The One Where They're Going to Party!

Thursday, 11 December 1997

Monica's savage restaurant review gets her hired as that restaurant's head chef, while Rachel's boss Joanna wrecks her promotion interview, then creates the job for her and is killed by a cab before filing the paperwork.

What happens

• Monica takes a weekly food critic slot at a local paper, and Phoebe agrees to it once she hears the free dinners are shared.
• Chandler tells Ross that their old party-wizard friend Gandolf is coming to town, and both of them arrange to skip work for it.
• Rachel asks Joanna for permission to apply for an assistant buyer opening, and Joanna, who sits on the hiring committee, tells her to go ahead.
• In front of the committee, Joanna reduces Rachel's work to fetching bagels and hints that she sleeps around with designers.
• Monica's brutal review of Allesandro's brings the owner to her door demanding a retraction, and she ends up cooking him a sauce to prove her point.
• Rachel confronts Joanna, who admits she sabotaged the interview to keep her assistant, then invents an assistant buyer position for her with an office, a raise and Sophie.
• Allesandro offers Monica the head chef job, and when she tells Phoebe she is stepping back from catering, Phoebe walks out.
• The night out Joey organises without Gandolf leaves all three of them worn out over decaf, and Chandler declares that at twenty-nine he wants an early bedtime.
• Phoebe hears Monica's list of alternative van businesses, realises how badly Monica wants out, and tells her to take the chef job.
• Rachel arrives for her first day as assistant buyer and learns that Joanna was hit by a cab the night before, having sent no paperwork through.