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The fifteenth episode of Season 19 of Hell's Kitchen aired in the UK on December 10, 2020 and in the US on April 15, 2021. In this episode, the final three reunited with their loved ones, competed in one last challenge, and two of them moved on for the final dinner service.

Intro[]

While going back to the dorms, Kori remarked that she fought so hard, lost time with her son to give them a better life, and felt that all of it was coming together. Then, Mary Lou was stunned to be in the final three as it was validating for herself as she doubted her own skills but was now a believer. Lastly, Declan felt that going back to the dorms now felt like walking on the yellow brick road instead of the walk of shame as it usually had been. When the final three entered the dorms, they saw cookware and champagne waiting for them, with Mary Lou calling it the best day ever, and Declan felt that it was well deserved after all the hell they went through. As the final three toasted to their milestone, Kori said it would be an honor if she ended up losing to either of them in the finale.

Sous chef assignment[]

Later that evening, Ramsay called the dorms and asked Mary Lou to bring everyone downstairs. Once back in the dining room, Ramsay asked each of them what message they wanted to send back home. Declan said that he hoped he made his parents proud, Kori wanted to tell her son that if she could do it, so could he and Mary Lou wanted to apologize to her mother for doubting herself. Ramsay explained that for their final challenge, he was pairing them up with the Sous Chefs to help conceptualize their menu, which included a cold appetizer, a hot appetizer, a seafood entrée, a chicken entrée, and a red meat entree. Because there were only two Sous Chefs, Ramsay invited Season 17 winner Michelle to round out the numbers for three each. To assign the Sous Chefs to the final three, Ramsay gave each of them a card that would match them with their Sous Chef. After handing them out, Ramsay asked the final three to reveal their cards. Declan revealed the ace of diamonds, pairing him with Michelle, and he was okay with that since she beat fifteen All-Stars to win her season. Kori revealed the ace of hearts, pairing her up with Sous Chef Christina, and she felt the two of them were in sync. That left Mary Lou and Sous Chef Jason as the final pair by default, with Ramsay joking that the colored hair people were teaming up.

The final three and their Sous Chefs went back to the dorms to discuss their menus, along with the dishes they wanted to showcase. Michelle commented that Declan could have a chance to break the six-season streak of women winning the competition, and he listed off some dishes he wanted to make. For his cold starter, Declan wanted to make a lump crab salad as it was one of the first dishes he learned to make and wanted to make an Americana version of a roasted filet of beef, something Michelle liked hearing. For Kori, she wanted to keep her dishes nice, simple, and herself as she wanted to add her own take on a risotto dish she made for her father. Meanwhile, Sous Chef Jason suggested that Mary Lou keep to her Southern roots for the menu, making her happy as he helped her visualize dishes that were true to her style. Eventually, the final three finished their menus, and as the Sous Chefs left for the night, Declan warned the women to watch out for himself and Michelle.

Family visit[]

The next day, Ramsay called the dorms and asked Mary Lou to bring Kori down to his office as he had some concerns he needed to say. As Kori went downstairs, she was nervous about the criticism Ramsay would have about her menu but was willing to hear them out. Indeed, Ramsay said he felt that Kori’s menu was not herself as he saw more flair from her before and felt two major components were missing in the beef dish. Those components turned out to be Kori’s father and her son, making her tear up at the sight of seeing them. As Sous Chef Christina took them to the black jacket lounge for some quality time, Kori was more determined to win the competition for her family. Meanwhile, Ramsay called the dorms and asked Mary Lou to come downstairs, with the latter hanging up without saying goodbye and racing to his office. In Ramsay’s office, he reminded Mary Lou that she had a one in three chance of winning the grand prize and because he was impressed with her performance, he invited two VIP guests to see her, which were her mother and her cousin. Hugging her mother, Mary Lou called her a rock and felt more determined to win after seeing her, admitting that she wanted to call her after day one and cry that she was not good enough to stay. As Mary Lou and her family went to the lounge, she had more inspiration and wanted to win for her mother. As for Declan, Ramsay told him that while he tried to fly up his parents to see him, he was informed by the team that they were off on vacation. That dismayed Declan as he has not seen them for two years since he moved to America, but Ramsay revealed he rerouted their vacation to come to Las Vegas and see him. As Declan reunited with his parents, he felt that they were seeing him with all the hard work was worth it.

