Episode 101 - 18 Chefs Compete (Unown Realm)

The first episode of Season 1 of the Hell's Kitchen reboot series aired on NBC on April 8, 2033. In that episode, 18 Up Incoming Chefs arrive at Hell's Kitchen, meeting the staff, and cooking their signature dishes for their new head chef, Andrew Knox, and one chef is eliminated after failing to live up to their talk in dinner service.

## Intro:

The season and series begin with the narrator giving a short biography of Andrew Knox and his rise in the culinary world. It mentions his popular restaurants in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, and Nashville. Then, the narrator revealed Knox's culinary inspiration, Gordon Ramsay, helped Knox inspire for perfection in the kitchen, and it helped him become a success. It then pans to Knox explaining he was searching around the world for a chef who could be the next culinary giant, and to test these chefs, he was following in his inspiration's footsteps, declaring the gates of Hell were re-opened. A preview of that season's moments was shown, and the reward was revealed to be a chef's very own restaurant in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

In Las Vegas, Nevada, 18 chefs arrived at Hell's Kitchen. A series of memorable moments from the original series with Gordon Ramsay were shown before panning to the chefs. Doug described being in Hell's Kitchen an absolute dream, and he couldn't wait to show Knox what he was made of. Crystal revealed she had been frequently jailed in her teenage years, and learned to cook while in juvenile detention, she ended by saying she felt Knox would be blown away by her. Bri, who had entered the culinary world as a simple prep cook after graduating college, had explained after a few years, she was hired by a politician to be her chef, and from there, she kept advancing, Bri felt confident she would do well. Then, Maître D' Quincy and Sous Chefs Matt and Tina greeted them. Matt explained that Knox had brought them here for a reason, and that a culinary giant could be among them at the moment. Tina then declared their first challenge would be to create a dish that would impress Knox, sending the chefs into the kitchen to start.

## Signature Dish Challenge:

Sous Chef Matt explained that Knox had given them 45 minutes to prepare and cook their signature dishes, that way he could get a full grasp on the people he was working with. As the chefs started cooking, Doug described the feeling of cooking their dishes without warning as a claustrofuck, as everybody was flailing around the kitchen at high speed to get the dish finished. Carmen asked if anyone had a bottle of red wine, which Brenden said he had. Carmen then revealed that she was a stay at home mom who cooked for three children, and said if she could handle kids, she could handle Hell's Kitchen. Meanwhile, was shown nervous of his dish, and of his standing with the other chefs, as he was a culinary student still trying to learn more of the culinary world. Roy explained that he wanted his dish to be simple but tasty, as he was more of an old fashioned chef compared to the younger people there. Allison then revealed her time in cooking was short, only a year, in fact, but that motivation from both friends and family let her go into cooking and that working with Knox was a dream come true. Eventually, the contestants had their dishes cooked and plated on time, and they would be placed in silver domes.

