The tenth episode of Season 3 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on Fox, on August 6, 2007. In that episode, Bonnie and Rock designed their own restaurants, participated in their final challenge, and reunited with their former teammates.
Intro[]
The episode began with a recap of the first nine episodes, mentioning what happened and who got eliminated when. During the summary, Josh received the coat hanging and burning picture sequence for the first time since his elimination.
Continuing from the previous episode, Ramsay revealed their most significant challenge after the curtain dropped between Rock and Bonnie. They both had to create new restaurants on their half of Hell’s Kitchen, with Rock cooking out of the blue kitchen and Bonnie cooking out of the red kitchen. Rock realized that it was the real deal, while Bonnie said the competition could change her life. Ramsay said that both could become the head chef at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas and allowed them time with their families. Also, Ramsay told Rock that his children were there as well, with the latter picking them up as they revealed themselves. Rock reconnected with his children and called them his good luck charms because they were the reason he was there. Bonnie's mother told her that she and her dad were very proud of her. She was happy to share the moment with her parents, as they were her biggest supporters. Eventually, the loved ones left even though Rock asked if he could take his daughter up to the dorms with him.
Before dismissing them for the evening, Ramsay told the finalists to start imagining what their restaurant should look like, from design to the menu. Back at the dorms, Rock and Bonnie celebrated their biggest milestone and congratulated each other. Bonnie said she came a long way since the start and knew she had a gift, something Rock did not know about. Rock wanted to relax and take time to celebrate and admitted he thought he and Melissa would be the final two chefs left. Still, Bonnie told him that the other chefs underestimated her, which was their downfall. That shook Rock a bit, and he even feared that he might lose to her, while Bonnie was determined to beat Rock.
New restaurant design[]
The following morning, Rock and Bonnie began working on their restaurant ideas. Bonnie compared her half to a lifesized dollhouse with a charge card while Rock felt he was on top of the world and said nothing was to stop him. The finalists met up with Hell’s Kitchen architect Jon Janavs to describe their visions of their restaurant. Bonnie's vision was a more classical approach with mismatched china. At the same time, Rock wanted a more contemporary theme to his restaurant that had matching décor. After their discussion with Janavs, both of them met Jean-Philippe to discuss what the waiting staff would be wearing. Bonnie wanted all the waiters dressed in black, with the women wearing fitted pants. Rock's idea for the waiters to wear jeans was rejected, and he called Jean-Philippe a French poodle due to his regal look.
As construction began, Rock and Bonnie met with their respective Sous Chefs, Scott for Rock, and Mary-Ann for Bonnie, to discuss some menu ideas. Bonnie had a clear vision for her menu, as it featured a lot of her favorite foods. Bonnie said they were a reflection of herself. In contrast, Rock struggled to get his vision to Scott as he was unprepared for his menu. Rock felt nervous as Bonnie told Sous Chef Mary-Ann her favorite dish of the menu, a linguine pasta.
Las Vegas trip[]
Before the final two could check up on the progress of their restaurants, Ramsay approached the two and told them there was one more matter of business to take care of. He announced that he was taking both of them to Las Vegas. As the final two excitedly went up to packed their bags, Bonnie said that Vegas would represent her future home while Rock said he could smell the prize. The trio flew on a private jet, and Ramsay said he never saw Rock that happy. He recalled the time Rock had an angry outburst after losing the Lobster Challenge, the time he served frozen gnocchi for his signature dish, and the time he put up Brad for elimination instead of Josh after the last team service. Rock said he nominated Brad because the latter was his biggest competition, and Ramsay compared his gameplay to chess. Rock said he came to win, and everything thing he did was all based on strategy. Ramsay also expressed surprise to Bonnie on how much she improved despite failing to cook quail eggs on the opening service and her impressive anger during the assertiveness training before the previous service. They said they would be the winner, which caused Ramsay to note that it would be a fierce battle.
They landed in Las Vegas and made their way to the Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa, the grand prize for the winner. Seeing the marque caused Bonnie to realize how real the prize was. The final two made it to their room and saw a promo clip of their time in Hell’s Kitchen on the Television, which excited them. Rock called it the best part of the trip.
Final challenge[]
Later that evening, Ramsay took Rock and Bonnie outside and told them they would be getting drinks. When they went through the VIP area, they saw a huge crowd of people. Bonnie was shocked and compared it to a surprise party. Ramsay introduced the audience to the final two and told them that they would be competing in their final challenge. In front of the live audience, both would cook their new signature dishes from their menu in 30 minutes, which would be judged by some of Vegas' best chefs.
After changing into their chef's jackets, Rock and Bonnie got to work on their dishes for the Final Signature Dish Challenge. Rock made his surf and turf dish that had fried chicken and crab cakes. He knew he took a chance with a combination people did not know about, but he wanted to create his own identity. Bonnie cooked her shrimp and lobster pasta that had Key West shrimp and fettuccine, she said the pasta represented herself on a plate. Still, Bonnie said it was difficult to cook a dish that people in the industry would judge. Despite the pressure, both were able to cook their dishes and plate them in time.
