Last week Tom is spared once again when our Whack-job-o, Giacomo, screws up “one big thing”, and attempts to cook dinner without turning on the stove. (Um, yeah, that would be a big thing, wouldn’t it?) He’s shocked to be eliminated because he says he’s “not a quitter”. (Maybe not. But, some things are meant to be quit. No matter how hot things become in the kitchen under Ramsay’s flame-throwing tongue, the food still isn’t going to cook without the help of an oven. He can stick with it all he likes - it just isn’t going to happen.)
Tonight, HK is going to make history – it is going to be open… Gasp! For lunch! (Wow! A restaurant that feeds people mid-day. Now that’s a concept that might work. Wonder why no one’s tried it before?) And, our lesson for today will be about definitions. (Ramsay will say it’s about finishing a service, but trust me on this one.)
We open to Tom having a temper tantrum worthy of any 4-yr. old. He’s angry because the men nominated him and he’s angry because he thinks Garrett torpedoed him. Garrett’s not too concerned with this because he thinks they’d have a stronger team without Tom, anyway.
In confessional Tom tells us that he’s 43 yrs. old and this is his 4th career. He intends to succeed at it. He has to, because changing careers again just isn’t an option.
And, we have our first word of the day. “Career”. Just what is Tom’s definition of a career, anyway? Let’s do the math. Prior to age 23 or so, most people have “jobs”, not careers. I presume he means “chef” is his 4th career – he lists himself in the credits as a Stockbroker. So, his career as a chef started with this show – 3 weeks ago. Now, going from stockbroker to chef is a definite change in direction. We’ll assume his other career changes have been as dramatic. So, 20 yrs. working at 3 “careers” means he has spent an average of 6.6 yrs. at each one. I dunno… Six years in 3 different fields? Obviously, “career” is defined as doing whatever you can get someone to pay you to do, for however long you can get them to pay you.
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At any rate, Tom sees his 4-week stint as a DAW chef-wannabe as a career.(Of course, he’s not being paid, yet. So, even by his definition he’s not quite there. But, whatever makes him feel good. Tom’s sky evidently changes colours almost as often as he changes careers.) He manages to totally alienate Heather and Rachel – both of whom have real careers as chefs – by telling them that he brings more to the table than a 21-yr. old kid. Their experiences and sacrifices mean nothing. He’s sacrificed more than anyone there. He doesn’t care about their sacrifices in the field, nor about sacrifice of time nor family. He doesn’t care about the experience working with Ramsay that they say is important. Rubbing the tips of his fingers together, eyes glittering with avarice, he tells them that all he cares about is MONEY. (All he cares about is money? And, he wants to go from stockbroker to chef because he can make more money cooking than as a stockbroker? Either, he was a piss-poor stockbroker, or the market’s in even worse shape than my portfolio would lead me to believe.) “It’s a GAME!” he screams at their backs as they retreat in disgust. “I don’t care.” he mumbles as he swills his (label blocked out) beer from the bottle. (I’m thinking that not caring is probably a good position for him to take. The disappointment when he eventually finds out he’s even a worse chef than he was a stockbroker won’t be so great that way.)
Morning finds our DAWs lined up in front of Ramsay once again. He tells the Blue Team (men) that they’re pitiful. He singles out Heather, Sara, and Rachel as “leaders” – our second word of the day. This ticks off Virginia who defines a leader as one who is bossy. As the men are hapless fools, they need a leader. Ramsay gifts them with St. Heather, who, he says, “brings some *bleeps* to the team”. She’s not happy that she now will have to compete against “her girls”, but proves her "bleeps” when she stretches in front of the men – without breaking line position - to snag the Blue Team jacket Ramsay tosses in their general direction.
Heather isn’t the only one unhappy with her team change. Mouthbreathing Stomach, aka Keith, informs us that he doesn’t need a leader. If she wants to lead Tom and Garrett that’s fine - he’s sick of having to teach Tom stuff. So, while he doesn’t define what a “leader” is, he tells us what it is not. A leader doesn’t do anything in the way of mentoring, or training, or motivating a team.
