S17.E09: Catch of the Day

[Drogo]

Special guest judge and fish-cooking expert chef Michael Cimarusti joins chef Ramsay, as the remaining contestants compete in a special challenge involving creatures of the sea. Then, during dinner service, the chefs aim to impress a host of VIP guests, including actor Aleks Paunovic, rapper E-40, professional dancer Cheryl Burke and actor Dan Bucatinsky. With two chefs fighting bitterly for authority and another struggling to communicate, chef Ramsay is less than pleased.

[preeya]

THIS SHOW IS NO LONGER ENJOYABLE!  I'M OUT.

[Colorado David]

7 minutes ago, preeya said:

THIS SHOW IS NO LONGER ENJOYABLE!  I'M OUT.

wow, what pushed you over the edge?

[Mystery]

Wow, I was coming to say the same thing: I can't watch or listen to Elise anymore. I'll keep tivoing and when/if she's gone, I'll start watching. 

[backformore]

Elise says "I don't want to argue,"  when she means "I'm not willing to listen to anyone, but I am going to keep on yelling."  

[Colorado David]

and that boop thing she does, I'm glad Nick gave it back to her.

[ladytenor]

Barbie dumping out her "protein shake" and then just sitting gloating while the others choked down theirs, why wasn't she forced to drink another one?

[Cirrus LaMark]

Nick is my hero for standing up for Michelle.  Elise is just too much.  And that is just the gentle way of putting it.

The men win yet another challenge.  Quelle surprise.

I agree with Michelle, though.  Why is Robin just turning up her performances now when she's off the red team?  On the upside, Jennifer finally wins a faceoff!  Good for her!

Honestly, I'm finally seeing why Barbie was so despised in HK10 (by the other chefs, I mean).  Till tonight, I thought she was just the victim of mean girls, but she really does inspire dislike toward her on her own.  The bit with the protein shake just proved it.

The way service was going, I had a feeling that either the women would lose or both teams would.  And yeah, it's obvious that only Barbie and Elise were the ones messing up for the women.  Elise really needed to check herself.  Ramsay asked Barbie to be the one to lead.  Not she.  She should've let Barbie have her chance.  With the men, I was surprised that Milly had made a rare mistake for him.  And even worse, Van makes a rare mistake for him, as well and has communication issues I hadn't seen till tonight.

On another note, it was great seeing Cheryl Burke from DWTS.  But who was that at the men's chef's table?  Who did he play on Scandal?

As for elimination, I at least like the original way he did it, by first having the men send up their nominees and then choosing from among them before going to the women's nominations.  And loathe to I am to agree with Robyn, there was some sexist bullshit with nominating her when she didn't do anything wrong during this service.  Ramsay clearly pleased with her nomination, either, so I'm oddly glad he sent her back.  That left the loudmouths, Milly and Van.  I was actually surprised that Van was eliminated, at first, until I realized something.  He had gotten a lot of air time in this episode.  Not really during the service, but during the challenge.  So I shouldn't be.  But I really thought he'd get a lot farther than that.  I'm interestingly pleased that I was wrong, because he got louder and more obnoxious by the week.  I disagree with @mlp's sentiment that he was "cheerful."  He was loud and annoying.  Plain and simple.

As for the women, I thought there'd be a double elimination and that one of Barbie or Elise would go with Van, because either one would've deserved it in spades -- Barbie for this week, and Elise for almost the entire season.  But Ramsay, knowing that things are toxic for the women because of Elise, in particular, leaves them both there instead.  Come on, Ramsay.

Well, Van's gone, at least, so that's a nice consolation prize.  Still, Elise needs to go before she ruins this season even more than she already has.

Anyone else kind of enjoy the irony, though?  The men have won the bulk of the challenges and services, yet most of their original members have still taken the bulk of the eliminations.  Only two women, Ashley and Manda, have gone.  But a whopping five men -- Ben, Josh, Jared, Giovanni, and now Van -- are gone.  Only three men are left against six women.

Go, ladies, I guess.

[spiderpig]

Well, that was an unpleasant episode.

