S17.E14: Families Come to Hell

[Drogo]

When the families come to visit, the four remaining all-stars are feeling extra-motivated to succeed. For the challenge, the chefs must choose a gift, each of which contains a secret ingredient on which they must base their dish. They will then anonymously serve their dishes to each family, and whoever gets the most votes, wins a day in Malibu with Chef Ramsay and his-her family. Then, Gabrielle Dennis ("The Game") and Anna Konkle ("New Girl") join dinner service.

[Charlesman]

Poor Merino getting shade from Gordon in the sabotage: "It's like a pizza without dough, you fucking idiot!" 

That had me rolling. 

[spiderpig]

I always enjoy the episodes where the cooks take turns at the pass while the sous sabotages food.  Everybody's too busy to fight.

Did anyone notice the name of the Malibu place where Ben & family had lunch?

Milly was sent home with a great parting gift, though (London).  And he got to keep his jacket!

[mertensia]

Milly named his son Pepper?  He was one cute kid, though. 

I'm not surprised Milly went, and neither was he, from how he acted.

The final 4 sabotage has gotten stale to me. 

[Yeah No]

I didn't expect Milly's girlfriend to be so cute.  I think he lucked out as frankly I find nothing attractive about him.  He's a big lug with a heart of gold and a decent chef, but as far as finesse goes, he's a big zero.  That lobster dish didn't impress me either.

I was never a Michelle fan but I did like it that Ramsay didn't send her home.  At this point I would accept any of them winning.  

[riprock]

I feel like Nick has this in the bag. Gordon's comments about how much he's grown since Season 14 convinced me. Still rooting for my girl Michelle, though, who is really kicking ass for someone so young. Maybe Gordon will find a job for her anyway?

I guess Jocky was hiding in the other kitchen to prepare the sabotage proteins? And I loved Christina's talkback when Milly admonished her for making the wrong greens. "Thank you for the feedback, chef."

Greatly appreciated that the voiceover didn't call out every single sabotage, like they usually do.

I am really unenthused about seeing the returning losing cooks. Seeing Elise and Barbie instantly drops my mood.

[BusyOctober]

So during the final the chefs usually pick a brigade from previous contestants.  I know Elise will show up in the group, but I hope with all my heart she is the last one picked (of course that will only be b/c the other chefs fear her awesomeness). I like Nick or Michelle for the win.  I just don’t get Benjamin.  He is so....blah.  I guess he is a really good cook, and his family is adorable but he just doesn’t have a spark IMO. I don’t think a good chef has to have “personality” like Elise or Robyn or Vance’s brand of loud mouth show boating.  But to lead a staff at a restaurant I think there needs to be a twinkle, a spark an aura of passion about what he/she is doing.  I don’t get any of that from Ben

[malaluna]

I really really dislike Benjamin. I don't know what it is but yuck. He's too in love with Chef Ramsey, he completely dismisses Michelle, the "oui Chef" and communication problems, I hope he doesn't win.

Milly's baby was precious and his gf was pretty cute. I wonder how many kids he has in total. Macaroni and cheese over lobster though?? He was the only one I was absolutely sure was leaving. 

Nick or Michelle for the win. Nick goes on power trips but that may be Ramseys style. This is my first season watching and loving it. I may have to look up prior seasons:)

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, malaluna said:

I really really dislike Benjamin. I don't know what it is but yuck. He's too in love with Chef Ramsey, he completely dismisses Michelle, the "oui Chef" and communication problems, I hope he doesn't win.

I was going to post comments about Benjamin, too . . . but you've said it all.  I don't really dislike him - I just wouldn't want to spend more than 5 minutes with the "oui, Chef" and other weirdness.  I suspected as he and Gordon were driving up to that restaurant that they wouldn't be driving back down together.  I guess they got one of the SUVs washed quickly, and that's what brought Benjamin back to the kitchen.  

Would have been fun to see Benjamin ask Gordon if he could drive the Ferrari back.  LOL. 

[cooksdelight]

3 hours ago, riprock said:

Still rooting for my girl Michelle, though, who is really kicking ass for someone so young. Maybe Gordon will find a job for her anyway?

I bet he will. Kristin went to work for him after she came in second. He admires people who really have talent but didn’t quite make it to the finish line in his crazy HK kitchen.

[Rap541]

I thought Kristin won? One of the rare success stories?

Michelle, for all her flaws, strikes as someone willing to learn, and capable of learning, and I think that's something Gordon looks for. Her problem is that I think Nick has that capability and even Ben does. Ben is probably too old to win this.

[cooksdelight]

2 hours ago, Rap541 said:

I thought Kristin won? One of the rare success stories?

Michelle, for all her flaws, strikes as someone willing to learn, and capable of learning, and I think that's something Gordon looks for. Her problem is that I think Nick has that capability and even Ben does. Ben is probably too old to win this.

