The Service Challenge is a recurring challenge in Hell's Kitchen.
Overview[]
In some cases, Ramsay would open Hell's Kitchen for a service other than dinner, breakfast, and lunch mainly, and have both teams compete against each other to serve their dishes out. The team that would serve all their tickets out first would be declared the winner.
The main purpose of this challenge is to test the chefs' communication and teamwork skills, hoping the momentum would be kept during dinner services.
History[]
Season 2[]
Episode 4 marked the first time this challenge happened, when 8 chefs were remaining, with 4 on each team. Known as the Lunch Service Challenge, both teams had to serve a dining room full of children, with typical lunch items, including burgers, pizza, pasta, and French fries. After the service, Ramsay revealed he asked every child to rate the food on a 1-10 scale. In the end, the blue team won with a score of 9.85 out of 10, compared to the red team's 9.84. The blue team was rewarded with a day to an amusement park in Santa Monica Beach, while the red team had to clean the dining room.[1]
Season 3[]
Episode 3 had the challenge when 10 chefs were remaining, with 5 chefs on each team. Known as the Army and Navy Service Challenge, Ramsay had both teams serve breakfast to the Army and Navy. The blue team served the Navy while the red team served the Army. Thanks to Julia's leadership, the red team finished their service way before the blue team did, and Ramsay sent Julia over to help the men complete service. The red team went on a helicopter ride and had lunch with Ramsay on the USS Midway while the blue team was forced to do KP duty, which included prepping a thousand pounds of potatoes and onions.[2]
Season 5[]
Episode 4 had the challenge when 13 chefs were remaining, with 7 on the red team and 6 on the blue team. Known as the Football Team & Cheerleaders Breakfast Service Challenge, Ramsay had both teams serve breakfast to the Pacific youth football league and cheer team. The blue team served the football team while the red team served the cheer team. While the blue team had a good lead, Seth's scrambled egg shortage slowed them down, allowing the red team to catch up and win the challenge. The red team went to Beverly Wilshire Hotel for a camping experience while the blue team had to clean up the dining room, both kitchens, and prep them for that night’s service.[3]
Season 6[]
Episode 3 also had the challenge when 13 chefs were remaining, with 7 on the red team and 6 on the blue team. Known as the Firefighter Pasta Meal Service Challenge, both teams had to serve a pasta meal to the firefighters that included Chicken Alfredo, Meatball Marinara, and a garlic bread appetizer. In a close finish, the red team got their last ticket out and won the challenge. The red team rode a helicopter to the Pacific Waters Spa while the blue team had to clean the firefighters' engines and clean the dining area.[4]
Season 7[]
Episode 3 also had the challenge when 13 chefs were remaining, with 7 on the red team and 6 on the blue team. Known as the Marching Band Lunch Service Challenge, both teams had to serve lunch to the marching band of the University of Southern California. In a close finish, the red team got their last ticket out and won the challenge. The red team rode in vintage cars to the Malibu Beach Inn and played soccer with Ramsay and his family while the blue team had to clean a section of the Los Angeles River to help the Heal the Bay organization while wearing yellow jumpsuits.[5]
Season 8[]
Episode 3 had the challenge when 13 chefs were remaining, with 7 on the blue team and 6 on the red team. Known as the Paramedic Service Challenge, both teams had to serve breakfast to a dining room of paramedics. The red team finished way before the blue team could serve their first ticket due to the men showcasing poor teamwork, and Ramsay had the red team help the blue team. The red team visited Santa Monica's Viceroy Hotel to attend trapeze school and had lunch with Ramsay while the blue team had to clean both of the kitchens and polish the stemware.[6]
Season 9[]
Episode 3 had the challenge when 15 chefs were remaining, with 8 on the red team, and 7 on the blue team. Known as the Mommy & Me Lunch Service Challenge, both teams had to serve lunch to mothers and their children, with the menu consisting of pasta and chicken quesadilla for the children, and a Panini sandwich with naan bread for the mothers. Additionally, both teams had to serve the children first before the mothers. Thanks to Natalie's leadership, the blue team was able to complete their tickets before the red team could, and they won the challenge. The blue team was rewarded with a day and lunch at Medieval Times, as well receiving sword fighting lessons, while the red team was forced to clean up the dining room, prepping both kitchens for the Family Night dinner service, and set up a playground for the children.[7]
Season 10[]
Episode 3 had the challenge when 16 chefs were remaining, with 9 on the red team and 7 on the blue team. Known as the Immigrant Service Challenge, both teams had to serve an All-American lunch to 60 immigrants who became U.S. citizens, with the menu consisting of a California Cobb salad appetizer, Nebraska beef sliders, thin New York-style pizza, and Wisconsin grilled cheese sandwich. The red team won the challenge and had to help the blue team, who were three tables behind. The red team went on a safari trip in San Diego, while the blue team did hard labor at the Ballona Wetlands.[8]
Season 11[]
