(S04E08) "Shut up...and I mean that from the bottom of my heart." - Chef Ramsay, to Christina

This episode brought back a lot of memories for me, flashbacks to the day 20 years ago when I cut my finger while slicing linguica on a slicer. Matt does the same thing tonight (via knife) while slicing pancetta. Funny how both the pancetta and linguica are both sorta flesh-colored. I didn't cut the tip of my finger off (though I did go to the emergency room). Matt did cut the tip of his off yet didn't go to the emergency room. If I remember correctly from the episode, he also didn't find the tip of his finger. What exactly did they do with that pancetta?

As we saw in the previews last week, the woman who volunteers to go over to the men's team is Jen. And the other women are very happy to see her go. They think she's a bully. Jen calls Corey "a manipulative bitch." Wow, I wonder what she really thinks.

The men aren't sure what to think of having Jen on the team but vow to stick together (have they been sticking together?).

The challenge this week is to make four dishes out of 20 different ingredients, making sure not to use an ingredient more than once. The red team (women and Matt) choose fast and start their cooking. The blue team (men and Jen) are so slow that Ramsay even mentions they have to hurry up (they only have 45 minutes). After the dishes are made, players go up against each other with the four dishes. And as can only happy on reality show, the person who had the most trouble making his dish and made a weird decision is the one who goes last, Louross. I doubt this is a coincidence. Producers want that drama after all.

The meals are tied 2-2 when it comes down to Louross. Ramsay actually likes the salmon dish but then Louross tells him he didn't use the veal, which means they only used 19 ingredients. The red team wins and the blue team members aren't happy with Louross, especially Jen. And by "not happy with Louross" I mean she wants him to die of some disease as quickly as possible.

(Side note: why do these players swear during the camera interviews? I can understand why they swear during the game, because you forget about the cameras and you're in the middle of a hectic service, but why curse when you're calm and sitting down talking to the camera and you know it's going to get bleeped anyway?).

The red team gets to go to a photo shoot for In Style magazine. I don't read In Style, but I don't think I'd rush out and buy this issue even if I did.

Tonight's service has a twist: two food critics will be in the dining room and the chefs won't know where they are sitting or what they order. Oh, this should make Ramsay very serene in the kitchen.

The service in Hell's Kitchen is the usual blend of the good (Louross' scallops are "perfect") and the bad (first Matt cooks the Beef Wellington raw, then overcooks it, Christina burns the salmon, Petrozza cuts the meat too early), but it's something that Chef Ramsay does that surprised me. I'm pretty sure that when he was tasting the risotto (also good), he stirred it with the same spoon he tasted it with. Hasn't he yelled at people who have done things like this in the past?

The critics are getting a mix of food at their table. They love Louross' salmon but hate Christina's. Roseann screws up (I think this is a pattern), and Ramsay is so pissed (he uses that word a few times tonight) at the red team that he tells them to get out of the kitchen. The blue team has to finish the service of the red team.

It's a no brainer - the blue team wins. Ramsay tells Corey (by far the best of the worst) to pick two people. Rosann, Matt, and Christina all plead their case, but Corey has made up her mind. She picks Matt and Rosann. Ramsay thinks they are good choices, but wants another person in line too - Christina! Each of the three pleads their case, which basically comes down to what it always comes down to: "I'm a fighter, I'll give 110% from now on, you ain't seen nothing yet, blah, blah, blah, blah." Ramsay tells Rosann to get back in line. She's safe. So it's down to Matt and Christina. Who will go?

Ramsay picks...Rosann?!?! I don't think I've ever seen someone told they were safe and then picked anyway! No one seemed as shocked by this as I was on my couch.

Next week: Jen ticks off her teammates! (Shocker)

(By the way, what happend to this "mystery person" who they said was going to be on the show a couple of weeks ago. Did I miss something?)