21x08 - Game On!

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] Previously on Hell's Kitchen...

The chefs raced to compose a dish...

[Brett] Go, go, go

...using only five ingredients...

[Cheyenne] What the f*ck
am I gonna do with nori?

- ...and one wok
- [Tara] Aw, it's tender

- At judging...
- [Ramsay] Please welcome

- Chef Stephanie Izard
- ...Alex's shredded chicken...

You had me at mayo and vinegar

...and Vlad's tempura shrimp...

There's a lot of flavor
It's well-seasoned

- ...scored for the Blue Team
- Thank you so much, Chef

[narrator] And while Sommer, Cheyenne
and Tara's dishes...

- It's beautiful
- ...hit the right notes...

- I love the sear
- ...it was Mindy's poached snapper...

- Best bite so far today
- Thank you, Chef

...that secured victory for the Red Team

Well done, Mindy

- But when Alejandro used his...
- Punishment Pass

- Ooh!
- Who are you trading places with?

- I'm gonna pick Sommer
- ...Sommer's celebration was cut short

I'm gonna do the punishment
I just don't wanna shake your hand

- Is that okay? Okay
- Back the f*ck up

[narrator] At dinner service...

- Come on, Mindy
- ...in the Red kitchen...

- Do I need a little Parmesan?
- Wait for it to emulsify

...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...

It's four minutes for that next

...and I'm babysitting her

[narrator] Abe's mushrooms
were anything but magic...

You can't shout "hot, hot"
when it's f*cking ice, ice

...and Ileana and Sakari struggled
on the meat station

Come on. It's not good enough

Can't believe I sent f*cking raw lamb

[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

- ...and...
- Ileana, Chef

- ...while the Blue Team chose...
- Abe

- ...and...
- Sakari

[narrator] In the end, Chef Ramsay sent...

- Mindy
- ...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

[Tara] This elimination is a little sad
for me, because Mindy is not here anymore

That was my girl. We had conversations,
and we had each other's backs,

so I do feel a little bit alone

We get on to dessert

I knew my team didn't support me

This is why I don't like to work with
females. Because they're catty b*tches

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

All right, I have no allies. It's fine

I've always been

by myself

Ah, now Tara's the last one in the room

[Alejandro] All alone in the room

Man, I want to get going

I'm anxious to see what this is
I just don't do that well with challenges

[Ramsay] Why are they so tough?

I fried them and finished them in
the oven. But it didn't work in my favor

- No, it definitely did not. Thank you
- Thank you, Chef

I haven't had to make wings before

I've never worked
at a place that did wings

The restaurant I'm sous chef at,
it's a fusion restaurant

My mentor, my chef,
he's in there every day with us

One day, I cried the whole way to work,
and, like, when I got in there,

"Good morning. How's it going?"
I'm like, "It's good."

I went over to my station
He looked at my face, and he's like,

"Go to the walk-in
We're going to the walk-in."

- He just held me while I cried in there
- He cares

He cares
And I've never had a mentor like that

- No, I'm super fortunate
- [Cheyenne] Yeah, that's so cool

[rings]

- This is Abe
- [Ramsay] Good morning

I need to see everybody
in the dining room. Let's go

Yes, Chef

Everybody to the dining room

- Go, go
- Anxiety

- [birds chirping]
- [Ramsay] Let's go

- [Cheyenne] Oh, man
- [lion roars]

- 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

- Wow
- [clapping]

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

[laughter]

- Oh, God
- Oh, no

Answer correctly, you get then to choose
whether you keep the ingredient

or send it to the other team
on any of those three proteins,

i.e., a potential sabotage

[chuckles]

[in French accent] Whoo! Sabotage

[snickers]

- [normal] Bring it on
- [Ramsay] Now, in Spells Kitchen,

a scrambled ingredient will appear
on the monitor like this

- [Ramsay] Anybody?
- Broccoli, Chef

- Thank you. Broccoli
- [bell dings]

Bang. Hit that buzzer
Call out "broccoli"

In Kitchen Sightmares,

close up pictures of ingredients
will appear on the monitor like this

- [all] Radish, Chef
- [Ramsay] Radish

- That's right
- [bell dings]

- Now, ready?
- [all] Yes, Chef

Okay. 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

[Ramsay] Can you name this ingredient?

- Alex
- Green beans

Oh, God

- [Ramsay] That is correct
- [bell dings]

- You keeping it, or is it going?
- Uh, we'll keep it

- We'll put it with the venison
- [Ramsay] Good. Great start

Right. Next pair

- [Vlad] Way to go, Alex
- [Abe] Whoo!

