Thanks FOX. Double episodes tonight. Plus I'm already short on time as we're moving into the new house next weekend. Gonna have to keep this brief. (Yay!)
Another disclaimer that this episode contains unusually strong language. No opener, I guess we all know the story of Gordon Ramsay now.
Fallout from Chris being cut is...pretty much non-existent. Jessica and Elsie share a mandatory hug but Jess can't even be bothered to cry. Outside Michael half-heartedly justifies not nominating Jimmy. Jimmy appreciates it. Raplh thanks Mike for the wake-up call. God I hate Ralph.
Challenge time! It's a blind taste test. One person from each team will taste four food items. Whoever correctly identifies one gets a point. Then the process is repeated for the other team members. Got that?
Jimmy and Andrew are up first. The first item? Chicken. Andrew gets it, but oh Jimmy..."Meat filled tortellini with a hinst of sweated onions in the background!" No Jimmy, its just freakin' chicken. The reds wince mightily. They both miss the next two but Jimmy nails the fourth to even it up at one point apiece. Elsie and Jess are next. Jess puts a bagel on the board missing all four, but Elsie gets scallops, ceasar dressing and burger. Reds have a 4-1 lead. It all comes down to Ralph and Mike, who should have the most developed palletes. They both miss the first item sweetbread. Ralph has to nail the other three to tie. But he identifies spinach as romaine lettuce. Oh, good one Ralph. Reds win. Blue teams punishment? They get to wash all the pots and pans from last night. And the dish room is FULL of them. Jessica makes a snide comment to Andrew about them losing. Hey, at least he got
one right. Ralph bitches incessantly. God, if he wins...
The reds get to go to a wine tasting with Chef. They all laugh and have a good time. Ramsay tries to teach Jimmy to sip wine. It doesn't go well. Elsie says there is nothing graceful about Jimmy, and he proves it by loudly belching. Jimmy says he doesn't really know wine. He knows a lot about beer though!
Reds return to find the Blues still washing dishes. Well, they've made some progress. Ralph yells at the Reds to clean up the dorm. Shut up Ralph.
Next morning Ramsay tells the teams that they will be coming up with the menus for the next nights dinner service. It's time to see how they can work as a team! The Reds work well together and everyone comes up with good ideas. On the Blue side Ralph bulls over eveyone elses suggestions and puts in his own. Of course. He replaces Andrews suggestion of braised salmon with poached halibut. This will be significant later.
Two menus tonight, diners will choose from Red or Blue side. Quanity matters tonight, but not as much as quality. Ralph gets all over Andrew for no reason during prep. "You're not dragging me down tonight!" SHUT UP, Ralph. Why is everyone so against Andrew? The poor guy lipped off once and he's suddenly the show Bad Guy. Give the kid a break.
In service, Jimmy can't get out of the gates and keeps putting up over or under cooked scallops. Michael grabs some valuable face time by loudly jumping in to save his ass. He's an MVP, see? On blue side, a plate comes back with a hair in it. Jessica loudly claims its not hers, which isn't really the point. Well, nobody in that kitchen wears a hat or hair net. Ramsay yells at her for missing the point. Why is she still around? Andrew botches it big time though. He's serving hot food on cold plates, Ramsay number one pet peeve. Well, not really pet peeve. He looks about ready to kill Andrew. Andrew also has some trouble getting those darn halibut cooked. Ramsay gets frustrated and shuts it down.
Blue team turned out 53 dishes to Reds 42. Ah, but it isn't enough as the Reds put out superior food, at least according to the customer comment cards. Ramsay tells Jessica to nominate ONE teammate to be eliminated. Hmmm, will she cry? In the dorms Andrew goes off on a tirade about Ralph, his halibut etc. I feel ya. Ralph is a coward. He makes these executive chef decisions then refuses to back them up. Peaches, halibut, where does it end Ralph? Jessica then shows herself to be a freaking MORON and goes and tells Ralph she won't nominate him. ARRGGHHH.
Back in the dining room Jessica announces she's nominating Andrew. Grr. Ah, but Ramsay says this is his kitchen and he wants Ralph to step forward also. Oh, please. Please. Andrew, literally biting his tongue, claims Ralph has been manipulating him and has taken over the team. Ralph just thinks he's better. Ramsay considers it...and cuts Andrew. Oh damn it. He's disappointed that Andrew let Ralph run rough shod over him. Well, me too. As he impales Andrews jacket on the meat hook he also mentions that Andrew can't cook. Well, maybe that too. Damn. Andrew was jobbed!!! Screw you Ralph, you gutless two-bit Emeril wannabe!!! Gagh.
Episode 6 tomorrow I think. I gotta pack.
