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International Cuisine Challenge

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The International Cuisine Challenge is a recurring challenge in Hell’s Kitchen.

Overview[]

During this challenge, each chef is given a random country with which to base a dish off of. Whoever has the best dish of the day (for the Black Jacket phase) or the team accumulates the most successful dishes wins the challenge.

The purpose of this challenge is to test the chefs’ abilities to work with international cuisine.

History[]

Season 6[]

For Season 6, this challenge happened twice.

Episode 9 (Crepe Challenge)[]

In episode 9, the first occurrence took place when there were 8 chefs left, 4 on both teams. It was also the first time the challenge was used. Known as the Crepe Challenge, both teams had 20 minutes to make four crepes that were breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Jean-Philippe joined Ramsay in the judging. Ariel beat Van on the breakfast round, but Andy beat Tennille on the lunch round. Then, both Kevin and Suzanne tied on the dinner round. Lastly, Sabrina beat Dave on the dessert round and the red team won 3-2. They had a full French experience while the blue team prepped both kitchens for dinner service and ate a plate of tripe.[1]

Episode 14 (International Cuisine Challenge)[]

In episode 14, the second occurrence took place when three chefs were remaining and was done as an individual challenge. Known as the International Cuisine Challenge, Ramsay had the final three lift one of three domes, revealing a flag that represented the country they were cooking. Ariel got China, Dave got India, and Kevin got Mexico. They then had 45 minutes to cook their dish. Also, Vikas Khanna, Thomas Ortega, and Eddie Won were invited as guest judges. Dave's seared pork tenderloin with Ming bean purée was deemed the best of the three, and he won the challenge. Dave was rewarded with a special lunch made by the three judges, got to spend time with his loved ones, and received a complete set of Demeyere cookware, which was the same used in Hell’s Kitchen. Kevin and Ariel had to prep the kitchen for that night's service, and polish the silverware.[2]

Season 10[]

In episode 5, the challenge took place with fourteen chefs were remaining, seven on each team. Known as the Mexican Cuisine Challenge, both teams had 35 minutes to cook five Mexican inspired dishes which were burritos, enchiladas, soup, tacos, and tostadas. To collect their ingredients, they had to gather colored balls from a pinata. As only five dishes had to be judged, the red team sat out Barbie and Robyn, while the blue team sat out Brian and Guy. Also, Thomas Ortega and John Sedlar were invited as guest judges. Kimmie beat Royce on the taco round, Clemenza beat Danielle on the burrito round, Tiffany beat Justin on the soup round, and Patrick beat Christina on the enchiladas. Finally, Dana beat out Roshni on the tostadas, and the red team won the challenge 3-2. They were rewarded with a gourmet lunch at John Sedlar’s Rivera restaurant, and took salsa lessons, while the blue team had to prep for Mexican Night, which included making both the salsa and the tortilla by hand, and eat tripe.[3]

Season 11[]

In episode 7, the challenge happened with fifteen chefs remaining, eight on the red team and seven on the blue team. Known as the Chinese Dish Creation Challenge, each team had 40 minutes to cook six Chinese inspired dishes which were Chow Mein, spring rolls, dumplings, soup, fried rice, and stir fry. To gather the ingredients, both teams had to gather fortune cookies containing the ingredients, with Dan and Raymond controlling the blue team's choices, and Ja'Nel and Jacqueline controlling the red team's choices. As the red team had an extra person, Mary sat out. Jacqueline beat Dan on the fried rice, Jon beat Jessica on the stir fry, Barret beat Nedra on the spring rolls, Cyndi beat Raymond on the dumplings, and both Michael and Ja'Nel tied on the soup. Finally, Anthony won the Chow Mein round over Susan, and the blue team won the challenge 4-3. They were rewarded with paintball, while the red team had to clean both kitchens for the next service, make potstickers and steam dumplings from scratch, and eat balut.[4]

Season 13[]

In episode 10, the challenge happened with nine chefs remaining, five on the blue team and four on the red team. Known as the Indian Cuisine Challenge, each team had thirty minutes to cook four Indian inspired entrées which included pork, lamb, chicken, and cod. To choose the ingredients, one chef from each team would use a tablet to slide the ingredients to their teammate’s protein, with Roe and Aaron using the tablet as their teammates directed them. Also, Sachin Chopra was invited as a guest judge and he and Ramsay judged the dishes on a 1-5 scoring each. Because the blue team had an extra person, Sade and Santos both cooked a chicken dish, and for judging, the former's dish was chosen. La Tasha scored 7 over Aaron's 5 on the lamb round, Sade scored 7 over Sterling's 3 on the chicken round, and Roe scored 5 over Bryant's 4 on the cod round. Finally, Jennifer scored 8 over Fernando's 7, and when the challenge ended in a 22 point tie, the red team won the tiebreaker as Jennifer had the highest scoring dish of the day. They were rewarded with a spa day at Willow’s Spa, as well as Vitamix blenders as gifts, while the blue team had to prep for the next service, and clean the front entrance of the restaurant.[5]

