The eleventh episode of Season 8 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on FOX, on November 17, 2010. On that episode, the final six competed in their first black jacket challenge, dinner service was a disaster, and the bitchiest and most immature chef of that season was finally eliminated.
Intro
As the newly formed black jackets went back to the dorms, Ramsay jokingly told Trev sweet dreams, and Trev said that he would be sleeping with one eye open knowing that while the women wanted him gone, he got the first black jacket, before declaring he was not going anywhere. Back to the dorms, there was red wine waiting for them, and they toasted for making it that far. Later, while the rest of the chefs went to sleep, Trev was still up realizing that it was him against the four women, and that meant he would have to outperform them.
Individual challenge
The next day, the chefs woke up early to meet Ramsay, who explained that he was very fortunate to eat at some of the world’s best restaurants in his life, while adding that the first impression was everything, using the amuse bouche as an example. For the Amuse Bouche Challenge, each chef would create their own amuse bouche. Then, Ramsay revealed that Ludo Lefebvre, whom Sabrina immediately got infatuated with, Quin and Karan Hatfield, Suzanne Tracht, and Michael Chimarusti were invited as guest judges. However, Jillian felt nervous cooking for a lot of Michelin star chefs, and admitted that she thought Michelin was a tire. After, Ramsay revealed that the judges would rank their amuse bouches on presentation, and then on taste, on a scale of one to ten each, with the maximum score being 100.
The chefs had thirty minutes to create five portions of their amuse bouche for the judges. Trev decided to go outside the box and use frog legs, while Russell decided to let his skills do the talking. Nona thought about using shrimp and grits, while Gail decided to use her Asian background for her dish. While Sabrina admitted that she never made an amuse bouche before, she declared herself a fighter, and wanted to give everything she had. Eventually, everybody got their dishes cooked and plated in time.
Gail went up first, and presented her sesame spring chicken roll with peanut sauce, which was praised for looking good. She got 44 points for presentation, and then, it was praised for tasting delicious, receiving a score of 43 for taste, ending with 87 points overall. After, Sabrina presented her French bread with smoked carrots and salmon, but was disappointed when Lefebvre did not like the presentation, and received a score of 35 for the presentation. Then, the dish was criticized for having too much garlic, and she received 35 points for taste, giving Sabrina a final score of 70 points. Jillian went up next, with her grilled pita bread, lemon crema sauce, and sautéed vegetables. The presentation was deemed boring, she only received 32 points for it, and the flavors were deemed boring as well, and she received only 33, leaving Jillian with a final score of 65 points. Nona went up next, with her shrimp and grits, but not only was the presentation criticized for looking a mess, Tracht said that the taste reminded her of body odour. So, Nona received 34 points for presentation, and 33 points for taste, leaving her a score of 67 points. Russell was the next person who competed, and presented his Hamachi crudo with apple celery broth. The presentation was immediately praised for looking gorgeous, and he received a perfect 50 on presentation. Then, the dish was praised for its taste, and also got a perfect 50, giving Russell a perfect 100 points at the end. Finally, Trev presented his hard-boiled frog legs. The presentation did not receive favorable reviews, as Chimarusti said he had no idea what the dish was until Trev described it, and he received only 31 points. Then, the dish was criticized for its small taste, and received only 31 points as well, giving Trev a total of 62 points. So, Russell won the challenge.
Scoring
| Presentation | |
| Chef | Score |
|---|---|
| Gail | 87/100 |
| Sabrina | 70/100 |
| Jillian | 65/100 |
| Nona | 67/100 |
| Russell | 100/100 |
| Trev | 62/100 |
| Results | Russell |
Reward
Russell was rewarded with a VIP tour of the LA Market by Kerry Simon, and lunch with him and Ramsay. Russell also chose Gail to go on the reward with him as she was the runner-up of the challenge. When they arrived at LA Market, they met Simon, who showed them the dining room and the state of the art kitchen, which amazed and inspired them. Later, the three of them met Ramsay for lunch, who reminded Russell and Gail that it was game on.
Punishment
The remaining chefs were punished by cleaning up the dorms, and prepping for the next service. When they came back to the dorms, the Sous Chefs arrived with cleaning supplies and instructions on what to do, as they split to do each part of the dorms. During the punishment, Nona complained that she hated cleaning and always had her husband do it back home.
Before service
As the four punished chefs began prep, Sabrina asked Trev for directions for the pasta, only to get rudely told to figure it out herself. Then, he refused to help the three women as he had enough of covering people’s asses while he did not get the same treatment. Later, Russell and Gail came back from their reward, and got changed into their chef jackets.
