Lee came out to be the shining light in the entire thing and to be honest, I don’t think anyone noticed Lee before. In the first challenge they had to prepare a wonderful dish using one live crab. Lee made something that blew the judges away although I can’t honestly remember what that was. I do remember however, all the judges telling the other cooks to come up and taste it because that’s exactly what they’re looking for. They all scurry over, eager to please the judges by acting civil but Sharome hangs back and refuses to eat Lee’s food. And the pissing contest has begun. Less was then allowed to pick, among a selection, the next ingredient that the cooks would have to prepare. The theme was romance and Lee chose passion fruit. Not something I would have chosen, but Lee was enjoying his time and so be it.

The best two quotes of the season, I think, came from this episode and specifically, this first hour of it. The first was when Sharome was preparing his gourmet vacuumed-then-boiled-meat dish when he was having trouble with the vacuum machine. Gordon came up and asked him what the problem was and Sharome replied, “I’m trying to make this dish but this damned machine is more complicated than any woman I’ve ever met.” HA! I’m growing to like Sharome more and more.

The second quote came from Jake. After presenting the judges with his dish that he said “oozed romance” and “was incredibly sexy”, the judges tore him apart and told him that he had missed the point. On side camera, Jake says, “I don’t know, I thought the dish was very good and very romantic. Maybe Gordon likes it rough.” Again, HA! Also loving Jake.

At the end of the challenge, it’s Slim who eventually gets tossed out for preparing what looked like something you’d serve at a 6-year-olds birthday party. Not only does she get slaughtered for how she prepared the dish, what she made, and how she presented the dish, Judge Baldy also threw her entire dish in the garbage and told her that he wasn’t “eating that crap.” It’s becoming clear that she’s about to go home and the judges give her one last lifeline by asking her if she would do anything different with the dish. She replies that she would add less ginger to the sauce but no, basically she’d keep it exactly the same. Crikey! If you weren’t going home before…..yep, Slim got the boot. On to the second hour.

The second hour actually seemed to have less challenges but more eliminations. The big challenge started with the group being divided into two teams, and Lee getting to choose his team – because he’s still on his mighty Lee reign. He doesn’t pick Sharome because the pissing contest is ongoing and that’s when things get political between the two. The teams are picked and they’re all told that they will be cooking for a wedding tonight. They’re each cooking for certain guests and whoever wins won’t face the pressure cooker. Lee automatically puts Tracy, who’s unfortunately on his team, on salad because Tracy is weak (let’s face it, we all know it), and salad seems like a pretty easy deal. Nope, she screwed that up too and had a complete breakdown. Moving on.

During the wedding challenge, each team did pretty well. They each had their mishaps and screw-ups but ultimately, the blue team lose simply because they had a harder time with appetizers than the red team did. This knocks Lee down a peg but he still seems to think that the judges are going to love whatever he puts on a plate – even if it’s garbage. The rest of Lee’s team – Tracy, Jake and Mike to face the Pressure Cooker along with Lee.

The Pressure Cooker this week is preparing one pasta dish: one fresh pasta of their choice; and one fresh sauce of their choice. They have to make it all from scratch, and they have an hour. Again, scurrying and panicking and in the end, the judges taste all of the dishes. They know that two people are going home, so everyone’s got a 50/50 chance of leaving. First to be knocked off, Tracy. Like I said, we all knew it and she’s shown weakness over the last few challenges. Not a shocker. Then Mike is sent to safety (thankfully, I really like him too) and two surprising contestants stand before the judges – Lee and Jake – probably two of the strongest, I would think. The judges think the same, and say that they are very disappointed to see both of them there.

In the end, Jake’s dish just wasn’t good enough and I don’t think the judges were impressed with the attitude that he showed during the Pressure Cooker. They did tell him though, to stay away from construction and to always keep cooking, and I agree. I love Jake, and I’m sorry to see him go. He does have amazing talent and I truly hope that he pursues it and who knows, maybe we’ll see him on the Food Network someday.

