Hell's Kitchen: Low Tek

Is “Hell’s Kitchen” in the midst of some sort of image rehabilitation program?

A couple of episodes ago, Chef Ramsay had the contestants cook up an Italian meal for a group of hungry firefighters during the weekly challenge. Last night centered almost entirely around the return of Marine Staff Sergeant Otis James after a 30-month stint in Iraq and the grand meal that would welcome him back.

Hey, I’m like you — I watch this show to see these poor souls screw up and to have Ramsay come up with exceedingly creative (and LOUD) ways to insult them. Still, it’s nice to see the contestants (and Ramsay) NOT behave like complete beasts every once in a while and do something nice for a deserving group of folks (even if they may or may not be manufacturing sympathy).

Of course, judging from next week’s previews, it looks like all of that goodwill goes out the window when Tennille gets in Ramsay’s face and Robert dies!!! (Maybe.)

But before we got to that, we had to deal with this week’s episode, which ended up being a relatively dull, one-sided affair.

For this week’s challenge, each team had to prepare an appetizer and two entrees for Sgt. James’ wife Lytasha, who would pick a winner based on what her husband would like. Wanting to encourage communication, Ramsay recruited Robert and Suzanne to consult with Lytasha in private and relay a clear direction to their respective teams.

And this is where the men’s domination began. In Kevin’s words, Robert conveyed Lytasha’s message (soul food, GRILLED lobster) by directing and not dictating. It only took about a month, but it was the first time Robert has been impressive this season. Suzanne, on the other hand, had a very clear idea of what she wanted to make (which isn’t entirely bad) but seemed completely selfish and unresponsive to her teammates’ suggestions (which was VERY bad, especially considering that Tennille’s jambalaya sauce would’ve probably been right up Sgt. James’ alley).

This being, “Hell’s Kitchen” the challenge HAD to come down to the very last dish. The women took the appetizer round with their salad (and Kevin took the “Sexist Comment of the Night” award by remarking that women will pick a salad 9 out of 10 times), while the men won the two entrée rounds, highlighted by Robert’s GRILLED lobster.

As a reward, the men got to take a ride in fighter jets (I enjoyed their slow-mo walk on the runway — talk about “The Wrong Stuff”) while the women had to stay and decorate the dining room under the direction of Chef Ramsay’s wife, Tana. (I guess Jean-Philippe had the afternoon off.) The show and the contestants inexplicably tried to play up Tana’s bossiness, but she actually seemed like a perfectly nice woman. The women eventually goofed around with the helium intended for the balloons. Yes, we’ve seen this gag a thousand times, but I actually enjoyed watching the challenge losers actually have fun with their punishment for a change.

Before the dinner service (which featured a nice little surprise party reveal for Sgt. James, pictured, left), it seemed like there was some sabotage afoot (did I really just say “afoot”?) Since the men won, both teams would be preparing food from the blue team menu and the men seemed more than a little reluctant to share the finer points of their dishes. Although Jim’s silent shoulder shrug was very funny, I actually thought this was an overall dick move by the guys.

I suppose if the sabotage had been the thing that caused the women to lose, I’d still be annoyed. However, the women were perfectly content to self-destruct on their own.

Both teams sent out their appetizers will little incident (except for Sabrina trying to serve some cold mushrooms). Then it seems like everybody in the restaurant decided to order steak. It looked like Jim was going to get slammed, but Kevin was with him and maybe a little overeager to get his back. (Was Kevin being a good teammate or trying to make himself look good at the expense of another? And if it’s the latter, is that necessarily wrong in a competition?)

On the red team, Tek became COMPLETELY overwhelmed by the onslaught at the grill. She refused to put some of her steaks in the oven after they were marked by the grill and fell hopelessly behind. What does “hopelessly behind” mean? It means that the men finished their service before the women even sent out ONE entrée. (Just for kicks, Amanda almost sent out a raw lobster.) The men eventually crossed the kitchen and helped the women finish in what was probably the most one-sided dinner service I’ve seen on this show. (Usually the incompetence is equally distributed.)

Since the women were so bad, there was no “Best of the Worst” and Ramsay asked the red team to come up with two nominees. Tek was a no-brainer, but the women ended up naming Tennille as the second nominee. Now Tennille is clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed (or the most talented chef), and every time she talks in her confessionals I kind of want to punch myself, but she did NOT deserve to be up for elimination based on her work last night and the fact that she HAS improved since her first couple of weeks (though she’s not as “strong” as she thinks she is). Mostly, I knew she wouldn’t be going home since we hadn’t yet seen her upcoming blowup with Ramsay (which was teased in the season premiere).

Ramsay subbed out Tennille and brought Amanda to the firing squad. Amanda tearfully defended herself, but that didn’t stop Ramsay from coldly saying, “I’m looking right through your eyes, and I think you’re done.” To me, that was more hurtful than any of his outrageous rants (and I hate to kind of agree with him). Still, Ramsay eliminated Tek, who had actually gotten increasingly worse each week and failed to live up to her self-proclaimed “crazy badass girl” reputation.

So what’d you think of this episode? Do we think that Robert was excluded from this week’s reward the same way he was barred from riding a helicopter last season? (Not to be mean, but how can he possibly fit into a cockpit? I don’t remember seeing him flying) Am I the only one who had no idea Chef Ramsay was married? Finally, who’s more likely to leave “Hell’s Kitchen” next week — Robert or Tennille?