Episode AVSSOHK06: Dancing With The Chefs

The sixth episode of A Very Special Season of Hell's Kitchen will air on February 6, 2024. In that episode, the chefs got used to their new teams, the chefs catered a Dancing With The Stars tour performance, and a disastrous service from one team causes two chefs to go home.

## Intro

While going back to the dorms, Eric admitted how shocked he was over the switch as he just gained the respect of the blue team but knew there was nothing he could do about it now that he was in the red team. Meanwhile, **Zoey** was so happy to be now on the blue team because that is what she wanted since the red team started losing. That night, **Hayden** and **Maya** went back to their hot tub ways to celebrate being on the blue team together. **Garrett** believed that Maya would take off her bikini one day just for Hayden, while Maya said that might happen.

## Team challenge

With some of the chefs in their new jackets, the chefs go downstairs to find a group of dancers practicing in the dining room, with **Mariah** excitedly hoping they would be doing a dancing challenge, while Eric was smitten by one of the female dancers. After, Ramsay revealed that the dancers were practicing for a big event the following night and announced that Hell’s Kitchen was hosting the Dancing With The Stars Live Tour for the first time. Then, Ramsay revealed the DWTS Tour Planning Challenge and invited judges, Host Emma Slater and Special Guest Xochitl Gomez, to help them get ideas of what to cook. The two explained they wanted to go with an international theme for the dishes and wanted each dish to be exciting. After, Ramsay revealed that he wanted two fish entrées, two chicken entrées, and two beef entrées for the tasting menu, and both teams had one minute to discuss what they wanted to work with. While Ryan had no idea what Andrew or Matt wanted, she immediately wanted beef as it was a protein she had yet to work with.

The chefs had 40 minutes to cook their entrées. **Elijah** believed that Eric and himself worked together well in the past and that going over to the red team would make them better. Despite **Sous Chef Christina** suggesting to Elijah and Mariah they start cooking their steaks for proper rest, the latter ignored her as he worked in a steakhouse and knew what he was doing. In the blue kitchen, **Jacob** started to feel frazzled as he was running out of time and struggled to make mayonnaise. However, **Amelia** told Jacob that there was something creamy in the kitchen besides mayonnaise. Eventually, both teams got their dishes cooked and plated on time.

Before judging, Ramsay revealed that the best dish of each round would not only score for their team but also be featured in the menu the following night. The team with the most points would win. The chicken entrée round was up first, and the pairs of Garrett and Zoey, and Eric and the pair of Jayden and Ava Claire presented their dishes. Eric’s sweet chilli glaze over pan-seared chicken and Asian pear slaw was criticized for having too much of a kick and being intense and barely having the chicken taste, much to his dismay. In contrast, Jayden and Ava Claire presented their chipotle oven-roasted chicken with fresh Spanish rice, which caused Zoey to wonder why they would go with Spanish cuisine. The dish itself was mixed as while Slater complained about the amount of spice, Ramsay felt that Ava Claire nailed the chicken. Then, Zoey’s El Pastor styled chicken was criticized for having a sloppy presentation but praised for tasting nice, and then, Garrett’s Asian and Thai fusion chicken with prosciutto and Asian salsa was confusing as Ramsay asked if it was supposed to be Italian, while criticized for a slimy texture. In the end, Zoey’s dish was deemed the best, the blue team led 1-0, and she declared it her resurrection. On the fish entrée round, Amelia’s jerk salmon and avocado purée were deemed delicious, and Jacob and **Patrick**’s en papillote with sea bass was praised for the complex idea, but criticized for being stringy and lack of flavor. **Lexi**’s miso sea bass and Asian vegetables were praised for the broth and looking beautiful, while **Joey**’s Fra diavolo was criticized for looking like a mess despite tasting good. In the end, Lexi’s dish was deemed the best, and the score was tied at one each. On the final round, the beef entrées were up next. While Mariah’s Indian-inspired pan-seared filet was deemed lovely, Elijah’s chilli-rubbed New York striploin was criticized for being overcooked, with an annoyed Lexi asking how that could happen when Elijah worked in a steakhouse. Then, Hayden’s spicy flank steak tostadas were deemed nice and very unique, which made Zoey have hope, and either wanted him or Maya to win. After, Maya’s Thai flank steak skewers with peanut and hoisin sauce were praised for being nice and creative. After a tough choice between Maya and Mariah’s dish, the judges went with the Maya's and the blue team won the challenge 2-1.