Knox then came down from his office, introduced himself, and introduced the teams, which would be split into male and female, and that the first challenge would rank their signature dishes from a 1 to 5 scale, with a 5 being described as near perfection, and a 1 being something Knox wouldn't even serve to his pets. Lastly, he announced the prize: which would be the winner's own resteraunt in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He then called up Doug and Veronica to start the challenge. Veronica then revealed in a confessional that she had been bullied a lot when she was younger for being one of the shier kids in school, and one of the few places she felt happy after school was in the kitchen, and she hoped that love translated to Hell's Kitchen. Unfortunately, her Pan-fried halibut with wild mushrooms and gnocchi was deemed a mess by Knox, who liked the idea of the gnocchi, but said the mushrooms didn't work with the dish, and the halibut was overcooked, and he awarded Veronica a generous 2. With Allison hoping it wasn't a sign of things to come for the challenge. Doug then presented his dry-rub grilled pork chops with scalloped potatoes. Knox praised the dish for its good taste and perfect seasoning, and he awarded Doug a 4. Knox called up Kenny and Carmen second, hoping for a dish near perfection. Kenny then presented his filet mignon with sweet potato mash, but Knox immediately told Kenny to look the at dish, and told the latter it was raw, after that, Kenny swore under his breath, and Carmen gave a startled yikes. Knox also said the mash was lazy and simple, all of those combined for him to give Kenny a 1. This led to Barry shaking his head in the confessional. Carmen then presented her poached lobster tail with grilled mushrooms marinated in red wine sauce. Knox then told Carmen that her dish was 10 times better than Kenny's dish, but continued by saying 10 times 0 was still 0, and criticized the dish for being sloppy and having a weird sauce, and Knox gave Carmen a 2. Noah and Bri were next, with the former being nervous after the criticisms of Kenny's dish. He then presented his Maine Cod Cakes with Roasted Potato and Braised Daikon, and while Knox thought the idea was great, he was disgusted to see Noah's cod cakes were raw, and asked Noah if he was colorblind, with the latter saying he wasn't, Knox then gave the dish a 1. Bri presented her catfish with Cajun shrimp and grits, and Knox immediately said the dish was stunning, and told Bri she had cooked everything perfectly, giving her the first 5 of the challenge. The next pair was Joel and Stephanie, and the latter started with her Crispy Skin Salmon with lemon zest and mashed potato. Knox said while the dish wasn't something that would blow up the internet, he also added the dish wasn't bad, and he gave Stephanie a 3. Joel was next, and he then presented his Ancho Chile Tostado with Cilantro mint Aioli, which Knox called complex and smart, he then gave the dish a strong 4.

The fifth round was between Roy and Denise. Denise then presented her Beef Suya with ground peanuts, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Knox called it a weird dish, and that while it tasted good, the presentation was awful. He gave the dish a 3 because of it, saying he could've given Denise as high as a 5 if the presentation was better. Roy then presented his Red snapper with a salsa verde and roasted vegetable medley. He explained the medley consisted of carrots, Lima beans, and squash. Knox praised the dish for it's good taste and good cook, and he awarded Roy the second 5 of the challenge. The next pair was Brent and Charlee. Brent said in a confessional that getting anything less than 1st place in the competition would be humiliating and he knew he would win. However, his mussel capellini in a red garlic and basil sauce was harshly criticized for having crunchy spaghetti and disgusting sauce, and Knox gave the dish a 1, but said he would've given it a -5 if he could. Charlee then presented her Plancha-seared scallops with Sweet Corn Grits and a Peppadew Emulsion. Knox called it a smart dish and praised Charlee for not trying to win with her looks, and instead with her cooking. This comment made Charlee blush in the confessionals, as Knox gave the dish a 4. Round seven consisted of Barry and Candice. Candice kicked it off with her New York Strip with roasted carrots and sweet potato mash. Knox said the strip was cooked perfectly, but the garnish was horrible, as the carrots were bitter and the mash rock hard. He then gave the dish a 2, but only because of the steak. Barry was next with his sea bass with potato purée and creamy mushroom. Knox declared the dish delicious, and told Barry that he seemed to have the fit of a head chef rather than his experience of a culinary student. Knox then awarded the dish a 4, and Barry did a dance in the confessionals. Brenden and Allison were the second to last pair, and Brenden started with his pan-seared salmon with a cheese tomato relish and fruit-cucumber gratin. Knox said the dish was solid, but not anything special and he gave the dish a 3. Allison then presented her coriander-rubbed rack of lamb with french fries. Knox said the dish was something he'd declare comfort food, but that Allison made the dish work, and he gave her a 4. The final pair was Aaron and Crystal, Aaron then started with his pan-seared Halibut with some sauteed mushrooms and parsnip puree. Knox called the dish solid, and the puree tasty, he gave the dish a 4. Crystal was last with her ribeye with asparagus and wild mushrooms, needing a three to win or a two to tie. Thankfully, Knox said the ribeye was perfect despite the garnish being somewhat burnt, and he awarded Crystal a three, giving the ladies the victory.