On the happy side we have Sara. She’s “very much able to” take the reins and be a leader. (As long as she’s not leadinga linguistics team, maybe.) We’ll soon get to see how she defines “leadership”. Is her dictionary as screwed up as the one Tom and Virginia carry? I’m betting yes.
Ramsay is going to start their day by taking them to the “most successful restaurant” in the city. “Successful restaurant”, while two words, is our third definition lesson of the day. Excited chatter breaks out amongst our DAWs as they speculate on which fabulous restaurant they are going to visit. Will it be Spago? Maybe one of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants?
Not quite. “Welcome to Pinks.” Pinks, according to Ramsay, is the most successful restaurant in Los Angeles. Pinks was established in 1939. Pinks successfully serves 2000 customers per day. This is the definition of a successful restaurant as far as Ramsay is concerned. Pinks is also a hot dog stand.
Now, before we go further, think about something. These DAWs have been gathered together to compete to be the head chef at a “million dollar restaurant located in a billion dollar resort”. As was pointed out by Clueless in another thread, a million dollars is really not a lot of money in terms of the restaurant business. It could very easily turn out to be a pizza or hot dog concession on the resort grounds. When I couple that realization with Ramsay’s choice of the most successful restaurant in Los Angeles I contract a case of gigglefits. If I were one of the DAWs I don’t think I’d be laughing. Ramsay takes orders. One chili-cheese dog for the stomach. One Gordon Ramsay dog for Rachel, who readily admits she’s looking for brownie points. Tom pipes up to say he once worked at a hot dog place. (Well, now we know at least 1 of those other “careers” he had.) Much to the amusement of Keith (now credited on screen as K-Grease) who thinks Tom belongs behind a hot dog counter, and in spite of apprehensive looks by the Pinks employees, Ramsay sends Tom in to make Keith’s chili-cheese dog. Tom CT’s that there is nothing in HK that is any more complex than making that chili-cheese dog, and he’ll try to remember that in the next competition. I think his sky just changed colour again.
These dogs are HUGE! Rachel tells Ramsay that “your dog is delicious”. Ramsay is the one to look apprehensive now, as well he should. Virginia CT’s that she didn’t eat Ramsay’s dog, but she’s sure it’s just as “spicy and hot as he is”. Run, Gordon, run!
Or, better yet, make them run. Back to the restaurant where they will have 2 hrs. to prepare for the first ever HK lunch service. Run, Stomach, run. See Stomach run. See Stomach stop running. See Stomach struggle to keep walking. See Stomach turn green.
New menu – Caesar Salad, Chopped Steak, Pizza, Pomme Frittes Marghareta (sp), and Pasta Fromaggio. Otherwise known as: Caesar Salad, Hamburgers, Pizza, French Fries, and Mac & Cheese. Maybe Tom’s right. This menu shouldn’t be much harder than his chili-cheese dog. Maybe.
Heather and Scott have a heart-to-heart. She tells him that the men just need to focus, and says she’s with him. On the Red Team they’re feeling sorry for Heather because it will be the first time she has to lose to them. Sara is gleefully proclaiming that Rachel won’t be able to hold it together without Heather. Rachel is pumped and doesn’t think the menu will be at all difficult to handle. Ramsay just wants them to complete a blasted service for a change. He reminds them that customers won’t wait for food. He’s looking for speed, taste, and quality.
