The fifth episode of “Hell’s Kitchen” Season 19 tasked the 13 remaining chef-testants with creating elevated spins on Mexican classics: tacos, tostadas, enchiladas and chile relleno. Chef Gordon Ramsay‘s old friend Aaron Sanchez (“MasterChef”) served as the week’s special guest judge. Later on during dinner service, one contestant became so overwhelmed with the competition that they voluntarily quit the show, claiming they didn’t have what it took to be Ramsay’s executive chef in Lake Tahoe. So how did it all play out on Thursday night?
Below, read our minute-by-minute “Hell’s Kitchen: Las Vegas” recap of Season 19, Episode 5, titled “Hell Starts Taking Its Toll,” to find out what happened Thursday, February 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite aspiring chefs on Fox’s reality TV show and who you think has what it takes to win the entire competition. The remaining contestants are:
RED TEAM: Jordan Savell, Kori Sutton, Lauren Lawless, Mary Lou Davis, Nicole “Nikki” Hanna and Syann Williams
BLUE TEAM: Adam Pawlak, Cody Candelario, Declan Horgan, Josh Oakley, Marc Quinones, Peter Martinez and Amber Lancaster
Keep refreshing/reloading this “Hell’s Kitchen” live blog for the most recent updates.
8:00 p.m. — “Previously on ‘Hell’s Kitchen’!” In the fourth episode, two contestants were sent home for very different reasons. Drew Tingley was medically removed because of his full-body cramps, and then Chef Ramsay took Brittani Ratcliff‘s jacket after she repeatedly failed at cooking salmon. “The whole experience I’m gonna take back with me. You learn more from failing than you do from winning,” the Kentucky native said during her exit interview. Who will be eliminated tonight?
8:10 p.m. — Moments after Brittani’s elimination, the drama immediately picks up on the Blue Team as Cody pulls Marc aside to blast him for finger pointing. Marc says his life in the competition was on the line and he will defend himself if he needs to. Alas, the sun rises the next day and we see a pair of beautiful taco trucks. Today’s challenge will be creating four fantastic, classic Mexican dishes. Of course nothing is easy with Gordon, so the chefs will have to corral live animals representing the proteins they want to use in each dish. For corralling their animals more quickly, the Red Team gets an additional five minutes for the challenge.
8:25 p.m. — The chefs rap up their Mexican cuisine and Gordon calls in special guest judge, Aaron Sanchez to evaluate their food. Enchiladas are up first and Aaron loves the flavors in Adam’s dish. When it comes to Kori and Mary Lou’s, Aaron sees problems with the color and taste. Aaron awards a point to the Blue Team for enchiladas. Kori, who is of Latin descent, is devastated she lost this battle. Next Josh and Peter battle Syann and Nikki over tacos. Aaron doesn’t like how small the men’s tacos are and awards a point to the Red Team. Next up are tostadas, with Marc and Amber facing off against Jordan and Lauren. This winds up in a tie so both teams get a point. It will all come down to chili relleno. Declan and Cody are hoping to stop Mary Lou and Kori from securing another Red Team win. He’s not in love with either dish so the tie remains. To break the tie, the best dish of the night is singled out — and that dish is Adam’s enchiladas, which moves the chef to tears. Blue Team wins! They’ll spend the afternoon at a spa, while the ladies will clean the donkeys and piglets outside. Syann decides to use her punishment pass, so she’ll head to the spa and she makes Cody stay back and take her place cleaning poop.
8:35 p.m. — Like everyone else, Amber has reached her limit with Marc. The man still can’t get over the fact that Amber used a green pepper in her dish, which Aaron criticized. Regardless of the mishap, the Blue Team still won but Marc can’t let it go. An argument breaks out when Amber confronts him, until Amber ultimately refuses to speak to him anymore. When the Blue Team returns from their spa day Peter starts revealing he doesn’t want to be in the competition anymore, but he isn’t leaving just yet. Declan pleads with him to stay because he knows the Blue Team can’t afford to lose another person. The doors open for dinner service and the chefs begin to take orders.
8:45 p.m. — Lauren nails her flatbread for the Red Team, but over on the Blue Team Amber and Marc are still butting heads while they make appetizers. Meanwhile, Nikki is nervous to be holding down the meat station by herself for the first time, but Gordon praises her work and her lamb is perfection. Things aren’t going so smoothly on the Blue Team when Josh nearly has a meltdown while cooking up halibut, before ruining it by picking it up with tongs. Then things get real awkward when Gordon gets upset and rallies the Blue Team, asking if they have what it takes to become a head chef at Lake Tahoe. Everyone responds “Yes chef!” with enthusiasm except Peter, who shakes his head and says, “I don’t.”
8:55 p.m. — Gordon doesn’t miss a beat after Peter says he doesn’t have the qualities to become a head chef at Lake Tahoe. “Take your jacket off and f*** off!” Gordon commands. Peter heads out and says that no amount of money is worth the mental pain and stress involved in this process. Meanwhile, both teams fulfill the orders for the remaining tickets and overall it was a pretty successful dinner service. Gordon says there is no losing team tonight, but it’s a competition and he has to keep it moving along. Both teams need to head back to the dorms and come to a consensus on the one person their team will be more successful without.
8:59 p.m. — The Red Team puts up Lauren for elimination because she has a continued need for extra support. The Blue Team nominates Marc because he refuses to take criticism. After some banter and pleads for safety from the nominated duo, Gordon ultimately decides to send NOBODY home. They already lost Peter in this episode, so Lauren and Marc skate by. That’s a wrap!
