Anyone who has watched Hell’s Kitchen on a semi-regular basis has surely noticed Ramsay’s habit of saying “yes?” after pretty much everything. Obviously he doesn’t intend for his “question” to be answered, but the variety of sentences Ramsay tacks his rhetorical inquiry onto is rather diverse. It ranges from things like “well done, yes?” to “f— off, yes?” — and I find it oddly mesmerizing. Last night, I decided to take a stab at tallying up the “yeses,” and the final number came to nine, I think. After so many weeks of writing this recap, I felt this recurring theme needed to be addressed. So there you have it. Now onto what you actually came here for…
The show was rather uneventful this week. Things started off withRamsay wasting his breath telling Ben to practice the phrase “I waswrong.” This is the point where I would normally bitch and moan abouthow Ben is seemingly unaware that he has no talent and is basically aculinary hack who has somehow managed to weasel his way onto mytelevision set and now maintains permanent residence under my skin —but I think I may have mentioned it once or twice before, so I’ll spareyou this week. Instead, I will mention how much I like Paula, who maybe the most low-key, semi-boring reality TV contestant ever. I’ll takeboring over Ben any day.
For the challenge this week, the chefs had to taste a variety ofChef Ramsay’s dishes, choose a favorite (they picked fish stew), andrecreate the recipe from taste. For someone with as unsophisticated apalate as mine — mac & cheese and chocolate are the only two foodgroups as far as I’m concerned — this challenge sounded difficult. Notso. Danny was the only one who used the correct fish (red snapper),but the Ramsanator was relatively pleased with everyone’s dish. We wentto commercial with Ramsay divided between Danny and Paula’s dish, andcommenting on how the decision is “so hard” and so on. This weekly setup is done with such a lack of subtlety, the producers and Ramsay mayas well spell out S-U-S-P-E-N-S-E in neon pink letters across thescreen. We returned from break to find out that Danny won. Whew…Iwas really sweating over it.
To celebrate his win, Danny and Ramsay went for a joyride in a biplane. The two men, like Hell’s Kitchen’sown odd-couple version of the Wright Brothers, flew around in the tinyplane with their unprotected heads bopping along (although, if a birdflew directly into Ramsay’s face it would probably just disappear intoone of his forehead wrinkles). They appeared to be enjoying the thrill,while, for reasons unknown, my mind kept drifting to this brilliant Daffy Duck cartoon (at the 5:50 mark).
Once the men returned from their Looney Tunes-esque adventure,Ramsay sent the chefs up to the dorms for a surprise. What did theyget? Why, their very own sets of Ramsay endorsed pots and pans!! Theyseemed thrilled, which is what counts I suppose, but is it too much toask for something a little more grand, exciting, or even weird? Likesome nicotine patches and a giant “No Smoking” sign…or a llama. Thatwould liven up Hell’s Kitchen a bit, yes?
Dinner service began unlike any other before it — without a hitch.Ben’s risotto was good. Paula’s scallops were good (like always),Andrea’s Wellington was perfect. Bravo! Then the camera panned to asatisfied customer’s, um, breasts. Yes, the camera was presumably meantto be focusing on her dish (wink, nudge), but the lady’s bosom had asubstantial supporting role and the camera seemed to linger there for awee bit longer than necessary. Unfortunately, post-boob sighting,things started to go downhill. Ben’s next batch of risotto was bland,Paula was a bit slow on the dory, and Ben asked Ramsay if thevegetarian salad needed tuna. Ramsay then started yelling at Ben, as hedoes every week, and Ben told the camera that Ramsay yells at himbecause he sees him as a potential winner of the competition. Sigh.I simply do not have the energy to rant about how incredibly deludedBen is…again. Then, a customer wanted to propose to his girlfriendand asked J.P. if the kitchen would put the ring with her dessert.Panic! So many possible scenarios went through my brain at this moment:It’s a set-up, someone will lose the ring, ruin the dessert, bring itto the wrong table, etc. I was pleasantly surprised when all thatresulted was a simple proposal without any drama. Touché Hell’s Kitchen,my cynicism was undeserved…this time. Ramsay then went over to thehappy couple with a rose in hand, called the future bride “my darling,”and sent my heart all aflutter.
