The ninth episode of Season 3 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on Fox on July 30, 2007. In that episode, Ramsay surprised the chefs with some special judges and tested their skills at the pass to decide who would be in the finals.
Intro[]
On their way back upstairs, Rock approached Jen and apologized to her for his behavior in service. The two made up by hugging each other. Rock said he was a firm believer in clearing up any disputes thanks to his wife, and Jen said she would not dwell on the argument they had. Back in the dorms, Bonnie and Jen were upset that Julia was eliminated. Still, Bonnie hoped that Julia would take Ramsay’s offer. Bonnie would miss Julia's smiling face as Rock was upset because the latter was an inspiration to him, and he was proud of her accomplishments. Bonnie expressed surprise they went from five to three in one night and that she never expected to make it to the final three. Jen added that Rock was determined to win as he had a poor upbringing in the past.
Individual challenge[]
The following morning, the three remaining chefs went downstairs and met an uncharacteristically cheerful Ramsay. Ramsay explained to them that he has worked with some phenomenal chefs and introduced the three to who he considered the best chef in his life. While Bonnie wondered who it was, Ramsay introduced the final three to his mother, Helen Ramsay. Helen came into the dining room holding a plate of food, and Ramsay told Rock to never swear in front of his mom nor his mom. Both Bonnie and Jen were thrilled to see Ramsay's mother and found it cute that he called her the best chef of his life. Helen revealed that she brought Ramsay’s favorite dish, macaroni and cheese. Ramsay explained that some customers preferred ordering comfort food for their meal as it reminded them of their childhood, but in a fine-dining environment, you must elevate the dish. He revealed his macaroni and cheese dish, including roasted lobster, shredded black truffle, and aged parmesan cheese.
Ramsay revealed that for their next challenge, they would be taking some of America’s classic dishes and elevating it to the level of fine dining. Rock was stoaked because his restaurant was a Southern-Creole- Cajun theme, and he took traditional Southern dishes to the gourmet level. Sous Chefs Scott and Mary-Ann wheeled in two carts that had five domes. Under those domes contained what America classic the chefs would be cooking. Bonnie went up first and got Frank and Beans for her dish, though she thought it was a British classic. Ramsay said it was an American classic, but Bonnie did not know how to make hot dogs and beans gourmet. Jen went up next and got Fried Chicken, which excited her. Rock got Spaghetti and Meatballs for his dish. Ramsay gave the three one hour to cook their dishes in the American Classics Challenge.
The three-headed to the kitchens and began cooking. They were allowed to use anything in the pantry to help cook their dish. Bonnie, who never had Frank and Beans before, asked Sous Chef Scott what it looked like, much to his disbelief. Rock saw Bonnie struggle again and mocked her whining in the confessional. Bonnie later swore in frustration, though Ramsay sternly warned her not to. Bonnie said she never ate hot dogs with beans before unless it was a chilli dog. Forty minutes left, Bonnie had an idea after seeing the vast array of ingredients. At the same time, Jen started with the chicken and made a roulade out of it. Rock decided to make three dishes out of his spaghetti because he wanted depth out of it. Eventually, the final three had their dishes cooked and plated on time.
The three brought over their dishes and revealed them to Ramsay and Helen. Bonnie presented her Italian version of Frank and Beans, which had mini bruschetta and a mushroom wheat cream sauce. Rock made spaghetti three ways that had cream sauce, veal, and spicy chorizo and pork respectively. Finally, Jen made a fried chicken roulade stuffed with crab meat, spinach, and goat cheese. All three dishes impressed Ramsay, and he sent them back in line. Then, Ramsay revealed to the three that he invited some special judges to help him out, and much to their surprise, it was their own respective mothers. Everyone teared up in joy as Jen thought it would be chefs from other restaurants and was thrilled to see her mother. Rock was happy to see his mom as he wanted to talk to her, and Bonnie called it a reward on its own. Ramsay had the three moms sit with their backs towards the chefs, and they had to remain quiet during the judging. The moms tasted Rock's dish first, and the latter felt reassured when he saw his mother nodding her head. Jen's dish was judged second, and she was worried about her mother hating it. Fortunately, she liked it, and Bonnie’s dish was tasted last. Bonnie called it a treat to see her mother eat the dish even though she was not a big gourmet person. After the three tasted their dishes, Ramsay asked each of the three dishes was their favorite. All three said the fried chicken was their favorite, which meant Jen was the winner. Jen was thrilled that her dish was picked the best because it validated her place in the competition. However, Ramsay allowed Bonnie and Rock to spend time with their moms before sending them off.
Reward[]
Jen had lunch with Ramsay at The Lodge Steakhouse and brought along their mothers for the trip. During the reward, Jen said she was finding her niche as the group rode to the Steakhouse. Ramsay gave Jen some encouragement for the next service during lunch as he wanted her assertive and in control. Jen thought the one-on-one time with Ramsay was important as she and the group toasted. After lunch, Ramsay took Jen to Surface kitchen equipment shop and gave her a $1000 shopping spree. Along with her mom, Jen managed to buy a lot of equipment while maintaining the $1000 budget.
Punishment[]
After hearing the reward, Bonnie expressed a bit of jealousy that Jen went with her mother for lunch, but she knew the latter deserved it. Bonnie and Rock had to clean the dorm rooms. They were given a list of what they needed to clean from their Sous Chefs during the punishment. Bonnie revealed that the only cleaning stuff she knew how to do was making beds and using Windex. That surprised Rock, given that Bonnie worked as a nanny, but she revealed that her job as a nanny only consisted of cooking and babysitting. Bonnie's bossy attitude, along with her complaints, mildly irritated Rock, but he did not mind it too much even though it was a long day. Rock ended up telling Bonnie to stop complaining as it would conserve her energy into cleaning.