The doors open and the next batch of mini-DAWs enter. Wait! This batch really is made up of mini-DAWs. Children. Tables and tables of running, screaming, children. Not an adult chaperone in sight. Like all good family-friendly restaurants, HK has provided little amusements to keep the kids occupied, amused, and quiet while awaiting their meal. Or, occupied and amused, at least – quiet, not so much. Unlike the run-of-the-mill crayons and activity placemats, these kids get crayons and white linen tablecloths. And, noisemakers. And, Silly String. Lot’s and lots of Silly String. And, sugar. No bread and butter starters for them. They get lots and lots of sugar. It’s the beginning of Lord of the Flies – Restaurant Anarchy Edition. The chefs are stunned. Ramsay is starting to wonder if he’ll still have a restaurant when this service ends. (It had to be his idea. It seemed to be a good idea on paper. Why does he look so stunned?)
Heather takes one look and issues positions to each member of the team. Tom is impressed with her organization. He shows how impressed he is by immediately setting a pan on fire. Keith moons the kiddies and Ramsay tells him to pull his pants up.
Ramsay welcomes them all to Hell’s Kitchen Kindergarten. He informs our DAWs that, in deference to the kiddies he’s going to tell them to get their bottoms going. When they hear that they are to know that he means to get their a**es moving. Once again, we see that Ramsay has a working dictionary. And, he follows this up by saying something that we all suspected all along. He “can’t do it all without f****** swearing”.
Five minutes in an Sara manages to cut her finger while making pizza. Marabel is stunned. Rachel tries to be solicitous. She tells Sara to get it above her heart. Sara tells her to go away. On BT’s side, Garrett tries to help Tom set up to do another dish and Tom goes ballistic. They start to squabble louder than the kids in the restaurant. Heather takes charge from across the kitchen and, sounding like an angry mom, tells them to quit fighting and sends them to their rooms. Heather is ready to break some heads if they don’t get this out. Heather is in charge.
On RT no one is in charge. Sara, not Rachel, is having the breakdown. She’s behind and refuses to accept any help. She’s whining that they need to let her have charge of her own station. Rachel is angry that she won’t ask for help.
There’s no one in charge in the restaurant, either. Ten minutes in and the room is in chaos. The only kids in their seats are banging their silverware on the table mimicking the adult min-DAWs of the first night’s service. (And, we wonder where they learn their manners.) Everyone not in their seats, which is most of them, are playing a rousing game of tag, having Silly String fights, and flinging frosting covered cake at each other.
Men get their first table served. Food starts to flow. Kids start to calm down enough to eat. All is well, or would be if Sara could remember that pizza is supposed to be round. They’re coming out square. And, pizza is her station. Ramsay tells her that he knows the customers are children, but she should at least pay them enough respect to make round pizzas for them. In another HK first he sends 2 square pizzas to the table. Sara complains in CT that Ramsay is b**ching about her pizzas but that she “didn’t roll those ugly turds”. She’s right. She didn’t roll them. But, she used them. Rachel was rolling them, but pizza dough shrinks when it sits. Just how hard is it to stretch them back to round before using them?
It becomes a competition to finish off the service. Men have 3 tables to go, women 4. Count down to a simultaneous 0. Both teams have finished a complete service. There is celebration in both the kitchen and in the dining room where the kids turn Jean Philippe into a Silly String statue. Now, who’s the winner? That’s up to Ramsay. Right? Um… No. He had the kids rate the food on a scale of 1-10. Red kitchen is pleased to get a rating of 9.84. You can see the expectation on their faces. Heather’s going dowwwwn. Nya nya. Blue is worried. “Blue Team, you scored 9.8…(Heather looks serious, Tom looks pleading, Keith’s mouth hangs open)……..5. You’re the winner.” Tom slumps in relief, Heather grins and pumps her arm in the air. They get to go out and have an afternoon of great fun.
Red Team gets to stay home and clean the dining room. Ramsay says the room is a complete mess. That is an understatement. Silly String is everywhere. Broken china lays on the floor upon a carpet strewn with food, crayons, confetti, and assorted unidentifiable substances all trampled into the fibres. Tables are covered with trash. Linens are covered with crayon drawings. It would probably be easier to start over with a new building.
