American Classics Challenge

The American Classics Challenge is a recurring challenge in Hell’s Kitchen.

Overview[]

For this challenge, Ramsay gives the chefs a choice of dishes consumed by the American public. They are then required to create an upscale restaurant quality version of the dish and present it to Ramsay. If they are successful, Ramsay will award points to the chef. The team with the most points at the end will win the challenge. If done individually, the chef with the best dish wins.

History[]

Season 3[]

On Episode 9, the challenge first took place when three chefs were remaining. For that year, Ramsay rolled out five domes and had the final three pick one to decide what dish they were cooking. Bonnie got Frank and Beans, Jen got Fried Chicken, and Rock got Spaghetti and Meatballs. They then had to cook an elevated version of their dishes in one hour. For the judging, Ramsay invited the final three’s mothers to do blind judging. Jen’s fried chicken roulade stuffed with crab meat, spinach, and goat cheese was deemed the best, and she won the challenge. Jen had lunch with Ramsay at The Lodge Steakhouse with her mother and had a $1000 shopping spree at Surface kitchen equipment shop. Rock and Bonnie had to clean the dorms.^[1]

Season 9[]

On Episode 8, the challenge happened when 10 chefs were remaining, five on both teams. It was also the first time the challenge took place during the team phase. For that year, the chefs had 45 minutes to make elevated versions of five American dishes which included a hamburger, chicken noodle soup, Cobb salad, pizza, and spaghetti and meatballs. Also, Ramsay named Tommy and Carrie team captains for the challenge, giving them the responsibility of who from their team cooks what. Wolfgang Puck joined Ramsay to judge the dishes. Jamie beat Tommy out on the hamburger round, while Natalie beat Elizabeth on the cobb salad round. Neither Elise nor Will scored on the spaghetti and meatball round, but Jennifer beat Paul on the chicken noodle soup round. Lastly, neither Carrie nor Jonathan scored on the pizza round, but the red team won the challenge 2-1. They received a day out in Los Angeles, and a VIP performance at the Laugh Factory, while the blue team cleaned and prepped both kitchens, and cleaned the dorms.^[2]

Season 14[]

On Episode 4, the challenge happened when 15 chefs were remaining, 8 on the red team, and 7 on the blue team. For that year, the chefs had 40 minutes to make elevated versions of four American dishes which included macaroni and cheese, pizza, burger, and spaghetti. To collect their ingredients, Ramsay launched footballs out in a football field, and the chefs had 30 seconds to gather them for their dishes. Although the chefs cooked in pairs, Randy cooked alone as the blue team was a member down. Before the judging, the pairs had to decide on whose dish was going up. Suzanne Goin and David Burke were invited as guest judges. Bret scored on the pizza round over Michelle, while Meghan scored on the burger round over Randy. Josh scored over Alison on the macaroni and cheese round, while Sarah scored over Brendan on the spaghetti round. With the score tied at 4 each, the round winners were called back to have their dishes looked at again. In the end, Sarah’s spaghetti with Parmesan, fried kale, prosciutto, zucchini, and lobster was deemed the best of the day, and the red team won the challenge. They went on a trip to Long Beach and rode on the historic American Pride yacht. The blue team had to take in deliveries of 500 pounds of onions, and prep them for the next service.^[3]

Trivia[]

• This is one of the few challenges that happened in both the individual phase and the team phase.
• In the team phase, the red team has won this challenge the most with two seasons (Seasons 9 and 14).^[2][3]

Gallery[]

• Season 3
• Season 9
• Season 14

Bonnie's American Classics Dish (Frank and Beans)

Rock's American Classics Dish (Spaghetti and Meatballs)

Jen's American Classics Dish (Fried Chicken)

Jamie's American Classics Dish (Burger)

Tommy's American Classics Dish (Burger)

Elizabeth's American Classics Dish (Cobb Salad)

Natalie's American Classics Dish (Cobb Salad)

Elise's American Classics Dish (Spaghetti and Meatballs)

Will's American Classics Dish (Spaghetti and Meatballs)

Jennifer's American Classics Dish (Chicken Noodle Soup)

Paul's American Classics Dish (Chicken Noodle Soup)

Carrie's American Classics Dish (Pizza)

Jonathon's American Classics Dish (Pizza)

Bret and Michelle's American Classics Dishes (Pizza)

Randy's American Classics Dish (Burger)

Meghan's American Classics Dish (Burger)

Alison's American Classics Dish (Macaroni and Cheese)

Josh's American Classics Dish (Macaroni and Cheese)

Brendan's American Classics Dish (Spaghetti)

Sarah's American Classics Dish (Spaghetti)

References[]