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Hell's Kitchen Season 7

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TexasLady:
Down to the final six and still no one is really standing apart from the others but as apskip says, we are beginning to seen the chefs who will make it to the end. Holli and Jay have been flying under the radar but we're beginning to see that they do have talent. Ed had a bad night along with Autumn but they still could emerge. Jason is probably an excellent chef but he gets frazzled and so far he's not done well with the pressure from Ramsay.

I'm so over Ben. He's a self-aggrandizing bully in the kitchen. He certainly can take over in the kitchen but he's not a true leader because he makes bad decisions then blames it on his teammates. He thinks he is superior to everyone else but his teammates see him for what he is and Chef Ramsay sees it as well. I can't wait for Ramsay to unload on Ben to see if he can take the pressure.  :snicker:

I was sorry to see Nilka go, it broke my heart to see her begging not to be cut and it was heartwarming to see Ramsay meet her outside as she was leaving to tell her she was good and to be proud of herself. She was a worker in the kitchen and certainly not the worst one there. Fran tried hard, anyone would be proud to have her in their kitchen, she just doesn't have the skills to be a head chef.

apskip:
HK7, ep. 10

In the prior episode summary, Blue won a close blind taste testing challenge. Nilka had problems with grilling asparagus and with talking back to Ramsay. Benjamin was a disappointment on appetizers. Fran was lost on meat, with Ramsay accusing her of “robbing the customers of their portions” by slicing duck badly. Blue nominated Autumn, but Fran on Red was fired. Autumn was sent from Blue back to Red because “you may not have been liked, but you had your best performances there.”

Benjamin stated that it was definitely a step up by replacing Fran with Autumn. The challenge was based on 10 pound lobsters, which Ramsay stated was one of the most expensive ingredients (what about truffles or Kobe beef? The hyperbole in HK is a bit absurd; why do they bother to make ridiculous remarks inimical to the knowledge base).
The task is for each team to decide how to how to take the meat out of the shell and the cooking method to be used. Nilka’s dish was chosen by Red’s taste tests to not be presented.

Ramsay invited Michelin starred chefs to be the judges: Josiah Citron of Restaurant Melisse (2 *), Michael Cimarusti of Providence (2*), David Lefevre of the Water Grill (1*).

Holli (butter poached lobster w/ ginger lobster sauce and) vs. Ed (poached and grilled lobster medallions over vegetable puree) – Ed was too rubbery and more creative, but Red team better execution. Red 1 Blue 0

Autumn (lobster dauphin w/ cilantro basil chervil) vs. Jason (huge lobster tail stuffed for family style dining w/saffron cilantro, rainbow carrots and asparagus) – Blue 1 Red 0

Benjamin (lobster tail poached in butter w/ parsnip puree) vs. Jay (lobster knuckle and black truffle cappuccino w/ cream fraiche) - Red presentation sloppy, Blue had classical ingredients but raw lobster; no points

Ramsay awarded the tie-breaking point to the person with the best overall dish. That proved to be Holli. Red team gets to experience the life of the rich and famous: Caviar House lunch w/ $1000 to blow on shopping. Blue’s punishment is to clean the dorms’ bathroom, floors and furniture, then prep both kitchens. Jason said “Hell’s Kitchen chef/maid service, it sucks.” Holli said caviar is an aphrodisiac (but she doesn’t need one after life in the dorms), Autumn is classy about it and Nilka has never had caviar before (but wants to go back to burgers and fries). As they return to the kitchen, Holli says “Hey, Jay” with a huge smile and Jay said that “Holli could easily talk my pants right off, no alcohol needed.” I’m sure he’s right about Holli’s charm (it’s right up there with Autumn’s pure beauty), but how did that remark get past the FOX self-censorship? The Blue team bemoaned the fact that their total list of things to do exceeded their available time, so the prepping of their kitchen was incomplete.

Ramsay stated that it’s time for a merger of the kitchens, so he invited the 3 remaining Blue team members to the Red kitchen. Holli’s reward is to serve Caviar on blinis with sour cream tableside; she is a bit too effervescent for me. There is a time limit of 2.5 hours for dinner service so that theater goers will be on time. Nilka on the Fish station started off with raw scallops. Autumn on Appetizers did a decent although slow job. Jason has the Meat station. Nilka’s turbot is raw. Nilka dropped a tray of 2 lobsters when it was needed urgently. Next she put the strong sauce on it. Ramsay tells her to “get a grip, because if you can’t hack it, you’re out.” It appears to me that with her accumulated mistakes and everybody else performing well, that will happen whether she makes a recovery or not. Jay is also on Appetizers. Ed burned the asparagus through inattention and was trying to get his act together on Garnish. Jason is criticized for not communicating enough, but his Beef Wellingtons are perfectly cooked. Nilka sent raw lobster to the pass. Ramsay sent Nilka out of the kitchen and asked her to take her jacket off. She was upset, but what did she expect? Her performance was a sore thumb versus the rest of the combined team. Benjamin replaced her on Fish. Nilka was reminded that Ramsay had written her off and he had to tell the others to make her leave. Who cares what she wanted? Ramsay met her in the parking lot and explained that she had done very well and thanked her for her progress in Hell’s Kitchen, but he insisted that she give him back that jacket.