[Ramsay] Sommer versus Brett. Here we go

I'm hyping myself up
but trying to remain calm

Taking deep breaths,
trying to look composed

Kitchen Sightmares
Try to recognize this ingredient

- [Ramsay] Sommer
- Pomegranate

[Ramsay] Correct. Well done

I wanna keep it
and put it on the duck, Chef

[Ramsay] Okay, 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

- [Brett] Let's go, Alejandro
- Pineapple

- [Ramsay] Pineapple
- [Alex] That's it. That's it

Yeah

Uh, Chef, I'm going to give it
to Red Team's boar

[Ramsay] Boar

Oh, my God

- Yeah, yeah
- Yummy

Wild game and tropical fruit?
It doesn't make sense

- Well done. Give a round of applause
- [Abe] Way to go, big dog

Uh, have fun

- Okay, next pair. Let's go
- Come on, Tara

[Ramsay] Spells Kitchen

Spells Kitchen is an easier game for me
because of my dyslexia

I'm made for this game
I'm ready to rock and roll

- [Ramsay] Name this ingredient
- [Ileana] You got this

- Take your time
- Gruyère

- [Ramsay] Correct
- [bell dings]

- Let's add that to their boar
- [bell dings]

Wow. Pineapple and Gruyère
Red Team, you've got your work cut out

Super sabotage

[Ramsay] Ileana and Vlad

It's me versus Ileana

I came here to cook

My spelling is subpar,
but gonna give it my best sh*t

Name that ingredient

- [Cheyenne] Yes!
- Figs, Chef

- [Ramsay] Figs. Well done
- [bell dings]

I'm gonna send that to their, uh, venison

- [bell dings]
- [Ramsay] Good. Well done

- [Dafne] We're good
- Damn

Okay, let's go

Oh, man. Everybody on the Red Team,
we're k*lling it

I'm feeling good. We got this

Let's go. Alex versus Dafne

Bell pepper

- [bell dings]
- [Ramsay] Well done

- Parsnip
- [Ramsay] Yes

Jalapeño? Oh, no

- [buzzer sounds]
- [Ramsay] Polenta

- Brett
- Chef, is that a watermelon?

- [buzzer sounds]
- [Ramsay] Come on. Beets

Cantaloupe, Chef

- [Ramsay] That is incorrect
- [buzzer sounds]

Butternut squash

Black garlic

- [Ramsay] Black garlic. Correct
- [bell dings]

I'm gonna put that with our venison

- [Ramsay] Well done
- Go, Ileana!

[Ramsay] Final round

- Let's go, Dafne
- [Ramsay] Name that ingredient

Here we go. Spells Kitchen

- Come on, Dafne
- Come on, Daf. For real. Let's go

- Think about it, Dafne
- You must be nuts if you can't get this

Oh, oh, oh, okay. Hazelnuts

[Ramsay] Hazelnuts

- Man
- Okay

[Ramsay] Right
You've filled out the board

You can keep it and trade something in
and send it over

I'm going to trade the pineapple
with the hazelnuts

Good. That's better

But then the pineapple must go
to the Blue Team

I'm gonna do it on the venison

[Cheyenne] Whoo!

[Alex] Pineapple, figs and green beans
with venison?

Oh, you never want two fruits

[Ramsay] Give a round of applause
Well done

[Dafne exhales]

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
- [Ramsay] Good

Your 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

...and incorporating all of
their chosen ingredients into the dish

What are you gonna do?

I'm gonna do a mushroom and wild boar ragú
with Gruyère fondue

[narrator] Tara and Dafne on the Red Team
and Alex and Sakari on the Blue Team

are all cooking with boar

Like a spiced boar, braised kale,
some pickled Brussels sprouts

with a gremolata maybe

Sounds cool

Brett, let me know when you start going
on your venison

I'm gonna try to get it done
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'm gonna leave these whole roasted