No, Ariel Malone won.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell's_Kitchen_(U.S._season_15)

[Rap541]

I think I am thinking of Christine then. But thanks :)

[illdoc]

7 hours ago, riprock said:

And I loved Christina's talkback when Milly admonished her for making the wrong greens. "Thank you for the feedback, chef."

Wasn't that Nick (who said he liked the "wrong greens", but wanted the "correct ones" (I think he said something like "I like the wrong greens (don't remember what they were), but maybe some other time. I need the correct greens" and that's why Christina said "thanks for the feedback")?

[preeya]

Sad to say, next week's previews show "the mouth that roared" is back in action.

[illdoc]

5 minutes ago, preeya said:

Sad to say, next week's previews show "the mouth that roared" is back in action

Referring to Elise or Robin? Probably Robin, although both are back.

[xcrayon2215x]

Very nice of Ramsay to offer what he did to Milly. Benjamin's comments about Ramsay were very over the top. If I was one of the finalists, I would rather be one short than have Elise on the team.

[justawatcher]

My pick for Benjamin winning this still stands (from the 1st episode). I have to admit though- I really thought on episode 1 it was going to be Jared as the winner.

[cooksdelight]

I’ve noticed that Ramsay has let everyone who competed for black jackets (even if they didn’t get one) keep their jackets. Elise, Jennifer, then Robyn, Milly... has he done that before?

[preeya]

1 hour ago, illdoc said:

Referring to Elise or Robin? Probably Robin, although both are back.

I was referring to Elise.

[Such A Flirt]

Benjamin was so creepy with all his "I'm in love with Gordon Ramsay". I laughed because it was like GR couldn't get out of that restaurant fast enough.

 

Michelle vs. Nick for the finale, please!

[nitrofishblue]

How are they going to run three brigades out of two kitchens? How many kicked out chefs do they have to bring back to make three teams? Very interesting!!!!!

[Drogo]

Actual footage of Milly running away from Ramsay's pep talk:

https://media2.giphy.com/media/w99LKRX7fpclO/giphy.gif

[Rammchick]

23 minutes ago, nitrofishblue said:

How are they going to run three brigades out of two kitchens? How many kicked out chefs do they have to bring back to make three teams? Very interesting!!!!!

They won't.  In the first hour next week, someone will be eliminated and the top two will go head to head in the second hour

[djlynch]

16 minutes ago, nitrofishblue said:

How are they going to run three brigades out of two kitchens? How many kicked out chefs do they have to bring back to make three teams? Very interesting!!!!!

The promo said there will only be two chefs at the final service. Looks like there's a head-to-head competition where the loser goes home.

And based on the brigades, I have my suspicions that...

Spoiler

Ben gets eliminated. It seems like it's a red team reunion (Dana and Elise) vs a blue team reunion (Robyn and Van), so I assume that the final two are Michelle and one of the men, and if they're alternating picks, whoever gets blue would most likely have picked Robyn over Milly and/or whoever comes in third, which seems more like Nick than Ben.

[mertensia]

4 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I’ve noticed that Ramsay has let everyone who competed for black jackets (even if they didn’t get one) keep their jackets. Elise, Jennifer, then Robyn, Milly... has he done that before?

Maybe it's because it's All-Stars?

[cooksdelight]

59 minutes ago, mertensia said:

Maybe it's because it's All-Stars?

Probably so, thanks! :)

[mlp]

I was happy for a few seconds when I thought Michelle had been eliminated because I can't stand her.  She's too young and too smug to lead a kitchen of experienced people.  If she wins this thing, she'll be insufferable.

Benjamin is probably the best suited for a management job but, as others have said, he has a blah personality and his hero worship of GR has a creepy vibe to it.  I like Nick a lot better but I don't know if he can pull off being a strong leader and a young gay guy at the same time.  He might have a rough time in a working kitchen.  The finale should be quite interesting.

I wonder if there will be any way to find out if Milly does stage in London and how that goes.  I'd really like to know.

[Cocoabean]

I knew Milly was toast from his THs with the real tears. His expression was just not the same even though he tried to put on the bravado.

Benjamin is just creepy. I had visions of him making a pass at Chef in the Ferrari. The way they edited Chef's departure from the restaurant made it look as though he could not exit quickly enough.

I am in for a Nick or Michelle win. Michelle has shown a lot of immaturity this season, I'd hope that goes into the decision making. Based on that, I expect Nick to win.

Therefore, based on all of the above...it will be Benjamin, because I like him the lease.

[nitrofishblue]

I understand now how the finale will be handled. To be honest I hope the final two are Nick and Michelle. From some reason Ben just rubs me the wrong way. His attitude at times came across very off putting. Michelle had her bad moments but they all did especially in the last elimination. Every time Ben shouted out OUI when responding to Gordon I wanted to barf all over the TV. What lucky chef will get Else?