Season 14[]

In episode 7, the challenge happened with twelve chefs remaining, six on each team. Known as the Greek Cuisine Challenge, each team had 40 minutes to cook a Greek-inspired dish from six proteins which were lamb, prawns, squid, chicken, pork, and swordfish. Each chef had to pick a protein by standing behind it. To gather ingredients, both teams had to smash plates containing the ingredients for their protein. Also, Michael Psilakis was invited as a guest judge and he and Ramsay judged the dishes on a 1-5 scoring each. Alison scored 6 over Josh's 2 on the lamb round, Bret scored 8 over Michelle's 3 on the prawns round, Meghan scored 9 over Milly's 6 on the squid round, Randy's perfect 10 beat T's 7 on the chicken round, and Adam's perfect 10 beat Christine's 8 on the pork round. Finally, while Sarah scored 7 over Nick's 5 on the swordfish round, the blue team still won the challenge 41-40. They were rewarded with Go-kart race track hosted by Miss California, while the red team had to remove the smashed plates from the floor and clean up for the next service.[6]

Season 19[]

In episode 5, the challenge happened when thirteen chefs were remaining, seven on the blue team and six on the red team. Known as the Mexican Cuisine Challenge, Ramsay had both teams make upscaled versions of four Mexican dishes; tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, and Chile Relleno. Both teams had to work in pairs for that challenge, but due to the unbalanced numbers, Adam from the blue team cooked alone, while the pair of Kori and Mary Lou cooked two dishes. For the first part of the challenge, Ramsay had both teams go into an animal pen to collect their ingredients and pick their proteins. The red team finished first and received 45 minutes of cooking time, while the blue team received 40. Aarón Sanchez came in to guest judge the dishes. Adam scored over the pair of Kori and Mary Lou on the enchilada round, while the pair of Nikki and Syann scored over the pair of Josh and Peter on the taco round. The tostada round ended as a tie for the pairs of Jordan and Lauren, and Marc and Amber, but neither the pair of Kori and Mary Lou, nor Declan and Cody, scored on the Chile Relleno. With the scored tied at two each, Ramsay called up Adam and the pair of Nikki and Syann to bring up their dishes again, and after another look, Adam's dish was judged to be the best, giving the blue team the win. The blue team had a spa day at the Voie, while the red team had to clean the animals in the pen, scoop up the manure, and clean up the hay bales before that night’s dinner service. However, Syann decided to use her Punishment Pass to join the blue team on their reward, and forced Cody to do the punishment instead.[7]

Season 20[]

In episode 7, this challenge happened when there were twelve chefs left, six on both teams. Known as the International Cuisine Challenge, Ramsay gave out six countries the chefs from each team must make. These included French, Greek, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, and Italian. The chefs had five minutes to kick soccer balls into their respective nets to collect their ingredients. Then, they had 40 minutes to cook their dish. Michael Cimarusti came in to guest judge. Steve beat Josie in the Chinese round, but Antonio beat Kevin on the Mexican round. Sam won the French round over Victoria, Emily beat Brynn on the Thai round, and Kiya scored over Megan on the Italian round. Lastly, Keanu won the Greek round over Trenton. The red team won the challenge 4-2 and were rewarded with a pool day. The blue team polished the silverware and glasses.[8]

Season 21[]

In episode 10, this challenge happened when there were nine chefs left, five on the red team and four on the blue team. Known as the Creative Taco Challenge, Ramsay had both teams cook elevated version of tacos with five proteins: chicken, shrimp, fish, beef, and pork. The chefs had 40 minutes to cook their dishes. Also, Danny Trejo was invited as a guest judge. Because the red team had an extra person, Alex had to cook two dishes. Sommer and Alex tied in the chicken round, Sakari scored over Tara in the shrimp round, Abe scored over Brett in the fish round, but Cheyenne beat the blue team in the beef round. Dafne scored over Alejandro in the pork round, the challenge ended in a tie. With the score tied at three each, Dafne's dish was judged to be the best, giving the red team the win. The red team were rewarded with zorbing down the hills and gourmet tacos catered by Trejo's Tacos, they also received Vitamix blenders. The blue team had to prep corn to make handmade tortilla for tacos for dinner service.[9]

Season 22[]

