Hell's Kitchen Season 10, Episode 14

Hello everybody!

Let’s talk about another episode of Hell’s Kitchen today! More specifically, Episode 14 of Season 10!

The episode started off right after the elimination from the previous episode, where Barbie was pleased that Tiffany had gone home instead of her, while Kimmie was not pleased about what had happened. 

The next morning, it was time for the challenge that day, and right in the kitchen was a giant map of America with images of certain foods on certain states. What I mean is that California had Avocados, Texas had Ribs, and Idaho had Potatoes. Chef Ramsay then explained that he has had the pleasure of traveling across the United States, and through his travels, he had been able to see Maine Lobster, Maryland Crab, and Wisconsin Cheese. He then said that it was clear that each region had a state cuisine, and their next challenge would be about an American Cuisine that he has learned to love in a big way, which is Southern Cuisine. 

The map was then pushed out of the way, revealing that right behind it was a Southern gospel choir singing This Little Light Of Mine. Yeah, Chef Ramsay likes to have weird elements that have nothing to do with cooking to introduce the challenges. Chef Ramsay then said that the reason why he asked the group to be there was because gospel music has its roots in the South, and for the upcoming challenge, the chefs would be reinventing a classic Southern dish. 

Chef Ramsay then explained that each member of the choir was holding fans with their names on them. Members with blue fans had a Southern entree on the other side of the fan, and members with purple fans had a Southern side dish on the other side of the fan.

From there, each chef had to choose someone from the opposing team that they wanted to cook against. 

Barbie chose to go up against Clemenza, and from there, they had to make a dish with Catfish and Collard Greens. I know that I have said so many times on this blog that I am not the biggest fan of Fish, but I am weirdly curious enough to try Catfish. 

Clemenza was not looking forward to making this dish, as he was from New York and had never even heard of Collard Greens.

Brian chose to go up against Kimmie, the latter of which had been making it a point throughout the entire season to let everyone know that she was from the South. They ended up having to make a dish with Pork Chop and Grits, which is a dish that I would consider trying.

Christina chose to go up against Justin, and they had to make a dish with Fried Chicken and Macaroni & Cheese, which is a dish that I would absolutely want to try.

This left Robyn to go up against Dana, and they had to make a dish with Meatloaf and Sweet Potato, which is another dish that I would absolutely want to try. 

After the cook time was up, Chef Ramsay brought in a guest judge for the challenge. Tanya Steel, the editor in chief of Epicurious. 

Up first was the battle of Catfish and Collard Greens. 

Barbie presented her dish first, which was a Blackened Catfish with Bacon Braised Collard Greens, which is a dish that I would consider trying. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like.

Tanya Steel said that the dish looked very attractive, and whatever was on the top of the dish, because nobody said what it was, was beautifully fried. 

Clemenza then presented his dish, which was a New York Style Catfish Po’ Boy, which is a Sandwich for those of you that don’t know, and was also coincidentally served with Bacon Braised Collard Greens. This is another dish that I would strongly consider trying. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like.

Tanya Steel said the Collard Greens were very nice, the Bacon came through, but the Catfish could have been cooked a little bit more, as it was a little bit undercooked, to which Clemenza said in an interview that he looked at it and didn’t see what she was saying, which is a common strategy of so many contestants when their dish is not well received. 

This meant that Barbie’s dish scored a point in the first round. 

Up next was the battle of Pork Chop and Grits.

Kimmie presented her dish first, which was an Oregano Panko Crusted Pork Chop with Grits that had Cream, Sautéed Bacon, Monterey Jack Cheese, and Swiss Cheese, which is another dish that I would be willing to try. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like. 

Tanya Steel said that the dish sounded incredible, but Chef Ramsay said that it looked slightly dull. Upon actually tasting it, Tanya Steel said that the Grits were among the best she had ever had, even going so far as to say that she could eat buckets of it, and even Chef Ramsay agreed with her. 

Brian presented his dish next, which was a Southern Rubbed Bone-In Pork Chop with Buttermilk Brown Sugar Grits, which is another dish that I would consider trying. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like.

Tanya Steel said that it was a beautiful plate, and Chef Ramsay agreed with her. But then they cut into the Pork, and it was completely raw, so they couldn’t eat it.

The meant that Kimmie and The Red Team had scored a second point, and The Blue Team had to beat The Red Team in the next round and the round after that one just to have a chance at tying the score. 

Up next was the Fried Chicken and Macaroni & Cheese round.

Christina presented her dish first, which was served with a Bacon Gravy Macaroni & Cheese that had a Fried Kale Chip on top. This is another dish that I would be willing to try. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like.

Unfortunately, the Batter was soggy, so the skin was literally falling off. 

Justin then presented his dish, which was Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Lobster Macaroni & Cheese, which is a dish that I would absolutely be willing to try. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like. 

Tanya Steel said that the Macaroni & Cheese was beautiful, while all that Chef Ramsay could say was “Wow” Literally, that’s all he said several times in a row. 