The women get to work scraping bubble gum off of surfaces and picking Silly String off of everything in sight. Giving up on the linen and china they simply wrap up the tablecloths and throw the whole bundle into the trash. Sara reconsiders her desire to have children eventually. She declares that the string is not silly anymore. But, she’s not letting it get her down. She inhales helium from the balloons and does a foul-mouthed impersonation of Ramsay. Rachel, in particular, is not amused.
The Blue Team has been sent to an amusement park. For our amusement we are treated to a vignette of cuts – BT plays a balloon breaking arcade game, RT stabs balloons with knives. BT plays a dish-breaking arcade game, RT picks broken china up off of the floor. BT plays a water pistol arcade game, Sara pretends her spray bottle of cleaner is a “wee wee” and mimics peeing on the stains by holding the bottle into her crotch as she sprays and laughs.
BT forms alliances, with Keith telling Heather that the two of them are perfect to go to the final two. “H” + “K”, with the fork in the middle. Obviously, this competition was meant to be theirs. RT’s only alliance revolves around their mutual disgust with Sara and her antics. Mary Ann watches in disbelief as Sara “wee wee’s” around the room with her spray bottle. Rachel tells Sara to cut it out. Sara tells Rachel she’s a beyotch. Mary Ann can’t take it any longer. She asks if the ladies are ready for some cake. “Here it is. Eat this!” She slams the cake, frosting side down, onto the almost clean carpet and walks away. The women are all ready to kill Sara, if they don’t kill themselves first. Rachel mimics stabbing herself in the jugular – which might actually be preferable to having to continue to put up with Sara, now that I think of it.
It’s almost showtime for the night’s service. Heather continues to take charge. She uses a safety pin to fasten Keith’s pants so they don’t fall down (does he not own a belt?) and tells Garrett to make sure everything has a label on it. Garrett is thrilled with Heather and believes that there is no way the BT will lose. On the RT no one is talking to one another. Virginia is scared. Rachel knows that Sara wants to be a leader but that this isn’t the time for a power struggle between them. Sara smilingly tells us that she thinks the RT – her team, mind you – is about to take some losses. She’s looking forward to seeing Rachel – her teammate, mind you – on the chopping block. I think we’re starting to see some of her definition of “leader”. I don’t like what I’m seeing.
Ramsay expects this to be a full service. He expects that this is where they get better. He also expects Red Team, as the earlier losers, to drop everything and run to get ice when he says they are running out, as the ice machine is broken.
Rachel is on appetizers, but for the Salade St. Jacques she must rely on Sara for the scallops. She calls that she’ll be ready for the St. Jacques in 4-5 minutes.
On BT, Heather is trying to talk Tom through a risotto. She tells him that he needs to get the pan “wicked hot” first. He pulls a lukewarm pan out of the oven and Heather orders it back in. She feels like a babysitter. She should. She is.
Third call from Rachel for the scallops. Sara says they’re in the pan and will be ready in 2 seconds. When Ramsay asks if the scallops are ready she tells him that they’ve been ready. She’s just been waiting for Rachel’s call. Rachel says she’s called it 3 times and Sara screws up her face like she just can’t believe what she’s hearing – as she starts to cook the scallops.
Garrett forgets to put salt in his risotto. And, he forgets to taste his risotto before sending it to Ramsay. He starts over. Rachel’s risotto is stiff and doesn’t flow. She denies that it’s because they lost Heather and starts over. Keith’s second attempt is good. Rachel’s second attempt is soup. Rachel is humbled and realizes that Ramsay will have the perfect opportunity to get rid of her. The men’s tables are being served. The food is good, except for one cold spaghetti – another Garrett dish. Ramsay asks if he wants to go back to jail, which motivates Garrett to prove that he belongs here.