The judges are quite done yet though. With Lee standing before them, they tear him apart for being cocky enough to think that he can put raw garlic in something and still expect them to qualify it as being good. He gets the lashing that he needs and I think we’ll see a much humbler Lee next week. And now that Jake’s gone, I’m rooting for Sharome. I do like Lee’s food usually but since Lee and Sharome have decided to be archenemies, I suppose I must take sides. I really like Whitney but I think ultimately her age will get her, and Mike is showing tons of potential too, although he’s shown issues during the last few challenges as well. And, Dave. I can’t believe I’m going to say this but I’m actually really starting to like Dave. He does show crazy passion and if he keeps it real, he’s a very likable guy. Who knows? Maybe the guy who tried to make bouillabaisse in an hour really will take it all.

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The contestants come into the MasterChef kitchen and stand before a Mystery Box. A box that contains an ingredient that they must use in the dish that they prepare. Gordon asks them all what they would like to be in the box and there are ideas thrown around such as seafood, which was Jake’s dream. Tracy declares enthusiastically that she hopes it’s flour and butter and sugar because she wants to bake! Words she would soon regret. Then of course, Gordon hands out the actual assignment. They have 45 minutes, and they are to make the perfect cupcake. Dramatically, a huge sheet behind them drops and every single fruit, nut, chocolate, candy, and any other cupcake ingredient you could imagine sits on huge display. The judges will only eat the 3 most delicious-looking cupcakes, and the winner will gain a big advantage in the next challenge. The clock starts, and the cooks get started.

The judges stand off to the side mumbling about what they’re looking for in the perfect cupcake. Gordon wants something “light and refreshing”, and it’s not surprising that the twinkle in his eye, Whitney, is making that exact thing. The camera spans over some cupcakes that are looking utterly scrumptious, and some others that are well, interesting to look at anyway. Tracy, Master Baker in the back, meanwhile, is having a complete breakdown. Her cupcakes aren’t cooking or cooling quickly enough, they’re not finished, a complete mess, and she’s completely embarrassed her late mother. Or so she tells us. Then, time is up and the judges are about to pick the three that they want to taste.

Who do they pick? Jake, because he’s the twinkle in Gordon’s other eye, Whitney, and Sharone, who’s never made cupcakes before, yet has created a most artistic looking cupcake with swirls and hazelnuts and pistachios. Who wins? Of course. The dude who presents art when he’s never made a single cupcake. What’s his prize? Well, Gordon ushers him behind a curtain to show him three covered dishes. After showing him those, out from behind yet another curtain walks celebrity chef from Iron Chef America is Cat Cora. She’s made all the dishes that are about to be revealed to Sharone and they walk through each of them. Sharone’s advantage that he won is to choose the dish that the other cooks will be preparing – and they must make it exactly like Cat Cora’s. Sharone chooses the halibut dish with the delicate cream sauce and the bundle of veg on top. Then of course, Gordon also announces that Sharone will be cooking it as well. He has another challenge though. If he can make it better than Cat Cora’s, he will advance to the final four in the competition, no questions asked. So again, the cooking starts.

The judges wander around looking at tasty looking halibut and give advice to those who seem to be struggling with the dish. In the end, it was Faruq who had the worst dish, and I was heartbroken. Partly because he seemed so proud of it and was so confident, and mostly because I was just really rooting for Faruq and was hoping that he would do quite well. Ah, that was not to be the case. Oh and for those who even thought that Sharone could make a better Cat Cora halibut dish than Cat Cora, he can’t. So, moving on, we have another hour and another painful elimination.

The first challenge divides the group into two different teams – Team Red and Team Blue, borrowed undoubtedly from Gordon’s other show Hell’s Kitchen. Jake made the best halibut in the last round and so he got to choose his own team: Whitney, Tracy, Lee, and Tony, the thought to be “super cooks” of MasterChef. So, what will the teams be doing? Making burgers. But not just any burgers. They have to make the best burger in America. Or at least a better burger than the other team. And they have to make a lot of them. Why? Because their judges are truckers. Lots and lots of truckers. The truckers will vote on which burger they think is best, and the team with the most votes wins. After voting, the super cooks were left dumbstruck as the Red Team won. So what’s the prize? Well, not going into the Pressure Cooker where someone is now going to get eliminated.

