The fifteenth episode of Season 17 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox on February 2, 2018, airing as a double feature along with the sixteenth episode. In that episode, the final three created their menus, went through one final challenge, and two of them advanced to the finals.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Michelle was ecstatic that all the obstacles she had to overcome paid off. While she came close to making it to the finale back in Season 14, she felt Ramsay knew it was a tough call to decided two finalists out of the three right now. When the final three came to the dorms, they found Vacmasters waiting for them, which Benjamin commented would normally cost $3000, and Nick knew that with a final three in the finale, it was a close-nit race.
Final challenge Part 1[]
Later that night, Nick was about to cook some tater tots for dinner, only for Ramsay to call the dorms and ask the final three to come back downstairs. Once back down in the dining room, Ramsay told them that for the Final Menu Challenge, they would each make five dishes that consisted of a cold appetizer, hot appetizer, and three entrées. The Sous Chefs would help them out, but because there were three finalists instead of two, Ramsay reached out to a colleague, Keisha, to fill in the third spot. To decide who would work with what Sous Chef, Ramsay gave each of the envelopes that contained the name of the Sous Chef they would be working with. Michelle got Sous Chef Jocky, Nick got Sous Chef Christina, making him feel proud as the latter went from a former contestant to running a Vegas empire, and Benjamin got Keisha. Even though Benjamin never met Keisha before, he was confident that she was on his side.
When the final three went back to the dorms, they immediately started cleaning up before working on their menus as the Sous Chefs arrived. Michelle explained to Sous Chef Jocky that her menu was all Asian-inspired dishes and was comfortable with having a three Michelin chef help her on the menu, Benjamin described his French-Texas menu to Keisha, and Nick told Sous Chef Christina that his menu was all personal. After the Sous Chefs left, Nick got his tater tots cooked, and he and Michelle playfully recited a service when he brought them out of the oven.
The next day, the final three began cooking their dishes from their final menu, but despite Michelle having difficulty reading Sous Chef Jocky as she did not know his attitude, she was appreciative of his help. For Benjamin, he decided to change his tuna dish from seared to cubes and knew that a great chef had to adjust. For Nick, he felt that his sauces were risky as it included Hollandaise and Berblanc but did not want to miss his second opportunity to win. With 10 minutes left, the chefs began plating as Benjamin had no plans on going home that day, but Nick discovered that his Berblanc sauce broke on him as it was still too hot and began racing to make a new sauce. Eventually, the final three got their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Michelle volunteered to go up first as she wanted to show Ramsay her skills with the five dishes. For her cold appetizer, she presented her Hamachi Crudo, Ramsay praised the fragrance of the citrus, and Benjamin deemed her a tough competitor for breathing cooking before admitting that he wanted a strong competitor like the former. Then, Michelle's Uni risotto was deemed delicious, along with her sea bass with squid ink pasta, her crispy chicken thigh, and her miso New York Striploin. After, Michelle was proud to have served her dishes to Ramsay, but Benjamin still felt that he was the strongest chef in the competition. For Benjamin, his ahi tuna with ponzu and chilli oil was praised for being refreshing, his shrimp and grits for being elevated to the premier league, and after the rest of his dishes were praised, Nick started to feel nervous. After, Ramsay praised Benjamin's dishes for screaming Vegas, on top of being decadent and near perfect. Nick was the final person up and hoped that his Berblanc sauce was okay. His beef carpaccio was deemed a great start, along with his cranberry hollandaise with scallops and seared sea bass with tri-coloured carrots with Berblanc sauce, with Ramsay in particular praising the sauce. Then, his crispy chicken with sweet potato purée and espresso and chilli dusted venison loin was praised as well, and Michelle remarked that nobody has sent up a poor dish before deeming it close. After the judging, Ramsay took some time to discuss the winners with the Sous Chefs, with Michelle knowing that that could only be two finalists, Benjamin felt that he was in a good place, while in contrast, Nick was feeling anxious. After, Ramsay announced a three-way tie for the winner and said they were going to the Calumet Ranch for the 7th annual Culinary Award Ceremony.
Award show[]
As the final three went back to the dorms for that night, Benjamin said that he never been to an award show and was happy to relax for the night. Arriving at Calumet Ranch via limousine, Nick called the location beautiful, even though he had no idea what was going on. The three received makeovers and new wardrobes for the award ceremony, but while Michelle was stressed out about not cooking, Nick was happy to spend a night without cooking.
Later that night, the final three met up with Ramsay for drinks, and before the ceremony began, they met up with their Sous Chefs. As the ceremony took place, Michelle knew that they were living Ramsay's life, and when it was the latter's turn to present the next award, he announced the final three for the Best Newcomer Award. Ramsay admitted that the ceremony was fake and announced it was time for the second part of the Final Tasting Challenge, with the top two chefs competing in the final dinner service the following night.