Rachel hasn’t served appetizers to many tables, but at least one is ready for their entrée. That requires Virginia to rely on Sara. Virginia asks how long before she’s done with the turbot and tortellini. Sara tells her that she’s ready and waiting for her call. Virginia says she’s ready for it. Ramsay asks where it is. Sara says she hasn’t started to cook it yet. Ramsay starts yelling at Virginia because it’s her fault that Sara hasn’t started cooking it. Virginia tells Ramsay that Sara had started cooking it (after all, Sara had told her that it was ready to go), and Ramsay calls Virginia a liar. Behind his back Sara can’t withhold her glee at successfully managing her second sabotage attempt on a teammate. Her definition of leadership is even more whacked than Tom’s definition of career.
Virginia tells Ramsay that Sara had told her she was ready and awaiting her call. They replay the tape showing Sara telling Virginia she was ready and awaiting her call. Ramsay says that if that’s true, where’s the bleeping turbot? Sara is just now getting it out of the refrigerator. Ramsay goes off on Virginia saying she’s passing the buck and that she’s not a team player. He believes that Virginia thinks this is all about her and that she’s going out of her way to try to screw her teammates. Sara does a little happy dance in the background. Sara, imo, needs to fall under a bus. Sara, if she keeps showing her brand of leadership may well be helped to that reward if the other women get their way. If Ramsay reviews the tapes and finds out who the real saboteur is, Sara’s bus may well back up and go forward again a few times. If we’re lucky, it won’t be edited out.
Virginia is ticked that Sara didn’t admit to Ramsay that she was the one who miscommunicated. She asks Sara is she misheard her say she was ready. Scrambling for a lie, Sara says it was the tortellini that was ready. She didn’t hear “turbot”. In CT she admits she screwed Virginia, but, “Sooooo?” She says Ramsay doesn’t like Virginia now, and she thinks that’s a positive for her. Listening to this CT it finally struck me who Sara reminds me of – Roseanne Barr. She has the nasal whine and nasty, “who cares about what you think” attitude down pat. May I have the keys to the bus, please?
The men have all of their appetizers but one out. Now it’s up to Tom on meats. Where’s the quail? It’s not cooked. How long has Tom had to cook the quail? An hour. (My God, it only takes 3 hours to cook a turkey.)
The women just need mashed potatoes to finish their first entrees. Mashed potatoes are Maribel’s station. Maribel has succeeded in cooking glue. She looks for more potatoes, while Ramsay asks Tom how the Wellington is going. Tom, holding his fingers together in a pinch says it was “a little too pink”. I’m sure there is a better definition for the state of the Wellington than that, but Tom doesn’t know what it is. Others are calling out time to window. Tom is saying it’s “a little too pink”. Tom sees this as communication. Ramsay sees this as a problem.
Rachel and Virginia, the whipping boys of the kitchen, team up to leave the bone in the quail and forget to remove the wings. (If you’ve never eaten quail before, I can tell you that there isn’t a lot of meat in a quail’s wing. In fact, there’s no meat in a quail’s wing.) Ramsay wants to know why Rachel is looking at him like he’s from bleeping Mars. Rachel defends herself by saying she’s just trying to get used to chef’s procedures. Ramsay tells her that cutting off the wing isn’t “his” procedures, it’s normal procedure. Ramsay is right. Ramsay is angry. Ramsay is out of ice. Sara is doing another happy dance.
Rachel runs off to buy ice. Tom juggles meat dishes. Tom drops meat dishes. Tom makes meat dishes for the wrong tickets. Tom sets another pan on fire. Ramsay has a meltdown. Tom continues to cook in a pan that throwing flames a foot high. Ramsay yells at him for cooking in a burning pan. Tom’s flames get higher. Ramsay yells at him to leave it. Tom’s fire turns into a conflagration as he sets it back onto the stove. Ramsay grabs the pan and puts it out of the way where the flames immediately, and obediently, subside. Ramsay calls Tom a donkey. Tom looks ready to cry. Keith is sent to take over meats. Ramsay tells him not to let Tom cook a single thing, and tells Tom to keep his mouth shut and watch. Tom starts to tell Keith how to cook meat. Keith is holding a large knife. Unfortunately, he doesn’t use it.
