S16.E10: Dancing In The Grotto

[Drogo]

Following the recent eliminations, the teams must balance out, and a member of one will move to the other. Then, the chefs tackle sliders for their challenge. The chefs are later introduced to three guest judges - Adam Fleischman, the founder of Umami Burger; Sang Yoon, the chef and owner of Father's Office; and Christina Wilson, the executive chef of Gordon Ramsay's BURGR - who will all determine which team gets to party at the Playboy Mansion and which team gets stuck cleaning up the LA River.

Later, the teams try to impress celebrity guest diners, including 2009 Playmate of the Month Crystal Hefner, "Fashion Police" executive producer Melissa Rivers, TV hosts and producers Drew and Jonathan Scott and actress Ashley Green. However, a tough dinner service for both teams ultimately leads to a shocking elimination.

[ClareWalks]

This Ryan woman has the WEIRDEST eyebrows. Clearly drawn on, but they are extremely uneven. The right one is farther from center AND higher than the left. It is so bizarre.

[DoctorK]

Thank God that Matt is gone. He shouldn't have had his jacket taken away, he should have been taken out into the alley and had a bullet put through his walnut sized brain.  Arrogance coupled with not having the skills to support it is a lethal combination.

[mertensia]

I knew Matt was a goner-and good riddance!- the instant he dissed Christina.

The Playboy Mansion? Really? How about no.

[spiderpig]

Buh-bye to the sniveling little rat-face Matt.  Long overdue.

He took his dismissal with customary klass.  Didn't he say something along the lines of losing out to burger flippers?

Where do they find these people anyway?  The parole board?

[ClareWalks]

4 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Where do they find these people anyway?  The parole board?

They ask rejected Judge Judy defendants "can you boil water?" If they respond "WHO WANTS TO KNOW?!" they're hired.

[mertensia]

6 hours ago, spiderpig said:

 

Where do they find these people anyway?  The parole board?

I was just wondering that! Then I wondered if chefs tend to have this anger-management classes needed personality. 

[OhioSongbird]

Woo-hoo!!!!!  Got my Christmas present early.

Matt. be. gone.  Buh bye......

Have a great holiday everybody!

[riprock]

As pleased as I am that Matt is kicked out, I would feel remiss not to point out that Devin is skeezing out all over Ryan, which feels gross and off-point. 

I don't get Wendy. She has the chops, but gets lost in group situations. Guessing that she gets fairly close to the final  

You'd think the blue team would be overjoyed to have Ryan's skills on their side, but noooo...

[xcrayon2215x]

I thought that Wendy should have gone, but glad to lose Matt. Devin has been getting a lot better now, same with Andrew.

[DoctorK]

Quote

Didn't he say something along the lines of losing out to burger flippers?

I think he was referring to the panel of judges who all specialize in gourmet burgers, dismissing their opinion that his shrimp thing was not a real slider. After all, Matt is much more of an epxert than any of those judges. The phrase " a legend in his own mind" applies.

ETA: I just rewatched his exit, it was the douchebaggiest exit I think this show has ever shown us.

Edited December 17, 2016 by DoctorK

[PepperMonkey]

I didn't like Andrew at first - honestly, the snuff dipping is a deal breaker for me - but I really like his personality. I'm not sure how I feel about his reality show romance, knowing he has a fiancé at home, but it also could be all for the cameras, to keep him on the show longer, and his fiancé was in agreement with it, so no harm, no foul.

I'm so glad Matt is gone. Here's hoping that word gets around about all the threats towards Gordon so it seriously harms his career as a chef so he can be a crack dealer, as God intended.

[Major Bigtime]

Matt saying he'd kill Ramsay was a true indicator of what type of person he is. That guy is nuts. Never should have made the cut in the first place. When he dissed the guest judges about his "slider" I was praying he'd keep screwing up and mouthing off and get kicked out on his ass.

[Omega Mu]

I believe one of the Playboy bunnies was the infamous Dani Mathers of the body shaming gym locker room snapchat.

[MajorWoody]

That was a strange episode.

We all knew Ryan was switching teams, thanks to last weeks previews, so no surprise there. 

It was pretty obvious Matt was getting the heave-ho based on the extended focus on him this episode, none of it positive. He managed to come off looking even worse than he has in the past, and that is pretty impressive, as he has been a major dipshit since week 1. I really think he will be on the news when he assaults or kills a supervisor, or customer in the real world.

Didn't really see what Shaina got let go for, since there was so much focus on Asshat Matt, but I never figured she would go much further anyway. 

