narrator: Previously on "Hell's Kitchen,"
the chefs raced to compose a dish...
- Go, go, go, go, go, go.
narrator: Using only five ingredients.
- What the [bleep] am I gonna do with nori?
narrator: And one wok.
- Oh, it's tender.
narrator: At judging...
- Please welcome Chef Stephanie Izard.
narrator: Alex's shredded chicken...
- You had me at mayo and vinegar.
narrator: And Vlad's tempura shrimp...
- There's a lot of flavor on it.
It's really well seasoned.
narrator: Scored for the Blue team.
- Thank you so much, Chef.
narrator: And while Sommer, Cheyenne, and Tara's dishes...
- It's beautiful.
narrator: Hit the right notes...
- I love the sear.
narrator: It was Mindy's poached snapper...
- Best bite so far today.
- Thank you, Chef. Thank you.
narrator: That secured victory for the Red team.
- Well done, Mindy.
narrator: But when Alejandro used his...
- Punishment pass. - Oh.
- Who are you trading places with?
- I'm gonna pick Sommer.
narrator: Sommer's celebration was cut short.
- I'm gonna do the punishment.
I just don't want to shake your hand right now.
Is that OK? - Back the [bleep] up.
- OK.
narrator: At dinner service... - Come on, Mindy.
narrator: In the Red kitchen...
- I need a little parmesan.
Then wait for it to emulsify.
narrator: Mindy needed coaching
on a simple carbonara.
- Or else it's gonna be super wet.
At this point in the competition,
you have to be able to handle a station by yourself.
4 minutes for that next.
And I'm babysitting her.
narrator: Abe's mushrooms were anything but magic.
- We can't share hot, hot with [bleep] ice, ice.
narrator: And Ileana and Sakari
struggled on the meat station.
- Come on. It's not good enough.
- I can't believe I sent the [bleep] wrong one.
narrator: In spite of the problems,
it was both teams' best service yet.
- That was a comeback service, right?
narrator: But Chef Ramsay still wanted to trim the fat.
And the Red team nominated...
- Mindy, Chef. narrator: And...
- Ileana, Chef.
narrator: While the Blue team chose...
- Abe. narrator: And...
- Sakari. narrator: In the end,
Chef Ramsay sent... - Mindy.
narrator: Home, ending her dream
of becoming head chef at Hell's Kitchen Caesars,
Atlantic City.
And now, the continuation of "Hell's Kitchen."
- Good night.
all: Good night, Chef.
- Great service.
all: Thank you, Chef. - [sighs]
- This elimination is a little sad for me
because Mindy is not here anymore.
That was kind of my girl.
Like, we had conversations and,
you know, we had each other's backs,
so I do feel a little bit alone.
- We get on to dessert.
- I knew my whole team didn't support me.
This is why I don't like to work with females
because they're catty bitches.
[sighs]
I've always felt like it was the Red team against me.
The only ally I had was Mindy, so it's me against the world.
It's always been that way.
[sniffling]
- Ah.
Now, Tara is the last one in the room.
- All alone in her room.
- [exhales]
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Man, I want to get going.
- I'm anxious to see what this is, man.
I just don't do that well with challenges.
- Why is it so tough?
- I fried them and then finished them in the oven,
but it didn't work in my favor.
- No, it definitely did not work in your favor.
Thank you.
- I just--I haven't had wings before.
I've just never worked at a place that, like, did wings.
The restaurant I'm currently sous chef at,
it's a fusion restaurant.
My mentor, my chef,
he is in there every day with us.
One day, like, I cried the whole way to work,
and like when I got in there,
"Hey, good morning. How's it going?"
I'm just like, oh, it's good.
And like, I went over to my station and he just like,
looked at my face and he's like,
go to the walk in, like, we're going to the walk in.
And like... - He cares.
- He just like, held me while I cried in there.
He cares.
And like, I've never had a mentor like that,
and I'm super fortunate.
- Yeah, that's so cool.
[phone rings]
- This is Abe. - Good morning.
I need to see everybody in the dining room.
Let's go. - Yes, Chef.
Everybody to the dining room. Everybody to the dining room.
Go, go, go, go.
[excited chatter]
- Let's go.
- Oh, man.
[lion roars, birds chirping]
- Good morning.
all: Good morning, Chef.
- All of you, welcome to the jungle.
It's the first ever edition
of the "Hell's Kitchen" Wild Game Show.
- Oh, wow. - Wow.
[cheers and applause] - Yay.
- Oh, I'm pumped.
I grew up watching game shows with my grandma.
I've trained my whole life for this moment,
and I'm ready to go.
- So in today's team challenge,
you'll be competing to win ingredients,
and here's how it's gonna work.
In each round, a chef from each team
will come up to the podiums.
Then those chefs will play a "Hell's Kitchen" classic,
Spells Kitchen,
or a brand new game,
Kitchen Sightmares.
- [chuckles] - Oh, my God.
- Oh, no. - Answer correctly,
you get then to choose whether you keep the ingredients
or send it to the other team
on any of those three proteins,
i.e., a potential sabotage.
