them, and Benjamin felt like he was back in the 1950s. Later, they arrived at the World Famous Frisco's Carhops diner very excited. When Benjamin saw the girls in their tiny skirts, he thought of his wife while adding that he would get in trouble. Fran wanted to check if the parked cars were still working. Still, Benjamin reminded Fran that she and he were already married and urged her to get something to eat inside. Arriving inside, Fran said that just the smell was making them step back to the 1950s. Nilka added that it felt good to be out of the restaurant. Then, a group of girls with roller skates invited all of them to line dance with them. Benjamin said that it was nice to be the only man as he was getting a lot of attention and sarcastically asked if they thought he was looking at their roller skates.
Later, all of them had lunch 1950s style, and Benjamin revealed how better he was feeling than the previous night while adding that he felt close to the women at that moment. They toasted to a new red kitchen, and then, a girl with roller skates introduced a hula-hoop competition, where the winner would be the one who could hula-hoop the longest. Nilka was not happy because she could not do it when she was a kid. When the competition began, most of them dropped theirs quickly, Nilka rolled it around her neck, and Holli thought that it would just hit and bounce back because of her big butt. In the end, Siobhan won the competition hands down as she was a ballerina for most of her life and claimed that it was perfect for her. She won a huge trophy, which she was excited about, and said she would put it next to her other dance trophies.
Punishment[]
The blue team was punished by decorating the dining room for the next service and building a three-story cake. Jay was not happy as he did not like to decorate and declared that he would have instead picked some trash in the woods. Also, he did not mind losing because he knew that they deserved it with Salvatore's meatball disaster. On the patio, Jay told Salvatore that he expected him to cook a meatball as he suggested it. Still, Salvatore did not want to take full responsibility for the loss by saying they were still a team.
In the dining room, they were under the supervision of Jean-Philippe, who told them to start by the dance floor. Ed quickly took control as he knew how they had to build it, impressing Jay. When the red team came by on their way to the reward, Salvatore told Nilka to get her ass out of the dance floor, and Jay flipped her the bird while telling the red team that they all became Michelin-Star chefs all of a sudden.
Later, Autumn vocally led her teammates in what they were doing by saying she took pride in everything she was making. Still, Jay was extremely annoyed by her constant talking. Then, Ed suggested to Jay to help with the cake, and despite saying that he was more of an astronaut than a pastry chef, he accepted by saying he would do whatever it would take to get away from Autumn. Sous Chef Scott explained to Ed and Jay that they would serve a replica of the couple's cake at their wedding reception. Still, Ed struggled to cut the first layer in half, asked Jay to do it for him, and declared that he did not want the cake to look like the leaning tower of Pisa. Also, Jay added that because Ed was freaking out, he was as well.
Later, Jay was still making the cake, and he announced they still had a lot of work to do, with the cake still taking hours. Then, Ed was tasked by Jean-Philippe to arrange some tiny gift boxes, claimed that it took him ten minutes to do one of them. When Ed asked how many he had to make, Jean-Philippe answered one hundred, much to his dismay. Ed wanted to make sure they were all perfect, but Jason thought he could not do it because of the size of his hands and asked if he was a bow-tie machine.
Before service[]
When the red team came back from their reward, the blue team was still working, and they rubbed salt in their wound one more time by saying they still had a lot of work to do. Siobhan taunted them by asking if she should get her hula-hoop on the dance floor. Autumn wondered why they were cheering as they have lost many challenges at that moment while adding that it would get nasty. Finally, Jay declared that he wanted to win very badly, which his teammates agreed, and Autumn wished that the whole red team would get hangovers the following day. Then, the red team went on the patio and rested.
The next day, both teams went downstairs to begin prepping for the next service. These included classic dishes from the couple's wedding reception 50 years ago, along with Benjamin's trout Almondine. In the red kitchen, Fran stated that it was a comfort having Benjamin as a leader and added that they would do what he was telling them as none of the things they tried before have worked. In the blue kitchen, Jay emerged as a leader. When Benjamin entered the blue kitchen to grab something, Jay allowed him to take whatever he wanted as he jokingly said he would need it. Jay revealed that he and Benjamin were having a joking rivalry but did not care as he wanted to win the service. Then, he took a knife to open a clam but cut his finger badly in the process, and blood came running down his hand. Autumn stated that it was icky but hoped he would get better before the service would start. Jay noted that it was the first time he cut himself in ten years, went to the back hallway, saw a medic, and sat on a chair while putting pressure on his wound. Ed was worried because he did not want to lose anybody as it was a very important service, and Benjamin asked Jay if he was okay. Moments later, Jay came back in the kitchen stating that he was fine, while Ed called him a warrior and would come back whatever would happen.
