Episode 208 (7/31/06)
Episode 208 Back in the dorms, Virginia treats herself to another good cry. She can’t understand why she’s having success in creating dishes and in challenges, but flounders during services. Conversely, Keith is feeling more confident than ever. The next morning, Chef Ramsay presents the remaining four cooks with the new challenge. They’ll each get their own restaurant to run during a lunch service. And today’s winner will be safe from elimination this week. The cooks are then shuttled to their restaurants, and they fill with excitement as they consider the possibilities. Little do they know that their restaurants are actually lunch trucks. And the nearby construction workers will be their clients at lunch. The cooks rush to their trucks and start on a menu. Virginia plans turkey, prosciutto and feta sandwiches. Sara is going for seared quail with micro-green salad and fresh berries. Keith will offer poached lobster on greens and Heather has chosen a grilled chicken sandwich and French fries. Finally, the lunch bell rings and it’s chow time. The men sample each of the four dishes and offer their opinions to Chef Ramsay, who asks for favorite and least favorite dishes. The group is sent back to Hell’s Kitchen, so Chef Ramsay can announce the results. The least favorite dish was Heather’s chicken sandwich. Chef Ramsay turns to the favorite dish, which half of the workers selected as the best. And that dish was prepared by Virginia. So not only is she ensured a spot in the final three, she’ll be treated to a shopping trip. As for a punishment, Keith, Sara and Heather will be cleaning meat from six bushels of Dungeness crabs for the next service. Now it’s Heather’s turn to cry. Having her dish picked as the worst is having a devastating effect on her. Whereas winning had a great effect of Virginia, because she’s enjoying a shopping spree at the kitchen supply store, Sur La Table, with Chef Ramsay. Spending money and flirting with Chef Ramsay seems much more enjoyable than boiling live, pinchy crabs and then shucking their meat. Speaking of crabs, the left-behind trio is spending as much time complaining about Virginia as they are on the job at hand. When Virginia returns to the restaurant, her competitors are still crabbing away. But she comes bearing gifts! A small ceramic cow for Sara because Chef Ramsay once called her a cow, a rubber oven mitt for Heather because she once burned her hand and a crab cracker for Keith. Keith seems particularly resentful at the token gift after he picked Virginia to come to Las Vegas with him. Virginia quickly realizes that she’s now an outsider in the kitchen. The next day, the cooks get to work on prep for the service. Chef Ramsay gathers the four before the dining room opens and breaks the news that three top chefs will be dining in Hell’s Kitchen tonight on his invitation. The tickets begin to come in. Virginia is responsible for both vegetables and a crab amuse-bouche that will go to every diner. The kitchen gets off to a great start with Keith on appetizers. Things hit a small speed bump when Virginia isn’t ready with the vegetables to go with Heather’s Wellingtons. Chef Ramsay asks what the problem is and Heather directs him to Virginia. So he promptly gives Virginia the figurative kick in the ass. Then he compliments Heather on perfectly cooked Wellingtons. Then Chef Ramsay’s special guests arrive. As is traditional in Chef Ramsay’s restaurants, the kitchen will be selecting the menu for them, and they opt for a menu of spaghetti with lobster, Salade St. Jacques and Beef Wellington. Keith, who’s been having great success, makes a mistake and undercooks his spaghetti. Rather than start over, he tosses the noodles – partially coated with red sauce – back into the boiling water. Chef Ramsay then asks for salmon from Sara, but she isn’t ready for it, which forces Heather to reheat her duck. Sara admits to Chef Ramsay that she forgot to prepare an extra salmon. Out in the dining room, the three master chefs have finished Keith’s appetizer and Jean Phillippe is at the hot plate with their feedback. Unfortunately, the pasta wasn’t cooked uniformly and the chefs weren’t all that impressed. Between that and the salmon, the kitchen is beginning to unravel. Things only get worse when Sara informs Chef Ramsay that she doesn’t have enough salmon to complete the service. He forces her to have Jean Phillippe ask the table if they’d be willing to substitute turbot for salmon, then