Season 3, Episode 2
Friday, August 08 2008 | Comments (0)
Just when the guys seem to have it together in their kitchen, they let things fall apart, allowing the girls to take the lead. And, so far, no one looks like they can actually run a restaurant.
After
Gordon lets Tiffany go, the troupes retreat to the dorms. The girls discuss their new title as "Hell's Bitches." They can agree on one thing: they have to communicate better and work together if any of them will have a chance to win. The men are united in their Concern over Aaron. He is very unstable, emotionally, and seemingly unhealthy. The question is, should they take him under their wings or let him burn?
After a long first day, they crawl into bed to get some needed rest, as they must be on their game the next day. But, HK Sous Chefs, Scott and Maryanne, wake them up at 5:30 A.M. Gordon tells them that they wasted thousands of dollars of food at last night's failed dinner service. They need to learn where food comes from. So, they are going to go out and catch some fish...literally. They file outside to have iced fish thrown at them directly off the truck. After filling their buckets, they go in to learn how to clean and prep the fish.
At the idea alone, Aaron utters a "curse word" and then, when the King of Curse himself questions him, (mostly as if he just hadn't heard what he said), Aaron starts to break down. Gordon gives him a time out, excusing him from the challenge, so he can get himself together, as he is confused and dizzy. When he leaves, the teams are even, and they can get on with the challenge. Gordon shows them a Dover sole, one of the rarest types of sole. They must correctly skin and prepare the Dover soles, peeling the skin off each one, and squeezing the roe out of each fish. After a half an hour, he tallies what each chef has prepared for their team. The guys only prepare four total, among them, until he gets to Josh, who skinned four on his own.
When the red team is up for the tally, all four of Melissa's fish pass the test. Next up, Julia, the short order cook, successfully skinned two. Bonnie and Jen each left skin on their fish and roe in their bellies, and score no points for their team. Joanna is last, and they need all three of her fish to win. And they get it, by the skin of their ...fish. Joanna has temporarily proven herself as worthy of staying the night before. For their reward, the girls get to go out to lunch with Gordon and join him on a fishing excursion. While the girls are reeling in the good times with Gordon, the guys are trying to hook Aaron along for another night. He is about to quit, but they convince him to try out that evening's dinner service.
Once the girls get home, they change their clothes and get comfortable. Bonnie comes out in her little short-shorts and her "chef"-beater tank-top. The guys have a little fun with her asking her to find things in the kitchen that are, well, out of reach. First they ask her where the potatoes are. They are, of course, on the bottom shelf of a lower cupboard, causing her to bend over to find them. Next, innocent looking Eddie gets her to reach way up high to get something for him, and she dimly abides their requests, one after another, stretching and bending for their entertainment. Hopefully she is smarter and not as easily swayed in the Hell's kitchen.
At the dinner service, Gordon calls in the teams, and tells them that they will be cooking pan fried Dover sole. And as part of the Blue Team's punishment, they will be doing table side frying. He chooses Aaron as the table-side chef. Of course, Aaron starts to freak out a bit, but says he can do it. Chef later meets with him to go over the specifics of this table side service, and he tells him that this will be easy for him tonight, that he will be out of the heat and have his confidence boosted by the experience. But, as he is speaking, Aaron is unresponsive. He asks if he is OK, and Aaron doesn't move, his eyes stare deadly beyond Gordon. "He's not there," Jean Phillipe says. Then, Aaron collapses.
He comes to, and tells Chef that he passed out for a minute. Gordon asks if he can continue, and he says he can, so Gordon opens Hell's Kitchen.
As the first orders come in, Gordon reads them off. Meanwhile, Aaron meanders around the dining room and begins to introduce himself to the customers. Jean Philippe swoops in to show Aaron where his place is. In the kitchen, Eddie cooks way to much spaghetti as he becomes flustered by his nagging partners. He doesn't step up to the other guys who are hovering over him, and allowed them to get under his skin. Gordon tells everyone to remain at their own stations, and let Eddie do his work, but tells Eddie that he has to control his own station. Eddie is embarrassed that he didn't act a little tougher with the other chefs, learning that he must assert himself.
Gordon crosses to the red kitchen and calls for a spaghetti and one scallop. He looks up to see Bonnie prepping three. Gordon yells at her to pay attention and asks her if she is a "dumb blond," and calls her a "f***-ing Barbie." She then begins repeating her new mantra, "I'm O.K., I'm O.K."
