And then there were FIVE...

The Red team screwed up their the initial challenge at the beginning of the
show and had to clean and then check in orders. They failed to properly
check each box as it came off the truck. As a result they wound up with
turbot skeletons (used for fish stock) rather than actual turbot fillets;
snapper fillets without the skin on. Pretty much everything they checked in
was sub-par. The Blue team, having won the initial challenge got to play
paintball, all three against Chef Ramsay. Ramsay kicked their asses! LOL

There's one in every crowd. With Melissa gone it became Jan's turn to be
the bitch on the Red team.

The goal tonight was for each team to create their own menu for the dinner
service. In the planning stages Julia wanted to put NY Strip steaks on the
menu. Jan unilaterally vetoed it, saying it wasn't fancy enough. Granted,
I've only eaten in one 5-star restaurant in my life but they definitely had
steak on the menu.

When their menu was presented to Chef Ramsay he asked Julia which of the
items on the menu was her contribution. (He's not stupid!) She said,
"None, Chef." He asked what she would have put on the menu. She replied NY
Strip. He said, "Add it." Turned out to be the most ordered item off their
menu and they were all cooked perfectly to order.

Jan simply stopped speaking to anyone on the Red team and Bonnie was upset.
Bonnie takes things like that very personally, IMHO, and probably spent more
time worrying about that than anything else. She got confused about the
orders and didn't perform well. In fact at one point she was "cooking" but
the gas wasn't even on! Actually, the entire team didn't communicate
tonight, which was surprising given the way they pulled together last
episode.

The menu for the Blue team was primarily created by Brad, who then couldn't
follow through on his own creations. He had a lovely lamb chop dish but
when the orders came in they weren't cooked to order. The first batch
didn't even make it out of the kitchen. Entrees were being sent back from
the Blue team menu. Didn't happen with the Red team. And Josh was screwing
up *everything* he touched.

In the end, the Red team won and Julia had to nominate someone to be sent
home. On the Blue team, they were asked to collaborate and collectively
decide who should go. (Personally, I thought it should be Josh.)

Bonnie was nominated by Julia from the Red team. I could tell it was with
some regret, because Julia does have excellent ideas (like the grilled
lobster from the last episode, which Ramsay said was "ambitious" and she
cooked to perfection) and a great palate. She just can't quite handle the
pressure of actual dinner service. But Jan, although she can cook, turned
out to not be much of a team player on this round. I think it's because her
veto of the NY steaks was overturned by Ramsay. She was pouting.

Brad was the Blue team choice, although I suspect he actually volunteered
thinking Bonnie would be voted off. Josh kept whining about how he was
tired of being the "whipping boy". From what I've seen, he deserves to be.

In the end, Ramsay told Brad to go home. He said Brad is a capable sous
chef but he's not a leader and couldn't run a restaurant resort kitchen. It
was sort of a silent acknowledgement that Bonnie has talents and simply
needs to step up in the kitchen when it comes to actually cooking.

Next week they'll all be on the same team. This should be interesting given
the shift in Jan's attitude and Rock's take-no-prisoners stance I'm
betting Josh won't last next week, unless Bonnie screws something up in a
major way.

