The twelfth episode of Season 19 of Hell's Kitchen aired on March 25, 2021. In that episode, the six remaining chefs competed for black jackets, and a shocking elimination of the most improved chef of that season took place.
Intro[]
While going back to the dorms, Declan said he would have preferred if Amber went home as he was sick of her complain about everything. On the other end, Amber said she was done with Declan and Cody as she felt it was more of herself against the two men in the blue team. As Amber expressed her disgust towards her teammates, Kori reminded her that they were close to the black jackets and had a feeling the two men would not put each other for elimination. On the patio, Cody found it challenging to have Amber question his leadership and called her attack from a personal angle. Afterwards, Declan and Cody went to bed and joked about spooning with each other.
The next day, the chefs were up as Cody asked Declan if he played any instruments, only to say no. Soon after, the Sous Chefs entered the dorms and told everyone to dress up in their casual wear as they were leaving the restaurant for a while. The chefs drove to the back of a building and loaded into a freight elevator, with Mary Lou comparing it to the movie Saw and wondering if Ramsay would make them duel to the death. The chefs and the Sous Chefs entered an auditorium where Ramsay greeted them on stage, but Kori knew that the latter had a trick up his sleeve and wondered what it would be. Ramsay said he was giving the six of them a VIP performance for making it this far, and it was revealed to be a special Criss Angel performance, making Nikki say it was her childhood dream come true. The chefs saw Angel do his routine to their amazement, and afterwards, Ramsay said there was one more trick Angel had. Angel revealed a 360-spinning box and unveiled it to show four models in black jackets, causing Cody to realize that it was that time of the competition to start now.
Individual challenge 1[]
Later that day, the chefs returned to Hell’s Kitchen, where Ramsay announced the Black Jackets Challenge, a three-part challenge where all but one would receive a black jacket. That made Nikki tingle as she wanted one and was willing to die for one. The first challenge was the Taste Now Make It Challenge, which Kori deemed an important one as not only did it show how great your palate was but also how flawlessly one could execute the dish. Two security officers came with two domes that contained the mysterious dish where only Ramsay himself knew what was used to make them. As the chefs went into the kitchen for the challenge, Kori said she was doing all of this for her family and wanted a black jacket.
Each chef had 40 minutes to recreate the dish, and the chef who was the closest to the original would win the first black jacket. Cody admitted that this was the first time he was nervous in the competition as he felt that the two purées were root vegetables and decided to grab all the root vegetables he could find and compare tastes. Declan, Kori, Mary Lou, and Nikki used cauliflower and butternut squash for the purées, while Amber used sweet potato and celery root, and Cody used sweet potato and cauliflower. For the salad topping, Mary Lou saw a white component that had her use endive and green apples and believed she had a chance to win a black jacket. Nikki, Kori, and Amber, only used the green apple, while Cody used green apples and white onions, and Declan used green apples with white turnip, hoping he could at least be 98% right. With only 11 minutes left, the chefs began cooking the fish protein as Nikki was sure it was cod, while Kori thought it was sea bass due to the flakes of the demo dish. Cody used sea bass as well, while Mary Lou and Declan both cooked cod. However, Amber was uncertain what the fish protein was and started to panic, and with 5 minutes left, she began to cook both fishes as everybody else was nearing the end. With time running out, Amber decided to go with sea bass. Eventually, the chefs had their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Kori presented her dish for judging but immediately began to second guess herself after seeing the demo dish again and seeing Nikki and Mary Lou having cod on their plates. Nikki was excited to have Ramsay taste her dish, but when Cody and Amber presented their dishes, Declan saw that they were wrong as he knew it was cod based on the shape of the protein. When Declan had his dish judged, he felt his dish was a photocopy of Ramsay’s original dish. After tasting the dishes, Ramsay said it was a split between sea bass and cod before announcing that the correct protein was cod Declan, Nikki, and Mary Lou moved on as they got the right protein, and Ramsay announces that they all got the right ingredients for the purée. However, Ramsay named Mary Lou the winner as she was the only one that got the salad component correct, earning her the first black jacket of the season.
