Kriti Mehrotra
Fox’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ season 24 is undeniably a Battle of the States since the 20 ambitious participants have specifically been handpicked by Chef Gordon Ramsey’s team from all across the country. The competition this time around is thus at another level, yet some have already found themselves in a bad spot after having scored low in the Signature Dish Challenge, which the boys lost. However, Episode 2 titled ‘Hell on a Halfshell’ brings about a new day and a new set of opportunities for all the young cooks to impress, but while some succeeed, some crack under the pressure.
The New Day at Hell’s Kitchen Kicks Off With a Quick Scallop Skill Test
Since Hell’s Kitchen is filmed at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut, Chef Gordon Ramsey is incredib ly proud of the fact that they get to work with some of the freshest produce. This includes shellfish, and that’s precisely what the first challenege is for the contestants – to create a dish with his favoritue shellfish, scallops, this is both tasty as well as visually appealing. The chef makes it clear that while this may sound like an easy test, it will actually be the most telling because scallops have a small margin of error, so he will make some important decisions in the end.
In fact, Gordon reveals that if any dish exposes a significant weakness in the skillset of its maker, they will immediately be sent home as anyone who fails scallops has no place in his kitchen. However, he adds, if a professional not only aces all his set markers but also proves themselves to be above the rest, they will earn the all-important and much-coveted Punishment Pass. Thus begins the challenge, with the professionals having a mere 30 miniutes to handpick their produce, open it themselves, cook a hopefully delectible dish, and then plate it to look appetizingly vibrant.
While Jayden from Massachusetts is really confident going into this test since he works with fresh scallops on a daily basis in his regular life, chefs from landlocked states like Montana struggle. The enrtire process of shucking and then keeping this shellfish dry before cooking it proves to be a scramble for several of the aspiring top professionals despite their mentors’ help. In the end, although 20 dishes have been prepared, Gordon asserts he won’t be tasting them all; instead, he will have the mentors judge them so that he can focus on only the best and the worst.
Following the First Elimination, the Chef’s Prepare For Their First Dinner Service
With James Avery being the Blue Team’s sous-chef and Season 17 winner Michelle Tribble being the Red Team’s sous-chef, there is no biasness or playing favcorites in the judging of the dishes. Hence, when Gordon asks the former how many dishes he can taste from the men’s team he is candidly told 3 – Antonio’s, Chris’, and Jayden’s, following which he awards the pass to Chris. On the other hand, from the women’s team, there are four contendars in the running; Lisa, Jada, Anaiya, as well as Cat, only for Anaiya’s grilled scallops to impress Gordon enough for the pass.
As for the chefs who missed the mark, Michelle named Cara Marie who did too much in her dish and Maddy who failed to dry her scallops before cooking them, resulting in a greasy mess. Gordon agreed with her judgment before moving on to the men, realizing that while James broth looks like “a cat puked in there,” Carlos severely overcooked his rosemery scallops. After tasting, Gordon announces that it is Carlos whose time in Hell’s Kitchen has come to an end because not only did he expect more from an Alaskan chef but his bad first day also indicated he weasn’t ready.
Once the goodbyes are said, the head chef tells the remaining participants to return to their dorm for rest because they would soon be called back out again to prepare for their first dinner service. They subsequestly try to process what just transpired as well as what they can do to be better moving forward before their sous-chefs give them the a recipie demonstration of the dinner menu. It is evident from here on out that the chefs need to learn how to operate in a fast-paced, high-pressure enviorment, but Bradley from Alexandria, Louisiana, already seems to be getting flustered.
The Dinner Service is Such Chaos That Chef Gordon Kicks Both Teams Out of the Kitchen
When the doors to the Hell’s Kitchen Restaurant opens, the guests who had made their reservations months in advance start pouring in to taste dishes from the specially curated limited menu. With the contestants already having allocated stations that they have then carefully prepared for service, they get to work as soon as the first non-tableside appetitizer order rolls in. After all, the Pesto-Shrimp scamp appetirizer is preared tableside by Ellie from Nevada and Cyndi from North Carolina for the Read Team as well as Jayden from Massachusetts and Jon from Georgia for the Blue Team.
In the kitchen, the Red Team crushes their appetiziers thanks to their open communication and positive mindset, but the Blue Team struggles to coordinate, manage their time, and cook well. Chase burns his first flatbread, Bradley gets flustered while making the risotto, and his lack of communication results in Antonio not being able to cook the scallops at the needed time. Chase’s second flatbread is undercooked, Bradley then mistakenly puts peas in the risotto then Chris then tries to scoop off before getting scoled by Chef Gordon, menaing they have to refire again.
The Blue team ends up refiring their appetirizers at least 5 times, with Chase having such trouble with the flatbread that the cheese runs out before they can even get an order out. They thus have to scrap the dish altogether. On the flip side, Maddy and Cat struggle when teh entree orders start poouring in, with the former struggling to remember orders and them both either overcooking or undercooking their dishes. In the end, because of this, the girls are booted from the kitchen. Mere minutes later, when the boys put forth several wrong entree orders, they are booted too.
Chef Gordon Eliminates Another Contestant Based on The Teams’ Nominations
While sending back the teams, the head chef asks them to discuss which two members makes their squad the weakest because he would be requiring names at the end of the day. For the Red Team, while Maddy asserts that she did get flustered, she adds that patrt of it was because everyone was screaming orders at her from every direction on how to cook her salmon. Cat also takes responsibility for her failure but adds that their open communication had indeed gone into a pattern of screming orders, following which the women agree that it was sadly an overall team failure.
On the flip side, Chase, Bradley, and Antonio all turn on one another to save themselves, with Bradley asserting it isn’t his fault that Antonio couldn’t cook the scallops when needed. In the end, both teams are called outside, following which Gordon asks Jada from Florida to name the two women they had chosen to nominate, which unsurprisingly end up being Maddy and Cat. For the men, Gordon calls upon Anthony to name the two men the team believes they could be better without, so he, also unsurprisingly, nominates Bradley and Chase.
Chef Gordon doesn’t hold back on his feedback for both teams, but in the end, he asks Cat to move back into the line owing to great job she did in the morning with her scallops. Then, he calls Maddy forward and asks to remove her chef’s coat because he doesn’t believe she is ready for the intense enviorment of professional kitchens at the age of 21. He even questions how she managed to become a sous-chef in her home state of New York at 19 before kickstarting her own catering business at 21. Nevertheless, Maddy takes the feedback with her head held high, asserting in her exit interview that she will garner more expeirnce and return in a few years to prove her mettle. She is determined to work for Gordon Ramsey one day, so she will do everything in her power to do so.
Read More: Hell’s Kitchen Season 24 Premiere Recap: Making a State-ment