Rachel has ice. Rachel has lots of ice. What Rachel doesn’t have is money to buy ice. Rachel starts to plead for others to pay for her ice. They laugh at her. She gets on her knees and begs someone to pay for her ice. One man, noticing the TV cameras accompanying Rachel, adds her ice onto his bill. Rachel says that if chef needs ice she will do anything she has to in order to get ice. Too bad she didn’t make that offer to the guys she was begging from. I’m sure one of them could have come up with something for her to do in trade.
With Rachel out of the kitchen the entrees on Red Teams side are starting to come together. With chef not screaming on their side they can relax and get things out. Well, sometimes things can get too relaxed. Two hours in and only half of the tables on each side have been served. Virginia serves up a Wellington. It’s supposed to be medium. She thought it was medium. It’s bleeding all over the plate. It’s not even close to medium. Pushed a third time to tell Ramsay what it is, she gets a sarcastic Gold Star when she tentatively guesses “rare?” Rachel returns to the kitchen and Virginia asks if she can make Wellington. She starts on the Wellington and Ramsay notices a pan of what is supposed to be egg wash. Rachel insists that it is egg wash. Ramsay points to the pan and asks what’s in it. Rachel tells him it’s egg. Ramsay wants to know if it’s egg yolk or egg white. Rachel tells him it’s egg white. Ramsay rolls his eyes and demands to know if everything that has been leaving the kitchen has been coated with egg white. Rachel suggests that’s “the wrong thing, evidently”. (Yes, Rachel. Egg white is not the same thing as egg wash – a mixture of egg yolk and water, used to get a nice browning effect on pastry. Evidently. Where did she say she studied culinary again?)
Before he can finish exploding over the egg whites he notices Virginia putting more Wellington into the oven. Why? Because they ran out. He is beyond ballistic now. He calls all of the women together and curses each one – except Sara, who just can’t keep from smiling – roundly. He tells Virginia she lied to him, again. He says ef all of them. He calls the men together. He calls the women over. He rips off his apron and towel and flings it at a stunned Tom. The veins are standing out in his neck. He’s as red as a ripe tomato. He’s having apoplexy. He’s “HAD ENOUGH!!!!”
He sends both teams back to their dorms. Each team is to nominate someone to leave tonight. Customers are coming to the realization that they won’t be getting dessert. Heck, if they were far enough along in service to be thinking about dessert they should count themselves lucky.
Red Team dorms show us Virginia in tears, Sara telling her that this is making her stronger, while CTing that this is when you set friendships aside and want the golden ticket. (She has friends? Maybe now. Not too sure how many she’ll have after the episode airs.) Virginia calls her out for being passive-aggressive and she denies it. She apologizes for making her look like a liar, then tells her that you don’t learn without making a mistake. No. Not passive-aggressive, at all. This was just Sara trying to give Virginia a learning experience. It’s good for her. Please? Please, may I have the keys to the bus now?
On Blue Team Heather is embarrassed. She realizes the entire problem was, and is, Tom. The entire team realizes the whole problem is Tom. Even Tom realizes it. He’s sitting, alone, in the kitchen practicing lines designed to make the rest of the team feel bad about targeting him. In CT he tells us that he’s “like that piece of gum stuck to the bottom you show that you can’t get rid of.” Well, he doesn’t have a grasp on the definition of career, but he can define himself adequately.
Sara wants everyone to get together on where they stand. Rachel says she doesn’t want to go. Maribel says that she doesn’t want to go. Virginia, instead of pointing out that Sara should go, says she knows they’re all gonna vote for her and she accepts it. Rachel tries to get her to stick up for herself and say a name. She proves she’s an idiot by immediately saying she doesn’t want Sara or Rachel to go home, but maybe Maribel. Maribel? WTH? I feel like one of the mini-DAWs sitting at the table banging my silverware. SARA!…SARA!…SARA! If she’s that stupid she deserves to go home. Maribel points the finger at Rachel and Sara says she can’t make a decision.
