If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen! Chef Gordon Ramsey and his attitude are back for an all-new season of Hell’s Kitchen. The season premiered on Tuesday, March 3, and as the new contestants grabbed their aprons, the fire immediately heated up.
The show kicked off with a surprise: as the new contestants approached the Hell’s Kitchen building, they discovered that the door was locked. Chef Ramsey then greeted contestants on the roof, informing them that if they wanted to set foot in the kitchen, they must first jump off. He asked for volunteers, and the first to raise their hands were Enrique and Ruth. After they jumped, it was revealed that they were stunt doubles and that none of the contestants actually had to participate in the jump. This season is already off to a crazy start.
After this fiasco, the contestants were immediately thrown into the kitchen for their first challenge, in which they had only an hour to complete their signature dishes, which would be judged on a scale of one to five by Chef Ramsey. It was the women versus the men, with the men winning the challenge, 31-28.
The men were then rewarded with a trip to meet William Shatner, a Hollywood legend known for his role of Captain Kirk in Star Trek, while the women were assigned to resetting the dining room and mailing out all of the reservation letters.
Back in the kitchen, the ladies began to brush up on recipes. Many gained some confidence, especially Chrissa Schmerler, owner of a food truck from Bellmore, NY, who made a complete fool of herself when she announced that she had to go to the bathroom before the dining room opened.
Once the dining room officially opened and guests started pouring into the restaurant, the new chefs immediately got to cooking. It wasn’t a surprise when Chrissa started slowing the red team down, and (before she even got a chance to correct herself) was thrown out of the kitchen.
On the men’s side, Michael Dussault, a senior center chef from Hartford, CT, was the one holding back the blue team. Because of Michael, the men’s team still hadn’t delivered their first ticket 40 minutes into the restaurant’s opening.
When the blue team finally delivered their first appetizer ticket, the red team had already moved onto entrees—but it wasn’t long before the men caught up and started delivering their entrees to their tables.
The women fell behind when they realized their lamb was not cooking properly—it turns out that the oven was never on. Chef Ramsey was fed up; not only did he yell at the entire team, but they were all thrown out and the red team’s kitchen was shut down.
Before the dining room even closed, Chef Ramsey delivered the news to the red team that they lost tonight’s challenge. The ladies were instructed to choose two women who do not belong on the team.
During eliminations, Alison Rivera, a sous chef from New York, NY, was instructed to name the two nominees. Monique Booker, line cook from Lynn, MA, was the first on the chopping block; the second was Chrissa. Chef Ramsey also wanted to hear from Christine Hazel, a banquet chef from Philadelphia, PA. The three ladies had to step forward and explain their behavior in the kitchen as well as why they deserved to stay. After listening to their reasoning, Chef Ramsey decided to keep Monique and Christine and send Chrissa home.
This season is going to be filled with flames, fights, drama, love, jealousy, and a lot of screaming. Celebrities like Jaleel White, Tatum O’Neal, Fred Williard, Taylor Hicks, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Lisa Loeb, and chef Wolfgang Puck are all going to be stopping by. Catch new episodes on FOX, Tuesdays at 8 pm.
