The eighth episode of “Hell’s Kitchen” featured an exciting tag team relay race in which the remaining 11 chef-testants had to cook dishes faster and better than the opposing team. Later in the episode, five contestants experienced the season’s first “Cook For Your Life” challenge, with one unlucky person having to turn in their jacket. A lot is at stake this year for the ultimate winner, as they’ll claim a head chef position at Gordon Ramsay‘s steakhouse at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.
Below, read our minute-by-minute “Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns” recap of Season 20, Episode 8, titled “A Devilish Challenge,” to find out what happened Monday, July 19 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 join the winners list. Here are the current “HK20” team breakdowns:
RED TEAM: Brynn Gibson, Josie Clemens, Keanu Hogan, Kiya Willhelm, Samuel Garman
BLUE TEAM: Antonio Ruiz, Emily Hersh, Megan Gill, Steven Glenn, Trenton Garvey, Victoria Sonora
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, Kevin Argueta was eliminated during dinner service after repeatedly messed up on cooking lobster. “I tried to bounce right back but I just couldn’t find it within myself,” he said in his exit interview. “I’m just very disappointed in everything that happened. It’s very devastating to me and I did not expect it to turn this way.” Following Kevin’s ouster, only 11 chef-testants remain in the running to win Season 20. How will tonight’s episode play out? Let’s go!
8:06 p.m. — It’s a new day in Hell’s Kitchen and that means Gordon is ready to reveal a new challenge. After the chef-testants each take a turn on a dance floor that’s been brought in, Gordon explains each team will be responsible for cooking five amazing entrees: Beef Wellington, NY strip, pan seared crispy skin salmon, braised halibut and rack of lamb. Here’s the catch — only two chefs from each team will be allowed in the kitchen at the same time. They will have five minutes to make all five entrees and then the next two chefs will take over. They’ve got 35 minutes to nail those five amazing entrees. The team that comes closest to making five stunning dishes wins the challenge.
8:12 p.m. — The Red Team starts off working on garnish while the Blue Team focuses on proteins. I guess we’ll find out which strategy is smarter! Kiya seems to realize that the Red Team should have started on the proteins, so I guess she answered that question for me. Overall, things seem to be going much more smoothly for the Blue Team, but it’s the taste that will matter in the end. Time expires and it’s time to see how these dishes turned out.
8:20 p.m. — Gordon will judge each entrée head-to-head and the team with the most points wins. Beef Wellington goes to the Blue Team. NY strip goes to the Red Team. Rack of lamb goes to the Red Team. Salmon goes to NOBODY because they’re both awful. The best halibut dish belongs to the Red Team so the Red Team wins this “Communication Relay Challenge” by a score of 3-1. As a reward, they will go ziplining 12 stories above the Vegas Strip. They will then head to Off the Strip Bistro Bar for lunch. The Blue Team will hang back and sort trash for recycling.
8:35 p.m. — Following the Blue Team’s punishment, Josie and Emily get a little flirtatious in the dorms. Shortly after, Josie is called up to Gordon’s office for a one-on-one chat. Gordon tells Josie she cooks beautifully, but her voice needs to be heard. He proceeds to meet with each chef one at a time. He tells Emily her energy is contagious and sends her up to the roof with Josie. The two of them burst into tears, grateful they weren’t eliminated. Once they’re all finished meeting with Gordon, the chefs swoon over how pretty the host’s eyes are and gush about his aura. With the surprise evaluations complete, Gordon has another surprise for the chefs. Each of them ranked their team members and based on how those evaluations went, five chefs will be cooking for their lives. The one who performs worst will be going home.
8:45 p.m. — The five chefs up for elimination are Keanu, Josie, Victoria, Emily and Sam. Everyone else heads back to the dorms while the five lowest ranking members cook for survival. Each of them has the same six ingredients and 45 minutes to come up with their best dish. The first major hiccup goes to Keanu, whose pork chop is on fire on the grill. Yikes! Will she be able to recover?
8:59 p.m. — Time expires and the five chefs have plated their dishes. Sam’s pork chop is called “delicious” and Gordon thinks the 22-year old has set the bar. Josie’s pork has a great sear and is beautifully seasoned, but the first cook saved from elimination is Sam. Emily serves up her dish and realizes she forgot to plate the Brussels sprouts. Josie is then saved from elimination. Keanu is next and Gordon loves her vegetables, but realizes the pork chop is overcooked. Emily is declared safe and Keanu is still in danger. Victoria is last up and Gordon instantly notices her plating is a bit “lazy.” He also didn’t care for her blanched sprouts. It’s a tough decision, but Gordon decides to eliminate Keanu from the competition. Gordon’s final words: “Keanu has many of the important attributes required to be a great chef, but when her pork went up in flames, so did her chances of continuing in this competition.”
