Episode 1608 - Dancing with the Chefs

The eighth episode of Season 16 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on Fox on November 18, 2016. In that episode, Hell's Kitchen hosted an International Dance Competition, and one chef brought their team down by failing to do a simple request.

Intro[]

While going back to the dorms, Matt admitted how shocked he was over the switch as he just gained the respect of the blue team but knew there was nothing he could do about it now that he was in the red team. Meanwhile, Shaina revealed she did not want to be a teammate for her former red team, and wanted to figure out how to become the winner at the end, despite Ryan’s apology. The next day, Wendy admitted how excited she was in the blue team as she not only worked better with men but looked better in blue.

Team challenge[]

When the chefs came downstairs, they found a group of dancers practicing in the dining room, with Heidi excitedly hoping they would be doing a dancing challenge, while Paulie was smitten by one of the female dancers. After, Ramsay revealed that the dancers were practicing for a big event the following night and announced that Hell’s Kitchen was hosting an International Ballroom Invitational for the first time. Then, Ramsay revealed the International Ballroom Planning Challenge and invited judges, Johnathon Roberts and Michelle Johnston, to help them get ideas of what to cook. The two explained they wanted to keep the international theme intact for the dishes and wanted each dish to be exciting. After, Ramsay revealed that he wanted two fish entrées, two chicken entrées, and two beef entrées for the tasting menu, and both teams had one minute to discuss what they wanted to work with. While Ryan had no idea what Andrew or Matt wanted, she immediately wanted beef as it was a protein she had yet to work with.

The chefs had 40 minutes to cook their entrées. Matt believed that Andrew and himself worked together well and thought that too much estrogen in the kitchen was not good. Despite Sous Chef Andi suggesting to Ryan and Andrew they start cooking their steaks for proper rest, the latter ignored her as he worked in a steakhouse and knew what he was doing. In the blue kitchen, Johnny started to feel frazzled as he was running out of time and struggled to make mayonnaise. However, Wendy told Johnny that there was something creamy in the kitchen besides mayonnaise. Eventually, both teams got their dishes cooked and plated on time.

Before judging, Ramsay revealed that the best dish of each round would not only score for their team but also be featured in the menu the following night. The team with the most points would win. The chicken entrée round was up first, and the pairs of Devin and Wendy, and Heather and Heidi presented their dishes. Heather’s sweet chilli glaze over pan-seared chicken and Asian pear slaw was criticized for having too much of a kick and being intense and barely having the chicken taste, much to her dismay. In contrast, Heidi presented her chipotle oven-roasted chicken with fresh Spanish rice, which caused Wendy to ask how much the former knew about Spanish cuisine as Heidi was from Maine. The dish itself was mixed as while Johnston complained about the amount of spice, Ramsay felt that Heidi nailed the chicken. Then, Wendy’s El Pastor styled chicken was criticized for having a sloppy presentation but praised for tasting nice, and then, Devin’s Asian and Thai fusion chicken with prosciutto and Asian salsa was confusing as Ramsay asked if it was supposed to be Italian, while criticized for a slimy texture. In the end, Wendy’s dish was deemed the best, the blue team led 1-0, and she declared it her resurrection. On the fish entrée round, Shaina’s jerk salmon and avocado purée were deemed delicious, though Heidi snarkily asked why the former did not perform that great on the red team, and Koop’s en papillote with sea bass was praised for the complex idea, but criticized for being stringy and lack of flavor. Kimberly’s miso sea bass and Asian vegetables were praised for the broth and looking beautiful, while Matt’s Fra diavolo was criticized for looking like a mess despite tasting good. In the end, Kimberly’s dish was deemed the best, and the score was tied at one each. On the final round, the beef entrées were up next. While Ryan’s Indian-inspired pan-seared filet was deemed lovely, Andrew’s chilli-rubbed New York striploin was criticized for having too much blood on the plate, with an annoyed Heather asking how that could happen when Andrew worked in a steakhouse. Then, Johnny’s spicy flank steak tostadas were criticized for a lackluster presentation. While Johnny argued that he did not have a lot of time for that, Ramsay sternly reminded him that everybody else’s dishes had the same amount of time to cook. After, the dish was criticized for being gummy and tough, which a dismayed Wendy deemed not good at all, and prayed for Paulie to bring in the win. After, Paulie’s Thai flank steak skewers with peanut and hoisin sauce were praised for being nice and creative. After a tough choice between Paulie and Ryan’s dish, the judges went with the latter, and the red team won the challenge 2-1.