## Reward:

The women were rewarded with dinner with Knox which would be prepared by the Sous Chefs. During dinner, Knox gave the ladies tips for the service which was tomorrow, and the ladies also gave backstories of their lives. Charlee said her father was killed when she was only 10, and that she got into a job when she was 14 to help her mother make ends meets. Veronica called Charlee ballsy, and hoped the red team would try to follow in the latter's footsteps. Allison then said she cooked to make a living for her and her girlfriend in Wisconsin. Allison then said she was proud to be a lesbian, and that the hatred she got from some of her family didn't matter to her.

## Punishment:

The men were punished by cleaning the kitchen and setting up the dorms. Roy was pissed that his 5 was for nothing, and Brenden yelled at Kenny for screwing them up, but Kenny deflected blame saying Noah also got a 1. Aaron told Noah not to panic over his performance as he could still improve, plus Kenny and Brent were just as much to blame as him, but Noah was still disappointed with himself. After the men finished, the women went to the dorms and Stephanie told the team to get a good night's sleep, as they were going to need it.

## Before Service:

Later that night, Sous Chef Matt came in with the chef's jackets and recipe books, telling the teams to study hard. Most of the red team were studying with the only exception being Bri, who had passed out and fell asleep before studying. The men on the other hand, were inconsistent as Brent decided not to study, belieiving he wouldn't need help from the recipe books, but Roy, Noah, Doug, Aaron, and Barry were studying, with Noah knowing he had to bounce back from his awful 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 felt confident after studying almost the entire night, but Bri was nervous as she had to catch up quicker since she didn't study the night before. Allison told Bri not to worry too much, and that being nervous would cost them in service. For the men, Roy decided to test Brent on the menu, but the former grew concerned when the latter kept messing up the recipes, he then asked Brent if he had even studied, and he replied no. Roy couldn't believe it, and he ranted in a confessional how if the blue team lost, he was gonna kill Brent.

After prep, Chef Knox lined the teams up, and told them while he knew this was only their first night, he wanted service to be near perfect, and said if he had to quick somebody out, he would do it without a second thought. He then asked Brent what the appetizers were, but he stammered and missed plenty of items. Meanwhile, the five men who studied had all raised their hands, and so Knox asked Noah to list off the menu, which he did with no problems. After feeling more confident after Noah's answer, Knox told Quincy to open Hell's Kitchen.

 Garnish
 Meat
 Fish
 Desert
 Tableside

## Dinner Service:

Along with the normal menu, Knox also arranged for a tableside appetizer of raw oysters to be served tableside by Joel for the blue team and Stephanie for the red team. On their first ticket, Brent bragged about risotto being one of the main dishes being cooked at his restaurant, and he felt Knox would like his method of cooking the risotto better than his own way. But when he sent up the risotto, Knox saw immediately that the rice was undercooked. He then told him to refire, but instead, Brent threw the order away and was about to start another order before Knox yelled at him for throwing away an order that only needed more heat. Meanwhile in the red kitchen, Bri sent up her first order of appetizers, which were accepted by Knox. But Carmen's scallops were undercooked, which frustrated Bri. Knox warned Carmen to wake up, and Stephanie said in a confessional that she was worried that Carmen was already a liability. In the blue kitchen, Brent sent his refired risotto, but this time it was overcooked, and Knox warned Brent he was ruining the pace of the kitchen. This especially frustrated Noah, whose scallops were cooked perfectly, and Doug who wanted the team to get to entrees to make up for the rough start on apps. Meanwhile in the red kitchen, Carmen's second scallop attempt was refired.