Episode 4 had the challenge when 17 chefs were remaining, with 9 on the red team and 8 on the blue team. Known as the HK3K Service Challenge, both teams had to serve lunch to a dining room of marathon runners for childhood obesity awareness. Also, Ramsay had Dan from the blue team and Mary from the red team join the marathon runners in the race and both teams could not serve their dishes until their teammate came back. Despite the blue team having a strong head start after Dan came back, Zach’s stumble on salmon slowed them down. That allowed the red team to catch up quickly and win the challenge. The red team flew in a private jet to Temecula Valley's Wine Country for wine tasting and making, while the blue team had to clean up the HK3K course and prep both kitchens for their next dinner service.[9]
Season 13[]
Episode 4 had the challenge when 15 chefs were remaining, with 8 on the blue team and 7 on the red team. Known as the Brunch Service Challenge, both teams had to serve brunch to a dining room of culinary student graduates. After a close-knitted service, the red team managed to serve their final ticket first and win the challenge. The red team flew to San Francisco and ate at Chef Dominique Cren’s restaurant, Alteller Cren, while the blue team had to grind chorizo sausages for the next service.[10]
Season 14[]
Episode 6 had the challenge when 13 chefs were remaining, with 7 on the blue team and 6 on the red team. Known as the Firefighter Service Challenge, both teams had to serve lunch to a dining room of firefighters that were in the middle of a charity run. Despite both teams struggling on the chicken sandwiches, the blue team managed to bounce back quicker, and they won the challenge. The blue team went on a tour at the Malibu vineyard which included a safari tour, and dinner, while the red team had to detail the fire engines outside the front entrance, and prep 400 chicken wings for the following service.[11]
Season 18[]
Episode 3 had the challenge when 15 chefs were remaining, with 8 on the veterans' team and 7 on the rookies' team. Known as the Marines Service Challenge, both teams had to serve lunch to a dining room of marines with the dishes representing the air (chicken parmesan), land (New York steak), and sea (fish & chips). After a close-knitted service, the rookies managed to serve their final ticket first and win the challenge. The rookies were rewarded with a trip to Paramount Ranch and got to star in their own Western film, while the veterans were punished by prepping squid for that night's service. However, Bret used his punishment pass to join the rookies.[12]
Season 19[]
Episode 4 had the challenge when 14 chefs were remaining, with eight on the red team and six on the blue team. Known as the Wedding Brunch Service Challenge, both teams had to serve all 30 couples after they finished their weddings. The red team won the challenge after a last minute mistake by the blue team on the final ticket. They were rewarded with a trip to Lake Tahoe, while the blue team had to make 600 cupcakes from scratch.[13]
Season 20[]
Episode 4 had this challenge when 15 chefs were remaining, with eight on the red team and seven on the blue team. Known as the Paris Hotel Brunch Service Challenge, both team had to serve brunch to a dining room full of staff from the Paris Hotel and Casino. The red team narrowly won the challenge on the final ticket and were rewarded with a private jet tour of the Las Vegas Strip, the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam along with a staycation at the Planet Hollywood Spa, while the blue team were forced to make 600 boxes full of pastries. However, Steve used his punishment pass to join the red team while choosing Brynn to take his place in the punishment with the blue team.[14]
Season 21[]
Episode 5 had this challenge when 14 chefs were remaining, with seven on each team. This challenge was known as the Emergency Worker Breakfast Service Challenge. Both teams had to serve a room full of firefighters, police officers, and first responders. The red team won the challenge and were rewarded with living on a mansion while blue team sorted out trash.[15]
Season 22[]
Episode 3 had this challenge when 17 chefs were remaining, nine on the red team and eight on the blue team. Known as the American Citizen Brunch Service Challenge, both teams had to serve immigrants who just became American citizens. The blue team won the service and were rewarded with a pool party in Hollywood while the red team had to clean up the confetti.[16]
Trivia[]
- The red team has won this challenge the most in 12 seasons.[2][3][4][5][6][8][9][10][12][13][14][15]
- Since Season 2, this challenge was not used in Seasons 4, 12, 15, 16, and 17.
- Season 2 is the only one that did not use feeding their diners first to win the challenge.
- Robert (Seasons 5 and 6), Kevin (Seasons 6 and 18), Trev (Seasons 8 and 18), and T (Seasons 14 and 18) are the only chefs to compete in this challenge that lost both times in their runs.[3][4][6][11][12]
Gallery[]
.png "Lunch Service (Season 2).png (303 KB)")
.png "Army and Navy Service (Season 3).png (272 KB)")
.png "Football Team & Cheerleaders Breakfast Service (Season 5).png (244 KB)")
.png "Firefighter Service (Season 6).png (345 KB)")
.png "Marching Band Lunch Service (Season 7).png (311 KB)")
.png "Paramedic Service (Season 8).png (278 KB)")
.png "Mommy & Me Lunch Service (Season 9).png (419 KB)")
.png "Immigrant Service (Season 10).png (284 KB)")
.png "HK3K Service (Season 11).png (321 KB)")
.png "Brunch Service (Season 13).png (356 KB)")
.png "Firefighter Service (Season 14).png (333 KB)")
.png "Marines Service (Season 18).png (1.24 MB)")
.png "Wedding Brunch Service (Season 19).png (395 KB)")
.png "Paris Hotel Brunch Service (Season 20).png (1.19 MB)")
.png "Emergency Worker Breakfast Service (Season 21).png (950 KB)")
.png "American Citizen Brunch Service (Season 22).png (1.83 MB)")