The fourteenth episode of Season 21 of Hell's Kitchen aired on February 2, 2023. In that episode, the final four made beautiful dishes, took turns running the pass, and the final three was revealed.
Intro[]
While returning to the dorms, Dafne deemed that night rough thanks to Cheyenne’s poor performance and thought the right person went home. Dafne said she needed to tell the truth about Cheyenne as this was a competition and was unapologetic about her actions. Still, Sommer was warry about Dafne’s tactics and thought the latter showed her true colors due to being nominated.
Individual challenge[]
The following day, the final four came downstairs, where Ramsay announced it was picture day. Ramsay had the chefs line up and have their pictures taken by professional photographers. As Alex took his turn, he asked if he could get some Botox for his flabs. After the final four took their photos, Ramsay took a group selfie for his Instagram and explained that thanks to social media, one great photo could put their restaurant on the map. Pointing to the four portraits on display, Ramsay showed the chefs pictures of caviar surrounded by cauliflower cream, John Dory cooked sous-vide with fresh tomatoes, and his slow-roasted squab. Seeing those photos impressed the chefs, as Alex said he wanted to eat one immediately. The final portrait was blank as Ramsay revealed the Presentation Challenge. The final four were tasked with cooking an amazing seafood dish, with the winner having their dish featured in Entertainment Weekly. Alex said he loved making pretty food on a plate, as his restaurant used to do that when it was open.
The chefs had forty-five minutes to cook their dishes. Alejandro took the branzino as he wanted the dish to look immaculate. Sommer was eager to leave her comfort zone and cooked a potato-crusted Thai snapper. On the other side, Dafne decided to make an ocean-inspired dish with uni butter, while Alex wanted to poach his bass as he was excited by the challenge. Thirty minutes left, Sommer chilled her potatoes, and sixteen minutes left, Alejandro wanted to prove to everyone what he had. Three minutes left, Dafne scrambled to plate her dish as Alex focused on executing his dish perfectly. Eventually, everyone had their dishes cooked and plated on time. Alejandro saw that everyone had amazing plates and realized it would be stiff competition.
Joining Ramsay in the judging was Gerrad Hall, the Senior Editor of Entertainment Weekly. Alex went up first and presented his seared and poached striped bass with fried skin and a parsnip uni butter sauce. Hall called it a bite of heaven and thought the colors popped for him. It was deemed simple but beautiful in a striking way. Sommer was confident in her dish and presented her potato-crusted snapper. The sauce was deemed incredible, and Ramsay said it popped. Then, Alejandro thought his dish was worthy of a win as it looked and tasted stunning, like a work of art. Alejandro’s branzino with Thai curry and roasted vegetables was praised for the cook of the fish, and Hall said the colors were beautiful. After his review, Alejandro considered opening his own sauce company. The final person up was Dafne, who felt confident presenting her dishes. Dafne’s ocean-inspired dish with polenta, clams, and lobster was deemed elegant and delicious, and the uni butter wowed Hall. After tasting the dishes, Ramsay asked Hall who would have their dish featured in Entertainment Weekly. Hall said that Dafne’s dish was the star of the challenge, making her the winner. That made Dafne excited to be featured in the magazine.
Reward[]
Aside from the magazine reward, Dafne was rewarded with a two-top lunch at Republique and a $5,000 shopping spree at American Rags. Ramsay asked Dafne who she would like to join her, and she picked Alex, making him happy as he had not been out of Hell’s Kitchen for the past seven weeks. During the reward, Alex felt great to see the sun as Dafne looked for clothing she could get. Alex felt out of place as he had never shopped before and said he had worn the same clothes for six years. Alex found some child clothing, thanks to Dafne, and started picking out some clothing for his sons. The two enjoyed their meal at Republique as Alex believed they would be in the finals. Alex deemed Dafne his biggest competitor and felt that having lunch with his enemy was fine. In contrast, Dafne knew Alex was the one to beat since the beginning and felt slighted when the latter offered her a job if he won.
Punishment[]
Alejandro and Sommer were punished by making compound butter by churning it. As the two went back upstairs to await their punishment, Ramsay jokingly suggested they ask Dafne to buy them something. During the punishment, Alejandro wished he still had his Punishment Pass, but Sommer reminded him that he had already used it on her. Alejandro admitted that he did it to get under Sommer’s skin, and the latter was still upset by that. As the two churned the butter, Sommer refused to make contact with Alejandro due to the motion and felt her arm getting tired. Alejandro felt he underestimated the punishment and said he had never had that type of exercise since high school.
Before service[]
Later that evening, the final four prepped for service as Sommer knew there was no room for error. Ramsay pulled Dafne to the pantry room as Sommer tried to focus so she did not let her mind wander. As Alex went to get more pasta from the back, he stumbled into Dafne yelling at Ramsay. Alex got outside quickly before Ramsay pulled him into the back. Ramsay told Alex it was time to run the kitchen and asked him to show his assertiveness. Realizing that was why Dafne yelled at Ramsay earlier, Alex, Alejandro, and Sommer practiced their assertiveness in front of Ramsay. Sommer paused while smiling, Alejandro stammered, and Alex struggled to get a word out. Eventually, the trio got their assertiveness worked out, and Ramsay wished the final four luck before asking Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Marlee Matlin and Bryce Hall were seen in the dining room. Aside from cooking at their stations, the final four were tasked with running the pass as Ramsay would test them on their attention to detail with different sabotages. After serving some dishes, Ramsay called Alejandro as the first chef to run the pass. Alejandro knew it was his moment to shine and swore to look out for any sabotages he encountered. Alejandro called his first order very well and in a booming voice, making Dafne wonder if God was speaking. Dishes were sent up to the pass, and Ramsay gave Alejandro his first test: a risotto with orzo instead of arborio rice. Alejandro quickly caught the mistake and sent the correct order to Hall’s table. Alejandro continued to lead the kitchen and felt it was like running his brewery. Alejandro’s second test came in the form of a ribeye instead of the New York striploin. Once again, Alejandro quickly caught it and told Ramsay nothing would get past him. As the chefs gave Alejandro the food, Sous Chef Christina gave him lentils le puy instead of black lentils for the salmon garnish. That time, Alejandro failed to see the mistake until after he plated them, but he felt proud of his time on the pass.