The whole Playboy thing was kinda skeevy. From the reactions of the guys, who acted like a 12 year old seeing his first nudie mag, to Heidi's being this weeks designated speaker of the line "I'm (insert this weeks celeb name) biggest fan". Then they never let us inside, probably due to the recent reports about how decrepit it is inside, just like the owner. Then to emphasize how stupid it was, the bimbettes who were stuck with this paid escort duty in the grotto didn't even remove their t-shirts to reveal bikinis, let alone their prized assets. They couldn't have looked more bored at having to spend time with spit cup dude Andrew and arrogant Matt, and the rest of the crew. That was just cringeworthy.

On a positive note, this one of the few weeks where I actually knew who the D-List celebs were. 

[Charlesman]

I've been to exactly that part of the LA river that they cleaned. It's one of the parts where there's actual living green on top of the poured concrete channel. They were cleaning both sides of the Hyperion/Glendale bridge, here: https://goo.gl/maps/eWEapnZhHBs

[queenanne]

On 12/18/2016 at 6:44 PM, MajorWoody said:

That was a strange episode.

We all knew Ryan was switching teams, thanks to last weeks previews, so no surprise there. 

It was pretty obvious Matt was getting the heave-ho based on the extended focus on him this episode, none of it positive. He managed to come off looking even worse than he has in the past, and that is pretty impressive, as he has been a major dipshit since week 1. I really think he will be on the news when he assaults or kills a supervisor, or customer in the real world.

Didn't really see what Shaina got let go for, since there was so much focus on Asshat Matt, but I never figured she would go much further anyway. 

The whole Playboy thing was kinda skeevy. From the reactions of the guys, who acted like a 12 year old seeing his first nudie mag, to Heidi's being this weeks designated speaker of the line "I'm (insert this weeks celeb name) biggest fan". Then they never let us inside, probably due to the recent reports about how decrepit it is inside, just like the owner. Then to emphasize how stupid it was, the bimbettes who were stuck with this paid escort duty in the grotto didn't even remove their t-shirts to reveal bikinis, let alone their prized assets. They couldn't have looked more bored at having to spend time with spit cup dude Andrew and arrogant Matt, and the rest of the crew. That was just cringeworthy.

On a positive note, this one of the few weeks where I actually knew who the D-List celebs were. 

Oh, actually I think Heidi's more cringeworthy line is, "I'm obsessed with Playboy in every way possible."

Really, Heidi???

The scary part is, she actually seemed sincere.  I doubt you could say that with a straight face unless you actually believed it.  I'll never forget back when "Roswell" was on the WB and Majandra Delfino came out to talk about her invitation to the Playboy Mansion; she was actively and rather sweetly appalled at the behavior of individual guests whom, I believe in her actual words, "I thought you were nice respectable people!"

In lighter news, I got an actual LOL when Shaina placidly and tactfully pointed out to Wendy that no, Wendy, you reacting to poison ivy doesn't make you a special snowflake; and then again, when Ramsay scolded Wendy for swearing (and she took it!).

[Carolina Girl]

So, Matt - what do they know?  They run "burger joints."

Go to Umami Burger sometime, pal.  You aren't fit to lift the spatula.

[Zoe]

Christina's role changed again? Seems like she has a new job each season.

[pastafarian]

23 hours ago, Zoe said:

Christina's role changed again? Seems like she has a new job each season.

No change, she's still being used as the example that a winner does get hired.  The rest?  At a Diner near you!  Remember Shirley Nilka Hendricks?  She turned up at a local restaurant.  They made a big deal of her, putting a huge sign with her picture on the building.  We ate there out of curiosity....AWFUL experience all around!  I heard she was eventually fired, my guess is when the ability of her celebrity status to bring in customers was overcome by her incompetence in the kitchen.  My opinion is that the 'chefs' on the show are selected specifically for their incompetence and ability to be embarrassed by Ramsey, not for any cooking skill at all.  Matt is a prime example.  What to watch competent chefs in action?  Top Chef or most episodes of Chopped!  Still, Hell's Kitchen is amusing to watch if viewed as a comedy.

Edited December 25, 2016 by pastafarian
name correction

[spiderpig]

1 hour ago, pastafarian said:

No change, she's still being used as the example that a winner does get hired.  The rest?  At a Diner near you!  Remember Shirley?  She turned up at a local restaurant.  They made a big deal of her, putting a huge sign with her picture on the building.  We ate there out of curiosity....AWFUL experience all around!  I heard she was eventually fired, my guess is when the ability of her celebrity status to bring in customers was overcome by her incompetence in the kitchen.  My opinion is that the 'chefs' on the show are selected specifically for their incompetence and ability to be embarrassed by Ramsey, not for any cooking skill at all.  Matt is a prime example.  What to watch competent chefs in action?  Top Chef or most episodes of Chopped!  Still, Hell's Kitchen is amusing to watch if viewed as a comedy.

I don't remember a Shirley at all.  I went back to look at HK winners and didn't see any reference.

