The fifteenth episode of Season 6 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX, on October 13, 2009. On that episode, Dave and Kevin worked on their menus, participated in their final challenge, chose their brigades for the final service, and one of them was declared the winner of Hell's Kitchen.
Intro[]
The episode began with a recap of the previous fourteen episodes, mentioning what happened, and who got eliminated when.
Continuing from the previous episode, Ramsay congratulated Dave and Kevin for making it to the finals, while reminding them that the winner would become the Head Chef at the Araxi Restaurant & Bar in Whistler, British Columbia. Then, Ramsay revealed that for their final service, both of them would be creating their own menus, with Dave cooking in the blue kitchen, and Kevin cooking in the red one. After, Ramsay revealed that there was a limousine outside waiting for them, and asked them to spend thirty minutes getting changed in the dorms. After, Dave and Kevin headed off in the limousine to the Bonaventure Hotel, in downtown Los Angeles, where Jean-Philippe was waiting for them. Then, Jean-Philippe told them that they would be heading to the roof of the hotel to meet Ramsay, and then, Ramsay told them that their final challenge was about to begin, before introducing them to a live audience.
Final challenge[]
For the Final Signature Dish Challenge, Ramsay asked Dave and Kevin to create a dish worthy of the Araxi Restaurant in 45 minutes. After a quick change into their chef jackets, both of them went to the kitchen and began prepping their dishes. Kevin decided to make a petit clam bake with poached lobster and corn pudding, while Dave made a rack of venison with a sour cream and chive parsnip purée. While Dave felt he was putting his ass on the line, Kevin noticed how different he and Dave were as Dave was making a simple dish, while he himself was making a more complicated dish. Eventually, Dave and Kevin got their dishes finished and plated in time.
For the judging, five chefs and gourmands tasted both dishes, so either of them needed a three points to win. The first judge was Alain Gayot, owner of Gayot Publications, and after tasting both dishes, he gave Dave’s dish the point, giving him the lead 1-0. On the next round, international food critic Jamie Maw judged their dishes, and like Gayot, she gave Dave’s dish the point. The third round featured Epicurious’s editor in chief Tanya Steele, and she gave Kevin the point, making it 2-1 for Dave. For the fourth round, Executive Chef of the West Restaurant Warren Geraghty judged the dishes, and just like Steele, gave Kevin the point, making it a 2 point tie. For the final round, Ramsay invited Gourmet Magazine’s editor Colman Andrews, and after tasting their dishes, Andrews gave the point to Dave, and he won the challenge 3-2.
Scoring[]
| Dave | Kevin | ||||
| Round | Score | Total | Round | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | 1 | 1 | One | 0 | 0 |
| Two | 1 | 2 | Two | 0 | 0 |
| Three | 0 | 2 | Three | 1 | 1 |
| Four | 0 | 2 | Four | 1 | 2 |
| Five | 1 | 3 | Five | 0 | 2 |
| Results | 3-2 | ||||
Team select[]
Back in Hell’s Kitchen, the production crew worked on separating the restaurant for the final dinner service as Dave and Kevin rested for the following day’s events. The next morning, Dave and Kevin were up at 5:48 am, and began working on their menus. While Kevin wrote down ideas he had in his head, Dave decided to go with a simpler menu so his night would not go badly. After, Dave and Kevin went to their kitchens, with Kevin working with Sous Chef Heather and Dave working with Sous Chef Scott. Then, Ramsay appeared and asked Sous Chef Scott if the special delivery arrived. Sous Chef Scott answered that it did, and Ramsay asked Dave and Kevin to follow him, while explaining that he brought some special ingredients to help them. When Dave and Kevin opened the truck doors, it was revealed that Robert, Amanda, Ariel, Van, Suzanne, and Sabrina were in the truck, and they all happily reunited. While helping the returning chefs off the truck, Dave looked at everybody to figure out who he wanted on his team.