- [chuckles] - Whoo!
- Sabotage. [mischievous chuckle]
Bring it on.
- Now, in Spells Kitchen, a scrambled ingredient
will appear on the monitor like this.
[chime]
Anybody? all: Broccoli, Chef.
- Thank you.
Broccoli. Bang. [ding]
Hit that buzzer, call out broccoli.
In Kitchen Sightmares,
a close-up picture of ingredients
will appear on a monitor like this.
all: Radish, Chef.
- Radish, that's right.
Now, ready?
all: Yes, Chef.
- OK, Red team, Blue team,
we're going to start with Spells Kitchen.
Let's go, Alex versus Dafne.
- I was born to spell.
I won the third-grade spelling bee.
I know there's two T's in cat.
Let's go.
- Can you name this ingredient?
Alex. - Green beans.
- Oh, God.
- That is correct. [laughs]
- Are you keeping it, or is it going?
- We'll keep it. We'll put it with the venison.
- Good.
Great start.
Right, next pair.
- Go, Alex. - Whoo!
- Sommer versus Brett. Here we go.
- I'm hyping myself up, but trying to remain calm.
I'm taking deep breaths trying to look composed.
- Kitchen Sightmares.
Try to recognize this ingredient.
Sommer. - Pomegranate.
- Correct. Well done.
- I want to keep it, and put it on the duck, Chef.
- OK. Good.
- I didn't want the pomegranate anyway, Sommer.
- Next pair, Alejandro and Cheyenne.
- Come on, Cheyenne.
- Kitchen Sightmares. Here we go.
Spot that ingredient.
- Let's go, Alejandro.
- Pineapple.
- Yeah.
[cheers and applause]
- Chef, I'm gonna give it to Red team's boar.
- Boar. - Oh, my God.
- [laughs] - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Wild game and tropical fruit?
I mean, it doesn't make sense.
- Well done. Give him a round of applause.
- Uh, have fun.
- OK, next pair. Let's go.
- Come on, Tara.
- Spells Kitchen.
- Spells Kitchen is a easier game for me
because of my dyslexia, so I'm made for this game,
so I'm ready to rock and roll.
- Name this ingredient.
- You got this.
Take your time. You got this. - Gruyere.
- Correct.
- Let's add that to their boar.
Wow.
Pineapple and gruyere.
Red team, you got your work cut out.
- Super sabotage.
- Ileana and Vlad.
- It's me versus Ileana.
I came here to cook.
My spelling is subpar,
but definitely gonna give it my best shot.
- Name that ingredient.
- Yes. - Figs, Chef.
- Figs. Well done.
- I'm gonna send that to their venison.
- Good. Well done. - You're good.
- Damn. - OK, let's go.
- Oh, man.
Everybody on the Red team, we're killing it.
I'm feeling good.
We got this.
- Let's go. Alex versus Dafne.
- Bell pepper.
- Well done.
- Parsnip. - Yes.
- Jalapeño. Oh, no.
Polenta.
- Brett. - Chef, is that a watermelon?
- Come on. Beet.
- Cantaloupe, Chef?
- That is incorrect.
Butternut squash.
- Black garlic.
- Black garlic, correct.
- I'ma put that with our venison.
- Well done. - Good job, Ileana.
- Final round.
- Let's go, Dafne. - Name that ingredient.
Here we go. Spells Kitchen.
- Come on, Dafne. - Come on, Daf.
Daf, for real. Come on. Let's go.
- Think about it. - You got this, Dafne.
- Come on, you must be nuts if you can't get this.
- [snickers]
- Oh, oh, oh, OK.
Whew! Hazelnuts.
- Hazelnuts. [laughter and applause]
- OK. - Right.
You've filled out the boards.
You can keep it and trade something in and send it over.
- I'm gonna trade the pineapple with the hazelnuts.
- Good. That's better.
- But then the pineapple will go to the Blue team, right?
- OK, I'm gonna do it on the venison.
[cheers and applause]
- Pineapple, figs, and green beans with venison?
Oh, you never want two fruits.
- Give a round of applause. Come on. Well done.
- Oh.
I'm excited now because the Blue team has
really messed-up ingredients,
and the Red team has solid ingredients.
I think I did a great job by switching them.
- Right.
Red team, Blue team, we ready?
all: Yes, Chef. - Good.
You have 45 minutes. Start...
Now. Let's go.
narrator: In today's Wild Game challenge,
the chefs are tasked with preparing exotic game meats...
- Let's go, boys. [bleep].
narrator: And incorporating all
of their chosen ingredients into the dish.
- What are you gonna do?
- I'm gonna do a mushroom and wild boar ragu
with gruyere fondue.
narrator: Tara and Dafne on the Red team
and Alex and Sakari on the Blue team
are all cooking with boar.
- I got spiced boar.
Braised kale.
Some pickled Brussels sprouts with like a gremolata, maybe.
- Sounds cool.
- Brett, let me know when you start going on your venison.
- Probably--then I'ma try to get it down in the next five.
narrator: Brett and Vlad on the Blue team
and Cheyenne and Ileana on the Red team
are each using venison.