## Reward

The blue team were rewarded with a day playing bubble soccer, and Ramsay said there was a prize waiting for them back at the dorms. When they got back to the dorms, they found Keurig kits waiting for them, making Zoey thank his dish for earning him coffee all day. During the reward, the blue team had fun playing as Patrick got knocked down all over the place, while Garrett called it release for all the stress they had.

## Punishment

The red team was punished by prepping a raw bar for the following service. Ramsay asked Mariah if she wanted to use her punishment pass, but she decided to stay with her team. During the punishment, Lexi was having fun preparing the lobsters by tearing them apart, but Joey felt that having too much fun on the line can make a chef weak.

## Before service

The next day, both teams began prepping for the DWTS Tour service. While Amelia suggested to Hayden that they should sear off the sea bass before service began, he felt concerned that Amelia cannot get the basics done first. In the red kitchen, Lexi gave Ava Claire and Elijah directions on how to cook her dish, but she got annoyed by Elijah’s attitude, even when Eric suggested that they get rid of it before service began. However, Lexi reminded Eric that he was about to do something he wanted to do instead of what the red team has done before. Elijah told Eric to listen as the women have won more services in the past. While Lexi was still mad about the men's attitudes, Elijah got concerned the bad mood during prep would carry over into service.

After prep, Ramsay had both teams lined up, reminded them about the DWTS Tour service, and the menu that night would feature the challenge-winning dishes. Ramsay warned both teams the timings that night were critical as he wanted each guest to eat simultaneously. Ramsay asked **Marino** to open Hell’s Kitchen.

## Dinner service

In addition to Slater and Gomez dining in the blue and red chefs tables respectively, Val Chmerkovskiy, Daniella Karagach, Pasha Pashkov, and Gleb Savchenko were among many of the pros seen in the dining room. As both teams got their first orders, Ramsay reminded them that they could not start serving appetizers until the first round ended. As the first round began, Hayden was smitten by Karagach, but realized he had Maya back in the dorms. Ramsay told both teams to begin cooking. However, Paulie was confused if the first order called for two or three risottos, but then realized he was making too much, so Jacob helped him serve the risottos. In the red kitchen, Ava Claire proclaimed that he was not there to play and wanted to prove himself to Ramsay and the red team. However, Ava Claire’s scallops were seriously burnt. Lexi warned Ava Claire to start stepping up. Thanks to Jacob's leadership which made Ramsay surprised to see Jacob step up the blue team served half of the dining room their appetizers. In the red kitchen, Ava Claire served another

Forty-five minutes into service, the red team was working on entrées. Lexi discovered Eric was firing every fish they had because he did not sear them earlier, even warning him that they would not have a great sear on them. Indeed, Eric’s sea bass was raw, and a dismayed Lexi said she knew they had to be seared earlier. When Jayden told Ramsay that the refire would take six minutes, a dismayed Ramsay learned that the fish was not seared off. He asked Sous Chef Christina to watch over the fish and brought the red team over to the blue kitchen to feel Amelia’s fish, with Maya mockingly asking them if they messed up again. After reminding the red team that they always seared the fish off before service began, an annoyed Mariah said that she told Eric earlier. While Eric claimed that he thought they were supposed to hold off from searing at the start, Ramsay angrily reminded him that they sear them off during appetizers. However, Eric argued that Mariah never told him to sear the fish, but only that she asked him before accusing her of letting him go down for that. Once back in the red kitchen, the refires were accepted, and they served their first order of entrées. In the blue kitchen, the blue team was beginning to work on entrées, and while Garrett was trying to help Zoey out, Zoey wanted to do the meat all by herself with Zoey cooking and Garrett leading. Despite that, Patrick reminded Zoey that they had to have two chefs at each entrées station, which led to Zoey telling Amelia not to talk down to her. Back in the dining room, as the first pair of finalists finished their turn, Zoet’s filet was accepted, Ramsay told her and Garrett to make every portion similar, and Zoey proudly stated that the proof was in the pudding. Then, Maya’s salmon was accepted as well, and as entrées were leaving the red kitchen, the second pair of finalists began their turn, with Patrick saying that he could not dance to save his life.