Scoring[]

Reward[]

The red team was rewarded with a kayak trip at the Santa Barbara Mountains and a seafood lunch at The Lark. After hearing about the reward, an excited Heidi declared it a start of their winning streak and proclaimed that she loved her new red team. During the reward, Andrew wobbled a lot on his kayak due to his weight and was unsure of himself as he never did it before. Then, the red team had a splash fight with their paddles, as Ryan deemed Andrew a man-child trapped in a large body. During lunch, Kimberly said that she never experienced a great meal in her life before, while Andrew felt that the red team’s teamwork during the challenge was solid. However, Andrew and Heather’s flirting irritated the red team, with Ryan telling the two to keep it G rated. Kimberly reminded them they were competitors and would rub each other in the wrong way.

Punishment[]

The blue team was punished by prepping a raw bar for the following service. During the punishment, Wendy was having fun preparing the lobsters by tearing them apart, but Johnny called her a seafood serial killer due to that.

Before service[]

The next day, both teams began prepping for the ballroom invitational service. While Shaina suggested to Johnny that they should sear off the sea bass before service began, he ignored her as he claimed the blue team never let their fish rest, much to her annoyance. In the red kitchen, Ryan gave Andrew and Heidi directions on how to cook her dish, but she got annoyed by Andrew’s attitude, even when Matt suggested that they get rid of it before service began. However, Ryan reminded Matt that he was about to do something he wanted to do instead of what the red team has done before. Andrew told Matt to listen as the women have won more services in the past. While Ryan was still mad about the men's attitudes, Andrew got concerned the bad mood during prep would carry over into service.

After prep, Ramsay had both teams lined up, reminded them about the ballroom invitational service, and the menu that night would feature the challenge-winning dishes. Ramsay warned both teams the timings that night were critical as he wanted each guest to eat simultaneously. Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen.

Dinner service[]

As both teams got their first orders, Ramsay reminded them that they could not start serving appetizers until the first round ended. As the first round began, Paulie was smitten by the long-legged dancer, and after, Ramsay told both teams to begin cooking. However, Paulie was confused if the first order called for two or three risottos, and Johnny got annoyed as there was no communication. Then, Ramsay caught Paulie making five different risottos, each with different colors on them, and he scolded him for being disorganized. In the red kitchen, Matt proclaimed that he was not there to play and wanted to prove himself to Ramsay and the red team. However, Matt’s scallops were seriously burnt. Ramsay yelled even Stevie Wonder could know how bad they were, and Heather warned Matt that his first service on the red team could be his last. Paulie’s refire was accepted in the blue kitchen, and their half of the dining room was receiving appetizers. In the red kitchen, Matt’s refire was accepted, and the red team was serving appetizers.

Forty-five minutes into service, the blue team was working on entrées. Wendy discovered Johnny was firing every fish they had because he did not sear them earlier, even warning him that they would not have a great sear on them. Indeed, Johnny’s sea bass was raw, and a dismayed Shaina said she knew they had to be seared earlier. When Devin told Ramsay that the refire would take six minutes, a dismayed Ramsay learned that the fish was not seared off. He asked Sous Chef Aaron to watch over the fish and brought the blue team over to the red kitchen to feel Matt’s fish, with Kimberly mockingly asking them if they messed up again. After reminding the blue team that they always seared the fish off before service began, an annoyed Shaina said that she told Johnny earlier. While Johnny claimed that he thought they were supposed to hold off from searing at the start, Ramsay angrily reminded him that they sear them off during appetizers. However, Johnny argued that Shaina never told him to sear the fish, but only that she asked him before accusing her of letting him go down for that. Once back in the blue kitchen, the refires were accepted, and they served their first order of entrées. In the red kitchen, the red team was beginning to work on entrées, and while Ryan was trying to help Kimberly out, the latter annoyingly said that she did not need Ryan holding her hand. Despite that, Andrew reminded Kimberly that they had to have two chefs at each entrées station, which led to Kimberly telling Ryan not to talk down to her. Back in the dining room, as the first pair of finalists began their turn, Shaina told the men to keep their eyes off the dancer's asses. In the red kitchen, Kimberly’s filet was accepted, Ramsay told her and Ryan to make every portion similar, and Kimberly proudly stated that the proof was in the pudding. Then, Matt’s salmon was accepted as well, and as entrées were leaving the red kitchen, the second pair of finalists began their turn, with Heather saying that she could not dance to save her life.