tells her to pick it up. Sara, being ever wise, figures now would be a good time to talk back to Chef Ramsay and say everything’s fine. This tactic, surprisingly, does not work. In fact, he gets a bit angrier. In a bit of perfect timing, Sara’s Salade St. Jacques is served to the VIP table. It receives mixed reviews. Now Heather has to focus on her special Wellingtons and she needs to rely on Virginia to sync up the vegetables. Virginia’s first move is to accidentally light her pan on fire and char the vegetables Heather needs. Without missing a beat, Heather races to the storeroom to find replacements and cook the veg herself. And she manages to get her entrees out. Jean Phillippe returns with more reviews from the master chefs. They loved everything about the Wellingtons, but didn’t like the char the wild flame put on the peas. Chef Ramsay advises Heather to get vegetables by herself whenever she needs them now. Heather starts flying around the kitchen, willing a completed service, but Virginia has a new monkey wrench for her. Burned cabbage. At his breaking point, Chef Ramsay informs Virginia that she’s no longer safe from elimination. Despite all the trouble, the cooks are about to complete their second consecutive service. They get through the last ticket and Chef Ramsay commends Heather for a job well done. He asks her to pick two competitors for elimination. In the dorms, Virginia takes a radical step and asks Heather to eliminate her. Virginia simply doesn’t feel like she’s ready to run her own restaurant and doesn’t want to keep sliding past elimination. The four cooks return to the dining room and Heather promptly tees up Virginia and Sara, as she promised. The ladies step forward and Virginia admits to Chef Ramsay that she doesn’t think she deserves to win her own restaurant. But it’s not quite that simple. Chef Ramsay reminds Virginia that she won the challenge and he promised her a place in the final three. Being a man of his word, he doesn’t want to rescind that offer. If Virginia wants to leave, that’s her choice. But if she wants to stay, Chef Ramsay will send Sara home. Fighting through tears, Virginia admits that she doesn’t want to go. So that’s the last we’ve seen of Sara.http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/recaps/208.htm
Episode 208 Back in the dorms, Virginia treats herself to another good cry. She can’t understand why she’s having success in creating dishes and in challenges, but flounders during services. Conversely, Keith is feeling more confident than ever. The next morning, Chef Ramsay presents the remaining four cooks with the new challenge. They’ll each get their own restaurant to run during a lunch service. And today’s winner will be safe from elimination this week. The cooks are then shuttled to their restaurants, and they fill with excitement as they consider the possibilities. Little do they know that their restaurants are actually lunch trucks. And the nearby construction workers will be their clients at lunch. The cooks rush to their trucks and start on a menu. Virginia plans turkey, prosciutto and feta sandwiches. Sara is going for seared quail with micro-green salad and fresh berries. Keith will offer poached lobster on greens and Heather has chosen a grilled chicken sandwich and French fries. Finally, the lunch bell rings and it’s chow time. The men sample each of the four dishes and offer their opinions to Chef Ramsay, who asks for favorite and least favorite dishes. The group is sent back to Hell’s Kitchen, so Chef Ramsay can announce the results. The least favorite dish was Heather’s chicken sandwich. Chef Ramsay turns to the favorite dish, which half of the workers selected as the best. And that dish was prepared by Virginia. So not only is she ensured a spot in the final three, she’ll be treated to a shopping trip. As for a punishment, Keith, Sara and Heather will be cleaning meat from six bushels of Dungeness crabs for the next service. Now it’s Heather’s turn to cry. Having her dish picked as the worst is having a devastating effect on her. Whereas winning had a great effect of Virginia, because she’s enjoying a shopping spree at the kitchen supply store, Sur La Table, with Chef Ramsay. Spending money and flirting with Chef Ramsay seems much more enjoyable than boiling live, pinchy crabs and then shucking their meat. Speaking of crabs, the left-behind trio is spending as much time complaining about Virginia as they are on the job at hand. When Virginia returns to