Jill

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> And then there were FIVE...
>
> The Red team screwed up their the initial challenge at the beginning of
> the
> show and had to clean and then check in orders. They failed to properly
> check each box as it came off the truck. As a result they wound up with
> turbot skeletons (used for fish stock) rather than actual turbot fillets;
> snapper fillets without the skin on. Pretty much everything they checked
> in
> was sub-par. The Blue team, having won the initial challenge got to play
> paintball, all three against Chef Ramsay. Ramsay kicked their asses! LOL
>
> There's one in every crowd. With Melissa gone it became Jan's turn to be
> the bitch on the Red team.
>
> The goal tonight was for each team to create their own menu for the dinner
> service. In the planning stages Julia wanted to put NY Strip steaks on
> the
> menu. Jan unilaterally vetoed it, saying it wasn't fancy enough.
> Granted,
> I've only eaten in one 5-star restaurant in my life but they definitely
> had
> steak on the menu.
>
> When their menu was presented to Chef Ramsay he asked Julia which of the
> items on the menu was her contribution. (He's not stupid!) She said,
> "None, Chef." He asked what she would have put on the menu. She replied
> NY
> Strip. He said, "Add it." Turned out to be the most ordered item off
> their
> menu and they were all cooked perfectly to order.
>
> Jan simply stopped speaking to anyone on the Red team and Bonnie was
> upset.
> Bonnie takes things like that very personally, IMHO, and probably spent
> more
> time worrying about that than anything else. She got confused about the
> orders and didn't perform well. In fact at one point she was "cooking"
> but
> the gas wasn't even on! Actually, the entire team didn't communicate
> tonight, which was surprising given the way they pulled together last
> episode.
>
> The menu for the Blue team was primarily created by Brad, who then
> couldn't
> follow through on his own creations. He had a lovely lamb chop dish but
> when the orders came in they weren't cooked to order. The first batch
> didn't even make it out of the kitchen. Entrees were being sent back from
> the Blue team menu. Didn't happen with the Red team. And Josh was
> screwing
> up *everything* he touched.
>
> In the end, the Red team won and Julia had to nominate someone to be sent
> home. On the Blue team, they were asked to collaborate and collectively
> decide who should go. (Personally, I thought it should be Josh.)
>
> Bonnie was nominated by Julia from the Red team. I could tell it was with
> some regret, because Julia does have excellent ideas (like the grilled
> lobster from the last episode, which Ramsay said was "ambitious" and she
> cooked to perfection) and a great palate. She just can't quite handle the
> pressure of actual dinner service. But Jan, although she can cook, turned
> out to not be much of a team player on this round. I think it's because
> her
> veto of the NY steaks was overturned by Ramsay. She was pouting.
>
> Brad was the Blue team choice, although I suspect he actually volunteered
> thinking Bonnie would be voted off. Josh kept whining about how he was
> tired of being the "whipping boy". From what I've seen, he deserves to
> be.
>
> In the end, Ramsay told Brad to go home. He said Brad is a capable sous
> chef but he's not a leader and couldn't run a restaurant resort kitchen.
> It
> was sort of a silent acknowledgement that Bonnie has talents and simply
> needs to step up in the kitchen when it comes to actually cooking.
>
> Next week they'll all be on the same team. This should be interesting
> given
> the shift in Jan's attitude and Rock's take-no-prisoners stance I'm
> betting Josh won't last next week, unless Bonnie screws something up in a
> major way.
>
> Jill
>
>

Julia did an outstanding job tonight, from taking their "lumps" for losing
the competition, right through plating the last steak. And no drama. She's
definitely a contender.

It's Rock's to lose. He's never been bitched at or had a bad service. Only
his temper could lose it for him.

Zippy P wrote:
> It's Rock's to lose. He's never been bitched at or had a bad
> service. Only his temper could lose it for him.

He doesn't display that temper in the kitchen like some of the others,
though. Sure, he got ticked off having to dig through trash; wouldn't you?
The fact that he's never had a bad service says a lot for him.

Jill

True but in the teaser for next week he seems to be weeping and saying he
done somethin' baad. I predict he gets super ****ed and flips out on next
week's show. He's been getting excessively emotional lately.

Zippy P wrote:
> True but in the teaser for next week he seems to be weeping and
> saying he done somethin' baad. I predict he gets super ****ed and
> flips out on next week's show. He's been getting excessively
> emotional lately.

(why aren't you quoting relevant text anymore?) Doesn't matter, one "bad"
thing won't kill him in the competition. As for the emotional part, the
stress level is getting higher as the eliminations go on. I'd be more
emotional at this point, too.

Jill

"Paco's Tacos" > wrote in

> Julia did an outstanding job tonight, from taking their
> "lumps" for losing the competition, right through plating the
> last steak. And no drama. She's definitely a contender.

I agree. I hope she wins.

On Jul 16, 10:34 pm, "jmcquown" > wrote:
> And then there were FIVE...

