Episode 15: The Game Is Afoot

Following the reveal of the Black Jackets Ramsey announced the rules to the remaining contestants, the chefs would cook over five rounds with each round having it's own theme and that two chefs would be eliminated by the end of it leaving only five Black Jackets remaining, he told the chefs that the challenge would officially begin first thing tomorrow morning an that they should get some rest.

The chefs were ecstatic as they returned to the dorms, Jazz was excited as the Black Jackets had been her goal from the beginning with her ultimate goal still being the last chef standing at the end, Zara was shocked that this was really happening because she thought she'd have no chance at the beginning but Troy assured her that she deserved it, Jamie, Steve and Max, as the oldest remaining chefs in the competition, where more reserved, wondering how they'd stack up against the younger talent in a high pressure environment but Jamie simply said "may the best old dog win" before the two men agreed.

## Challenge #1

The chefs were up early the next morning and headed straight downstairs, however before the challenge started Ramsey announced that he had flown in several guests in for the challenge, Jazz started to suspect something was up when it was mentioned that one of the guests was from her home city in Australia and her suspicions were confirmed when her family entered Hell's Kitchen providing a double whammy for her as not only was it the first time she had seen her parents since moving to the US but her sister Emily revealed that Jazz was an auntie to a niece and nephew.

Speaking of nieces the next person to be introduced was Jamie's niece Chelsea and her sister Sandra (leading Jazz to comment in her confession cam that Chelsea couldn't be more different appearance wise from Jamie if she tried) followed by Zara's boyfriend Justin and her dad Frank, Troy's girlfriend Adriana and his dad Hank, Steve's wife Maria and his daughter Lisa, Max's wife Heather and Kayla's husband Trevor, Ramsey then told the chefs that they would be dining with their families before the first challenge began with them each enjoying dishes made by Ramsey and the Sous Chefs.

Jazz suspected that there was more too this when she got the dishes, noting that it was a bit more complex than anything Ramsey has had them cook up to that point in the competition and that the dishes hadn't really been described despite each dish being delicious, sure enough it was time for the Taste It Now Make It Challenge but with the difficulty ramped up as the chefs had to recreate the three course meal using their palettes, by the end of the challenge each course was judged by the chefs and it ultimately came down to Jazz and Steve, with Jazz getting the first Black Jacket for managing to replicate the most elements from the dish.

### Challenge #2

The remaining chefs were tasked with presenting a dish that represented their journey up to that point, Zara planned to draw on her German heritage (through her mother's side) by making a pork schnitzel whilst Jamie planned to recreate the first dish that she ever learned how to make as a chef, whilst Max, Troy, Steve and Kayla had less clear plans for what dishes they planned to make.

In the end everyone made good dishes, including Steve making his first desert of the competition, but ultimately Ramsey awarded two Black Jackets, one to Zara for her perfectly executed Pork Schnitzel and the other to Troy for his seafood platter being cooked beautifully, Jazz happily greeted them both as the two Southerners joined her in the Black Jacket lounge but expressed surprise at the faced that Jamie hadn't received a Black Jacket yet.

### Challenge #3

With only two Black Jackets remaining Ramsey told the remaining chefs that the next challenge would be based around Italian Cuisine, the four remaining chefs did well in the challenge but it was Jamie's risk of doing an egg yolk ravioli that paid off in the end as she received the third black jacket though Max, Kayla and Steve all produced strong efforts.

Jamie joined the other three chefs in the Black Jacket lounge and admitted that she had missed cooking alongside Jazz and Zara, Jazz responded with the joking question of whether she missed that or not getting her ass kicked in service to which Jamie said "no comment" with a laugh, Jazz then realized that Jamie was no longer the only aunt in the competition, admitting that the only reason she didn't know about her niece and nephew was because being a fine dining chef had taken up all of her time which Jamie sympathized with, knowing that there was a lot of sacrifices involved in this line of work even when your family lived in the same country as you, when asked by Zara she confirmed that yes, Chelsea was the Black Sheep of the family but was still a smart girl.

### Challenge 4

With one last Black Jacket on the line Max, Steve and Kayla faced off in a battle of Asian Cuisine, something that none of them were familiar with, Max decided to do his own version of Jazz's Korean Fried Chicken Platter from earlier in the season whilst Steve attempted Egg Fried Rice and Kayla did Miso Marinaded Cod.

Once time was up Ramsey tasted all three dishes, it was a close call but Max won the final Black Jacket, eliminating Steve and Kayla from the competition.

Steve's elimination comment: *"When I came into the competition I knew I had a uphill battle against me, but nearly making it to the Black Jackets is a huge honor and my wife and daughter got to see me cooking for Chef Ramsey in person so I leave this competition with my head held high and who knows? Maybe I'll be back here someday!"*

Kayla's elimination comment: *"This competition has been a blast but it sucks that I just missed out on the Black Jackets, still, there's some serious competition in the Black Jackets this year and I don't envy Ramsey one bit trying to pick a winner from among those five! I'll be back, you'll see."*

Ramsey's elimination comment: N/A