- Okay
- 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?
- A parsnip and rutabaga puree

and a pomegranate reduction
to go over the duck

- [Christina] Right
- ...on the Blue Team,

Abe and Alejandro
are responsible for the duck

- How are you looking? Good?
- Making my garnish now

- Fifteen minutes gone
- Heard

[Christina] Go, guys
About minutes left

I gotta get my f*cking boar braising
right now

Yeah

I've worked with boar before
Wild boar. Usually the shoulder

But I'm thinking about braising it,
because wild boar's so good braised

Braising in minutes is insane
I don't know what I'm doing right now

I just hope to God I have enough time

Please cook

God, that's so f*cking 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

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

Eleven minutes, guys

- Eleven minutes
- [Ileana] Heard. Eleven

I'll do some beet batons

I'm working with venison,
prosciutto, beets, sunchokes and carrots

That's fine. I've worked
with all these things before,

except for the venison

But my wheels are turning
It's gonna be great

Excuse me, Chef. Hot, hot

- Sorry, Chef. Sorry
- [Jason] f*ck

You guys are blowing up everything

Guys, how do you feel on duck?
I haven't heard from you 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 times,

so I don't know the consistency of rare,
the medium-rare of a duck

So, you know, it's got me nervous

[Alejandro] Need's a little longer

- Yeah
- [Alejandro] My opinion

- Two minutes, Blue Team
- [Jason] Let's start plating

Make sure those proteins are piping hot,
otherwise they're gonna bleed

- Huh?
- No, Chef

These ingredients
usually would never go together,

but I think I'm gonna make it work

- [Alejandro] Do you need any help?
- [Abe] It just needs to rest

[Tara] I need to slice my meat

Come on, ladies. Please

Ninety seconds to go

Backs, backs, backs

[Tara] Those are under. sh*t
They're under

Okay. [groans]

[narrator] With time running out
in today's wild game challenge...

[Ramsay] Ninety seconds to go

...Tara's wild boar is wildly undercooked

These are under. sh*t

They're under. I'm not happy

Forty-five seconds to go

- If anybody needs anything, holler
- Coming down

- [Dafne] Something smells burnt
- [Ileana] It's my carrots

- [Ramsay] Twenty seconds to go
- [Alejandro] Let's go, guys

[Tara] f*ck, guys, mine's under

Ten, nine, eight...

- [Dafne] 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,
'cause 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

- She's going up
- [Cheyenne] Mine has a pepper crust on it

- Uh-huh. Okay
- Mine's a touch under

- [Sommer] So Cheyenne and Dafne
- Yeah

I think that might be a little under

I think this is a little under
The skin is not all the way rendered

- Can we take mine because of...
- [Alex] We'll go with yours

[Ramsay] Okay
Red Team, Blue Team, please

The boar

Whose am I tasting, and whose is dropping?

I am going to put mine out, Chef,
and we're dropping Tara's

And then the venison
Whose are we tasting?

- Mine, Chef
- Why?

My sugar overcaramelized, Chef

Blue Team, whose boar are we tasting?

- Sakari's
- Yeah

- And dropping?
- Mine, Chef

- [Ramsay] Alex's? That's a shock
- Yes, Chef

- [Ramsay] Why?
- We just felt his was a little bit under

Okay. Whose duck are we tasting?

We're tasting my duck

We're dropping Alejandro's
because of the finish of the duck

And 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

- Good. We're dropping Vlad's?
- 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 g*n
and, of course, Jon and Vinny's

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo

[all cheering]

- Good to see you
- Good to see you, bud

Presenting my dish to two experts on game,

it's definitely nerve-racking,
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. A pleasure having you back

Right. Let's start off with the wild boar

- Dafne and Sakari
- [Abe] Go, Sakari!

I'm feeling confident
All the ingredients I used are on point

I'm ready for this

Dafne, let's start with yours first

I did a wild boar
and portobello mushroom ragú

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 -minute braise
is never going to get you there

I actually really enjoyed the flavors,
but I would agree with Jon

I think the toughness threw me off
a little bit

That blend is delicious
Hazelnuts as well

- Thank you
- Sakari, describe the dish

We have
a brown-butter-roasted rack of boar,

creamy polenta with a Brussels sprouts
lemon zest gremolata

to add a bit of freshness on top

Jon, how was that for you?

I thought it was a great dish
Really strong

- Hmm
- [Dotolo] I just tasted the polenta

You have to be very careful,
because you kind of lose it a bit

It just tastes like cream almost

I like the freshness you brought to game
That citrus gremolata's really worked

- Thank you, Chef
- Gentlemen,

is it the Red Team or the Blue Team?

- Damn it
- Attaboy! Whoo!

- Sakari!
- There you go, Sakari

- Really good dish. Well done, Sakari
- Thank you

[narrator] Up next,
Sommer and Abe face off in...

The battle of the duck

[narrator] Sommer, with her seared duck
and pomegranate reduction...

