The sixteenth episode of Season 21 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX on February 9, 2023, airing as a double feature alongside the fifteenth episode. Alex and Dafne led their brigades in their final dinner service, and one of them was crowned the winner of Hell’s Kitchen.
Intro[]
Continuing from the previous episode, the chefs returned to the dorms so Alex and Dafne could brief them on the menu. Dafne could not believe she was in the top two, but she believed she deserved to be there as she was a badass with discipline. Vlad believed that Dafne's menu was better, but Alex reminded him that he got three perfect tens over the latter. Then, a slightly salty Alejandro said that both Alex and Dafne sucked, making everyone laugh. Alex could not believe that he was in the final two, recalling how he closed his restaurant two days before leaving for the competition and being in a state of depression, hoping for more in his life. Alex took Dafne aside for a private moment as both could not believe they made it to the finale as the former considered himself a ding dong when he walked in, and the latter considered herself a hooligan. Both wished each other luck before going their separate ways.
Later that evening, Alex and Dafne gathered their teams for a briefing on their menus. Dafne told her team about her Italian-themed menu and had Abe on garnish and Sommer on appetizers. Alex told Cheyenne the temperatures he wanted for the meat and told Brett that the salmon was baked and poached. When Alex asked who would run the appetizer station, Tara volunteered as she had operated that station before. Still, Brett was unsure about Tara running appetizers due to her crumbling under pressure. Then, Alex put Alejandro on garnish as he knew the latter had a powerful voice, but he felt there was a rift between him and Tara after the Punishment Pass incident. Still, Alex hoped that Tara could cook good food as the latter was confident about her abilities. Meanwhile, Abe suggested cooking calamari on the garnish, leaving Sommer worried about the former's cooking abilities for Dafne. Still, Sommer knew the rest of the team would make it work for Dafne, while Abe called himself a beast on the line.
Before service[]
The following day, the chefs got dressed and went downstairs to prep for the final dinner service. Danfe was sure her menu was good and believed it would help her win Hell's Kitchen. As both teams prepared their kitchens, Sous Chef Christina told Dafne to see Ramsay in his office. There, Ramsay asked Dafne where the heart of her cooking came from. Dafne said it came from her parents, and suddenly, she was visited by them. Dafne teared up upon seeing them, saying it was what she needed as Ramsay allowed them time together. Dafne's father told her how proud they were of her for making her dream come true, and she said she won by seeing their faces. Later, Sous Chef Jason told Alex that Ramsay wanted to see him in his office, making the latter wonder what was happening. There, Alex recalled how he discussed this with his family, and then, he was greeted by his wife and mother. Soon, Alex got video messages from his sons, making him emotional for their support. As Alex spent time with his wife and mother, he felt ignited to win it for his family.
Later that day, Alex and Dafne were moments away from having their demo dishes ready for Ramsay's review. Dafne struggled to prep the egg yolk raviolo as they were delicate and had yolks break on her. In the blue kitchen, Brett overcooked the salmon and cooked a refire, while Alex knew there was a lot of pressure to get the menu right. Sous Chef Jason did not like the salad plate as it looked too simple, and Alex got anxious as they had nothing ready for Ramsay. Still, Alex and his team managed to get the dishes ready for Ramsay's review. Ramsay thought the prawn fritters were not cooked enough, but he liked how Alex changed his chicken dish to a single dredge after the Final Menu Challenge. Then, Ramsay told Alex that the herb-crusted lamb was too rare for his liking, but he liked the latter's salad with lump crab. For Dafne, Ramsay found the truffled risotto with a seared scallop nice, and he enjoyed her wagyu meatballs. Although the wagyu steak was a disaster due to Sakari overcooking it, Ramsay deemed the raviolo exceptional. After her review, Dafne took the criticisms to heart and promised to fix those mistakes.
Before service began, Ramsay took Alex and Dafne back to his office for a final meeting. Ramsay said that he started the season with a Battle of the Ages, and now he had a twenty-nine-year-old and a forty-year-old in the finals. Ramsay reminded them that it was their final test, and to get them in the right mindset, he gave them their head chef jackets to wear. Once they received them, Alex said getting one meant more than the black jacket, and the two changed into their new jackets. Ramsay told them there were no second chances and sent them outside, where the diners, including their loved ones, awaited them. Dafne was glad to see her parents in the building and knew they respected her career choice after deciding not to become a doctor like they wanted. When Ramsay introduced the finalists to the guests, Dafne said her menu was a take on classic Italian cuisine, while Alex said his menu was Southern themed. Afterwards, Ramsay wished the finalist luck as the final dinner service began.
Final service[]
Dafne received her first order and called it out to her team. Abe knew Dafne had yet to see him work on the line, but he swore he would be a boss for her. Sommer said she needed six minutes on appetizers and got lost on the order. Dafne wanted the order out fast, but Sommer knew she had too much to cook, including the tartare. Ramsay warned Dafne that her brigade was running on their own time and suggested that Abe work on the cold appetizers to help Sommer. Dafne told Abe to help Sommer with appetizers, but she knew the two did not get along due to their argument after Sommer was forced to do the men's punishment and showed an attitude towards Abe. Dafne got nervous and told her team to pick it up.