Before service[]
Later that evening, Jen returned to Hell's Kitchen and said goodbye to her mother, encouraging her to continue her journey. Returning to the dorms, Jen caught up with Bonnie as Rock watched from afar. He knew the two had a close friendship and wanted to see each other in the finale. However, Rock said he did not mind being alone as the isolation kept him focused. Jen told the two how their next service would be their biggest one yet, and she knew she had to be in control. Bonnie said she would be happy to get through service as she did not want to go home. As the final three went to bed, Rock said that while Jen won today, she would not tomorrow.
The following morning, the final three went downstairs to begin prepping for their biggest service yet. Bonnie knew that winning that night's service ensured her a spot in the final two and was not worried about the two other chefs. Jen said she was a fighter and claimed the prize was hers, while Rock said it would be a hell of a night as he only had two chefs to beat.
When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay reminded them how big the service would be as it determined which two would be in the finals. Then, Ramsay revealed that for that night’s service, he would let them have a chance to run the pass, as this would allow him to see who was capable of leadership. Rock called it another curveball as Ramsay warned them not to let the kitchen run them. Ramsay also offered the chefs an opportunity to do some assertiveness training with him. Bonnie's training left Ramsay surprised at her anger, and Rock got a little happy to hear her swear at the latter. Bonnie called it fun to yell at Ramsay and not get yelled back at. Rock's first attempt was weak, but he managed to pick it up on his second attempt. Jen's attempts were similar to Rock’s as Ramsay compared her first attempt to a drunken cowboy. Once training was done, Ramsay ordered Jean-Philippe to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Orders soon came in, and Ramsay took the lead at the beginning. Rock and Jen got their appetizers out with no problems, and Ramsay praised them for their excellent start. Then, Ramsay pulled over Sous Chefs Scott and Mary-Ann and told them to make at least two mistakes to further test the chefs on the hot plate.
Jen was called up to run the pass first and felt the pressure because she never exhibited before. After some hesitation from receiving an order from Jean-Philippe, Jen called out her first ticket with assertiveness after Ramsay pushed her. Jen's first quality test soon came as Sous Chef Scott sent up spaghetti with no crab. Jen failed to notice it, forcing Ramsay to stop the waiter from sending it up and told her she must pay more attention. However, Jen recovered by refusing Sous Chef Scott’s risotto as it was overcooked with no seasoning. Jen was happy to catch that and felt a boost in confidence. Jen said she had a lot to handle in the pass and wanted to be strong to survive. However, Jen's assertiveness began to mess up some orders as Rock got confused about what was going out. Still, Jen got some appetizers and entrees out.
Rock was up next. He called out his first ticket well but proved to be slow when plating food. Sous Chef Scott sent up another quality test: monkfish without ham, but Rock was able to catch it. Despite passing the test, Rock was still slow on plating and not being vocal enough. Bonnie took notice of that as she expected better of him due to being an Executive Chef. Rock thought Ramsay gave him a hard time plating, but he wanted to be efficient and prevent any mistakes.
The final person up was Bonnie. She messed up when calling her first ticket out, which confused the chefs. Rock called Bonnie scattered as it made it hard to focus on what was going on. Still, Bonnie noticed that the pigeon Sous Chef Scott sent up did not have crispy skin and knew why Ramsay got mad at them. Then, Bonnie called out Jen for not adding enough salt to the risotto and questioned the latter's palate. Jen soon revealed that she ran out of risotto as she overcooked the rest of her rice, much to Ramsay’s dismay. While Jen cooked more rice for the risotto, Bonnie completed her run with no further problems. Ramsay took over the pass for the last couple of tables, and the rest of the orders came through without any problems.
Post-mortem[]
Ramsay lined up the chefs and declared that was their best service so far and congratulated them for sending up their dishes with minor problems. However, Ramsay reminded the three that their performances up on the pass had some highs and lows, so he would be judging their performances based on their time upon the hot plate and how they performed on their stations. Ramsay told the final three to get back up to the dorms and explain why one of them should be in the finals.
Back at the dorms, Jen thought she belonged in the final two and asked Bonnie if she still wanted this. Bonnie said she did, but Jen feared the former's heart was not in the right place. Bonnie admitted she was initially terrified of taking a giant step in her career but was confident she could do it after being pushed to her limits. Rock took a look at some family photos he brought with him and reflected on how winning this competition would change his family’s life.
Elimination[]
The final three made it downstairs to meet Ramsay, who asked each of them why they deserved to be in the finals. Bonnie said it was because of her growth in the competition, Jen said she was passionate about cooking, and Rock said he grew in both a chef and as a leader. Ramsay remarked that all three of them had some excellent highs that night, and it was a tough decision. Ramsay called up Rock's name and told him that he was the first finalist, much to his pleasure. After some thinking, Ramsay said that Jen would be going home. Before Jen left, Ramsay praised her for her drive and her passion for food, urging her to continue it. Jen hugged Ramsay goodbye and left the competition as he told her not to stop. During her exit interview, Jen received a retrospective montage of her run.
After Jen left, Ramsay congratulated Bonnie and Rock for being the final two and how they were very close to winning the grand prize. Then, Ramsay surprised the two of them by revealing that Rock's wife and Bonnie's parents were standing behind them, and the two reunited with their loved ones. Ramsay told the final two that they came a long way since the beginning, and they both deserved to be here. However, Ramsay announced that their biggest challenge was about to start, soon as a giant curtain dropped down separating the dining room, ending the episode on a cliffhanger.
Ramsay did not comment on Jen's elimination, and she did not receive the coat hanging and burning picture sequence.
Trivia[]
- This episode introduces the finale three pleading why they should be in the finale rather than nominating each other like in Episode 209 - 3 Chefs.