Episode Report Card Lady Lola: C | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Suds & Duds
By Lady Lola | Season 9 | Episode 7 | Aired on 08.08.2011
Blue Team will be VIP at the Long Beach Grand Prix car racing event while Red will be unloading and stocking 20 trucks' worth of deliveries. Elise immediately starts crying like a real ninny, and everyone is all, "WTF, woman?" Naturally when the trucks arrive, Elise stands back like a brat and complains that she's being punished for her teammates' rookie mistakes. Says the fourth place finisher who won primarily because her competitor plated poulet à la canned pineapple. Needless to say, her mood doesn't improve upon the arrival of the kegs, which probably outweigh her 40-50 pounds. Even with Jennifer helping her, Elise refuses to carry the keg and commandeers the one cart they have to slowly carry each keg from the steps to the interior.
As the Blue Team chills out after a reward day, Jennifer takes it upon herself to call a team caucus to confront Elise. Everyone jumps the bandwagon, accusing Elise of taking it easier than the rest of them during punishments. To which she basically interviews, "Of course I do. They're not the boss of me." To their faces, however, she promises to try harder. She sticks to her word the next day, she jumps to assist her teammates, and they're unsure what to make of this Helpful Hattie persona. On the other side of the kitchen, Blue preps for dinner... and redemption.
The doors open for that evening's Beer Night service. There are beer towers at each table, and Ramsay has added Belgian ale-steamed mussels and stout-spiced venison to the menu. As orders start rolling in, Red Team looks unified and solid. Over on the Blue Team, Paul and Natalie are the point people. If either of them has a bad night, things could swiftly fall apart. Paul delivers a perfect risotto, but Natalie screws up her scallops. Soon enough, in the Red kitchen, Elise's supposedly helpful attitude comes back to bite them in the ass when she forgot to drain the salad per Carrie's instructions.
Nonetheless, Red is gaining a healthy lead over Blue as Natalie biffs a second set of scallops. Ramsay comes over to inspect closer and finds literally 30 improperly cooked scallops just sitting on the sidelines. Will steps in and shows her how to sear a scallop, which sets the team back on track. Back across the kitchen, Red has moved on to entrees. Jamie grows frustrated that Krupa isn't calling her times correctly, and they both end up walking up undercooked proteins. Elise takes the opportunity to try to help her teammates by expediting.