Hell's Kitchen (U.S. Season 4) - Episodes - Episode 5

Episode 5

• Original airdate: April 29, 2008
• Episode recap: Hell's Kitchen - Episode 405
• Challenge: The contestants were to make a gourmet-style pizza; the most delicious pizza, as determined by Chef Ramsay, won. Also, the winning team's pizza would be on the menu for dinner service. The Red team won with Jen's "Little Bit of Italy, Little Bit of France" pizza, with the improperly prepared mushrooms on Ben's pizza costing the Blue team victory.
• Reward/Punishment: Before leaving the kitchen to take the Red Team on their reward, Chef Ramsay gave the Blue Team a pep talk, saying that they had talent and that the only thing that was missing from the team was teamwork. The Red team was taken by helicopter to the Square One restaurant in Santa Barbara, California, home of the "$90 Burger" and their truffle "fries". The Blue Team stayed behind to prepare for the night's service. The team, particularly Louross, took the defeat hard since they had lost every challenge and service (apart from the halibut challenge) so far. Ben and Louross argued during the punishment, with Ben criticizing Louross for breaking down in front of Ramsay before the punishment began, saying "There's no room for bitches in this game right now."
• Withdrawal: Although Vanessa had managed to struggle through the team challenge, the pain of her burnt hand became significantly worse during prep, to the point where she was unable to work effectively. After talking with Chef Ramsay, Vanessa decided that she should leave Hell's Kitchen, as her injury was not likely to heal much during the course of the season, and she didn't want to be in the kitchen working at only half power.
• Dinner: The blue team selected Ben from to deliver pizza orders. Matt couldn't cook decent eggs for the scallops, forcing Bobby to take over. Shayna undercooked the beef wellingtons. Rosann struggled on the vegetable station, forcing Ramsay to send the beef wellingtons alone. Ramsay also told Jen to take over Rosann's station. Louross had trouble cooking steak, but Petrozza managed to fool sous chef Scott by slicing the sides of the beef so they were "steaks". Although Christina and Jen were both supposed to be on the dessert station, Jen refused to help Christina, leaving her struggling with the souffles. Ramsay then ordered a reluctant Corey to help her. Both teams completed their service.
• Winner: For the first time in Hell's Kitchen history, Chef Ramsay declared the teams as joint-winners. However, he still required each team to nominate a member for elimination. Louross acknowledged that he had been the weakest member of the blue team and nominated himself, while the red team initially decided on Rosann. However, Jen, who considered herself the leader of the Red team and felt that Christina was standing in her way, persuaded Corey, Rosann, and Shayna to change their votes to Christina. Ramsay was shocked by Christina's nomination, and went on to briefly interrogate the red team about their decision. In the end, he decided Vanessa would be the only one going home and saying that it was his gift to both teams for completing a full dinner service; thus nobody else would be dismissed.
• Chef Ramsay's reason: "It's unfortunate that Vanessa's burn took her out of the competition. We will never, ever know if she really had what it takes to win Hell's Kitchen." (Chef Ramsay's reason on Vanessa's withdrawal was stated prior to dinner service. However at the end of the episode, Vanessa did receive her full elimination sequence.)