35 minutes into service, and the red team was getting appetizers out at a steady pace, whereas the men were still struggling. At one point, Joel asked Knox how many oyster orders there were, as he only had 3 left. Knox questioned why Joel only had that much, and Joel was also confused because he had enough oysters for about 100 orders before service. Knox then looked at the apps station, and saw Brent shucking oysters. Knox yelled at Brent and demanded what he was doing, and Brent explained it was for tableside, leading to Knox having to show Brent that wasn't his job and that he had wasted tons of oyster orders. Joel was infuriated and repeatedly told Brent he sucked in the confessionals. Knox then told Joel to suggest another app menu for them to order instead, as he told Brent to get off the section and wash dishes. It got worse when Knox saw three orders of risotto on the hot plate, burnt, 2 of which were cooked by Kenny and 1 by Brent. He then kicked both Kenny and Brent out of the kitchen, and delegated Noah to the apps station. Noah then sent an acceptable order of risotto, Knox thanked Noah for this. In the red kitchen, Bri asked Veronica for a time on her flatbread, and the latter replied with 3 minutes, and then Bri then told Carmen to fire her scallops in 1 minute. Later, the apps were accepted by Knox.

1 hour into service, and while the women had already started entrees, the men were still stuck on apps. Charlee then sent her New York Strip, followed by Allison with her wellington. Those, along with Crystal's garnish were accepted by Knox. Meanwhile, on the blue side, Aaron sent his first order of chicken to the pass. But it was raw, and Noah told Aaron to refire and keep it in longer. Aaron later sent up this refire, but now it was overcooked. Noah, frustrated, took over Aaron's station and sent a perfect chicken, but Barry's garnish was crunchy and under seasoned. Knox frustrated with the blue team's performance all night, kicked them out and sent the red team in to complete their service. Allison was proud of her team, saying that they kicked butt that night. Charlee was then seen asking Denise for a time on her sea bass, with the latter saying 4 minutes, which Charlee could match, when they sent the food to the pass, Knox accepted it, and the red team rode on to victory.

## Post Mortem:

After service, Knox lined up the teams and called it a tale of two kitchens, praising the red team while berating the blue team. But he also praised Noah for his all around solid performance on the multiple stations he was on, and named him Best of the Worst, telling him to nominate two of his teammates for elimination.

In the dorms, Noah felt the decision was easy, as he was going to put up Brent and then he just had to choose between Kenny, Aaron and Barry. He was unsure of that decision. Meanwhile, Aaron felt humiliated that Noah had to save his station, as he knew he was better than that. Later, Stephanie saw Noah thinking, and she felt Noah had a rough decision to make, as he could potentially split his team in half.

## Elimination:

When the blue team got downstairs, Knox told them they should be ashamed of their performance before asking Noah for his nominees. Noah announced Brent as his first nominee for the countless mistakes on risotto and wasting the oyster orders, and Aaron as his second nominee for his mistakes on the chicken. Still, Knox wanted one more person up, and called down Barry for his poor garnish performance. During their pleas, Barry said he had passion to keep going, and that the performance he had was a fluke. Aaron admitted he screwed up on the chicken but that he didn't ruin the pace of the kitchen while on the meat station. During Brent's plea, he called himself the best blue team members, saying he had leadership and talent in the kitchen and saying he didn't deserve to be nominated. Just then, Knox cut Brent off, sending Aaron and Barry back in line. Despite his complaints, saying the team needed him, Brent was eliminated for his terrible performance and being completely delusional about the competition, During his exit interview, Brent claimed that Knox made the biggest mistake of his life, and warned Barry and Aaron that their time was short in Hell.

Knox then told Aaron and Barry to wake up, and told Kenny he had dodged a bullet, but the latter promised to give him a better service the next night. Knox then dismissed the chefs, congratulating the ladies on their way up. Carmen knew her performance was mediocre, and that she would need to step up in the next service to stay alive. Allison was proud of her team that night, and felt she, Charlee, and Bri were already shining as frontrunners. Barry knew he dodged a bullet, and that a performance like that couldn't happen again if he wanted to win.

Knox's Comment: “When you’re trying to find a head chef amongst a sea of cooks, there are several hard decisions made. This was an easy decision: Goodbye, Brent.”