The eleventh episode of Season 3 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on FOX on August 13, 2007. In that episode, Rock and Bonnie led their teams for one more battle of the sexes, the final dinner service occurred, and one of them was declared the winner of Hell's Kitchen.
Before service[]
Continuing with the previous episode, Ramsay dismissed the chefs so Rock and Bonnie could brief their teams on what was happening. Also, he remarked that the battle of the sexes continued. With only 10 hours until service began, Bonnie revealed to her team that she picked them because they had always beaten the men, much to their happiness. Melissa promised Bonnie they would do their best as the latter was happy she got her wish. Even though Julia said she would work for Bonnie like any other boss she had, she was still rooting for Rock to win.
Meanwhile, Rock made his team catch up fast on the menu and where he was placing them for service based on their strengths and weaknesses. While Vinnie was willing to be led by Rock, he was a little concerned about the menu as he had not made it before. Brad knew that they had to cram a lot of stuff in if they were to help Rock succeed and suggested making a prep list immediately. Meanwhile, Bonnie took a more relaxed approach to make her team catch up and surprised Melissa when she admitted that she never cooked most of her menu items before. Bonnie herself was concerned about that and admitted she was nervous.
Eight hours before service began, the construction crew was still working on the restaurants. In the meantime, Rock and Bonnie brought both teams downstairs to begin prep for the final service. Rock got his team motivated and focused but admitted that his challenge was to get them to listen to him. Rock knew his fate rested on the three men he picked for his brigade, but he also knew he could control them to win. Meanwhile, Bonnie and Julia argued as the latter thought the former was treating her like an idiot. While Bonnie knew Julia thought she would be in the final two, she hoped the latter would put her problems aside for that night.
Three hours before service, Jon Janavs pulled Bonnie aside to inform her that they ran out of the initial wallpaper for her restaurant and had to use another kind. Bonnie was upset by that news and soon noticed bubbles on the walls, though Jon promised to try and remove them. Meanwhile, Josh sent over a piece of spaghetti to Rock which was too soft for him and had half of the supply the same. Rock told Josh to toss the batch away and admitted he would have to pay close attention to Josh for that night. Rock took Josh aside and gave him a pep talk, where he told him that he could be a good cook but needed to trust himself. Melissa sent over the prawns to Bonnie in the red kitchen, but they turned out to be overcooked. Bonnie told Melissa not to brown them too much and hoped she did not supervise the latter a lot. The second batch was overcooked as well.
One hour before service, both finalists' restaurants were behind schedule. However, Rock and Bonnie were ready to show Ramsay some of their featured dishes from their respective menus. For Bonnie's menu, it featured a herbed breaded goat cheese appetizer, an egg fettuccine with sautéed prawns entrée, and an assortment of chocolate truffles dessert. Ramsay tasted the dishes but noted that the prawns were slightly overcooked, something Bonnie blamed Melissa for. Also, Ramsay said that the truffle dish looked too small. After Ramsay's comments, Bonnie took them to heart and decided to change the dishes. Rock’s menu featured a crispy chicken breast with crab cakes over jasmine rice appetizer, a pan-roasted ribeye entrée, and a vanilla bean milkshake with double chocolate chunk cookies dessert. Ramsay noted that the rice had too much garlic and suggested that Rock serve the milkshake in a martini glass. After his review, Rock was not disappointed as he knew they were fixable mistakes. By the end, Ramsay noted that both menus were different, with Bonnie's being more light and balanced, while Rock’s was more rich and heavy.
