Hell’s Kitchen is coming off its most heated episode of the season so far, “The Meat of the Matter.”
Jonny G battled Miguel Soliz over race, and the red team started splitting into cliques. But the elimination came down to Aiden Ricklef’s refusal to ask for help when he fell behind on garnishes during meal service; he fought with Gabe Cerease over it, but Gordon Ramsay agreed that Aiden was in over his head and sent him home.
Are the chefs any more harmonious in Season 25, Episode 6, titled “A Slice Above the Rest,” or do their divisions continue to widen?
“Day after day this competition feels deeper. The wounds hurt more, and the mess-ups hurt more,” says Jonny G right after Aiden’s ouster; Jonny had been nominated for elimination right there with him, but he vows to learn from his mistakes and move on.
Pizza Challenge
Which brings us right to the next challenge. “There is one food that’s great in any meal — breakfast, lunch, or dinner,” Gordon tells the gathered chefs. In come stacks upon stacks of pizza boxes and sets of pans. The host then explains, “Each team has seven pizza pans featuring different pizzas you’ll all be cooking. You’ll get a chance to fill out those pizza pans with five additional ingredients from somewhere inside these pizza boxes.” After that, they’ll have 30 minutes to complete their dishes. The matchups and main ingredients are as follows:
- Nadia Phillips vs. Valentin Royo — Clam pizza
- Dylan Duffy vs. Sandra LeClerc — Skirt steak pizza
- Kylie Budich vs. Miguel — Chicken thighs pizza
- Miles Anderson vs. Haley Moss — Lobster pizza
- Gabe vs. Joy Shi — Ground lamb pizza
- Georgiana Pahon vs. Jonny G — Shrimp pizza
- Mya Gonsalves vs. Mike Catuosco — Veggie pizza
“This could be a WWE match,” says Georgiana as the chefs tear through dozens if not hundreds of boxes to find their ideal ingredients. Jonny G ends up with what might be an irreconcilable set of items to add to shrimp, including caviar, Gruyere, Tuscan kale, and Calabrian chili, “but sometimes it’s not about the choices, it’s about the cook.” Speaking of irreconcilable, Jonny’s relationship with Miguel is no better than it was before, but they have learned to put their differences aside in the kitchen and collaborate for the sake of their team.
Valentin is confident because he grew up making pizzas. Sandra has a similar advantage, but that also means she’s the go-to chef for the rest of the red team to pelt questions at, especially Haley. “It’s a pizza challenge, and everyone knows I come from the No. 2 pizza restaurant in Connecticut, so there’s going to be a ton of questions,” she boasts/laments. That could potentially give her entire team a leg up, or it’ll just distract her from her own cooking and drag down the whole team.
Gordon introduces guest judges Marino, the owner of La Biga, and Bret Lunsford, executive chef at Sally’s Apizza. Their verdicts are …
- Lamb — Joy’s pizza is so undercooked that the judges don’t even bother to taste it. Gabe wins more or less by default.
- Clam — The flavor of Nadia’s clams come through, but not her chili, and her crust is also underdone. Valentin wins by a vote of 2-1. So the boys score another point.
- Veggie — Mike thinks his pizza looks “gorgeous,” while Mya’s looks basic, but the judges don’t seem to agree. Mya wins in a unanimous decision, giving the women a much-needed point.
- Shrimp — Jonny G chose bold flavors that weren’t “harmonious,” so Georgiana’s spicy preparation gives the girls another unanimous decision. The teams are tied with three chefs to go.
- Skirt steak — Sandra’s steak isn’t cut properly, so it’s a unanimous decision for Dylan. Sandra blames Haley for demanding so much of her time and attention.
- Lobster — Sandra may have lost her own battle, but Haley claims victory by a 2-1 vote because her opponent’s crust was soggy in the middle. Maybe Sandra can take partial credit for this one.
- Chicken — Another split decision, but Miguel prevails over Kylie, giving the blue team their fourth challenge win of the season.
