Episode 1: The Gates of Hell (2024)

Intro[]

Twenty new chefs arrived at Hell's Kitchen, ready to show the world what they were made off, Britt was already weary of seeing her ex Cyrus in the cast as their breakup couldn't exactly be described as cordial while the youngest chef Sophia was eager to show off her take on Italian American cuisine, some chefs like Ashton and Blake didn't seem to be taking the competition seriously while Axel was the complete opposite, taking things too seriously if you asked Drake and Mylon, two chefs that stood out for different reasons were Billie and Magnus for the fact that they were respectively the first female Irish Chef to compete and the second German contestant after Season 29 winner Andreas.

Ramsey then arrived accompanied by two new Sous Chefs as Stephan and Jazz couldn't make it for personal reasons, the Red Team's Sous Chef this year was the Season 30 Runner Up Ashley who had previously filled in as Sous Chef in another season while the Blue Team's Sous Chef was the tall Texan from Season 28 Troy who had finished third in his season, Ramsey announced that the winner would be his head chef at new restaurant at Caesar's pa;ace in Las Vegas and the time started now.

Signature Dish Challenge[]

The twenty chefs rushed into the kitchen, eager to get started on their signature dishes, former model turned line Avery was well aware of the large number of men who had been checking her out in the dining room but was eager to show that she was more than just a pretty face as she revealed in a confession cam while Billie and Britt were hard at work making this dishes, Brooke was a nervous wreck in the kitchen and required Ashley to calm her down leading Louie and Lucy to wonder why she had even applied for the show in the first place while the oldest in the competition Roxanne had her concerns about Caitlin and Sophia, the two least experienced chefs in the Red Team.

In the Blue Team Troy was questioning Axel why he was trying to make a dish that would take longer than the 60 minute time limit imposed on the challenge but Axel insisted that he was an ""artiste" and than true art took time which had Cooper and Chase wondering just how full of himself he was, Issiah, Ashton and Drake seemed to be in their own worlds, not paying attention to what was going on around them.

Once time was up Ramsey announced the return of the 1-5 scoring system, a 5 being an absolutely perfect dish while a 1 meant that the dish was an absolute trainwreck, the opening round saw Avery immediately regret her choice of words when she told Ramsey that what set her apart from the other chefs was that she she was full of spunk but luckily her seared scallops with a prawn head custard and a apple fennel salad more than made up for her poor choice of words, earning her a strong 4/5, Axel on the other hand proved Troy right as his deconstructed boulibase was poorly executed and flawed in concept, awarding him the first 1/5 of the night.

The next round had the potential to go down as one of the most awkward in Hell's Kitchen history as Britt took on Cyrus, Britt explained that they had broken up the year before and it had been an ugly split as Britt had managed to get Cyrus fired from the restaurant that they worked at leading Avery to wonder if this was a cooking show or a Soap Opera in a confession cam, scoring wife Britt scored a mediocre 2/5 as while her pork belly was cooked well, the sides were burnt to a crisp while Cyrus earned a 4/5 for his coffee rubbed ribeye with mushrooms five ways.

However the next round was a complete disaster, Issiah's BBQ Chicken Roulade was completely raw in the center which led to Ramsey flat out refusing to taste it and threaten Issiah with immediate elimination before awarding him a one and telling him that he should be embarrassed, Brooke's dish wasn't much better as her prawn and jalepino fritters with a herb salad was poor in execution awarding her a one as well.

However were Brooke and Issiah failed, Billie and Magnus more than made up for it by scoring the first perfect fives of the night, Billie for her dungeoness crab and squid ink aranchini with a rich tomato sauce that she claimed to learn from her Italian boyfriend while Maggnus's Rack of Lamb with a purple cauliflower puree and sauteed yams was declared one of the best dishes Ramsey had tasted all year, leading Avery and Cooper to both state that those two had established themselves as ones to watch in the competition going forward via separate confession cams,

Despite his laid back attitude Ashton showed that he could still cook up a storm and tied the score, defeating Caitlin after his pistachio crusted salmon with a fiery chili sauce scored a strong 4/5 whilst Caitlin's tempura monkfish fillet with a harissa salad only earned a 3/5 for the harissa overpowering everything else on the plate.

The next round saw the men take the lead officially, as Louie's potato crusted red snapper scored a 3/5 for the crust being burned while Drake's Scallop Ceviche earned a strong 4/5, Lucy meanwhile managed to do even worse than her teammate, scoring a 1/5 for her poorly presented dish that featured raw pork tenderloin while Blake scored a 3/5 as the sides for him crab crusted pork chop were bland.

Luckily for the Red Team the next round saw their luck turn around as Asian American Sous Chef Makayla made a big first impression as her dashi poached salmon earned her the third 5/5 of the night while Mylon's Korean Fried Quail dish earned a respectable four as the sides prevented the round from being a tie.

As the chefs entered the last few rounds the competition heated up, Sophia's pan seared halibut on a bed of lemon herb risotto earned a strong 4/5 for doing her Italian heritage justice while Cooper's buffalo short ribs dish earned a strong 4/5 as well leaving it all to play for between Roxanne and Chase, however Roxanne's stuffed chicken only scored a 3/5 allowing Chase to earn the win with the fourth 5/5 of the night with his chicken belentine.

Scoring[]

Reward[]

The Blue Team got to enjoy a day out on the town with Ashley and Troy which gave them a chance to pick their brains, Ashley advised the chefs to just be themselves and not not take any crap from the other chefs like she had done on her season while Troy's only advice was to keep their heads down and let their food do the talking.

Punishment[]

The Red Team had to send out invites for the opening night's service and clean the dining room, Roxanne was not happy about this as she thought she was above such menial tasks due to her age compared to the other women which annoyed both Avery and Sophia,

Roxanne continued this attitude up until after the Blue Team returned and when Ashley caught her slacking off in the dining room she chewed Roxanne out for not putting the effort in, something that surprised everyone since Ashley was considered to be one of the nicer runners up in recent times.

Once Ashley was finished with Roxanne the chefs retired to the dorms to study up on the menu, a few of the men tried awkwardly flirting with Avery at first but while she found it cute at first, she got annoyed after a while, telling Cyrus point blank that she had a boyfriend.

The Next Morning[]

The next morning the chefs returned downstairs to find Ashley, Ramsey and Troy standing in front of an array of common ingredients, from proteins to seasoning to veg to even some sweet items, Ramsey asked the chefs if what they saw inspired them and they confirmed it only for Ramsey to tell them to forget it: because whilst Ashley and Troy were out on the town with the Blue Team last night they picked up some of the most pretentious ingredients they could find and make a specialty pantry out of it, the chefs had to use any of the pretentious ingredients in their dishes, the prize? The coveted punishment pass, one for the Red Team and one for the Blue.

Ashley made sure to assure the chefs that just because the ingredients were pretentious didn't mean that they couldn't be made delicious and that she and Troy had a few ideas of their own, Sophia asked if that meant they were going to cook alongside them but Ashley shook her head, saying that she was going to continue her supportive role from yesterday.

Knowing what was at stake the chefs rushed into their kitchens as the episode ended.