Justin ended up scoring the point for The Blue Team, keeping The Blue Team in the game for the final round. 

Last up was the Meatloaf and Sweet Potato round. 

Up first was Robyn, who made an Open-Faced Meatloaf Sandwich with Sweet Potato Puree, which is yet another dish that I would be willing to try. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like.

Tanya Steel said that the Nutmeg really came out and was yummy, but she got a huge hit of Salt when she ate the dish, which Chef Ramsay said was a shame because it looked fantastic. 

Last up was Dana, who made Bacon Wrapped Mini Meatloaf with Sweet Potato Puree and Honey for some sweetness, which is another dish that I would be willing to try. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like. 

Both Chef Ramsay and Tanya Steel said that it looked posh, to which Robyn said in an interview that it looked like two balls wrapped in Bacon. I mean, she’s not technically wrong. 

Tanya Steel then said that the Sweet Potato Puree was so good, but she did feel that the Meat was a little overpowering, and Chef Ramsay said there was a touch too much Lamb in it, and it was slightly gamy. What does that even mean? Why is he complaining about there being too much Meat in a Meatloaf? Shouldn’t you want to taste the Meat in a Meatloaf? Shouldn’t all the other components just be there in the background to accent the Meat? Am I really becoming such an expert on food that I can’t taste through the television or the computer?

From there, Tanya Steel gave the point to Dana, giving The Red Team the win 3-1, and then she even got to pick a dish as the best that would also be featured as a recipe on the Epicurious website. She ended up choosing Dana’s Meatloaf and Sweet Potato dish as the best, which results in Chef Ramsay’s comments making even less sense, as he gave such an oddly specific criticism towards the dish, but Tanya Steel said it was the best of the challenge. Is the guest judge allowed to overrule Chef Ramsay? Was his criticism just fake and scripted to make the competition seem closer?

Anyway, The Red Team had won the challenge, and for their reward, they had a photo shoot at Epicurious, and then had lunch at Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. 

As punishment for losing the challenge, The Blue Team had to prep for Service, which consisted of baking Biscuits and churning Butter. Because that’s how punishments work on this show. You either have to do something way disproportionate to losing a challenge on a cooking show, or you have to do manual labor. Or some combination of both.

After The Blue Team was done with their punishment and The Red Team had returned from their reward, it was time for Dinner Service, which was going to feature a special Southern Cuisine menu, which featured such Southern staples as Crab Cakes, Watermelon Salad, Oysters, Pecan Crusted Catfish, Prosciutto Wrapped Meatloaf, Fried Chicken, Pan Roasted Pork Chop, and Red Velvet Cheesecake. 

To say that this Dinner Service was a disaster would be an understatement. 

It all started during Appetizers for The Blue Team, when Brian overcooked Oysters, but the team managed to recover from this mistake. 

Then it was time to start serving Entrees, and both teams struggled all night long. 

It all started for The Red Team when Kimmie, who had spent the entire season talking about how she was from The South, burned Catfish. 

Then, in The Blue Team Kitchen, Brian also burned Catfish, and when Chef Ramsay made him take a bite of it and asked him how it tasted, Brian responded in a snarky way that “It tastes like Fish, Chef.” Yeah, really not a good response to your potential future boss. 

Chef Ramsay took the response as well as you would expect, and kicked him out of the kitchen for a bit. Brian was so upset by what he had done that he literally started to walk out the front door and leave the competition, but after some motivation from the maître d’ James, he returned to the kitchen.

Unfortunately, things did not get much better for The Blue Team, as Robyn then sent up raw Fried Chicken. 

Things then continued to get worse for The Red Team, as Barbie then sent up under seasoned Garnish.

Then, Robyn sent up raw Fried Chicken for a second time, and Chef Ramsay had had enough, and kicked out the entire Blue Team.

And then, Kimmie sent up Raw and Burnt Catfish, and Chef Ramsay decided he was completely done, and kicked out the entire Red Team as well. 

As a result, Chef Ramsay decided to finish Dinner Service himself with the Sous Chefs, Scott and Andi. He then had some harsh words for both teams, and ordered them to come up with one nomination each for who they wanted eliminated. 

After some debate among both teams, The Red Team nominated Kimmie due to her struggles on Catfish, while The Blue Team nominated Robyn due to sending up raw Fried Chicken. 

After they both pleaded their cases to Chef Ramsay as to why they should stay, Chef Ramsay ultimately decided to eliminate Kimmie. And in case you were wondering, yes, Chef Ramsay did point out the irony of her being from The South and performing so horribly on Southern Cuisine Night. 

I don’t know about you guys, but the more I think about it, the more I am shocked that Chef Ramsay didn’t call out Brian at this time. I mean, he actually thought it was a good idea to be snarky towards Chef Ramsay at a time when he was in trouble, got kicked out of the kitchen, and was seconds away from quitting. Whenever a chef is willing to eliminate themselves or leave the competition, Chef Ramsay just makes them leave. What was different here?

Overall, this was another episode I had fun writing about, and I’ll see you all soon with another episode!