- What are you thinking, Cheyenne?
- I think I'm gonna leave these kinda like all roasted.
- OK. - Maybe do a beet sauce.
- Yeah.
narrator: And while Sommer is the only chef
using duck on the Red team...
- What are you thinking with these two?
- So I'm gonna make a parsnip and rutabaga puree
and a pomegranate reduction to go over the duck.
- Right.
narrator: On the Blue team,
Abe and Alejandro are responsible for the duck.
- You're looking, baby, good?
- Making my garnish now.
- 15 minutes gone. - Heard, Chef.
- Let's go, guys. Just about 30 minutes left.
- I got to get my [bleep] boar braising right now.
- Yeah.
- I have worked with boar before, wild boar,
usually the shoulder, but I'm just thinking
about braising it because wild boar is so good braised.
Braising in 30 minutes is insane.
I don't know what I'm doing right now, actually.
I just hope to God I have enough time.
Please cook.
- God, that's so [bleep] sweet.
I almost wish the pineapple wasn't ripe.
- Here I am backed into this corner,
and I have to make a dish of venison,
green beans, figs, and pineapples,
and I have to make it not gross.
Venison and fruit salad.
But once I get my plan set,
I have the opportunity to blow everybody away.
I just need to nail this.
Make it taste good. Make it taste good.
- 11 minutes, guys.
- 11 minutes. - Heard, 11.
- 11. - 11 minutes.
- I'll do some beet batons.
I'm working with venison, prosciutto,
beets, and sunchokes, and carrots.
And that's fine.
Like, I've worked with all these things before
except for the venison.
But my wheels are turning, and it's gonna be great.
Excuse me, Chef. Hot, hot, hot.
[blender whirring]
- Sorry, Chef. - [bleep].
- You guys are blowing up everything.
- Guys, how do you guys feel over on duck?
I haven't heard from you guys in a while.
- Just getting everything set.
I'm a little nervous 'cause I haven't
worked with too much game.
I've only cooked duck a couple of times,
so I don't know the consistency of rare,
the medium rare of a duck,
so you know, it's got me nervous.
- I think it needs a little longer, in my opinion.
- Two minutes, Blue team. - Let's start plating.
- Make sure those proteins are piping hot...
- Yes, Chef.
- Otherwise, they're gonna bleed.
- No, Chef.
These ingredients usually would never go together,
but I think I'm gonna make it work right now.
- Do you need any help at all?
- It just needs to rest.
- I need to slice my meat. Slice my meat.
- Come on, ladies. Please.
90 seconds to go.
- Backs, backs, backs.
- Those are under. [bleep].
They're under.
Okay. [groans]
♪ ♪
narrator: With time running out
in today's Wild Game challenge...
- 90 seconds to go.
narrator: Tara's wild boar is wildly undercooked.
- They're under. [bleep].
They're under. I'm not happy.
- 45 seconds to go.
- If anybody needs anything, holler.
- Coming down.
- Something smells burnt.
- It's my carrots.
- 20 seconds to go.
- Let's go, guys.
- [bleep], guys. Mine is under.
- Ten, nine, eight...
- Behind, behind, behind. - Seven, six...
Five, four,
three, two, one.
And serve, ladies.
Oh, boy. Well done.
Right, chefs. Listen carefully.
Each team has cooked two dishes of each protein,
but I'm only going to taste one.
all: Yes, Chef.
- Clearly, Sommer, I'm tasting yours.
There's only one. But have a quick meeting,
and decide which dishes I'm tasting.
all: Yes, Chef.
- Off you go. One minute. Let's go.
- Dafne, yours was really good, just so you know.
- No, she's going up.
- Mine has a pepper crust on it.
- OK. - Mine's a touch under.
- So Cheyenne and Dafne. - Yeah.
- I think that might be a little bit under right here.
- I think this is a little under.
And the skin is not all the way rendered.
- Can we take mine because it's breaking?
- Yeah, we'll go with yours.
- OK, Red team, Blue team, please.
The boar.
Whose am I tasting, and who's dropping?
- I am gonna put mine out, Chef,
and we're dropping Tara's.
- And then the venison. Whose venison are we tasting?
- Mine, Chef. - Why?
- My sugar over caramelized, Chef.
- Blue team, whose boar are we tasting?
- Sakari's. - We're tasting, yep.
- And dropping? - Mine, Chef.
- Alex's. - Yes, Chef.
- Wow, that's a shock. Why?
- We just felt his was a little bit under.
- OK.
Whose duck are we tasting?
- We're tasting my duck.
We're dropping Alejandro's
because of the finish of the duck.
- And then finally, the venison?
Whose are we tasting?
- Mine, Chef.
I think I nailed the cook on the venison.
That's what we wanted to focus on.
- OK. And we're dropping Vlad's.
- Yes, Chef. - Yes, Chef.
- We have some very special guests joining us today.
They are James Beard Award-winning chefs
with real animal instincts.
Please welcome the incredible restaurateurs
behind Animal, Son of a Gun, and of course Jon & Vinny's,
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo.
