by Arthur Perkins

Ramsay asks for each team to nominate their strongest chef. Corey is miffed, but the WOMEN nominate Jen. I have no idea why the MEN nominated Ben, but they did (it should have been Bobby although maybe both he and Corey were excluded off camera due to having done it previously). Ramsay then announces that there will be a new Family Night menu taking effect that night and demonstrates how to make fresh pasta, a key component of that menu. I was totally shocked(NOT) when he went on to state that a Pasta challenge was about to begin. Each team had 20 minutes to make non-clumped fresh pasta via dough, rolling, cutting, and hanging. Ramsay would then weigh the respective outputs to determine which team won. Both teams cranked up their energy level and intensity. The WOMEN looked visually like they were going to win because there appeared to be more hung pasta on their side. They did, 6.57 either pounds or kg to 5.48. The losers got to spend a lovely day prepping everything for both sides for the new menu in Hell's Kitchen, while the winners go to enjoy life at the Santa Monica Pier and its amusements after a ride in a Hummer limo (some of the WOMEN were impressed by this limo and the same with the Bentley and Rolls Royce for the MEN last week but all of these fancy cars shows what type of individuals are being attracted to compete on this show). What a waste of gasoline in today's energy-constrained environment! Another snide comment about the chefs - it appears that about 2/3 of them smoke. There is nothing like a smoke break to take them away from their responsibilities.

Scot comes into the Blue kitchen and asks for a volunteer for the children's amusement area that accompanies Family Night. I bet Ben was trying to avoid some hard labor, but when he opened the doors to that area, the strong whiff told him that he had made a mistake. His real job was shoveling horse manure to clean up the pony ride enclosure. The WOMEN learned the new menu late due to their fun time, but they appeared to learn it well. The MEN learned it by preparing the ingredients. It was a fairly simple menu - appetizers like chowder, onion rings and spaghetti and entrees of barbecued chicken sings, hamburgers and fresh pasta.

Service starts, with the first team to finish all tickets successfully named the winner. Notice how subtly Ramsay has lowered the bar with the simple menu so that one team will be able to get a complete service for the first time, necessary for confidence building.  On the MEN's side, he notes that their onion rings were good, but the chicken wings done by Matt were returned from customers as raw inside. On the WOMEN's side, there is a saute pan incident where hot oil burns Vanessa hand and she has to leave for the hospital, leaving the WOMEN down one chef. Ramsay exhorts the Red Team to concentrate and "get a grip". At 8pm, the MEN lead with 10 tickets left to 12 for the WOMEN. Somewhere in here Ben had the MEN congratulate themselves about their lead. However, about 15 minutes later, it is 6 to 2, as the WOMEN have zoomed into the lead. Matt is pre-cooking burgers, which is a no-no because they are supposed to be done to order; he is also cooking them too small. When Ramsay find out, he does one of his patented against-the-wall throws to express his displeasure. Craig messes up an order, then serves raw clams, then later messes up the same dish (pasta with clams) once again.

Service is over and Jen is named as the star of the evening. Bobby is the only one of the MEN that Ramsay says that he trusts, so he is named the best of the worst and has to name the 2 worst. He debates and finally nominates Craig for his incompetence and Matt for being nervous. Ramsay asks a third individual (unnamed) to step forward for disappointing him. Ben step forward. Ramsay decided that Craig is eliminated. A good choice! He tells Ben and Matt that they dodged a bullet, but from what I have seen it is only temporary. The only competence on the MEN's team is found in Bobby Petrozza (most of the time) and Louross, in my opinion. Vanessa rejoins the WOMEN's team with a heavily taped right wrist and hand. She is going to have trouble keeping up. My opinion is that the WOMEN's team has Jen, Corey and Christina as the competent players. Vanessa, Rosann, and Shayna cannot keep up. Time will verify the rightness or wrongness of these predictions.

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Arthur