With everyone in the black jacket lounge with their families, Declan told his parents about the helicopter reward and the guest judges he got to meet in the challenges, Mary Lou told her family how stronger she has become, and Kori told her family how Ramsay called her focus phenomenal. Eventually, the loved ones left.

Tour around Las Vegas[]

After the visit, Ramsay told the final three that he wanted to give them something special by showing them the five special locations he discovered in Las Vegas. After changing into proper clothing, the final three rode in a limousine to Caesars Palace, where they met Ramsay in the villa, with Declan saying that he could get used to that. As the final three and Ramsay ate dinner, Kori remarked how hard it was juggling being a mother and a chef, and he sympathized with that as it was a tough road to success. For Mary Lou, she felt stronger than when she began, and Declan felt that having support from Ramsay was brilliant.

The second stop in the tour was at the bottom of a garage where Ramsay was waiting for them, but Declan knew something was up. Ramsay explained that he was introduced to an underground tunnel to reach different restaurants and showed them the prop ship of the Titanic. After having the final three sit down, the platform below them began to rise, and they found themselves on a stage in front of a crowd of people. After introducing them to the crowd, Ramsay said this was their final challenge and the one that determined who would make it to the final two and compete in the final dinner service.

Final challenge[]

For the Final Menu Challenge, the final three had one hour to cook their five dishes for judging, and while Kori was not ready to cook for that day, she was prepared to put on her Wonder Woman outfit and cook. As they began cooking, Ramsay reminded Declan not to over-season his food like he always does, and while the latter knew the pressure was on, he wanted to move like lightning. Mary Lou said her menu represented who she was, a Southern girl with a lot of flair, while Kori said she had extra motivation thanks to her son and father being in the audience, despite it being the most difficult challenge yet. Declan said that his five dishes were the aces up his sleeve, and with 13 minutes left, Mary Lou knew she had to be on point with her dishes. As Mary Lou took her meat off the grill, she was concerned about the cook, leading Sous Chef Jason to suggest putting them back on immediately. Meanwhile, Kori began platting as she knew the risks, and Declan called it a mad dash to the end. Eventually, the final three had their dishes cooked and plated on time.

Returning to the stage, Ramsay asked the chefs how they felt about their dishes as Mary Lou expressed confidence in her first dish, Kori was super excited about her chances, and Declan felt he elevated all the flavors. Ramsay explained that each course would be ranked on a scale of 1-10 and judged by different guest chefs he invited. For the cold starter round, Michelle Bernstein came up to the stage with Kori star-struck by the sight of her. Declan presented his crab tian with avocado and blood orange fluid gel, but he got nervous when Bernstein revealed that the first dish she ever created was a crab avocado tian. Although she deemed the gel a little funky, she liked the avocado and the freshness of the crab. For Mary Lou, her watermelon salad with lemon vinaigrette and parmesan crumble was deemed a great beginning to a meal, while Kori’s bibb lettuce with blueberry compote and blue cheese was praised for the cheese aspect and making the blueberries subdue. In the end, Berenstain gave Kori and Mary Lou ten points each, while Declan scored nine, making it 10-10-9 with the two women tied for the lead. Tyson Cole came up for the hot starter round, and Kori presented her truffle and mushroom risotto with chicken stock and porcini mushrooms. While Cole liked the mushroom flavor, he found the risotto to be too tight for his liking. Declan’s pan-fried polenta cake with rosemary and parmesan, tomato sauce, and basil leaves was praised for the flavors but criticized for a dense cake, and Mary Lou’s shrimp and grits with blackened seasoning and Tabasco beurre blanc sauce were praised for having great flavors and a refreshing spice. So, Mary Lou scored a perfect 10, making her excited about getting two perfect scores in a row, while Declan and Kori scored eight each. That meant Mary Lou led 20-18-17. On the seafood entrée round, Susan Feniger came up, and Declan called her a mad artist upon first look. Declan’s upscale fish and chips with tomato sauce with lemon juice and olive oil were very much enjoyed by Feniger, who was more focused on eating the dish rather than critiquing it but called it delicious as Ramsay took the plate away. Then, Mary Lou presented her pan-seared Chilean sea bass with garlic compound butter, and Feniger found that the kale and the fennel mixed well, while Kori’s red snapper with chimichurri was praised for the balance and simplicity. In the end, Kori and Mary Lou each scored a 9, while Declan scored 8 points, making it 29-27-25 for Mary Lou. After that round, Declan began to grow nervous. Neal Fraser came up for the chicken entrée round as Mary Lou presented her pan-seared airline chicken with andouille sausage pan gravy. Fraser felt she should have pan-fried the Brussel sprouts to give it more texture but felt it worked well together. Then, Kori’s pan-seared roasted chicken with roasted cauliflower was praised for a perfect chicken but criticized for lack of acidity, and for Declan, his corn fried chicken supreme with corn and bacon succotash was praised for an aggressive seasoning. With that, Declan scored a perfect 10, Kori scored a 9, and Mary Lou scored an 8, making it 37-36-35 for Mary Lou. For the final round, Ramsay called up Wolfgang Puck to judge the red meat entrée round, with Mary Lou knowing that everybody knew who he was. Kori presented her pan-seared filet with bourbon demi-glace sauce, and Puck liked the tenderness of the meat, while Declan’s pan-roasted filet with pomme fondant and sautéed king oyster mushrooms with morel cream sauce was praised for a beautiful cook and being well executed. Lastly, Mary Lou’s ancho chili dust encrusted ribeye with red wine demi-glace was praised for being cooked well. After some thinking, Puck gave Mary Lou 8 points and Kori 9 points, leading Declan to hope he got a KO. Unfortunately, Declan scored 7 points, and with the score being 45-45-42, Mary Lou and Kori moved on to the final two, while Declan was eliminated. While Mary Lou felt validated and seeing her true potential, Kori said that she did it. After Puck left, Ramsay asked the crowd to give Declan a round of applause for making it as far as he did because he made both his parents and his country of Ireland proud. While Declan was upset he did not make it to the finale, he said he did his best for Ramsay and was proud of what he accomplished.

