Hell’s Kitchen Rookies vs. Veterans Episode 1 Recap: Wash Those Mushrooms Stupid

Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay has once again opened the doors of “Hell’s Kitchen” for another season. This season is a bit different. It’s rookies vs veterans for a chance to win a head chef position at “Hell’s Kitchen at Caesar’s Palace.”

Before anything, they used last season’s opening. Either they ran out of ideas, ran out of time to make the new opening or this will the “Hell’s Kitchen’s” opening from now on. If that’s the case, this show has gone downhill fast.

The first started with all the contestants arriving at “Hell’s Kitchen.” The only difference is the vets were in disguise so as to surprise the new chefs. They were then introduced to this season’s sous chefs and told to sit at a dining table to taste some of “Hell’s Kitchen’s” popular items. Thing is, the vets sat on one side and the rookies sat on the other.

After Ramsay came out he told everyone to introduce themselves. After the rookies, the vets one by one took off their disguises and introduced themselves. They are: Ariel (Season 6,) Kevin (Season 6,) Roe (Season 13,) Jen (Season 4,) T (Season 14,) Bret (Season 14,) Trev (Season 8) and Heather (Season 16.) Kevin and Heather are obviously the best out of the bunch. The others are OK but have shown in their seasons to not be all that great.

After that, it was time for the signature dish. Each chef stood in front of a dome that had ingredients that would be used for their signature dish. That is, except the vets. What Ramsay had in mind was for a vet to try to cook a rookie’s dish and see who can do better. That’s a brilliant idea once you consider that the vets are supposed to be better than the rookies.

The matches were: Scotley VS Trev (snapper curry,) Gizzy VS Heather (scallops,) Kanae VS Kevin (Belizean style fish stew,) Scott VS Roe (pan-roasted black bass,) Chris VS Trev (pan seared duck breast,) Motto VS T (shrimp and grits,) Jose VS Ariel (scallops) and Mia VS Jen (pork tenderloin.)

Each dish was awarded a score between 1-5 and the team with the highest score won. It was even throughout with the worst dishes going to Scott and Jen. The best went to Mia and Kevin with Mia getting the tiebreaker. If Jen didn’t overcook the pork the vets would have won. Instead, they spent the rest of the day prepping both kitchens while the rookies ate at “Charcoal” with executive chef Josiah Citrin. This should have been an easy win for the vets but, sadly, things don’t go as planned.

Oh, and Jen, how does a professional chef not how that mushrooms need to be washed?

The next day, the chefs were awoken to Ramsay telling them to come to the dining room where they were met with bagpipers playing “Amazing Grace” and what looked like decorations for a funeral. The episode ended when Ramsay was about to announce who they were going to say goodbye to.

This new season will not create any new “Hell’s Kitchen” fans. It seems like it was created for established fans who want to see some old faces get a second chance while going up against new people who so far are forgettable. This season needs to pick up quickly or else the ratings will be in the toilet come episode four or five.