(Archived) (Lifedollars) Episode 2107 - 11 Chefs Compete

The seventh episode of the old version of Season XXI of Hell’s Kitchen was published on TBD. Surf and turf was the main dish, one chef annoyed their teammates on a reward, and one team's comeback was diminished by a disastrous service.

## Intro

Gal let out an overjoyed yell as he was very happy to have finally won a dinner service, and Roy thanked Nonny for "saving" the blue team. He then stated that he didn't think having a woman switch to the blue team would help them at all, but was thankful that it helped the blue team rather than hinder it.

Back in the dorms, Liz said that Kelly was on thin ice and was probably turning against the red team. Dasara said that she honestly wasn't interested in arguing with Kelly because she can crash and burn on her own. Layton asked Dasara what she thought of Kelly throwing her team under the bus, to which Dasara replied by saying that she really didn't care for it. Layton then stated in a confessional that she didn't know why Dasara was simply brushing off Kelly's attitude as normal and that it should be a warning sign.

## Team challenge

The next day, the chefs woke up and got ready for the next challenge, but Gal complained that he had been out of Hell's Kitchen for one reward and was hoping to finally win a challenge.

For the Surf and Turf challenge, and behind Ramsay were two sets of fish bowls behind Ramsay, which reminded Layton of those carnival games where you throw a ping pong ball into one of the fish bowls and would get to take it home. Ramsay announced that one chef from each team would go up and toss a ping pong ball into one of the bowls. One side had a protein, while the other side had a type of fish. Both the protein and fish would have to be used in their surf and turf.

But before the challenge began, Ramsay asked two members from the blue team to merge into a pair, as the blue team had an extra member. The pair was Nonny and Matt. After that, the challenge began.

The first pair to toss for their ingredients was Declan and Kelly, with Declan tossing for a fish and Kelly tossing for a meat. While Kelly immediately managed to land a ball into one of the fish bowls, Declan struggled with it for upwards of a minute, and eventually finally landed it into a bowl. The pairing was Arctic Char and chicken, which dismayed Declan as he had no idea how he was supposed to make arctic char and chicken taste good together, clearly not having high hopes for this challenge. Next up were Dasara and Craig, with Dasara tossing for a fish, and Craig tossing for a protein. Dasara landed on sea bass and Craig landed on lamb. Craig was happy about this, as he recalled making near-perfect lamb for his signature dish, and that he was definitely confident that he's be able to nail this surf and turf. Next were Gal and Layton, with Gal tossing for a fish, and Layton tossing for a protein. Gal landed catfish, while Dasara landed on a ribeye. Gal stated that he hoped that someone on the team knew how to cook catfish because he certainly couldn't. The fourth pair was Liz and Roy, and while Roy quickly was able to land on veal, Liz struggled for a while but ultimately, she landed on snapper. Finally, Matt and Nonny would toss for swordfish, while Sabrina landed on pork.

With all the ingredients accumulated, the chefs would have 45 minutes to make their surf and turf dishes. Nonny stated that she had no idea what it was like actually working with Matt since they never worked on a station before at dinner service. However, Matt's controlling nature made Nonny tell him to back off and worry about his own part. Nonny then said that Matt needs to mind his own business and just focus on getting the challenge done. Liz had no idea how to cook snapper and after asking around for help, Sous Chef Christina would eventually explain to her how cooking a snapper, and Liz joking said "love you" to Christina as she said that it practically saved her life. Gal also needed help cooking catfish and would eventually have it explained to him by Roy. Eventually, all the chefs got their dishes plated on time.