- [Ramsay] It's cooked beautifully
- [Dotolo] It's spot-on

- ...impresses Jon and Vinny...
- Thank you

...while Abe's grilled duck
with red peppers...

You were on to something
with the black garlic

Unfortunately, I've got a swimming pool
of blood that matches the red pepper

- ...disappoints
- Wow. There

- Thank you
- [Ramsay] Sommer, good job

[Abe] 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 one of 'em to perfection

[duck quacking]

-. Final dish, let's go. The venison

- [Alex] Go, Brett
- [Ramsay] Cheyenne and Brett's

It's tied up. This is
the most important dish of the day

Anytime you have
ingredients you haven't picked,

it's definitely a little tricky,
but I think Brett can pull it out

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?

The figs with the green beans,
it's just... it's like a car crash

Yeah, I understand

- You nailed the cook though
- Yeah. Venison's delicious

- It's melting in your mouth
- Thank you very much

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
seconds. This is a tough one

Two good efforts though, right?

- Very impressed
- Absolutely

- Gentlemen, shall we?
- [Dotolo] Let's go

All right, Cheyenne, it's up to you
You gotta bring this home

I cannot do another punishment

A fifth punishment, it might break me

One, two, three

[whisper] f*ck

[Ramsay] Congratulations, Red Team
Well done

All of you join me
in thanking these two legends

for giving up their day to be here

- Thank you
- [Ramsay] See you soon

- Thank you. Take care
- Thank you

Even though 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

- Nice. Sweet
- Nice

- You've got the whole place to yourself
- Nice

And Jon and Vinny, they are
putting together a mind-boggling spread

of the finest dishes
from their flagship restaurant,

Jon and Vinny's, for you

- Nice
- 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

Oh...

We also need two gallons
of pesto made by hand

Now, Alex, you have the Punishment Pass
What are you thinking?

I'm gonna throw some strikes. Sorry, guys

Who are you trading places with and why?

I'm gonna give my punishment to Tara

[laughter]

I feel like that's something
that she would be good at

- Wow
- [Alex] She's a mom,

so she's used to doing that stuff

- Oh, my God
- We've just got that bond

Not no more

Love you. Love you

What are you guys waiting for?
Come on. Go and have fun. Let's go

[Tara] Alex, seriously, this is for you

Go f*ck yourself. That's how I feel

Oh, I'm pissed

This is my fifth punishment
I'm so over this

I have nobody here now

The only person I could talk to was Mindy,
and you know...

- They're all gunning for me
- So...

No one talks to me anymore

I'm done
I have nothing to say to anybody here

I mean, f*ck Alex

I get it. It's the -year-olds
against the one -year-old

But to have him be on their team,
to bond with him...

That was surprising
I thought he'd pick one of them

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 -year-olds

[Sommer] I'm sorry. I know it sucks

I feel like you guys are all against me

Tara gets in her own world
or in her own head, I feel like

How can we be against you

if we haven't even seen anything
to really complain about?

I don't want her to feel like
her team is against her,

because me, personally,
I'm not against her

- Is she okay?
- She feels like we're against her

- Tara?
- All of us?

- Yeah, our team
- Why? Y'all didn't vote for her. I did

Not because of that. Just in general

Oh, I'ma go talk to her

Oh, man, I feel bad. I feel bad

Are you okay?

- Is she okay?
- She feels like we're against her

- Tara?
- All of us?

[narrator] Alex chose his former
fortysomething 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

Not because of that. Just in general

Oh, I'ma go talk to her

Oh, man, I feel bad. I feel bad

Are you okay?

Go f*ck yourself

I don't make girls cry that often anymore
I mean, I'm a married man

[groans] Sorry, Tara

Let's go

[Sommer] Yeah

[Jason] All right, guys
So Chef wants two gallons of each

- Recipes are right here
- Yes, Chef

We're getting two gallons of pesto
and two of tapenade for service tonight

I don't know how
we're gonna get this done

This is brutal

Oh, sh*t

- Tara, you mad at Alex?
- What?

- You mad at Alex?
- Yeah

[laughs]

- What was he supposed to do?
- Pick someone else

[Vlad] This sucks

Oh, my gosh. My belly's 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 just catty,
especially young females

I'm not here to make friends

I love Tara. She's cool as f*ck

I didn't know what to think about her
until she worked the line with me

She earned my respect from that day

I had her back ever since,
so that's my dawg right there

Don't let anybody get in your way

- We get jackets?
- Oh, dang

- Oh, man, look at these
- [Alex] Nice jackets

- These are dope
- Yes

[Dafne] These are really cool

- [Dafne] Oh, what the hell?
- [Sommer] Get it

[Alex] Oh!

