Episode 2007 - Young Guns: If You Can't Stand the Heat...

The seventh episode of Season 20 of Hell's Kitchen aired on July 12, 2021. In that episode, a blue chef joined the red team, the chefs cooked multi-cultural cuisine, and a once consistent chef completely shut down and fell apart at dinner service, leading to a shocking mid-service elimination.

Intro[]

As most of the chefs went back to the dorms, Ramsay pulled Trenton aside for a one-on-one. He thought that night was the first time he saw the real Trenton and saw him hitting his stride. Trenton said he was pushing as hard as he could and told Ramsay that the hunger came from proving his doubtful family wrong. Unlike his family, Trenton said he became a chef because he loved to cook and felt lucky to receive an Executive Chef position nine months ago as it allowed him to do his own thing. Ramsay told Trenton that he was a quick learner and adapting fast, urging him to continue it for the blue team. Meanwhile, the blue team waited for Trenton in the hallway as Emily wanted to speak with Ramsay. When Trenton met up with his teammates, he said he spent his life putting his head down and cooking to where he was now. He called it gratifying for Ramsay to acknowledge it because he had more to show.

Later that night, Brynn, Emily, and Josie hanged out in the red bedroom. Emily told the two that she had an infected eye a few weeks ago and looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. That made Josie laugh as she never had a college experience and found dorm life fun. Josie and Emily ended up hanging out more that night as the two goofed around.

Team Switch[]

The next day, Sous Chef Jason came to the dorms with two bins. Sous Chef Jason said they contained uniforms for both teams and asked them to get dressed and ready in ten minutes. The bins had jerseys, athletic shorts, and tennis shoes, with Emily hoping she got to keep them. Once dressed, the chefs left Hell’s Kitchen and arrived at the local soccer stadium seeing Ramsay play with a couple of players. Josie called Ramsay cute in his soccer jersey and found him cuter than the other players. Ramsay welcomed the chefs to Cashman Field, the Las Vegas Lights Soccer Club home, and asked if they were soccer fans. All but Steve rose their hands, and the latter said he preferred bowling over soccer.

Before beginning the challenge, Ramsay said he wanted the teams up to six and asked the blue team for a volunteer to move into the red team. Emily and Victoria were the only ones that volunteered to go back to the red team. Still, Ramsay decided to give somebody a new experience in a new team. So, Ramsay picked Antonio and gave him a red jersey to trade for his blue one. Sam was not thrilled to have Antonio on the red team, recalling how he got in the way of the blue team due to his ego.

Team challenge[]

After Antonio joined the red team, Ramsay explained how soccer was an international sport. For the International Cuisine Challenge, they would cook six different ethnic dishes from six different countries. The countries included China, France, Greece, Italy, Thailand, and Mexican. The last one made Kevin happy as he grew up on Mexican food, and it was the only one that he knew the most. Ramsay asked both teams to discuss who was cooking what. Afterwards, the players of the Soccer Club would kick them soccer balls containing ingredients to cook their dishes with. They must skillfully kick their balls into their respective nets to claim their ingredients.

After deciding on their countries, Ramsay gave them five minutes to collect their ingredients. Even though Brynn was scared about getting hit in the face, she was willing to gather ingredients for her dish. As the chefs went to get their ingredients, Sam saw soccer balls flying at them and was stoked to run around like a nut. Sam claimed filet for his French dish, while Antonio heard pork chop for his Mexican dish. Antonio went straight to the ball but found his endurance lacking despite getting his ball in. Three minutes left, Emily struggled to get her ball into her net while Trenton looked for a lamb rack for his Greek dish. After some missed shots, Trenton managed to get the ball into his net before seeing everyone else struggle. Ninety seconds left, Kevin tried to help Megan out by kicking a couple of cheese-based soccer balls into her Italian net. Still, Megan was not thrilled about it because it ruined her plan. Eventually, time was up, and Ramsay said they were a team of chefs rather than soccer players.

Back at Hell’s Kitchen, the chefs had 40 minutes to cook their International Dishes. However, Megan found no pasta for her dish as she was too busy yelling at Kevin earlier. So, Megan decided to make a sausage cake for her Italian dish, but Sous Chef Jason said he never heard of something like that. Twenty minutes left, Keanu struggled to make a Greek dish as she never made one before and decided to grill her lamb. Three and a half minutes left, Megan asked Sous Chef Jason if the plate she grabbed was too big for her cake. Sous Chef Jason told Megan that a cake the size of Chicago needed finesse for plating. Then, Kevin found his steak to be raw, and with ninety seconds left, he placed it back on the grill as everyone else started to plate. Fortunately, Kevin managed to get the steak off the grill on time as he pushed himself. Everyone had their dishes cooked and plated on time as time ran out.