Dinner service ended on a sour note when Andrea realized she wasmissing two Wellingtons. So, after a brief and typical deliberation, Benand Andrea were sent to the chopping block and Ramsay finally sent Bena-packing. Good riddance. Please seek medical attention for yourapparent memory lapses. I am very concerned.
I leave you with the season’s most tubular quote, from Danny, inthe preview for next week’s episode: “This is gonna be gnarly.”
So PopWatchers, will you miss Ben? Should Andrea have gone first? Who do you think are next week’s surprise guests?
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Andrea makes my skin crawl! i was so glad he miscounted. Now if she would have only went home.
Funny recap Jami. I look forward to them every Friday morning after my first class.
To Robin:
Don’t worry. I’m sure Andrea will pack her bags next week. It’s a miracle she managed to get this far with all the blunders she pulled off in the kitchen. Giovanni or LA should have been in her place (the former had one disasterous dinner compared to Andrea’s four, and LA, though not extraordinary, wasn’t as inconsistent). Or Ji if she didn’t get her ankle twisted. I know comments on Ji have been overdone, but the final three would have been much more exciting with her in the picture. Maybe next time…
Ben was so delusional and annoying (“I’m not a line cook!)…so happy to see that jerk go.
I was hoping Ramsey would send BOTH Andrea and Ben home last night – we all have known for the past few weeks that it would come down to Danny & Paula.
Next week’s guests are the contestants’ families. They do it every year, yes?
I was amazed that the proposal went off without a hitch and it was awesome! So glad Ben is gone and Andrea is up next. I love Danny and was glad he finally won a challenge. I am hoping he takes it all the way!
I really like Danny, he takes pride in what he does and is really passionate about being a chef, I hope he wins. Why is Andrea still there?? She is awful and that laugh…….eveytime she laughs I want reach trhough the TV and strangle the life out of her
I was surprised that picking the winner of the challange was so hard for Chef….Danny was the ONLY one who used the right fish…seemed pretty clear cut to me! (Although, it looked to me like Ben was setting him up to fail by giving him the snapper to begin with!).
Was it just me, or did the bride-to-be in this episode seem not very thrilled when her boyfriend proposed? She didn’t look too excited when she noticed that her dessert plate said “Will You Marry Me?” and she hesitated before saying yes. I have the feeling that she was being a good sport for the cameras, but then gently crushed the poor guy’s spirit during the car ride home.
Thank GOD Ben is gone, he is more suited to work in a deli making sandwiches. Andrea isn’t all that great either, doesn’t fair well under pressure, but she did well last night and I have a feeling Ben sabotaged her. He’s done it before to other contestants, he even was trying last night by throwing a towel over what he was using but got caught. He kept saying throughout the show Andrea’s going home, Andrea’s going home. She swears, calmly, not yelling and screaming, she had enough Wellingtons and they disappeared and I believe her. Ben was a sneak and had sabotaged before. Maybe Ramsey knew.
I’ve seen for weeks it was going to be Danny and Paula. Danny, whatever you think of him, is a damn good cook, and never gets screamed at, neither does Paula.
Who knows? Maybe Paula messes up so badly next. But I doubt it.
Nice recap, yes? The surprise guests (as Al mentioned) will be the contestants families because they ALWAYS bring in the families for the final three.
When Ben claimed that Ramsay was constantly on him because he “sees something in” him, I wanted to jump into my TV and yell, “he’s always on you because you’re always f—ing up!”
Like you, I’m happy he’s gone and, again, nice job on the recap. Now f— off, yes?
To Timber:
LOL. my girlfriend said the same thing when watching that proposal. She would’ve taken it a step further, and intentionally said no to play it off on the cameras (even though she’d say yes). That would be a little too cruel to do that on HK though, even for this show (but would still be a laugh riot if that happened, sad to say).