In episode 10, this challenge happened when there were nine chefs left, five on the blue team and four on the red team. Known as the Creative Pasta Challenge, Ramsay had both teams create four pasta dishes: pappardelle, agnolotti, ravioli, and tagliatelle. For part one of the challenge, both teams had to cross over a marinara pool on a balance beam to collect their ingredients, and make it back to their board. If anyone fell off, they were required to go back in line and lose their ingredient. The blue team filled their board first and won a five minute head start over the red team, who had to cook in 40 minutes. Also, Dahmere and Atoye cooked their own pappardelle dishes as the blue team had an extra person. Evan Funke came to guest judge the challenge. Donya beat Johnathan on the tagliatelle round, while Ryan beat Carmen on the ravioli round. Then, Leigh scored on the pappardelle dishes over Dahmere and Atoye, while Sammi won the agnolotti round over Jason. The red team won the challenge 3-1, earning them a goat yoga session and an Oxo cooking set. The blue team were forced to make 200 lbs. of fresh pasta for that night’s service.[10]

Season 23[]

In episode 11, this challenge happened when there were eight chefs left, four on both teams. Known as the International Cuisine Challenge, Ramsay gave out four countries the chefs from each team must make. These included China, France, Greece, and Mexico. The chefs had 45 minutes to cook their dishes. Vikas Khanna came to guest judge the challenge. Joe and Amanda tied in the Greece round, while Whit scored over Kyle in the China round. Brandon beat Hannah in the France round, but Egypt and Ann Marie each scored in the Mexico round, the challenge ended in a tie. With the score tied at three each, Egypt's dish was judged to be the best, giving the blue team the win. The blue team were rewarded with a private tour of Mashantucket Pequot Museum, a set of Spiceology spices with $500 gift card, and lunch cooked by Chef Sherry Pocknett. The red team had to bake cupcakes for dinner service.[11]

Trivia[]

  • This is one of the few challenges where it was done in both the team format and individual format.
  • The red team has won this challenge the most at six seasons.[1][3][5][8][9][10]
  • Season 6 is the only season where this challenge was done during the individual format.[2]
  • This was one of the few challenges to produce a tie.[4][6][9][11]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 (September 8, 2009). "Episode 609 - 8 Chefs Compete". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 6. Episode 9.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 (October 13, 2009). "Episode 614 - 3 Chefs Compete". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 6. Episode 14.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 (June 18, 2012). "Episode 1005 - 14 Chefs Compete". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 10. Episode 5.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 (April 16, 2013). "Episode 1107 - 15 Chefs Compete". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 11. Episode 7.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 (November 19, 2014). "Episode 1310 - 9 Chefs Compete". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 13. Episode 10.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 (April 14, 2015). "Episode 1407 - 12 Chefs Compete". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 14. Episode 7.
  7. ↑ (November 5, 2020). "Episode 1905 - Hell Starts Taking Its Toll". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 5.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 (July 12, 2021). "Episode 2007 - Young Guns: If You Can't Stand the Heat...". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 20. Episode 7.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 (January 5, 2023). "Episode 2110 - Everyone's Taco'ing About It". Season 21. Episode 10.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 (December 7, 2023). "Episode 2210 - The Pastabilities Are Endless". Season 22. Episode 10.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 (January 2, 2025). "Episode 2311 - A Soap Opera In Hell". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 23. Episode 11.
Recurring Challenges
Team Challenges
Attention to Detail Challenge • Blind Taste Test • Burger Challenge • Consistency Challenge • Exotic Meat Challenge • Farm Animal Challenge • Head to Head Challenge • Ingredient Spelling Challenge • Jacket Challenge • Last Chef Standing Challenge • Meal Course Challenge • Multi-Way Cooking Challenge • Pasta Making Challenge • Pizza Challenge • Potato Challenge • Protein Cut Challenge • Protein Identification Challenge • Ranking Challenge • Relay Challenge • Service Challenge • Special Events Planning Challenge
Individual Challenges
Black Jackets Challenge • Cook For Your Life Challenge • Final Signature Dish Challenge • Final Tasting Challenge • Menu Addition Challenge • Portions Challenge • Tableside Challenge
Individual/Team Challenges
Alcohol Challenge • American Classics Challenge • Budget Challenge • Cooking Method Challenge • Cooking School Challenge • Craps Challenge • Creative Dessert Challenge • Creative Steak Challenge • Dome Challenge • Foreign Cuisine Challenge • Fusion Cuisine Challenge • Holiday Dish Challenge • Ingredient Number Challenge • King of The Hill Challenge • Leftovers Challenge • One Time Challenges • Presentation Challenge • Seafood Challenge • Signature Dish Challenge • Taste It Now Make It Challenge
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