One hour and a half into service, the red team has finished entrées and moving onto desserts, but the blue team were way behind as their customers and even the judges were still waiting for entrées. While Johnny sent up his sea bass, Devin revealed that he needed one minute on his chicken, much to the former’s frustrations. Then, one of Devin’s chickens was raw, which he tried to warn his teammate about, and an upset Ramsay brought the blue team into the pantry room. Ramsay berated the blue team for being ten tables behind the red team due to their poor performance on appetizers and asked if they had anything to say about it. Just as Johnny was about to come up with a solution, Ramsay kicked the blue team out of service, asked them to nominate two people for elimination, and told them the red team would finish their remaining tickets. Back in the red kitchen, Ramsay told Heather to stay on desserts and ordered the remaining red chefs into the blue kitchen. As the red team pushed out entrées, Andrew felt that they were cleaning up the blue team’s mess. After finishing up the blue team’s tickets, they saw the judges announce the winner of the International Ballroom Invitational.

Post-mortem[]

Back at the dorms, Shaina reminded Johnny that he should have seared the fish properly before considering the latter and Paulie for elimination, which Koop agreed with. However, Paulie disagreed on that as they got appetizers out strongly, but Koop said that he should not be in the competition if he could not accept his mistakes. Then, Paulie considered Devin and Wendy for elimination, the former based on the raw chicken. Still, Devin argued that it was because of the snowballing mistakes that night and considered Wendy and Paulie for elimination based on the poor performances on appetizers. Then, Wendy considered Paulie and Johnny for elimination, but when Johnny considered Devin and Wendy, she argued that they could have come back from the poor appetizers had the fish been ready. However, Johnny argued that nobody told him that, but Shaina reminded him that he said the blue team never seared off fish, and Wendy claimed that she asked for help from Devin. Then, Johnny tried to push the blue team to nominate Wendy for failing on the easiest station that night, and she angrily felt that they were kicking her as the men were placing the blame on her before challenging the blue team to put her up for elimination. However, that led to a fierce argument when Johnny accused Wendy of giving up.

Elimination[]

After coming downstairs, Devin told Ramsay that the blue team failed to agree on two nominees as they had three choices with no agreements. After a dismayed Ramsay called that a mess, he asked Shaina who the three people were. Shaina announced that Paulie, Johnny, and Wendy were the blue team’s nominees, and Ramsay decided to call down all three of them. During their pleas, Wendy said that she fought a lot and tried to remain a team player that night, but Ramsay reminded her that she shut down that night. Then, Paulie said that he took responsibility for his mistakes and claimed that he was the scapegoat for people who did worse that night, but Ramsay told him he deserved to be nominated for his dreadful performance. After, Johnny claimed that he was a hard worker that took responsibility for his actions, but when Ramsay asked him what happened, he accused his teammates of letting him down for not telling him to sear the fish off properly. However, Shaina told Ramsay that she asked Johnny about searing the fish off before service began. Still, while Johnny denied it, the video footage showed that Shaina was in the right. Johnny was eliminated as his failure to sear the fish on time lead to the blue team’s collapse that night, and during his exit interview, he accused his teammates of letting him go down before growling that he wanted to rip out his hair over being eliminated.

After Johnny left, Ramsay reminded the chefs that rushing their dishes would take longer and that he could wait for quality. While being dismissed, Wendy now knew why the blue team could not complete services and felt that she and Shaina had to whip them into shape, while Andrew felt that the red team was more cohesive than the fractured blue team. Then, Shaina said that the blue team should start listening to her and accused the men of acting like a bunch of bitches.

Ramsay's comment: "Johnny's a burger chef from Philly. Unfortunately for him, the two words he'll never hear from me are 'well done.'"

Trivia[]

• Title Reference: The title refers to the International ballroom competition Hell's Kitchen hosted. It is also a reference to ABC's dancing competition reality show Dancing With the Stars.
• This marks the third time Ramsay kicked a team out of service five times in a season. This happened to Season 10's blue team and Season 14's red team.