The fifteenth episode of Season 15 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on Fox, on April 22, 2016. In that episode, steak was the main ingredient, the final three took turns running the pass, and Ramsay picked two of them for the finals.
Intro[]
While heading back to the dorms, the final three were still in shock over what just happened as Ashley commented that she never saw Ramsay eliminate two black jacket chefs in one night. While Ashley was sad to see Jared go home as he was her best friend, she had to remain focused. Meanwhile, Ariel was excited about being in the final three but was not ready to celebrate until she won the competition. Kristin stated that she was stronger than she was before and believed that the head chef position at BLT Steak was in her hands.
Later that night, at 12:45 AM, Ashley told Kristin that she wanted them to be in the finals badly but noted it would be difficult as Ariel has been a monster in the competition. Kristin agreed as all three of them thought they were the strongest, while Ashley felt that Ariel’s attitude might ruin her up in the end.
Individual challenge[]
The next day, the final three came outside to the front entrance, where a police force escorted delivery of an armored truck has just arrived from Las Vegas. Then, four men in black came out of the armored truck with briefcases on their wrists, and Kristin wondered if there was money inside them. The first briefcase revealed the $250,000 prize money that would be awarded to the winner of that season, while Ramsay had each woman pick what briefcase they wanted. After jokingly picking the first one that contained money, Ariel picked the third one, Ashley picked the fourth one, and Kristin was left with the second one. Then, Ramsay asked the men to open their briefcases. It was revealed that they contained steak cuts with Kristin receiving ribeye, Ashley receiving filet, and Ariel receiving New York Striploin. Ramsay explained that each cut came from BLT Steak at Bally’s Las Vegas, and he believed that the winner of that season should know how to work with different cuts of steak. For the BLT Bone-in Steak Challenge, the final three had 40 minutes to make a stunning steak dish with their chosen cuts and two sides.
After grabbing their cuts, the final three went back to the red kitchen. Ashley commented that she never worked with a cut that big before but decided to use South Western as her theme. Ariel decided to make multiple sides as she had no idea what to use until they were cooked. At the same time, Kristin knew how important the challenge was due to the prize as Sous Chef Christina warned not to drop her steak onto the ground. Eventually, the final three cooked their dishes and plated them on time.
Ari Rosenson came in to help Ramsay judge that challenge, but Kristin knew that it would not be easy as he knew his steaks. The final three presented their dishes to the judges, but while Kristin was concerned as Ariel and Ashley’s dishes had a presentation, she knew that her dish screamed steakhouse. Ashley’s dish was the first to be judged, and she presented her South Western-styled fascia pepper rubbed filet with grilled poblano pepper and sautéed chipotle corn. While the dish was praised for having the steak at the forefront, the peppers were criticized for being undercooked. Ariel’s New York Striploin steak with roasted garlic and poblano pepper butter with corn and spaghetti squash was praised for having a great flavor and a spot-on temperature, despite having a lot of elements going on. Kristin’s dish was the last one to be judged, and she presented her ribeye with bacon and gorgonzola potato purée and grilled asparagus. It was praised for being beautifully cooked, and having a great potato dish, as Rosenson said it was difficult to nail a great potato dish. While the three dishes proved to Ramsay that he had a strong final three, the hard part was deciding which of the three was the best overall. After a tough deliberation, Ramsay and Rosenson named Kristin the winner. She was elated over it as she kept her steak simple and that it paid off, but Ariel felt that she should have won due to Kristin playing it too safe.
Reward[]
Kristin was rewarded with lunch cooked by Ari Rosenson at CUT, with Ramsay joining her, which she called the best feeling. During the reward, Kristin and Ramsay talked about turning points, and she knew that being 27, she had to turn her life around as she used to rebel against her parents. When they arrived at CUT, Kristin was shocked to see her parents waiting for her, which she called a great time to see them, before thanking Ramsay for that. While talking with her parents, Kristin recalled the argument she had with Jackie and said that her family’s faith helped her despite her ups and downs.
Punishment[]
Ariel and Ashley were punished by cleaning the armored truck and police motorcycles and prepping for the following service. Ariel was upset as she was very close to winning and the fact Kristin had a chance to pick Ramsay’s brain. During the punishment, Ariel and Ashley were annoyed that Ramsay parked his car right in front of them, and the latter said that she wanted to have lunch with him as he has been her idol since she was five years old.