I hated that fish-throwing/bobbing-for-ingredients challenge.  Then there was the losers' lunch.  Barf.  All this framed by extending scenes of women screaming at each other continually.

I wish we'd had time to get a better look at the Asian/Fusion dishes on the menu, but most of the restaurant challenge was focused on Elise and Barbie, or Elise and anybody in particular, conducting themselves like two year olds in full sight and sound of their diners.

Overall rating - 1 star (and a really tiny one).

[Cirrus LaMark]

I have to wonder how much longer Elise lasts?  Ramsay clearly sees that she's not head chef material -- at least not for one of his restaurants -- and whatever entertainment value he thinks she has is going to dry up sooner or later.

Meanwhile, this episode really exposed another terrible truth, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.  In HK14, Milly was easily one of the big heroes of that season's story, if only for him being one of the people not to stand for Josh's crap and for his sympathetic backstory.  Here in HK17, he's morphing slowly into a villain, even to the point that Nick, one of his HK14 friends, is having enough of him.  It's kind of sad to see how much he's let his popularity from his first season go to his head.

On the other side of the coin, it's like the editors are taking the opposite path with one of the women.  Robyn was apparently a villain in HK10 (I didn't watch it, but it sounds like from those who did watch it that she was).  But between her improving markedly week after week and being unjustifiably singled out by the men on her team, it's like they're trying to redeem her from that season and build her into a heroine.  I . . . don't know how I feel about that.

[Eolivet]

4 hours ago, Cirrus LaMark said:

Who did he play on Scandal?

He was James, Cyrus' husband and a reporter. But I didn't think he'd been on Scandal in ... three years (I am behind on this season, though).

As others have mentioned, Benjamin seems to be one of the only ones keeping his head down and working. He doesn't have the narrator edit, nor the bully edit nor the "here waaaaay past his time" edit. This either means he's an easy elimination in the next few eps when they want to keep people around for drama! or a potential winner. Jennifer's edit seems similar (again, as others have mentioned).

Elise is just here to play a role and collect her next fifteen minutes of fame. I think that's her grand prize.

[BusyOctober]

I am glad I don’t have to hear Van whoopin’ and hollerin’ and yellin’ and SCREAM-talk through his TH’s.  We get it...you’re a big ol’ southern galoot with “passion”.  More like every “bro” I ever ran into at frat parties and tail gates when I visited my BF in Gainesville. WHOOO! BABY!!  My ears will be even more grateful when The other screeching banshee, Elise, is sent packing.  

GR is only keeping Elise around for the drama and b/c she is so unliked.   There is no way he’d allow that harpie run his kitchen.  She will be gone before final 6 (good God!  That’s still a lot of episodes to go). Honestly, other than Nick or maybe Dana, I don’t know if any of these All Stars would fit into that roll from a personality standpoint.  

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Cirrus LaMark said:

I have to wonder how much longer Elise lasts?  Ramsay clearly sees that she's not head chef material -- at least not for one of his restaurants -- and whatever entertainment value he thinks she has is going to dry up sooner or later.

Elise is going to morph into the Burger King manager who screamed obscenities at a pregnant customer (ironically, named Ramsey) who the manager thought took too long at the drive-thru.  Customer went in to complain to the manager about the window employee, and then learned that the window person WAS the manager.  Manager no longer works for Burger King.  How much lower can one go in the culinary world?

Seriously, though . . . look at the chefs that Ramsey actually has working in his restaurants, and even those he has working in the two kitchens during service.  They keep their heads down and focus on putting out food.  Elise and Barbie are NOT helping their future careers by their behavior on this show.  Even if a hiring manager didn't know about the HK appearances, someone would probably point it out to them pretty quickly.  At that point, Elise and/or Barbie would have to walk on eggshells to prove that they are NOT like they presented themselves on TV.

To quote Judy Judy, "There's only one attitude allowed in here, and it's MINE."

[xcrayon2215x]

I think that Barbie should have gone but Van created no drama so his elimination wasn't too surprising. I'm liking Benjamin a lot more than before. Hopefully him or Nick can win this. I think Michelle would be a lot more tolerable with Elise gone, same with Barbie. 