[PepperMonkey]

I'm neutral on who wins, although I'd prefer Nick. Michelle seems smug to me, also, but YMMV.

To be fair to Ben, I have no idea what is his background, but chefs are weird, y'all. It could be wherever he worked most recently, or works now, or has worked in the past, they were required to say "Oui, Chef." Especially if some of his training was done in French restaurants. I mean even in Texas, I could see a French trained chef requiring the "oui."

I've given up on this show and then can't stop watching it and I must say, with the exception of Elise, I have found this season to be pretty good, over all.

[Charlesman]

On 1/27/2018 at 10:44 AM, illdoc said:

On 1/27/2018 at 3:27 AM, riprock said:

And I loved Christina's talkback when Milly admonished her for making the wrong greens. "Thank you for the feedback, chef."

Wasn't that Nick (who said he liked the "wrong greens", but wanted the "correct ones" (I think he said something like "I like the wrong greens (don't remember what they were), but maybe some other time. I need the correct greens" and that's why Christina said "thanks for the feedback")?

 

It was Nick (Milly had previously correctly spotted the difference between lobster and prawns). Nick was the one who spotted Creamed Leeks instead of Creamed Spinach, and gave the kind-of brown-nosing reprimand to Christina: "I love your idea, but let's get creamed spinach up there", like, sure, she was just being creative and thought to improvise a garnish in the middle of service.

[galaxychaser]

Milli's beard is disgusting. And he braids it. Yuck.  How does he keep beard hair out of the food?

Yes the girlfriend and the baby so frigging adorable.  Seeing the little fellow crawl made me melt. But yep I think his name is Pepper lol.  Millie lucked out I personally would never go out with someone that tall lol. I think the guy is 6"8 or something.

Ben's montage with Ramsey in the car with slow mo and Ramsey hair blowing in the wind had me rolling. Benji is a brown noser.  I mean I love chef Ramsey like a father he is a great mentor blah blah blah. We get it you like to kiss up lol.

Its nice to see the contestants seeing their families. so cute.

I am hoping Michelle wins!

No way Ben is winning.

[DropTheSoap]

15 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

Milli's beard is disgusting. And he braids it. Yuck.  How does he keep beard hair out of the food?

Yes the girlfriend and the baby so frigging adorable.  Seeing the little fellow crawl made me melt. But yep I think his name is Pepper lol.  Millie lucked out I personally would never go out with someone that tall lol. I think the guy is 6"8 or something.

Ben's montage with Ramsey in the car with slow mo and Ramsey hair blowing in the wind had me rolling. Benji is a brown noser.  I mean I love chef Ramsey like a father he is a great mentor blah blah blah. We get it you like to kiss up lol.

Its nice to see the contestants seeing their families. so cute.

I am hoping Michelle wins!

No way Ben is winning.

I thought the car ride was going to be the kiss off. (“It’s not you Ben, it’s oui.”) Still think he’ll get cut first. 

 

The whole father figure thing is double-creepy because I think Ben and Ramsey are about the same age. 

[mlp]

6 hours ago, DropTheSoap said:

The whole father figure thing is double-creepy because I think Ben and Ramsey are about the same age. 

Gordon is 51 and I'm pretty sure a chyron gave Ben's age as 41 so................. 10 years apart.  It's still creepy though.

[queenanne]

On 1/27/2018 at 6:27 AM, riprock said:

I guess Jocky was hiding in the other kitchen to prepare the sabotage proteins? And I loved Christina's talkback when Milly admonished her for making the wrong greens. "Thank you for the feedback, chef."

Yes, they showed him around the corner wall at one point slinging pans of hot meat at Ramsay.

[MajorWoody]

Nice to see Milly leave with some class, unlike a few of the previous losers. When he isn’t wildly gesticulating, or acting like a hood rat, he can be a very good contestant. I wonder how much of his over the top act was the result of producers pushing him to do that. 

 

His lobster dish was awful looking. It looked like a pile of vomit on top of the lobster. What was he thinking? You can do a lobster mac & cheese, where lobster is an ingredient instrad of the star, but putting mac & cheese on an actual lobster is like putting ketchup on a nice cut of wagyu beef. 

 

Milly’s unruly beard, as with a few of the other hipster types with scraggly beards over the years, grosses me out. It should be covered in a net, and there is no way he went an entire season without adding some stray whiskers to his dishes. 

 

As others have said, Ben is a pretty good cook, but his personality does not come across as being a leader. Not to be mistaken with other contestants over the years who equate being an overbearing character with being a good leadersjip quality, Ben just comes across as a loner in a kitchen. He also needs to retire his idiotic catchphrase of “Oui, Chef”.

 

Finally, there was no suspense after Milly left, since the preview for next episode on my DVR boldly stated “Final Three”.