As the name suggests, it’s a red-hot challenge to whip up a fabulous signature dish on Hell’s
Kitchen.
You never know what the cooks are going to prepare, and while some contestants create
heavenly cuisine, other concoctions are downright evil.
Host Gordon Ramsay is never one to hold back on making his opinion known, which makes it
easy to tell when a dish is a success or a total failure.
His colorful language does all the tasting anyone at home needs to know when a disaster
dish presents itself.
Here are the worst signature dishes from Hell’s Kitchen.
Kimberly’s Over-Prepped Pasta
By season 16, the contestants had a good idea about what passes on Hell’s Kitchen, and
what doesn’t.
Or, you would think.
In this season premiere episode, contestants were treated to a show before they had to
perform themselves.
Then, as always, the chefs were assigned the task of cooking their signature dish.
Here was their chance to really impress Gordon.
Some did and some didn’t.
The contestants were off in what looked like a professional working kitchen.
It seemed like a good sign but the moment of truth would come later, when the Gordon
critiqued the dishes on looks and flavor, for better or worse.
This was the opportunity of a lifetime for so many of these cooks, and a bad dish could
be a painful end of the road.
It wasn’t a good start for Kimberly, whose pappardelle pasta with clams was a little
too prepared.
It was bad enough that Kimberly didn’t make her own pasta, but integrating a can of clams
slammed her down early.
Even the audience knew this was a fatal mistake.
Fresh ingredients are key to high-level cooking, and when a contestant like Kimberly doesn’t
use them, the result isn’t good.
Gaurav’s Tuna Steak
Some contestants are just destined to get the axe early on.
One of those contestants was Gaurav, an executive chef with a mission.
Ramsay might be the perfect example that a career as a chef is no profession to sneeze
at – as long as you have the chops.
The question about whether Gaurav could deliver or not answered itself in not only his truly
terrible signature dish but in his cooking methods.
First, came the dish presentation.
Pretty sultry expectations for Gaurav’s tuna.
In the restaurant challenge, Gaurav’s cooking methods proved to be a little more casual,
than the norm.
In one of Gordon’s most pissed off moments on Hell’s Kitchen, we saw Gaurav’s food
and kitchen experience go hand in hand.
In the end, an awful signature dish, poor cooking protocol, and a tendency towards mistakes
in the restaurant challenge was just too much.
Kevin’s Pitiful Piadina
The first signature challenge on Hell’s Kitchen is always full of hopefuls eager to
get into the kitchen and make their mark on the culinary world.
It’s all too common for chefs to try a little too hard in the season premiere, and that’s
exactly what happened to Kevin when he prepared his classically pitiful piadina during the
hectic signature challenge.
And when the time came for the very first tasting, for Kevin, it was a disaster.
Things got worse when Gordon began picking away.
Using pre-made dough on a dough-based dish was not exactly cooking.
Not even making dressing, one of the most basic skills of any kitchen chef, was the
thing that sent Gordon over the edge.
If Gordon Ramsay asks you if you’d like to go home, it’s time to majorly step up
your game!
Kevin responded in the only way a contestant in that position can.
Think Outside the Packaged Box
Time and time again, we see chefs try to take shortcuts in an effort to make great food
when competing with the clock.
But, of course, there’s no easy way out, especially on Hell’s Kitchen.
One chef slid through with perhaps the most unforgivable shortcut of all.
Mike’s background as an Italian chef, specializing in pasta and tomato sauce at his own restaurant,
should have made his entry into the first signature dish challenge a breeze.
But the high-pressure of Hell’s Kitchen atmosphere gets to even the most confident
chefs.
And it seemed that, despite his expertise, Mike decided to cook using the easiest route
possible.
Uh, that is, if you call it cooking.
Mike’s cheese tortellini and marinara sauce should have been authentic and full of heart
since this cuisine was exactly what Mike was all about; it could be his perfect signature
dish.
But “packaged fresh tortellini” wouldn’t exactly impress Gordon.
Well, maybe there was something special about the sauce.
And in the trash, it went.
The thing about cooking shows is that you’re expected to actually cook your dishes.
Mike was a little confused, though, because he didn’t seem to understand Gordon’s
reaction.
Better luck next time, Mike.
Bad Rub With Watermelon
While many of the bad dishes we see on Hell’s Kitchen come from inexperienced or nervous
cooks, sometimes a chef just has a bad day.
That was the case from season thirteen contestant, La Tasha.
Her warm demeanor and can-learn attitude proved that La Tasha was a top culinary mind throughout
the Hell’s Kitchen season.
But back at the season premiere, La Tasha didn’t put her best foot forward and the
result was a lackluster underachievement that failed to wow Gordon.
Rather than trying to do too much, like most new contestants, La Tasha went the other direction
and chose to play.
It didn’t pay off.
A flimsy dish that wasn’t good or memorable.
This wasn’t even close to the caliber of cooking that La Tasha would later achieve.
This hickory rubbed watermelon scored lowest marks for La Tasha’s team.
But this contestant learned from her mistake, and as the season went on, she became an absolute
force.
By the end, La Tasha cooked her way to the finale and won.
Just goes to show, everyone has a bad dish once in a while.
Gordon, the Dove Breast Guinea Pig
We’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff on Hell’s Kitchen, but nothing has been quite as outlandish
as this contestant’s bravado to serve Gordon a complete and total experiment.
