Protein Identification Challenge

Protein Identification Challenge
Season 22's blue team competing in the challenge.
Gameplay
Type	Team Challenge
Seasons Used	Season 11 Season 13 Season 16 Season 19 Season 22

The Protein Identification Challenge is a recurring challenge in Hell's Kitchen.

Overview

Done during the team format, the chefs have to try and guess what the proteins were in a dish in front of them by tasting it. Then, they would grab the protein they think is the right one, and Ramsay would tell them if they got it right or wrong. The team with the fastest time is declared the winner.

Beginning with Season 16, Ramsay updated the challenge so the chefs had to work with surf and turf dishes. That meant the chefs had to correctly guess two proteins per dish, and Ramsay would not tell them what the correct proteins were if they got the answer half right.

This challenge tests how well the chefs can identify a protein masked by different flavors, and how quickly they can do it.

History

Season 11

Episode 5 marked the first time this challenge happened, when there were 16 chefs left, with 8 on both teams. Ramsay asked the teams to form pairs, and made five dishes for them to taste, which were turkey meatballs, chicken tacos, duck enchiladas, veal chop, and swordfish & chips. The blue team went first, and finished with a time of 10 minutes and 33 seconds, while the red team finished with a time of 6 minutes and 56 seconds. The red team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a day at the beach in Malibu, while the blue team was punished by baking bread by hand.

Season 13

In episode 5, the challenge happened when there were 14 chefs left, with 7 on both teams. Ramsay asked the teams to guess five dishes, which were turkey parmesan, calamari chowder, elk lasagna, alligator chili, and duck potstickers. The red team went first and finished with a time of 7 minutes and 41 seconds, while the blue team finished with a time of 7 minutes and 7 seconds. The blue team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a day at the Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica, while the red team was punished with taking deliveries of pizza ingredients, hand grating cheese, and drinking a protein shake.

Season 16

In episode 4, the challenge happened when 15 chefs were remaining, with 8 on the red team, and 7 on the blue team. This season updated the rules to have the chefs guess surf and turf dishes. The red team went first and finished with a time of 13 minutes, while the blue team finished with a time of 8 minutes. The blue team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a flow rider experience at The Wave House in San Diego, while the red team was punished by making sausages by hand, and eating a disgusting meal.

Season 19

In episode 7, the challenge happened when 11 chefs were remaining, with 6 on the red team, and 5 on the blue team. This season kept the challenges from the previous season. The red team went first and finished with a time of 8 minutes and 46 seconds, but the blue team failed to finish fast enough and ran out the clock. Because of that, the red team won the challenge and they had a flow riding experience on top of the Planet Hollywood roof. The blue team had to deshell crabs and prep them for crab cakes for that night’s service.

Season 22

In episode 5, the challenge happened when 15 chefs were remaining, with 8 on the red team, and 7 on the blue team. This season kept the challenges from the previous two seasons. The red team went first and finished with a time of 13 minutes and 14 seconds, while the blue team finished with a time of 6 minutes and 39 seconds. The blue team won the challenge and received an axe throwing experience with Ramsay. Also, Dahmere received a Vitamix blender due to being the best axe thrower of the group. The red team took in deliveries of Alaskan salmon and fileted them for the following service.

Trivia

• In four of the five seasons this challenge was used, the team that performed second always won.
• Season 19's red team is the first team to win the challenge after going up first and the only one to date to do so.
• The blue team has won this challenge the most with three seasons.