Your favorite foul-mouthed chef returns tonight in an all-new episode of “Hell’s Kitchen.” With only four chefs left, they will be challenged to create a stunning seafood dish that will be featured in Entertainment Weekly. At dinner service, each chef takes turns running the pass while Gordon Ramsay tests their attention to detail with sabotages. One chef will not survive the test in the all-new “Lights, Camera, Sabotage!” episode of “Hell’s Kitchen” airing Thursday, Feb. 2 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
SEE 47% of ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ fans think Cheyenne Nichols deserved to go home [POLL RESULTS]
“Hell’s Kitchen” is in its 21st season. For the first time ever, the well-seasoned 40-somethings take on the fresh up-and-coming 20-somethings in a battle of the ages. 18 all-new chef-testants entered the kitchen, with Christina Wilson and Jason “Jay” Santos returning as sous-chefs for the Red Team and Blue Team, respectively. At stake for the winner? A $250,000 cash prize and the head chef position at Gordon’s brand new Hell’s Kitchen Caesar’s Atlantic City. Who will take the title?
SEE Everything to know about ‘Hell’s Kitchen 21’: Meet the 18 chef-testants competing
Below, read our minute-by-minute “Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the Ages” recap of Season 21, Episode 14, titled “Lights, Camera, Sabotage!” to find out what happened Thursday, February 2 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 “HK” winners list. See which contestants are still competing below.
Remaining Contestants: Alejandro Najar, Alex Belew, Dafne Mejia, Sommer Sellers
Keep refreshing/reloading this “Hell’s Kitchen” live blog for the most recent updates.
8:00 p.m. — “Previously on ‘Hell’s Kitchen’!” In Episode 13, the black jacket final five were challenged to cook dishes with ingredients from different cities. James Beard Award winning Chef Michael Cimarusti joined Gordon Ramsay to judge the chefs dishes and named Cheyenne Nichols the winner. However, Cheyenne crumbled under pressure at dinner service, forgetting an order of scallops and setting her station on fire. Ultimately, Gordon sent the 21-year old Ohio native home, stating, “As the youngest chef in this competition, Cheyenne came a long way. Unfortunately for her, the ride ends a few stops short of Atlantic City.”
8:05 p.m. — It’s a new day in Hell’s Kitchen and Gordon welcomes the final four to the dining room for another challenge. They begin by getting their photos taken on a red carpet. Next, Gordon explains that one great photo of their food on social media could really put them on the map. After showing them a few stunning food pics, he challenges them to make an amazing seafood dish worthy of being featured in Entertainment Weekly. They have 45 minutes and the clock starts now!
8:15 p.m. — Entertainment Weekly senior editor Gerrad Hall joins them to judge the competition. He explains visual content is “everything” and “food is entertainment.” Alex goes first with a seared and packed sea bass dish. Gerrad calls it “a little bite of heaven” and describes it as “beautiful, but simple in a very striking way.” Next is Sommer with with a potato-crusted snapper. Gerrad says her sauce is “incredible” and Gordon says the “dish pops.” Alejandro serves fish in a Thai green curry and Gerrad says he would like to take a jar of the sauce home with him. Gordon thinks the fish is cooked “beautifully.” Last up is Dafne with sea urchin polenta. Gerrad says the dish is “doing things” to him and calls it, “beautiful, elegant, delicious.” He’s thoroughly impressed. The winner of this challenge is Dafne! For winning this challenge, Dafne will go on a $5,000 shopping spree and enjoy a luxurious lunch for two. She chooses Alex to join her. Meanwhile, Alejandro and Sommer will stay back churning butter by hand.
8:30 p.m. — With dinner service just an hour away, Alex and Dafne are back from their reward. Gordon pulls each chef aside individually and gives them instructions to yell at him, “I’ve been to London and you’re food f***ing sucks!” He’s trying to prepare them to lead the kitchen with authority, as each will take turns running the pass tonight. The kitchen opens for service and VIP guests include Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin and social media star Bryce Hall. Tonight the final four will serve Gordon’s signature menu. While each chef takes their turn at the pass, Gordon will test their attention to detail with secret sabotages.
8:35 p.m. — Alejandro is up first. Gordon has replaced rice with orzo pasta, which the young chef catches immediately. Next, Gordon swaps a strip steak with a ribeye — Alejandro spots it again! For his third dish, Alejandro misses seeing the wrong lentils planted in a dish by Chef Cristina. Overall, Alejandro did well. Next up is Sommer, who fails the first test, missing an entire appetizer and entree. Sommer’s teammates describe her leadership style as “aggressive” and “frantic.” Alex is slow making the risotto, which annoys both Sommer and Gordon. For Sommer’s next test, Gordon replaces the halibut with sea bass, which she catches. Last, Chef Christina serves arugula instead of spinach, which Sommer fails to notice.
8:45 p.m. — Up at the pass now is Alex. He instantly notices fava beans replacing peas in the carbonara. He also notices discs of halibut have replaced scallops. For his next test, Gordon switches a rack of lamb with venison — but he doesn’t notice. Last up is Dafne. She has no idea she has the wrong number of entrees on her ticket, and doesn’t figure it out until Gordon explains it to her. Sommer calls her leadership style as “nervous.” Dafne yells at Sommer to “stop talking over” her. For Dafne’s next test, Gordon swaps out salmon for arctic char, which she spots. Now that each chef has run the pass, the final four work together to complete a successful service.
8:55 p.m. — Following dinner service, Gordon asks the final four to come to a consensus on the one chef that should NOT continue on in Hell’s Kitchen. They head up to the dorms to discuss it. Alejandro says Dafne needs to be “way more assertive” and Alex doesn’t care for Sommer’s attitude. Sommer votes for Dafne, saying she can’t handle too many things thrown her way at once. When they head back downstairs to meet with Gordon, each chef tells him why they deserve a spot in the final challenge.
9:01 p.m. — The first chef advancing to the final three is Alejandro. Gordon calls him “great, consistent, focused” and “a strong leader.” Next to advance is Alex, who is deemed “strong” before Gordon says, “You ran that kitchen like you were running your own.” The final chef advancing tonight is Dafne, who Gordon calls “composed, calm and strong.” Sommer is eliminated, with Gordon stating, “There’s no doubt in my mind that Sommer is going to do great things in this industry. She’s definitely VIP in my book.”