Scoring[]

Mary Lou Kori Declan
Round Score Total Round Score Total Round Score Total
One 10/10 10 One 10/10 10 One 9/10 9
Two 10/10 20 Two 8/10 18 Two 8/10 17
Three 9/10 29 Three 9/10 27 Three 8/10 25
Four 8/10 37 Four 9/10 36 Four 10/10 35
Five 8/10 45 Five 9/10 45 Five 7/10 42
Results 45-45-42

Team select[]

After Declan stepped down from the stage, Ramsay reminded the final two that one of them would win the head chef position at Hell’s Kitchen in Lake Tahoe and reminded them that behind a great chef was their brigade. With that, Ramsay called up the returning chefs for the final dinner service, Lauren, Adam, Marc, Jordan, Nikki, Amber, and Cody, with Declan joining the lineup. Because Mary Lou scored two perfect 10’s in the challenge, she got to make the first pick. Mary Lou picked Cody first as he was incredibly talented, and the latter wanted to stand behind her. Then, Kori picked Declan as her first because he was a no-bullshit kind of guy, and Mary Lou named Nikki her second pick. Kori named Jordan her second pick, surprising Amber as she thought the former was going to pick her, but then Mary Lou picked the latter as her third pick, upsetting Kori as she wanted Amber. Kori picked Adam as her third pick, and that left Lauren and Marc as the final two chefs left, with the former comparing it to being in the playground for dodgeball. Ultimately, Mary Lou picked Lauren as her final pick, leaving Marc as Kori’s final choice by default. While upset at being picked last, Marc called it irrelevant before declaring he would cook his heart out for Kori. With both teams formed, Ramsay sent them back to Hell’s Kitchen to study up on the menu and prepare for their final dinner service.

Ramsay did not comment on Declan's elimination, he did not receive the portrait burning sequence, and he did not receive a retrospective montage.

Trivia[]

  • Title Reference: The title is the first half of the phrase "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."
  • This marks the second time since Season 17 where the Final Tasting Challenge happened with three chefs and the second time a chef was eliminated through said challenge.
  • This is the first time two finalists tied in the Elimination Challenge phase of the Final Tasting Challenge and the first time gave the person with the most perfect tens the first pick of the draft.
Hell's Kitchen Season 19 Episodes
Welcome To VegasShrimply SpectacularHell Caesar!Wedding Bells In HellHell Starts Taking Its TollMetal & MarinaA Pair Of AcesCrapping Out in HellBlind Taste TestThere's Something About MarcSink or SwimThere's Magic In Hell?It's Time!Snuggling with the EnemyWhat Happens in Vegas...Hitting the Jackpot
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