Thirty minutes before opening, Rock’s construction workers were rushing to get his restaurant finished. In contrast, Bonnie's restaurant was finished and ready for Ramsay to tour. Ramsay liked how it did not look intimidating and was relaxing, almost like a neighborhood restaurant. Bonnie said her restaurant was what she wanted and believed everyone would be happy. Rock’s restaurant was finally ready for Ramsay to look at, and it was praised for looking elegant and smart. Rock was delighted with how it turned out and called it a confidence booster. With five minutes left, Ramsay called Rock and Bonnie over for one last meeting. He reminded them that their service would test how well they would run their own restaurant, and afterwards, he gave them head chef jackets. After they got changed, Bonnie felt like she graduated with her head jacket, while Rock said he had always wanted one. The final two rallied their respective teams one last time before the doors opened. Ramsay ordered Jean-Philippe to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
Bonnie's Neighborhood Hideaway and Rock's Homestyle Bistro would go head to head, as the customers' feedback would be part of deciding the winner. Bonnie said her brigade were not her friends that night as she wanted them to listen to her and did not want them to screw her. On the other side, Brad knew they must bust ass for Rock because if he won, they won. Rock got the first ticket from Jean-Philippe and called the order out with authority, though he admitted that it felt weird doing it. Bonnie got her first order and called out with authority as well. Both teams got their first appetizers out together, and both received positive reviews from the customers. When Bonnie called out the next order, she noticed that none of her team responded and felt they were not respecting her as a leader. Bonnie asked Julia for a time on the cauliflower soup, but the latter refused to answer until Bonnie called her name several times. Still, Julia wanted the dinner service to be over with and said it was nothing personal. In the blue kitchen, Josh served crab cakes, but they were burnt. Josh said he needed one minute to refire them but argued with Rock’s order to get them up by thirty seconds. Josh argued he was trying his best and did not want Rock to push him too much. Bonnie tried to push Jen to get more vocal even though the latter was already doing so in the red kitchen. That annoyed Jen as she thought she was loud enough, while Bonnie ignored Julia’s warning that she did not have the okra ready. Julia accused Bonnie of going into her own head for not listening to her. When Bonnie was still not listening, Ramsay warned her she was losing momentum because she was not listening to Julia. Bonnie's team got their appetizers out despite those problems, but Rock’s appetizers were at a standstill. Josh was caught cooking six crab cakes not on order, forcing Ramsay to warn Rock about it. Ramsay reminded Rock to work under his standards as Brad accused Josh of losing it as it brought down the team.
An hour and a half into service, Bonnie has succeeded in getting all her appetizers out, and the team moved onto entrées. However, Melissa told Bonnie that they had only four orders of her fettuccine pasta left. That angered Bonnie because Melissa never told her before service began and was forced to tell Jean-Philippe they would change the dish to a normal pasta dish. Bonnie was devastated because that was her signature dish. Ramsay asked how many portions she had at the start of service. Bonnie admitted that she did not know how many portions they started with, causing Ramsay to ask how she could be underprepared. In the blue kitchen, Rock noticed that Josh burned another crab cake and reminded him that only one order of appetizers left the kitchen in the last thirty minutes. Ramsay pulled Rock to the back room, warned him that Josh was sinking his service and ordered him to make a decision. Rock refused to let anyone get in the way of his dream and wanted every food to be perfect. Then, Josh burned another order of crab cakes and frustratingly admitted he could not cook one after Ramsay got on his case. Rock had enough and had Josh and Vinnie switch stations, a decision Ramsay approved. Despite being concerned about not knowing how to prepare the fish entrées, Vinnie managed to get acceptable snapper out, and food finally left Rock’s kitchen. Despite communication being back up in the red kitchen, Bonnie was pissed off when Melissa warned her there was only one order of prawns left. Things got worse when two of Bonnie's pasta dishes were sent back for being cold and undercooked. Bonnie revealed that not only were there no more prawns left, they had no other seafood ready as a replacement. Bonnie called it a nightmare, but Jean-Philippe told her that the customers were okay with just the pasta. When Bonnie told her team the news, she realized her voice was not being heard again as nobody responded. Julia rudely retorted that she was only doing her job of cooking Bonnie's food.