The Pressure Cooker challenge has 25 ingredients lined up and each cook has to come in one by one and identify as many ingredients as possible. The cook who identifies the least amount of ingredients will be sent home. So, after some dramatization and a lot of rosemary-smelling, it turns out that it’s Tony who can only identify 9 ingredients – which is a little embarrassing, by the way. So Tony was sent off and I didn’t have too many feelings either way about it. But I was still getting over losing Faruq.

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After this challenge, the contestants weren’t done. They then had the challenge of making one dish, in half an hour, that starred, as Gordon Ramsay put it, “one single, stunning egg.” The egg was to be the star of the show and the dish had to be tasty. There were some winners, and some clear losers. And some had good dishes but were sent home because of things such as poor presentation. After this round, there were several of my favorites left, such as Faruq, but there were lots of people that I don’t like too, such as the guy who made Bouillabaisse during his audition. At the end, fourteen contestants were left.

The show was very good and showed a lot of promise. I was very happy that the auditions were over, as that got old pretty quickly. And, even though we did see the contestants participating in challenges for the first time, it’s not the last of the firsts we’ll see for the show. Next week we’re told that the cooks will enter the MasterChef kitchen for the first time, and it looks like they’re going to have to stand up to a lot of heat! I can’t wait to see who makes it through and what Gordon Ramsay has in store for them next!

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First, the two faced off in a challenge. They each had to cook five different courses for five of Chef Ramsay’s chefs in his London restaurants. Each of Ramsay’s “proteges” judged one of the courses, and decided whether or not Jay’s or Holli’s dish was better. Jay ended up winning the challenge and this furthered my belief that Jay would end up winning the entire thing. For his reward, Jay got to choose first when the past eliminated contestants were brought back to cook for either Holli or Jay. Jay ended up with Ben, Fran, and Jason; while Holli had Autumn, Siobhan, and Nilka cooking for her. Then Jay and Holli both got dressed in proper chef jackets, and service got under way.

Both chefs had their problems, with Jason not being able to properly cook the lamb (or was it duck?) while Autumn refused to accept help from anyone, even though she was sinking the entire ship sole-handedly. As for Holli and Jay, neither would put anything out that was less than perfect, and Chef Ramsay noticed the quality control going on on both sides. Holli however, still seemed quite unsure of herself at the pass, stammering out orders and just seeming somewhat confused herself. Jason on the other hand, was calm, cool, and collected and shouted out orders as though he’s been doing it his entire life. This also furthered my thoughts that Jay was going to be crowned the winner of Hell’s Kitchen.

The end of service came, and both chefs thanked their team before heading out for a smoke and talking about what a crazy ride it had been. Chef Ramsay meanwhile, was upstairs in his office looking over the comment cards from customers. When he was finished, he called them both back to his office, to face the famous doors and wait until they were told to open it. Whoever turned the handle to open their door, would be working at the Savoy. The loser’s door would be locked.

As much as I wanted Holli to win, I was certain that Jay would. And I think that Holli was too. Because when her door opened, and she walked through to all the people below her cheering and clapping, she kept looking back over her shoulder in disbelief. So YAAAYYYY!!!!! Holli won Hell’s Kitchen and I absolutely couldn’t be happier about it! She’s so great and fun, hopefully we see her in future seasons of the show, just like we sometimes see Heather from Season 2. It was so great to see Holli win though, and a fantastic way to wrap up the season, and have me looking forward to the next one!

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Firstly, this bald guy with the attitude has got to let it go. Whatever it is that makes him like that, he’s got to let it go. There’s no reason to be dramatic just for drama’s sake, and it really just makes him look ridiculous. When you ask someone to stand in front of  you and outright tell them to plead to you about how much they want it, that’s just unnecessary. Wanting to see some passion is one thing. Humiliating people is something else entirely.

One of the more dramatic parts of the show came when a woman came in to cook her curry dish. Gordon Ramsay loved it, thought it was delicious, and the other two judges didn’t like it, although the younger chef kept admitting that it had a ton of flavour. After the woman left to collapse in the arms of a loved one outside while she wept, Gordon told the other two that he thought they had made a mistake. I did understand that. I didn’t really understand why she was going home either, when everyone said that her dish was delicious. What I didn’t get was why Gordon was only talking to the younger judge, and actually said to him, “If you had any balls, you’d go out there and give that woman this apron.” But why just him? And when the younger judge did go out there and give the woman her apron, Gordon stayed inside the room, pacing and telling Baldy how that woman did not deserve to go home. Meanwhile, Baldy paced right along with him shaking his head and saying, “I don’t know.” Why didn’t Baldy have to grab his balls and go out there with the other judge? I’m not quite too sure.