For winning the challenge, Mary Lou got to spend the rest of the day in the Black Jacket Lounge as Sous Chef Christina escorted her to the lounge. After feeling validated, Mary Lou stepped into the lounge and was blown away by the amount of entertainment she had in store. Meanwhile, Ramsay told Nikki and Declan that because both were close to Mary Lou’s dish, he was naming one more winner for that challenge. While both nailed the protein, Declan was crowned the winner as he correctly finished his dish with olive oil and shallots. Declan received his black jacket and went to Black Jacket Lounge, calling his jacket his new baby. Mary Lou welcomed Declan to the lounge as the latter said he was now in the elite club of the series.
Scoring[]
| Taste It Now Make It | |
| Chef | Score |
|---|---|
| Amber | 1/4 |
| Cody | 1/4 |
| Declan | 3/4 |
| Kori | 2/4 |
| Mary Lou | 4/4 |
| Nikki | 3/4 |
| Results | Mary Lou and Declan |
Individual challenge 2[]
Back in the dining room, Ramsay asked the four remaining chefs if they were ready for the second challenge, but while most said yes, Kori said she would stab someone for a black jacket. After that awkward moment, Ramsay explained that a great chef must adapt to whatever ingredient they are given and has six security guards enter with briefcases. Each chef must choose a security guard, and that person would open the suitcase to reveal what ingredients they would cook with, but Cody said it did not matter what he got as he felt he could nail that challenge. Because Nikki had the third-best dish in the last challenge, she got to pick first. She picked Frank and received lobster, making Nikki happy about the selection. Kori picked Danny and got salmon, making her happy as she wanted a Latin-themed dish, while Amber picked Luke and received black cod. While Cody noted that most of the ingredients Amber received were used in restaurants nowadays, he also knew that they were easy to fuck up. Lastly, Cody picked Jimmy and received pork chop.
The four chefs had 40 minutes to cook a dish with their chosen ingredients, and Kori had an idea to blend her spinach to give Ramsay a black jacket-worthy dish. Back at the lounge, Declan asked Mary Lou who she thought would get a black jacket, and she felt that Kori was the most confident about her skills. In the blue kitchen, Amber struggled to prep the black cod as she never cooked one before, and her decision to make the uzu without any seasoning confused Sous Chef Jason. In the red kitchen, Nikki felt confident about her dish, but Ramsay warned her not to leave her lobster in the pot for too long as it could go tough. Horrified that she forgot the lobster, Nikki pulled it out of the pot, but the lobster was overcooked to her dismay. With no other choice, Nikki had to chop up her tail and mix it into the polenta. In the blue kitchen, Cody was confident that he would beat the shit out of everyone with his dish, and eventually, everyone had their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Ramsay said that the dishes looked exceptional as Cody was the first one up, and the latter was confident that his dish would give him a black jacket. Cody presented his pork chop with polenta, bourbon pickled corn, and pomegranate chorizo vinaigrette, and Ramsay not only praised the presentation, but he also felt the cook on the pork was spot on. The only criticism he had with the dish was the overuse of the polenta, but Cody thought he had it. Then, Amber knew a lot was riding on that challenge as she never cooked black cod before and presented her pan-seared black cod over rice and uzu and Berblanc sauce. While Ramsay liked the sauce, he felt the cod tasted bland despite having a good cook, making Amber hoping it was enough to get her a black jacket. When Kori went up, she was ready to show Ramsay she could adapt to anything and presented her pan-seared salmon with spinach pesto and roasted cauliflower. Ramsay praised the pesto as it matched the salmon well but criticized the cauliflower for tasting bland, and afterwards, Kori felt she made Popeye proud. Last up was Nikki, but she was not happy with the presentation of the dish. Nikki’s lobster tail polenta was criticized for having the tail chopped out, but Ramsay praised the flavors, making her hope the flavors were enough.
Because all four of the dishes were exceptional, Ramsay said he was giving out two black jackets in this round before announcing Cody as the third black jacket chef. Ramsay told Cody that his pork chop dish was the best dish he made in the competition, and Cody was ecstatic to win a black jacket as he called it a highlight in his career. Cody’s arrival was met with joy from Mary Lou as she wanted him to get a black jacket. Meanwhile, Ramsay announced Kori as the fourth black jacket winner due to her spinach pesto, and she joined the rest of the black jacket chefs in the lounge as she felt sharp in black.
