The Final Four were really energized after having seen their families and were ready to step up their games and show Chef Ramsay why they should be in the Final Two. The final individual challenge had the chefs cooking fusion foods, combining two different cuisines to make an outstanding dish. Poor Jillian had to fuse Thailand and Spain; she didn’t know much about the ingredients and felt like her dish would not be up to par. When it came time to be judged, her dish ended up being the only one the judges really liked. It was great to see Russell not win this one. He thought that he’d be able to cruise through this challenge since he drew France as one of the cuisines that he could fuse. He was trained in French foods and still couldn’t impress the judges. It was great!
Jillian got to enjoy lunch with her family as Trev, Nona and Russell cleaned the dorm rooms. As they were prepping for dinner service, Russell was on Trev’s case the whole time. We really got to see the tension between those two. During dinner service, each chef got to run the pass which is always fun to watch. With Nona at the pass the kitchen ran smoothly, Russell did well, Jillian was loud and in the chefs’ faces, and Trev didn’t get any respect from the rest of the kitchen.
When it came time for elimination, Chef Ramsay didn’t waste any time and eliminated the one chef that he felt couldn’t handle the job for sure; Trev. So close Trev! Then Chef Ramsay made the tough decision to send Jillian home. She has been performing really well recently, it was probably a tough call for him to make. The Final Two, Russell and Nona will compete next week to see who the next Hell’s Kitchen winner will be. I’ll really be interested to see how Jillian acts during the finale. Usually, one of the Final Four holds a grudge against the finalists because he / she think they should be one of the finalists. Whatever happens, the finale will be fun to watch. Personally, I’m pulling for Nona. I didn’t expect her to be in the finale, but I really want to see her beat Russell. He’s a good cook, but he’s a little too cocky.

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!

With 5 chefs left, Trev is probably the next target for elimination. His cooking skills really need to be there if he is to make it further in the competition. The individual challenge last week was for each chef to prepare a signature lunch for high-powered lawyers. Amazingly, Russell chose to cook Octopus – his dish was chosen as the least preferred! During the challenge, Trev pushed the envelope by trying to flirt with some of the women lawyers. It was funny to see, but he was dangerously close to being inappropriate. Gail won the challenge and got a fashion makeover.

During the dinner service, Chef Ramsay was so fed up that he walked out of the restaurant. That gave Russell the opportunity to step up and take control of the kitchen. The chefs still struggled more than they should have at this stage of the game, but they made it through. When he returned, Chef Ramsay switched up the stations and promised to kick out anyone who screwed up. Gail and Trev were put up for elimination and Gail was sent home. Yet again, Trev survived another week. As he advised us, we can’t count him out – he’s the dark horse that just might make it to the “top of the mountain.”

Well, we’ve made it to the Final Four. Russell, Jillian, Nona and Trev all have a chance to work in LA Market for Chef Ramsay. Each chef has their own style. I think Russell is the odds-on-favorite. He seems to have a better handle on the cooking aspect (minus the octopus lunch!) I’m still pulling for Trev though, for obvious reasons. He has his work cut out for him; hopefully he doesn’t mess up too badly next week.

Last week’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen marked the first time the chefs competed in an individual challenge. Five well established chefs tasted each contestant’s meal and rated it on a scale of 1 to 10. Gail set the bar very high right off the bat; she held the top spot until Russell’s dish scored a perfect score. He really impressed the judges with his dish. In an effort to set myself (oops, I mean himself) apart, Trev went outside of the box and served the judges frog legs. Unfortunately, his gamble didn’t pay off and the judges didn’t care for his dish at all.

The losers were forced to clean up the dorm room as Russell and Gail had dinner at the LA Market with the executive chef. When I saw the mess in the dorm, I said, “What kind of people are on this show?” These chefs must be pigs! Don’t they clean up periodically? Maybe they wait it out to see how messy they can make it before winning a challenge and letting someone else clean up after them. I’m wondering now, who cleans up the dorm the rest of the time? Do they just let the place go to Hell until the season is over?

While preparing for dinner service Trev became fed up with the women and their constant questions. Some of that carried over to dinner service and his performance suffered. His ability to work with the team suffered and Sous Chef Scott had to get in his face. None of the contestants performed particularly well, having made it this far, these chefs should be able to get food out of the kitchen consistently. Russell said it best, “It’s embarrassing.” Sabrina and Trev were nominated for elimination and based on Chef Ramsay’s facial expressions, he wasn’t happy with either of them. I wonder what goes through his mind as each chef tries to explain why they should stay. Sabrina brought out the waterworks, but Chef Ramsay had seen enough – she was sent home. I think a lot of us were waiting for that to happen. The kitchen will probably run a lot smoother without her. C’mon Trev – keep it up, you’re almost there!