When both teams lined up, Ramsay reminded them that it was a service they could not screw up and that they could not let Sal and Marcy down. Then, he dedicated Ed and Nilka to serve the steaks Diane tableside, everybody went to their stations. Jean-Philippe showed both of them instructions on how to cook it in the dining room, while Ramsay told him he loved his new white jacket. Nilka was ready to redeem herself and added that she loved the challenge of cooking a steak Diane, which she did know what it was the previous day. After, Ramsay asked Jean-Philippe to open Hell's Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
After the friends and families entered the dining room, Sal and Marcy were introduced by Jean-Philippe on the microphone, with everybody and both teams giving a standing ovation. Because the red team won the challenge, they were privileged to cook for the hosts. Ramsay called the first ticket in the red kitchen, and Holli deemed it an honor to have that privilege while adding that it had to be perfect as they could not mess up. She helped Siobhan to plate the salads, but Ramsay was angry about the latter's slow pace to plate them as they were for the hosts. Siobhan finally succeeded in serving them, and Sal and Marcy were satisfied and kissed each other. Both teams were serving crab cakes, salads and shrimp cocktails at a very good pace, and they moved on to entrées, while Autumn reminded that it was hectic on fish as there were a lot of crab cakes orders, and added that she wanted to be ahead. But, her crab cakes were deemed nice, and in the dining room, the cake started to bend over. Jean-Philippe informed Ramsay about the situation. Ramsay dedicated Jay and Ed to check on it while comparing it to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Jay was scared because it might have been his fault, and Ed said they just had to push the tilting part through the steady part.
Forty-five minutes into service, and almost all the appetizers were served in both kitchens. Benjamin served his crab cakes, but they were raw in the middle. He was berated and ordered to start over by Ramsay, and Fran believed that Benjamin was pompous as he thought he was better than everybody else. Benjamin acknowledged that he screwed up on the crab cakes and called it embarrassing when Ramsay was yelling at him. Then, he sent his second attempt, but they were overcooked, much to Siobhan's dismay as she knew they were one of the easiest things to do. Benjamin was berated by Ramsay once again. When Fran offered her help, Benjamin told her that he did not need anything. Then, Nilka wanted to help him, but he aggressively pushed her away, much to her annoyance as she did not want to be spoken to like that. Ramsay asked Jean-Philippe to apologize to the table as their crab cakes were late, which he did, and called orders of entrées in both kitchens while sending Nilka and Ed in the dining room to work on their tableside steaks Diane. Nilka went to the hosts' table and started working on her steak. Ramsay urged Nilka to hurry up. All of the entrées were served in the red kitchen simultaneously, perfectly synchronized with Nilka, and the hosts were satisfied. Jason offered his help to Salvatore on garnish in the blue kitchen as he knew the latter was the weakest link on the hardest station. Salvatore knew it was a do-or-die situation for him and that he had to send perfect food every time while knowing that if he would not, he would be history. Salvatore had communication issues with Jason, and when he gave Jay between one and four minutes, the latter revealed that he started to lose his patience with Salvatore as he had mashed potatoes between his ears. He asked Salvatore twice if he could slice his duck, Ramsay told the blue team that he just wanted them to be synchronized. When Ramsay asked for the duck garnish, Salvatore was confused before Sous Chef Scott reminded him to bring the parsnip purée. Jason said that Salvatore had to know that he would be yelled at and added that he was getting quiet instead of fighting through it. After, Salvatore brought his asparagus to the pass but did not do enough for three orders of duck, much to Ramsay's dismay. Salvatore admitted that he was confused and did not want to do anything because he knew Ramsay would yell at him. Autumn urged the men to communicate, and in the red kitchen, Holli sent overcooked duck and raw chicken, dismaying Ramsay, who ordered her to get a grip. Holli was embarrassed about her mistake because she acknowledged it was a stupid one. Benjamin had to start his trout over while Holli apologized to her teammates. In the dining room, Nilka was loosened up and chatted with Jean-Philippe and the customers. Jean-Philippe asked her if she knew where Dijon was. After saying that Jean-Philippe knew how to play with a woman's nerves, she answered that she did not know. One of the customers correctly answered France. Then, he asked her where Cognac was, but she still did not know. Customers correctly answered France one more time, making Nilka laugh because she wondered why Jean-Philippe was putting her in the spotlight the way he was.