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo were invited as guest judges, and Layton was ecstatic about this, as he considered the former two to be like one of the best duos in the world. Each of the chefs would score the dishes on a points system from 1 to 5, with a total score of 15 points. The first round was the battle of the snapper and the veal. While Roy's dish was praised for its perfect cooking despite some ingredients just not complimenting each other. He scored 3, 4, and 3 points for a total of 10. Liz's dish was criticized for the veal being dry because it was slightly overcooked, however the snapper was cooked perfectly, although the presentation was a big mess. She scored 2, 3, and 2 points, for a total of 7. Next up were Dasara and Craig, and while Dasara's dish was praised for being visually appealing, the sea bass could have been cooked slightly more. She scored 3, 3, and 3 points, with a total of 9. Then, Craig's dish was praised for the sea bass being perfectly cooked, but the lamb was overcooked, but the flavors were there. He scored 8 points. Next were Declan and Kelly. Next was Declan's dish. However, the chicken was dry and the arctic char was slightly burnt as well, however one of the judges did believe that the other stuff on the plate goes well, but the stars of the show weren't the protein and the fish. Unfortunately, he only scored 4 points. Declan was dismayed by this, as he should have been able to cook fish and meat properly. With this, Kelly had an opportunity to slide into the lead with her surf and turf dish. It was praised for being delicious, and scored 12 points. This put the women on top at 28-22. Next up were both Matt and Nonny, and thankfully, despite their lack of teamwork, they both created a very good dish, and scored 14 points. Next was Sabrina's dish, but the fish was undercooked, and it overall was a big mess, and it scored her only 3 points. The blue team was now back on top with 36-31. The final pairing was Gal and Layton. Gal's dish unfortunately was too salty and overcooked, scoring only 6 points, which pissed off Gal as he should have been better. Then, Layton's dish was very good despite being could have used 2 more minutes, and scored 10 points. However, the score was 42-41, meaning the blue team won their second challenge this season. Declan was very happy about this, as it has been quite a long time since he had been on a reward.

## Dinner Service

### Stations

 Garnish
 Meat
 Fish
 Dessert

As both teams got their first orders, Ramsay reminded them to stay focused and wished them good luck. The blue team received their first order of appetizers, and when Gal asked for a time on Matt's risotto, he went silent. He then yelled slightly louder to get Matt's attention, and he did, but Matt stuttered and hesitated to come up with a time for his risotto. Ramsay was dismayed by this, as he needed to communicate and give a proper time. He then said one minute, and Gal dropped his scallops. Meanwhile, in the red kitchen, Ramsay called out the first order of appetizers to the women, however, after he read the order, Kelly was the only person in the kitchen who said anything. Ramsay then wondered where the fuck the women were and if they were all braindead. Ramsay then asked the women what to say when you hear an order, and the responded with the correct response being "yes, chef." Liz sent up her scallops, but they were raw, and Liz was really concerned because she didn't want fish to go down like last service. In the blue kitchen, Gal said he was walking his scallops, but then Roy said he still needed thirty seconds on his risotto, which led to Roy saying that he didn't need to be rushed and that it's best if he goes calm and slowly. When Gal walked his scallops, Ramsay rejected it for being seared properly on one side and undercooked on the other, and Roy's risotto was still not at the pass. The risotto was overcooked, and Ramsay berated the blue team for their lack of teamwork. A dismayed Declan said that they had to communicate or else they wouldn't complete dinner service, and Roy and Gal started on their refires. Meanwhile, in the red kitchen, Liz was able to deliver her refired scallops, and with that, appetizers were leaving the red kitchen at a fast rate. However, in the blue kitchen, Gal was about to deliver his refired scallops, and Roy delivered his refired risotto. However, Roy didn't put enough salt risotto, and this annoyed Gal as the blue team was just about to finish appetizers. However, after putting salt into the risotto, he got it accepted and appetizers were completed.

In the red kitchen, Ramsay read the next ticket, which was one halibut, one salmon, and two lamb. When Sabrina was asked to call back the order, she struggled to remember the ticket and out of desperation, said two halibut, two lamb, and then Layton immediately contradicted her, saying that the order was actually one salmon, one halibut, and two lamb. Ramsay then asked Sabrina why she couldn't hear the call despite standing roughly 3 feet away from him, and Sabrina just said she didn't know. Then Ramsay walked away in frustration. In the blue kitchen, Gal walked his salmon to the pass, but it was raw. And to add to the insult, Nonny sent up the wrong protein: two lamb instead of two wellington. Ramsay then berated Nonny for not paying attention. They were forced to start the entire table over as a result. Gal delivered his refired salmon, but this time it was overcooked, but Nonny's wellingtons were perfectly cooked, and Matt called service a disaster thus far since it was only the first table of entrees and it was taking way longer than expected. However, they eventually got their refires accepted. In the red kitchen, Sabrina stated that meat is one of the most important stations, and that she shouldn't fuck it up. However, sent up a raw lamb, and Ramsay asked her what she was doing. Dasara then stated that Sabrina just kept fucking up and that she really needs to step up her A-game. Despite that, with a little help from Dasara, her refire was accepted.

