Episode Report Card Monty Ashley: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT A Farewell to Loudmouths
By Monty Ashley | Season 5 | Episode 12 | Aired on 04.23.2009
Appetizers are done and Ben swaps over to desserts. The proposal dessert looks very nice, with the ring half-buried in chocolate, and the words "Will you Marry Me?" written in icing on the place. It looks like it was written by someone with the time to do it right, not one of these stressed out freaks. JP brings it out, uncovers the plate, and the young lady seems happy. And she says "yes", so there you go. Ben says it's like being stuck in prison, but seeing a rainbow. Huh.
Danny's on garnish, which means that he spends a lot of time keeping track of the next few orders: "four minutes on those two medium wellies, and behind that, you have a chicken, two lamb, and three wellies, right?" And after that, two more wellies, which Andrea does not have. Two wellingtons are missing! So Danny and Paula rush over, grab some puff pastry, roll up some more wellingtons, pop them in the oven, and generally get shit done. Finally, Andrea gets the meat out the door and we are led to believe that's the last order, although you'd think there would be desserts at that table.
After the service, the chefs are lined up in the kitchen for Chef Ramsay to rant at them. He hated the last ten percent of the service and wants a consensus on one person who should leave. Well, I can see them getting three out of four to agree, but a consensus seems hard.
In the dorms, Paula asks who wants to start. Ben points the finger at Andrea, and runs his mouth about how much experience he has running a huge brigade and how many levels he is above her. Andrea, on the other hand, says Ben, on the grounds of that night's service. Danny thinks Andrea did worse and asks for her experience, and she refuses to defend herself. Paula tells Ben that he messes up a lot (seriously, he does), and he is outraged. Outraged! Finally he goes with "I'm not a line cook!" Well, you're on the wrong show. This isn't a cooking competition. It's a Line Cook competition. It's a "working in a kitchen" competition. Or, as Paula puts it in an interview, "You think you're some great chef and you're beyond being on the line and knowing how to cook? You're not a chef to me." Seriously. Ben claims that Paula had more issues than Ben or Andrea tonight, which I do not believe. In an interview, Ben's armor of self-delusion remains uncracked.
So right now, Danny and Ben say Andrea, and Andrea and Paula say Ben. Paula thinks they should just put up both Ben and Andrea (in flagrant violation of their instructions), get yelled at, and let Gordon decide. Danny thinks that will suck for them. He's probably right.