When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay reminded them that with only one team, they would be serving the entire dining room, and wanted that night to prove why they deserved to be in the final six. Then, Ramsay told Nona that she would be serving Steak Diane tableside to spice up, though Jillian secretly wanted Trev out in the dining room. Then, Ramsay decided to show them $250,000 cash in order to inspire them, and said that it smelled fucking delicious. After, Ramsay asked James to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service
As the diners came in, Ramsay gave Nona a demonstration on how to cook the Steak Diane, while warning her not to set the place on fire. Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm were in attendance. Sabrina brought her risotto, but Ramsay rejected it for being cooked to fuck, even showing her a burnt piece in the pan. Gail brought her scallops, but Ramsay noticed that they had no color on them, and forced her to restart. Despite Trev being confident in his abilities, his lobster spaghetti was rejected for having overcooked pasta as Russell noticed that they should have been better than that. When Sabrina asked for a time on Trev’s spaghetti, he yelled that he needed four more minutes, but Sous Chef Scott came over, and sternly ordered him to contain his anger and get his shit together. Despite that, the refires were accepted, and Ramsay finally sent the first ticket. However, Trev did not communicate with Sabrina on the next ticket, and his frustrations annoyed Gail. Then, Ramsay pulled Trev and Sabrina aside, and warned them to wake up and stop arguing, with Sabrina comparing the situation to a bad relationship. Their dysfunctional teamwork caused a backlog on orders as the diners impatiently waited for their appetizers. As there were only three tables of appetizers served so far, Ramsay decided to get entrées fired in order to get some momentum going. However, Gail’s halibut was stuck to the pan as an angry Ramsay slammed the pan onto the counter, and almost got hit by a pair of flying tongs. After, a frustrated Ramsay accused the chefs of sabotaging him, and complained about there being no teamwork or passion. Then, an angry Ramsay ordered everybody to get a grip as a disappointed Gail felt that they did not deserve to wear black jackets.
One hour and fifteen minutes into service, nothing was leaving the kitchen as Ramsay ordered Nona to start serving the Steak Diane. Knowing that her timings had to match Nona’s, Gail got her salmon accepted, and entrées were leaving the kitchen. After, Ramsay asked Sabrina for the truffle salad, but she forgot another order. That caused Ramsay to accuse Sabrina of giving up, and while she answered she was not, she sent a salad without dressing, which Ramsay called the lowest of the low. With some help from Trev, Sabrina got her redo accepted. Jillian brought her mashed potatoes, but Ramsay said that it tasted too salty, and when Gail brought her grilled salmon, Ramsay noticed a lot of water on the bottom that he poured out, and accused her of giving up. Then, Russell sent raw Wellingtons as Trev felt that the entire service was blowing up in their faces. After, a fed up Ramsay gathered everybody, and told them all to work as a team, before issuing a warning that the next person who would send him unacceptable food would be the last straw. That warning caused the chefs to send food out to the dining room, but when Russell sent a raw ribeye, a fed up Ramsay kept his promise, and kicked everybody out of the kitchen, before tossing Trev the raw ribeye as the service ended.
Post-mortem
When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay said that if he was them, he would take off his jacket, bar Nona, before asking them to nominate two people for elimination.
Back in the dorms, Trev knew that the appetizer station would be blamed for all the problems, and said that he had a ditz of a partner, referring to Sabrina. Russell nominated Sabrina and Trev, which Jillian agreed. However, Trev felt that Gail did badly, which Sabrina agreed as it was the second night Gail sunk on the fish station. While the consensus was that Trev and Sabrina were the nominees, Jillian told Gail that she did not communicate at all, though Russell refused to change the votes. However, Sabrina went to Jillian in the bathroom, and told her that Gail should be nominated instead of herself, which Jillian took into consideration, and announced that she changed her vote to Gail, much to Russell's annoyance. That left Nona with the responsibility of breaking the three-way tie, but struggled to announce who her nominees were.
Elimination
Sabrina announced that Trev was the first nominee, and herself was the second. Ramsay called them down, and during their pleas, Trev said that he did not give up at all, while Sabrina said that Gail should leave due to screwing up on the fish station despite being an executive chef, before tearfully pleading Ramsay not to be sent home. However, Ramsay ignored Sabrina, and eliminated her for her immaturity and inconsistent performances. Before leaving, Ramsay praised Sabrina for her big heart and hard working skills. Sabrina received a retrospective montage of her run during her exit interview.
After Sabrina left, Ramsay sent Trev back in line, and told Gail to wake up, before dismissing the chefs.
Ramsay's comment: "Sabrina was quite dramatic in her final plea, but I'm not looking for a drama queen. I'm looking for a head chef."
Trivia
- This marks the second time since Season 4 where Ramsay ejected the entire black jacket team from service.