Back on the blue side, Vinnie is cooking the Dover soles. Gordon believes that one looks burned, and he asks Vinnie if any of them are. Vinnie denies it, and says that they are fine. But when they get up to the hot plate, it is apparent to Gordon that one is, in fact, over cooked. He questions Vinnie as to why he didn't tell him the truth. Vinnie feels the pressure from Gordon, and knows that he is responsible for any failures that they have.
The girls are starting to get themselves together, and Jen is beginning to lead them, and cheers them on.
Finally, one of the Dover Soles is ready to be served, and Aaron takes it out, to perform his table side de-boning. He is friendly and sweet as he chats with the guests, but takes 15 minutes to de-bone it. By the time he serves it, it is cold, although it is served to perfection. So much for table side service.
Out in the dining room, Aaron continues to perform table side de-boning. But every diner who orders the dish complains of finding bones in their fish, despite how long he has taken with each plate. Furious, Gordon calls him into the kitchen. Aaron starts to second guess his abilities as a "top class" chef.
Back in the red kitchen, Melissa took the opportunity to prove her super powers while Joanna was falling behind. She claimed she was trying to cook, but came across like she was trying to control everything. Gordon asked her stay on her station and let Joanna do her job. He tells them that they still have work to do as a team, and they must pull it together for the last three tables of the night.
The blue team has once again over cooked the risotto and Vinnie has over cooked a chicken. Gordon calls the men up and points out how poorly they are doing. He kicks them all out of the kitchen, and puts the rest of the service on the girls' team.
The boys' weakness got the girls to work better as a team. Gordon starts listing all the problems, leading to the Blue Team's failure, beginning with Aaron's inappropriate addressing of the guests in the dining room, and inadequacy in simple filleting of fish.
He tells Vinnie that he feels unsafe with him in the kitchen, because he covers up his mistakes, instead of letting his team and his head chef know. Eddie was unable to remain focused when his team was in his station. Rock is selected as the chef responsible for making this evening's decision as to who should go home. Eddie, Josh, and Aaron are obviously up for the vote, but Rock has a hard time deciding exactly which two should be nominated for elimination. he first nominates Eddie, as he is not confident yet as the small guy. Josh is then nominated because he is distracted easily and inconsistent.
Out in the dining room, Aaron continues to perform table side de-boning. But every diner who orders the dish complains of finding bones in their fish, despite how long he has taken with each plate. Furious, Gordon calls him into the kitchen. Aaron starts to second guess his abilities as a "top class" chef.
Back in the red kitchen, Melissa took the opportunity to prove her super powers while Joanna was falling behind. She claimed she was trying to cook, but came across like she was trying to control everything. Gordon asked her stay on her station and let Joanna do her job. He tells them that they still have work to do as a team, and they must pull it together for the last three tables of the night.
The blue team has once again over cooked the risotto and Vinnie has over cooked a chicken. Gordon calls the men up and points out how poorly they are doing. He kicks them all out of the kitchen, and puts the rest of the service on the girls' team.
The boys' weakness got the girls to work better as a team. Gordon starts listing all the problems, leading to the Blue Team's failure, beginning with Aaron's inappropriate addressing of the guests in the dining room, and inadequacy in simple filleting of fish.
He tells Vinnie that he feels unsafe with him in the kitchen, because he covers up his mistakes, instead of letting his team and his head chef know. Eddie was unable to remain focused when his team was in his station. Rock is selected as the chef responsible for making this evening's decision as to who should go home. Eddie, Josh, and Aaron are obviously up for the vote, but Rock has a hard time deciding exactly which two should be nominated for elimination. he first nominates Eddie, as he is not confident yet as the small guy. Josh is then nominated because he is distracted easily and inconsistent.
Eddie and Josh are called forward to speak their last defenses before one of them is sent home. Eddie says that he has learned a valuable lesson that evening; he must speak up and let his passion and creativity lead. Gordon calls Josh a fake, because none of his entrees even made it out. Gordon kicks Eddie off, and Eddie knows that he should have asserted himself. In closing Gordon says that by not asserting himself, he doesn't have what it takes to run a restaurant. And that's what it boils down to in the end, folks. Who has what it takes to RUN one of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchens?
So far, the gals seem to have lots of control issues. Sure, being in control is a big part of running the kitchen, but so is allowing others to do their jobs, recognizing the talents of your staff, and communicating with your staff. So far, none of the girls can consistently do this. And while the men seem to get a long better, and act more professionally, their culinary skills have yet to impress Gordon (and this reviewer!). Could any of them really have the expertise to actually run one of the Great One's kitchens? Could Aaron actually be reliable to lead a kitchen when he can't stand up for more than an hour at a time.
I guess we'll have to see which of these aspiring chefs can bloom into the knowledgeable leader Gordon is looking for.
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