The blue team’s reward for winning the challenge is an exclusive private meal at the Bedford by Martha Stewart at Foxwoods Resort Casino, followed by a spa day complete with pool, Jacuzzi, and “muscle-melting massage.” The red team’s punishment is breaking down lobster by hand for the night’s meal service. But Mya decides to use her Punishment Pass to join the blue team on their excursion. In her place, she chooses Miguel to complete the punishment, even though he had the pizza that ultimately won his team their reward. “I think there’s been some issues on the team, and it might be good to separate for a bit,” Mya explains, alluding to the bad blood between Miguel and Jonny G.
Oh, and when the blue team returns to the dorms, they see that they have also won their own pizza ovens.
Miguel isn’t down in the dumps having his reward wrenched out of his hands by Mya, however. “I’ve always tried to remain optimistic in any situation because positivity is a cure for a lot of things,” he says. But the ladies mostly ignore him as he tries to look on the bright side and start a conversation.
“Miguel is goofy, and he comes over and he wants to make everybody feel happier and positive, but he hasn’t done four of these punishments,” Joy explains. Indeed, the boys’ team has only received one punishment compared to the girls’ four.
Dinner Service
The blue kitchen welcomes VIP chef’s table guest Doug E. Fresh, while the red team serves comedian Matt Rife.
The blue team serves up some overcooked pizza to start their meal service; Valentin needs to re-fire it, but it comes out well on the second try, and then all the appetizers come flying out of the kitchen at a steady clip. “It’s kind of like a synchronized dance. It’s like a ballet almost,” Miles observes about his team’s strong collaboration. It’s one of the best services all season.
On the other hand, the red kitchen struggles at the fish station right away, with Joy and Kylie reaching over and around and bumping into each other, and their first appetizers take too long to complete. “Just don’t f*ck up the scallops,” Kylie keeps telling herself. Unfortunately, the first batch of scallops are inconsistently cooked, and so are the lobster tails for the same exact table.
Sandra, meanwhile, has difficulties on pizza even though pizza is her area of expertise. She has to re-fire hers after messing up the first one. “I’m not on the ball today. My A-game is not on,” Sandra admits after dropping her second pizza on the kitchen floor. And her third attempt has a hair in it. Fourth time’s the charm, though, which puts the ladies back on track.
Until entrees, that is. Joy needs more time on salmon as the rest of the order is ready to go. “The communication was not there, especially on Joy’s side,” says Nadia. Joy needs five more minutes on the fish, which shocks Georgiana and Gordon, prompting the host to call the lot of them forward and beg them to speed up. Orders get confused and are delivered incomplete, and the further behind they fall, the more confused they get about what needs to be cooked and when. But Gordon doesn’t give them any more chances. He kicks them out of the kitchen: “Come back to me with two names that you think your team could be stronger without. Good news is you’re spoiled for choice.”
Most of the red team believes the fish station — Kylie and Joy — should be nominated for elimination, but Sandra stands up for Kylie and urges the team to put up Haley instead. “You’re hardly communicating all the f*cking time,” Sandra accuses. Joy also argues on behalf of Kylie; she doesn’t contest her own nomination, but she too thinks Haley should join her.
Results
The red team’s first nominee is Joy because of the fish station blunders and lack of communication. The second nominee is … Kylie! So it seems the defenses of her fell on deaf ears. Luckily for Haley, Gordon doesn’t contest those nominations. He accepts their two choices for what even Kylie admits was “piss poor” service, but he decides to send Joy home.
“I think what surprised me was just how intense the competition is,” Joy confesses in her exit interview. “Everybody in there is really talented. But this means a lot for me and my family. I know that they’re proud of me, and it took a second to get there but I’m going to be more confident after this. I learned that all it takes is for you to believe in yourself, and that’s all that matters.”
Next Week
“Tomorrow, I’m going to be entrusting you with something so important that honestly, I need all of you at your best,” Gordon warns the remaining chefs after Joy leaves the kitchen. But the conflict between Sandra and Haley isn’t over yet. When Sandra receives praise, Haley might resort to sabotaging her during dinner service.
