12 Chefs Compete (HK Canada)

The first episode of Season 1 of Hell's Kitchen Canada aired on CBC TV, on June 6, 2007. On that episode, the chefs were introduced, the teams were divided, and one team completely broke down during dinner service.

## Intro

The season and series begin with the narrator giving a short biography of Gordon Ramsay mentioning his flagship restaurant Savoy, and his perfectionism and temper. Then, the narrator revealed that Ramsay would be going to Canada to find one top chef out of twelve contestants, with the grand prize of winning their own restaurant. A preview of that Season’s moments was then shown.

In Toronto, Ontario, the twelve contestants arrived in Hell's Kitchen and celebrated with a champagne glass and getting to know each other. Although each of them was from different parts of Canada and had different levels of skill, they all shared cooking as their main passion. Nathan talked about how he was a fan of the American Hell's Kitchen, and was excited to have a version of it in his own country. Annabelle boasted that she, being the only French-Canadian on the show, had more class and cooking expertise than the other contestants. George then said that he had more than 20 years of experience in the kitchen, and that this competition would be easy. Then, Maître D’ Jean-Philippe and Sous Chefs Danica and Brooks greeted them, and Brooks revealed that they would test them on how a restaurant ran, Danica revealed that their first test began now.

## Signature Dish Challenge

Per Ramsay’s request, the twelve contestants had 45 minutes to cook their signature dishes which represented themselves on a plate. As the contestants started cooking, Sara mentioned that she was eager to show Chef Ramsay what she was capable of. Pastry chef Rachel said that she wanted to expand her knowledge of cooking. Bartender Olivia worried that she wouldn't know what to do, since this was her first time working in a large kitchen. Alexander mentioned that he didn't want to get too cocky and overestimate his cooking ability. Eventually, the contestants had their dishes cooked and plated on time, and all of them were covered in silver domes.

Ramsay came down from his office, introduced himself, and randomly picked Alexander's tonkatsu pork chop with fried rice first. He said that the dish tasted nice, something Alexander was very pleased to hear. Then, Ramsay said that Audrey's garlic parmesan grilled chicken and baked zucchini was poorly plated but nicely cooked, and called Joseph's chicken casserole dreadful. Annabelle was the fourth person to have her dish judged, but her pan seared duck breasts were overcooked and dry. Afterwards, Nathan's sushi rolls were criticized for being bland, to which Nathan said that Ramsay didn't know about sushi, to which Ramsay responded that Nathan wouldn't know about competing if he talked back again, and the latter quietly walked back in line. After seeing the harsh critiques, Sara was nervous when her dish was chosen next. When Ramsay asked her when she learned to cook, she responded by saying that she had taken a passion for cooking at a young age. After tasting her sweet and sour pork, he said that her passion showed itself in her dish. When it was Nick's turn, Ramsay questioned his choice to make a BLT, something that doesn't take very long to cook, and said that it was dissapointing. The eighth dish was revealed to be Rachel's, who told Ramsay that she hopes her dish is good. However, Ramsay said that her tortellini with red sauce tasted terrible, leaving Rachel disappointed. Then, Ramsay tried George's lobster roll with fries, and while the lobster was nice, the fries were soggy and unseasoned. After Ryan's jalapeno meatloaf with cheese sauce was criticized for being too spicy, Olivia's cheese ravioli with lemon butter was up. Ramsay praised it for tasting delicious and being presented nicely, and said it was the best dish of the night. Finally, Madison's roasted turkey was raw, and the side salad had too much dressing on it.

## Teams

After the challenge, Ramsay commented on how there wasn't much promise from the contestants, but since he was going to uphold his promise of turning one of them into a master chef, he asked them not to embarrass him. Then, Ramsay reminded the twelve about the grand prize, their own restaurant, but warned them that if they screwed him, they would be history. After, the teams were built. The men were put on the blue team, and would be working with Sous Chef Brooks. The women were put on the red team, and would be working with Sous Chef Danica. Once the teams were formed, Ramsay told the contestants to be prepared for anything.

After, the Sous Chefs led the contestants to the dorms, with Brooks adding on that Ramsay wanted them in the kitchen in thirty minutes. Ryan says that he is ready to compete, and wished that Ramsay would hurry up. Then, they all changed into their respective jackets and walked back to the kitchen.

## Before service

Once everybody was downstairs, Ramsay reminded them about what he said about being prepared for anything, before announcing that Hell’s Kitchen was opening that night. At the end of service, there would be a losing team, and one person leaving with their dream with them.

As prep began, Madison was determined not to be sent home that night, and Ryan wanted to go into service knowing what to do. When Nick needed help preparing some food, Joseph commented that the former was a weak chef, and wouldn't last far in the competition. Then, Rachel said that she'd given up everything to pursue her cooking career, and that the competition meant a lot to her.