Before the judging took place, Ramsay revealed the first-ever Young Guns Trophy awarded to the winning team. Michael Cimarusti came in as a guest judge, and Trenton called it a fantastic opportunity to have him judge his dish. In the first round, Steve and Josie brought up their Chinese dishes. Josie felt nervous going up against Steve because he proved to be a respected chef by now. Steve’s orange glazed duck breast over duck fat fried rice and vegetable stir fry was praised for having a perfect cook and good flavors, though Cimarusti felt it was too sweet. In contrast, Josie’s Chinese breakfast with sticky rice and chicken stir fry was criticized for having an overpowering soy sauce taste. Josie said she did not taste the dish after she mixed in the chicken juice. Still, Emily whispered it was a novice mistake, and Trenton laughed at how Josie would not try her own food. Steve won that round, and the blue team led 1-0. Antonio said his father’s family was Mexican on the Mexican round, and he was ready to kill it. Antonio’s Jack-stuffed pork chop with cumin and oregano and chorizo salsa was praised for elevating the Mexican flavors, while Kevin’s flank steak with grilled corn was criticized for having no flavors or spices. With that, Antonio won, and the score was tied at one each. Antonio thought that red looked good on him and was happy to be on the red team. In the French round, Victoria’s lobster and herb de province risotto with seared scallops was praised for well-cooked scallops but criticized for not being an authentic risotto. At the same time, Sam’s filet with red wine veal sauce was praised for a perfect cook, and he scored that round. With a 2-1 for the red team, Emily and Brynn walked their Thai dishes. Emily’s sweet potato curry with chicken was praised for having many flavors, and Cimarusti was impressed with the curry. Brynn’s Thai soup with pan-seared sea bass was criticized for not coaxing the ingredients, and Emily won that round. The score was tied at two each. On the Italian round, Kiya’s grilled flank steak with prosciutto-wrapped asparagus was deemed good, while Megan’s sausage cake was deemed heavy and dense. Kiya won that round, and the red team led 3-2. The final round was the Greek round. Trenton’s feta and Greek yogurt rubbed rack of lamb with charred eggplant purée were praised for tasting good, and he felt good as he considered Keanu’s lamb to be overcooked. Keanu presented her grilled lamb chop with baba ghanoush purée but was concerned about the cook of the lamb. Fortunately, Cimarusti praised the lamb for being right in the wheelhouse of Greek cuisine and having a perfect cook. Cimarusti gave Keanu the win with no further thought, and the red team won the challenge 4-2. Keanu was proud to the point of tearing up because that was why she came to Hell’s Kitchen. After Cimarusti left, Ramsay had Keanu claim the trophy for the red team because she scored the winning point.

Scoring[]

Reward[]

The red team was rewarded with a pool party at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino with a private performance poolside. As the red team went up to change, Keanu felt good and said winning felt better than sex. During the reward, Antonio enjoyed the moment as their server, Jade, handed them champagne. Antonio noted that Jade had more cakes than Betty Crocker but wanted to focus on his girlfriend back home. Then, Antonio said he would not go back to the blue team if the red team won more challenges.

Later, the red team got their private performance from Piff the Magic Dragon, which Sam called sweet. Josie deemed Piff cool due to his insult humor as he did his routine. Keanu called it the best day of Hell’s Kitchen as she, Sam, and Brynn jumped into the pool with flamingo rings.

Punishment[]

The blue team was punished by prepping the dining room for that night’s service, including ironing the tablecloths, polishing the silverware, and polishing the glasses. During the punishment, Marino gave the blue team the list of things to do as the red team walked by for their reward. Emily jokingly called Antonio a traitor, but Kevin felt they did not need the latter. However, Trenton thought the blue team would be stronger without Kevin. Later, Marino told Victoria and Megan not to sit down during the punishment. Victoria felt he was pushing them hard as Kevin struggled to iron a shirt. Victoria deemed Kevin a hindrance and thought he did not care.

Before service[]

Later that day, both teams prepped for that night’s service. Antonio felt a different energy in the red kitchen than blue as Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen.