Final challenge Part 2[]
The final three had an hour to once again cook their menu items, with the chance of perfecting their dishes with the feedback Ramsay gave them earlier that day. While Nick knew how crazy it was that his five dishes would decide his fate, he was confident that he would win. Meanwhile, Michelle said that not making it to the final two was out of the question and refused to finish in third place again as she went through a lot of shit throughout the competition, especially from Elise. Then, Benjamin was trying to focus on his dishes despite the loud crowd, while Nick knew that it was sink or swim as he worked through his mistake earlier that day. Then, Nick commented that he was the only one of the three that made if father than he did last time and felt that he grew since Season 14. Eventually, the final three got their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Ramsay announced that each round would be judged on a scale of 1-10, and the two chefs with the highest scores would perform in the final dinner service. For the judges, there were five Executives from the Casers Entertainment Group that would judge each round, although Nick got intimidated by the fact Ramsay would not be deciding the top two chefs. For the cold appetizer round, General Manager Sean McBurney judged that round and Michelle presented her Hamachi Crudo. McBurney deemed it a stunning dish for the vibrant colors and was impressed by the taste. Then, Benjamin's ahi tuna with miso ponzu purée was deemed beautiful and delicious, while Nick's beef and beet carpaccio was praised for the balance of the flavors. After, Michelle scored 9 points, Benjamin scored 8 points, and Nick scored 8 points, making the score 9-8-8 for Michelle. On the hot appetizer round, VP of Food & Beverage Cory Johnson came up to judge. Nick's bay scallops with cranberry hollandaise were praised for having the apple sweeten up the dish. Benjamin's jumbo shrimp with poblano peppers and grits was praised for having a spot on polenta. Michelle's uni risotto was praised for having a taste of the ocean. In the end, Nick scored 9 points, Benjamin scored 9 points, and Michelle scored 8 points, making it a three-way 17-point tie. On the fish entrée round, President Gary Selesner judged that round. Benjamin's roasted halibut with smoked cherry tomatoes, praised for being full of flavor, and Michelle's sea bass with squid ink pasta praised for tasting like the sea, but Nick's pan-seared Chilean sea bass dusted with fennel pollen was deemed too sweet for Selenser. In the end, Benjamin scored 8 points, Michelle scored 9 points, and Nick scored 8 points, making the score 26-25-25 for Michelle. On the chicken entrée round, Global President Tom Jenkin judged that round, with Michelle's chicken and ginger braised bok choy praised for having a great combination of flavors, Nick's chicken breast with applewood smoked bacon and sweet potato purée praised for tasting moist and tender, and Benjamin's heir lined chicken breast with pewee peas was praised for an amazing glaze. In the end, Michelle scored 8, Nick scored 9, and Benjamin scored 9, making the score a three-way 34-point tie. On the beef entrée round, CEO and President Mike Frissora judged that round, and before Benjamin presented his dish, he knew that only the two best beef dishes would determine who had a chance for Vegas. After his brown sugar-cured filet mignon was deemed delicious and tender, Nick's espresso and chilli venison loin with seared oyster mushrooms was deemed moist, with Ramsay praising the smoked salt part, and before Michelle came up, she hoped that her dish would be the best. Her seared New York Striploin basted in miso and uzu butter was praised for having a burst of flavor on contact, which Frissora deemed a nice surprise. After, Frissora announced Michelle was the first person for the grand finale, and then, Benjamin was named the second person in the grand finale, therefore eliminating Nick from the competition. While Benjamin was happy to have made it and boasted he would win, Nick was disappointed he lost by one dish.
Scoring[]
| Michelle | Benjamin | Nick | ||||||
| Round | Score | Total | Round | Score | Total | Round | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | 9/10 | 9 | One | 8/10 | 8 | One | 8/10 | 8 |
| Two | 8/10 | 17 | Two | 9/10 | 17 | Two | 9/10 | 17 |
| Three | 9/10 | 26 | Three | 8/10 | 25 | Three | 8/10 | 25 |
| Four | 8/10 | 34 | Four | 9/10 | 34 | Four | 9/10 | 34 |
| Five | Advanced | 34 | Five | Advanced | 34 | Five | Not Advanced | 34 |
| Results | 34-34-34 | |||||||
Team Select[]
After the challenge, Ramsay reminded Nick that his time in the competition was not over yet as he was now part of the lineup of returning chefs for the brigade, calling up Van, Barbie, Dana, Elise, Jennifer, Robyn, and Milly. Michelle had the first pick of the drafts and immediately picked Nick for being consistent throughout the competition, while Benjamin picked Jennifer as he wanted to take her away from Michelle. Then, Michelle picked Dana as her second pick, while Benjamin picked Van as his second, with the latter wanting to kill it for the former. Michelle picked Milly as her third, and Benjamin picked Robyn as his third, although she knew she would have been picked before either Barbie or Elise. That left Barbie or Elise as the final pick, and Michelle was stuck on who to pick due to her conflicts with them before. Just before she announced her decision, the episode ended as a cliffhanger.
Ramsay did not comment on Nick's elimination, he did not receive the portrait burning sequence and did not receive a retrospective montage.
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: The title refers to the fact that, for the first time, the final three participated in the first half of the finale.
- This marks the first time the Final Tasting Challenge had three chefs competing and the first time a chef was eliminated through this challenge.
- With Nick's elimination, Michelle and Benjamin made it further than they did in their original seasons. They also become the second and third chefs respectively to make it to the final dinner service after Season 12's Jason.