With only 15 minutes until the doors opened, Ramsay called it a big night, before reminding them that good food is required for a good service, and vice versa. Audrey and Ryan were assigned as waiters and would work with Jean-Philippe in the dining room, although the former said that she could have been a greater help to her team more in the kitchen than in the dining room.

## Dinner service

After Audrey and Ryan waited on their first tables, the latter sent up his first ticket to Ramsay. However, Alexander was the only one to respond to Ramsay’s order while his teammates stood in silence, and Ramsay was forced to call it out again after calling it pathetic. Audrey handed her ticket over to Jean-Philippe, but he told her to give it to Ramsay. In the red kitchen, Annabelle didn't want to fuck up the first ticket, but her risotto was mushy and bland. Ramsay immediately trashed it, and Annabelle had to start over while feeling humiliated.

One hour after opening, no food had left the kitchen, and Ryan’s table was getting impatient while he tried to go to the pass for an estimated time. In the blue kitchen, Nathan sent undercooked risotto up to the pass, and Ramsay called him out for it. Eventually, Ryan’s table got tried of waiting and walked out of the dining room, after which Ramsay told the blue team to pick up the pace.

One hour and 30 minutes into service, the red diners were receiving appetizers and were onto entrées. When Sara sent dry lamb to the pass, Ramsay threw it across the kitchen, and berated her for sending it up when she knew it was dry and told her to redo the whole table over. Sara said that Ramsay scared the shit out of her, and she didn't want to fuck up again. Meanwhile, the blue kitchen was still stuck on appetizers. When Nathan tried communicating with George, he got no response, leading the former to send up spaghetti when the latter was still cooking his lobster. When George sent his lobster up to the pass, it was raw, and George threw it out instead of refiring it, causing Ramsay to yell at him.

Two hours into dinner service, service was running way worse than Ramsay expected, and neither team was sending out entrées. In the red kitchen, Annabelle sent up her refired risotto, but the rice was burnt, and Ramsay told her to get a grip. Olivia, not wanting the team to fall behind any further, helped her cook the risotto again, and it got accepted. In the blue kitchen, Joseph sent scallops up to the pass, but they were rubbery. While he started them over, George sent up his second attempt at his lobster tail. However, it was overcooked. Joseph's refired scallops weren't much better, as they were raw. When Ramsay shouted at him, Joseph protested, claiming that the scallops were perfectly cooked. Alexander asked if the latter was out of his mind, as everyone else knew the scallops were raw.

Three hours into dinner service, the red team had finished their appetizers and was sending out entrées at a steady pace. They received their last ticket, and Rachel was making sure that everyone was in sync. Thanks to the team's effort, their last table was sent out, and Ramsay congratulated the red team for finishing service. The same could not be said about the blue team, who had only sent out a few appetizers during the whole night, and whose diners were starting to leave. Joseph came up to the pass with his third attempt at scallops, but they were, once again, raw. Ramsay had seen enough, and kicked the entire team out of the kitchen, calling for the women to finish the remaining tables, which they did.

## Post-mortem

Chef Ramsay said that the blue team, thanks to their disastrous performance on appetizers, were easily the losers of that night's service, and were told to nominate two individuals for elimination. He also said that the red team, despite a slow start and a few minor setbacks, did well during service, and told them that he wanted to see the strength and energy they showed tonight in every service from this point forward. Olivia was relieved that their team did well, as she was anxious about her team losing on their first night, and Madison said that the blue team should feel ashamed for performing so poorly.

Back in the dorms, the men discussed amongst themselves who they should nominate. The whole team agreed that Joseph fucked up the worst that night, although the latter believed that he did fine, and pointed the finger on Nathan for sending up undercooked risotto earlier that night. Nathan took responsibility for his mistakes, but claimed that George's failure to communicate with his teammates stalled the team.

## Elimination

Alexander named Joseph as the team's first nominee, and George as their second. During their pleas, Joseph said that he was a strong competitor who had what it takes to win, while George said that he had experience and would bounce back after tonight. In the end, Ramsay eliminated Joseph for performing poorly and refusing to own up to his mistakes. During his exit interview, Joseph said that Ramsay made a mistake eliminating him, and said that the blue team would struggle without him.

Before dismissing the chefs, Ramsay said that he wouldn't tolerate any performance as pathetic as tonight's, and told the blue team to step up their game. George said that he dodged a bullet, and can't afford to screw up again. Nick hoped that the team could pull themselves together, and said that the weak chefs would inevitably be eliminated. Annabelle warned the men that the red team was coming for them, and that they'd better watch out.

Ramsay's comment: "A chef that can't hold themselves accountable for their actions has no place as the leader of a new restaurant, and that's why Joseph's time here is done."