One hour and a half into service, the blue team has finished entrées and moving onto desserts, but the red team were way behind as their customers and even the judges were still waiting for entrées. While Eric sent up his sea bass, Jayden revealed that she needed one minute on her chicken, much to the former’s frustrations. Then, one of Jayden’s chickens was raw, which he tried to warn his teammate about, and an upset Ramsay brought the red team into the pantry room. Ramsay berated the red team for being ten tables behind the blue team due to their poor performance on appetizers and asked if they had anything to say about it. Just as Ava Claire was about to come up with a solution, Ramsay kicked the red team out of service, asked them to nominate three people for elimination, and told them the blue team would finish their remaining tickets. Back in the red kitchen, Ramsay told Hayden and Jacob to stay on desserts and ordered the remaining red chefs into the blue kitchen. As the red team pushed out entrées, Patrick felt that they were cleaning up the blue team’s mess. After finishing up the blue team’s tickets, they saw the finale of the DWTS Tour performance.

## Post-mortem

Back at the dorms, Lexi reminded Eric that he should have seared the fish properly before considering the Ericand Jayden for elimination, which Mariah agreed with. However, Jayden disagreed on that as they got appetizers out slowly, and considered Ava Claire for elimination. Then, Joey considered Jayden and Ava Claire for elimination, the former based on the raw chicken. Still, Jayden argued that it was because of the snowballing mistakes that night and considered Eric and Ava Claire for elimination based on the poor performances on appetizers and fish. Then, Ava Claire considered Jayden and Eric for elimination, but when Eric considered Jayden and Ava Claire, she argued that they could have come back from the poor appetizers had the fish been ready. However, Eric argued that nobody told him that, but Lexi reminded him that he said the red team never seared off fish, and Ava Claire claimed that she asked for help from Elijah on appetizers. Then, Eric tried to push the red team to nominate Lexi for talking more than cooking, but that made Lexi angry as she did not know which three would go up.

## Elimination

After coming downstairs, Ramsay told the red team that the blue team not only is dominating the competition, but also had to finish their tickets with the red teams pathetic performance. Lexi announced Jayden as their first nominee, Eric as their second, and Ava Claire as their third During their pleas, Jayden said that she fought a lot and tried to remain a team player that night, but Ramsay reminded her that she shut down that night. Then, Eric said that he took responsibility for his mistakes and claimed that he did have a dreaful performance on fish. After, Ava Claire claimed that he was a hard worker that took responsibility for his actions and knew she could not get off to a good start on appetizers that night, but Ramsay said that this was the second time she had done so. Jayden was eliminated for serving raw chicken and not having confidence to step up as a leader. During her exit interview, Jayden knew that she should have stepped up as a leader, but her determination made her get to where she got.

After Jayden left, Ramsay reminded Ava Claire that this was her second time not getting her team off to a good start on appetizers. Ava Claire told Ramsay that she could do better, but Ramsay felt that she could not be a good leader right from the start of service. So, Ava Claire was also eliminated for her inconsistent performances on appetizers and not standing out from the start. During her exit interview, Ava Claire felt disappointed as she felt she wanted to be a front runner, but big mistakes got to her in the end.

## Team switch

After Ava Claire left, Ramsay sent Eric back in line, giving him one more chance to bounce back. Then, Ramsay asked Jacob to get up from his seat, and while Ramsay told Jacob he did have his best service yet, he wanted to see him lead brilliantly. So, Jacob was put into the red team much to the dismay of the blue team, giving the red team a leader and a new reason why no more excuses must be made.

While being dismissed, Jacob was ready to face the red team but was getting concerned that he had to fix up the team, while Eric was shocked that he did not get eliminated and knew Chef Ramsay could see all his successes and mistakes at the same time, knowing that he could either win or go home. Then, Maya felt amazing to not only be on a team with Hayden, but to also be on the winning team for once.

Ramsay's comment: "Ava Claire couldn't lead on apps, and Jayden couldn't lead on meat. Neither of them will lead my kitchen in Vegas."

## Trivia

* **Title Reference**: The title refers to the Dancing With The Stars Live Tour that Hell's Kitchen hosted, which was also the namesake for the episode.
* This marks the seventh time, and first time since **Season 21**, Ramsay asked a team to nominate three people for elimination instead of the usual two.
* This marks the eighth time where Ramsay eliminated two chefs from the competition after being nominated. This also marks the fifth time Ramsay did so in the team phase.