[cheers and applause]
- Good to see you. - Good to see you both.
- Presenting my dish to two experts on game--
it's definitely nerve-wracking because it's their thing.
It's crazy.
- What's the magic in cooking great game?
- I think the magic is putting your heart and soul
into it, really, honestly.
It's the key factor in the success
of all of our businesses. - Excellent.
What a pleasure having you back here.
Right, let's start off with the wild boar.
Dafne and Sakari.
- I'm feeling confident.
All the ingredients that I used are on point.
I'm ready for this. - Right, Dafne.
Let's start up with yours first.
- I did a wild boar and portobello mushroom ragu,
braised it in red wine, a little bit of polenta,
and then topped it off with a hazelnut gremolata.
- My piece was incredibly tough.
A 45-minute braise is never gonna get you there.
- I actually really enjoyed the flavors of the dish,
but I would agree with Jon.
I think the toughness really kind of
threw me off a little bit. - Yeah.
- That polenta's delicious. Hazelnuts as well.
Right, Sakari, describe your dish, please.
- We have a brown, butter-roasted rack of boar,
creamy polenta, with brussels sprouts,
lemon zest gremolata,
just to add a little bit of freshness on top.
- Good. Jon, how was that for you?
- I thought it was a great dish.
Really strong. - Mm.
- I just tasted the polenta.
You have to be very careful
because you kind of lose it a little bit.
It just tastes like cream, almost.
- I like the freshness you brought to game.
That citrus gremolata has really worked.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Gentlemen, is it the Red team or the Blue team?
[dramatic music]
[ding] - Attaboy.
Whoo, Sakari! - There you go, Sakari.
- Really good dish. Well done, Sakari.
- Thank you, Chef. narrator: Up next,
Sommer and Abe face off in...
- The Battle of the Duck.
narrator: Sommer, with her seared duck
and pomegranate reduction...
- It's cooked beautifully.
- It's spot on.
narrator: Impresses Jon and Vinny.
- Thank you.
narrator: While Abe's grilled duck with red peppers...
- I think that you were onto something
with the black garlic.
- Unfortunately, I've got a swimming pool of blood here
that matches the red pepper.
narrator: Disappoints.
- Wow.
- Thank you. - Sommer, good job.
- This was my worst challenge yet.
I was totally out of my element.
I'ma get a whole duck farm so I can learn how to cook
every single one of them to perfection.
[duck quacks]
- 1-1.
Final dish. Let's go.
The venison. - Come on, Brett.
- Cheyenne and Brett.
- It's tied up.
This is the most important dish of the day.
Anytime you have a bunch of ingredients
that you haven't picked, it's definitely a little tricky,
but I think Brett can pull it off.
- So you have a pretty simple seared and basted venison loin
with charred pineapple jus,
and then the side dish is fig and rum green beans.
- The venison, to me, tastes really good.
It's cooked very nicely, but the side ruins it.
You know?
It's the figs with the green beans,
it just--it's like a car crash.
- Yeah, I understand.
- You nailed the cook though.
- Yeah, venison is delicious.
It's melting in your mouth. - Thank you very much.
- Right.
Cheyenne, please describe your dish.
- I have a seared venison with beet puree.
And then underneath, is a sunchoke hash.
- To me, the meat's a little dry,
but the sides definitely make up for it.
- I love the sunchokes and the venison together.
That's a classic combination. - Thank you.
- Both step back in line first and give us 30 seconds.
This is a tough one.
Two good efforts though, right? - Absolutely.
- Very, very impressed. Yes.
- Gentlemen, shall we? - Let's go.
[dramatic music]
- All right, Cheyenne, it's up to you.
You've gotta bring this home.
I cannot do another punishment.
A fifth punishment, it might break me.
- One, two, three.
- [bleep].
- Congratulations.
Red team, well done. - [laughs]
- All of you, join me in thanking
these two legends for giving up their day to be here.
- Thank you so much. - Thank you guys.
- Thank you. - I will see you soon.
Thank you so much. - Thank you.
- Take care.
- Even though, you know, I didn't get any points,
I was able to sabotage them,
giving them pineapple and figs, so hell yeah, that was amazing.
- Red team, this reward, you'll be throwing strikes
at Hollywood's chicest, most exclusive bowling alley,
the original Lucky Strike.
- [laughs] Nice. - Nice. Sweet.
- You've got the whole place to yourself.
- Nice. - And Jon and Vinny,
they have together a mind-boggling spread
of the finest dishes from their flagship restaurants,
John & Vinny's, for you.
- Ooh. - What the heck?
- Nice.
- Blue team, your day is headed
straight for the gutter.
You'll be pitting olives, lots of them,
because we need two gallons of olive tapenade.
We also need two gallons of pesto made by hand.
Now, Alex, you have the punishment pass.
What are you thinking?
- I'ma throw some strikes.
Sorry, guys.
Who are you trading places with and why?
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- I'm gonna give my punishment to Tara.
[laughter]
I feel like that's something
that she would be really good at.
