The first episode of Season 9 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox, on July 18, 2011. On that episode, the new contestants were given a reality check before coming to Hell's Kitchen, one chef had to withdraw before the opening night, and four chefs got benched during dinner service.
Intro
The season began with a retrospective of the previous winners, as well as some of the chefs receiving their acceptance letters, who were Steven, Jason, Krupa, Elise, and Will. Also, a preview was shown, telling the chefs would be passionate, fighters, and hungry for victory.
When the chefs arrived in Los Angeles, they were greeted by James on the bus ride. When he asked if they were ready to enter Hell's Kitchen, Jason claimed that he could not wait to cook, and Natalie told she was a rock star in her own world, so it would not be a big difference. Then, everybody toasted with champagne, and Carrie declared that she had the biggest crush on Ramsay and she was the hottest chef in the hottest restaurant in Dallas. Also, Steven declared that he was there to win. Will acknowledged that he was not there to make friends as everybody was against everybody.
Before entering Hell's Kitchen, the chefs arrived at the Orpheum Theatre. Gina wondered what was going on as it was written: "Live in person, Hell's Kitchen chefs!". When they got out of the bus, Amanda declared she was super excited and nervous. Inside the theater, they were given directions on what to do on the stage and went to get makeup on, while Carrie felt like a superstar and declared that she loved it. After, they went on the stage, and on their way, Sous Chefs Scott and Andi wished them good luck as they would need it. Then, Jason declared that he was very excited to hear people cheer behind the curtain, Krupa wondered if they would cook their signature dishes for the entire audience, and Monterray knew that it was the real deal. After an announcer welcomed the audience to the chefs, the curtain lifted, the chefs raised their hands, but they quickly found out that the room was empty, much to their disappointment. After an awkward silence, Ramsay revealed himself clapping his hands very slowly and asked the chefs if they expected a standing ovation from a large audience. Also, he added that none of them were stars yet as their resumes meant nothing, and Amanda was disappointed as she expected a big round of applause but was quickly brought down to Earth. After, Ramsay went on the stage, declared that he was looking for somebody to emerge and become a star, before revealing the grand prize of the season, which was a Head Chef position at the BLT Steak in New York City with a salary of $250,000. Jonathon said even though he was from the south, he was ready to go to the Big Apple, and Jason was mind-blown over the salary. Elizabeth found the grand prize to be amazing as she was from New York City and could not have asked for a better scenario. After, everybody was asked to get back to Hell's Kitchen and cook their signature dishes.
Signature Dish Challenge
When the chefs arrived in Hell's Kitchen, they ran into the kitchens to start cooking their dishes. Everybody gathered their ingredients and their cookware. Elise declared that she was not afraid to fight back and everybody should watch for themselves, and Monterray wanted to win the $250,000 as it would help his mother. Also, Will knew that it was surreal to cook in Hell's Kitchen, but that basically, it was the same in a different environment. Brendan was convinced that everybody would be intimidated by him as all the eyes were on him when he was walking into a room. Finally, Krupa admitted that she got frazzled and nervous and thought that the 45 minutes went in a heartbeat. Eventually, everybody plated their dishes in time.