[Dafne] Come on

Aw, A for effort

[Alex] There you go

[all cheering, clapping]

- [Sommer] Uncle Alex, bro. Bro
- Uncle Alex. Come on, bro

[Cheyenne] Look at his form

[groans] Gutter ball!

- [Cheyenne] You hit one
- I got one pin

- [Alex] Okay, okay
- What?

- Cheyenne! Oh, my God
- Good job

It's so great to be out with Alex
who has this ultimate-dad vibe,

and he makes sure he takes care of us

This is one of my favorite awards yet

[Dafne] Oh, my gosh. No, no

What the hell?

How are we doing on those pine nuts, Abe?

Man, ask me about
the g*dd*mn pine nuts one more time

This punishment's brutal

My hands are gonna be sore
I feel that carpal tunnel coming in

This is the worst thing I've ever done

What's up? It smells good in here

Look at how sick these are
There's hella pockets

Smell of pesto is wafting
through the whole place

[Abe] Wow

[Alex] That looks like a nightmare

But, like, see how they come in?
There's no sense of, "Oh!"

They don't give a f*ck

[Dafne] Do you have any siblings?

Yeah, I have an older brother
and a younger sister

- Oh, nice
- I miss my sister a lot

We're super close

My brother's in the m*llitary

He's stationed in Missouri,
so I don't really see him as often,

so I'm kind of used to it

I've been the only female chef
in every kitchen I've been in

I've also always been the youngest
and 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 and
when they had me

- Oh, my God. I couldn't imagine
- So they were really young

And from Honduras too
Like, they slept on a sofa

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 they can have a better life

They must be so proud of you
I know all of our families are

[Dafne] It took 'em a long time
to really be okay with me being a chef

- Yeah
- [Dafne] Took 'em years, actually

- For me to be here right now is so great
- It's such a blessing

It is, dude. Yeah

[ringing]

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

[Dafne] Oh, God, I'm gonna throw up

[Tara] Chef Ramsay wants 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

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

[Vlad] It's kind of like a duck
I look calm and composed,

but inside there's thousands of different
things that are going on in my head,

and 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've got this
You know you've got this too, bro

- [Cheyenne] Good luck, girl. Good luck
- [Sommer] Good luck

I let something get in my way today

I let somebody else put their dish up,
so here I am on the chopping block

[Ramsay] All five of you will have
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 minutes start now

[narrator] In today's
cook-for-your-life challenge,

Tara, Ileana, Vlad, Alex and Alejandro

will have minutes to elevate one of
the most popular proteins in the world:

chicken

- [all exclaim]
- Oh, my God

We're stress eating

This is literally one of the scariest
movies I've ever seen in my life

But I'm like,
"Thank God I don't have to cook."

I'm ready to get out there,
get 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
minutes to cook for your life

I like being able to plan things out
You can't plan things in Hell's Kitchen

She's f*cking zoned in

[Ileana] 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

[Cheyenne] 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 f*cking ass off

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

My mind starts thinking
of things I can put together

that would be a summertime vibe
in Tennessee

that I would've sold at my restaurant

I'm shocked he went simple
with carrot puree

[Bret] He's cooking what he knows,
which is good-ass Southern food

This dish needs a starch
It needs something else

Something to give it
that fattiness, that richness

I was like,
"You know what? I can do polenta."

Polenta takes minutes,
but I don't care

Chef Ramsay told me
not to let anything get in my way,

so I'm gonna f*cking do it

I'm gonna get polenta on and 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

m*therf*cker

My mind is going a million miles an hour

I'm trying to compose a dish right now

There's so many different things
I could be doing

Where's my bowl? Oh, my God

I just need to get my mind focused
and get into one dish

Not dishes that are going on
in my head right now

There's no pots or pans over on this side
Oh, my God, that sucks

- Man
- She looks nervous as hell

[Tara] No pans

Tara is mouth-breathing

What we're hearing from Tara is,

"Where's the peeler? Where's the wine?
Where are the bowls?

