Episode Report Card Monty Ashley: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Contents May Be Hot
By Monty Ashley | Season 4 | Episode 12
Chef Ramsay lines everyone up and counts them again. Then he makes them agree that the stakes are high. His advice: "Unite as a team. Emerge as individuals." Hmm. I'm not sure if that actually means anything. Too late to worry about it: customers are here! Jen puts on some risotto and there is a lot of talking about stuff being a number of minutes to the window. Corey's scallops are nicely cooked. Jen's risotto is...stunning. Really? Stunning? See, this is the problem with having an undereducated palate. I don't think I'm physically capable of being stunned by a risotto. Although I will admit to being surprised every time a Hell's Kitchen chef cooks it wrong. It just seems like something you'd practice before coming on the show.
Twenty-five minutes in, appetizers (Corey and Jen) are doing well. But Jen's rice is mushy. Chef Ramsay shouts at her a bit and shows her how to put the butter in. She does a good job of just saying "Yes, chef" but doing it in a way that doesn't sound defeated. Remember, his major complaint about her has been that when she's criticized, she shuts down. And she doesn't appear to be doing that here, so good for her. Her replacement risotto is deemed to be "excellent", but that just results in her being accused of being lazy. Because otherwise, why wouldn't it always be excellent. That's a little harsh.
Petrozza's on meat, and Corey's on fish. The salmon is "nicely cooked", but Christina sets a pot with a hot handle on the pass and Chef Ramsay burns his hand. He lashes out at her for awhile, racking up the [bleep]s. Then he asks for garnish and Christina does it to him again! I know she's been in the lead, but how often can you burn Chef Ramsay before he starts to take it personally? After several more [bleep]s (some of which were repeats, since there was a commercial break in the middle of all this), he brings Christina over to demonstrate how hot the pan is. He pours a spoonful of water on the handle and it instantly turns to steam. Christina interviews somberly that she knows she's screwed up. Chef Ramsay accuses her of doing it on purpose and emphasizes for the second time in 10 minutes that if a handle has been over the flame, she should say something. Christina gives an interview where she just sighs. I've been there, sister.
The entrees have to start over, and Corey and Jen are about to finish off the appetizers. Jen has forgotten to cook eggs for the scallops, and she's too busy stirring risotto to do it. Christina ends up doing the eggs, but she has to do them twice. Chef Ramsay harasses everyone about needing the scallops, and it does not escape his notice that Jen is the one not being a team player.