Last night on Hell’s Kitchen, Chef Ramsey kicked off the first of Fox’s double episode with one of my very favorite challenges, the Blind Taste Test. Each chef had to identify the food by taste alone. It is a true test of how refined their palates are. And we found out that this group of chefs can’t taste anything.
We now know that Carrie doesn’t know the difference between mango and strawberry, and egg yolk and egg white. Will can’t recognize lobster, and Natalie thinks filet mignon is turkey. What the hell? Where are these people from? I’ve never seen this challenge performed so poorly by so many people. It’s like taking a bunch of people who have only lived in a world composed of shades of gray and asking them to describe the sunset, or the colors of the rainbow, in order. Shocking, really.
Ultimately, thanks to Elise’s ability to successfully name more foods than seemingly everyone else combined (that would be 3), the Red Team won the challenge. As a reward, they earned a day on horseback, a very nice lunch, and some very nice wine. Meanwhile, as a punishment, the Blue Team was back at the kitchen peeling grapes. Lots and lots of grapes that were to be made into homemade jam.
Tommy and his dumbass grape jokes drove Natalie to insanity. At one point she threw several bunches of grapes on the floor and jumped up and down on them, screaming that she just can’t do it anymore. But the highlight really came when a very drunk Elise and Carrie came in, laughing, arm in arm.
This lasted about as long as it took them to get up to the dorm, when they started telling Natalie about their day. Naturally, a fight started when they started arguing over who was a bigger drunk. These two idiots will fight over anything. I really don’t know how either of them ever made it out of high school.
The next day, Hell’s Kitchen opened with Steak Night. Should be pretty easy, right? Wrong. Since they were overbooked, Chef Ramsey called for a double booking. First, the Blue Team ran the kitchen while the Red Team took orders and ran the dining room. Then, they switched.
Tommy had problems with the appetizers, Elise had problems taking orders. The Blue kitchen should have ran smooth with just meat, sea bass, and scallops. However, Natalie really struggled getting the proper temps on the New York Strips.
With such a small window to work with, Chef Ramsey had very little patience and closed the Blue Kitchen down with five tables still not served. Then, it was the Red Team’s turn in the kitchen and the Blue Team’s turn on the floor. Tommy had just as much trouble taking orders on the floor as he does doing anything in the kitchen. Ramsey continued to make fun of his writing ability while tearing up his tickets and throwing them back at him.
At least Will was getting his orders in the kitchen and back out on the floor.
Meanwhile, the Red Team pushed out their appetizers with ease. They were in a nice flow until they hit the bass entrée and of course, it was undercooked. Then Carrie screwed up getting garnish to the pass. Once she did get it up there, it was burned. This brought service to a complete standstill.
With ten minutes left in the service and three tables left to serve, Elise’s bass entrée hit the floor instead of the plate. That was the final straw for Ramsey. He shut down their kitchen too.
So on a pitiful night where neither team won, Elise informed Chef Ramsey that she is a team player who communicates. He told her that she has a future in this industry, as a customer. Jennifer told Elise that her problem is that she never listens and to “shut up for 5 f’n seconds.” Great advice, really.
The Red Team selected Carrie for elimination because they need to work together and they need to break up the drama. While Elise may be a better chef than Carrie, she’s only marginally better. Her attitude is so awful that I think the Red Team is doing themselves a huge disservice by keeping her.
The Blue Team nominated Tommy because his lack of communication is a constant problem.
Carrie told Ramsey that she has so much more to show him (although based on previous comments like her idea of a sexy desert is to put herself on a plate and drizzle chocolate on herself has me scared what else she might have to show him…) . Tommy told him that he doesn’t want to give him some big stupid speech but wants to prove himself to him. Ramsey said he doesn’t think Tommy has a big future in Hell’s Kitchen. Um, I don’t think so either. Tommy is a friggin’ knucklehead.
Ultimately, Chef Ramsey chose Carrie to leave Hell’s Kitchen. Apparently, he is also scared of what else she might have to show him. He told her she had ambition and a big heart, but she needs more time to grow. As she departed, everyone applauded her efforts, except for her arch-nemesis, Elise.
I really had no heartburn with Carrie leaving. She brought as much drama to the table as Elise. I’m just glad one of them finally left. Now, maybe the other one will soon follow.
