Episode Report Card Daniel: C- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Ramsay Arranges a Meeting With the Five Families
By Daniel | Season 11 | Episode 16 | Aired on 06.20.2013
Mary's doing her tongue-hanging-out thing. "She's just totally letting it fly today," says Cyndi. Are you guys sure you want to stretch this out over three episodes? There is more "drama" over how many times Susan has lifted the lid on her pressure cooker -- a real no-no, and she does it six times. Meanwhile, Jon is complaining about the steam rising from the steamer that Mary is using for her potatoes. And then he burns his lamb. "I'm totally freaking the fuck out," he says. Cyndi's surprised he burned the meat. "Jon's starting to crumble under pressure," she tells us. Jon works to salvage the dish, and Susan helps him out with a fresh cooker that isn't covered in Burnt Jon Protein.
The last few minutes tick away while the judges fret over plating and last-minute touches. Susan is more confident than Cyndi over how their respective dishes have turned out, and then it's time for the judging.
Ramsay announces his guest judges: one is the James Beard award-winning owner of Osteria Mozza, Chef Nancy Silverton. The cheftestants applaud, Mary saying Silverton's books were always on the shelf of a place she used to work. Next judge is another James Beard award-winner, this time in culinary journalism: she's the "dine editor" of Los Angeles magazine, Lesley Bargar Suter. "These ladies know everything there is to know about culinary and food," says Cyndi.
Ramsay explains the judges will be assessing the dishes on one to five stars, and the chef with the highest total wins.
Susan's up first and she says she still has some "doubters and naysayers" in Hell's Kitchen, so she wants to prove them wrong with her pork belly and fennel and leek slaw with crispy pork belly skin on top. Silverton says the fat hasn't really been rendered -- flashback to Susan lifting the lid many times -- and Suter likes the slaw, but it could be shaved a little thinner. They each (including Ramsay) give the dish three stars, for a total of nine.
Jon brings up his lamb leg, which he says he made "a little more traditional, like French" with rutabaga and fingerling potatoes. Silverton praises the color and the caramelization, but says he would have benefited from a little more time in the pressure cooker, because it's still a little tough. Also, a little too much butter and the "moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" phrase is invoked. Suter also says it needed more time in the pressure cooker, and Jon gets four stars from Ramsay and three from the other two for a total of ten.