[AZChristian]

4 minutes ago, xcrayon2215x said:

I think that Barbie should have gone but Van created no drama so his elimination wasn't too surprising. I'm liking Benjamin a lot more than before. Hopefully him or Nick can win this. I think Michelle would be a lot more tolerable with Elise gone, same with Barbie. 

The whole world would be a lot more tolerable . . .

Honestly, if that's what she's like at her regular job, I would NEVER go to a restaurant where she worked, because I don't spend money to be exposed to that level of classlessness.  And you just know that voice would permeate the entire restaurant - not just the kitchen.

[mojoween]

That’s some bullshit right there.  Elise was SO disrespectful during the elimination that alone should have gotten her loud ass bounced.

The Blue team was stupid for sending up Robyn instead of Van but I have to say that a little winning is not a pleasant look on Robyn.

[Rap541]

Quote

Barbie dumping out her "protein shake" and then just sitting gloating while the others choked down theirs, why wasn't she forced to drink another one?

Because legally, they can't slam her to the ground and hold her down and force her to drink it as she screams in protest. There's  only so much those contracts can enforce. She called their bluff - I'm sure that technically refusing to participate in a punishment is grounds to be walked off the set but really, thats just going to make Barbie the latest reality show whore with lawsuit material and with public sympathy. So let her be "unsportsmanlike" and "a cheating bitch getting away with it" and let those chips fall where they may - she's probably not going to win because of the refusal. Likewise Elise refusing punishments. 

Quote

Robyn was apparently a villain in HK10 (I didn't watch it, but it sounds like from those who did watch it that she was).  But between her improving markedly week after week and being unjustifiably singled out by the men on her team, it's like they're trying to redeem her from that season and build her into a heroine.  I . . . don't know how I feel about that.

I didn't think she was a villain (that season was pretty messed up and seeing Barbie get her bitchcakes on in this season definetely changes my sympathy for her in her first season) but Robyn was basically what you see here - loud, kinda weird, and either making brilliant dishes or fucking up Kraft Mac and Cheese. 

Honestly, Elise is just being kept for drama and it's irritating to watch.

[preeya]

Quote

Honestly, Elise is just being kept for drama and it's irritating to watch.

 

Irritating is an understatement. She is all of these: unpleasant, disagreeable, nasty, distasteful, offensive, objectionable, unsavory, unpalatable, off-putting, awful, terrible, dreadful, frightful, revolting, repulsive, repellent, repugnant, disgusting, odious, vile, foul, abhorrent, loathsome, nauseating, sickening, hateful, insufferable, intolerable, detestable, abominable, despicable, contemptible. Thus, the reason(s) I won't watch until she's gone.

[mojoween]

I’ll add delusional to that marvelous litany because it appears she thinks she comes off as reasonable.

[justawatcher]

The thing is though- Elise can cook. And she does continue to produce some great individual plates. Of course she's there for the drama. But cynically, there are 6 black jackets (likely already chosen) and the rest can go in whatever order. Manda didn't do anything crazy last week- it was just her time. I honestly thought Van would make it to black jacket, but if that wasn't his script, it really didn't matter which week he went.

 

I have a question- have any of the non-winners gone on to work for Ramsey? I could see him hiring Giovanni or Jared or a few others in a not-head-chef capacity.

[mertensia]

Go away, Elise. Kiribati should be far enough.

[bluepiano]

17 hours ago, Cirrus LaMark said:

And as loathe as I am to agree with Robyn, there was some sexist bullshit with nominating her when she didn't do anything wrong during this service.  Ramsay clearly pleased with her nomination, either, so I'm oddly glad he sent her back. 

GR said nominate the two chefs who your team would be better off without, so it was not supposed to be about this particular service. But really, what's the point of the teams picking their own nominees for elimination when Gordon can still boot off whoever he wants, as he did in this episode? (Obviously the "pick two nominees" bit is just to stir up more drama and infighting).

It was surprising to me that Van wasn't put up considering his struggles with the fish. Maybe he's less of a loudmouth behind the scenes and his teammates like him.

