‘Hell’s Kitchen 22’ episode 13 recap: Who was eliminated in ‘Hellish Hangover’?

Tonight on “Hell’s Kitchen,” after a wild night, it is back to the kitchen, where the chefs learn that influence can make or break their future when they prepare to impress Gordon Ramsay’s 100 million social media followers in the presentation challenge. During dinner service, the chefs attempt to impress guests with renowned influence including, actors Kate Flannery, Mary Lynn Rajskub, singer Gavin Rossdale and RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bob the Drag Queen. After many mistakes on each station, Gordon makes a shocking decision on the all-new “Hellish Hangover” episode of “Hell’s Kitchen” airing Thursday, January 11 (8:00 PM – 9:00 PM) on FOX.

Season 22 started with 18 contestants competing for the $250,000 grand prize and a head chef position at Hell’s Kitchen Las Vegas. The chef-testants still standing are Carmen, Leigh, Sammi, Dahmere, Johnathan and Ryan. View the complete gallery of this season’s contestants and their elimination order above.

8:00 p.m. — “Previously on ‘Hell’s Kitchen’!” In episode 12, Gordon was prepared to hand out five prestigious black jackets. After a series of challenges, Gordon decided he couldn’t let two potential head chefs slip through his fingers and decided to eliminate just one: Jason. Who will be eliminated next?

8:05 p.m. — The celebration continues in the dorm as the six remaining chefs celebrate their black jackets. The next morning Gordon tells Johnathan he looks like “a sack of s*** on a hot day” and wonders if he drank too much. Will it impact his performance today? Gordon explains today’s challenge will be testing their ability to create an eye-popping dish for social media. Gordon’s followers will then help decide who wins. Their 45 minutes starts now!

8:15 p.m. — While cooking her pasta Sammi admits she’s also hungover. Her dough isn’t coming together well, so she’s crossing her fingers everything works out. Time expires and it’s time to photograph these dishes. Gordon seems impressed with everyone, but who will prevail? Helping to judge is Chef Kevin Meehan. He says Ryan’s scallops look great and is “restaurant-quality.” He gives Ryan a 9 while Gordon scores him at an 8. Sammi’s Beet Root Pasta “looks like Cheetos” and “gummy worms” and doesn’t taste great. Kevin gives Sammi a 6 and Gordon scores it a 7. Johnathan’s sea bass ceviche didn’t plate his dish well, but is seasoned beautifully. Kevin thinks he went the “easy way out” and gives Johnathan a 7, while Gordon gives him an 8. Leigh’s pan-seared scallops and noodes is “very attractive.” Kevin gives her an 8 and Gordon gives Leigh a 9. Dahmere’s sashimi would look nicer on a different plate, but it tastes great. Kevin gives Dahmere a 9 and Gordon scores him at an 8. Last is Carmen’s Peruvian lobster looks “retro” but “appealing.” It pops visually and Kevin scores it a 9. Carmen receives an 8. Following this round, Ryan, Leigh, Dahmere and Carmen all have 17 points, Johnathan has 15 and Sammi has 13. The scores from social media will be combined with those to determine a winner. From last place to first place, social media users ranked them: 6. Sammi, 5. Dahmere, 4. Ryan, 3. Johnathan, 2. Carmen, 1. Leigh. That means Leigh is the winner of today’s challenge!

8:30 p.m. — As the winner of today’s challenge, Leigh is off to enjoy a refreshing blast of cryotherapy. Next she’ll thaw out in the infrared sauna before attending a high tea ceremony. She gets to choose one person to join her and she takes the runner-up, Carmen. The rest of the chefs will have to blanche and peel the flesh off 100 pounds of fresh almonds. While celebrating over a tasty meal, Carmen and Leigh talk about how cocky the other chefs are. “We got black jackets and we deserve it,” Carmen says. Back at Hell’s Kitchen the others are breaking for lunch and Johnathan appears to be losing it. He’s still reeling over Gordon calling him “a sack of s***.” Ryan says you have to get over it and move on if you want to be Gordon’s head chef.

8:35 p.m. — It’s now time for the final six chefs to come together for the first black jacket dinner service. The first eight-top table throws the chefs off and Ryan doesn’t make things easier when he calls out only seven orders. Gordon quickly corrects him, but the chefs don’t seem up to par tonight. Gordon is disappointed with Dahmere’s undercooked protein, but Ryan and Sammi are steadily pushing appetizers into the dining room. Ready to crush the garnish station is Johnathan, who quickly disappoints Gordon and gets a tongue lashing. Next, it’s Carmen and Leigh who serve up undercooked beef. This is a mess! It seems like every time Johnathan brings a dish forward Gordon has a negative comment. You can see Johnathan’s confidence begin to dwindle. His day gets worse when he drops a sausage on the ground and then serves up a cold replacement. Yikes!

8:45 p.m. — Dahmere is growing frustrated with Carmen, who shouts out times without actually communicating with anyone. He repeatedly tells her he needs more time, but she brings her dishes to the pass anyways, leaving him behind with unfinished fish. When confronted by Gordon, Carmen blames Dahmere for not saying he needed more time, even though we just saw him tell her at least three times. Once all the meet is finally on the pass, Gordon discovers all of it is undercooked. He calls forward Carmen, Leigh and Dahmere and blasts them before sending everyone back to the kitchen. Even then they don’t work as a team and Dahmere can’t seem to send up a single fish cooked properly. The only two that seem to be avoiding Gordon’s wrath are Ryan and Sammi.

8:55 p.m. — We’re weeks into this competition and Leigh reveals she has yet to cook a beef Wellington. She’s been avoiding the station all season and now it’s come back to haunt her. She serves up a mutilated Wellington and Gordon pauses dinner service to teach them all again how to slice a beef Wellington. Next, Gordon decides to just stop taking orders even though some diners never got to eat. He’s disgusted by the lack of confidence in these black jacket chefs. He tells the top six to go up to the dorm and return with two nominees for elimination.

9:00 p.m. — Dahmere owns up to his mistakes and plans to go up for elimination and defend himself. Meanwhile, Johnathan is still not over Gordon calling him a “sack of s***.” He really needs to get over it. When the chefs return to face Gordon, Ryan announces the nominees for elimination are Dahmere and Leigh. They step forward and defend their place in Hell’s Kitchen. Gordon decides to send Leigh home, but praises her for coming so far for someone with such little experience. Then Gordon says he’s not done and eliminates Dahmere as well. He says Dahmere is impressive, but not ready to be a head chef. In the end, Gordon states, “Leigh needs more experience and Dahmere needs more finesse, but they both will make great head chefs some day. It’s just not today.”