The Menu Addition Challenge is a recurring challenge in Hell’s Kitchen.
Overview[]
Although done as an individual challenge, this is done during the team phase of the competition. Before the first dinner service, Ramsay places this challenge as an opportunity for one chef to have their own dish featured on the menu for the duration of the season. The chefs must cook a dish of a certain theme, and afterwards, the Sous Chefs would taste their respective teams’ dishes to decide on a top-four. Those top four dishes would then be judged by Ramsay himself, and after tasting those dishes, he announces the winner. That person would have their dish on the menu for the remainder of the season, along with a special advantage.
The purpose of this challenge is to showcase the chef’s strengths as individuals early on.
History[]
Season 17[]
Episode 2 of Season 17 marked the first time the challenge took place. Known as the Bar Menu Challenge, Ramsay gave the chefs 40 minutes to make two portions of their signature bar inspired dish for the brand-new bar menu. After the dishes were tasted by the Sous Chefs, the top four of the red team were Dana, Ashley, Elise, and Michelle, while the top four of the blue team were Milly, Jared, Van, and Nick. In the end, Milly’s hand-cut fries with a lobster cheese sauce was deemed the best, and he won the challenge. Milly had his dish featured on the bar menu and won immunity for the opening night.[1]
Season 18[]
Episode 2 of Season 18 was the second time the challenge took place. Known as the Creative Risotto Challenge, Ramsay gave the chefs 45 minutes to make their signature risotto dish worthy of replacing the standard lobster risotto for that season. After the dishes were tasted by the Sous Chefs, the top four of the rookies were Chris, Gizzy, Mia, and Scott, while the top four of the veterans were T, Roe, Ariel, and Bret. In the end, Bret’s grilled shrimp and charred asparagus tip risotto with a seafood tomato broth were deemed the best, and he won the challenge. Bret had his dish featured on the menu and won a Punishment Pass.[2]
Season 19[]
Episode 2 of Season 19 was the third time the challenge took place. Known as the Creative Shrimp Challenge, Ramsay gave the chefs 30 minutes to create a shrimp dish that would be featured on the opening night service. After the dishes were tasted by the Sous Chefs, Ramsay shocked everybody by announcing that two chefs from both teams would be called down for creating the weakest dishes of the day, and the chef who produced the worst dish would be eliminated. Nikki and Jordan produced the worst dishes from the red team, while Eliott and Kenneth produced the worst dishes from the blue team. In the end, Kenneth had the worst dish and was eliminated. Afterwards, Ramsay asked for the top three from both teams. The top three from the red team were Amber, Lauren, and Syann, while the top three from the blue team were Cody, Declan, and Josh. In the end, Syann's shrimp and polenta dish was deemed the best and she won the challenge. Syann had her dish featured on the opening night menu and won a Punishment Pass.[3]
Season 21[]
Episode 2 of Season 21 was the fourth time the challenge took place. Known as the Creative Chicken Wings Challenge, Ramsay gave the chefs 40 minutes to create a chicken wings dish that would be featured on opening night service. After the dishes were tasted by the Sous Chefs, the top three from the 40-somethings were Zeus, Alex, and Nicole, while the top three of the 20-somethings were Vlad, Cheyenne, and Alejandro. In the end, Alex's General Tso's chicken wings and Alejandro's Mediterranean chicken wings were deemed the best and they won the challenge. Alex and Alejandro's had their chicken wing dishes on the opening night menu, each of them won a Punishment Pass. Ileana and Dafne produced the worst dishes from the 20-somethings, while O'Shay and Billy produced the worst dishes from the 40-somethings. In the end, Ileana had the worst chicken wings dish but was not eliminated as she somehow convinced Ramsay to give her another chance.[4]
Trivia[]
- So far, a male chef has won this challenge the most with three seasons while a female chef has won it the least with one season.
- Season 17's Milly is the first person that won the challenge, while Season 19's Syann is the first female chef that won the challenge.
- Season 17 is the only season where the winner did not receive the Punishment Pass as a reward. This was because the advantage was not introduced until the following season.
- This is the only challenge aside from the Cook For Your Life and Black Jacket Challenges to result in an elimination of a chef, except in Season 21.
- Since this challenge's introduction, Seasons 20, 22, and 23 are the only seasons to date that did not use this challenge.
Gallery[]
%27s_Bar_Dish_(Not_Judged).png "Benjamin (S17)'s Bar Dish (Not Judged).png (581 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish_(Not_Judged).png "Ben (S17)'s Bar Dish (Not Judged).png (827 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish_(Not_Judged).png "Josh (S17)'s Bar Dish (Not Judged).png (575 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish_(Not_Judged).png "Manda (S17)'s Bar Dish (Not Judged).png (555 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish.png "Dana (S17)'s Bar Dish.png (443 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish.png "Milly (S17)'s Bar Dish.png (352 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish.png "Ashley (S17)'s Bar Dish.png (468 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish.png "Jared (S17)'s Bar Dish.png (468 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish.png "Elise (S17)'s Bar Dish.png (646 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish.png "Van (S17)'s Bar Dish.png (738 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish.png "Michelle (S17)'s Bar Dish.png (478 KB)")
%27s_Bar_Dish.png "Nick (S17)'s Bar Dish.png (591 KB)")
%27s_Risotto_Dish_(Not_Judged).png "Heather (S18)'s Risotto Dish (Not Judged).png (1.16 MB)")
.png "Jose's Risotto Dish (Not Judged).png (1.02 MB)")
.png "Kanae's Risotto Dish (Not Judged).png (1.93 MB)")
%27s_Risotto_Dish_(Not_Judged).png "Trev (S18)'s Risotto Dish (Not Judged).png (1.04 MB)")
%27s_Risotto_Dish_(Not_Judged).png "Jen (S18)'s Risotto Dish (Not Judged).png (971 KB)")
_Risotto_Dish.png "Chris' (S18) Risotto Dish.png (1.36 MB)")
%27s_Risotto_Dish.png "T (S18)'s Risotto Dish.png (1.03 MB)")
%27s_Risotto_Dish.png "Roe (S18)'s Risotto Dish.png (1.03 MB)")
%27s_Risotto_Dish.png "Ariel (S18)'s Risotto Dish.png (1.25 MB)")
%27s_Risotto_Dish.png "Scott (S18)'s Risotto Dish.png (1 MB)")
%27s_Risotto_Dish.png "Bret (S18)'s Risotto Dish.png (1.23 MB)")
.png "Fabiola's Shrimp Dish (Not Judged).png (837 KB)")
%27s_Shrimp_Dish_(Not_Judged).png "Adam (S19)'s Shrimp Dish (Not Judged).png (726 KB)")
.png "Kori's Shrimp Dish (Not Judged).png (790 KB)")
%27s_Shrimp_Dish.png "Josh (S19)'s Shrimp Dish.png (586 KB)")
.png "Abe's Chicken Wings Dish (Not Judged).png (248 KB)")
%27s_Chicken_Wings_Dish.png "Alex (S21)'s Chicken Wings Dish.png (295 KB)")
%27s_Chicken_Wings_Dish.png "Nicole (S21)'s Chicken Wings Dish.png (227 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ (October 6, 2017). "Episode 1702 - Raising the Bar". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 17. Episode 2.
- ↑ (October 5, 2018). "Episode 1802 - A Fond Farewell". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 18. Episode 2.
- ↑ (October 22, 2020). "Episode 1902 - Shrimply Spectacular". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 2.
- ↑ (October 6, 2022). "Episode 2102 - Just Wingin' It". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 21. Episode 2.