For me the lowlight of this episode was Millie going off about his teammates not thinking he was the kind of person who should work for GR. Which I took to mean because he's black and too "ghetto" or something. I think that was totally uncalled for, because I've never seen any hint of racism on the blue team.  Apparently Millie believes that he can do no wrong, and so there had to be an ulterior motive. It was pretty classless. I'm almost as tired of his boasting as I am of Elise's bitching, but I have a feeling he's a predetermined finalist.

6 hours ago, preeya said:

She is all of these: unpleasant, disagreeable, nasty, distasteful, offensive, objectionable, unsavory, unpalatable, off-putting, awful, terrible, dreadful, frightful, revolting, repulsive, repellent, repugnant, disgusting, odious, vile, foul, abhorrent, loathsome, nauseating, sickening, hateful, insufferable, intolerable, detestable, abominable, despicable, contemptible. Thus, the reason(s) I won't watch until she's gone.

And those are exactly all the reasons she's going nowhere. If Gordon really cared about the quality of the service at Hell's Kitchen he would have gotten rid of Elise or Barbie or both. But Hell's Kitchen isn't a real restaurant, and this show isn't really about food.

Edited December 10, 2017 by bluepiano

[preeya]

3 hours ago, bluepiano said:

GR said nominate the two chefs who your team would be better off without, so it was not supposed to be about this particular service. But really, what's the point of the teams picking their own nominees for elimination when Gordon can still boot off whoever he wants, as he did in this episode? (Obviously the "pick two nominees" bit is just to stir up more drama and infighting).

It was surprising to me that Van wasn't put up considering his struggles with the fish. Maybe he's less of a loudmouth behind the scenes and his teammates like him.

For me the lowlight of this episode was Millie going off about his teammates not thinking he was the kind of person who should work for GR. Which I took to mean because he's black and too "ghetto" or something. I think that was totally uncalled for, because I've never seen any hint of racism on the blue team.  Apparently Millie believes that he can do no wrong, and so there had to be an ulterior motive. It was pretty classless. I'm almost as tired of his boasting as I am of Elise's bitching, but I have a feeling he's a predetermined finalist.

And those are exactly all the reasons she's going nowhere. If Gordon really cared about the quality of the service at Hell's Kitchen he would have gotten rid of Elise or Barbie or both. But Hell's Kitchen isn't a real restaurant, and this show isn't really about food.

4

Hitting the nail right on the head. Drama and confrontation, not food and cooking.

Good point about Millie playing the "ghetto card." Everyone zeroing on the Elise shit, no one actually mentioned the Millie shit.

[mertensia]

I think Gordon is also seeing who sends up real problem chefs and who sends up people they hate/are jealous of.

[Snarklepuss]

I'm just so sick of Ramsay keeping Elise around even after she has proven herself to be the most toxic contestant ever on this show that I can't even see straight.  It seems like she can do whatever she wants and he'll just let her abuse and torture the other contestants without any consequences until the bitter end.  Her bullying is so beyond entertainment by now that it's probably putting off more viewers than it's attracting, especially for people that remember her from her original season.  Seeing him make her "get back in line" in this episode made me question why I even bother with this show anymore.  I think he's way off the mark here.  He knows he'd never let her win so why go through with this stupidity?  It's just beyond the pale at this point and truthfully, insults the audience.  Right now in this country we are sick and tired of bullies and attempting to make ratings off of one at the real expense of others is not at all what we want to watch.  I don't think I have to check with anyone before I speak for the group on this.

[queenanne]

20 minutes ago, Snarklepuss said:

I'm just so sick of Ramsay keeping Elise around even after she has proven herself to be the most toxic contestant ever on this show that I can't even see straight.  It seems like she can do whatever she wants and he'll just let her abuse and torture the other contestants without any consequences until the bitter end.  Her bullying is so beyond entertainment by now that it's probably putting off more viewers than it's attracting, especially for people that remember her from her original season.  Seeing him make her "get back in line" in this episode made me question why I even bother with this show anymore.  I think he's way off the mark here.  He knows he'd never let her win so why go through with this stupidity?  It's just beyond the pale at this point and truthfully, insults the audience.  Right now in this country we are sick and tired of bullies and attempting to make ratings off of one at the real expense of others is not at all what we want to watch.  I don't think I have to check with anyone before I speak for the group on this.

