Hell's Kitchen: 4.2.09

Andrea and Carol got into it with each other again, and Giovanni urged them to work it out and wake up as a team the next day. Andrea didn't think it was possible and thinks they are like oil and water. It would seem so...

The Challenge is to work with King Crab. But first, Ramsey had them list off a whole bunch of famous chicken dishes. For the challenge, they will each make a crab dish, and then come to a consensus as a team of who has the best dish, as each team will present just one dish to Ramsey.

Halfway through cooking, Paula had the audacity to ask Ramsey to find the chinoise for them. That would be a resounding no.

So, who has the dish that is going forward? They are choosing Andrea's (though Paula's was prettier) and Ben's (which has vanilla in it. Interesting.)

Andrea's - king crab legs crusted in macadamia nuts, with asparagus, and shells. It was an ugly plate. They should have chosen Paula's. Ramsey called it bland and disgusting.

Ben's - cream cream cream, blah blah blah, I think it took less time to cook it than to explain how he cooked it. For heaven's sake. Ramsey said it lacks the wow factor.

Ramsey is utterly disappointed, and asked for Paula's and Danny's dishes.

Paula - Basil coconut broth with chilis and king crab. Ramsey called it delicious.

Danny - Beurr blanc poached with ... didn't catch it. Ramsey loved it.

Ramsey wanted to know why these dishes didn't come up first. In the end, the men won it. I am impressed with Danny.

The Women (And Giovanni) have to clean the dorms, top to bottom, and then cook and clean all the crab before service the next night.

The Men will have a day at the beach at Santa Monica with Ramsey. Ramsey drove up on a Segway, and poor Robert missed out again because there was a weight limit on them. Segways look like too much fun. Poor Robert is on a giant bike.

And the women cleaning the dorms looked to be in misery.

The lunch the men were enjoying made me drool.

Andrea and Carol got on each other's nerves again. Angry and mallets in hand, they shelled crabs.

Time for Service prep. First, Ramsey told them that they have control of their own menues. 3 appetizers, 3 entrees, 3 desserts, head to head. (and be sure to include a crab special.) They went back up to the dorms to brainstorm. The menues are sounding very similar to each other - until Ben pulled out a term no one had heard of - pommes fondant? We'll see.

Now, it's really time for service prep. Robert and Ben were getting on each other's nerves, too.

Each Hell's Kitchen diner chooses from either the red or the blue kitchen. The orders seem to be about equal. The Red Team's carpaccio was sent back because they were super bland. That was Giovanni's fault. Over in the Blue Kitchen, Ben put a ton of salt in his soup. Not good.

The enraged diner came back again with the second serving of cappacio, going to the pass herself. Ramsey told her off. Carol's potatoes were crunchy, and not cooked enough. Carol was busy pointing out everyone else's mistakes. And... turns out, over in the Blue kitchen, Ben's concept of pomme fondant looked somewhat like a tater tot, and Ramsey said that it wasn't that at all. Carol's potatoes were unsalvageable, and Ramsey tossed them out, and yelled at the other chefs that they need to come up with alternativs.

Robert was scrambling to get things cooked. Carol tried to do some catch-up on the meat station, and was inconsistent with doneness. Robert was called out for having inconsistently sized steaks, but it turned out, it was Ben who cut them. Sabotage was mentioned. Things did not improve, and Ramsey shut down the kitchens.

So who won this horrible night? Blue team entrees were rated at 39% above average, and the Red Team was rated at 54% above average. Not stellar, but a win for the Red Team. Danny was sent back to come up with the person who should be put up for elimination. Carol was stunned not to loose.

Danny chose Ben for elimination, and I would agree with that. Ramsey wanted to hear from both Ben and Robert. And then, he sent home Carol! Out of the blue. I can't say I disagree, but it was rather blunt. I bet Andrea will do a dance all the way back up to the dorm.

Looks like another mess next week. Can't wait to see it.