That was really the highlight of what happened on MasterChef last night. Oh yeah, and Gordon also made one hopeful go back home after cooking her dish, grab stuff out of her fridge, and come back and cook for him. She did and of course, made it through. But I didn’t like her very much. There are a few people that I already know I will really like. Among them the guy who made Mac N’ Cheese and the woman who made Smothered Chicken. I know I don’t like the guy who made the Bouillabaise and the girl who had to go home and get stuff from her freezer.

The actual show starts next week when I’m guessing we’ll watch Gordon Ramsay dole out challenges while our least favourites and most favourites go home every week. It should be a good one and I can’t wait to dive in and see what Master Chef really has in store for us!

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The cooks all looked thrilled as they sat there with Chef Ramsay, and listened to his thrilling tales on the history of the Savoy. While that was interesting and all, I couldn’t believe that all of the cooks – yes, all four of them – sat there, absentmindedly eating this dish that they have the potential of cooking about 200 times a week, and barely paying any attention to it. And, even if you’re not interested in the dish, and really do want to know more about the history of the building in which you’ll be working, you’ve gotta know this isn’t just a nice ol’ sit down with Chef Ramsay; an honest to goodness chance to just put your feet up and eat some good food. Nope, Chef has some tricks up his sleeve as he always does and even I know that it involves the dish that four cooks aren’t even looking at as they sit immersed in Chef’s storytelling.

Then he drops the bomb. Did the four cooks enjoy the dish? Good. Because they have 45 minutes to recreate it. Chef must have noticed that the lackluster four also didn’t pay much mind to the dish, because he presented them with a new one to rip apart, taste again, and analyze so they would be better prepared for cooking it. Because Lord knows they needed help. It came down to the “protein” as it kept being called (that’s meat for laymen like you and me), and the puree. Jay chose filet mignon for his protein, while everyone else chose venison. Jay also chose pear for his puree, while everyone else chose apple.

When it came down to all four cooks presenting their dishes to Chef, Ramsay was quick to point out that Jay had made two very different, and quite bold, choices. The drama grew as we all waited in anticipation wondering if Jay had made a vital mistake. I kind of expected him to get both things right because that would be the universe turning on me once again, and making Jay the winner of Hell’s Kitchen. Chef dramatically told us that the pear puree was correct. Unfortunately, the filet mignon was wrong, and the correct protein was venison. Not only did Chef point out Jay’s mistake, he blatantly mocked him, telling him that the difference was “fairly obvious.”

Holli won the challenge, of course, because Holli wins most of the challenges the cooks face. And while she got to go on a fabulous yacht and spend more time with her friend and “best friend” baby daddy, the other cooks got to lug around boxes that apparently were so heavy that they all had to wear back braces while they worked. But the work was too much for Ben who afterwards kept complaining about how much his back hurt and how he couldn’t even bend over. In far too much pain to move, Ben informed the other cooks that he wouldn’t be able to prep that day. Which meant 6 – 8 hours of work for them that Ben wouldn’t have to do.

Being quite pissy about it, (and quite reasonably so seeing as how they got completely screwed), the three remaining cooks prepped the kitchen while they complained about Ben. They shut up quick though after he walked through and went up to talk to Chef. Ben told him that his back was in far too much pain, that the medic and the chiropractor looked at it (and found nothing wrong), and that he just couldn’t possibly cook that night. Chef told him that he was throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime and told him to think about it. Maybe Chef Ramsay said more to good ol’ Ben up there in that office, but Ben came back saying that Chef “inspired him” to work through it and to go on and cook that night. Ben came back to the kitchen to tell the cooks that he was staying, and Holli and Jay pretty much planned out his death in Hell’s Kitchen from there on in.