In the blue kitchen, Declan reminded Gal that the next time he fucked up, he would have to step into the fish station, but he assured him that he wouldn't have to do that. Despite being confident that he sent up a good halibut, it was raw, and Nonny's wellingtons were raw. Ramsay was very angry about this and stated that this was the blue team's last chance before getting kicked out. Declan decided to refire the halibut for Gal, and Nonny's wellingtons were eventually accepted with the help of Matt. In the red kitchen, Kelly was asked to call back the order, but couldn't. Ramsay then reminded her that at her young age, she should have a good memory. After calling back the order, Liz sent a raw salmon. Ramsay then ordered the women to wake up because he was starting to get agitated.

In the blue kitchen, Gal decided he was ready to return to fish, and Declan agreed to let him back on the station. When Nonny asked for a time, Gal didn't say anything. Nonny then compared trying to communicate with Gal to talking to a brick wall, and after asking again, she got a time of 5 minutes. Gal stated that he was ready to redeem himself on fish. However, Nonny walked up her New York strip before Gal said he was ready with his salmon, and a confused Ramsay wondered why that happened, before reminding Nonny that Gal still wasn't ready. To make matters worse, the strip was raw, much to Nonny's dismay, when Ramsay asked where the salmon for the order was, Gal pointed to the salmon that was in the pan, which turned out to be burnt.

A furious Ramsay then kicked the blue team out of the kitchen, but on his way into the hall, Matt asked if he could stay and try to do something, which led to former following the blue team into the hall and asking if he honestly thought that he would let him stay after a shit performance like that, and also stating that the last 45 minutes had been a complete disaster, and asked Matt what he thought the answer would be. After Matt said no, Ramsay sarcastically congratulated him, and then ejected the blue team to the dorms. Meanwhile, in the red kitchen, Liz got her refired salmon accepted, and went on to complete the blue team's remaining orders. Dasara said that while it wasn't the red team's best service, they still made it to the end.

## Post-mortem

During deliberation, all of the blue team was silent, until Matt chimed in and asked what exactly happened that night. Roy then said that fish and meat were the main problems of the night, and Craig agreed with him, saying it was a no-brainer. Nonny said that she wasn't willing to go down without a fight and said that there were also problems on appetizers. Declan said to Gal that he shouldn't have let him come back to the fish station, but Gal then said that he had no idea that he was gonna fuck up the fish again. This led to Declan telling him that he needed to know when to say "this isn't working, I gotta step away." Gal then stated that the burnt salmon that got the team kicked out was on account of Nonny not communicating, and Nonny said that she communicated fine that night and that the blue team shouldn't keep blaming her for all the fuckups.

## Elimination

Ramsay stated that service definitely could have gone a lot smoother on both sides of the kitchen. Craig announced Nonny as the first nominee, on account of the meat station, and Gal as the second, on account of the poor performance on the fish station. During the pleas, Nonny said that she may have had a few downfalls on the meat station today but that she was ready to come back and fight back harder. Ramsay then said that she not only sank the kitchen, but she didn't communicate, and didn't ask for help, and that someone else had to come in and forcefully save your station. After asking where this arrogance came from, Nonny said that it wasn't arrogance, but rather she just got inside her own head. During Gal's plea, he said that he was able to acknowledge that he had a poor performance that night but was completely willing to bounce back and learn from his mistakes. Ramsay said that it wasn't just a poor performance, but an absolute embarrassment. Gal said he understood that and that he's really pissed off about it but he's confident that he's not ready to go and that he still has a lot left in him. In the end, Gal was eliminated for his poor performance on the fish station, as well as sinking the kitchen that night. Before he was eliminated, Ramsay said that he had yet to see a leader in him, and that after seven services, he can't wait any longer. His exit speech: "I'm very disappointed that I didn't come out on top, but I fought through every service and every challenge to further improve myself and I think I did improve as a chef. Chef Ramsay was right, I didn't possess the qualities required in his head chef, but that's okay, because Hell's Kitchen definitely brought me one step closer to having all those qualities."

After Gal's exit, Ramsay said that the theme of the night was bouncing back, and that he needed to see it from all of the remaining chefs. While being dismissed, Nonny said that being up on the chopping block a second time definitely put a spark in her ass and that she needed to start stepping up as not only a leader, but a strong cook. Then, Liz said that even though they won, it felt like winning by default, and that she has no room for error anymore since it's the final ten. Roy said that Chef Ramsay looks for perfection, and he didn't give him that, so he wanted to show Ramsay perfection during the next service.

Ramsay's comment: "I expected Gal to knock service out of the park tonight, but instead of hitting a homerun, he striked out."