Hell's Kitchen 8/3 Minicap: Buh Bye, Ben!

[waywyrd]

As we join our final four after last week’s “surprise” non-elimination, emotions are running high. So are the toxic fumes! Holli is crying. And smoking. Ben is crying. And smoking. Jay was probably smoking too, but I didn’t pay attention. He thinks the family visits may have wrecked the other’s focus, but not him. He and his blue hair are fired up and ready to go.

When the morning wake up call comes, they also get a message to dress nicely. Ben dons a suit, the girls don some nice black evening wear, and Jay...slaps on some baggy jeans and an untucked button down shirt. Yes, he got the message, but this is his idea of dress up. It doesn’t go unnoticed by Ramsay, trust me. JP seats the final four and they enjoy a dish that is usually served at the Savoy, where they hope to work. As soon as they scarf it all and put their forks down, Ramsay tells them they have 45 minutes to recreate it.

They waste no time in picking the control dish apart, trying to figure out what the ingredients are. Jay thinks it’s beef with a pear puree, while the others guess that it’s venison with an apple puree. Jay got the pear part correct, but blew it with the flank steak. It IS venison. Autumn, still clad in stilettos and managing to drop stuff, irritate people and make all kinds of noise in the kitchen, also made the mistake of including bacon instead of pancetta. So that leaves Ben and Holli as the top two. Ben thinks he nailed it, but Ramsay thinks otherwise: calling his sauce watery, he awards this one to Holli. Ben fumes. Autumn cries. Cigarettes are sacrificed.

Holli gets a few hours on a yacht with a surprise: her son and baby daddy! The others get to downsize and clean up the dorm. Autumn rambles on nonstop, leading Jay to contemplate throwing himself off the nearest staircase to escape her nattering. Ben is still banging on his highchair, thinking he’s the best cook no matter what anyone says. Once Holli returns, he cops a major attitude after finding out she got to spend some time with her family.

Karma bites him in his foul behind, as Ben wakes up with a nasty backache. Or so he says. Claiming to be in excruciating pain, he sticks the others with all the day’s prep work and calls on the medic. Then a chiropractor, who twists and cracks the moron every which way. After spending the rest of the day snoozing and laying in the hot tub, he decides he isn’t up to dinner service that night and just up and quits. He shakes everyone’s hand and congratulates them. By the looks on their faces, he won’t be missed a bit.

Ah, but you know Ramsay was going to have something to say. After calling Ben upstairs to his lair and giving him a pep talk, Ben changes his mind and saunters downstairs to join the others. They are not pleased one bit, and glare at him the whole way. Not only did he get to rest and sleep late, he didn’t do one bit of prep for the night. It’s a miracle - his back is all better! I think it healed the second all the prepping was complete. Jerk.

Tonight, they each get a chance to run the pass while sous chef Scott tries to sneak things past them. I love this part. Jay nails his turn, catching all the incorrect ingredients Scott attempted to get by, running the kitchen like a whiz. Holli starts out nervous, letting JP sneak a bad ticket past her - she didn’t do too well. A pain-free Ben failed his first quality test, but did okay after that. Autumn just did what she does best: irritate everyone around her. She blew one of the quality control tests, but continued to nitpick everyone else’s dishes to the point where I’m shocked nobody threw some food at her.

Then we come to the part I’ve been waiting for: eliminations! I was denied the pleasure of seeing Autumn and Ben go last week, but Ramsay made up for that this time, sending egomaniac Ben packing right on Autumn’s heels. Oh, you know it just killed him a little to walk off and leave the “unworthy” Holli there to compete against Jay next week. It was probably the sweetest moment this season, and I’m glad it happened to the biggest sourpuss.

Next week: Sorta-kinda lovebirds Jay and Holli compete for the chance to work at the Savoy in the finale. Old team mates are called back to help them screw up in ways they couldn’t accomplish on their own, bringing back all their old attitudes with them. They couldn’t cook worth a damn then, and I’m sure that hasn’t changed. FORTers: Who do you think will win this sucker, Jay or Holli?

[AZChristian]

Great recap (as they all are).

Did Ben shake hands and congratulate Autumn after he "quit"? I remember seeing him shake hands with Jay, then Holli. But I thought he just snubbed right past Autumn, as though he couldn't lower himself enough to acknowledge her existence.

Regardless . . . good riddance to him. I'm just sorry he'll be back to "help" (and, as it appears, try to run the kitchen) next week.

[dagwood]

Ben is still banging on his highchair, thinking he’s the best cook no matter what anyone says.

Perfect painting of his little hissy fit.


I think Holli will win this one. I really hope so anyway. Jason icks me out.

[Kip]

Great recap (as they all are).

Did Ben shake hands and congratulate Autumn after he "quit"? I remember seeing him shake hands with Jay, then Holli. But I thought he just snubbed right past Autumn, as though he couldn't lower himself enough to acknowledge her existence.

Regardless . . . good riddance to him. I'm just sorry he'll be back to "help" (and, as it appears, try to run the kitchen) next week.

AZChristian, that's what I saw: Ben shook hands with Jay, then Holli, then walked right past Autumn. I'm so glad he's gone. He's one of those guys who's a legend in his own mind (and no one else's).

I think Holli's going to win it.

Waywrd, thanks for the recap!

[Brooks]

AZChristian, that's what I saw: Ben shook hands with Jay, then Holli, then walked right past Autumn.

Yeah, that's what we were *shown*, but it makes better editing than if he had been a decent guy and acknowledged Autumn.

Great recap, Waywrd, especially appreciated since I missed the beginning of the show.

[Magnum]

How could Ben have shaken hands with Autumn? She wasn't even there, she was eliminated before him.

[Brooks]

How could Ben have shaken hands with Autumn? She wasn't even there, she was eliminated before him.

It was when he quit earlier in the episode and the four of them were upstairs in their quarters.

[Cornholio]

I'm rooting for Holli. Although Jay is better at the pass, she seems more talented with the food. Plus Jay's slouchy and sloppy - I just like Holli's attitude better. Go Holli!

[Jackieblue824]

I'm rooting for Holli. Although Jay is better at the pass, she seems more talented with the food. Plus Jay's slouchy and sloppy - I just like Holli's attitude better. Go Holli!

I think Holli will has a better chance at winning. Ah heck it doesn't matter who wins anyway as long as it's not Ben!!

GOOD RIDDANS JERK!

Poor Ben's bad back..

[Badseed]

I actually thought Ben had a shot after the back-breaking stint, Ramsay seems to admire people who push on through injury (we've had 2 contestants so far who got injured early on, but went on to win their season.)

Holli gets stuck with Siobhan, probably because she lost the challenge and had to pick second. I'm going to go with the dark (blue?) horse here and predict that Jay wins, if for no other reason than he's from Boston.