- Wow. - She's a mom,
so she's like, used to doing that kind of stuff.
- Oh, my God.
- We just got that bond.
- Not no more. [laughs]
- Love you. Love you.
- What are you guys waiting for?
Come on. Go and have fun.
Let's go.
- Alex, seriously, this is for you.
Go [bleep] yourself.
That's how I feel.
I'm pissed.
This is my fifth punishment, and I'm so over this.
I have nobody here to--
like, the only person I could talk to was Mindy and you.
Like, obviously, they're all gunning for me.
Like, they don't--nobody even talks to me anymore.
Like, I'm done.
I have nothing to say to anybody here.
I mean, [bleep] Alex.
And I get it.
It's the 20 year olds against the one 40 year old.
But to like, have him be on their team,
like, to bond with them...
- I was kind of surprised,
and I thought he'd pick one of them.
- Like, are you kidding me?
I knew the minute Mindy left,
it was gonna be them against me.
I totally get it.
I'm fine with that.
It's just, to have Alex come at me
and him use his punishment pass on me?
Now, you're with the 20 year olds.
- I'm sorry. I know it sucks.
- I feel like you guys are all against me.
- Tara gets in her own world, in her own head, I feel like.
How can we be against you if we haven't even
seen anything to really complain about?
But I don't want her to feel like her team
is against her because,
me personally, I'm not against her.
- Is she OK?
- She feels like we're against her.
- Tara? - All of us?
- Yeah, our team. - Why?
Y'all didn't vote for her. I did.
- No, not because of that. Just like, in general.
- Hold up. I'ma go talk to her.
Oh, man. I feel bad.
I feel bad.
Are you OK?
[tense music]
- Is she OK?
- She feels like we're against her.
- Tara? - All of us?
narrator: Alex chose his former
40-something teammate, Tara,
to take his place in today's punishment.
And Tara is feeling like the odd woman out.
- Yeah, our team. - Why?
Y'all didn't vote for her. I did.
- No, no, not because of that. Just like, in general.
- Hold up. I'ma go talk to her.
Oh, man. I feel bad.
I feel bad.
Are you OK?
- Go [bleep] yourself. - [groans]
I don't make girls cry that often anymore.
I mean, I'm a married man.
[groans]
Sorry, Tara.
Let's go.
- Yeah!
[upbeat music]
- All right, guys.
So Chef wants two gallons of each.
Recipes are right here. - Yes, Chef.
- We're getting two gallons of the pesto
and two gallons of the tapenade for service tonight.
Yeah, I don't know how we're gonna get this done.
This is brutal.
- [bleep].
- Tara, you mad at Alex?
- What? - You mad at Alex?
- [scoffs] Yeah. - [giggles]
- What was he supposed to do? - Pick someone else.
[quirky music]
- This sucks.
- Oh, my gosh.
My belly is hungry.
This sucks. Do I want to be doing this?
No, would I love to be eating a delicious meal?
Of course.
And throwing some bowling balls?
Hell, yeah.
I hate girls because they're catty,
especially young females.
- Well, me, I'm not here to make friends.
- I love Tara. She's cool as [bleep].
I didn't know what to think about her at first
until she worked the line with me.
She earned my respect from that day.
You know, I had her back ever since,
so that's my dog right there.
Don't let anybody get in your way.
[bright dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- We get a jacket? - All right, guys.
- Oh, dang. - Oh, man, look at these.
- Nice jacket. - These are dope.
- Yes. Oh, my God. - These are really cool.
[upbeat music]
- Oh, what the hell?
- Oh, oh! - Get it!
- Oh, oh!
[cheers and applause]
- Come on.
- Aww.
A for effort.
There you go. - Uh-oh.
all: Ah! [laughter]
- Hey! - Whoo!
- Let's go, bro. - Uncle Alex.
Come on, bro.
- Bro. - Oh, look at his form.
all: Oh!
- Oh, gutter ball! - Aww.
- You hit one. You hit one.
- I got one pin.
OK, OK, OK. - Oh, what?
- Cheyenne! - Whoa!
- Good job. - Good job.
- It's so great to be out with Alex,
who is this ultimate dad vibe,
and he makes sure he, like, takes care of us.
I mean, this is one of my favorite rewards yet.
- [bleep].
- Oh. Oh, my gosh. No way, no way.
all: Oh!
- What the hell?
- How we doing over there on those pine nuts, Abe?
- Man, ask me about those [bleep] pine nuts
one more time.
[sighs] This punishment is brutal.
My hands are gonna be sore.
I feel that carpal tunnel coming in.
- This is the worst thing I've ever done in my life.
- What's up, guys? It smells good in here.
- Look at how sick these are. There's hella pockets in them.
- The smell of pesto is wafting through the whole place.
- Wow.
- That looks like a nightmare.
- But like, see how they come in?
It's like no sense of, "Oh."
Like, they don't give a [bleep].
- Do you have any siblings?
- Yeah, I have a older brother and younger sister.
- Oh, nice. - I miss my sister a lot.
We're super close.
My brother is in the military
and he's stationed out in Missouri,
so I don't really get to see him as often.
