‘Hell’s Kitchen 23’ episode 9 recap: Who was eliminated in ‘Lonely in the Kitchen’?

Tonight, on “Hell’s Kitchen”! Teamwork is key in the kitchen and this week it is more important than ever. When the chefs are challenged with starting their own individual dishes before leaving the kitchen one-by-one it is up to the remaining lonely chefs to complete not only their own dishes, but also their fellow contestants using only verbal cues from the team. It is time for the chefs to think outside of the box in the all-new “Lonely in the Kitchen” episode of “Hell’s Kitchen: Head Chefs Only” airing Thursday, Nov. 21 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Here’s how the teams stacked up:

Blue Team: Brandon, Egypt, Joe, Kyle, Lulu

Red Team: Amanda, Ann Marie, Brittany, Hannah, Whit

The chefs are surprised to see that Gordon Ramsay eliminated Anthony over Ann Marie following last week’s challenge. They can’t really hide their shock and disappointment when Ann Marie walks through the doors to safety. Ann Marie didn’t really appreciate that reaction from her fellow chefs.

In this week’s challenge, each team had to cook a five-course meal that featured two hot appetizers and three entrees. While creating the menu, they weren’t told one big twist. As they cook, chefs will be removed from the kitchen one-by-one, leaving just one “lonely chef” to finish everything by themselves. Communication is key, because the chefs that leave can still shout out instructions from the sidelines.

By the end of this contest, just Hannah was left cooking in the Red kitchen and Brandon in the Blue. Both chefs hope to impress Gordon by their willingness to stick it out and lead. Both appear to be thriving, although Brandon is extremely annoyed by Lulu’s constant screaming from the sidelines. Gordon lets everyone back in the kitchen for the last five minutes to help finish everything up.

Gordon judges the dishes head-to-head and here were the results:

Shellfish Appetizer: Hannah and Lulu tie 1-1
Hot Appetizer: Brittany and Egypt tie 1-1
Fish: Ann Marie and Brandon tie 1-1
Lamb: Amanda and Kyle tie 1-1
Chicken: Whit and Joe tie 1-1

After both teams deliver in a flawless challenge, Gordon chooses the best dish of the night as a tie-breaker: Hannah’s shellfish appetizer. As a reward, the Red Team will take an overnight trip to New York City. The Blue Team will stay back baking homemade bread all night. Brandon uses his Punishment Pass and swaps places with Ann Marie.

After the Red Team enjoys their trip to New York and the Blue Team gets tortured by Ann Marie’s positivity during their punishment, Hell’s Kitchen opens for dinner service. It’s a rough start for both teams. Kyle and Egypt aren’t communicating well in the Blue kitchen. Over in the Red kitchen, Brittany seems lost in her own world and barely responds when spoken to. Despite some early issues, both teams eventually start pushing out appetizers at a solid pace.

While making entrees, Kyle complains about Lulu’s poor communication. Even worse, she served up raw Wellingtons. Over on the Red Team, Brittany continues her struggles and is forced to re-fire halibut after serving it raw. Both Lulu and Brittany eventually recover, but this isn’t a good night for them. It seems like whichever one of those two is on tonight’s losing team will go home.

An hour into dinner service, Kyle and Lulu are still struggling to communicate, leading to undercooked proteins. Gordon calls the Blue Team into the pantry, unleashes his disappointment, and throws them out of the kitchen. They’ll have to nominate two chefs for elimination. The Red Team holds it together and finishes out dinner service with success.

The Blue Team nominated Kyle and Lulu for elimination. Gordon decided to eliminate Lulu, stating, “Lulu showed great promise at the start of this competition, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. And Lulu finished poorly.”