[pastafarian]

10 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

I don't remember a Shirley at all.  I went back to look at HK winners and didn't see any reference.

Ooops, it's Nilka Hendricks, not Shirley (we joked that she looked like Shirley Hemphill from Good Times" and the name stuck with me).  She didn't win but is my only experience with a 'Hell's Kitchen' chef that I know of (we have gone to diners, buffets, catering halls and fast food places, so you never know for sure).   I apologize for the confusion.

[spiderpig]

Just now, pastafarian said:

Ooops, it's Nilka Hendricks, not Shirley (we joked that she looked like Shirley Hemphill from Good Times" and the name stuck with me).  She didn't win but is my only experience with a 'Hell's Kitchen' chef that I know of (we have gone to diners, buffets, catering halls and fast food places, so you never know for sure).   I apologize for the confusion.

No worries, pastafarian!  I always have to go back and look up previous contestants because I have the attention span of a gnat.  (But the curiousity of 10,000 cats!)

[Zoe]

3 hours ago, pastafarian said:

No change, she's still being used as the example that a winner does get hired.  

No, seriously, she was promoted to worldwide exec a year and a half ago.

http://lasvegassun.com/vegasdeluxe/2015/may/05/photos-gordon-ramsay-promotes-christina-wilson-new/

Surely this season isn't that old?

[lh25]

Did Matt really make a comment about how he's a great chef, making "bank"?  LOL, yeah sure you are.

[DropTheSoap]

Good riddence, Matt. BTW, Mattie...the only reason the bunnies were hanging with you was because they were being paid.

When Andrew said that this was the best experience of his life, I found that sad because he has a kid, I believe. 

After weeks of repeats, I look forward to seeing it all move along.

[Michel]

Whew.  Thanks to the busy holiday season, I watched the episode, but never got to comment on it here.  Now that things are calming down, I finally can.

I love that the new red team is still the team doing better overall.  Like I said before, I like their team dynamic a lot more than the blue team.  I hated that their team had to be broken up by Ryan getting switched over to the blue team.

I wonder if they're setting up a short-term (or even long-term) rivalry between Ryan and Paulie?  Yeah, Ryan's starting to let some of her arrogance show, but it still doesn't compare to Paulie's.  So far, she's kept it at a minimum.  He's brought it out in full force, oftentimes (and lately) when it hasn't been warranted.  If a rivalry's brewing, I'm rooting for Ryan to take him down.  He's deserved to be gone for several weeks now, and this week, he was just lucky to have, for the first time in a long time, not made a single mistake during service.

Honestly, I am greatly shocked that, other than @MajorWoody, everyone's only talked about Matt's boot, but hasn't said a word about Shaina's.  I think she was only let go because the producers wanted her to go, not Ramsay (like I suspect fed into the reasons for Koop going over Paulie in the previous episode).  Looking at her and Wendy, I'd say Wendy did way more to deserve the boot in this episode than Shaina.  At least Shaina, in the midst of the errors she made during service, continued to communicate with her team.  Wendy made no effort to, and supposedly, that's what makes Ramsay eliminate contestants.  (See: Meese, Frank, Manda, and Ashley from last season.)  Still, I'm sad.  I thought the show was actually setting up for an all-female black jacket group this time.  Shaina's boot puts an end to that happening, as five women are left now.  But at least Shaina gets to return for the finale, as her boot has started the finale brigade eliminations.

Matt was the weakest on the red team, for sure, and he was a douchebag, to boot, so I won't miss him.  Sad thing is, he'll be back for the finale just like Shaina.  As will the next six people booted from here on in.

At this point, I'm seeing Heidi, Ryan, Heather, and Andrew making the black jackets for sure.  If they follow the archetypes and patterns of past seasons, then either Kimberly or Devin will take a spot as the requisite "good, but not great, chef who makes it and is lucky to finish close to the finale," ala Manda from last season, Nick from HK14, Sade from HK13, and Kashia from HK12.  And then, the last spot typically goes to the villainous douchebag (or bitch, but I have yet to see any females who fit this role) who talks the talk, fails to walk the walk, and basically only gets there because he or she is marginally talented and Ramsay and the producers want to keep some drama around until at least sixth or possibly fifth place (a la Josh from HK14 and Santos from HK13; HK15 was lucky not to have any villains reach the black jackets because Frank and Dannie, if you saw her as one, were the last two contestants gone before then).  In this case, that will be Paulie who fills that role if he doesn't fall before the black jackets, because he's pretty much, with Johnny and Matt both gone, the only real villain left this season unless Andrew's own jerk side reemerges.

Not as good of an episode as the last two, but still decent enough.  And luckily, I got this in just in time for tonight's double episode.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Michel