Accepted under the mentorship of your idol and the world's hottest chef Gordon Ramsay, you must prove your skill and determination through competing in Hell's Kitchen- A month long cooking contest versus fifteen other fierce contestants and difficul...
The red team groups up together and we lay out our ingredients. I set out my labeled pieces of paper– green beans, rack of lamb and cauliflower. I can use all of these and make something delicious, but in case someone needs one of my vegetables, I offer them to the group.
Eventually, we settle on everyone's ingredients. Red ends up with pork belly, couscous, and peas. Gina stares woefully at her duck breast and squash flowers. Taylor traded her peas to Red in exchange for her Chilean sea bass, adding to her other two ingredients– yams and chickpeas. Bella decided that she didn't want to share and kept her ingredients to herself. Typical Bella. Thankfully, my budding ideas for what I can cook aren't put to waste, as no one asks for my ingredients.
Gordon claps.
"Time! Everyone, you will have forty-five minutes to produce a dish using only the ingredients you've popped from the balloons or traded for. Your challenge begins.... now!"
We rush to grab our ingredients then take them to our individual stations.
The image of my completed dish forms in my mind. Riced cauliflower under a basil-crusted pan-seared rack of lamb and with a side of green bean goat cheese gratin.
I set one oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and a second oven to 400. I put a pot of water and a cast iron pan on the stove to begin heating as well. My cauliflower and the bread for the gratin will both need the food processor, so I start with the bread first. I tear the bread into large pieces, pulse it three or four times in the processor and then drizzle some olive oil over the crumbs before adding Parmesan cheese and pulsing it again.
After finishing with the bread crumbs, I cut the cauliflower in pieces and place it in the food processor, pulsing until it resembles rice. I set the cauliflower aside and wipe my hands on my apron. Gordon walks through the kitchens and examines everyone's work.
"Looking good so far, (Y/N)," he says as he leans over my shoulder to see what I'm making.
"Thanks, Chef." I grin as I cut my green beans crosswise into thirds.
The pot of water is at a rolling boil now, so I put the green beans inside and cover the lid. The beans will need four minutes to cook, so in the meantime, I lay down the rack of lamb onto a sheet tray and season it with salt and pepper.
Once the lamb is seasoned, I score the fatty sides and take it over to the heated pan. I dribble in some grapeseed oil and wait for it to smoke, then add the lamb rack to the pan, bone side up with the rack resting on the edge of the pan. I use the bone to turn the lamb and sear each side for sixty seconds. Then, I add thyme, garlic, and butter to the pan and baste the entire rack for another minute. Once that's done, I take the lamb– still in the cast iron pan– and put it into the oven that was preheated to 300 degrees. The lamb will need twelve minutes in the oven and fifteen minutes to rest. I should be on time.
My green beans are done, so I quickly take them out of the boiling water, douse them in cold water to stop them from cooking further, and pat them dry. I toss them together with some crumbled goat cheese, whipping cream, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Finally, I put the mixture into a shallow baking bowl, cover it with aluminum foil and set it on a baking sheet before I pop it in the oven set to 400 degrees for about twenty minutes.
"Thirty minutes remain!" Gordon shouts through the kitchens.
Once my lamb time is done, I pull it from the oven and brush each side with a light coating of Dijon mustard and let it sit for two minutes. When the mustard is absorbed, I pour the basil crust I'd made earlier onto a flat pan and roll my lamb in it– the mustard acts as an adhesive for the delicious crumbs. After the lamb is properly coated, I wrap it in aluminum foil and set it to the side to rest for fifteen minutes.
I start a second pan heating in preparation for my riced cauliflower.
My green beans should be ready for their crumb topping now. I pull the baking bowl out of the oven, remove the aluminum foil, sprinkle the beans with crumbs and then recover it and pop it back in the oven for another eight minutes.
Finally, the easiest part. I grab my bowl of riced cauliflower and take it to the stove. I heat a dash of olive oil over medium heat and then pour the cauliflower in. I saute it for about four minutes, adding in salt, pepper, and a dash of lime juice.
Once the cauliflower is done cooking, I take the tray and set it aside. Then I pull out the green beans from the oven and set them to rest as well.
"Ten minutes left, come on everyone! Taylor, is your sea bass ready?" Gordon shouts.
"Yes Chef, it's resting!" she responds.
"Good, good," Ramsay says as he clasps his hands behind his back and continues moving through the kitchen.
When we get down to the final two minutes, Gordon shouts for us to begin plating.
I know I promised that I wouldn't disappoint him with my presentation after setting a high bar, and I know I have to keep those high standards.
"Thirty seconds left, hurry!" Gordon urges us as he heads for the front of the kitchens.
I carefully set the riced cauliflower down on the plate in the center, put the green beans on the side and then cut my lamb and set it pleasingly on the plate.
"Five, four, three..." Gordon counts.
I put the finishing touches on my dish and set the lid over the top of it right at the same moment that Gordon calls out–
"Time!"
I hold my breath and look around to my competitors. It seems everyone has completed their dish, now I have to hope that mine pulls in a point for our team.
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