So I'm kind of like used to it, you know?
I've been the only female chef in every kitchen
that I've been in.
I've also always been the youngest
and the smallest chef in there.
And I had to climb my way to the top.
I really have to prove myself a little bit more
because of that.
You have a brother, right?
- Yeah. We're nine years apart though.
- Oh, my gosh. That's crazy.
- My parents were only 21 and 23 when they had me.
So like they were really young. - Oh, my God, I can't imagine.
- And from Honduras too.
Like, they slept, like on a sofa.
Like, my dad would sell T-shirts in LA, wash cars.
It was really tough for them.
I come from immigrant parents that literally
had to start at the bottom and do whatever it takes
to have a family and also, have your children here
so that they can have a better life.
- And they must be so proud of you out here.
I know all of our families are.
- It took them a long time to really
be OK with me being a chef. - Yeah.
- It took them years, actually.
For me to be here right now is so important.
- It's such a blessing. - It is, dude.
Yeah.
[phone rings]
[tense music]
- This is Alex.
- I need to see everybody in the dining room, please,
as quick as you can.
Thank you. - Yes, Chef.
Got it.
Chef, in the dining room, right now.
[dramatic music]
- Oh, God. I'm gonna throw up.
Chef Ramsay orders us back in the dining room.
Oh, my God.
What's going on?
Like, my brain is all over the place now.
I don't even know what to think.
- Line up.
ASAP. Let's go.
This morning, you had to make choices--
which dishes to present to Chefs Jon and Vinny.
Five of you...
decided to drop your dishes
and essentially, take yourself out of the challenge.
As I've said to you many times,
never let anything get in your way.
So five of you are now going to cook for your life.
Because at least one of you will be going home.
♪ ♪
[tense music]
- Five of you decided to drop your dishes--
Tara, Alex, Alejandro,
Ileana, and Vlad.
You five are now going to cook for your life.
Right now.
[dramatic music]
- You know, it's kind of like a duck.
I look calm and composed, but inside,
there's thousands of different things
that are going in my head,
and, you know, one of them is that
if you don't cook for your life right now,
you're gonna lose your chance.
- As for the rest of you, you're all safe.
Right. Please head off into the dorms.
- You know you got this.
You know you got this too, bro.
- Good luck, bro. Good luck.
- I definitely let something get in my way today.
I let somebody else put their dish up,
so here I am, on the chopping block.
- All five of you will have
40 minutes to get creative
and deliver me an amazing chicken dish.
Is that clear? all: Yes, Chef.
- Prove to me that you're worthy
of staying in this competition,
and prove to me that you should be considered
for the position as my head chef.
all: Yes, Chef.
- I'm gonna put out my best dish.
I'm gonna cook for my life.
I deserve to be here, and I'm gonna show them why.
- Your 40 minutes starts now.
narrator: In today's Cook For Your Life challenge,
Tara, Ileana, Vlad, Alex, and Alejandro
will have 40 minutes to elevate
one of the most popular proteins in the world--
chicken.
- Oh! both: Oh, my God.
- We're like, stress eating.
This is literally one of the scariest movies
I've ever seen in my life, but I'm like...
[laughs] Thank God I don't have to cook.
♪ ♪
- I'm ready to get out there, get all the jitterbugs out,
and just cook an awesome meal.
I debone, essentially, half the chicken.
The first thing I need to do
is get that chicken in the pan.
- He looks like a badass right now.
Look at Ileana's face.
- I'm trying to not be all over the place,
but it's really hard when you've got
40 minutes to cook for your life.
I really like being able to plan things out,
and you can't plan things in "Hell's Kitchen."
- Oh, she's [bleep] zoned in.
- The first thing that I saw is an eggplant.
It just kind of reminded me of a crudo dish
that my chef and I ran.
- Oh, wow.
Eggplant. - Come on, girl.
- That's gonna look like ass.
- I'm scared.
Challenges are not my strong suit at all,
but I know that I just have to go out here
and I have to cook my [bleep] ass off.
[blender whirring]
- At the end of the day, you have to cook what you know.
You know, I saw okra. I saw patty pan squash.
I saw carrots, and my mind just starts thinking
of things that I can put together that would
be a summertime vibe in Tennessee
that I would have sold at my restaurant.
♪ ♪
- I'm shocked he went simple with carrot puree.
- He's cooking what he knows,
which is good-ass Southern food.
[tense music]
- This dish needs a starch.
It needs something else, you know,
something to kind of give it that fattiness, that richness.
I was like, you know what? I can do polenta.
Polenta takes 40 minutes, but I don't care.
Chef Ramsay told me not to let anything get in my way,
so I'm gonna [bleep] do it.
I'm gonna get polenta on, and I'm gonna finish this.
If I have to take it all the way until five seconds, I will.
- Oh, he put some pasta water in there.
- It takes a while to cook polenta, dude.
- [bleep].
My mind is going a million miles an hour.
Like, I'm trying to compose a dish right now.
There's so many different things
I could be doing right now.
Where's my bowl? Oh, my God.
