Recap: Hell's Kitchen Season Six, Week Four
One Team Dominates During a Special Homecoming Dinner Service
Aug 14, 2009
As Hell’s Kitchen continues into week four, twelve contestants remain, hoping to last one more dinner service and come that much closer to a head chef position at the Araxi restaurant in British Columbia.
In the dorms, Dave hopes he can overcome his thumb injury, suffered during week two’s episode, to win the competition – or at least win the battle he is waging against a frozen pot pie that keeps slipping from his limited grip.
Preparing a Homecoming Menu During This Week's Challenge
The next day, Chef Ramsay reveals that Hell’s Kitchen will host a welcome home surprise party for Staff Sergeant Otis James, who just returned from a thirty-month tour of duty in Iraq. This week’s challenge consists of each team creating two appetizers and one entrée as possible menu options for the surprise party. The dishes will be tasted by the guest of honor’s wife, who will decide the winning team.
Robert and Suzanne are given the task of learning the staff sergeant’s likes and dislikes during a private meeting with his wife and Chef Ramsay, and (to prove that the chefs can communicate effectively) this information must be passed to their respective teams.
The blue team settles on their dishes within minutes thanks to Robert’s masterful communication, but in the red kitchen, Suzanne seems to direct her team on what not to do rather than what to put on the menu.
Ultimately, both teams complete their dishes and present them for tasting. The red kitchen serves a Caesar salad with baked prawns for the first appetizer, while the blue team’s offer is a spicy seafood bouillabaisse. Mrs. James awards the first decision to the red team’s salad. The second decision goes to the blue team (“hands down”) for their fried catfish and four-cheese macaroni.
The blue team takes the final decision, and the guys head out to become “fighter pilots for the day” while the ladies are handed the task of redecorating the dining room for the party.
Domination During Dinner Service
Before dinner service, the members of the red team find it difficult to get any information about the challenge-winning menu items out of the fellows in the blue kitchen. Amanda insists that the blue team’s attempt at sabotage will not hold back the ladies from coming out on top during service.
Everything in Hell’s Kitchen stops as Staff Sergeant James makes his entrance. The return of James to his family and friends, whom he has not seen in over two years, brings tears to some of the chefs’ eyes.
After the emotional homecoming, the kitchens get to work preparing appetizers for the hungry guests. The red kitchen experiences emotions of a completely different nature when the first of these appetizers is stone cold when presented to Chef Ramsay. As expected, Chef Ramsay explodes on the members of the red team.
Meanwhile, Jim finds that working the meat station is a lot tougher when steaks are ordered five at a time, resulting in a grill piled with New York strips. When Jim cannot answer Chef Ramsay’s question about the number of steaks needed, he relies on Kevin to get him on the right track.
Tek, the red team’s meat station representative, experiences similar problems and tries to send out undercooked steaks, which quickly morph into burnt steaks after a second trip to the grill. This adds up to those diners unfortunate enough to find red plates on their tables spending their evening staring at those empty red plates while blue diners enjoy their entrees.
Finishing Service, Elimination
Somehow, the blue team finishes their last ticket before the red kitchen sends out a single dish, so the men are called upon to help the ladies complete their service.
Unsurprisingly, the “pathetic” red team must nominate two members for potential elimination. Based on talent and worth (or lack thereof), the red team selects Tek and, for the third time, Tennille. Chef Ramsay then briefly adds a third candidate to the list – Amanda – before sending Tennille back in line.
Ultimately, Tek is ordered to leave Hell’s Kitchen while a teary-eyed Amanda watches her go.
