Hell's Kitchen Episode 4 - "We're in Hell"  6/27/07

            We’re in Hell.  That what Bonnie says at the beginning of the episode after that night’s dinner service.  Hmmm maybe that’s why it’s called Hell’s Kitchen?

            The next day starts off with the challenge- this time a taste test.  One at a time, each team member faces off to the other team to taste three foods and identify them.  For each food a team member guesses correctly, the team receives a point.  The contestants are blind folded and have headphones playing loud music.  The team with the most correct answers wins the challenge. 

            Brad and Julia face off first, and while Brad can’t hear anything Ramsey teases him, calling him a sack of bleep and ugly.  Julia guesses American cheese and is correct. Brad guesses cheddar chesses and is wrong. The next food, friend chicken, is guessed correctly by both.  Next food, a plain boiled carrot, throws both off with Brad guessing papaya and Julia guessing radish. Red two, Blue one.   Next up is Melissa and Rock. Rock guest it right by guessing hard boiled egg yolk, while Julia incorrectly guesses potato. Next food is guessed correctly by both, a boiled potato. Then neither can guess venison, and the score is tied three to three. Next up is Josh and Bonnie.  Bonnie can hear through her headphones, but Ramsey adjusts them so she can’t.  First up is lobster.  Both guess some sort of sea food but are wrong.  Next is Bok choy, which is guessed correctly by Bonnie but not Josh.  Bonnie gets the pear right while Josh incorrectly guesses mango.  Score is Red 5, Blue 3.  Josh had guessed all three wrong. Next are Jen and Vinnie. Vinnie guesses incorrectly, and it is over for the boys’ team, there is no way they can catch up. 

            The girl’s win the challenge, again.  Ramsey tells them that they have one the most exciting dining experience of their lives, while the boys’ are punished by having to prepped both kitchens, and they must taste beef liver, tongue, pigs’ feet, tripe, and kidneys, because their palettes stink.  The girls go to get dressed for their reward, while the men are giving their lunch and barf bags in case their stomachs can’t handle it.

            The girls head to their challenge, and they are lead into a dark restaurant, where they will be eating.  The restaurant is named Opaque and you dine there in the pitch black where you can’t see your food.  The girls found it easier to talk (and flirt) with Chef Ramsey in the dark.

            The boys, on the other hand, are not enjoying their lunch. Rock appears to be the queasiest.    He eventually has to be excused to go the bathroom.  The boys go to complete their punishment by prepping both kitchens, while the girls rest and relax.  The boys are exhausted.

            Before the dinner service Ramsey tells the teams that the customer’s comment cards will determine who wins the challenge tonight.  The boys immediately have a problem with the risotto not being properly cooked.  Melissa gets ahead of the rest of the team for appetizers and Ramsey accuses her of showing off.  Both kitchens are having trouble with the meat.  A disgruntled customer comes to complain to Ramsey and he pretends to care and tells the host to “take the giraffe away.”  That somehow blows over.

            Both teams are having several complaints from customers.  Finally Ramsey cracks and tells the teams to shut the kitchens down.  They shut down while Ramsey reads the customers’ comment cards.  The customers enjoyed most of the food, but 65% wouldn’t come back because the food took too long to get out.  Ramsey says a restaurant would fail with those numbers and there is no winning team tonight.   Rock and Jen will both nominate one from their teams.

            Rock nominates Josh because he maxed out his potential for the team.  Jen nominates Melissa based on tonight’s performance.  Ramsay is disappointed that they did not nominate the best performers, and he over rules them.

            Ramsay nominates Vinnie and Bonnie.  Vinnie is sent home after a tough decision.

Next week the chef’s going on a “very special” shopping trip at a grocery store, they must cook for a wedding, and it appears as the bride and groom made a mistake.  Chef Ramsey has never been so embarrassed in his entire life.