‘Hell’s Kitchen 23’ recap: One chef goes up in flames in ‘Hell at the Pass’
Tonight on Hell’s Kitchen — as the finale closes in, the top four chefs are challenged to cook and present a tableside dish for four groups of Foxwoods chefs and executives. This tableside rotation challenge tests not only the chef’s culinary skills, but also their personality and ability to connect and entertain.
Then, a cutthroat dinner service will determine who Gordon Ramsay advances to the final three in the all-new “Hell at the Pass” episode of Hell’s Kitchen: Head Chefs Only airing Thursday, Jan. 23 (8-9 PM ET/PT) on Fox.
Here are the top four chefs: Egypt, Hannah, Kyle, Whit
The Challenge
In addition to Hell’s Kitchen, Foxwoods is home to more than 30 restaurants. Gordon introduced the contestants to four executive chefs whom, for one of them, will be their new neighbors: Preston Mitchell (Alta Strada), Todd Sicolo (Golden Dragon), Michael Yaffe (Cedars), and Matt O’Neill (David Burke Prime). The executive chefs (along with their respective teams) judged the final four on a table-side course. The contestants had one hour to plan and prepare their dish before spending 15 minutes cooking at each table.
The judges ranked each chef from first to fourth place. Each chef impressed the executives, but also received minor critiques. The overwhelming winner with 75 percent of the first-place votes was Kyle. As his reward, Gordon arranged for Kyle to spend a day on the water in a beautiful, historic yacht at the Mystic Seaport Museum. To pay Whit back for taking him on her reward last week, Kyle invited his bestie to join him. Egypt and Hannah stayed back to hand-polish every piece of cutlery ahead of tonight’s dinner service.
Dinner Service
At tonight’s dinner service, each chef took their turn running the pass. Gordon encouraged each of them to use their voice — and they practiced by screaming at their potential future boss in the pantry. Next, the dining room filled up and tickets started pouring in. As each Black Jacket chef took their turn at the pass, Gordon tested their attention to detail with various sabotages.
Egypt was up first — and he quickly noticed Gordon replaced peas in the carbonara with soy beans. Egypt also noticed the second ticket was wrong, but didn’t catch the beef Wellington stuffed with venison. Hannah was next at the pass — but it was Whit who came undone, mistakenly putting peas in the risotto. Overall, Hannah was composed at the pass and caught two out of three sabotages. Whit was third at the pass, nailing each sabotage and holding her own. Finally, Kyle took his turn and reveled in becoming the “sassy” and “bitchy” boss he was meant to be.
While Kyle was at the pass, Whit made a few minor mistakes and grew increasingly frustrated. She eventually exploded — cursing everyone out for not “stocking her station” before setting a pan on fire over the stove. Kyle handled the tension like a pro, calmly directing Hannah to help Whit out. He also caught every sabotage Gordon threw at him — ending dinner service on a high. Gordon said he was proud of all four of them and each chef held their own at the pass.
The Big Winner
The standout of tonight’s episode was Kyle. His bright personality shone through at the challenge and he excelled during dinner service.
The Big Loser
Whit’s arrogance and temper got the best of her. She lost her cool in the kitchen and proceeded to tell her competitors that they “aren’t memorable” and don’t cook with a point of view. In the end, Gordon decided to cut her from the competition saying, “You are a powerhouse chef and you have a lot of talent, but at times in this competition you lost your cool. Keep your jacket as a symbol for everything you’ve achieved in this competition, but it’s time to say goodbye.” As Whit angrily exited the competition Gordon reminded her, “A thank-you would be nice.” She apologized and thanked him before telling the cameras, “I’m pissed. I’ve been the most consistent. It’s complete bulls–t.”
Next Week
Who will make the finale when Egypt, Hannah, and Kyle compete head-to-head in one final challenge? We’ll find out on the next episode of Hell’s Kitchen airing Jan. 30 on Fox.