There isn't a person within 300 feet of the show who doesn't know that Elise is the original "pot, kettle, black" person.  She puts her own flaws on the shoulders of other people, hoping that some idiot will be fooled long enough to believe her, or that in the confusion of the kitchen, someone else won't notice who the real "liars, cheaters, and schemers" (read: almost always Elise herself), in the operation are. 

The Ramsay who said tartly, "No, Elise, YOU disadvantaged yourself" about the fishing challenge, is not fooled by people hollering out random unnecessary comments on the "clearly people will think what the loudmouth is saying is necessary to be said, because where there's smoke there's fire" tip.  The Fox boards nearly burst into flames from people's anger during her first time around.  And the shake nonsense aside (partly spurred by the fact that Elise tried to sleaze out of drinking HER shake scant days ago in the filmic timeline), I like Barbie and always have.  The irritants she feels, are the same irritants I would feel in the same situations.  I can't stand idiots who think they're capable of out-manipulating me, when they are in fact schemers and maneuverers on the level of your standard 12-year-old trying to get out of gym class.  Elise is more transparent than a windowpane-thin slice of root veg, and yet she clearly sees herself as some sort of Machiavellian genius.

Edited December 10, 2017 by queenanne

[spiderpig]

1 hour ago, Snarklepuss said:

I'm just so sick of Ramsay keeping Elise around even after she has proven herself to be the most toxic contestant ever on this show that I can't even see straight.  It seems like she can do whatever she wants and he'll just let her abuse and torture the other contestants without any consequences until the bitter end.  Her bullying is so beyond entertainment by now that it's probably putting off more viewers than it's attracting, especially for people that remember her from her original season.  Seeing him make her "get back in line" in this episode made me question why I even bother with this show anymore.  I think he's way off the mark here.  He knows he'd never let her win so why go through with this stupidity?  It's just beyond the pale at this point and truthfully, insults the audience.  Right now in this country we are sick and tired of bullies and attempting to make ratings off of one at the real expense of others is not at all what we want to watch.  I don't think I have to check with anyone before I speak for the group on this.

Thanks, Snark for again expressing my thoughts exactly.

After watching Elise scream over and over about another chef "not taking responsibility", what happens when she's being judged by Michael Cimarusti from Providence (who felt her plate was flavorless and more like a quinoa dish than fish)?

"I only had three ingredients to work with."

Yeah, because of your arrogant self during the challenge.  Hypocrite.

I won't be surprised if the producers have her adopt a stray kitten, just to show us the "softer side of Elise" and string us out.  Won't work.  We're on to you guys.

Edited December 10, 2017 by spiderpig
Syntax (hey, I fell off my motor scooter today so I'm typing impaired

[MajorWoody]

Every week this show goes further down the sewer. I thougt for sure at least one of either Barbie or Elise would get the boot due to the excessive camera time spent on their juvenile displays of anger. 

2 hours ago, spiderpig said:

I won't be surprised if the producers have her adopt a stray kitten, just to show us the "softer side of Elise" and string us out.  Won't work.  We're on to you guys.

Elise is the type of person who would then leave the kitten alone for three weeks without food or water in her apartment while she seeks fame and fortune on a reality show, and then blame the person who gave her the kitten.

 

Elise has managed to show the nation that she is basically unemployable, with the exception of idiotic reality competition shows such as this that seek drama over actual substance. 

[cooksdelight]

17 hours ago, justawatcher said:

I have a question- have any of the non-winners gone on to work for Ramsey? I could see him hiring Giovanni or Jared or a few others in a not-head-chef capacity.