Two hours into service and more than half of the entrées were served to some delighted customers. Fran put some broccoli in the boiling pan in the red kitchen, and Ramsay schooled her for overcooking it if she was cooking it that way. After, he expressed more dismay when Benjamin was on garnish. When Fran brought a hot pan of potatoes to the pass, he was furious as she could have burned somebody. He berated her for not properly taking safety measures, and Benjamin thought Fran was over her head as she was disregarding safety because she was busy. Then, Fran asked what was on order, and Ramsay sarcastically retorted that he liked that answer. Salvatore did not bring the chicken garnish in the blue kitchen because he did not hear that order. Then, a fire erupted in one of his pans, infuriating Ramsay because all the meat was ready, but the garnish was not. He urged Salvatore to communicate and succeeded in sending his garnish in time, completing the entrées for the blue team. While Jason started to plate the desserts in the red kitchen, they also sent their last entrées under Benjamin's leadership. The service was completed, everybody helped send out the desserts, and Siobhan was proud because no food came back, which she called a successful night for the red team. After all the desserts were served, Jay was satisfied as he thought they finished their tickets first but added that Salvatore sucked once again. Both teams went in the dining room with Ramsay to give a standing ovation to Sal and Marcy.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams lined up, Ramsay reminded them that it was supossed the service where everybody should have been at 100% and told Fran that he did not have to tell her to drain potatoes at this stage in the competition. Then, he asked Salvatore to rate his performance on a scale of 1-10. Salvatore answered four or five, which Ramsay responded that he was very generous as he was three over. Then, Ramsay reminded Holli about her overcooked duck and undercooked chicken. Finally, he named the red team losers because it was more difficult to send their food out than the blue team. They were asked to nominate two people for elimination.
While being dismissed, Benjamin was not happy as everybody felt they had a good service. During deliberation, Fran recalled Holli's chicken incident but added that there was not much to choose from to decide who was the worst cook. So, she considered Holli and Benjamin, but the latter reminded her that she had a hard time on garnish. Fran retorted that it was her first time on that station. Benjamin was still convinced that she should be nominated without giving a valid reason despite that. Fran knew Benjamin considered her because she was the easy target. Nilka considered Siobhan and Fran without providing valid reasons once again, and Siobhan considered Holli and Fran. Benjamin agreed with nominating Holli despite telling her that she still did a great job. Holli did not think she was the worst cook on the team, said that she did not want to go down or go home. When the red team chose their nominees, they went on the patio to talk with the blue team, revealing they picked Fran and Holli. Still, Jason was shocked about that decision. He asked the red team if they thought Holli was their worst cook, which Benjamin answered she was not. Nilka said she knew two of her teammates should go home but would agree with the group decision. Then, Benjamin suggested talking about their decision one more time, so the red team went into the dorms. Benjamin acknowledged that Holli was a strong cook, and nominating her might not be the best decision. When Siobhan arrived in the dorms, Benjamin targeted her for being nervous and unsure because he thought she did not have the technique or passion. Still, Siobhan was furious because Benjamin has been her teammate since the previous day only. Siobhan told Benjamin that she hated the decision and reminded him that she did not have a bad service. He agreed but added that Holli was a stronger cook. Nilka did not want to disappoint Ramsay because she knew that he would put his whole foot in their asses if they were. Finally, Benjamin reminded that they had to agree, but Fran did not want to change her vote.
Elimination[]
Holli announced Fran as the red team's first nominee and Siobhan as the second. When Ramsay asked her why, she answered that even though Siobhan did not have a terrible service, she was still one of the weakest chefs on the team. Benjamin added that she lacked technical skill and passion, thought that she was second-guessing herself because of that, and Fran and Siobhan were called down. During her plea, Siobhan said that she was young, ambitious, having a lot of passion and heart and that she would not be there at that moment if she had not. Ramsay asked her if she was in over her head, which Siobhan answered she was not, and added that she was happy to take risks because if she did not, she would not know what would have happened. Then, Ramsay asked Fran if Siobhan was in over her head, which she answered she was. After, Fran pleaded that she was getting stronger every time Ramsay was yelling at her, that she never made the same mistake twice, and that she was tough and determined. However, Ramsay reminded Fran that she peaked and that she has been nominated so many times that her footprints might be on the carpet. After much deliberation, Fran and Siobhan were sent back in line, with Ramsay stating that even though they lost, another chef had a way worse service than them. That led Salvatore to be eliminated from the winning team for having only one good service in seven and lacking the experience to compete further. During his exit interview, Salvatore was upset about leaving but acknowledged that he messed up many consecutive times and thought that Ramsay made the right decision.
While being dismissed, Siobhan was furious to be nominated and was determined to show her teammates what she was made of during the next challenge. Also, Jason acknowledged that Salvatore was a cool guy and that they had to step up because they were four members on the blue team, or everybody would go home. Finally, Benjamin still thought the blue team was stronger than the red team despite being one member down and added that he was sick of Siobhan and Fran because the garbage can in front of him was probably a better cook than them.
Ramsay's comment: "Salvatore had a big heart. Too bad he couldn't cook with it."
Trivia[]
- This marks the new record of a team with the most consecutive dinner service wins, with five.
- This marks the second time Ramsay eliminated a chef from the winning team since Episode 509 - 7 Chefs Compete. It also marks the first time he did it with a male chef.
- This marks the final time the winning team is seated at a table at the side during the Elimination Ceremony.