When everybody was lined up the kitchen, Ramsay welcomed back the returning chefs, while reminding them that they would play a big part in Dave and Kevin’s future. Then, Ramsay told Dave that because he won the final challenge, he was rewarded with the first pick for his brigade. Dave picked Ariel as she was in the final three with him, while Kevin picked Van, with the latter saying that he had to redeem himself as his poor performances got him eliminated. Dave’s second pick was Robert since, even though Robert had a hard time in Hell’s Kitchen, he was confident in him. Then, Kevin picked Amanda as his second pick because his menu was fish heavy, despite knowing that she had her own problems. That left Suzanne and Sabrina as the last two choices, and while Suzanne knew that she might be the last pick overall due to her attitude, Dave picked her as his last choice since they won the Taste It Now Make It Challenge together, and despite her attitude, he knew she was a strong cook. That left Sabrina as Kevin’s final choice, and while Kevin knew that she was inconsistent in the past, he preferred having her over Suzanne. After, Ramsay told the chefs to head back to the dorms and get changed.
Before service[]
Once everybody changed in their chefs jackets, both teams went downstairs to begin prepping for the final service. In the red kitchen, Kevin’s team asked him about his complicated menu items, and in the blue kitchen, Dave’s team has already picked up his simpler menu. While Robert praised Dave for making that decision, he noticed Kevin’s dishes and said that all of them could be on the cover of a gourmet magazine. Later, Ramsay pulled Dave and Kevin aside so he could taste some of their menu items, which had three appetizers, three entrées, and three desserts each. For Kevin’s menu, it featured a caramelized scallop appetizer, a coffee-cured beef tenderloin entrée, and a Crème Brulée trio dessert. While Ramsay praised the presentation, he warned Kevin that there was a lot of components on the dish that he had to execute perfectly. For Dave’s menu, it featured a wild mushroom risotto appetizer, a roasted loin of venison entrée, and a dark chocolate mousse dessert. While Ramsay noticed how simple and pedestrian Dave’s menu was, he reminded him that he had to explode as he was in the finals. After, Ramsay noticed that while Kevin’s menu was artistic and beautiful, his main concern was that the menu might be too complicated and Kevin would have to watch his attention to details. For Dave’s menu, Ramsay noticed that while it was more humble and rustic, he could not afford to be sloppy.
A few moments before the restaurant opened, Ramsay called Dave and Kevin over for some unfinished business. He revealed that there was something missing from both of them as they had to look like head chefs, and gave both of them their head chefs jackets, while they were focused on being the winner of Hell’s Kitchen. After, Ramsay asked Jean-Philippe to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
In attendance were some of British Columbia’s top chefs, including Warren Geraghty, Frank Pabst, Thierry Busset, and James Walt, with the latter being from the Araxi Restaurant & Bar. Kevin and Dave got their first tickets and called their orders, both determined to make sure that night would go well. While Van was communicating with Kevin, Amanda was quiet due to feeling nervous around Kevin, and wanting to be perfect. Van and Amanda brought their appetizers, but Amanda’s scallops were raw, and Kevin was dismayed that the first thing she sent was unacceptable. In the blue kitchen, Dave pushed Robert to get the first order out as the latter wanted to bring the pain for his last night in Hell's Kitchen. While Robert slowly sent his risotto to the pass, Dave was happy with it, and called Robert his ace in the hole. Because of Robert’s strong performance, Dave was pushing out appetizers to the dining room.
Forty minutes into service, Kevin has not served any appetizers out because of Amanda’s poor performance, much to Sabrina’s dismay as she felt they were going to the pooper fast. Amanda’s next attempt came out overcooked, and as Kevin was dismayed by what was going on, Ramsay reminded him that he could always change the chefs' locations if things were not working out. Then, Kevin had a near meltdown as Amanda’s pan caught on fire, and he relocated Van to the fish station and Amanda to the appetizer station, with Ramsay noticing that Amanda sunk the team and completely lost any focus. However, Kevin’s decision paid off as he was finally able to send out his first table of appetizers. In the blue kitchen, Dave was almost finished with his appetizers, but Robert informed him that they were almost out of mushrooms. When Robert sent his risottos to the pass, Ramsay noticed that they were not the same as they were half an hour before due to them having very little mushrooms in. While Robert claimed that Dave said not to put too many mushrooms in them, Dave told that he said not to go crazy on the mushrooms, and told Ramsay that he would have never sent them out. However, Robert felt that Dave crossed the line for throwing him under the bus, and decided to screw him by purposely dropping a refire. Despite that, Dave was still sending out appetizers, and his customers were satisfied with their dishes. However, Kevin’s customers were not satisfied as one of them found that their risotto was raw. Jean-Philippe sent the risotto back to the kitchen, and Kevin was angry that Amanda was struggling no matter on what station she was. Then, Kevin asked Van to help Amanda, and because of his help, appetizers were leaving at a constant stream. In the blue kitchen, Dave was pushing entrées, and told his brigade to keep doing so. When Ariel brought her venison and salmon to the pass, Dave rejected the venison as it was well done instead of medium, and refused to send out imperfect food. Ariel brought her refires, and that time, Dave accepted them.