As the clock whittled down to time’s up, the chefs maintained a cool, confident demeanor
as they prepared to present their very first signature dish challenge.
It may have been season 16, but it was still anyone’s guess what on earth Gordon would
be presented to dine on.
Tonight, he’d definitely have a first.
Hmm.
Dove breast is a nicer way of saying pigeon, but it doesn’t change what it is.
Here’s an idea: if no one’s jumping up and down to cook pigeon, maybe they’re onto
something.
Once again, trying too hard didn’t pay off.
While creative, this tactic doesn’t bode well with Gordon, particularly when it turns
out.
Oh no.
Making Gordon Ramsay your guinea pig for a potentially disgusting dish you’ve never
made before is a terrible, terrible idea.
Describe it: Gamey?
Good luck, Gordon.
Yeah, we guessed that.
There you go, one of the very worst dishes on Hell’s Kitchen.
Antonia’s Mardi Gras Party Foul
Yes, it’s pretty much a sure thing that the first episode of any season is going to
have the worst dishes.
During this episode, it’s a trial and error test run, in a way.
Contestants shake out their nerves while getting a good look to see who their competition is.
Indeed, many chefs will step up their game after this initial signature dish round.
For those who move on from the first round, a failed signature dish may become ancient
history.
But no dish will ever be remembered quite like Antonia’s from season 8.
The chefs were ready to show off everything they knew about cooking and food.
And one would think, being on Hell’s Kitchen, these contestants already knew quite a bit
about food.
But, we can assume that Antonia very definitely did not know much about food at all.
Antonia’s signature dish was on regular rotation at home, so this should have been
a shoo-in.
Nope, this dish was inedible.
This worst dish in Hell’s Kitchen history was so bad Gordon.
Making Gordon puke is the epitome of low.
But Gordon couldn’t let it go.
When Antonia said, Gordon refused.
This move clearly showed just how incredibly bad Antonia’s gumbo tasted.
None of the contestants could stomach it.
While humiliating, by making this dish, Antonia must have completely lost her mind.
In the end, Gordon finally threw the unbelievable gumbo in the trash.
Monique’s Mediocre Marinara
The pressure of cooking in front of a live studio audience might have been a bit much
for the contestants during the first episode of Season 14.
Several of our worst dishes on Hell’s Kitchen were cooked all at the same time.
As always, at the beginning of the episode, the chefs were off, setting about the kitchen
making their very first dish for Gordon, all the while hundreds of people watched their
every move.
Maybe it was the pressure, maybe there was something in the air, but these chefs just
did not deliver the kind of first impression needed for Master Chef, Gordon Ramsay.
The last of the women to present her dish was Monique.
Full of confidence, Monique needed her dish to deliver so the women would win the first
signature dish challenge.
Unfortunately, it didn’t go well.
Mo’s pasta was not entirely her own – rather, her marinara sauce came from a can.
Monique was shocked that this was not acceptable, and Gordon was shocked that she had the gall
to even put canned sauce in her dish.
Maybe Monique didn’t get the memo that marinara sauce can be made by anyone, not just Italians.
That rookie mistake earned her the lowest ranking, and a loss for the women’s first
challenge.
Mieka’s Shrimp Cake Catastrophe
At the beginning of the signature dish tasting round, the women looked like they were hitting
their stride.
They had not a single misstep until it came to poor Mieka, a sous chef from Maryland.
She made her way into the restaurant kitchen working from the bottom up, and one would
think that she’d have a pretty good grasp when it came to creating a fabulous dish,
versus a bad one.
Maybe her days working in fast food weren’t far enough behind her, or maybe she just had
a bad judgment call, but what was clear was that Mieka’s signature dish was one sample
she should remove from her repertoire: shrimp cake with asparagus and peach salsa.
The dish looked all right, and it sounded good in theory, but when it came the most
important part, the way the dish actually tasted, she completely missed the mark.
Ouch.
Gordon had nothing else to say, it was simply not good at all.
Mieka knew how terrible her dish really was.
Still, she made it through the next round.
Looks like she learned her lesson.
When you’re on Hell’s Kitchen you need to bring your A game.
Chrissa’s Ginger Cookie Chicken
It’s a huge rush to even compete on Hell’s Kitchen.
But running through the kitchen stadium for the first time, and with the crowd cheering
you on, is an exhilarating experience unlike any other these chefs have experienced before.
This is a place where only the top contenders survive and there’s no room for a bad dish.
Unfortunately, contestant Chrissa got a little too creative under the pressure.
When it was her turn to present her dish on behalf of the women’s team, chef Gordon
was utterly appalled.
Ginger cookies don’t exactly scream gourmet chicken, and it didn’t pay off.
When Gordon Ramsay spits your food out, you’ve really done something wrong.
Chrissa wasn’t thrilled.
Unfortunately, Chrissa wasn’t able to come back from that truly awful dish.
Things continued to go wrong.
For the restaurant cooking portion of the episode, Chrissa was completely out of her
element.
The kitchen, in general, was just too much for this chef, and in the end, it was clear
that Chrissa’s terrible dish reflected her cooking experience.
There they are, the most stomach-churning dishes ever on Hell’s Kitchen.
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