The service went great because, well let’s face it, at this point it should, but Chef Ramsay dropped a bombshell at the end of service. Two people were going home. They went back to the dorms and all fought about how they were better than each other, and they all pretty much attacked Ben for giving up. Which they also had full right to do in my HBO.

When they came back to face Chef, he called Autumn up first. And we all knew that was coming too. He gave her his words of inspiration, and she was the first of two cooks to leave Hell’s Kitchen. Then, Chef announced one person that would be staying to fight until the end – Jay. No surprise there either. But, who will be going with him – Ben or Holli? The oversized picture behind Chef started to fade in and out and landed on Holli’s picture, declaring the lovebirds the final two competing in Hell’s Kitchen. As Ben gave Chef his jacket, Chef told him that he had something within in him. And to never, ever give up.

So now we have Jay and Holli in the Final Two of Hell’s Kitchen. Next week we’ll be treated to old cooks coming back and bugging the crap out of us again, while Holli and Jay try desperately to hang onto their cool, and their chance to cook at the Savoy in London. I don’t know if Fox is going to do a full two hour finale or break it up into two weeks. It’ll be very interesting to see how this one turns out in any case. I am seriously, seriously rooting for Holli, and have been for a very long time, but really feel as though Jay might take it. It’s really anyone’s kitchen at this point.

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This first episode ran much like American Idol auditions would. Cooks had one hour to prepare their signature dish for Gordon Ramsay and, I’m ashamed to admit, two other judges whose names I do not know. The cooks spent most of the time preparing their dishes in front of the other cooks and their families, but finished the dish in front of the judges. Once the dish was ready, each judge would taste it, and then deliver their verdict. Can I just stop right there to say, what an honour that would be to have Chef Ramsay tasting your food? That might be enough for me. And if he said he liked it? Oh. I’d be done. That’d be it for me. Done. It wouldn’t even matter if I got on the show or not.

Once the judges tasted the food, they would then tell the person whether or not they were on the show and moving forward in the competition. If the person was, they would receive a Master Chef apron. After the first week, I don’t remember anybody’s name except for Gordon Ramsay’s. But there were a few hopefuls that I do vividly remember.

First, there was the guy who made the Beer Cheese Soup. I have to admit, when I heard the name, I was enticed. It sounded delicious, and this guy had a passion for beer, and the soup he made with it. Unfortunately when he made it, it looked like vomit in a bowl. And, according to the judges, it tasted like much of the same. Then there was the guy who I’m sure was meant to be a game show host, and who made the Bouillabaisse. That’s right – in an hour. Never mind that it takes two days to make a bouillabaisse. He put on a totally fake personality and at several points, Gordon even asked him if he was acting. He insisted he wasn’t and that was the “real him”, until Gordon tasted the dish and was quick to point out that it was not, in fact, a bouillabaisse. After that, it was game over for Mr. Non-Bouillabaisse. He broke down into tears and after Gordon took a pass on moving him further, I was hopeful. Unfortunately, the other two judges saw something in him and his dish and he got his apron.

There was also the doctor who made Smothered Chicken. She was used heavily in the promos because she has the heartbreaking story of starting to cook after her mom died just so she could taste her food again. I have to admit, it was hard to hold back my own tears as I watched her finish off that chicken. The judges seemed to go back and forth on the dish, until Gordon announced that her food was exactly the kind the show was looking for, and that she had huge potential to be the first Master Chef.

Then there was another one of my favorites. The dancin King who shook his thang while making Macaroni and Cheese for the crowd. Well, for the judges but, whatever. He had a great time with it, and presented the most beautiful Mac and Cheese that I’ve ever seen. The judges “oohed” and “aahed” over it and then Gordon stepped up. Everyone took a deep breath as he explained that, being Mac and Cheese, one of the most common dishes found anywhere in the United States, when you make it, you need to make it perfectly. Gordon took a bite, looked at the King, and then told him to do the same. The cook tasted his food and after Gordon asked him what was missing from the dish, he replied dejectedly, “Salt.” Ouch. That hurts. To make a dish to perfection and then forget such a basic, but important, ingredient. There was a whole lot of debating, and even the guy’s wife and kid were called in to plead his case for him. At the end, Gordon gave his wife the Master Chef apron to give to her husband, and told him to take the salt shaker with him so that he wouldn’t forget it again.