Returning to the live audience, Rock and Bonnie were ready to be judged. The first judge was Sean Griffin, Chef De Cuisine of Caesars Palace, who went with Bonnie's dish for her perfectly cooked shrimp. The next judge up was Gerald Chin, the Executive Chef at the MGM Grand. Bonnie tried to explain the story behind her dish, but Ramsay told her not to charm Chin. That caused Rock to accuse Bonnie of trying to strategize during the challenge. Chin picked Rock's dish tying the score at one each. The third judge up was Anthony Carron, Cooperate Executive Chef of the Michael Mina Group. Bonnie was stunned that these people were tasting her dish and got annoyed when the crowd chanted Rock's name. Carron chose Bonnie's dish, putting her back in the lead 2-1. The fourth judge was TV star Robin Leach, known for Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Bonnie recalled watching Leach's show and called him a legend. Leach favored Bonnie's dish as well, which kept her lead at 3-1. Ramsay revealed that the fifth judge was Season 1 winner Michael Wray, who opened up his own restaurant named Tatou since winning. Rock tried to make small talk with Michael, but Ramsay told him not to manipulate the judges when he asked to vote for his dish. Bonnie deemed Rock a great smoocher for the fact he tried to sell his dish. Michael tasted both dishes and decided on Rock's dish, closing the gap 3-2, with Bonnie still in the lead. After, Ramsay revealed that the sixth judge was Season 2 winner Heather West, and just like Michael, she preferred Rock's dish. The score became a tie at three each. Ramsay invited Chris Fearnow and Bob Finch, the General Manager and the Executive Chef of the Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa to break the tie. Seeing them excited Bonnie as they were her to be employers. After Fearnow and Finch tasted both dishes, Bonnie saw the former like her dish, while Rock saw the latter like his dish. Both of them agreed that Bonnie's dish was better, and she won the challenge 4-3. Bonnie said winning the challenge boosted her confidence while crushing Rock's, but the latter said it was not over yet as he would rather win the service.
After the challenge, Ramsay told Bonnie that she would learn her reward later. He took Rock and Bonnie to a skyscraper and celebrated with champagne. Bonnie called the view symbolic as it was in reach for one of them. As they looked over the strip, Ramsay invited them to New York City and eat at the chef's table at Gordon Ramsay New London NYC while spending a few days in the city, which they accepted. Rock said he only ate at a couple of chef tables before and called it cool to eat at Ramsay's chef table.
Scoring[]
| Bonnie | Rock | ||||
| Round | Score | Total | Round | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | 1 | 1 | One | 0 | 0 |
| Two | 0 | 1 | Two | 1 | 1 |
| Three | 1 | 2 | Three | 0 | 1 |
| Four | 1 | 3 | Four | 0 | 1 |
| Five | 0 | 3 | Five | 1 | 2 |
| Six | 0 | 3 | Six | 1 | 3 |
| Seven | 1 | 4 | Seven | 0 | 3 |
| Results | 4-3 | ||||
Team select[]
Later that night, Rock and Bonnie returned to Hell’s Kitchen, and while the crew was working on their restaurants, the final two shared one last meal. Bonnie said she was on the eve of her important night and did not want to walk away a loser. On the other side, Rock wanted to win as it would be the biggest career move, and he wanted it his entire life. As the two ate, Rock admitted that he changed a lot in the competition and sometimes doubted his skills. However, Bonnie knew he was trying to use psychological warfare against her and did not want to waste her time on that.
The following morning, Rock and Bonnie were relaxing in the dorms when Brad, Jen, Julia, Melissa, Josh, and Vinnie came in. Everybody was excited to see each other again and caught up. Rock was happy to see the eliminated chefs again and hoped there was no animosity from them. Brad was shocked that Rock and Bonnie were the finalists, but he was rooting for Rock to win despite being upset about losing. Bonnie and Jen reconnected as the former called her her buddy, and the latter rooted for Bonnie to win. As Bonnie was checking out the gift basket, Julia ended up breaking into tears, much to Brad and Rock's concern. Rock knew Julia was only eliminated a few days ago, and he felt she was hurting from the fact she was so close to winning but ended up losing. Julia went into the bathroom to calm down, and Brad asked if they should say something to cheer her up. Julia regretted not winning, while Bonnie knew that the former was triggered seeing her in the final two. A phone call from Ramsay occurred, and he told Bonnie to bring everybody down to the kitchen.
Ramsay welcomed back the returning chefs but noticed that Julia was still crying. Ramsay asked Julia if she was okay, but while she claimed she was, she stated that her low point was being here right now and seeing the finalists. Recalling a few moments, Ramsay reminded Josh of his elimination in the middle of the first black jacket service, Vinnie getting a raw egg smashed in the chest during the third service, Jen winning the American Classics Challenge, Brad's poor performance during the Army and Navy Service Challenge, Melissa's poor performance during the fourth service, and Julia winning the Alhambra High School Lunch Challenge. Then, Ramsay told Bonnie that she got the first pick of her team since she won the last challenge. Bonnie immediately chose Jen, with the latter saying she had the former's back. Rock chose Brad as his first for being the strongest of the five remaining. Bonnie's second pick was Melissa due to being nervous about Julia's emotional state. Rock chose Vinnie as his second because he thought the latter would do well under good direction. That left Julia and Josh as the last choices, and Bonnie picked Julia as she wanted the girls back together. However, Bonnie was unaware that Julia was secretly rooting for Rock to win. That left Rock with Josh as his last pick, although the former admitted that he would rather have Josh because of Julia's emotional state. Ramsay sent everyone back upstairs so Rock and Bonnie could get their teams up to speed. As the chefs went back upstairs, Bonnie said the battle of the sexes was back on as she knew the women worked better as a team than the men. On the other end, Rock said he would do anything to win, even if it meant micromanaging his team and being an asshole.
Trivia[]
- This marks the first male versus female finale.
- This marks the first time Ramsay invited guest judges for a challenge. This would become a recurring feature in future seasons.
- This marks the first time everyone who was supposed to come back for the final dinner service did so. It is also the only time the final brigades were divided by gender.