Back in the boardroom kitchen, Ramsay tells them that he now understands that what he sees standing before him is a bunch of fast-food chefs. But, he says unfortunately, he doesn’t have a fast-food restaurant to give away. Once again, he reminds everyone that this is a competition for head-chef at a “million dollar restaurant in a billion dollar resort”. It might not be a MickyD’s, but it could still be hamburgers and pizza. And, I’d still laugh my head off if that’s what it ended up being. And, with this bunch, he’d probably do better if it was.
Keith is the brightest light on the Blue Team. Who did the Blue Team nominate? Tom. (What, you expected something different? At least they’re united.) Sara showed some initiative. (Yeah, Ramsay. She did. And, will you be surprised by the kind of initiative when and if you ever get around to watching your own show. Remember that bit about never serving something you’ve not tasted? That should apply to what you’re serving the viewers, too, you idiot.) Who did Red Team nominate? Sara doesn’t speak. We go to one more round of commercials as if that’s going to keep us in suspense. Right.
Red Team has nominated Virginia. Ramsay repeats the name in surprise. “Virginia? You’ve nominated Virginia? Did you consider Rachel?” Well, yes, they considered Rachel but decided she didn’t make as many mistakes as Virginia. Guess Ramsay isn’t the only one that needs to review these tapes. Ramsay tells Rachel that it was the worst performance he’s seen of her since she’s been in the kitchen. Rachel agrees.
Tom and Virginia are pulled from the line. Tom… Why should you stay? Tom should stay because he can’t be broken and you can’t get rid of him. Virginia? Because food is her passion. Her sole is into it. She really thinks she can make it. But, she tells Ramsay that if he looks at her and honestly thinks she shouldn’t be there then she doesn’t deserve to be there. (For a moment I really thought that she’d be a gonner just because she oferred herself up on a silver platter.) Her chin starts to quiver and Ramsay asks Rachel if she’s happy now. “You must be really laughing, aren’t you sweetheart?” Rachel offers to take her place if chef wants her to. Ramsay is tempted and we replay all of highlights of the night’s disaster.
“The person leaving Hell’s Kitchen is Tom. Give me your jacket and get out of the kitchen.” I guess Tom was wrong. Ramsay can be rid of him. Tom painfully pulls his jacket off, hands it over, and offers his hand. Ramsay shakes hand and Tom wanders out of the kitchen CTing that this does not mean he’s given up. This is the path that he’s chosen and he’s going to stick to it. But, now he has to find a job. Note: Not a career – a job. He asks chef for a recommendation. Don’t hold your breath on that one, Tom. Unless, of course, you’re planning to ask Pinks for that job.
Once more Ramsay tells them that it’s the worst service he’s ever seen. Heather thinks that without Tom the Blue Team can succeed. Rachel says that chef had choice words for her, but that she’d work for him no matter what. Sara says that “I am what I am. Here’s your competition. You better watch out for me.” Like Tom, she seems to define herself pretty well. Too bad she didn’t choose to use the actual word that sits by her picture in the dictionary. But, it doesn’t matter… We all know what that word is, even if the rest of the competitors and Ramsay haven’t figured it out yet.
Ramsay says he’s not going to give up on them, but they can’t give up on him. He sums up Tom by saying he “has a really big heart but, sadly, he’s a really crap cook.” He can’t understand why on earth he’s ever decided to attempt to be a chef. I don’t think that recommendation is going to be coming, Tom.
Next week Rachel is ready to kill Sara. Sara continues to prove that her, and our, definition of herself is accurate. Celebrities come to the restaurant (and Sara sounds star struck). Keith is told to step up. One chef is thrown out of the kitchen – maybe. And, at least one team is completes a service – maybe.