The nineteenth episode of Season 12 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox, on July 17, 2014. On that episode, the final four reunited with their loved ones, took turns running the pass, and Ramsay pick two chefs for the final two.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Jason admitted that service went differently than expected thanks to Joy’s meltdown and quitting afterwards, as he thought she was his solid competition. However, that made Jason realize that it was everybody’s game now. Everybody else was excited to be in the final four as Rochelle was proud of Scott despite having a warped perception of him because of his multiple nominations. Scott believed that he was the easy choice to get nominated as the plan b. Still, despite getting his ass kicked by Ramsay every day, Scott felt he must be doing something right before commenting that it was the Fantastic Four now.
The next day, the final four came downstairs to see Ramsay with two secret service members, leading Rochelle to ask what was going on. Ramsay explained that Hell’s Kitchen was hosting some important dignitary’s. As he led them outside, Melanie wondered if they were seeing a celebrity. When a police officer escorted motorcade of limousines arrived, Ramsay revealed that it was their loved ones as Rochelle’s fiancée and parents, Melanie’s boyfriend and mother, Jason’s girlfriend and mother, and Scott’s wife and children came out of the limousines, tearing him up as he had a picture of his family next to his bed.
As the chefs reunited with their loved ones, Scott called it a special moment to have his kids in his arms as he told them what he has been doing and that his family were the three most influential people in his life. Then, the waiting staff served them a fish dish courtesy of Ramsay. As Rochelle talked to her family about how much she grew, Jason admitted how hard the competition was. Melanie called it cool to see her loved ones and did not eat the dish. Eventually, the chefs had to say goodbye to their loved ones, and Scott said it was hard to say goodbye to his family.
Individual challenge[]
After, Ramsay said it was back to work and announced the Taste It Now Make It Challenge. When Sous Chef Andi walked up the dome containing the dish, it was revealed to be empty as Ramsay already served it to them during the loved ones' visit. Melanie regretted not eating her dish, while Scott did not focus on the dish too much. Ramsay said he had another sample plate for the challenge, and the chef who was the closest to recreating the challenge was the winner.
The chefs had 40 minutes to recreate Ramsay’s dish, which contained a fish protein with a meat wrapping, garnish, and purée. Scott said it was tough to distinguish the taste of the fish protein as he had a lot in his mind, but decided to take escolar as it had a meatier taste. Jason went with sole with a prosciutto wrapping as it had a distinct taste. Still, while everybody used the same meat wrapping, Scott was the only one to use escolar as everybody else used sole. For the garnish, Melanie picked pumpkin, but everybody else picked butternut squash. For the purée, Rochelle felt it was a mild taste like parsley. Jason experimented with different purées before using watercress along with Scott, while Melanie picked arugula. Eventually, everybody had their dishes cooked and plated on time.
During the judging, Rochelle did not understand Ramsay’s vague judging and did not think Melanie’s garnish was pumpkin, while Scott hoped he got the dish correct as Ramsay liked it. After Jason’s turn, Ramsay announced the protein was sole, meaning Scott was out, and the garnish was butternut squash, meaning Melanie was out. The final component was the purée, but as Jason used watercress for his purée, he won the challenge. While Rochelle was disappointed she lost by one component, Jason felt he was on a roll.
Scoring[]
| Taste It Now Make It | |
| Chef | Score |
|---|---|
| Jason | 3/4 |
| Melanie | 1/4 |
| Rochelle | 2/4 |
| Scott | 2/4 |
| Results | Jason |
Reward[]
Jason was rewarded with a VIP restaurant tour in Los Angeles and had a surprise waiting in the dorms. Once there, Jason found brand-new stainless-steel cookware waiting for him, and he could not wait to use them back home. During the reward, Jason was joined with Sous Chef Andi, and they drove to Fig & Olive, where they met Mitchell Ramos, which Jason called inspiring. As they tasted the food, Jason was very happy. Still, when Sous Chef Andi asked him who was his biggest competition, Jason was not worried as Melanie was getting stupider. However, Sous Chef Andi told Jason that if he stayed consistent, he would be fine.
Later, Jason and Sous Chef Andi went to Ink, where they met his loved ones. Jason said it meant a lot to him to have his family and talk with them as they met with Michael Voltaggio and sampled his dishes. Jason explained how frustrating it was, and when his mother asked if he yelled at people, he recalled the times he did towards Mike and Sandra, and letting a passionate yell out in the dorms. After, Jason called it a wonderful day that he would never forget.
Punishment[]
The remaining chefs were punished by participating in moving day and prepping the kitchen for that night’s service. After hearing that, Melanie said she hated moving day as she never moved in her life. During the punishment, Scott was forced to lift the mattress into the truck by himself as Rochelle could not do it with her injured thumb. In contrast, Melanie deliberately did not help as she wanted him to get tired out. However, Scott was annoyed by the fact he did all the heavy lifting by himself as the women ate lunch.