@Timber: SAME THOUGHT!!! And Jami, we noticed the odd, lingering cleavage shot too…what the heck was up with that?o_O
I like everyone else is so glad that Ben is gone, he should have been gone three weeks ago and Andrea should have been on his heels. Do you think that Ramsay let her stay so that it would be easier for it too be Danny and Paula? and by far Danny should come out the winner in the long run. I dont know about any of you but I think that this years Chefs are not worth their weight in gold and really none of them should win.
I’m stunned at some of the stupidity that goes on in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s obvious that Andrea and Ben were the worst of the final four. I’m shocked that Andrea has made it THIS far. With Ben gone, Andrea is surely next. Danny and Paul are both pretty amazing, and almost on equal ground. I still think Danny has the slightest edge on Paul, but would not be shocked to find them in the winner’s circle together at the end of all this. They may end up working together at Borgata.
Did I actually say “Paul?” LOL! I meant Paula, of course!
Sigh …. I’m off to lunch, and I’m thinking I may go to McDonalds for a quick, inexpensive bite, but also scared that Ben might be serving me at the cash or (worse yet) making my Big Mac and fries!
I liked the episode because we finally saw more of DANNY. And he finally won a challenge! (My theory – Ramsey just would rather spend a 1-on-1 day with Danny than Paula and that’s what tipped it). Andrea was clearly kept for maximum drama next week, as she can not possibly make Top 2 — we have known for weeks now that it will be Danny vs. Paula — both nice, respectful, highly competent, and yes, a bit boring. I’ll be happy if either wins though, as they really seem to want to be chefs, and not Reality TV wh*res.
I also thought the woman might say no to the proposal. She hesitated for sure. Now nothing against the guy, but in keeping with Hell’s Kitchen tradition, of course he was 300-plus pounds. Only thing missing was a cigarette and he could have auditioned for next year’s show. I also finally saw all 4 chefs smoking in the talk session. I didn’t see Paula smoke until last night, although I’m sure she did and I just missed it in the puffs of smokey air. Was glad to see Ben finally leave.
Yes, despite the phony smile, the bride to be looked like she smelled a f-art. Which, looking at him, she probably did.
Oh, yes, as with everyone else, I am SO GLAD Ben is gone! The past few weeks I’d been finding myself actually talking to the TV whenever Ben went into one of his rants about how good he was or how bad everyone else was — what a f—ing loser! Good riddance! He’s from Chicago and I expect to see him at a local Subway soon….maybe….
Danny should probably win, but every contestant has been completely unlikeable at one time or another, so I don’t think I care who wins.
Ben and Robert have just opened up their own restaurant! Ah yes, a night of fine dining and ptomaine poisoning.
“Plain Salad, Plain Salad!” was my high point of this episode. Ramsay could make millions in the T-shirt biz with his rantings. I’m surprised Andrea is still there, I don’t like her at all. She lives in her own world where she can do no wrong. I think the surprise guests are their families.
I am so glad I dont have to listen to Bens rambling anymore! Now, if we can just get Andrea to shut up and go home, it might be a real competition. I really like Paula and Danny and think they both deserve to win.
On a personal note… Jami! Mac and cheese and chocolate are the only two food groups you know. What about ice cream!!!!! (Especially the kind that end up in peoples faces) LMAO.
I thought it was Seth and Robert opening a restaurant? Regardless, I would never go there.
About that proposal…didn’t it seem that the woman only perked up when she got a peck from The RamMan?
I’m still revelling in the fact that Robert is GONE! (Always hoping his health improves, of COURSE…) But no one annoyed me nearly as much as he did…not. even. close!
Of course then Ben was at the head of the list, followed by Andrea. How has Andrea ducked elimination for so long??
But once again: Adios Robert!! Yikes! Even thinking of him I start to get annoyed again…
@lori–it’s Sean and Robert, not Ben and Robert. And I still wouldn’t eat there…((shudder))
Andrea is super hot, great hot body and sexy as hell face.
It’s so sad that Ben and Andrea have gotten this far. Ben, especially, because now he’s going to think that since he came in fourth on a reality show, he’s justified in thinking he’s competent.