Yes, Kristin Barone, she works at one of Ramsay’s restaurants in Las Vegas. This is a great interview, with some surprising tidbits about the show.

http://culinationmagazine.com/index.php/2016/03/31/one-hell-of-a-chef-a-view-inside-hells-kitchen-with-chef-kristin-barone/

[preeya]

46 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

Yes, Kristin Barone, she works at one of Ramsay’s restaurants in Las Vegas. This is a great interview, with some surprising tidbits about the show.

http://culinationmagazine.com/index.php/2016/03/31/one-hell-of-a-chef-a-view-inside-hells-kitchen-with-chef-kristin-barone/

Good article/interview. I found another write-up and interview with Kristin Barone. She talks quite extensively about her time on HK.

https://wp.me/p7gKvI-6sz

Edited December 10, 2017 by preeya

[cooksdelight]

I’d asked her if she was invited to come back for this season and she said as long as she works for Gordon, she isn’t able to.

[rubinia]

Elise will probably be final 2. I dont see her winning, but she’s not going anywhere, unfortunately.

Edited December 11, 2017 by rubinia

[preeya]

12 hours ago, rubinia said:

Elise will probably be final 2. I dont see her winning, but she’s not going anywhere, unfortunately.

I surely hope not, as I'm not watching until this bitch is gone.

[Kerri Okie]

On 12/9/2017 at 0:15 AM, Cirrus LaMark said:

As for elimination, I at least like the original way he did it, by first having the men send up their nominees and then choosing from among them before going to the women's nominations.  

There was some interesting editing going on for this elimination.  I'm not sure what the order of events really was, but Van's face was clearly visible in a shot of the blue team during the time GR was talking to the women about their nominations, although from what we had seen, he had already been eliminated.  I don't know why they would show things out of order, because it seemed like it would have been more dramatic to have all five of the contestants lined up for elimination and then GR pick whoever he was going to pick, but they chose to show him eliminating Van first, then nothing coming of the women's nominations, other than loud-mouthed Elise being a loud mouth. Quelle surprise.

[Charlesman]

7 hours ago, Kerri Okie said:

There was some interesting editing going on for this elimination.  I'm not sure what the order of events really was, but Van's face was clearly visible in a shot of the blue team during the time GR was talking to the women about their nominations, although from what we had seen, he had already been eliminated.  I don't know why they would show things out of order, because it seemed like it would have been more dramatic to have all five of the contestants lined up for elimination and then GR pick whoever he was going to pick, but they chose to show him eliminating Van first, then nothing coming of the women's nominations, other than loud-mouthed Elise being a loud mouth. Quelle surprise.

I thought the same in the first challenge. It seemed like they jumped around showing whose dish was up against whose. GR never gave a score tally in sync with the judging. Except for the "You're going to Vegas!" ending, it felt like the middle competitors were shown out of order.

[Katy M]

On ‎12‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 1:11 PM, Kerri Okie said:

  I'm not sure what the order of events really was, but Van's face was clearly visible in a shot of the blue team during the time GR was talking to the women about their nominations, although from what we had seen, he had already been eliminated.  I don't know why they would show things out of order, because it seemed like it would have been more dramatic to have all five of the contestants lined up for elimination and then GR pick whoever he was going to pick, but they chose to show him eliminating Van first, then nothing coming of the women's nominations, other than loud-mouthed Elise being a loud mouth. Quelle surprise.

I'm not sure how it works on this show, but I used to watch Dance Moms (guilty pleasure), and in an interview they said that it took 8 hours to shoot the pyramid.  This would be the equivalent of the elimination thing on Hell's Kitchen where Abby put all the girls on a pyramid, and would remove sheets of paper showing what order they were in.  It took about 2 minutes to watch, but apparently they had to keep shooting it over and over for 8 hours while those poor girls stood there. So, I imagine it's a similar thing for this show. 

[LennieBriscoe]

Thank goodness Elise got the boot! Even I know not to blenderize taters!

I want Robyn to win it all. 

[aliya]

On 12/9/2017 at 3:10 PM, justawatcher said:

I have a question- have any of the non-winners gone on to work for Ramsey? I could see him hiring Giovanni or Jared or a few others in a not-head-chef capacity.

Jon Scallion, from the season with Ja'Nel, worked for GR in Las Vegas. If you recall, when he told him he didn't make the finals, GR also told him that things turn up all the time. I think Jon was with GR for a few years. In a way, he was a winner since he got what they all want - a chance to work for GR (OK, they want the money, too).