[singsongy] 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

[Dafne] She's trying to figure out
what to do

[Sommer] She's wasting her time

[Vlad] I'm about to piss myself

This is the most stressful,
most intense moment in my life

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

- [Dafne] Are those pickles?
- [Cheyenne] How predictable

- [Abe] Those are delicious. They're good
- [Sakari] Truffle Boy

- He's gonna add truffles to it
- Yeah, absolutely

[Sommer] I don't like truffles that much
to be putting it in everything though

Nobody's getting in my way tonight

Ten minutes

Ten minutes goes by so f*cking fast

Running around,
thinking I've got plenty of time

and Chef Ramsay comes in and says
ten 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 ten 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

[Cheyenne] Oh, come on

Ah!

[Ramsay] Three minutes

- Let's go. Ladies, three minutes
- [Tara] Yes, Chef

- [Ramsay] Come on
- We have a time

Focused on myself and myself only

Right now, this is about a me challenge

It's an individual challenge to stay here
and I'm the only one that I'm focused on

- [Ramsay] Under seconds, ladies
- [squealing]

[Cheyenne] Alex is nervous

He needs to cook it more

All right

Sixty seconds

Finishing with a little vinaigrette or...

I dressed them with some vinaigrette
I'm gonna put a little bit... Yes, Chef

[squeals]
Ileana, please make it on the plate

[Ramsay] Thirty seconds. Let's go

- [Abe shouts] Oh, man!
- [Ramsay] Ten, nine, eight

- seven, six, five, four, three...
- Oh, my God

- Two, one...
- [Christina] Good job

- Ah!
- ...and serve

This is it because at least one of you
will be going home

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 feel like I gave it my all,

and I put myself and my flavor profile
on the plate

- Chicken's cooked beautifully
- Thank you, Chef

[Ramsay] I love the crisp on the skin
Polenta's delicious

I'm amazed you got that flavor
in that short period of time

- Good effort
- Thank you

I know it was a do-or-die
kind of situation,

but 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,

but I look down at my dish

- and I'm happy
- Thank you

I tasted everything
I know that it tastes awesome

And describe the dish

[Ileana] 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

It's something that taught me to make

The eggplant puree is way too thin

- Okay
- So you've created this sort of...

- this sort of slurry at the bottom here
- Yes, Chef

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 a great sear on the chicken,
loved that

[Ileana] I'm trying to keep my head up,
and 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

Good luck, guys

Baby, I am back
and I'm not going anywhere

[exhales deeply]

[cheering]

It was definitely a wake-up call. It was
definitely lighting a fire under my ass

- Gotta go in there with no f*cking fear
- You looked confident as f*ck

I'm gonna be a force to be reckoned with
You better believe it

Next up, Tara

[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

[Ramsay] Why the carrot puree?

I love carrot puree with chicken
I think it goes very, very well

Chicken's cooked beautifully

So, chicken's delicious

Smashed potato is wonderful,

that pesto's vibrant,
loved the onion rings

The only issue I've got with this
is the carrot puree

It's dull. You know, 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

[shouts]

Oh, my God, I have to scream

- Tara!
- [Dafne] Tara!

[all cheering]

Tara

[Tara] I am the last -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

[Abe] So proud of you

Up next, Alex, please

[Alex] On the confidence meter,

on a scale out of one to ten,
I'm about a .

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

Chicken is crisp, beautiful

- Puree is exceptional
- Thanks, Chef

- Thank you
- Thank you

Alex, say goodbye to Vlad, Ileana

Head back to the dorm

- Good luck, bro
- Thank you

- Really good
- Thanks, Chef

I mean, that was one of the top...

the top one most stressful moments
of my life

[exhales]

Oh, my God

[narrator] With Alex safely back
in the dorm...

[all cheering]

I'm still trying to calm my nerves

- That sh*t was f*cking stressful
- [Dafne] Yeah, we saw, dude

- Welcome back, dude
- ...today's cook-for-your-life challenge

is now down to Ileana and...

Vlad, step forward, please

Describe the dish, please

You have an airline chicken breast,
seared and then roasted in the oven

Truffle pomme 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 just a shame you 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 , not

- Back in line, please
- Yes, Chef

This is really hard

My heart's b*ating, probably,
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 f*cking sucks

My decision is...

Vlad

Young man, head back to the dorm

- Thank you, Chef
- [Ramsay] Congratulations

[Vlad] 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

- It's okay
- 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
- I'm incredibly blessed

- Keep going
- Yes, Chef

- Don't you dare slow down
- Yes, Chef

[sniffles]

[Ileana] 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 looking forward to the future

and I'm really looking forward to
continuing to grow

[Ramsay] 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...

[groans]

...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...

- [Ramsay] That's blue. Get it in the oven!
- Damn it, dude

...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. [laughing]
- ...on the next Hell's Kitchen