>
> Jill

Good synopsis. Just finished watching it. I,thought Josh should've
been out of there. I like Bonnie and Rock best, so far. Jen has
really become hard-nosed IMO.

Their personal dishes they were to "create" out of left-overs: Julia
was Julia: fish and chips; dinner course: steak. I think this is her
style and even though she does it well, it's not chef material.

Hope it's better next week. I was a bit bored.
Dee Dee

"Dee Dee" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> On Jul 16, 10:34 pm, "jmcquown" > wrote:
>> And then there were FIVE...
>
>>
>> Jill
>
> Good synopsis. Just finished watching it. I,thought Josh should've
> been out of there. I like Bonnie and Rock best, so far. Jen has
> really become hard-nosed IMO.
>
> Their personal dishes they were to "create" out of left-overs: Julia
> was Julia: fish and chips; dinner course: steak. I think this is her
> style and even though she does it well, it's not chef material.
>
> Hope it's better next week. I was a bit bored.
> Dee Dee
>
>

Well, considering that they took about 20 minutes of their allotted
half-hour "collaborating" on what to serve, it was impressive that they got
anything plated! Maybe if Julia spoke French, she could have presented her
mundane fish and chips as "bar blanc avec pomme frites" and made it less
pedestrian. As far as her steak dish, Ramsey recommended that it be placed
on the menu and it appeared that it was by-far the most ordered selection.
Pretty sure that there lots of "chefs" out there sending lots of steaks out
to the dining room! ;-)

I'm goin' with the underdog!

Paco's Tacos wrote:

> I'm goin' with the underdog!

I like Julia as well...

Bonnie - too needy...I don't think she'd do well.
Jenn - She's OK I guess...I think she just stresses too much.

Josh - sucks
Rock - He's ok..I'm sick of hearing the word "bitches" all the time, but
he can cook.

--
-Gina in Italy

"evil government scientist Dirk Benedict."
- Anim8rFSK

ravenlynne wrote:
> Paco's Tacos wrote:
>
>> I'm goin' with the underdog!
>
> I like Julia as well...
>
> Bonnie - too needy...I don't think she'd do well.
> Jenn - She's OK I guess...I think she just stresses too much.
>
> Josh - sucks
> Rock - He's ok..I'm sick of hearing the word "bitches" all the time,
> but he can cook.

Nothing wrong with good fish & chips, althought I have to say I've never had
it served to me made with anything other than cod And it's not what
you'd expect on a 5-star menu. But still, Ramsay did say "use the
leftovers". How many of us here cook meals using leftovers? Raise your
hands. Okay, put them down, I can't count that high. LOL

I know I do! So, you have some fish, you have cornmeal and flour and you
have some potatoes... that screams fish & chips to me!

I loved that challenge. I cook using leftovers all the time. We all do.
And "muscovian" food. I think I'll inform Chef Ramsay about this particular
cooking term.

Jill

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> ravenlynne wrote:
>> Paco's Tacos wrote:
>>
>>> I'm goin' with the underdog!
>>
>> I like Julia as well...
>>
>> Bonnie - too needy...I don't think she'd do well.
>> Jenn - She's OK I guess...I think she just stresses too much.
>>
>> Josh - sucks
>> Rock - He's ok..I'm sick of hearing the word "bitches" all the time,
>> but he can cook.
>
> Nothing wrong with good fish & chips, althought I have to say I've never
> had
> it served to me made with anything other than cod And it's not what
> you'd expect on a 5-star menu. But still, Ramsay did say "use the
> leftovers". How many of us here cook meals using leftovers? Raise your
> hands. Okay, put them down, I can't count that high. LOL
>
> I know I do! So, you have some fish, you have cornmeal and flour and you
> have some potatoes... that screams fish & chips to me!
>
> I loved that challenge. I cook using leftovers all the time. We all do.
> And "muscovian" food. I think I'll inform Chef Ramsay about this
> particular
> cooking term.
>
> Jill
>
>

"Cook once, eat twice", that's what I always say! Well, actually I've never
said that, but it sounds good! :-)

Dee Dee wrote:

> Their personal dishes they were to "create" out of left-overs: Julia
> was Julia: fish and chips; dinner course: steak. I think this is her
> style and even though she does it well, it's not chef material.