We did see a softer and kinder side to Gordon Ramsay in this show. But the difference is what I’ve been saying all along. The person you see on Hell’s Kitchen is not Gordon Ramsay the person, but Gordon Ramsay the Chef. And most chefs are asses when they run a line. And mostly, it’s because they need to be. But here, Ramsay is just looking for people who love what they do, and want to get better at it. The end prize is $250,000 and getting one of your very own cookbooks to publish.

This show is so great, I’m truly beyond words in my excitement! I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store!

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This week’s episode started with Chef Ramsay deciding that any great chef must be a great teacher. True enough, I suppose, when you consider that chefs need to be able to pass on their expertise and knowledge along to every other cook on the line. To demonstrate the lesson, Chef brought in four bachelors who I’m pretty sure had never even seen a stove before, let alone try to cook on one. The lesson started first with Chef Ramsay demonstrating to the cooks how to prepare roasted monkfish, including skinning it. The cooks then needed to teach their bachelors how to prepare it in exactly the same way. Holli taught her student in the way she knew best – by a series of playful shoulder slaps, giggling, and even more flirtation. Jay looked on, secretly seething, while he tried to teach his bachelor but took for granted that his bachelor already had basic cooking skills – which he didn’t. Autumn did fairly well teaching her bachelor but failed miserably when Bachelor couldn’t slice the monkfish properly and Autumn left two-thirds of it off the plate. An omission that you can bet your bottom dollar wasn’t missed by Chef Ramsay. And Ben. Well, seeing as how Ben thinks that he’s God’s gift to cooking, and the fact that he’s a cooking school instructor, Ben did very, very badly. And then his bachelor sold him down the river when Chef Ramsay asked him what kind of teacher Ben was.

Jay ended up winning the competition, and that’s probably because the entire competition is going to come down to the two lovebirds – Jay and Holli. And of course, after being given the choice of someone to bring with him, he picked his girly-friend. Their reward was pretty pitiful as they soared hundreds of feet above Earth, looking down at Los Angeles and Hell’s Kitchen, where the other cooks were serving their punishment. There was no big showdown of Chef Ramsay coming down hard on the relationship between Jay and Holli, like it seemed there was going to be in last week’s previews. In fact, the only thing that Chef said at all about the two was when he jokingly asked if they found a house together while they were overlooking LA in the blimp. To which Holli replied, “No, I don’t want to live in LA. Let’s look in London.” Which of course, Chef Ramsay ate up.

Next up was dinner service. And that other thing that Chef Ramsay said in last week’s previews about doing something that he’s never done before? Well, it turns out that was only letting the cooks choose their own stations for service. Ben chose meat, which turned out to be a disaster for him, Autumn chose garnish, where she effectively screwed up Holli, who was on the fish station, and Jay was on appetizers. The service started off horribly with every cook having huge problems on their chosen station. But, after Jay took charge and pulled things together a little bit in the kitchen, the service started to continue along swimmingly – and it continued to do so until the last dessert was served.

Because Jay showed leadership and got the kitchen back in shape when it was clearly headed for disaster, he was chosen to put up two nominees for elimination. He chose Autumn right off the bat, and then seemed to show a struggle when deciding whether to put up Ben or Mrs. Jay. Please. He acted like it was a really hard choice for him, but I never really thought that he was ever going to put up Holli. He didn’t. Of course, he put up Autumn, who he’s been annoyed with since the very beginning, and Ben. And it seemed like it was Autumn’s time too, after Chef Ramsay told her to step forward while tears were streaming down her face. But, in good ol’ Chef Ramsay fashion, he yelled, “Back in line!” and she got back in line, crying harder than ever. Then, he told Ben to step forward. I was clapping my hands in glee that Ben’s time in Hell’s Kitchen had finally come to an end. But then, Gordo once again shouted, “Back in line!” And hooray! It’s another week’s stay for the final four contestants in Hell’s Kitchen.

