Spoilers for Hell’s Kitchen Season 25 episode 6, “A Slice Above the Rest,” which aired Thursday, October 29 on Fox.
The short version: The blue team won a pizza challenge 4-3 and then ran one of the best services of the season. The red team’s fish station collapsed, the women nominated Joy Shi and Kylie Budich, and Gordon Ramsay sent Joy home (Gold Derby).
Picking up after Aiden
The episode opened straight after Aiden Ricklef’s exit last week. Jonny G, who had been nominated alongside him, said, “Day after day this competition feels deeper. The wounds hurt more, and the mess-ups hurt more,” and promised to learn from his mistakes. His feud with Miguel Soliz wasn’t fixed, but Gold Derby reports the two had learned to put it aside in the kitchen for the team’s sake.
The pizza box challenge
Ramsay gave each team seven pizza pans, each built around one main ingredient, and stacks of pizza boxes hiding extra ingredients. Each chef could add five ingredients and then had 30 minutes to cook. “This could be a WWE match,” Georgiana Pahon said as the chefs tore through the boxes.
The guest judges were Marino, owner of La Biga, and Bret Lunsford, executive chef at Sally’s Apizza. Here’s how the head-to-heads went, per Gold Derby:
- Lamb: Joy’s pizza was so undercooked the judges didn’t taste it, so Gabe Cerease won.
- Clam: Valentin Royo beat Nadia Phillips 2-1.
- Veggie: Mya Gonsalves beat Mike Catuosco unanimously.
- Shrimp: Georgiana’s spicy pizza unanimously beat Jonny G’s caviar, Gruyere, kale and Calabrian chili mix.
- Skirt steak: Dylan Duffy beat Sandra LeClerc unanimously after her steak was cut wrong.
- Lobster: Haley Moss beat Miles Anderson 2-1.
- Chicken thighs: Miguel beat Kylie in a split vote, giving the blue team the win.
Sandra, who said she comes from “the No. 2 pizza restaurant in Connecticut,” spent much of the challenge answering teammates’ questions and blamed Haley for taking up her time.
Reward, punishment and a pass
The blue team won a private meal at the Bedford by Martha Stewart at Foxwoods Resort Casino and a spa day, and came home to their own pizza ovens. The red team had to break down lobsters by hand. Mya then used her Punishment Pass to join the blue team and sent Miguel to the punishment in her place, saying some time apart might help the blue team.
Miguel stayed upbeat: “Positivity is a cure for a lot of things.” Joy pointed out that the men had only done one punishment to the women’s four.
Dinner service
Doug E. Fresh sat at the blue chef’s table and comedian Matt Rife at the red. After Valentin re-fired an overcooked pizza, the blue team settled in. “It’s like a ballet almost,” Miles said, and Gold Derby called it one of the best services of the season.
The red side struggled. Joy and Kylie kept bumping into each other on fish, and the first scallops and lobster tails came out unevenly cooked. Sandra re-fired her first pizza, dropped her second on the floor and found a hair in the third before the fourth one went. At entrees, Joy needed five more minutes on salmon while the rest of the order waited. “The communication was not there, especially on Joy’s side,” said Nadia. Ramsay threw the women out and asked for two nominees.
Elimination
Sandra and Joy both argued that Haley should go up instead of Kylie, but the team nominated Joy and Kylie. Ramsay accepted the picks and sent Joy home. “I learned that all it takes is for you to believe in yourself, and that’s all that matters,” Joy said on her way out.
Before the chefs left, Ramsay warned: “Tomorrow, I’m going to be entrusting you with something so important that honestly, I need all of you at your best.”
Catch up on last week in our episode 5 recap, find the cast and how to watch in our Season 25 guide, and see more on the Hell’s Kitchen hub.
Sources
- Gold Derby, “Hell’s Kitchen Season 25 Episode 6 recap: A Slice Above the Rest”: goldderby.com
- TVmaze, Season 25 episode guide (air date): tvmaze.com
