Hell’s Kitchen – Season 10 Episode 18 – Recap – 4 Chefs Compete

by Amy Hyun
August 28, 2012 at 2:11 am

In the eighteenth episode of Hell’s Kitchen Season 10, “4 Chefs Compete,” the final four contestants participated in a ‘Profit Margin’ challenge. Chef Ramsay also tested their leadership skills during tonight’s dinner service.

Challenge of the Day:

This was the “Profit Margin” challenge. Chef Ramsay took the final four to a local supermarket. He handed each contestant $15. In order to become the head chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Steak House in Las Vegas, NV, each chef had to learn how to maximize profits. They had 10 minutes to select ingredients. Christina, Dana, and Barbie managed to spend just under $15. Justin, on the other hand, went slightly above at $15.77. After they headed back to the Hell’s Kitchen headquarters, the contestants had another 30 minutes to create a fine dining dish using the ingredients they just bought. The goal was to create a dish that would bring in the most profits/most orders.

Chef Ramsay invited 3 special guests to judge today’s challenge: David Lefevre, Hugh Garvey, and Christian Philippo. Each judge guesstimated how much they would pay for the contestant’s fine dining dish. Then, Chef Ramsay determined an average of the judges’ price estimates for each contestant’s dish. Whomever had the highest price average won the challenge.

The Black Team members are: Justin, Barbie, Christina, and Dana.

Justin’s dish: He cooked his shrimp perfectly, but his dish was lacking some liveliness overall. He should’ve added some lime juice to spruce up the dish. His average price was $28.33.
Barbie’s dish: She cooked her pork chop very well. Her sausages, on the other hand, were over-salty. The judges mentioned that she shouldn’t have added sausages to her dish. The pork chop was enough. Her average price was $33.00.
Dana’s dish: Her halibut was the star of the show. It looked very elegant. Her average price was $34.00.
Christina’s dish: She cooked her grilled swordfish well, but 2 out of 3 judges mentioned that she should’ve removed the skin from the swordfish. Her broth was also good. Her average price was $33.67.

Result: Dana won the challenge. Her reward was a private cooking lesson from today’s judge: David Lefevre. She also got to eat lunch with her parents. Christina, Justin, and Barbie were given the toughest punishment yet. Chef Ramsay told them to separate and sort every piece of trash for recycling purposes.

Tonight’s Dinner Service:

Chef Ramsay assessed each contestant’s leadership skills. He asked each chef to run the pass (i.e. call out the table orders, and double-check the quality of the food). David Hoenemeyer—the president of the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, NV—was invited to tonight’s dinner service. Who has the natural ability to become a great leader?

Justin’s turn: Justin did an excellent job. I totally think he’ll become the winner of Season 10. He possesses the qualities of a head chef. He has great communication skills, interpersonal skills, listening skills, and most importantly, culinary skills. Dana’s attitude was awful though… she was probably trying to sabotage Justin. To test Justin’s awareness skills, Sous Chef Scott put crab in the lobster spaghetti. Fortunately, Justin was able to taste the difference between crab and lobster.
Dana’s turn: Dana did an okay job. Her voice was beyond grating though. I don’t think she’s fit to be a head chef. To test Dana’s awareness skills, Chef Ramsay slipped sugar into the Risotto. Dana didn’t catch the sugar.
Barbie’s turn: Barbie did a good job…. but, while she was calling out the orders, she had her back turned to the rest of the Black team. The other contestants had trouble hearing what she was saying because she had her back turned to them. To test Barbie’s awareness skills, Sous Chef Scott replaced the regular mash potatoes with Celariac Mash. Barbie caught this.
Christina’s turn: Christina was assertive overall, but she had difficulty getting food out to the tables because Dana’s cod fish was undercooked. To test Christina’s awareness skills, Chef Ramsay substituted spinach with Arugula. Christina caught this.

Result: All four contestants pleaded their cases as to why they should stay in Hell’s Kitchen. Then, Chef Ramsay dropped a bombshell. He said he would be eliminating two contestants tonight. The first person Ramsay eliminated was Barbie.