Individual challenge 3[]
Back in the dining room, Ramsay told Nikki and Amber to set aside what happened in the previous two challenges and focus on the last black jacket of the season. Amber felt confident that she was stronger than Nikki due to the latter only working for two years, recalling a few weeks ago, she did not express confidence in Nikki running a brigade. Before the next challenge began, Ramsay decided to show the two women photos of when they started to love cooking, starting by showing Amber a picture of her and her grandmother, making her emotional. Amber remarked that she started cooking with her mother and grandmother and had to help her mother out in the kitchen as the latter was incapable of cooking. Then, a picture of Nikki icing a cupcake on Halloween with shown, and she explained that it was taken in a homeless shelter. Nikki explained that food was scarce for them as she never had a home until she was ten years old, and the importance of food was big from the start as she never looked back in regret of her struggles as they shaped her into who she was today. For their final challenge, Ramsay told Nikki and Amber to cook a dish that was inspired by their life, and they had 40 minutes to do so.
As the challenge began, Amber said she was making beef bourgeon, based on a dish her mother made when she was a kid, and knew it was an excellent opportunity to show Ramsay her inspiration. In the Black Jacket Lounge, the four black jacket chefs were watching the challenge from the TV and were not impressed that Amber was cooking a filet as it seemed boring. Then, they saw that Nikki looked calm under the pressure of the challenge, but Cody wondered if she was too calm. In the red kitchen, Nikki decided to make a dish she had when they were struggling and would eat boxed potatoes and waxed beans every night. While Nikki said she never appreciated that before, she did now. 5 minutes left, Amber checked the cook on her filet, but it was raw, and she was forced to put it back in the pan. Eventually, Amber and Nikki had their dishes cooked and plated on time.
Amber was up first, she felt confident about her dish and hoped it would show Ramsay her passion. Amber presented her boeuf bourgeon with Yukon mashed and pearl onions, a dish her mother made for her and the first dish she had when she moved to France. Ramsay praised the cook on the steak, and the seasoning is well rounded but felt that the onions were a little raw. Despite that, Amber felt good about her dish and thought she deserved the black jacket. Then, Nikki went up, was happy with her dish, and felt Ramsay would see her passion in the dish. Nikki presented her take on her mother’s cooking, a herb panko-seared pork chop with gruyere and cheddar mixture. Ramsay praised the cook on the pork as it was glistening but felt that she could have added more cheese to the potatoes. When Nikki went back in line, she felt like the pork chop and was confident that it was worthy of a black jacket.
Elimination[]
After tasting the dishes, Ramsay had Amber and Nikki come forward as the former knew that despite the ups and downs she experienced, she knew she was a great chef and was not ready to go home. Then, Nikki knew she had come so far since the beginning and wanted to go even further. In the end, Ramsay announced that Amber was the final recipient of the black jacket, and as she left for the lounge, she was glad to finish the day on a high note. That meant that Nikki, the only chef left standing, was eliminated, but Ramsay told her that she earned his respect for being the most improved chef in the show’s history and offered her a chance to stage in any of his restaurants. Nikki was grateful for the opportunity and left with her jacket on her back. During her exit interview, Nikki received a retrospective montage of her time on the show.
Back at the Black Jacket Lounge, the black jacket chefs debated who would enter as Declan was hoping it Nikki instead of Amber. Unfortunately for Declan, Amber walked in, but he did congratulate her regardless. Then, Ramsay walked in with champagne and revealed that they all received two round-trip tickets in the USA as a gift from Allegiance. Afterwards, Ramsay deemed the final five the most competitive he has ever seen, and they earned their black jackets. As the chefs celebrated, Kori knew that come the next day, a new chapter began as she was going to fight until the end, while Cody called that night a dream as he wanted to fight against the best. Afterwards, the final five, Ramsay, and the Sous Chefs toasted to their milestone.
Ramsay did not comment on Nikki's elimination, and she did not receive the portrait burning sequence.
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: The title refers to the magic show Criss Angel gave to the final six.