Hell’s Kitchen Season 24 Episode 7 recap: A fiery Mexican showdown tests tempers, teamwork, and Gordon’s patience

In Episode 7 of Hell’s Kitchen (Battle of the States), chefs faced off in a "Guac-a-Mole" game to determine their ingredients, then produced elevated Mexican dishes judged by guest chef Gabriela Cámara and host Gordon Ramsay.

The dinner service that followed descended into chaos, with both the Red and Blue teams struggling under pressure before one chef was sent home.

Hell’s Kitchen Season 24: Inside the Mexican-themed meltdown 

The episode kicked off with a challenge: chefs from both teams were assigned one of six proteins—chicken thighs, flat iron steak, pork tenderloin, red prawns, red snapper, and skirt steak.

Then they played a "Guac-a-Mole" game to determine which shared ingredients they would use, meaning whatever was selected had to be incorporated by both competitors.

The head-to-head lineup was:

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  Chicken Thighs: Jayden defeated Cydni.

  
  


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  Flat Iron Steak: Cara Marie tied Anthony.

  
  


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  Pork Tenderloin: Jon defeated Ellie.

  
  


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  Red Prawns: Alexandra tied Henry.

  
  


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  Red Snapper: Anaiya defeated Chris.

  
  


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  Skirt Steak: Jada defeated Lisa.

  
  

As judged by Gabriela Cámara, the Blue Team claimed victory in the challenge by a score of 5–3 and earned a reward: a poolside Mexican-inspired fiesta with spa treatments.

Meanwhile, the Red Team was left behind to hand-make tortillas in preparation for dinner service.

The dinner service — a night of mayhem in Hell’s Kitchen

Dinner service began under the Mexican-themed menu, but problems arose quickly.

In the Blue kitchen, Jayden’s lobster was overcooked. Ramsay shouted,

“It’s butter-poached, not hammered!”

Meanwhile, in the Red kitchen, Cydni served raw scallops, prompting Ramsay to question whether losing Jada had completely thrown the team off their game.

In the Blue kitchen, Jada was excelling and was then moved by Ramsay to the Red side in an attempt to balance performance.

In Red, Alexandra and Cydni struggled.

In Blue, Jon mis-topped fries with the wrong cheese, and shortly after, Henry sent raw pork up to the pass. Chef Anaiya shouted in the Red kitchen,

“I’m starting to get a little pi**ed off. This is f****g embarrassing!”

Ramsay reached a breaking point when the Red Kitchen’s performance continued to falter: raw chicken, undercooked salmon, and missing cilantro garnish.

He eventually kicked the entire Red Team out of the kitchen.

At the pass in Blue, Chris sent up an overcooked steak, though he redeemed himself on a second attempt.

The Elimination

Both teams were asked to nominate two chefs each for elimination.

The Red Team nominated Alexandra and Cydni; the Blue Team nominated Jon and Henry.

Ultimately, Ramsay eliminated Jon from the competition, saying,

“Jon may be from the Peach State, but there was nothing peachy about his performance tonight.”

The Mexican-cuisine twist exposed weak links in both teams, but it was the Red Team that bore the brunt of Ramsay’s frustration during dinner service.

The contestant representing Georgia, Jon Boyd, exited the competition after his challenge and service missteps.

What this means for Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the States

Throughout the episode, Hell’s Kitchen placed a clear emphasis on precision in cooking, teamwork under duress, and adaptability when a themed cuisine is introduced.

The guest judge, Gabriela Cámara, added a dimension of elevated Mexican culinary standards, making the challenge more demanding.

While Blue won the challenge, both dining rooms fell short in service, and no team walked away without scrutiny.

Jon’s elimination serves as proof that even before the final rounds, Ramsay holds chefs to a high standard.

With the competition narrowing, next week’s episode is likely to bring further intensity and perhaps more structural shake-ups.

Stay tuned for more updates.