Before service[]
After the three punished chefs completed prep, Jason came running back from his reward and quickly got changed into his black jacket. Once everybody was lined up, Ramsay revealed that he was using that night’s service to determine who was going into the finale and have each of them take a turn running the pass. Ramsay said that it was the night to separate themselves from the others before reminding them that two of them would be going home after that night. Melanie called it both exciting and nerve-wracking as Ramsay asked Jean-Philippe to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
As service began, Ramsay took the lead on the first order, and while Scott knew that everybody could cook, it was time to show who was at the top. Melanie and Rochelle got their appetizers accepted, and Ramsay called on the latter as the first person to run the pass as Sous Chef James took over appetizers. Rochelle said she never ran the pass before and nervously read her ticket out by speaking too fast, which Jason could not understand before mimicking her in the confessional. Then, Sous Chef James walked up improperly made salads, but when Rochelle was about to walk them back to him, Ramsay told her to bring Sous Chef James up to the pass instead as she was driving the ship. When Rochelle started to laugh nervously, Ramsay pulled her aside, warned her that nobody would take her seriously when she giggled and told her to get a grip as it was serious. Rochelle said that giggling was her way of bouncing back but became more vocal with the chefs. Unknown to Rochelle, Sous Chef James sent up a shrimp risotto instead of a lobster risotto. Still, Rochelle was able to catch that mistake. Rochelle said it was new for her, and she needed practice, but felt that despite the slow start, she bounced back.
Melanie was the second chef to run the pass but received an improperly written ticket from Jean-Philippe that called for a chef's Caesar salad special, which was not on the menu. However, Ramsay was confused why she called it out when it was not on the menu and reminded Melanie to read the ticket out in her head before calling it out. That led Scott to wonder if Melanie could command respect to run a kitchen and felt she needed a few more years. When Melanie called out the correct order, nobody responded to her, and Ramsay told her that they did not care about her. Melanie was disappointed in her team, but Ramsay told her to control them as they controlled her, and she knew she had to prove to him she had a voice. Once Melanie became more vocal, everybody responded to her and food was being pushed out.
Scott was up next and said he felt he was a better orchestrator as he called out the entrée order with authority, something Ramsay liked. Scott knew it was not easy to run the pass as Ramsay made it easy, but Sous Chef James placed a duck breast on a pan with a chicken order while some of the dishes were being sent out. However, Scott instantly saw the mistake along with pink chicken, and then, he rejected Melanie’s garnishes for lacking salt. While Melanie felt that Scott was being too picky and sending back too many things as he sent back an overly garlicky halibut sauce to Jason, the customers enjoyed the quality of the food.
Jason was the final chef to run the pass, but he called out the order casually as he felt people would work under him better if they liked him. However, Scott was surprised that Jason acted like a goofball and knew the latter had to command respect to earn his respect. Sous Chef Andi told Jason to get serious as Ramsay got concerned about the lack of talking. Then, Ramsay pulled Jason aside, told him not to call out the orders like he was talking to friends at a pub, and reminded him that he was running them. Jason knew he had to step it up, and became more serious, allowing entrées to leave the kitchen. In the following order, Sous Chef James sent up crusted salmon instead of crusted halibut, but Jason noticed the mistake to Ramsay’s praise. With that, the final entrée orders were served.
Post-mortem[]
After service, Ramsay told the final four that they now knew what it was like to run Hell’s Kitchen. While he wanted to think about who belonged in the finale, he asked them to name one person who did not.
During deliberation, Jason said he did not care if everybody picked his name, while Rochelle told Melanie that she was voting for Scott. Despite knowing that Scott has done a great job lately, Melanie knew he was not in the first half of the competition and wondered if his late-blooming performances were good enough. Then, Melanie felt that Jason should have been serious that night, which Rochelle agreed as she felt the latter was not showing the integrity she was looking for. When the men came to the patio, the women left for the bathroom, leaving Jason suspicious. Once alone, Scott did not feel confident about Melanie as a leader, and he and Jason agreed that it could be based on her age. As for Rochelle, Scott pointed out how she laughed when things went rough, and Jason was confident that he and the latter had it.
Elimination[]
When the final four came downstairs, Ramsay said he would lose two talented chefs he respected that night before asking them who the chef they did not want in the finale was. Melanie said Scott as she felt he disappeared in the first half and that his recently strong performances were meaningless. In contrast, Rochelle said Jason as she was hesitant about him being a leader. Then, Scott said Melanie as she had simple hiccups when he worked with her and was concerned about her consistency level. In contrast, Jason said Rochelle as her anxiety made her too frantic, which was not healthy in the kitchen. Afterwards, Ramsay announced Rochelle as the first eliminated person. Before leaving, Ramsay praised Rochelle for being energetic as it would take her far in the industry, but as he said that, she continued to giggle, which made him laugh as well. During her exit interview, Rochelle received a retrospective montage of her time on the show.
After Rochelle left, Ramsay told the final three that he could see any of them in the finale, but there could only be two. Scott was named the first finalist as Ramsay deemed him the biggest comeback chef of the show’s history, and his performance on the hot pass proved it. Then, Jason was named the second finalist, therefore eliminating Melanie from the competition. Before leaving, Ramsay told Melanie to keep her jacket as she had a great level of tenacious ability and that cooking was in her blood. As Melanie left, she received hugs from the men. During her exit interview, Melanie received a retrospective montage of her time on the show.
After Melanie left, Ramsay congratulated the final two and told them to enjoy the moment as their biggest test lay ahead. While being dismissed, Scott said that being resilient was his motto since the beginning, and he was not ready to go home now. At the same time, Jason called it amazing as he came a long way from before.
Ramsay did not comment on Rochelle and Melanie’s eliminations. They did not receive the coat hanging and portrait burning sequence.
Trivia[]
- This episode marks the first time where a returning chef advanced to the final.