Hell’s Kitchen Shocker: Chef Sent Home After Seafood Challenge Ends in Carrot Clash md06

It was sink or swim on Hell’s Kitchen this week, and not everyone made it to shore.

The chefs headed to Stonington, Conn. for a very fishy relay race that tested their teamwork and seafood skills. Later, both the Red and Blue teams brought their A-game to dinner service — but would it be enough to avoid Gordon Ramsay’s wrath by night’s end? Here’s what went down in the all-new “There’s Something Fishy Going On” episode, which aired Thursday, Oct. 16 on Fox.

Here are the contestants competing and the state each represents in Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the States.

The Challenge

As the chefs arrive at the dock in Stonington, the unmistakable aroma of fresh fish fills the air. Gordon announces that their next challenge will test both creativity and precision. Hidden in a massive pile of freshly caught seafood are seven specific fish — sea bream, flounder, bluefish, John Dory, mackerel, monkfish, and sea bass. The first team to collect all seven earns a valuable five-minute head start in the upcoming cook.

The Red Team snags the advantage and gets 40 minutes to cook, while the Blue Team dives in five minutes later. In this challenge, chefs from each side go head-to-head to see who can reel in the better dish. Helping Gordon judge this contest is renowned chef Jeremy Sewall. Here’s how the seafood showdown unfolded.

Sea Bass
Cat def. Bradley

Monkfish
Chris ties Jada

Bluefish
Jon def. Cydni

John Dory
Lisa def. Jayden

Sea Bream
Alexandra ties Henry

Flounder
Antonio def. Anaiya

Mackerel
Anthony def. Cara Marie

By a narrow 5–4 victory, the Blue Team takes the win and earns an overnight getaway to the seaside town of Newport, R.I. After a day of wine tasting at a local vineyard, they’ll unwind in a private mansion and enjoy an exquisite dinner. Meanwhile, the women of the Red Team are stuck scrubbing the deck of the fishing boat. Anaiya cashes in her punishment pass, swapping places with Antonio — the chef who beat her in the challenge.

Dinner service

Everything was running surprisingly smoothly during dinner service — until Bradley realized no one on the Blue Team had put the Wellingtons in the oven. Whoopsie! When Gordon demanded an explanation, Bradley tried to slyly shift the blame to Anthony, who’d only just returned to the kitchen after serving a table of beauty queens. “I’ll remember that,” Anthony fired back, officially igniting a new rivalry on the Blue Team.

Meanwhile, over on the Red Team, Alexandra appears to be on a silent protest — barely speaking, just nodding her head and strutting around with attitude. Still, the women manage to keep their momentum, smoothly pushing out entrées while the Blue Team continues to flounder. That is, until Cat drives Gordon up the wall with her inability to cook carrots. Yes, carrots. She sends them up raw not once, not twice, but three times — apparently refusing to taste them before plating. Ouch.

Despite all the chaos, both teams eventually cross the finish line and complete dinner service. But when it’s time for judgment, Gordon declares the Red Team the losers and orders them to nominate three chefs for possible elimination.

Elimination

The Red Team puts up Cat, Alexandra, and Cara Marie for elimination. After each makes their plea to stay, Gordon decides Cat doesn’t have what it takes to be his head chef. He sends her back to Maryland — and her photo goes up in flames. But the drama doesn’t end there. Ramsay then calls Bradley from the Blue Team to the front and unleashes a blistering tongue-lashing. Just as things are about to boil over… the episode cuts to black. To be continued.

Next week

A war brews in the dorm as Alexandra and Anaiya unleash their wrath, and tensions boil over in the kitchen as one chef completely loses control.