Hell's Kitchen S04E01 introduced the fifteen new contestants and put them through their first rigorous challenge, cooking their signature dishes for Chef Ramsay.
Very few of the dishes impressed Ramsay; in fact, he coughed up Matt's Venison and White Chocolate specialty into the garbage.
The dinner service did not go much better. The narrator said it may have been the worst dinner service in all four seasons of Hell's Kitchen. Ramsay thought both teams performed horribly, but he chose the men as the losers and sent home Dominic DiFrancesco. Both Jason Underwood and Bobby Anderson are on thin ice unless they can improve on their performance.
Fast Facts:
- Season: Four
- Air Date: April 1, 2008
- Despite Jason's poor performance, Louross did not put him up for elimination
- Eliminated: Dominic DiFrancesco
Hell's Kitchen 4 Week 1 Video
Hulu: 15 Chefs Compete (Time: 43:15)
Hell's Kitchen 4 Week 1 Summary
The Hell's Kitchen introduction is "haunted"-themed, with clips of the harshest moments from the third season. We're now in a montage of clips from the current season with quick shots of the contestants saying catch-phrases like "the gloves are off" and "I'll step on people all the way to the top." This montage is nearly identical to the Season Four trailer linked to above.
- The contestants all arrive from the airport. Vanessa thinks that Hell's Kitchen is her destiny. Gordon Ramsay is on the bus as "Terrence", a long-haired Ozzy Osbourne look-alike with sunglasses. It looks very similar to Chef Ramsay, but none of the contestants seem to notice. Bobby calls himself "the black Gordon Ramsay". Jean-Phillipe introduces himself and does a brief impression of Ramsay. He asks the other contestants to do impressions of Ramsay, as the real Ramsay looks on. Ramsay takes the stage and does his own "impression". Then he takes off the mask and introduces himself.
The opening musical intro is similar to that of other seasons, with the contestants' names flying at the screen in flaming letters.
The chefs are given 45 minutes to cook their signature dishes and plate them for Chef Ramsay. He tries Craig's first, but not before making fun of his large chef's hat. Ramsay thinks the chilean sea bass is too sweet and calls it a pile of s---. Jen is next with her crab and corn risotto. He spits it out, says the rice is raw and that she can't cook.
Private Chef Corey is next. He calls her blonde and boring. Jason's could come from a can, he says. Shayna's was burnt. After five straight failures, he comes across Matt's "Exotic Tartare", which includes venison, scallops, and white chocolate. He insinuates that Matt smokes crack cocaine. After tasting it, Ramsey coughs it all out into a trash can.
As the restaurant is about to open, Gordon Ramsay questions the men's team about the entrees. None of them can name any of the entrees. The women's team is able to name them off. Jean-Phillipe opens the restaurant.
There are problems on both sides in Hell's Kitchen's first night. Jason is frequently missing, Bobby takes a decidedly "hands-off" leadership approach, and Dominic's scallops are undercooked and do not make it by the pass. Risottos on both sides are continuously sent back from the pass by Ramsay. Sharon Stewart submits one that Ramsay says "reeks of garlic". He spits up some that he's tasted into a trashcan.
Vanessa Gunell gets removed from leadership duties on the women's team and Ramsay puts Rosann in charge. After several hours of the restaurant being open, most of the patrons have left, with none of the entrees having been served from either side.
Ramsay shuts it down and calls it one of the most disappointing services in Hell's Kitchen history. Though everyone is a loser, he eventually choses the Women as the "winning" team. Ramsay says that Louross was the "best of the very worst" and has him choose two teammates for elimination. Louross chooses Dominic and Bobby. Ramsay criticizes both performances, but chooses Dominic to leave Hell's Kitchen. He says a good chef needs passion, creativity, and talent. Dominic had talent, but unfortunately that was all.
As a final note, Ramsay tells Bobby to step up his game and makes sure that Jason knows that he dodged a major bullet.