After Ramsay reminded the chefs that even though the signature dishes were the chefs' chance to shine as individuals, it was also their first team challenge. In the first round, Carrie and Will went up against each other. Carrie served her chicken-fried rib-eye with mashed potatoes and white truffle cream gravy. Still, when she revealed that she added sugar in her mashed potatoes, Ramsay was dismayed, and Gina wondered who would do that in their right mind. Carrie was convinced that Ramsay would love it as she compared it to an orgasm in his mouth, but he spat it out and called it disgusting. Will revealed that his heritage was a mix of Italian and Jewish, stating that his friends called him a pizza bagel and served his sheep milk gnudi. Then, Will claimed that he was a culinary technician as he did not worry about somebody else tasting his food because he was doing it right. His dish was deemed delicious by Ramsay. Will won the round over Carrie, and the men led 1-0. In the second round, Amanda and Brendan competed against each other. Amanda presented her eggplant rollatini with creamy polenta, it was praised for being seasoned perfectly, and Ramsay recognized her talent. Amanda was pleased about the high praise from him, declared that she was on cloud nine. Brendan served his salmon with basil cream sauce, which he admitted to having taken from one of Ramsay's restaurants when he was a cook while declaring that he would be the guy who would go the extra distance. Ramsay recognized the dish, praised the salmon for being cooked perfectly, and both of them scored a point for their respective teams, with the score being 2-1 for the men. Jennifer served her pork with her special marinade with sweet potato mash and green beans in the third round. While she hoped that Ramsay would not spit out her food, the pork was moist and tasty, which made her happy. After, Jonathon revealed his punch-drunk chicken, which looks to be a grilled chicken breast with sides of fruit, and said that while he put a lot of raw but real flavors on his dishes, Ramsay would be full of it if he would not like it. However, Ramsay was shocked by the presentation and discovered that he used canned pineapples, which Jonathon admitted. Jonathon blamed the 45-minute time limit, which disbelieved Ramsay as he accused the former of being so full of it, his eyes were brown. Ramsay told Jonathon that he could leave on the spot for serving canned pineapple, therefore threatening him with elimination. Jonathon refused to leave. Ramsay called his dish a freaking mess and refused to taste it because of the canned pineapple. Jennifer won the round, and the score was tied at 2. Ramsay was shocked by Krupa's dish in the fourth round, even before asking her what her name was. She revealed that she made traditional stuffed naan bread with mint sauce. Ramsay said it was not even looking appetizing due to the clumsily poured mint sauce, comparing it to four bits of ass wipe splat on the plate. Ramsay deemed the spices raw and bland before calling the dish "crapa" and trashing it when he tasted it. Krupa started to cry in shame as she knew she was better than that. Afterward, Paul served his eggplant involtini with crab mascarpone and ricotta, which was deemed nice. He won the round over Krupa, which he called a slam dunk, and the men led 3-2.
On the fifth round, Jamie revealed that she was a Sous Chef, and she was 24-years-old, which impressed Ramsay. Still, when she presented her lamb lollipops with red onion confiture, the lamb was overcooked, and Ramsay told Jamie to learn how to cook lamb before having the balls to call herself a Sous Chef. After Steven served his seared diver scallops over wild mushroom risotto, he believed nobody had a chance to win over him as he had 30 years of experience. Still, his scallops were too rubbery, even being compared to dinosaur toenails by Ramsay. When Steven told Ramsay that it got good flavor, the latter could not believe how delusional he was. Neither Steven nor Jamie scored a point before he apologized. On the sixth round, Elise's scallops in cream sauce with spinach were cooked perfectly, while Chino's miso sauce on his hanger steak with parsnip puree was too strong. Elise won the round, tying the score at 3. On the next round, Monterray's sea bass over chickpea ragout was nailed, Natalie's lamb with balsamic glaze and mash was cooked perfectly, and both scored a point, with the score still being tied, at 4. After, Elizabeth's quail with polenta dish was praised by Ramsay for having the impact and all the ingredients working together. Before Tommy presented his halibut and succotash dish, he was asked to reveal the tattoo he had on his forehead, which said "Rock n' roll", and his dish was praised for having finesse and tasting nice. Both of them scored a point, with the score still being tied, at 5. On the last round, Gina served her pan-roasted pistachio scallops with parsnip purée, which were deemed nice, but the scallops were burned on the top. She acknowledged her mistake but reminded that it tasted nice. After, Jason presented his pork tacos, before Ramsay asked him why he decided to do that on an important day like that. He answered that it was delicious, which made everybody laugh, and he admitted that he was very nervous about being the last person and serving tacos. Ramsay decided to taste his tacos the proper way. After deliberation, Jason won the round, and the men won the challenge 6-5. Ramsay clarified that his tacos tasted delicious, and Jason was proud to have won it for the men with some tacos.