Twenty minutes into dinner service, Alex called out his first order, and Alejandro knew he must be great for the former to win. Brett fired the fritters, and when Tara kept calling out one minute on her risotto, the former felt the latter was too nervous for timings. While Tara knew the appetizer station would be a hard hitter, she wanted to get out of the gates strongly and win it for Alex. Tara's appetizer was accepted, but Brett's fritters were raw, much to Ramsay and Sous Chef Jason's dismay. Alex refused to lose to a hush puppy and called Brett to show him his mistake. Alex felt assertive, but he refused to get meaner as Ramsay reminded Brett that the hush puppies were the easiest menu item. Brett felt terrible as he did not want to let Alex down, and he got his refire accepted. As Alex got his first order out, he knew they must correct the mistakes. In the red kitchen, Abe and Sommer delivered their appetizers to Dafne, and she sent them out. With both kitchens pushing out appetizers, Dafne began firing entrées in the red kitchen. Sakari believed that Dafne was doing a good job and said she was an ideal leader, while Vlad said that truffle boy would bring the latter the win. While Vlad got his halibut accepted, Sakari's steak was undercooked. Dafne told Sakari not to rush the steaks, and he began the refire. In the blue kitchen, Alex began firing entrées, and Cheyenne wanted to see the former win with her comeback performance after she had a miserable night on the first black jackets service. Cheyenne called out three minutes for her meat, but Alex was unhappy that Brett was not performing to his standards. Alejandro walked up Brett's fried chicken, but it was raw. Brett knew he should have spoken up about the chicken, and in the red kitchen, Sakari refused to sulk on the refire. However, the steak was rare again, and Ramsay warned Dafne that her dream was going to die. Sommer saw in dismay that Sakari was dying on meat, but she could not go over to help him as she knew he must bounce back.
One hour into dinner service, Brett was slow on the refire, and one of Cheyenne's steaks was raw. Alex was surprised by that as he knew Cheyenne accomplished a lot at her young age, and the latter felt sick for letting the former down. Afterwards, Ramsay pulled Alex and Dafne to the center of the pass and warned them that they were drowning on their meat stations. Ramsay ordered them to get their stations on the same page, and Dafne asked Sakari for a time. Sakari was not happy he was letting Dafne down, but he got his third attempt accepted. In the blue kitchen, Alex admitted he did not want to be aggressive as some people did not respond to that type of mood, and he planned on leading by encouragement. Cheyenne's refire was accepted, and both kitchens had momentum. As Dafne reached her final ticket, she said she put everything into her dishes and wanted to win. In the blue kitchen, Tara hoped they did their best on the final ticket and wanted to see Alex win. Eventually, the finalists served their final orders, and the night ended on a positive night. As the chefs cleared down, Dafne praised her team as Sommer was pleased that the former rose that night. In the blue kitchen, Alejandro believed that Alex made a perfect team and had confidence that the latter would win.
Post-mortem[]
After the chefs lined up, Ramsay thanked the returning chefs for helping Alex and Dafne that night before dismissing them. Then, Ramsay told the duo that they made his job hard and sent them back to the dorms as he decided on the winner.
As the finalists returned to the dorms, Dafne called it the biggest night of her career and hoped she did enough to win. In contrast, Alex said that night did not go as planned, but he said the customer feedback was encouraging. Alex told Dafne that Brett messed up on the hush puppies and how Sous Chef Jason warned him that he would lose on that dish. Dafne admitted that Sakari struggled on the steaks and prayed that her door would open that night. Still, Dafne knew that their lives would change no matter what, and they were both winners. The two recalled everything they went through, from Alex doing most of the punishments, their highs and lows on the challenges, and the dinner services they went through. Then, Dafne said they went through a lot of people to get to the finale and hoped she won. Meanwhile, Ramsay was in his office reviewing his notes to decide on the winner.
Winner announced[]
Later that evening, Ramsay called the dorms and asked the finalists to head to his office. As the two made it to the office, Ramsay apologized for keeping them waiting but said he was proud of how far they had come. Ramsay told Alex that he had an iron will as he never wavered in services or punishments, as that showed his children what hard work was. Then, Ramsay told Dafne that he was happy she did not go to medical school as her dish told her story of being a first-generation immigrant woman. Although Ramsay would be happy to call both of them his head chef, there could only be one winner, and he had them stand in front of their doors. As they waited, Alex knew his entire future was in this moment, while Dafne felt she would pass out. After Ramsay counted down from three, the finalists turned their door handles, but only Alex's door opened.
Alex was crowned the winner of Hell's Kitchen and won the Executive Chefs position at Hell's Kitchen Atlantic City in Caesars Palace with a salary of $250,000. Therefore, Dafne was named the runner-up. Dafne was not upset by her loss and congratulated Alex as he deserved it. Alex was stunned that he won and called it a wild journey that came to fruition. As the celebrations began, Alex said he was told that cooking was a terrible career choice, but he felt that winning the competition was the best moment of his life, aside from marrying his wife and having his two sons. Then, Dafne hoped that her presence on the show helped inspire immigrant children to make a good future and said she still had years to improve her craft. After Alex felt like he was on top of the world, Ramsay told the former that he still had one job left to do and gave him his portrait to hang on the Wall of Fame. Alex felt that having his wife and mother witness his victory was amazing and said the opportunities he would give to his children were priceless.
Ramsay's comment: "From the start, Alex emerged a leader, not only amongst the 40-year-olds, but also the 20-year-olds. His cooking and his passion pushed him to the front of the pack, making him the ideal choice to be my next head chef."
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: The title refers to the finale of Season 21: Battle of the Ages. It is shared with the previous episode.
- With Alex’s victory, he has set the following milestones:
- The oldest male winner and oldest winner overall, beating Scott (Season 12) and Kori (Season 19) on both records.
- The first male winner who scored a perfect five in the Signature Dish Challenge.
- The first winner who wielded a Punishment Pass.
- The first winner who survived the Cook For Your Life Challenge.
- The first winner who got a 0 out of the maximum score in the Blind Taste Test.