When Sommer took her turn, she called out the appetizer order but did not tell Alejandro what the entrée order on the ticket was. Alex thought Sommer felt frantic on the pass as her voice was frantic, and the latter failed to realize that she read a wrong ticket order. Ramsay told Sommer that a meal was missing for a six top and told her to get Marino. Sommer admitted to missing that, and Alex was slow on risotto due to a butter issue. So, Sommer told the waiter to send out an incomplete order and tried to push Alex for the risotto. Eventually, Alex got his risotto up to the pass, but Ramsay told him not to get confused. As Sommer sent out the risotto, she moved on to entrées. Secretly, Ramsay swapped the halibut with Chilean sea bass, and Sommer caught the mistake despite mistaking it for cod. Sommer tried to laugh it off, but Ramsay sternly told her it was no laughing matter. Sommer felt good as she was catching mistakes and plated the spinach. However, Ramsay told Sommer it was arugula and told her to taste it. After her turn, Sommer knew she should have caught that mistake, as spinach and arugula were different.
Alex was up next and knew there was a lot of responsibility to run the pass. Sous Chef Christina gave him carbonara with fava beans instead of peas, but he caught that mistake along with a loose sauce. Ramsay praised Alex for that, and Sommer gave him the right carbonara. Then, Ramsay swapped Dafne’s scallops for halibut discs, but Alex caught the sabotage. Alex deemed it sneaky and called out the next order, as he knew it was critical to run the pass perfectly. Alex’s next test was a rack of venison instead of the ordered rack of lamb, but he failed to notice the sabotage until Ramsay told him. Alex said he knew it was wrong but felt like he was home at the pass as it reminded him of his old restaurant.
The final person up was Dafne, who knew how intense running the pass was. Marino handed Dafne an improperly written ticket missing an entrée for a four-top, but she failed to notice the mistake and called it out. Ramsay told Dafne the error and said it was no laughing matter. Feeling she was awake, Dafne called out the following order but gave off a nervous vibe. Sommer felt that and said some people were not meant to be leaders. Then, Sommer suggested bringing out entrées first before appetizers, which caused a meltdown of communication until Dafne told them to shut up. Dafne got the kitchen refocused, and Alejandro called Sommer’s actions rude as no one talked over his turn. As Dafne plated the entrées, Ramsay swapped the salmon with arctic char. Dafne caught that mistake and called out the next order as she felt confident with her voice. After Dafne finished her turn, Ramsay took over for the final orders and service ended positively.
Post-mortem[]
After the final four lined up, Ramsay said that was an inside to what he did on a nightly basis and congratulated the group for a job well done. Then, Ramsay asked them to agree on one person that should not stay in the competition.
During deliberation, Alejandro knew it would be a tough decision as everyone did a great job that night. Still, Alejandro knew making a tough decision was part of the job. Alejandro said he was torn between Dafne and Sommer. Alejandro thought Dafne needed to raise her voice, and Alex agreed. Still, Dafne said that was who she was. Then, Alejandro told Sommer she tended to be frantic, and Alex said he did not like how she was dismissive to their questions. Sommer said she did not mean to act like that, but she argued she wanted to focus on appetizers. Still, Alex thought Sommer had a dismissive attitude on the line. Sommer thought they could not handle her attitude despite feeling she was assertive and voted for Dafne for being overwhelmed on multiple items. Dafne thought she was louder, and Alex knew that no matter who they voted for, Ramsay had the final say.
Elimination[]
After the final four came downstairs, Ramsay told them that only three would be moving on to the finale and asked them why they deserved to stay. Alejandro felt he was an awesome leader and had a great palate, believing he could succeed in Atlantic City. Then Dafne said she showed off her creativity, and people would want to work for her, while Alex felt he was persistent and consistent as everyone looked to him as a leader. Lastly, Sommer said she had a lot of drive and had been on an uphill battle while improving along the way. After listening to their pleas, Ramsay announced Alejandro as the first finalist for having the best leadership of the final four that night. The second finalist was Alex, as Ramsay felt the former was strong that night as he commanded respect. Alex admitted it felt like home after Ramsay said he ran it like he did his own restaurant. Lastly, Ramsay named Dafne the final person in the final three as her attention to detail was the best of the group that went with her voice. That meant Sommer was eliminated from the competition. Before leaving, Ramsay told Sommer that she had grown a lot since the beginning and said she was the definition of VIP. Ramsay told Sommer his door in New York was open and allowed her to keep her jacket. Sommer received a retrospective montage of her time on the show during her exit interview.
After Sommer left, Ramsay told the final three to celebrate because they earned it. While being dismissed, Dafne said her parents and fellow Latinos would be proud to see her in the finale, while Alejandro said his family would be proud of him. Lastly, Alex said there were only two people left to beat and wished his competitors luck.
Ramsay's comment: "There's no doubt in my mind that Sommer is going to do great things in this industry. She's definitely VIP in my book."
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: The title is based on the popular phrase “Lights, Camera, Action” as the final four were subjected to Ramsay’s test of quality at the pass.
- Despite Sommer leaving with her jacket, Ramsay still hung a coat on her hook during the portrait burning sequence.
- This is the first time two chefs made it into the finale after surviving the Cook For Your Life Challenge.