Episode Report Card Daniel: B | 1 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT Off to a Bad Start
By Daniel | Season 9 | Episode 1
Too bad for the women, because they're missing out on pearls of wisdom from Nona, who advises the men to fight every day. Hope y'all are taking notes! "This is for your life. It's not just fun and games," says Nona, who may be overstating it a tad. The men toast the women, for scrubbing up the pots and pans.
"The kitchen looks like a fucking tornado went through it!" gripes Gina. Or perhaps eighteen chefs just prepared a meal there? Either or. Elise bitches about the fact that she's cleaning despite earning a point. She may be unclear on the whole "team" concept. She bitches about Krupa and Carrie sinking their team.
Anyway, the kitchens are ready, and the men and women are crisply attired in their blue and red colors respectively, and receiving their J.A. Henckels knife sets. "Those Henckel knives are the bomb!" says the 44-year-old Steven, not afraid to toss around the ancient slang. I bet he thinks he impresses his kids' friends with how hip and with-it he is. I hope to be him in 10 years.
So: Krupa's determined to do better for tonight's opening than she did in the signature dish challenge. She plans to shoot herself if she fails again, which will be compelling television if nothing else. With the chopping and simmering and boiling well underway, Jason starts feeling dizzy and breathing heavily and staggers out of the kitchen to sit on the floor and be administered oxygen.
Will figures they can't sit there and harp about Jason possibly dying, because they still have a service to put on. And here comes the... fire department? Like a full-on fire truck instead of an ambulance? Dude's not THAT big. Anyway, Ramsay announces to the teams that Jason's been taken to hospital for a few days' bed rest and will not be returning to Hell's Kitchen. Monterray's concerned that they're already down a man, but Paul's confident that eight men are better than nine women. Well, eight men would likely get paid more than nine women, but that's not the same thing, Paul.
Ramsay tells James to open the Kitchen. The restaurant's been redesigned to put a balcony above the kitchen, all the better to see just how much chef sweat is going in the food.
First order, for the blue team: risotto, squab, scallops, spaghetti. Everybody says, "Yes, chef," except for Chino, who says, "Excuse me, chef, can you repeat that?" "Can I repeat that? Yeah, I'll repeat that: Fuck yourself. 'Can I repeat that?' Is he fucking stupid?" says Ramsay. Chino looks pissed at himself for being kinda dumb.