Fusion Cuisine Challenge

Fusion Cuisine Challenge
Trev's Season 8 dish inspired by China and Mexico.
Gameplay
Type	Team Challenge (Seasons 5, 16, and 22) Individual Challenge (Season 8)
Seasons Used	Season 5 Season 8 Season 16 Season 22

The Fusion Cuisine Challenge is a recurring challenge in Hell's Kitchen.

Overview

Usually given a clear goal of what the chefs were doing, each dish had to be a balanced mixture of the two ethnicities they were provided. They were then judged and could be awarded a point if good. The team with the most points at the end was the winner. If done during the individual phase, the person with the best dish would win.

The purpose of this challenge is to test the chef's abilities in mixing two different ethnic themes into a stunning dish.

History

Season 5

In Episode 5, the challenge first took place when 12 chefs were remaining, six on both teams. Known as the Asian Fusion Challenge, both teams had to create one poultry, one seafood, and one meat dish that had strong Asian influences. They had 25 minutes to shop for whatever they needed, with a $100 budget, and both teams worked in pairs. Epicurious editor-in-chief Tanya Steel came to help judge the challenge. Robert and Danny scored the poultry round over Carol and Coi, but Paula and LA scored over Ben and Lacey on the seafood round. Finally, Andrea and Carol scored over Giovanni and J on the meat round, giving the red team the win 2-1. They had their dishes featured on the Epicurious website, went to a karate dojo where they played sumo wrestling and tasted sake at a local bar. Also, Paula and LA's ahi tuna tempura dish was added to the menu for the following service. The blue team had to make fortune cookies and decorate the dining room with origami.

Season 8

In Episode 14, the challenge happened when four chefs were remaining, and it was the first time it took place during the individual phase. For that year, Ramsay had one chef come up and pick two flags that represented the countries they would like to cook with. Nona got Greece and Italy, Jillian got Thailand and Spain, Russel got France and India, and Trev was left with China and Mexico. They then had 45 minutes to create a fusion dish. Jillian's marinated shrimp, white rice, chorizo, and soybean curry were deemed the best dish, and she won the challenge. She was rewarded with lunch with Ramsay at Spago alongside her family, while the rest had to participate in Moving Day and prepping the kitchen for that night's service.

Season 16

In Episode 12, the challenge happened when seven chefs remained, four on the red team and three on the blue team. For that year, Ramsay had one chef from each team spin two wheels to decide on which countries they would cook with. Since the red team had an extra person, Heidi did not spin but was allowed to pick which pair of countries she wanted to cook with, and she picked France and Japan alongside Heather and Ryan. Both teams had 45 minutes to cook their fusion dishes, and James Beard award winner Roy Yamaguchi came to help judge the challenge. Neither Andrew nor Paulie scored on the Mexican-Indian round, but Ryan scored on the French-Japanese round over Heather and Heidi. Lastly, Kimberly scored over Devin in the Chinese-French round, ending the challenge at a one-point tie. As the tiebreaker, Ryan's dish was deemed the best of the day, and the blue team won the challenge. They won a $2000 shopping spree at Surface for kitchen supplies and a seven-course lunch at Providence. The red team had to take in a delivery of a side of beef, break them down for a hanger steak special the following service, and taking in deliveries of potatoes.

Season 22

In Episode 6, the challenge happened when there were fourteen chefs left, seven on both teams. For that year, Ramsay had both teams kick a soccer ball at a goalpost to hit a country each they and their rival would cook. Then, they had forty-five minutes to cook their respective fusion dishes. Joining Ramsay in the judging was Tony Messina. Jermaine beat Donya in the Spanish-Mexican round, and Dahmere beat Sandra in the Greek-Italian round. Sammi scored over Jason in the Greek-Indian round, and Atoye beat Devon in the Chinese-Thai round. Then, Leigh scored in the Spanish-French round over Brad, but Ryan won the French-Japanese round over Raneisha. Lastly, Johnathan won the Japanese-Thai round over Carmen, giving the blue team the win at 4-3. The blue team won a day playing bubble soccer and their own Keurig kit. Also, because he had the best dish of the day, Jonathan received two tickets from Allegiant Travels for an Allegiant Stadium event. The red team prepared items for the carbonara.

Trivia

• This is one of the few challenges to take place during the team format and the individual format.
• The blue team won this challenge the most in the team format, with 2.

Gallery

• Season 5
• Season 8
• Season 16
• Season 22

Carol and Coi's Asian Fusion Dish (Poultry)

Robert and Danny's Asian Fusion Dish (Poultry)

Paula and LA's Asian Fusion Dish (Seafood)

Ben and Lacey's Asian Fusion Dish (Seafood)

Andrea and Colleen's Asian Fusion Dish (Meat)

J and Giovanni's Asian Fusion Dish (Meat)

Trev's Fusion Dish (China and Mexico)

Nona's Fusion Dish (Greece and Italy)

Russell's Fusion Dish (France and India)

Jillian's Fusion Dish (Thailand and Spain)

Paulie's Fusion Dish (Mexican and Indian)

Andrew's Fusion Dish (Mexican and Indian)

Heidi's Fusion Dish (French and Japanese)

Ryan's Fusion Dish (French and Japanese)

Heather's Fusion Dish (French and Japanese)

Kimberly's Fusion Dish (Chinese and French)

Devin's Fusion Dish (Chinese and French)

Donya's Fusion Dish (Spanish-Mexican)

Jermaine's Fusion Dish (Spanish-Mexican)

Sandra's Fusion Dish (Greek-Italian)

Dahmere's Fusion Dish (Greek-Italian)

Sammi's Fusion Dish (Greek-Indian)

Jason's Fusion Dish (Greek-Indian)

Devon's Fusion Dish (Chinese-Thai)

Atoye's Fusion Dish (Chinese-Thai)

Leigh's Fusion Dish (Spanish-French)

Brad's Fusion Dish (Spanish-French)

Ryan's Fusion Dish (French-Japanese)

Raneisha's Fusion Dish (French-Japanese)

Carmen's Fusion Dish (Japanese-Thai)

Johnathan's Fusion Dish (Japanese-Thai)