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She was the deciding factor again this week on “Hell’s Kitchen.”
Hazleton’s Jen Yemola was voted the best chef on the losing red team by host Chef Gordon Ramsey. And the decision wasn’t too hard.
“I knew I was going to nominate Melissa,” Yemola said Monday night.
The decision came easy after teammate Melissa became a dictator this episode and other team members were feeling her wrath, as she began to take over “Hell’s Kitchen.”
This week’s task was preparing appetizers and dinner for a wedding party and bride and groom Carlota and Cyrus. It started off with the women’s and men’s teams shopping for groceries under $100 for the reception taste-testing, and that’s where Melissa’s dictating continued.
The teams had one hour to prepare an appetizer, fish dish and meat dish for the bride and groom. Ramsey touted the wedding menu as crucial and then told the teams who would be judging the dishes – the bride and groom themselves.
Melissa told Ramsey she didn’t want to serve them the red team’s dishes, and viewers would soon find out why.
The blue team won the appetizer round with its crab dish. The red team won the fish dish with a sea bass variation. That’s when it started to go downhill.
As the women’s red team unveiled its meat dish – a plainly cooked duck breast on a platter – Ramsey’s jaw dropped. It was an easy decision for the bride and groom, as they chose the blue team’s dressed-up rib eye over the less-than-pleasing duck breast, presented by Yemola.
“They probably think I made it,” Yemola said on the show. “And I didn’t have anything to do with it!”
The girls blamed their failure on Melissa for treating others with disrespect.
“It was a power struggle,” Yemola said.
After the women lost their taste-testing round, they had to decorate the “Hell’s Kitchen” dining room for the wedding reception while the men got to bask in the glory of their win with a day at the spa.
Finally, it was the wedding day and tensions were high, with Melissa still giving the women’s team heat, and Ramsey giving Melissa a hard time about improperly cooking a potato dish more than once.
The red team began to pump out appetizers despite Melissa’s fury, while the main course made it out easily, too, with help from Yemola.
“Chef Ramsey is looking to me to take on a leadership role,” Yemola said. “I was sick of all the bickering. And chef wanted me to be the leader, rather than all that dictating.”
Yemola said they cut a lot from this week’s episode, but they got it all together in a nutshell. “Melissa was crazy. But I just focused on the wedding. It gets harder, but I felt at ease with this service. I don’t really think about the TV cameras – I felt like it was my job.”
At the end of the night, Yemola’s red team was named the losers of this week’s episode, and she was named the best chef on the team, leaving her the daunting task of choosing two nominees – one to be eliminated.
But as Yemola told Ramsey about her two nominees – Melissa and Bonnie – “Hell’s Kitchen” was surprised at Ramsey’s decision – to send Melissa to the men’s blue team as a last chance and Bonnie back to the red team.
“I was like ‘Whoa!’ I couldn’t believe it!” Yemola said of Melissa remaining on “Hell’s Kitchen” another week. “I’m honored to be named the best chef. I’m doing well, and Chef Ramsey wouldn’t keep me there if I wasn’t,” Yemola said. “I was on my way. I wanted to win.”
“Chef Ramsey is looking to me to take on a leadership role.”
Jen Yemola
“Hell’s Kitchen” contestant