I just need to get my mind focused
and get into one dish,
not 15 dishes that are going in my head right now.
There's no pot, pans over on this side.
Oh, my God. That sucks.
- She looks nervous as hell.
- No pan.
- Tara is mouth breathing.
What we're hearing from Tara is like, where's the peeler?
Where's the wine? Where are the bowls?
- ♪ We do not ♪
♪ We do not ♪
- That is not the questions you need
to be asking with the highest stakes on the line
that you've ever had.
- She's just trying to figure out what to do.
- She's wasting her time.
- I am about to [bleep] myself.
This is the most stressful, most intense moment in my life.
You know, I'm definitely focused and honing in
on everything that I'm doing, keeping everything in check,
keeping a mental clock on all the ingredients that I have.
- Are those pickle-- what is it?
- So predictable.
- Those are delicious. They're good.
- Truffle slices. - Truffle boy.
- He's probably gonna add truffles to an...
- Pommes. - Pommes, absolutely.
- I don't like truffles that much
to be put in everything though.
- Nobody is getting in my way tonight.
- 10 minutes.
[dramatic music]
- 10 minutes goes by so [bleep] fast.
- I'm running around, thinking I've got
plenty of time, but Chef Ramsay comes in and says 10 minutes,
and I'm like, what?
And all of a sudden, I go from calm, cool,
and collected to panic mode.
I mean, my chicken is still raw,
and I have 10 minutes to get it fully cooked,
rested, and then on a plate.
At this point, I'm just praying to the chicken gods
that that pan does its magic
and that butter does its magic.
♪ ♪
- Oh, come on.
- Ah.
- 3 minutes.
Let's go. Ladies, 3 minutes.
- Yes, Chef. - Come on, guys.
- We have a time?
Focused on myself and myself only.
Right now, this is about the me challenge.
It's an individual challenge to stay here,
and I'm the only one that I'm focused on.
- Just under 90 seconds, ladies.
- Ah!
- Alex is nervous.
- He needs to cook it more.
- All right.
[pan sizzling]
- 60 seconds.
- You finishing with a little vinaigrette, or...
- I dress them with some vinaigrette.
I'm gonna put a little bit. Yes, Chef.
- Ileana, please make it on the plate.
♪ ♪
- 30 seconds.
Let's go.
- Oh, man!
- Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five, four...
- Oh, my God. - Three, two, one.
- Good job. Good job. - And serve.
[tense music]
- This is it.
Because at least one of you will be going home.
[dramatic sting]
Let's start off with Alejandro, please.
♪ ♪
- So we have rosemary polenta, a chorizo broth,
chicken that's been seared on the skin side,
and spring veggies.
I feel good.
I felt like I gave it my all,
and I put myself in my flavor profile on the plate.
- Chicken is cooked beautifully.
- Thank you, Chef.
- I love the crisp on the skin.
Polenta is delicious.
I'm amazed you got that flavor in there
in that short period of time.
Good effort.
- Thank you.
I know it was a do or die kind of situation,
but you know, if I go home, I guess I go out with a bang.
- Good start.
Let's see how it sits in comparison.
Next up, Ileana, please.
- My heart's pounding through my chest right now,
but I looked down on my dish, and I'm happy with it.
- Thank you. - I tasted everything,
and I know that it tastes awesome.
- And describe the dish.
- I've got an aubergine puree,
crispy fried brussels sprouts,
with a lemon sherry vinaigrette.
My chicken, I seared it skin side down to get it crispy.
- Why the eggplant puree?
- Because it reminds me of my chef at home.
That's something that he taught me how to make.
♪ ♪
- The eggplant puree is way too thin.
- OK.
- So you've created this sort of--this sort of slurry...
- Yes, Chef. - At the bottom here.
It's very sweet. Why is that so sweet?
What did you put in there?
- Honey. - Honey.
- Yes, Chef. - So use that sparingly.
It's very powerful.
But great sear on the chicken. Love that.
- I'm trying to keep my head up,
and I'm trying to stay confident,
but my heart's in my throat,
and I'm trying to keep from like falling out at this point.
- Thank you. Take that back.
After tasting Ileana's dish,
I'm now prepared to send...
♪ ♪
Alejandro back to the dorm.
Your dish was exceptional. Good job.
- Thank you, Chef. - Good job, buddy.
- Good luck, guys. Good luck, guys.
Baby, I am back, and I'm not going anywhere.
- Ay!
[all shouting]
- It was definitely a wake-up call.
It's definitely lighting a fire under my ass.
You gotta go in there with no [bleep] fear.
- You looked confident as [bleep].
- And I'm gonna be a force to be reckoned with.
You better believe it.
- Next up, Tara.
♪ ♪
- I know it looks so beautiful,
but honestly, I'm not happy with that carrot puree.
But I need to sell it.
I need to sell that whole dish.
Today, I made a pan-seared airline chicken
that I stuffed with some thyme and lemon zest,
with a little carrot puree, a parsley,
and basil pesto and bacon fat potatoes,
topped with some crispy onion rings.
- Why the carrot puree?
- I love carrot puree with chicken.