Scoring
| Red Team | Blue Team | ||||
| Chef | Score | Total | Chef | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrie | 0/1 | 0 | Will | 1/1 | 1 |
| Amanda | 1/1 | 1 | Brendan | 1/1 | 2 |
| Jennifer | 1/1 | 2 | Jonathon | 0/1 | 2 |
| Krupa | 0/1 | 2 | Paul | 1/1 | 3 |
| Jamie | 0/1 | 2 | Steven | 0/1 | 3 |
| Elise | 1/1 | 3 | Chino | 0/1 | 3 |
| Natalie | 1/1 | 4 | Monterray | 1/1 | 4 |
| Elizabeth | 1/1 | 5 | Tommy | 1/1 | 5 |
| Gina | 0/1 | 5 | Jason | 1/1 | 6 |
| Results | 6-5 | ||||
Reward
The men were rewarded with a dinner at the LA Market, in downtown Los Angeles, along with Season 8 winner Nona. Arrived there, Jason declared it awesome, and inside, they were greeted by Nona, which Jason found inspirational. During dinner, she gave them advice on how to compete, saying that they would fight hard and put their best step forward every day as they were competing for their lives, and not just for the fun of it. Jonathon was inspired by her speech, declared that he would use everything that she said to his advantage. After Nona left, the men toasted to their victory.
Punishment
The women were punished by cleaning both kitchens for the opening night. During the punishment, Gina compared the kitchen to like a tornado went through it as there was no room for anything because there were dishes everywhere. Elise boasted that she scored a point and was still doing punishment. She continued by claiming that she was upset about that and threw Krupa and Carrie under the bus by thinking that they sunk the red team. After Elise told that they would be on the reward if it were not for those two, Carrie clumsily dropped a blender in the sink.
Before service
The next day, both teams went to the kitchens to begin prepping for the opening night. Jonathon knew that the nerves were up, but he was confident that the blue team would dominate the red team. When both teams were lined up, everybody was given their Henkel knives set, which Steven called the bomb. Both teams began prepping, and in the red kitchen, Elise vocally rallied the team. Krupa acknowledged that she was why the women lost the previous challenge while hoping to redeem herself as she would shoot herself if she would fail twice.
Jason's exit
Then, in the blue kitchen, Jason started to lose his rhythm as he had trouble breathing, and Will came over to ask him if he was okay. Jason answered that he was not feeling good and dizzy. When Jason went to the back hallway, Will admitted that he looked terrible, decided to help him with the medic, and acknowledged that he must take it down a notch as he was sweating a lot. Jason revealed his condition to the medic that he was breathing heavily for one hour. The medic put a breathing mask over his face. When Jason asked why his arms were very weak, the medic answered that he was breathing all crazy. Then, Monterray came to look at what was happening and wondered if Jason was having a heart attack as it did not look very good. After, Will dedicated Chino to the dessert station and admitted that he could not stop working despite caring for Jason's health because they still had a service to pull off. Jason was still having breathing troubles on the patio. He was carried on a chair by some medics who covered him with a blanket. When the ambulance arrived, Jason was put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay informed them that Jason would be placed at the hospital for a few days of bed rest and that he would not return to Hell's Kitchen. Monterray was amazed that the men were already one man down despite not having gotten out of the gates yet. Ramsay asked the chefs if he could trust them to be ready to go, which they answered they were. After Ramsay clarified that he was looking for a smooth service, Paul was disappointed that Jason was gone but was still convinced that the men would beat the women despite having one less member. Ramsay asked James to open Hell's Kitchen.
Dinner service
When Ramsay called the first ticket in the blue kitchen, Chino asked him to repeat it. Still, Ramsay categorically refused by telling Chino off and calling him stupid. When Ramsay called the first ticket in the red kitchen, Elise started to shout over him, much to his frustration. He berated and ordered Elise to call the ticket out for him, which she did. Monterray already delivered the garnish in the blue kitchen before the first appetizers were served, and he was berated by Ramsay while acknowledging his mistake and apologizing. Then, the men were motivated by Sous Chef Scott. Carrie sent her first scallops to the pass in the red kitchen, but Elise was still not ready with her risotto, much to Carrie's frustration. When Elise sent up her risotto, it was too liquidy. Ramsay compared it to a rice pudding and schooled Elise about not caring for his standards, saying that he would stop caring about her. Then, Ramsay asked for somebody to cook a proper risotto, which Krupa volunteered to do. Still, Elise was not convinced that Krupa was better than herself, even stating that she would beat her with a blindfold on and a broken arm. In the blue kitchen, Steven was ready with his first appetizers, even though Will convinced him not to walk with it, he did, and Ramsay berated Steven for sending the second table of appetizers before the first one. Steven acknowledged his mistake, Will told that he was easily flustered but did not have the time to argue about it. When Steven sent his first appetizers to the pass, they were accepted. In the red kitchen, Krupa delivered her risotto. It was deemed delicious by Ramsay, making her very proud of herself, to the point that she cheered out loud. Ramsay told her not to lose focus and to pee her knickers before serving ten more perfect risottos and complete the service, and Elise was lost for words.
