Hell’s Kitchen Young Guns episode 10 recap: Individuals time to shine

As the number of chefs continue to dwindle, there is no place to hide. For Hell’s Kitchen Young Guns episode 10, it wasn’t a battle of the palates. It was finally time for the personalities to hit the boiling point.

Although the best chef always earns the Hell’s Kitchen title, there is an element of game play to the culinary competition. Even though the idea of Survivor’s outwit, outlast and outplay isn’t necessarily the same, working those team dynamics is important to making it to the black jacket round.

While Hell’s Kitchen is a culinary competition, the truth is that some silly elements make the show more entertaining. More importantly, certain tradition challenges seem to give a glimpse of the chefs destined to do well.

One challenge that has been in every Hell’s Kitchen season is the blind taste test. Sure, everyone laughs as the chefs are pelted with food, but the basis of the challenge is important. The chef with a great palate definitely earns points with Gordon Ramsay.

Although there will be many comments about the movie snacks dumped on chef’s heads, the reality is that this challenge isn’t about the chefs who get the food wrong, it is about the chefs who get the foods right.

After having a few too many quiet moments on the line, Megan shined in the blind taste test. She got the most foods correct and helped the Blue Team score a victory.

In addition, it was interesting that Josie got quite a few foods correct. Although being a vegetarian should have helped her with one response, she still did well, as did Emily. Could eating all those vegetables help hone a palate? Chefs believe that fresh food always tastes better. Could that concept be an advantage in the kitchen.

How did the Blind Taste Test impact the outcome of Hell’s Kitchen Young Guns episode 10?

For viewers who has been watching all season, they might recall that Brynn still has her punishment pass. Although there might have been better reviews, she redeemed that free ride in this episode. While that fact is interesting, a bigger twist impacted the competition more.

Brynn chose to Steve as her replacement. As the other punishment pass winner, there was a little payback, but the impact was more than Steve cleaning nacho cheese sauce from the carpet. It had a bigger effect on dinner service.

As Steve started his appetizers, it seemed like he was lost, he wasn’t communicating, and he was making silly mistakes. It was as if someone had put him in a trance.

In some ways, Hell’s Kitchen Young Guns episode 10 proved that this culinary competition requires mental toughness. It is more than making the perfect risotto or mastering that NY Strip. Every day the chefs have to be on point. Granted, there can be a bad day in the kitchen, but there cannot be more than one.

Steve learned that lesson. He had his bad day and it got him put up for elimination. Although he lived to cook another day, he is on thin ice. Another bad night and his photo will go up in flames.

The chef eliminated in Hell’s Kitchen Young Guns episode 10 was Josie. It was finally her time to go. While she has the passion, she isn’t ready for this experience. Once she can put the drama to bed, her cooking will be far better.

The bigger surprises from this episode were the rise of Kiya and Emily. On the Red Team, Kiya rose to the occasion. From driving her station to being the voice, it was clear that she is ready for leadership.

The same can be said of Emily. She kept pushing even as Steve faltered. That voice in the kitchen helped the Blue Team find their way during dinner service.

As the final eight chefs start to see the big prize, it begs the question, have two front runners emerged? Will the Hell’s Kitchen winner pattern continue? Tune in next week to see if there is another shake up on the line.

Which chefs do you think shined as individuals this week? Do you think that the teams have found their strength yet?