I can’t believe it; the competition between the Final Four has begun. We’re coming down to the conclusion of this season’s Hell’s Kitchen. In this week’s challenge, the chefs had to recreate a dish that Chef Ramsay had prepared using only their taste buds. This challenge is always fun to watch, just to see how differently each chef interprets Chef Ramsay’s dish. This year’s challenge was particularly fun to watch because Trev hedged his bets by preparing multiple ingredients for his dish. I had never seen this before in Hell’s Kitchen, but it is a pretty strategic tactic. I think we may see this used again in future seasons. Trev had the luxury of being able to decide which ingredients to use when it came time to plate his meal. Unfortunately, he forgot the puree that he prepared and Nona went on to win the challenge. She chose to bring Russell with her for her reward, a relaxing day at the spa.
Jillian and Trev bonded as they prepped Hell’s Kitchen for dinner service. They made a pact to send either Russell or Nona to face elimination. During dinner service both Russell and Nona made mistakes and could have feasibly been nominated. Unfortunately, Jillian did not honor the pact and it was decided that Trev and Russell would face elimination. Trev and Russell were the logical choices based on their performance at dinner service. Surprisingly, Chef Ramsay did not send anyone home. Instead, he gave the chefs some much needed time with their loved ones. It was nice to see the chefs enjoy the time with their families, the seemed recharged and ready for the final push to the finale.
A few things happened while we were watching the show that stand out to me:
– Early on in the episode, when James outlined Trev and Jillian’s punishment, my wife said, “I miss what’s-his-name.” I think she meant Jean Philippe. She’s right, I miss him too. I hope we see him in Hell’s Kitchen again soon. 
– Trev was put up for elimination yet again, and had to explain why he should stay. I got to thinking, if you’re put up for elimination multiple times, what do you say to Chef Ramsay that you haven’t already said?
– Finally, how funny were Jillian’s boys? One of them asked if Chef Ramsay called her a donkey. That was great! Alright, enough blogging – thanks for reading, DONKEYS!