Ramsay said that was their best service ever. Ed was told he fought back. Jason was told he did Meat perfectly. Ramsay said that 2 individuals must still be nominated. With Nilka gone, I cannot believe that he will actually eliminate anyone. I expect that he is just trying to fake them out. The first nominee is Ed because he needed help on his station.  The second nominee is Autumn because she is the weakest chef on the team. Ed is told to take his jacket off and given a Black jacket. Autumn is told to take off her Red jacket and do the same thing, as are the other 4. Ramsay tells Ed “gotcha”. Ramsay’s final comment on Nilka was “she was clearly out of her depth.”

redwings8831:
No HK tonight because of the MLB All Star Game.

TexasLady:

--- Quote from: redwings8831 on July 13, 2010, 11:18:02 AM ---No HK tonight because of the MLB All Star Game.

--- End quote ---

Thanks for posting this! I didn't realize it wouldn't be on. I'm sure there will be a lot of eulogies for George Steinbrenner since this is such a huge game. 

apskip:
HK7, ep. 11

Holli won the challenge for the Red team. The teams were dissolved into one team.  Ed lost his focus. Jason wasn’t communicating. Nilka had raw lobster twice and got banished from the kitchen, then asked to take off her jacket. The nominees were Ed and Autumn, but both had performed well and deserved to stay. Ramsay asked them to take off their jackets and congratulated them with black jackets (which he had conveniently forgot to give them earlier).

The first individual challenge of HK7 focuses on presentation. They are to create a dish for presentation value, as it will be photographed by food photographer Alex Vasilescu. Autumn’s dish – ahi tuna saltimbocca w/ sweet and sour prosciutto sauce
Jason’s dish – not identified
Jay’s dish – modern style beet and goat cheese salad
Holli’s dish – not identified

The judges were culinary students from local Los Angeles area schools. The top two dishes will move on to the tasting portion of the competition. The immediate losers were Holli (6th place), Jay (5th place), Jason (4th place) and Autumn (3rd place). That means it’s Benjamin vs. Ed. Tanya Seals, editor-in-chief of Epicurious.com, is the final judge. Ed’s dish is revealed to be pan-seared striped bass with celeriac puree, mango salsa and cilantro oil, with broccoli on top. Benjamin had pan-seared halibut, component of bouillabaisse (fennel, tomatoes, olive oil, basil). She said they were both spectacular, but being forced to choose it was Benjamin winning. His reward was to have a photo of him and his dish on Epicurious.com, with a makeover beforehand. Jay kids “it’s going to take all day to make him look better.” Benjamin comes away with spiky hair, teased eyebrows, pedicure and manicure plus new clothes. Tanya stated that he looked like a rock star when the makeover is done. I love the picture with her with her arm around his neck. The losers have to clean the kitchen under Jean Phillippe’s close supervision.

Scott announced that there are changes on the menu. The lobster dish is off and Benamin’s dish replaced it. The potatoes are to be done in a different style. Benjamin’s dish was extremely complicated with many components. Ramsay announced that there would be a special guest eating at the chef’s table in the kitchen. Then he told Jean Phillippe to “open Hell’s Kitchen.” The halibut is a popular choice by the diners.

Ed was on the fish Station and his first dish was underdone. Jason’s cappellini needed more seasoning from the Hot Appetizers station.   Ramsay was on Jason’s back for improved communications once again. Holli was on the Cold Appetizers.  Benjamin on Meat was lambasted to not communicating with Autumn. Autumn appeared to be a rover on Fish and Meat because her assignment was Desserts. There were an unusual number of NBC censorship bleeps for the language used in this part of the telecast.  Benjamin slipped and fell, but he was OK. Ed was cooking lots of halibut raw, which will cause him to be eliminated unless he turns it around fast. Ramsay orders the rest of the dishes for that table (duck) sent to the diners. Jay on Garnish station now suffered a ripple effect of the halibut problems, with impact on 14 items. Ed found that so many halibut, which cooked slow, were a problem. Benjamin is helping him, then Holli and Autumn also. Benjamin was now criticized for the fallout of having his beef get cold waiting for the halibut. Ramsay called Benjamin a good cook but not a leader.
Ed then burned scallops. Ramsay finally ordered Ed and Benjamin out of the kitchen and reorganized. Jason goes to Fish, Autumn to Meat and Holli to Desserts. Jason’s first scallops are nicely cooked. 

The VIP guests finally arrive. It’s Whoopi Goldberg with 3 friends. “Holli, Autumn, Jason and Jay work together effectively to finish Dinner Service” as the Announcer stated. Ramsay gave this overview of Dinner Service: Pathetic. He told Ed that he could not cook halibut after this many episodes. Benjamin was told he had no leadership skills because he failed to communicate. Ramsay told the teams to nominate 2 individuals, but I think it has to be Ed and Benjamin. Irrespective of that, all team members were put through an intense evaluation. I think Holli was exempt form this due to few mistakes earlier in the competition. Jason has improved recently and Jay is a steady performer. The actual nominees are Ed and Autumn, but I think it will be Benjamin eliminated. Ramsay counted up 5 times she had been nominated. However, it was Ed that was eliminated. Ramsay’s final word was “the strong get stronger and the weak get exposed.” He also stated, “it’s not how we start, it’s how we finish.”

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