Episode AVSSOHK08: On The Knife's Edge

The eighth episode of A Very Special Season Of Hell's Kitchen will air on February 20, 2024. In that episode, the chefs creativity was tested, Ramsay held private interviews, and four chefs cooked for their lives, leading to a shocking elimination.

## Intro

Back at the dorms, Maya thought she was going home that night and knew he worked too hard to let her dream die. As Maya had a breakdown in the dorms, **Hayden** and **Garrett** comforted her knowing that she was a strong chef and deserved to be there. Hayden knew that Maya was on thin ice but did not want to see Maya go home now.

## Team challenge

The next day, both teams came downstairs, Ramsay revealed that their next challenge would be the **Dome Challenge** to test the chef’s ability to adapt and explained that a different dome would light up every five minutes every few minutes. They would have to go and grab one of the six ingredients that was covered. However, while Ramsay said that this was a team challenge, they were all on their own when cooking their own dishes and shine as individuals.

Both teams had 30 minutes to cook their dishes, and the first dome lit up, containing proteins. Because the red team was down a chef, the whole team would help out cooking the duck dish .**Mariah** went with tuna as she used that protein multiple times before. In the red kitchen, **Lexi** had no idea how to kill a live lobster properly. At the 25-minute mark, the second dome was revealed to be starch. While **Elijah** aggressively grabbed potatoes, Zoey was too slow and grabbed couscous, revealing she did not want to argue with anybody as she was talented. In the red kitchen, both Elijah and Jacob revealed that they had potatoes, but as only one could use that, the latter was forced to grab egg noodles. At the 20-minute mark, the third dome was revealed to be vegetables. As Hayden grabbed fennel, he had an idea for a seared duck breast with baby fennel and fingerling potatoes, thinking that those ingredients would work together. In the red kitchen, both Lexi and Mariah revealed that they have endives for their vegetables. As the two decided over who would keep it, an impatient Ramsay waited for somebody to drop it. Eventually, Lexi decided to go with beets instead. At the 5-minute mark, the final dome was revealed to contain wild card ingredients. Still, Maya had difficulty figuring out what to do with the chorizo as his lobster and sauce were already finished. Eventually, both teams got their dishes cooked and plated on time.

Michael Cimarusti was invited as a guest judge, making Garrett starstruck as the former was up there with the big dogs of the culinary world. On the first round, Elijah and Zoey went up with their New York striploin dishes. Zoey presented his New York striploin with couscous, pistachios, and beets, making Elijah nervous as it was an out-of-the-box dish. While Cimarusti felt that the steak was cooked beautifully, with Ramsay calling it the best dish Zoey has cooked so far in the competition. After, Elijah’s pan-seared New York striploin with blanched turnip and potatoes mixed with white cheddar cheese was deemed great, and Cimarusti wondered what would have happened had she cooked for two hours. Both Elijah and Zoey scored making it a 1 point tie, and Zoey felt reenergized. Lexi’s lobster and polenta dish immediately rose red flags on the lobster round when she admitted that it was her first time cooking lobster like that, leaving Maya confident that she had it. However, it was praised for a great presentation and for having strong flavors. In contrast, Maya’s lobster and chorizo cream sauce over pasta was praised for taking an outdated concept into a flavorable dish. However, Lexi scored that round, and the red team led 2-1, but a disappointed Maya felt her dish was a winner and hated losing. On the sea bass round, **Patrick**’s Spanish-infused sea bass was praised for a tasty fish. Jacob’s sea bass with tangerine and bok choy was criticized for being overly sweet. So, Patrick scored that round, and the score became a 2 point tie. On the chicken breast round, Garrett’s coriander chicken was deemed nice. Still, Joey’s chicken and glazed parsnips were also praised for a nice balance. As a result, Cimarusti and Ramsay agreed to award both a point and the score became a 3 point tie. On the fifth round, Ramsay asked Mariah and **Amelia** to present their ahi tuna dishes. Mariah’s seared tuna with pasta and red wine tangerine sauce was praised for a harmonious taste. Still, for Amelia, her pepper-crusted tuna and roasted beets were overcooked due to being cooked in the oven but praised for some strong flavors. So, Mariah scored that round, making the score 4-3 for the red team. On the final round, the red team and Hayden went up with their duck breast dishes, with the red teams pan-roasted duck breast with baby leeks in chicken stock and fingerling potatoes was deemed a classic combination that seemed easy, but it still worked, while the red team's seared duck breast with spicy styled sausage and egg noodles looked overdone, but it tasted very tender. After being sent back in line, Ramsay gave Cimarusti the say on who won. However, Cimarusti gave Hayden’s dish the win, and both teams were tied at 4. Ramsay let Cimarusti decide who had the best dish of the day, and Cimarusti immediately went for Mariah's dish, giving the red team the win. Mariah felt so ecstatic to finally win a challenge with her dish being the best.

### Scoring

* Best dish named by Cimarusti broke the tie in the challenge and won it for their team.

## Reward

The red team were rewarded with a wellness retreat, making Joey excited as his body was aching. The retreat included massages and lunch from Crossroads Kitchen. Also, Ramsay said the red tea, would receive Hexclad cookware to take home, much to their glee. As the red team returned to the dorms, Elijah was ecstatic that his dish won it for them, and he got to get pampered and not sort trash. As the red team saw their kits, Jacob was blown away by the quality of the pans.

As the men walked to the SUVs, they saw the blue team sort through trash. During the reward, the red team met with Dr. Chad of Repair Sports Institute, who showed them the stations to help them relax. As the men did their self-care, **Sous Chef Christina** came to join them for lunch. As they ate, Sous Chef Christina reminded the red team that they had a chance to become Ramsay's right-hand man in Las Vegas, and Mariah said that was all she wanted from her life. Sous Chef Christina told the red team to remain focused, and Mariah told the former that he appreciated spending time with her.