In the eighth episode of “Hell’s Kitchen” Season 19, the 10 remaining chef-testants faced off in a craps-inspired challenge in which they had to create dishes based on ingredients that started with the letters they rolled on the die. The winning team got to experience a high-wire act at Caesars Palace and a fancy lunch at Nobu. The losers were punished and had to prepare beef wellingtons and mushrooms. Later, in a shocking twist, Chef Gordon Ramsay canceled the night’s dinner service before it began and instead initiated a cook-for-your-life challenge. So how’d it all pay out?
Below, read our minute-by-minute “Hell’s Kitchen: Las Vegas” recap of Season 19, Episode 8, titled “Crapping Out in Hell,” to find out what happened Thursday, February 25 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 and Nicole “Nikki” Hanna
BLUE TEAM: Adam Pawlak, Cody Candelario, Declan Horgan, Marc Quinones 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 seventh episode, Syann Williams‘ time came to an end after having a disastrous night at the fish station. During her exit interview, she revealed, “I fought every day. Chef Ramsay told me to keep my head up and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.” Following Sy’s elimination, only 10 aspiring chefs remain in the running to become the head chef at the Hell’s Kitchen Lake Tahoe Restaurant. Who will be going home tonight? Let’s go!
8:10 p.m. — Jordan can’t stop whining about how she was called out by Gordon after the most recent dinner service. Her negative energy is rubbing the other chefs the wrong way, but Jordan feels like she’s always being unfairly targeted. After a night’s sleep the chefs all gather back in the kitchen to learn about their next challenge. After watching some strongmen do an impressive balancing act, Gordon tells them they’ll participate in a team game of craps. But not the typical kind — each chef will role a dice that has letters on it instead of numbers. For whichever letter they land on, they’ll have to quickly name a corresponding ingredient. In the second part of the challenge, each chef will have to cook a dish with all six ingredients chosen by their team.
8:30 p.m. — Time is up and it’s time for the chefs to present their dishes to Gordon. Each of them will be scored between 1 and 5 and the team with the highest total wins. Nikki leads the Red Team with a 5, while Mary Lou and Lauren are the lowest scorers with 3’s. The total score for the Red Team is 19. On the Blue Team Amber and Marc both stink up the room with a pair of 2’s, but Adam, Cody and Declan all score perfect 5’s to tie the game. The tie-break will be between the two best dishes, Nikki vs. Cody. Cody wins it and the Blue Team gets to celebrate with a thrilling high-wire act, walking a tightrope and then having lunch at Nobu. The Red Team will spend the day prepping beef Wellingtons.
8:45 p.m. — Night arrives and the chefs are called down to the dining room. Gordon explains that there will be no dinner service, but one chef will be leaving the competition. Since Nikki and Cody had the best dishes from their teams at the earlier challenge, they’ll decide which two of their teammates will be nominated for elimination. Nikki does an excellent job of pissing off all her teammates, holding nothing back while she tells each of them their faults. Cody takes the opposite route, complimenting everyone and pitting them against each other. After much deliberation, Nikki nominates Lauren and Jordan from the Red Team. Cody nominates Marc and Amber from the Blue Team. Gordon calls all the nominated chefs forward and tells them they’ll have to cook for their lives. They have 45 minutes to create something fantastic and prove to Gordon they can lead his Lake Tahoe restaurant. They’ll all have the exact same ingredients to work with.
8:59 p.m. — The chefs complete their dishes and Lauren is up first. She has undercooked her steak, but Gordon loved all her other components. Marc steps up next, nailing the cook of his steak and seemingly outdoing Lauren. Jordon is up next and Gordon loves the fragrance of her rub, but hates the fact that she sliced the filet before serving it. Amber is last and her food is mostly perfect, except some undercooked Brussels sprouts. Gordon declares Amber and Marc safe, leaving the two Red Team members up for elimination. Jordan is saved yet again, sending Lauren out the door. Gordon closes the episode stating, “If you can’t fit in with the pack, you better be the top dog. But Lauren was bringing up the rear.”
