(Personas) Episode 1 - 18 Chefs Compete

The first episode of Hell's Kitchen: Personas was published on May 8, 2020. On that episode, 4 people scored perfect in the Signature Dish challenge, egos flared on one team, and one chef is eliminated after almost quitting.

## Intro

Chefs are challenged to cook their signature dishes after a proof of commitment. The song in the intro has been changed to "Trust" by Half Moon Run.

## Signature Dish Challenge

First up are Lukas and Tia. Lukas' dish is way overcooked, so gets a 1. Tia's is cooked perfectly and scores a 4, leaving the score 4-1 to the women. Next up are Louis and Chantelle. Louis' is cooked nicely but slightly salty, so scores a 3. Chantelle's is deemed "truly amazing" and scores the first 5 of the evening, leaving the score at 9-4 to the women. Next up are Nella and Josiah. Nella's scores a 3 for being a solid effort, but when Ramsay tastes Josiah's, he is impressed beyond belief and gives the next 5 to him, bringing the score to 12-9. Next up are Scarlet and Eddie. Scarlet's scores a 2 for having too much vinegar, while Eddie's scores 4 points for having a perfect mid-rare, leaving the score at 14-13 for the women. Next up are Ali and Sonny. Ali's is spat out by Chef Ramsay, and given a 1, but Sonny's is given a 3 for having nice seasoning, leaving the score at 16-15 for the men. Next up is Christa and Cory. Christa gets a 2 for her dish being boring, while Cory gets a 3 for a solid effort, leaving the score at 19-17 for the men. Next up are Karie and Norm. Norm's is deemed the worst dish of the night, and is spat out, scoring a measly 1. Karie’s is deemed the dish that brought his taste buds back, so scores a 4, leaving the score at 21-20 for the women. Next up are Robin and Halle. Halle's is given a 4 for a perfect temperature, while Robin's gets a 3 for the messy presentation, bringing the score to 25-23 for the women. Last up are Chas and Lilly. Chas' dish gets the next perfect 5 for being bold and flavourful, meaning Lilly needs at least 4 to win. Lilly's dish is deemed stunning, and also gets a perfect 5, winning it for the women with 30-28.

## Reward

The women were rewarded with a trip to Catalina Island with Ramsay on board a yacht. Halle was thrilled that the women clinched the first victory, and Nella said she almost felt bad for the guys, who were botched by two of their teammates. During the reward, Tia commented on how Chef Ramsay was a different person outside of Hell's Kitchen, and the women toasted to Lilly's perfect dish knocking the Blue Team out of the park.

Later that day, the women went zip lining, which Chantelle called the best as she took in the view, but when Nella went, she got stuck halfway through due to her small size, much to Chantelle and Lilly's amusement. Nella eventually got helped to make it the rest of the way, and Halle called it a great bonding experience.

## Punishment

The men were punished with having to set up the dorms. Throughout the experience, Eddie continually puts Lukas down for overcooking his dish, to which Chas, despite hating losing, says that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable. At some point, Eddie becomes so aggressive towards Lukas that he drops the mattresses and stands up close and personal, forcing Josiah and Sonny to step in and stop them. Sonny calls Eddie a whiny bitch, but Josiah tries his damnedest to calm the Blue Team down, saying that this fighting was not going to help them win anything.

## Before Service

The chefs find their chef's jackets and recipe books, before they start to settle into the dorms. Most of the Red Team are studying, with the exception of Halle, Nella and Scarlet (Halle because of the men distracting her, Nella because she'd passed out from exhaustion, and Scarlet because she's believing she'll pick it up quickly), but only Louis, Chas, Josiah and Lukas are studying, even working together on it, because Eddie, Sonny and Cory are drinking, while Norm and Robin are flirting with Halle. Josiah comments on how the Blue Team are likely going to fail tomorrow if they don't get their shit together, and Lukas notes how he has to redeem himself after overcooking his signature dish.

The next day, both teams began prepping for opening night, and after coming downstairs, the Sous Chefs handed the chefs their own knife set from Henkels. The women went into prep feeling confident, with Halle quickly picking up the recipes and techniques, thanks to some help from Lilly. However, the four men who were studying found themselves having to babysit the hungover teammates, especially Cory, who commented on how bad an idea it was to drink.

After prep, Chef Ramsay lined the teams up, and told them that he would not tolerate an incomplete service, and that if he would have to kick everyone out, he would. He asked Cory what the entrees were, but he struggled to remember. The four who were working together the whole night raised their hands, so Ramsay asked Josiah, and he was able to list them off without stammering. Chas mentioned how this was not good, as half the team didn't know the menu properly. With Josiah giving Ramsay some hope, Chef Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell's Kitchen.

## Dinner Service

### Stations

A special dim sum platter will be served tableside by Chantelle and Tia for the Red Kitchen, and Sonny and Josiah for the Blue Team. The first order comes in, and Norm sends his risotto to the pass. Ramsay brings it back and calls the rice bullets. He demands Norm put it back on, so he does. He brings it to the pass again, but Ramsay claims that the rice is mush. Lukas says that Norm is sinking his station, and this is not good, as he wants to redeem himself. Meanwhile, in the Red Kitchen, Halle is on appetisers, and she says that tonight is her time to shine. She sends her risotto to the pass, and Ramsay calls it stunning, and sends it out. Ramsay tells Halle that the bar has been raised, and she better not drop it. Meanwhile, in the Blue Kitchen, Norm decides to turn up the heat to make the risotto cook faster. Chas notices this and says that this is a bad idea, and Lukas calls him an amateur while trying to get him to turn it down. Norm sends his risotto up, but Ramsay notices the burnt bits on the bottom, and calls Norm a donkey, before kicking him out. Lukas immediately jumps on and gives Louis a time, and says that he hopes he can recover from this. He sends his risotto up, and Ramsay calls it delicious, and thanking Lukas.