I think it goes very, very well.
- Chicken is cooked beautifully.
♪ ♪
So chicken is delicious.
These mashed potatoes, wonderful.
Pesto is vibrant. Love the onion rings.
The only issue I've got with this is the carrot puree.
It's dull, but everything else--
it sort of brings the dish down
as opposed to elevating it.
Thank you. - Thank you.
Tara.
I thought the dish was excellent.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Head to the dorm.
- Bye. Thank you.
[victorious music]
♪ ♪
Ah!
[laughs] Oh, my God, I have to scream.
- Tara!
all: Oh! [cheers and applause]
- Tara!
- I'm the last 40 year old standing.
I'm holding my own with these girls
that have gone to culinary school,
that have worked for Michelin star chefs.
I'm so proud of myself, and I need to hold myself up
to that high standard because I can compete with anybody now.
- [grunts]
- So proud of you.
- [exhales]
- Up next, Alex, please.
- On the confidence meter, on a scale out of 1 to 10,
I'm about a 6.4.
As Bon Jovi would say, I'm living on a prayer.
I wanted to do a taste of back home Tennessee summer,
so I've done a spiced carrot puree, grilled okra,
and pan-roasted chicken breast with a crispy carrot chip.
[tense music]
[trills lips]
- Chicken is crisp. Beautiful.
Puree is exceptional.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
♪ ♪
- Alex, say goodbye to Vlad, Ileana.
Head back to the dorm.
- Good luck, bro.
- Really good.
- Thanks, Chef.
I mean, that was one of the top--
top one most stressful moments in my life.
[exhales] Oh, my God.
[tense music]
narrator: With Alex safely back in the dorm...
all: Oh!
- Yay.
- [bleep].
[exhales]
I'm still trying to calm my nerves.
That [bleep] was [bleep] stressful.
- Welcome back, dude.
narrator: Today's Cook for Your Life challenge
is now down to Ileana and...
- Vlad, step forward, please.
♪ ♪
Describe the dish, please.
- You have a airline chicken breast,
seared and then roasted in the oven,
truffle pommes puree, crispy maitakes,
crispy chicken skins,
and cipollini charred and roasted, Chef.
- You've got all these crispy mushrooms beautifully cooked.
Why sit them in a puddle of fat?
It's a shame you've got that nice, crispy bit on top,
and underneath, they're gonna be soggy.
So chicken, nailed beautifully.
The actual truffle mashed potatoes, lovely.
But personally, if I'm frying mushrooms like that,
I sit them on top of the crispy chicken breasts.
Crispy, 360. Not 180.
Back in line, please. - Yes, Chef.
- This is really hard.
♪ ♪
- My heart is beating probably 200 beats a minute.
It's about representing.
I'm representing all of the restaurants
that I've ever worked at.
I'm representing my husband, my family, myself.
Someone has to go home tonight, and I don't want it to be me.
- I've sacrificed too much to lose now,
but is Ileana's dish better than mine?
Am I going home over the way that I plated the mushrooms?
Honestly, being up there, being the last two,
it [bleep] sucks.
- My decision is...
♪ ♪
Vlad.
Young man, head back to the dorm.
- Thank you, Chef. - Congratulations.
- As I'm headed through the kitchen, I dropped tears.
I mean, I'm just shook with happiness.
I just went and fought for my life, and I get another day.
- That was a really good effort.
The chicken was cooked beautifully.
It's just so sweet.
And with a combination of that liquid puree
and that vinaigrette, it just sort of--
it destroys what you've done with the chicken.
You're just not ready to become my head chef.
Keep going. - Yes, Chef.
- Please. - Yes, Chef. I will.
- May I have that jacket? Thank you.
- Chef, thank you for the opportunity.
It was an absolute honor to be here.
- Head up. - Incredibly blessed.
- Keep going. - Yes, Chef.
- Don't you dare slow down. - Yes, Chef.
[somber music]
[sniffling]
[crying, sighs]
I feel hurt to be leaving "Hell's Kitchen" right now,
but I'm in no way disappointed.
I definitely don't think as quick on my feet
as I should have, but you only know
what you've been exposed to, and unfortunately,
I haven't been exposed to enough.
And I feel very proud to have experienced this.
I'm really looking forward to the future,
and I'm really looking forward to continuing to grow.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- When you're cooking for your life,
every detail matters.
One overly-sweet puree got Ileana sent away.
♪ ♪
narrator: Next time, on "Hell's Kitchen"...
- So it's time to even things up.
- Uh-oh. narrator: Will a team swap...
- Joining the Red team will be...
- God.
narrator: Cause some of the chefs
to step up in the challenge,
and others to flame out in the kitchen?
- Careful.
- Ow!
narrator: Find out who will make the cut...
- That's blue.
Get it in the oven!
- Damn it, dude.
narrator: And who will end up underwater.
- I feel like Jack on the Titanic,
and you guys just let go of my hand.
narrator: And what has Chef Ramsay laughing hysterically?
- Damn. narrator: On the next...
- [laughs]
narrator: "Hell's Kitchen."