The Protein Cut Challenge is a recurring challenge in Hell’s Kitchen.
Overview[]
A recurring challenge since Season 7, Ramsay will have the chefs choose from a cut of meat from the same animal and cook with it. They would then have their dishes judged. If done during the team format, the rounds would be determined by cuts, and the winner of each round will score a point. The team with the most points at the end would win the challenge. The purpose of this challenge is to test the chef’s skills in cooking different cuts of meat from the same animal.
History[]
Season 7[]
On Episode 5, the challenge first took place when there were 12 chefs left, six on both teams. Known as the Pork Creation Challenge, Ramsay had both teams grab six pigs so they each had three pork protein cuts and three sides. By the end of the round, the blue team had loin chop, pork loin, and bacon, while the red team had blood sausage, pork tenderloin, and ham hock. They then had to pair their cuts with the sides collected, and each pair had 45 minutes to cook their dishes. Ed and Benjamin’s pork loin dish scored over Nilka and Fran’s blood sausage dish, while Holli and Siobhan’s pork tenderloin dish defeated Jason and Autumn’s bacon dish. Lastly, Jay and Salvatore’s loin chop dish easily beat out Scott and Maria’s ham hock dish as the latter used their protein as a garnish for their soup dish, which was not what Ramsay wanted. The blue team won 2-1, and they were rewarded with a spa day at the Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa, in Corona, while the red team had to give the pigs in the pen a bath.[1]
Season 10[]
On Episode 4, the challenge took place when there were 15 chefs left, eight on the red team, and seven on the blue team. Known as the Creative Lamb Challenge, Ramsay gave the chefs five minutes to gather their ingredients from sheep collars. Once back in the kitchen, they had 45 minutes to cook four lamb dishes using lamb steak, rack of lamb, lamb chops, and ground lamb. Both teams worked in pairs, but because the blue team was short a person, Patrick cooked the ground lamb by himself. The pair of Clemenza and Don, and Tiffany and Danielle tied on the lamb chop round, while the pair of Roshni and Kimmie scored on the ground lamb over Patrick. Then, the pair of Justin and Guy beat the pair of Barbie and Robyn on the rack of lamb round. Finally, the pair of Brian and Royce beat the pair of Christina and Dana on the lamb steak, giving the blue team the win at 3-2. The blue team went on a VIP trip to the Hollywood Park racetrack, while the red team had to clean off the paint from the sheep and clean up both kitchens along with prepping them for that night’s service.[2]
Season 15[]
On Episode 9, the challenge took place when there were 10 chefs left, 5 on both teams. Known as the Bison Meat Challenge, Ramsay had each chef pick a cut of bison meat they wanted to cook, and to pick their ingredients, he had them shoot an arrow at a target. The person closest to the center would pick the country of ingredients they and their opponent would cook with. Afterwards, both teams had 40 minutes to cook their bison cuts. Chad beat Manda on the flank steak, while Jared beat Jackie on the ground meat. Both Frank and Kristin tied on the top sirloin, along with Ariel and Joe on the ribeye, and Ashley and Dannie on the filet, ending the challenge on a 4-point tie. To break the tie, Ramsay went with the best dish of the day and deemed Chad’s dish the best overall, giving the red team the win. They went to see Hollywood animals and received Vitamix blenders, while the blue team had to make bread by hand, churn butter for a special Cowboy Steak Night service, and clean the carpet from a bison’s accident earlier that day.[3]
Season 16[]
On Episode 3, the challenge took place when there were 16 chefs left, 9 on the red team, and 7 on the blue team. Known as the Ostrich Meat Challenge, Ramsay gave both teams four minutes to collect their ingredients by smashing fake ostrich eggs. Then, both teams split into pairs and had 40 minutes to cook two versions of four ostrich cuts which included top loin, ground meat, oysters, and pearl. Due to the imbalance of both teams, Heidi, Kimberly, and Heather cooked a top loin dish for the red team, while Johnny cooked both blue team’s ground meat dishes. David McMillan and Frederic Morin were invited as guest judges. Ryan scored on the ground meat round, while Kimberly scored on the top loin. Even though Paulie scored oyster round, Wendy scored on the pearl, giving the red team the win 3-1. The red team had a zip lining experience at Big Bear Lake, while the blue team cleaned up the dining room, take in deliveries of pine nut, and make a pesto out of them.[4]
Trivia[]
- Season 7 was the only season where the pairs all had different cuts.[1] The rest of the seasons would have both teams cook the same cuts.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (June 22, 2010). "Episode 705 - 12 Chefs Compete Part 2". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 7. Episode 5.
- ↑ (June 12, 2012). "Episode 1004 - 15 Chefs Compete". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 10. Episode 4.
- ↑ (March 9, 2016). "Episode 1509 - 10 Chefs Again". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 15. Episode 9.
- ↑ (October 7, 2016). "Episode 1603 - The Yolks on Them". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 16. Episode 3.