the restaurant, her competitors are still crabbing away. But she comes bearing gifts! A small ceramic cow for Sara because Chef Ramsay once called her a cow, a rubber oven mitt for Heather because she once burned her hand and a crab cracker for Keith. Keith seems particularly resentful at the token gift after he picked Virginia to come to Las Vegas with him. Virginia quickly realizes that she’s now an outsider in the kitchen. The next day, the cooks get to work on prep for the service. Chef Ramsay gathers the four before the dining room opens and breaks the news that three top chefs will be dining in Hell’s Kitchen tonight on his invitation. The tickets begin to come in. Virginia is responsible for both vegetables and a crab amuse-bouche that will go to every diner. The kitchen gets off to a great start with Keith on appetizers. Things hit a small speed bump when Virginia isn’t ready with the vegetables to go with Heather’s Wellingtons. Chef Ramsay asks what the problem is and Heather directs him to Virginia. So he promptly gives Virginia the figurative kick in the ass. Then he compliments Heather on perfectly cooked Wellingtons. Then Chef Ramsay’s special guests arrive. As is traditional in Chef Ramsay’s restaurants, the kitchen will be selecting the menu for them, and they opt for a menu of spaghetti with lobster, Salade St. Jacques and Beef Wellington. Keith, who’s been having great success, makes a mistake and undercooks his spaghetti. Rather than start over, he tosses the noodles – partially coated with red sauce – back into the boiling water. Chef Ramsay then asks for salmon from Sara, but she isn’t ready for it, which forces Heather to reheat her duck. Sara admits to Chef Ramsay that she forgot to prepare an extra salmon. Out in the dining room, the three master chefs have finished Keith’s appetizer and Jean Phillippe is at the hot plate with their feedback. Unfortunately, the pasta wasn’t cooked uniformly and the chefs weren’t all that impressed. Between that and the salmon, the kitchen is beginning to unravel. Things only get worse when Sara informs Chef Ramsay that she doesn’t have enough salmon to complete the service. He forces her to have Jean Phillippe ask the table if they’d be willing to substitute turbot for salmon, then tells her to pick it up. Sara, being ever wise, figures now would be a good time to talk back to Chef Ramsay and say everything’s fine. This tactic, surprisingly, does not work. In fact, he gets a bit angrier. In a bit of perfect timing, Sara’s Salade St. Jacques is served to the VIP table. It receives mixed reviews. Now Heather has to focus on her special Wellingtons and she needs to rely on Virginia to sync up the vegetables. Virginia’s first move is to accidentally light her pan on fire and char the vegetables Heather needs. Without missing a beat, Heather races to the storeroom to find replacements and cook the veg herself. And she manages to get her entrees out. Jean Phillippe returns with more reviews from the master chefs. They loved everything about the Wellingtons, but didn’t like the char the wild flame put on the peas. Chef Ramsay advises Heather to get vegetables by herself whenever she needs them now. Heather starts flying around the kitchen, willing a completed service, but Virginia has a new monkey wrench for her. Burned cabbage. At his breaking point, Chef Ramsay informs Virginia that she’s no longer safe from elimination. Despite all the trouble, the cooks are about to complete their second consecutive service. They get through the last ticket and Chef Ramsay commends Heather for a job well done. He asks her to pick two competitors for elimination. In the dorms, Virginia takes a radical step and asks Heather to eliminate her. Virginia simply doesn’t feel like she’s ready to run her own restaurant and doesn’t want to keep sliding past elimination. The four cooks return to the dining room and Heather promptly tees up Virginia and Sara, as she promised. The ladies step forward and Virginia admits to Chef Ramsay that she doesn’t think she deserves to win her own restaurant. But it’s not quite that simple. Chef Ramsay reminds Virginia that she won the challenge and he promised her a place in the final three. Being a man of his word, he doesn’t want to rescind that offer. If Virginia wants to leave, that’s her choice. But if she wants to stay, Chef Ramsay will send Sara home. Fighting through tears, Virginia admits that she doesn’t want to go. So that’s the last we’ve seen of Sara.