Before service[]
Later that night, Kristin returned from her reward and joined Ashley and Ariel in prepping. When Kristin revealed that she got to see her parents, it made Ariel envious and irritated at the same time. After prep, Ramsay had the final three lined up at the blue kitchen and reminded them that service that night would determine who would enter the finals. Then, Ramsay revealed that each of them would turn running the hot plate and reminded them to take control. After, Ramsay asked Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Mike Scioscia was in attendance that night. As the final three worked on their first ticket, Kristin admitted that while she already felt a sense of honor being in the top three, she was more motivated to be in the top two. After the first tables of appetizers were sent out, Ariel was up first to run the pass and was reminded to show the others who was the best. Immediately, Ariel became vocal, feeling she had the strongest chance of winning the competition but was unaware of what was to come as she was impatient with Sous Chef Christina’s slow performance on appetizers. Then, Sous Chef Christina sent up a risotto that had carrot purée instead of squash, and Ariel failed to notice it until Ramsay informed her of that. After a brief squabble with Ramsay, Ariel admitted she had no idea that it would happen as she never watched the show before as Ashley did. Despite that, Ariel rejected Sous Chef Aaron’s char garnish for not being crispy enough, told Kristin to slice the Wellingtons in a way she could stand them up properly and said that success was her only way to make it into the finale.
Kristin was the second person to run the hot plate, and she knew that the only way she could not win was not believing that she could not. While she called up her first strongly, Sous Chef Aaron sent up Wellingtons that did not have duxelles inside them, but she managed to catch them immediately. Then, Kristin rejected Ashley’s snapper for being burnt, but she did not get a response from the latter until Ramsay called her out for it and managed to get the refire accepted. Soon after, Marino gave Kristin an improperly written ticket, and she accidentally called out capellini as it was not on the menu that night. While she caught her mistake, Ramsay lectured Kristin to read it before calling it out unless she wanted to look like a fool, and she compared the situation to Super Mario Bros. Despite that, Kristin was able to taste carrot in Sous Chef Christina’s risotto instead of squash and called the latter sneaky.
Ashley was the final person to run the hot plate, and while she acknowledged her struggles on fish earlier, she felt that it was the chance to redeem herself. Despite calling out her first order, Ariel did not respond to Ashley on her risottos, even though the latter felt Ashley was just moving around a lot without doing anything. While Ashley thought that Ariel’s risotto was fine, Ramsay informed her that it was undercooked, and Ariel continued not to communicate with her. After, Ramsay pulled Ashley over to the blue kitchen and told her that while everybody else had made mistakes on the hot plate, she was too quiet and unresponsive before urging her to bounce back. While upset by her poor performance, Ashley knew that she could not give up and rejected Ariel’s refire for not being seasoned enough. Ashley’s quality control was strong, and she was able to identify a black garlic purée instead of the black pepper purée needed. However, Sous Chef Christina replaced arctic char for a similar-looking salmon, and Ashley did not recognize it until Ramsay told her. Despite that, Ashley was able to finish her time on the pass on a strong note.
Post-mortem[]
After lining up, Ramsay congratulated the final three for their strong performance but asked them to each vote on one individual that should not be in the finale based on everything that has happened throughout the competition.
During deliberation, Kristin deemed it hard as each of them was worthy of being in the finale before arguing that she should be in the finale for keeping her mental composure strongly. Ashley commented that she pushed herself more than she thought, and while she thought of herself as a leader, Ariel said that she could not remember a time when the former stepped up as one, to which Kristin agreed. However, Ashley told Ariel off and reminded her about her attitude problem throughout the competition. Ariel argued that she never disrespected anybody in the competition before saying that she wanted to go up against Kristin in the finale. While Kristin felt comfortable being safe from elimination, she wanted to choose who she wanted as strong competition for her in the finale.
Elimination[]
When Ramsay asked the final three why they each deserved to be in the final two, Ariel said that she pushed herself a lot in the competition and learned a lot about herself as a leader. Then, Ashley said that she pushed herself to her limits in the competition and called it a dream to be in the finale, while Kristin said that her consistency rose the bar throughout the competition and that she could lead BLT Steak. After Ramsay asked the chef who they thought should not be in the finale, Ashley said Ariel as the latter’s attitude might clash with other people. In contrast, Ariel said Ashley for overthinking things and doubting herself. Kristin said Ashley for overthinking her skills and that it could spread to the other chefs. After, Ramsay announced Kristin as the first finalist, which she called a soaring feeling, and after a difficult decision, Ariel was named the second finalist, which she called crazy, therefore eliminating Ashley. Before leaving, Ramsay told Ashley that she was born to cook, allowed her to keep her jacket, and reminded her that it was a very close decision. Ashley received a retrospective montage during her exit interview.
After Ashley left, Ramsay congratulated the final two, with Ariel calling it awesome and Kristin in disbelief. While being dismissed, Ariel was proud of making it far, while Kristin was ready to take Ariel down. At the end of the episode, Ashley received the burning portrait sequence.
Ramsay's comment: "Ashley's a young chef with a very bright future. She earned her place in the final three, and I have no doubt that she'll be a great success."
Trivia[]
- This marks the first time since Episode 614 - 3 Chefs Compete where there was an active final three.