I think Ramsay disagrees when it comes to steak. Remember the very first
episode, when Melissa's steak with asparagus was one of his favorite dishes?

I think it's also worth pointing out that Waffle House doesn't serve fish
and chips *or* steak, so Julia's style was honed in her own kitchen.

I hardly ever order steak in a restaurant because it comes out incorrectly
cooked more often than not. Cooking all those steaks and having *none* of
them sent back is an exceptional achievement.

Some of the most highly-ranked restaurants in the world feature cuisine
which is simple at heart, but which is prepared *perfectly*. That's
difficult to accomplish, and I think that's what Julia can aspire to. I
think Julia's great strength is that she has an ironclad grip on the basics
of cooking, where some of the other contenders definitely do not.

I think her undoing will be that she's got a somewhat limited education
about world cuisine, and her imagination (or creativity) isn't all that
great.

Bob

> Some of the most highly-ranked restaurants in the world feature cuisine
> which is simple at heart, but which is prepared *perfectly*. That's
> difficult to accomplish, and I think that's what Julia can aspire to. I
> think Julia's great strength is that she has an ironclad grip on the
basics
> of cooking, where some of the other contenders definitely do not.

Heh.. OR it means that the patrons of Hell's Kitchen aren't all that high
class after all. Shocking.

Reminds me of the Collier short story about the chef who serves a high-end
food critic some downhome mashed potatoes (and then kills her with fugu).

"Zippy P" > wrote

> Reminds me of the Collier short story about the chef who serves a high-end
> food critic some downhome mashed potatoes (and then kills her with fugu).

Forget the fugu, mashed potatoes are something I would be very
happy to see at even the finest restaurant. Love those mashed
potatoes.

Of course, this does not include that purple slime I found on my plate
in Las Vegas last year. Potato ooze ... some trends never should have
happened.

nancy

Zippy P wrote:
>> Some of the most highly-ranked restaurants in the world feature
>> cuisine which is simple at heart, but which is prepared *perfectly*.
>> That's difficult to accomplish, and I think that's what Julia can
>> aspire to. I think Julia's great strength is that she has an
>> ironclad grip on the basics of cooking, where some of the other
>> contenders definitely do not.
>
> Heh.. OR it means that the patrons of Hell's Kitchen aren't all that
> high class after all. Shocking.
>
> Reminds me of the Collier short story about the chef who serves a
> high-end food critic some downhome mashed potatoes (and then kills
> her with fugu).

Actually Josh f***'d up the mash potatoes (Or was that that Brad?) They
looked like GLUE. Yeah, right, plate a bunch of that glop! How basic are
mashed potatoes? But hmmm, they were serving them in Hell's Kitchen so I
don't think steak is a stretch.

Jill

Jill wrote:

> Brad was the Blue team choice, although I suspect he actually volunteered
> thinking Bonnie would be voted off. Josh kept whining about how he was
> tired of being the "whipping boy". From what I've seen, he deserves to
> be.

I thought both Josh *and* Brad deserved to go home. Brad ****ed me off by
referring to doctored-up macaroni and cheese as "cassoulet." I'd have sent
that duplicitous shit back in a heartbeat.

Bob

Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> Jill wrote:
>
>> Brad was the Blue team choice, although I suspect he actually
>> volunteered thinking Bonnie would be voted off. Josh kept whining
>> about how he was tired of being the "whipping boy". From what I've
>> seen, he deserves to be.
>
> I thought both Josh *and* Brad deserved to go home. Brad ****ed me
> off by referring to doctored-up macaroni and cheese as "cassoulet."
> I'd have sent that duplicitous shit back in a heartbeat.
>
> Bob

You've got a point there, Bob! And Rock kept telling him, "It's macaroni &
cheese, not cassoulet." and Brad kept saying "We'll just call it cassoulet."
What an idiot. Didn't notice anyone ordering it, either. I'll get mine in
my own kitchen, thanks

Jill