The ninth episode of Season 8 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on FOX, on November 10, 2010, airing as a double feature alongside the tenth episode. On that episode, Trev's fate was revealed, the annual Blind Taste Test occurred, and an unlikely hero emerged at dinner service.
Team switch[]
The episode began where the last one ended, with Ramsay calling Trev from the winning team down, and reminding him that while the women on the women had a solid service, he fell apart. Then, Ramsay ordered Trev to take his jacket off, but he transferred him back to the blue team, with a stern warning that he was on his last chance. After announcing that the battle of the sexes was back on, Ramsay dismissed both teams.
Intro[]
Back in the dorms, Sabrina was happy that Trev was back in the blue team, and mockingly said that the blue team would send him home anyway. However, Trev felt that the red team did not have his back at all, and was glad to be back in the blue team, while stating that he hoped the women would crash and burn.
Team challenge[]
The next day, both teams went downstairs, as the women’s morale was very high, while the men were hoping to bounce back. After reminding the chefs about the head chef position at the LA Market, Ramsay explained that the restaurant was also responsible for room service, and called Sous Chef Scott, who was holding a cart of some of the restaurant’s 5-star food for the chefs to taste. Unknown to the chefs, out of the four dishes, the chicken salad sandwich was bought from a gas station, the spaghetti marinara was from a food truck, and the egg rolls were from a Chinese takeout place. The chicken wings were the only genuine dish, coming from Ramsay’s London West Hollywood. After the chefs tasted the dishes, Ramsay asked them what they liked the most, and after their answers, Ramsay said that their palates needed work. He revealed where the dishes were from as Rob was the only one to find the wings as the best dish. After, Ramsay introduced the annual Blind Taste Test.
Russell and Gail competed on the first round. Out of their four ingredients, both of them got grapefruit, while Russell got black truffle, giving the men the lead at 2-1. On the next round, Rob and Sabrina faced off, and neither of them scored a single point, leaving the score at 2-1 for the men, though Russell was more upset with Rob as he was eating more than anybody. Vinny and Jillian competed next, and both got potatoes, and mozzarella cheese, making the score 4-3 for the men. The final round was between Nona and Trev, and while both of them got squash, Nona correctly identified scallops and endive, clinching the victory for the women 6-5, and Ramsay was heavily impressed with Nona’s palate.
Scoring[]
| Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
| Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gail | 1/4 | 1 | Russell | 2/4 | 2 |
| Sabrina | 0/4 | 1 | Rob | 0/4 | 2 |
| Jillian | 2/4 | 3 | Vinny | 2/4 | 4 |
| Nona | 3/4 | 6 | Trev | 1/4 | 5 |
| Results | 6-5 | ||||
Reward[]
The women were rewarded with a $2000 shopping spree to purchase any clothes at a local boutique, and eating lunch with Ramsay at Michael Mina’s XIV. During their shopping spree, Jillian compared them as the Spice Girls of Hell’s Kitchen. During lunch, Ramsay told the women that he was looking for a leader that could run a brigade at the LA Market, and urged all of them to start becoming leaders, as Nona took that to heart.
Punishment[]
The men were punished by sorting through trash from different restaurants for recycling, and prepping both kitchens for the next service. Russell was frustrated that the blue team lost three consecutive challenges and services, and said that they had to get their game back. During the punishment, Russell blamed Rob for costing them the challenge, but Rob responded that it was a team effort, much to Russell’s annoyance. While the women go on the reward, Trev jokingly asking if they wanted a hug, causing the women to run away. Later, Sous Chef Scott came with cheese sandwiches for the men to eat, though Russell refused to eat them.
Before service[]
As both teams began prepping for service, Jillian in the red kitchen was ready to dominate the men, while on the blue kitchen, Russell revealed that he was not happy about Trev being back on the blue team and would do any sabotaging to get rid of him. Finally, Trev realized that things have changed in the team, and realized that if he would not shine, he would be eliminated, while stating that they had to work together.
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay asked the men why they were gluttons for punishment, before stating that he has never seen a big row of bad luck from them before. However, the men promised to turn it around, as Ramsay reminded everybody that with only eight chefs left, there was nowhere to hide. After, Ramsay asked James to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
As both teams got their first tickets, Trev got the men off to a strong start with perfect risottos, while in the red kitchen, Jillian and Sabrina did the same thing with their appetizers. As the women’s appetizers were sent quickly, they began on entrées as Nona was cooking her meat. In the blue kitchen, Rob’s scallops were raw, without sear on them. After being forced to eat one, Rob was ordered to wake up as Ramsay reminded him that the women were on their fifth ticket, while the men were on their second. However, Rob’s second attempt came out raw again, as Sous Chef Scott believed that Rob’s pan was not hot enough. That caused Trev to ask if Rob was an idiot as this was their ninth service, while Ramsay was forced to cook an order of scallops for Rob. In the red kitchen, Ramsay asked Nona why her chicken was taking too long, and she revealed that she did not drop it when he called it earlier. Things got worse as Nona struggled to carve her chicken, but under Sabrina’s leadership, entrées from the red kitchen were being sent to the diners.