An hour into service, food was being sent out because of Krupa's help. In the blue kitchen, they moved on to entrées. Chino brought his miso cod to the pass, but it was burned, and the entire team was berated by Ramsay for being fragmented and for not bringing up the garnish in time. Ramsay slammed the cod on the counter. Chino acknowledged his mistake while being ashamed as he was Asian himself, and Jonathon compared the fish to being glazed with roof tar. Then, Chino was told to sit down at the chef's table, Sous Chef Scott gave him some garlic to prep by saying that he would not burn it, and Chino was embarrassed. In the red kitchen, Krupa took vocal leadership on the entrées as she wanted to win and acknowledged that it was more pressure on her not to mess up. Still, the Wellingtons that she sent to the pass were perfect, and she was proud of herself and determined to kick the men's ass. Steven jumped on the fish station in the blue kitchen to replace Chino as he wanted to help them out. Still, he struggled to get organized, and Ramsay told him to work with two hands instead of holding the tray in one hand. When Steven sent his scallops to the pass, they were rubbery, but he talked back, thinking that they were perfect, which infuriated Ramsay even more. Paul was dismayed as everything Steven was touching was being destroyed before reminding the saying that nobody could teach an old dog new tricks. Because of his mistake, Steven was ordered to sit down at the chef's table, joining Chino, and eat his mistake. Still, Steven thought that they were perfect, so he did not bother. After, Tommy was dedicated to the fish station. Still, when he sent his scallops, they were boiled, he said that it sucked and that he took a heel of a dive. Tommy was ordered to sit down at the chefs table and join Chino and Steven to eat his mistake. After they were served a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, Brendan arrogantly said it was a matter of time before the competition would be his. Ramsay noticed that the three men who were benched were on the fish station before Steven remembered that he jumped in to help. Ramsay claimed that he wished he would have jumped in the oven as it would have been more useful. In the red kitchen, Carrie sent overcooked scallops to the pass, she was asked to start over. Still, Elise did not want to go down on scallops, told that Carrie should get it together, and the latter's second attempt was boiled. Carrie was frustrated as she wanted to make Ramsay proud. She was asked to start again. Because both kitchens were at a halt, customers started to lose their patience, with one even pretending that his piece of bread was his beef Wellington.
Ramsay called the following ticket in the blue kitchen, asked Monterray to talk and bring the garnish thirty seconds before the protein, which he took notice of. Paul tried to motivate his teammates to send the first table of entrées finally. Then, James served the Sauvignon Blanc to the three benched men, and when they received it, Ramsay called them The Three Stooges. After Ramsay went to Jonathon to slice his Wellington, the latter apologized. Still, the Wellington was cooked perfectly, and after revealing that he never cooked a beef Wellington in his life, Jonathon declared that he would continue to rock it out. However, the garnish was not ready; Monterray apologized, Paul asked him for a time, but when the latter answered two minutes, Ramsay was furious as the Wellington was getting cold. Jonathon said that all Monterray had was a big old bag of crap. Because of that, the Wellingtons were sent back, Ramsay noted that Monterray was miles away instead of only two minutes, and Paul called a refire of Wellingtons. Monterray was determined not to lose as his ass was on the line. In the red kitchen, Carrie was working on her next attempt at the fish. Still, Elise jumped in uninvited and stole her job by declaring that Carrie was a weaker cook than her. She stole Carrie's job because she wanted to impress Ramsay. Ramsay was dismayed, asked Carrie what Elise was doing, and Carrie answered that she did not know as she never allowed her to cook the fish while calling Elise a crazy bitch. Elise said that she grabbed it because she was a team player. Ramsay reminded Elise that she had to cook appetizers for a six-top before ordering her to sit at the chef's table, much to Krupa's amusement. In the blue kitchen, Jonathon's Wellingtons were perfectly cooked once again. Still, Brendan was not ready with the garnish and even burned the potatoes without realizing it. Ramsay told him about his mistake, and Will was not impressed with Brendan's loudmouth, added that he sucked. Ramsay berated the men for not being synchronized once again. Jonathon was dismayed because it was the first time in his life that he was stopped because of garnishes. Paul was dismayed as well because potatoes were holding his perfect Wellingtons and yelled at Brendan in frustration. Brendan did not want to be yelled at by Paul as he thought he was not a badass on the grill before calling him dumpling. After James told Ramsay that customers were walking out because they were not fed, the latter ordered the three benched men and Brendan to get up. He berated them for not serving one entrée despite having hundreds of pans in the sink. When Ramsay asked for suggestions, Steven suggested acting as a dishwasher himself. Still, Ramsay reminded Steven was talking about the customers, and he asked the men to shut the service down. Brendan called it a train wreck on ice as there was nothing they could do. In the red kitchen, Carrie motivated her teammates not to disappoint the customers. Still, Ramsay reminded that they were gone and ordered the women to shut their service down as well.
