Quick Take: Hell's Kitchen, "5 Chefs Compete"
Round and round they go.
Review: Hell's Kitchen, "5 Chefs Compete"
(S0712) Ramsay meets the chefs in a local market and gives them each $10 to make a dish, very reminiscent of challenges seen on Bravo's Top Chef. Three judges taste them, and in a rather odd and almost arbitrary way offer what price they would be willing to pay. The highest average wins and that is Holli.
Her prize is an afternoon poolside in a private cabana at the Peninsula Hotel and then $1,000 to spend at a kitchen store. She also gets to bring someone and selects Jay, who came in second, but there seems to be more that went into her decision. The losers get to deal with laundry day where Autumn seems to talk non-stop.
At the cabana, they are joined by Jean-Philippe, who awsks about their backgrounds. Holli reveals she has a four-year-old son who lives with his dad. He can sense there is something going on between the two and teases them. Back at their quarters, Jay and Holli get a little frisky in the Jcacuzzi, but Autumn joins in and c-blocks them.
Jason is shown to be a step behind during the prep. Not sure if it's just today or a recurring issue, but I don't remember seeing it before.
Tonight's service is a real challenge as the chefs will be rotating stations at Ramsay's command. Holli's winning dish goes on the menu and Benjamin brings up an overcooked version of it. As a team, they have some minor stumbles in part through poor communication with the people taking over a station, but they finish.
Amazingly, what could be the biggest blow-up in the series' history didn't involve Ramsay. He steps out for a bit and Sous Chef Scott takes over the pass. While Scott was sending out an order, Benjamin takes it upon himself to call out the next pick-up. Scott severely dresses Benjamin down for not only having the audacity to try and take his job but the inability to do it. He was so furious that if he had thrown a punch I would not have been surprised.
After service, Ramsay says they are all line cooks and sends them to pick two nominees for elimination. The group picks Ben and Jason. Ramsay picks Jason and while he says he isn't ready for the task, pays him a compliment on the way out.
Down to the final four now, and it still seems like Benjamin is the best chef remaining and the nost likely winner. Jay is a slightly better leader, but not a better cook. Holli can cook as well as Benjamin, but she seems awfully young to run a kitchen of a major restaurant. Autumn is a good cook but seems to hide from the spotlight and sneak by. Benjamin's inability to lead or even talk in the kitchen is a huge stumbling block. Lucky for him, his competition is weak because I don't think he can handle the job in the long run. I'd put money on that, too.
