Hell's Kitchen Season 8 Episode Recap from September 29, 2010

With Curtis getting eliminated, Raj felt like he had a whole new motivation to stay since the guys were really nasty to him. The girls may have won last episode, but they still were building hatred towards Emily - basically looks like they are planning for their scapegoat.

Emergency Vehicles in the middle of the night! This teaser from last week made it seem like there would be a huge emergency but what it turns out to be is just another challenge. Emergency Vehicles showed up to wake everyone up and get them headed to their next challenge... Darn Hell's Kitchen and their teasers! The challenge was to race to create breakfast for 50 EMTs per team. Chef Ramsay was looking for a team effort to win this challenge. The girls were working well together making the fruit salad while the guys were leaving this all up to Rob, which gave the women a head start. The girls were FLYING with 3 completed tables before the men even had one. I guess we can see who's working as a team.

The guys continued to mess up, and even more they were talking back to Chef. It seemed obvious the women would win this one as they reached their last table. They took the win and then had to help the men finish the challenge. Winning this really caused the girls to bond, while the guys just fought more - with most of the animosity aimed at Raj.

Dinner Service: Sabrina said she's not there to "prep" and wasn't being very helpful in getting ready for dinner service. Tonight's special twist is that the guests would be receiving handmade cocktails - Sabrina would make them for the red team and Trev would for the blue team. The men were off to a bad start as Raj started his first scallops way too early. The red/women's team looked to be first with dishes out, but Emily's over-salting caused dishes to come back. The men actually made it to Entrees this week, but Raj's Salmon failed to please Chef Ramsay. Lucky for them, Melissa was also doing bad on Entrees. But Unlucky for them, Raj's next Salmon was undercooked... this guy sure isn't proving himself very well after all his big talking.

Both teams got on track finally after almost 2 hours... but the women were finding Emily to be worthless as she wasn't helping with anything. Raj decided to eat the food that was rejected so as not to waste... not such a good idea if he knows Chef Ramsay at all! Gail's dish was on fire but she just kind of stood there starring at it which was quite strange, but she made up for it with the next beef she served being perfect. Weirdo Raj was cooking ahead of schedule and even caused them to run out of some of the dishes they needed! Doesn't he know you don't fire until it's time for the table?? Chef Ramsay sent him out to tell the guests that they ran out of their food. Even though both teams finished, Chef Ramsay had to use the comment cards to pick a winner. In the end - more customer's liked the men, surprisingly, giving them the win by just a few percentage points.

Time to go: Emily was the obvious choice for most of the women, they all thought she was horrible. Sabrina called out Melissa, but the other ladies said Sabrina should go up for her horrible Prep work. Gail had the deciding vote. It ended up being Emily versus Sabrina. Ramsay said Emily didn't seem to have the stamina, while Sabrina argued that Melissa should be the one to go. So who would Chef Ramsay send home??? Well how about RAJ! Ramsay couldn't stand another minute with Raj and sent him out in a surprise elimination that left Emily and Sabrina shocked and relieved.

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The Second Half.... look for my second article regarding the second hour of tonight's episode!

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Active Contestants:
~ Boris - 38 - Manalapan, NJ -Catering Chef
~ Emily - 29 - Chicago, IL - Executive Chef
~ Gail - 28 - Wantagh, NY - Executive Chef
~ Jillian - 28 - Pagosa Springs, CO - Sous Chef
~ Louis - 28 - Felton, CA - Children's Camp Chef
~ Melissa - 31 - Glens Falls, NY - Executive Sous Chef
~ Nona - 29 - Loganville, GA - Sous Chef
~ Rob - 36 - Brooklyn, NY - Law Firm Chef
~ Russell - 29 - Chicago, IL - Sous Chef
~ Sabrina - 22 - El Cajon, CA - Prep Chef
~ Trev - 30 - Chicago, IL - Line Cook / Bartender
~ Vinny - 29 - Las Vegas, NV - Line Cook

Eliminated Contestants:
~ Antonia - 29 - North Hollywood, CA - Personal Chef
~ Lisa - 48 - Ft. Mills, SC - Corporate Food Director
~ Lewis Curtis - 26 - Cabot, AR - Executive Chef
~ Raj - 49 - Los Angeles, CA - Personal Chef

Source: September 29th Episode on Fox

For more information on the contestants or photos of the show, visit Fox's Official Hell's Kitchen Site