Post-mortem
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay called it the most disappointing opening ever and told Carrie that despite her scallops not being cooked perfectly, nothing else was timed with it. Carrie said that the risotto kept coming back and that she could not do anything about it, but then, Elise felt that she was thrown under the bus. Both of them started arguing over Carrie's scallops coming back twice and Elise claiming that she was trying to help her on fish. After, Paul was asked how he felt after being screwed every second along with Jonathon. He answered that he was irate as he sent the same table four times while waiting for potatoes and carrots. Then, Brendan was asked if he was bothered, he answered that he was, but arrogantly told that he would not let Paul down next time as he finally learned how to cook proteins. Paul challenged him to a fight on the table before reminding him that he just called it as he saw it. The men were named losers for not serving any entrées. They were asked to nominate two people for elimination.
While being dismissed, Paul was furious at Brendan for calling him out and compared the situation to the third strike in baseball before hitting yourself in the nuts with a bat. During deliberation, Paul angrily threatened Brendan to slap him across the room if he would call him out as he did. Still, Brendan told him to shut up as he would say whatever he wanted and told him not to act like a tough guy. That led to an argument between those two, where Brendan called Paul a meatball and a dumpling, declared that he was lucky to have a good service, and told that he was irate, which Paul agreed with. After, Will said that Paul and Jonathon were the bests and considered Steven. Steven disagreed as he was a team player. Steven reminded that Chino burned fish all night long, that he, at least, served some appetizers, and that nobody served entrées. After Paul considered Brendan and Chino because they could not get some food out, Tommy acknowledged it sucked, and Will reminded them that it was what they signed up for.
Elimination
Jonathon announced Steven as the blue team's first nominee and Monterray as the second, which Ramsay agreed with, before nominating Chino himself. During their pleas, Monterray said he could do better than Steven. When Ramsay asked him why Steven particularly, Monterray answered that the latter did not step up to the plate and did what he was supposed to do before Ramsay remembered that he did not himself. Monterray agreed with him and added that he would keep fighting every day. Then, Chino was disappointed in his performance on fish, acknowledged that he should have said something. Ramsay reminded that he prepped more garlic than cooked fish and that he was looking for an Executive Chef and not a prep cook. After, Steven was asked who should be eliminated out of the three. Steven answered Monterray because he and Chino, at least, served some appetizers out. After deliberation, Steven was eliminated for being the worst performer of the night and being completely delusional. During his exit interview, Steven was embarrassed about being the first one eliminated and thought Ramsay made a mistake.
After Steven left, Ramsay reminded them that Hell's Kitchen was a series of tests and that they achieved a failing grade before urging everybody to get a grip fast. While being dismissed, Monterray acknowledged that he had to bring his A+++ game and that he had to keep fighting, Krupa was glad to have proven herself that she could do it while being determined to get better every day. Brendan targeted Paul by declaring he would have to eliminate him very soon.
Ramsay's comment: "Fuck me! I realized early on that Steven has much chance of being the head chef of BLT Steak, as I do of winning a gold medal in figure skating."
Ramsay gave no comment on Jason's departure. He did not receive the coat hanging and portrait burning sequence.
Trivia
- This marks the second time a chef was medically evacuated before dinner service after Episode 801 - 16 Chefs Compete. However, Jason withdrew faster than Antonia as Ramsay announced his official departure right before service.
- Jason would later return in Season 12, where he finished as the runner-up of that season.
- This episode features the highest points possibly reached in the original scoring format of the Signature Dish Challenge. Out of a possible eighteen points, eleven dishes received a point.