Hell's Kitchen 5/27/08

Matt starts off the night by sucking up to Corey, who says in a confessional that he might be a better used car salesman than a chef. Nice. I still am astounded by the number of the chefs on this show who smoke. I think that all of them that are left smoke. That messes with your palate so badly, I just don't get it. I really doubt Ramsey smokes.

The challenge is all about communication. Each chef will have 6 minutes to start a dish, then 15 seconds to communicate with the next person what needs to be done next, to finish three dishes on the menu. Jen hates Louross, who hates Jen, and he is pretty much forced into sitting it out. It's a relay race, kitchen style!

Matt started by poaching chicken, and then Cristina found raw chicken. Petrozza and Bobby seemed to be communicating pretty well, and Bobby seemed to do well with Jen. Corey did not seem to be doing as good a job with it. Louross wants Jen to prove that she is as good as she says she is.

First - scallops. Salad is missing on the red team, and eggs are overcooked on the blue team. The scallops taste good on the red team, and the blue scallops are raw in the center. That goes to the red team. Jen got defensive and claimed that her scallops were cooked perfectly, and she had no idea what he was talking about. I'm pretty sure I trust Ramsey to know if seafood is cooked.

Next is jandoori (?) - I have no clue what it is, but it's a menu item. Red team had good sauce and good puree, and the blue team had no sauce (because it burned). The blue team scores for better presentation, and wins that round. (It looked like salmon with shrimp maybe? Anyone know?)

Last is chicken - the red team got props for moist, well cooked chicken, but forgot the baby leeks. Blue team again was missing sauce. Again. The red team won it.

Jen is blamed for the loss on the blue team. Jen refuses to take the blame, refuses to apologize for two missing sauces. I am not surprised.

The Red Team ends up with a reward of a beach day, in a convertible. Nice. The Blue team gets to be Hell's Kitchen Maintenance for the day. Matt is wearing an idiotic hat to the beach. He looks like a train conductor. It's weird and dopey.

Bobby and Jen are arguing about cleaning. Big surprise.

The Red Team gets to try surfing, and they all pretty much bite. Ramsey schooled them about the way to surf, and then he swiftly deposited Jean-Phillipe into the ocean. That was kind of awkward, but funny.

Jen pouted some more about being punished, and the returning Red team tracks fun-day-at-the-beach sand onto the red carpet. Louross is pissy about it.

Next, Ramsey has a big announcement. The next dinner service is going to be their own menus. Three appetizers, three entrees, three desserts. It's time to make a game plan. Red Team comes up with an idea for a pan seared lobster, a big steak, and a flat iron pork chop. Matt is actually coming up with some wonderful sounding ideas.

The Blue team is being bossed around by Jen. Louross says "Jen gives me a headache - she won't listen, and her ideas suck." I don't see this team reaching any harmonious decisions.

(A reason I love Top Chef is that they would put the menu up for us to see, whereas this just glazes over. Hard to write down)

The red team's final menu is pretty impressive, and Ramsey seems to like it.

After Louross mentions the idea for halibut wrapped in squash, Ramsey says that sounds disgusting, and Louross says that he didn't like the menu, and it was pretty much all Jen. Jen calls him a little punk ass (in confessional). Nice. They revamp their menu to something that sounds much better, but the team (I mean Louross and Jen) continue to bicker like cats in a bag.

Corey offers to talk Matt through the pasta appetizer, and he denies her help, and puts out salty pasta, which goes back to the drawing board. The blue team seemed to be doing well, until Ramsey sees Petrozza putting unwashed lettuce in a salad. Ick. Not as icky as Matt's pasta, which is a universal mess. Undercooked, too salty, tasteless, just awful. Ramsey blames Matt's excessive sweating for the saltiness. Christina took over the appetizers, and Matt said that it was unfair and he wanted to keep trying. Again, looked like he wanted to cry. I think it was a good decision.

On the Blue team, he can't get a steak cooked, and gets some very rare steak returned to the kitchen. Not good. More are being returned. I want to like Louross, because I think he is the least objectionable in that kitchen, but not sure...

Matt has moved to the Red Team, and can't do that either. Badly cooked brussel sprouts got tossed across the kitchen by Ramsey. He throws a little tantrum, and Corey says that he is acting like a girl, and he is booted off the station. Again.

Louross gets a steak out - but the customer left first. That's no good.

Christina and Corey are working well together, and Matt is having a nice water and cleaning up. Whatever gets things served.

Jen got pissy when Bobby called her "Honey." Well, maybe he would respect her more if she could get things cooked. Her souffle is not cooked, and she refused to take blame for it. Both teams manage to complete service, but ... wow.

The diners were almost even for the two teams, choosing their menus. Chef Ramsey calls out Matt for having no control, being sloppy, and being pathetic tonight. Still, the Blue team loses tonight. Ramsey calls Petrozza a dirty pig in service, but says that he is the best of the worst. (I am saddened that Matt is not going anywhere).

Jen goes on about how she deserves to stay, but I don't know. Louross says that he deserves to say, but ... same thing. I wish that they could both go. They both get nominated, which is not surprising. What is surprising is that he asks Petrozza's opinion on who to vote off. He chose Louross, and Ramsey agrees. Louross is gone.

Ramsey's not done yet and he pulled Matt forward to stand with Jen. Then, in a shocking move, he sends both of them back to the team they originally came from. Corey and Christina, and Petrozza and Bobby look none-too-pleased. Jen says they are mad because they are intimidated by her. Yeah, that's why. Not because you suck. Matt says that he intends to stay to the end. Good luck with that, too. Yipes.

I have to say, I am not too pleased with the contestants this season. At this point, I think that Corey or Christina is going to win it, because they seem to be good chefs who are consistent. I would not like to see Petrozza running a kitchen, because I would worry about it's hygiene - it would end up being the type of kitchen that Ramsey visits during Kitchen Nightmares! And Bobby, well... I think that Bobby has been lucky thus far. He is just surrounded by people less capable than himself. That doesn't necessarily say much about him.

Hope that next season (assuming there is one) brings better chefs.