And, just to celebrate, Gordon brought in the cook’s families. Holli’s four year old son was brought in, and smothered with kisses, while Autumn chatted at length to her boyfriend and best friend about how all the other cooks are jealous of her. Meanwhile, Ben hung out with his wife and daughter while Jay told his parents about how Hell’s Kitchen was the hardest thing, but the best thing, that he’s ever done.

And that’s where Hell’s Kitchen left us this week. I’ll guess we’ll have to wait a few more days to see who makes it into the final three in Hell’s Kitchen. But I’m betting that Autumn will not be among them.

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The show started out with Gordon teaching his little minions that presentation is extremely important when preparing food. Something we all know, but that not even these top chefs seemed to get. The only really interesting thing about this portion of the show was the white tunnel contraption that was used to photograph the food each cook prepared. I definitely want to get something like that for Kate’s Cuisine! Imagine how polished the blog would look! And as for polish, that’s exactly what the losers – Ed, Autumn, Holli, and Jay – were doing in the dining room after Ben won and went on to get some sort of manicure that was supposed to make him look better (and begrudgingly, I have to admit, did sort of.) During this punishment, Jay and Holli exchanged completely inappropriate barbs about polishing and having sex with each other. They both thought they were extremely hilarious and I’m afraid, they were the only ones to think so. Jay later went on to say in front of the confessional camera that he had two goals in Hells’ Kitchen: to win; and to sleep with Holli. Well, he’s well on his way to one of those goals, anyway.

On to dinner service, and for the first week this season, I think my night was as bad as Chef Ramsay’s from that point on. Every cook had a terrible dinner service. Gordo yelled at Autumn, he yelled at Holli, and he really, really yelled at Ben and Ed, both of whom he ended up throwing out. I started to think at that time that Ed (my very fave cook) has not been doing well for a couple of services, and that I didn’t know if Ramsay (my other very fave cook) was going to be able to overlook it once again. I was right, and he didn’t. After Ed and Autumn were both called up for elimination, Gordon sent Ed home saying, “You’re disintegrating, big boy.” And sadly, he wasn’t wrong. Ed was falling apart the last couple of services. And as much as I hoped he’d pull it together and come back the way he started the show – strong and spectacular – he never did. 

The next challenge that Chef had in mind for the cooks was to teach them about cost management. To complete the task, the cooks had to choose ingredients from a grocery store, and their total amount couldn’t be more than $10. After done shopping, the cooks had to go back to the kitchen and prepare their dishes. Holli, who used kumquats, tuna, and parsnips in her dish, surprisingly won the challenge. And for that she was blessed by Ramsay with a $1000 shopping spree at Peninsula Hotel, and she could bring anyone she wanted. Of course, she chose her flirting partner, Blue Jay. Then we were treated to watching the two flirt some more before they went back to the kitchen. Or rather, just outside of the kitchen, in the hot tub. It seemed that things might take a turn for the truly inappropriate, when Autumn thankfully came out and ruined the mood. And thank you Autumn, for finally doing something useful.

For that night’s dinner service, Ramsay had a special little something up his sleeve. The cooks would go through the entire service constantly changing stations. Some may say that Chef did this to teach the cooks that they have to be on their game, no matter what they’re handed, every single second while in the kitchen. I personally think he did it so that we’d have some good TV to watch. Because none of the cooks could really live up to the challenge. I have to admit, it looked pretty damned hard what they were doing. At the end of service, it was Jason who got the boot. Too bad it wasn’t Blue Jay, since then we would no longer be subjected to Jay and Holli “almosts.” But, I was still happy with Jason leaving. He couldn’t run the Savoy, and he kind of bugged me.

The previews for tonight’s episode looked awesome too, so we should be in for a real treat. It looks like Chef Ramsay is actually going to address this issue between Holli and Jay, and it looks like he does it in a very dramatic way. Of course, they always make it look that way so who knows. But I do think it will be good. And of course, it’s also tonight that Chef Ramsay’s next show, Master Chef, airs. I just can’t wait for all the Chef Ramsay goodness!

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Hell’s Kitchen

In the first challenge, Chef Ramsay wanted to test their palettes and this is actually my favorite challenge every year in Hell’s Kitchen. You get to be blindfolded and have gigantic headphones put on you, then you need to open your mouth and Gordo shoves a little piece of something in there. You then, after tasting and swallowing, get to tell him what you think it is. If you’re right, you’re in his good graces for five minutes. If you’re wrong, you’re a donkey. At the end of it all, it actually proved that the Blue Team had the better palette and because of that, they were rewarded with a trip to Sea World.