One hour and fifteen minutes into service, the customers were enjoying their entrées from both kitchens. Jean-Philippe gave Kevin Walt’s order, and the latter warned his team not to ruin it. However, Amanda got confused on temperatures, and when she sent her beef tenderloin, it was medium well instead of medium rare. That angered Kevin, who accused Amanda of being slow, and noticed that Sabrina’s potatoes were broken. Then, Amanda’s pan caught fire again, but instead of yelling at her, Kevin decided to take a calmer approach, and showed Amanda what to do. Because of that, Van noticed that things were clicking more, and Walt received his entrée. Later, Ramsay told Dave and Kevin that each of them had four and six tables left respectively, and urged them to speed up. Kevin decided to cook two tables at once in order to catch up, and in the blue kitchen, Ramsay discovered that Ariel’s venison was gray and called it lazy cooking, while reminding Dave that he could not compare his team to friends anymore. Then, Jean-Philippe came back with a raw salmon, and Dave told Robert to help Ariel. After, both kitchens were at their last four tables, and after being neck-and-neck, both teams got their final tickets out. Dave told his team that he was very proud of them, and Kevin noticed that while he started rough, he managed to bounce back near the end.
Post-mortem[]
After Dave and Kevin said goodbye to their brigades, they went back to the dorms waiting for Ramsay’s decision. Kevin was very anxious, and declared that waiting for the announcement was as stressful as his wife giving birth to his son, while Dave wondered if he had the same performance as Kevin's. In his office, Ramsay looked over the comment cards from the customers, along with his own observations, to determine the winner.
Winner Announced[]
Ramsay called Dave and Kevin, and told both of them to head to his office immediately. When they got to his office, Ramsay praised them for their strong performances, and after reading the comment cards, he said that it was the closest victory in Hell’s Kitchen history. Then, both of them stood in front of a door each, both knowing that it would open only if they were the winner. After Ramsay’s countdown, both of them turned their handles, but only Dave’s door opened.
Dave became the winner of Hell’s Kitchen, and won a head chef position at the Araxi Restaurant & Bar, therefore making Kevin the runner-up. While Kevin was a little disappointed about not winning, he decided to show his son that it was okay to lose, and to never stop dreaming. Dave was in a state of shock, celebrated with his sister and fiancée, while noticing that he fought through a lot of pain during his time, and was happy to have earned Ramsay’s respect. Sous Chef Heather welcomed Dave to the club as he hung his portrait on the Hell’s Kitchen Wall of Fame.
Ramsay's comment: "Dave has a very natural ability and a very sophisticated palate. He fought through excruciating pain and excelled, and went on to win Hell's Kitchen. He's going to be an amazing asset to the Araxi Restaurant & Bar in Whistler and I'd like to wish him the best of luck. But honestly, I don't think he'll need it."
During the credits, some never before seen footage was shown, including Van beating Ramsay in an arm wrestling contest, Ramsay using Jean-Philippe as a human shield while the children from the 80 Vegetarian Portions Challenge were throwing stuff at him, Robert accidentally breaking a vase while cleaning up, Dave entertaining the diners with a dance as Jean-Philippe watched in bemusement, and Ramsay saying he was nobody's bitch as a running gag, referring to Joseph’s infamous outburst.
Trivia[]
- From this episode forward, the finalist have no control over designing their own restaurants. However, the entire menu still created by the finalist.
- This marks the final episode to feature the Final Signature Dish Challenge.
- This marks the first time that the final didn't featured the two-part episode, and being continued until Season 9.