After the Blue Team lost the dinner service, Chef Gordon was deciding who to eliminate between Aaron and Koop. But, he shocked everyone by eliminating Gia from the Red Team. Let’s find out in this episode recap of Hell’s Kitchen 2016 “Walking the Plank” if the Red Team will be able to recover from this elimination.
The Seven Seas Seafood Challenge: Hell’s Kitchen 2016
Once Gia leaves the kitchen, Chef Gordon tells the women that he has done them a favor by sending her home, and they completely agreed with him. Heather also says…
“I think from here on out, we’re gonna be a force to reckon with.”
The next day, the remaining Hell’s Kitchen chefs went into Hell’s Kitchen for another challenge. They saw a very big pirate ship in the middle of the dining room, with seven pirates singing on it. And they will be the theme of this competition.
For the challenge, Chef Gordon will say the name of one chef. This chef will then choose someone from the opposite team to choose a pirate. Each pirate holds the name of one of the seven major bodies of water on a scroll, with a specific fish also written on the back of it. The pirate selected will reveal the fish on their scroll. The fish that is written is the fish these two chefs will cook in a head-to-head battle. And whichever dish Chef Ramsay likes best will win a point for their team. Whichever team with the most points after seven rounds will win the challenge.
First up is between Heidi on the Red Team and Johnny on the Blue Team. The chefs cook a bluefin tuna from the Atlantic Ocean. Gordon chooses Heidi’s dish almost immediately to be the winner since he says that Johnny’s dish looks like it’s just been attacked by a cat.
Next is between Koop and Kimberly. The pair made an attempt to come up with their best dish, with the branzino from the Mediterranean Sea. Gordon says picked Koop’s dish as the winner, while he said Kimberly has overcooked the couscous that she used as a side. Koop wins the first point for the Blue Team.
Shaina and Matt came next with their grouper dishes from the Gulf of Mexico. Chef Gordon became confused on who the winner should be, since both dishes are great. He ends up awarding both chefs a point for their team, making this a tied game.
Next up was Paulie for the Blue Team and Aziza for the Red team to prepare their wahoo dish from the Indian Ocean. Chef Ramsay loved Paulie’s dish, and when it was Aziza’s turn, she tells Chef Gordon to expect perfection in the middle of her fish. Gordon disagrees with her, awards the point to Paulie.
Ryan and Aaron came next. When Chef Gordon tries their cod dish from the Baltic Sea, he, however, saw that Aaron’s plate is full of water from his fish. So he names Ryan the winner of this round.
Just like Shaina and Matt, Devin and Heather’s arctic char dishes was also great. Chef Ramsay also awarded them with one point each for their teams.
Since the teams are now in a tie, it all comes down to Andrew, his over-inflated ego, and Wendy. Andrew was confident that he will win and even went on to criticize the other women for not having “the balls” to take him on. For their sea bass dish from the Pacific Ocean, Chef Ramsay gives the point to Andrew. The made the Blue Team winner of this Hell’s Kitchen 2016 challenge.
Kimberly on the outs with her team – Hell’s Kitchen 2016
As winners of the challenge in this episode of Hell’s Kitchen 2016, the men went to the hot Los Angeles restaurant, Petty Cash. Ramsay joins the men and advises them to remain united as a team as they are now. Then they head to the #1 bowling alley in Los Angeles to loose some steam.
For losing the episode challenge of Hell’s Kitchen 2016, the Red Team must complete a punishment. They were to break down and also dice up a large shipment of potatoes, celery, and carrots. Chef Gordon also makes them prepare the men’s kitchen for the next dinner service.
The women become fed up with Kimberly for overcooking her couscous and also losing the challenge for the team. While the team was in the kitchen, Kimberly was asking lots of questions. This only makes the team more irritated with her, and even causes them to think of her as stupid.
Though the rest of the women refrain from saying anything, Wendy loses her cool, Wendy asks her how many times she’ll open her mouth and is also irritated and pushed over the edge. “I’ve worked with some pretty incompetent people, but Kim is the worst,” Wendy says.
Dinner Service: Hell’s Kitchen 2016
Once the doors to the dinner service open, Gordon tells both teams that there are some huge names in each team’s kitchen. Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry was in the Blue Team’s Kitchen, while Grammy Award winner Estelle was in the Red Team’s kitchen. This only makes the stakes even higher for the dinner service.
Both teams start off pretty good. Aziza nails the Red Team’s risotto perfectly, while Johnny delivered a perfect scallops a step up from his game from “The Seven Seas Seafood Challenge.”
Things didn’t go on well for the Blue Team. After Chef Gordon allows them to move on to their entrees, Johnny tries to deliver more great-tasting fish dishes with his salmon. Chef Ramsay, however, says that the salmon, along with Devin’s garnishes, are “stone cold” and also smashes the salmon right in front of their faces.
While the women hope to continue their momentum as they start to prepare their entrees, Ryan causes some problems for the team. Chef Gordon is infuriated that whenever he speaks to Ryan, she just responds in a soft voice. Gordon even refers to her as a “quiet, little mouse.” This motivates her to speak up and finally starts to fight back.
On the other hand, the Blue Team continues to go out of control. Andrew delivers an under-cooked New York strip, which leaves his teammates very annoyed. “Andrew talks so much s**t about how he’s so f**king good. You work in a steak house, and your steak is raw?” Devin asks.
Later on, Devin messes up a simple bowl of spinach. This makes Chef Ramsay irritated, but that was nothing close to his fury when both Andrew and Johnny deliver more raw dishes. He sends the men out of the kitchen and lets them have it. The Blue Team has lost another dinner service, which makes the Red Team winner of the dinner service.
Elimination: Hell’s Kitchen 2016
Chaos breaks out as the men try the decide who their nominees should be. While Andrew blames everybody else for the loss, Devin isn’t letting him get away with this.
Devin tells Andrew to accept responsibility for making undercooked steaks, but Andrew continuously attempts to avoid nomination. This creates a bitter divide between the two men.
As the Blue Team head back into Hell’s Kitchen for elimination. Koop reveals their two nominees as Devin and Aaron.
Chef Ramsay who is upset with the nomination of Aaron, says that he would like to see one more of them nominated as a result of their disastrous dinner service performance. He also wants this particular chef to step forward on their own. Although he doesn’t say any name, it was quite clear that it is Andrew. Johnny, however, steps up.
After pleading their cases to Chef Ramsay as to why they should stay in the competition, Chef Ramsay sends Aaron home because the Blue Team lacks trust for him, along with his low self-confidence.
What are your thoughts about this episode of Hell’s Kitchen 2016? Did Aaron deserve to go home, or should it have been somebody else? Please let me know in the comment box.
Season 16 of Hell’s Kitchen airs Fridays at 8/7c on FOX.