The Funniest Blind Taste Test In Hell's Kitchen History
The blind taste test on "Hell's Kitchen" is one of the most popular recurring challenges during each season of FOX's culinary reality show hosted by Gordon Ramsay. Nothing gets armchair chefs at home screaming at the television more than a show contestant confusing pungent black truffle mushroom for watercress greens, like Gail did in Season 8, which aired in 2010 (per the Hell's Kitchen Wiki).
For this favorite challenge, Ramsay brings one chef from each team up to the tasting block where they don headphones and blindfolds and are then spoon-fed single ingredients that must be identified to gain points for their team, according to the show's Wiki. The saying, "You eat with your eyes," couldn't prove to be more accurate as these experienced chefs get taken down by the simplest of ingredients.
In Season 15, which aired in 2016, Frank proved that even well-known ingredients can be hard to identify when he mistook peanut butter for a Snickers bar (as noted by Ginges Be Cray). Feeling hangry, Frank? And with each bite of filet mignon that gets confused with dry turkey, the hilarity ensues.
'Hell's Kitchen' chefs can't always handle the taste test guesses
The "Hell's Kitchen" taste test challenge always elicits shock, anger, and a slew of four-letter words from teammates sitting on the sidelines, but the tables always turn on their own taste buds when they're in the hot seat.
Reddit compiled a whole list of the worst blind taste guest guesses, and followers on the thread had many suggestions for the funniest tasting mishaps in the show's history — not to mention conspiracy theories. Referencing when Kevin made a significant seafood faux pas in 2009's Season 6 (per Reality Wanted), Redditor @oldfield49 said, "May not have been the worst, but confusing clams and spinach? Really, Kevin? I know you've had a few chowdahs in your lifetime. How do you miss that?"
Another popular suggestion on Reddit was in Season 13 (2014) when testing ingredients were infused into ice cream, and a dunking booth was added to the challenge (as seen on YouTube), making conditions worse for the contestants — but much better for viewers at home! Plenty of chefs got soaked by their teammates' poor guesses, like when Ariel tasted green tea and called it fish. Splashdown!
Which blind taste test answer was the funniest?
Even experienced chefs can confuse flavors when their palate is under pressure, as seen in a hilarious YouTube compilation of taste test clips from Seasons 1-19. YouTuber @Peeps85 said in the comment section, "Everything tastes like potato to these people." Hearing chef Andy suggest "boiled coconut" when he tasted avocado in Season 7 was especially offensive to fans at home, and laughter ensued when chef Nicole thought carrot was pear and then immediately after tasted a pear and said it was an apple.
The cook who got the most internet mentions and biggest laugh from Chef Ramsay himself, though, was Jimmy in the first-ever blind taste test in Season 1 (as seen in the YouTube clips). When given a spoonful of chicken, he overcompensated by saying it was "meat tortellini with a bit of sweated onions in the background."
While not everyone can be a supertaster and count on their palate 100% of the time, you can rely on the blind taste test challenge of "Hell's Kitchen" to supply endless entertainment and laughs.