Dinner service[]

As the blue team received their first order, Emily felt great because she did appetizers before and had faith in Kevin. Kevin said he never worked a central station alone besides garnish and felt the spotlight was on him. Kevin wanted to show Ramsay that he could work no matter where. Kevin and Emily walked their appetizers. However, Ramsay found the lobster tail to be raw. Meanwhile, the chefs’ tables were booked, with Forrest Griffin dining in the red kitchen and Dana White dining in the blue kitchen. As the red team worked on their first order, Antonio said he had two rules in the red kitchen: no mistakes and cook your ass off. However, Ramsay caught Antonio cooking risotto off the heat and warned him not to slow the kitchen. Kiya wanted Antonio to back up his talk as the latter was a minute late on risottos. Fortunately, Antonio’s risotto was accepted, and Kiya was slowly trusting him. Kevin admitted that he should have felt the first lobster tail in the blue kitchen and sent up his refire. Unfortunately, it was raw again, and Ramsay forced the blue team to start over. Trenton was pissed at Kevin for driving them straight into the ground and called him a train wreck. Kevin was confident the third attempt was ready, but it ended up being raw yet again. Ramsay reminded the blue team that it was first order as Emily tried to calm Kevin down. Sam brought up his scallops in the red kitchen. Still, they were undercooked, angering Ramsay because he asked for consistency earlier. As the red team worked on the refire, Keanu had to babysit Sam because she did not want to get kicked out again. Sam admitted that his energetic personality got him in trouble a lot, but his refire was accepted.

One hour into dinner service, the red diners enjoyed their appetizers while the blue diners grew restless. Kevin was hesitant on the fourth attempt as he could not get the previous mistakes out of his head. Kevin had Victoria feel the lobster tails before walking them down to the front. Fortunately, the fourth attempt was accepted, but Ramsay told Kevin to bounce back. The blue team served appetizers as the red team began entrées. Keanu wanted to step up as a leader and refused to go down. However, a communication breakdown occurred as Josie and Keanu were not at the same timings for meat and garnish. Josie told Keanu to be on time. As Keanu cooked the garnish, she got frustrated by the constant questions for a time. Despite that, the red team got their order out, and Keanu told Brynn she was fine after the latter asked. Keanu said that the red team needed to listen to her because she had it.

Automatic elimination[]

The blue team received their first entrée order in the blue kitchen as Trenton and Steve worked on the lamb. Despite the rocky start, Steve said he and Trenton were powerhouses and had a spare lamb prepped. At the same time, Kevin struggled to bounce back after getting yelled at by Ramsay and was late on the salmon. With entrées dragging on Kevin’s salmon, Ramsay said he did not want an overcooked lamb. Trenton compared Kevin’s communication to pulling teeth as the latter kept asking for one minute. Fed up with that, Ramsay brought the blue team to the pass and lectured them that they needed to push each other instead of dragging. The lamb came out overcooked, which was Ramsay’s concern earlier, and the blue team was ordered to wake up. Megan had no words about Kevin’s poor performance and was ready to punch him in the throat. Then, Kevin did not answer Steve’s questions for a time, further frustrating Ramsay as there was no teamwork in the blue kitchen. So, Ramsay pulled the blue team into the pantry and asked what was going on with Kevin. Kevin said he had to pull his head out of his ass, but Ramsay told him that he screwed up every table he touched that night. So, Ramsay eliminated Kevin on the spot and asked the blue team if they wanted to join him. As Kevin returned to the dorms to pack, he was frustrated that he could not bounce back. During his exit interview, Kevin was devastated that he shut down and felt he let his family down as he left with his bags packed.

After Kevin left, Ramsay ordered the blue team to get it together, or they were out. Trenton was disappointed that they did not get the satisfaction of nominating Kevin properly, but he agreed with Ramsay’s decision. Emily was reassigned to fish as she knew they could not afford any more mistakes and did not want to get kicked out. The blue team managed to get their first order accepted. Eventually, both teams got entrées out with no further problems.

Post-mortem[]

With both teams lined up, Ramsay said he had no idea what happened with Kevin, but his head was not in the game, and he deemed that unacceptable. Then, Ramsay named both teams joint winners because, unlike the previous services, they both bounced back and said nobody else was going home. With the weaker chefs gone and the competition heating up, Ramsay dismissed the chefs for the evening.

Trenton wanted to keep adapting for the blue team with Kevin gone because they were becoming stronger. Then, Steve thought they were growing stronger as the weaker chefs were gone and knew the competition would get tougher. Lastly, Ramsay deemed Antonio’s performance in the red kitchen good. Antonio thought the red team was firing on all cylinders compared to the blue team.

Ramsay gave no comment on Kevin’s elimination, and he did not receive the coat hanging and portrait burning sequence.

Trivia[]

• Title Reference: The title references the first half of the phrase, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." In this case, Kevin being unable to bounce back entirely during dinner service.
• This marks the first time a team switch happened outside the restaurant.