Then it was time for dinner service. Chef Ramsay gave all of the cooks something that every professional chef dreams about – the chance to create their own menu. The Blue Team went with really simple and safe dishes while Ben took control on the Red Team and tried to come up with some of the weirdest stuff, all in an attempt to impress Chef Ramsay. As an interesting side note, when Nilka suggested that they put rice on the menu, Ben quickly tore that suggestion down calling rice “poor people’s food.” What? Doesn’t Hell’s Kitchen regularly serve risotto? Ben should go back to culinary class because, risotto is actually just rice.

Chef Ramsay was once again disgusted at the cooks he chose for this season’s Hell’s Kitchen when it came time for elimination and he told the teams to go back to the dorms and pick two people for elimination. Fran seemed to think that no one on her team was communicating with her, but she did seem to be the only one that thought that way. In the end, the two teams put up Fran and Autumn. Fran once again tried to reach into her bag of excuses and bring out one that she thought Gordo would like but, no such luck. Fran was told to finally, FINALLY! take her jacket off and leave Hell’s Kitchen. Autumn, on the other hand, was also told to take her jacket off. But just to get her red one back and to head back on over to the Red Team.

For the next challenge, Chef Ramsay went out and found each team a 10-pound lobster with which they were to test their creativity and culinary skills, and come up with a beautiful dish that would be judged by three Michelin star chefs. In the end, the Michelin chefs gave more points to the Red Team, declaring them finally the winner of something. But, the best part for me was when they completely ripped apart Ben’s food, after he spent so much time talking about how his dream was to be awarded a Michelin star. HA! Not very nice of me, I know. I think Gordo’s starting to rub off on me. The Red Team though, still got a thousand dollars and got to go on a thousand dollar shopping spree. The Blue Team had the punishment of having to clean the dorms as well as clean and prep the Red Team’s kitchen. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to do the same in their own kitchen. Luckily, the Blue Team has the kitchen gods smiling down on them at all times and Chef Ramsay told them that they would all be working out of one kitchen. 

The whole dinner service seemed to be going along swimmingly with Fran finally out of the kitchen. But then, one of Fran’s archenemies, Nilka, started to break down on the fish station. Chef was screaming at her, she was screaming back at him, and Nilka was tossed out of the kitchen. But Nilka doesn’t play it like all the other chefs that have been ousted from Ramsay’s inner circle. No, no. There’s no going off to sulk and smoke for her. She instead, goes back into the kitchen, pleading and pleading with Chef Ramsay to let her stay. Ramsay meanwhile, keeps telling her to leave and then yells at the remaining Red Team to tell her to go. Which they do. And she does.

At the end of the show, Nilka is shown packing her bags and heading out to the awaiting taxi cab. And who’s standing there waiting for her except for Gordon Ramsay! He gives her a hug and tells her that she works very hard and is very talented. He tells her that her passion is obvious, but that she’s just not ready to be at the Savoy. I have to tell you, it warms my heart when Chef Ramsay is especially kind to contestants that are being booted off, and it was no different in the case with Nilka. Even though she was never my favourite, I did have high hopes for her and was thinking that she would go far. I was sorry to see her exit out of the kitchen.

Then, back in the dining room, Chef Ramsay asks who’s been chosen for elimination. The Red Team puts up Autumn while the Blue Team chooses to put up Ed, my ultimate favourite in Hell’s Kitchen. Ramsay tells them each to plead their case, and they do. After this, Chef Ramsay tells Ed to take off his jacket and my jaw hit the floor. Really? Ed had to leave? Nope! Chef Ramsay then broke out into a grin and said, “Congratulations. You’ve made the Final Six,” before tossing him his envied Black jacket. One by one, each of the chef’s are given their new jacket and no one else is going to be tossed from Hell’s Kitchen tonight. 

It was a great week on Hell’s Kitchen and I’m so thankful that Roger’s has it – or else I would have missed the excitement entirely!

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