Three hours into service, Rock’s team finally found a good rhythm. Rock himself was cooking some of the dishes, and they were almost caught up on their entrées. Rock’s leadership continued to be strong as he fired appetizers and entrées simultaneously. He knew there was no tomorrow and redemption after that night before claiming it was do or die. Meanwhile, Bonnie's team was getting desserts prepared, but Julia ignored Bonnie's orders to wrap up the goat cheese and told Jen to do it. That angered Bonnie, and it led to an argument between both of them, which led to Bonnie believing Julia was really bitter about the situation. A dismayed Ramsay watched on and reminded Bonnie to run her kitchen. Despite that, both teams managed to get their desserts out with no problems.
After service ended, Rock admitted that he now knew how Ramsay felt during almost every service and was frustrated with how Josh performed terribly. Rock feared that Josh could ruin his chances of winning. On the other side, Bonnie and Julia made up, and the finalists congratulated their respective teams for service. Rock’s family came over to the hot plate, and he happily greeted them thanks to Vinnie. Rock called it a great refresher to see them as they were his biggest supporters, and it reminded him of why he came.
Post-mortem[]
Ramsay noted that the final service was tough when both teams were lined up and asked Rock what he would do differently. Rock’s answer was winning the last challenge, and his first pick would have been Jen, as he thought she was the strongest chef throughout the competition. That answer shocked but honored Jen. Rock added that he would not have had Josh on his team due to his poor performance that night. Hearing that pissed Josh off because he wanted to do his best but brushed off Rock's criticisms because he knew how to cook. Bonnie's answer was to double-check everything as being short on the prawns might have hurt her chances. However, Ramsay praised the final two as it was the strongest he had seen them perform, and they completed a fully booked service. Bonnie thought she did well and was proud of herself, but Rock knew he could not celebrate until he won. Ramsay admitted that his decision would be hard as both of them never gave up, and both displayed great leadership qualities. He told the finalists to get back up to the dorms and wait for his decision. Rock and Bonnie said goodbye to their teams before heading back upstairs. As they went upstairs, Rock said he was born to lead a kitchen and was proud of everyone that helped him. Meanwhile, Bonnie felt she had the better team and was willing to wait and see what happened.
Back in the dorms, Rock and Bonnie hugged each other for a job well done while admitting that they both had a rough night and could have done better. Rock wished he had time back while Bonnie felt she proved she had a talent. In his office, Ramsay reviewed the comment cards from both restaurants and reflected on what he saw from both Rock and Bonnie at the pass. Rock admitted that Bonnie probably won as the two were waiting, but the latter knew he was a strong competitor.
Winner announced[]
Later that night, Rock and Bonnie made their way to Ramsay’s office. Ramsay praised Bonnie as she surprised him with her assertiveness and called Rock rock solid for his strength in the kitchen. He told the finalists that he read every comment card, made observations of their performances and called it a tough decision. He had both of them stand in front of one door and revealed that only the winner's door would open. After they nervously waited for Ramsay’s countdown, both turned their door handles, but only Rock’s door opened.
Rock became the winner of Hell’s Kitchen and won his own restaurant at the Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa in Las Vegas, making Bonnie the runner-up. Bonnie took her defeat graciously, telling Rock she was happy for him and still expressed hope that the right opportunity would come to her eventually. Rock was in tears when he won, calling it a big opportunity for his family and said the fact he completed Hell's Kitchen showed his children not to give up. As everyone celebrated, Rock said it was good to come back with the prize money and embraced his wife.
Ramsay's comment: "Rock deserved to win Hell's Kitchen because he's a very confident cook, and he has become a really good leader. He can motivate staff; he can create, all those qualities are not easy to find in one chef. Rock holds all of them."
Trivia[]
- This season finale is the most-watched finale episode of Hell's Kitchen history with 9.8 million viewers.
- This marks the last appearance of Sous Chef Mary-Ann Salcedo as she left the show after three seasons. This also marks the final episode to feature the three original staff members together.
- This marks the first time a male finalist won a battle of the sexes finale.