In the blue kitchen, the men began serving entrées, but Rob was struggling on his halibut. Despite being convinced by Russell to send it to the pass, the halibut was raw, and Ramsay complained that nothing was going out. Then, Ramsay pulled Rob to the dining room, and warned him to either wake up in the next five minutes, or get out. Russell kept asking Rob for times and communication, but Rob felt that Russell was acting like a whiny bitch when Ramsay was around, while going silent when he was gone. Despite that, Rob’s halibut was finally accepted. Meanwhile, diners from the red kitchen were waiting for their entrées as Nona was cooking a beef, while having another one resting. Ramsay accused Nona of forgetting an order of beef, but when she argued against it, Ramsay pulled her to the front and accused her of not even listening to him. However, Nona answered that she was waiting, until Ramsay came over to her station, and found out that her pan was not even hot enough for searing. Then, a frustrated Ramsay ordered Nona to get out of his way, before angrily kicking her out, and relocating Jillian to the meat station. Back in the dorms, Nona broke into tears as she believed that she had more to prove to Ramsay. In the blue kitchen, Ramsay noticed that Vinny’s spinach with egg garnish looked like a rhinoceros ass, before noticing a raw gnocchi delivered by Vinny. Then, a frustrated Ramsay kicked Vinny out as well, while Trev took over the garnish station. However, Russell sent raw chicken, and he was kicked out as well, while warning Rob that if he would mess up one more time, he could either be sent to the dorms, or out the front of the restaurant. Back in the dorms, Vinny vented that thirty more seconds could have gotten the gnocchi ready, while Russell complained that he got kicked out for one mistake, and Nona joined them. In the red kitchen, the women continued to push their tickets, while in the blue kitchen, Ramsay asked Rob for the halibut. While Rob did send the halibut to the pass, it was raw and Rob was kicked out. However, a confused Rob asked why he was getting kicked out, only for Ramsay to angrily yell that he was getting kicked out because of the raw halibut. After Rob left, Trev was the last man standing in the blue kitchen, and he decided to fight through the fear and produced an acceptable salmon. As Trev got the desserts ready, the women got their desserts out together as well, completing service.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay called the service a disaster as, while they started with eight chefs, they ended with half of them in the dorms. Despite that, Ramsay declared the women winners, and singled out Jillian and Sabrina for their solid performances. After, Ramsay reminded the men about their horrible losing streak, before naming Trev “Best of the Worst” for being the only chef in the blue kitchen left at the end, and asked him to nominate two people for elimination. After dismissing the chefs, Ramsay pulled Nona aside, and told her that while he was still impressed by her terrific palate, he asked her not to argue with him again as a tearful Nona apologized.
Nona returned to the dorms as Gail and Jillian comforted her, while reminding her that one of the men would be sent home. Meanwhile, Russell pleaded his case to Trev on why he should stay by claiming he was a team player, but Trev recalled how Russell refused to give Trev a towel during prep. Rob reminded Trev that he was the last person with him before getting kicked out, and stated that they could have won if Vinny and Russell were not. However, Vinny reminded Rob of the fish returns and how Russell only cared about himself. In the end, Trev struggled on who to nominate as each of his teammates had terrible performances.
Elimination[]
Trev announced that Rob was his first nominee, and Russell was his second. While little stunned that Russell was Trev’s nominee, Ramsay agreed with him and called both of them down. After listening to their pleas, Ramsay sent Russell back in line, and eliminated Rob for his string of poor performances and believing that he overstayed his welcome.
After Rob left, Ramsay warned the men that unless they would bounce back, the final four could be the remaining women, before dismissing everybody. Nona was shocked that Trev nominated Russell, and believed that the men were crumbling apart. Russell accused Trev of throwing him under the bus, but Trev said that he did not.
Ramsay's comment: "If the size of one's waist corresponds to the size of one's talent, then Rob would be a fantastic chef. Instead, he just wears gigantic pants."
Trivia[]
- This marks the second time Ramsay placed a chef back on their original team after they were transferred the first time.