Meanwhile, in the Red Kitchen, Ramsay asks the fish station how long for the scallops. Ali responds that they need 20 seconds. She sends them up, but Ramsay notes how rubbery the scallops are, and demonstrates by bouncing it. Ali then says to Scarlet that she asked if they were okay. Instead of doing anything, Scarlet just watches Ali, and Christa notices this and calls Scarlet lazy. Ramsay notices Scarlet just standing around and asks her about the importance of teamwork. She doesn't respond. He then explains to her that without teamwork, communication, good leadership, and helping others, the dishes will not be cooked in a timely manner, and all the dishes would not be brought to the pass at the same time. He then demands that Scarlet help Ali out. Meanwhile, in the Blue Kitchen, Chas asks Eddie for a time, but he doesn't respond. Ramsay then asks for a time, and Eddie says right now, and sends his garnish up to the pass. Chas sends his Wellingtons up to the pass, and Ramsay calls them beautifully cooked. He then tastes the garnish and brings it back. He berates Eddie for overseasoning it. Eddie talks back to Ramsay, but Ramsay quickly shuts him down, tells him to shut the fuck up, and refire. Chas sarcastically calls Eddie a humble man, considering that he talked back to Ramsay when the team was in enough shit as is. Chas goes over to the garnish station and calmly tells Eddie to calm down and cook it right.

In the Red Kitchen, they have now moved on to entrees. Karie asks Ali how long for the salmon. Ali doesn't respond. Ramsay comes over and asks how long. Karie responds 3 minutes, while Ali responds 1 minute. Ramsay is left in dismay, and tells them to start talking. Karie is frustrated by this, claiming that she was trying to talk to them. Ali agrees to drag her fish so Karie can catch up, and they send it up at the same time. However, the fish is overcooked, and Ramsay berates them for not working together. Meanwhile, in the Blue Kitchen, Cory sends up a salmon, but Ramsay brings it back, claiming its rawer than sushi, and asks if they're at a sushi joint. He demands Cory put it back on, and he does. He expresses frustration, and Louis tries to keep him calm, claiming that Cory was on the brink of losing it. He sends it up again, but this time it's overcooked, and Ramsay demands a refire. Cory gets fed up and walks out. Louis freaks out, asks Lukas to watch his station, and runs after Cory, and manages to convince him to come back on the line. Lukas sends the fish up, and Ramsay accepts it. Meanwhile, Chantelle comes to the pass and asks Ramsay if he wants her to help in the kitchen. Ramsay says it's an excellent idea, so Chantelle comes into the kitchen and asks where she's needed. Lilly points her towards the fish station, and Chantelle goes straight over. Ali accepts the help, but Scarlet says she's fine, to which Chantelle says that she's delusional. She sends the fish up, and Ramsay says it's cooked perfectly, and thanks Chantelle.

The Blue Team is struggling, and Cory and Eddie send their components up. Ramsay comes back, says that the salmon is overcooked, and that the garnish is undercooked. He gets fed up, and kicks Cory, Louis and Eddie out of the kitchen. In response, Chas jumps on garnish, and Josiah runs into the kitchen and jumps on the fish station. Meanwhile, in the Red Kitchen, they send their final order out, and rush into the Blue Kitchen to help out. Robin is frustrated by this, but Chas tells him to calm down, and they finish the service.

## Post-Mortem

After Chef Ramsay lines up the teams, he congratulates the Red Team for their strong service, and telling the Blue Team how much they failed. He asks for 2 nominees from the Blue Team, before telling them to fuck off, and congratulating the women again.

During deliberation, Eddie mentions Cory walking off the line in the middle of service, despite coming back, and Sonny recalls how if someone walked off the line in real life, they'd never go back on. Cory accepts his nomination and apologises, before mentioning Norm's poor performance on the appetisers, and Lukas seconds it, saying he had to jump in and help him cook the risotto, despite being swarmed with spaghetti orders. Norm begins to back-talk a bit, and points out how Eddie squared off with the chef. Chas seconded that, saying that his behaviour embarrassed him, Ramsay and the whole team. Eddie got defensive and accused Robin of confusing him, but Chas retorted, saying that you don't need total silence to tell when spinach tasted like shit. Eddie called it bullshit that he's going up over one incident.

## Elimination

Lukas announced Cory as the first nominee, and Eddie as the second. Chef Ramsay agrees with the decision, but also calls Norm forward for his poor performance on appetisers. During their pleas, Cory apologised for walking off the line and promised that he would never do something like that again, Norm said that he can learn from his mistakes and that the appetiser melt down was not the reason the kitchen went down, and Eddie said that he only had one fuck-up tonight and admitted he shouldn't have gotten so defensive about it. Chef Ramsay calls Eddie forward, only to send him back in line, then eliminating Cory for giving up and almost quitting. During his exit interview, Cory said that he hated to be the first going, but admitted that walking off the line was inexcusable.

After Cory left, Ramsay told Norm to bounce back in the next service, before sending him back in line. Ramsay noted how the Blue Team were dysfunctional, and needed to grow together a bit more if they wanted to win dinner service. While being dismissed, Eddie thought it bullshit that he were nominated over Norm, and was glad that Ramsay saw through the façade, Josiah expressed concern about Eddie as he could cause some toxicity amongst the men, and Chantelle said she was glad that the Red Team pulled together that night.

Ramsay's comment: "If a chef so chooses to run away, I make sure they never come running back, and that's why Cory is now out of these doors."