The fifteenth episode of Season 7 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX on August 10, 2010. In that episode, Holli and Jay created their menus, picked their teams for the final dinner service, and one of them was declared the winner of Hell's Kitchen.
Intro[]
The episode began with a recap of the first fourteen episodes. It mentioned what happened, who got eliminated, and some rivalries.
While being dismissed, Holli and Jay congratulated each other. The latter revealed how bad he wanted to be in the finals and thought Benjamin was his biggest competition. Holli said she would do anything to get the job at the Savoy. In the dorms, they celebrated with some champagne and gave each other a big hug while Holli reminded Jay that they were all alone.
Final challenge[]
The following day, both finalists went down in their respective kitchens to work on their menus with their respective Sous Chefs. Jay worked with Sous Chef Scott, and Holli with Sous Chef Andi. Jay was confident in his menu as he planned it since the beginning, even revealing some ideas he did not execute to save them for his final menu. On her side, Holli did not have a clear idea of what she would do for her menu as she never pictured herself at that point. So, Holli decided to go with her instinct and create whatever would come to her mind. Both of them were happy with their menu. Holli said her inspiration was the things that she loved and that most of her items were French and California-inspired.
Then, Sous Chef Andi gathered Jay and Holli to announce that Ramsay had a surprise for them before asking them to change into something nice. Both agreed to wear jeans, and Jay was worried because he knew that Ramsay would never take them out for a casual evening as there would always be a "by the way." After a limousine ride, they arrived at the London West Hollywood, where Ramsay greeted them. He explained that the Savoy was currently in construction, and he wanted to give them an inside out of one of his restaurants. The three of them entered the hotel, with Holli founding it beautiful but wondering what was next. Then, they arrived on the roof, where hundreds of people standing in front of a stage cheered for them. Jay found it unbelievable, said it was the perfect way to accelerate the heartbeat. Afterward, they went down on the stage. At the same time, some people heckled about how hot Holli was, and the latter found it cool. On the stage, Ramsay introduced the Final Menu Challenge, where both finalists had one hour to create an amuse-bouche, a cold and a hot appetizer, and a fish and beef entrées. Also, Ramsay clarified five of his own executive chefs from London would judge the dishes, and Holli acknowledged how much pressure it was.
Holli and Jay changed into their black jackets; the latter acknowledged he had to be perfect as five executive chefs would judge his dishes, and Holli was nervous because cooking all five dishes in one hour would probably blow up in her face. During the challenge, the crowd was cheering both Holli and Jay's names. Eventually, both of them succeeded to plate their dishes in time.
On the amuse-bouche round, James Durrant, from the restaurant Maze, was the judge. Holli served her virgin bloody Mary with tomato consummé and Worcester sauce, which made Ramsay jokingly ask if she put the sauce because he was English. The combination of the ingredients was praised. After, Jay presented his crystal clear shot of ice-cold tomato water with a bit of jicama, bell pepper, and a caper berry, and it was deemed refreshing. Jay won the round over Holli, giving him the lead 1-0. On the cold appetizer round, Diego Cardoso, from the restaurant Murano, was the judge. Holli served her four different types of caviar with beet glaze and fennelled frisée salad with a mild lemon vinaigrette. The caviar was praised for being refreshing, and then, Jay served his grilled lamb loin over his personal take on a Greek salad, which was deemed great. Holli won the round, tying the score at one and relieving her. Clare Smyth, from Ramsay's restaurant at the Royal Hospital Road, was the judge on the hot appetizer round. Holli's foie gras was praised for being balanced, while Jay's bacon-wrapped scallops were deemed a great combination. Holli won the round, she took the lead 2-1, and on the fish entrée round, Steve Allen, from the restaurant Claridge's, was the judge. Holli's five-spice tuna was deemed nice. Jay's arctic char was praised for the ingredients complimenting each other, and the latter won the round, tying the score at 2. Finally, on the meat entrée round, Stuart Gillies, from the Savoy Grill, was the judge. Jay felt the pressure as he had to impress his potential future boss. Holli served her seared Wagyu filet with blue cheese, pomme purée, and sautéed broccoli rabe. It was deemed delicious, and Gillies recognized she had a passion for cooking. Then, Jay presented his grilled Kobe New York strip with grown up tater tots, which was also deemed delicious. After deliberation, Jay won the round, and therefore, the challenge 3-2. He was pumped about that as he felt he was a step closer to win. Both finalists thanked everybody for coming to see them. Holli knew that even though she lost the challenge, the dinner service was the most important. She declared that she would have the job at the Savoy Grill.
Scoring[]
| Holli | Jay | ||||
| Round | Score | Total | Round | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | 0 | 0 | One | 1 | 1 |
| Two | 1 | 1 | Two | 0 | 1 |
| Three | 1 | 2 | Three | 0 | 1 |
| Four | 0 | 2 | Four | 1 | 2 |
| Five | 0 | 2 | Five | 1 | 3 |
| Results | 3-2 | ||||
Team selection[]
Back at Hell's Kitchen, Ramsay congratulated Jay and Holli for representing the competition well before introducing the returning chefs who would participate in the final dinner service. They were Siobhan, Fran, Nilka, Jason, Benjamin, and Autumn. Jay was upset as he wanted to sleep with Holli. Then, Ramsay complimented Nilka, Fran, and Siobhan on their appearances. After, Jay was given the first pick as a reward for winning the challenge. He immediately chose Benjamin, who was still upset about losing to Holli as he still thought he was a better chef than her. Benjamin added that he would do all it would take to make sure that Jay would win. After, Holli picked Autumn, which did not surprise the latter as she knew she would have been picked first or second, comparing herself as the popular kid in school. Then, Jay picked Jason despite acknowledging his quick temper and that he was a good cook. Jason was happy as it was the blue team being together again. Holli picked Nilka as her second brigade member, who said she would do her thing and blow Jay's ass before giving a high-five to Ramsay. After, Ramsay reminded Jay that he was picking for both teams, and the latter decided to pick Fran because he knew she would try hard. She was happy, declared that she would kill herself to make sure Jay would win. Despite being upset about being picked last, Siobhan was glad that she was not on the same team as Benjamin.
Before service[]
After the selection, both teams were dismissed to look at the menus, and on the patio, Holli felt good about her team as she thought they would try their best. Also, she revealed that she designed her menu to be simple and easy to execute for everybody. Still, Autumn did not pay a lot of attention as she felt she would have to carry Siobhan a lot on almost all the stations because of her lack of food knowledge. On Jay's side, Benjamin was writing the items on the board, Jay was confident that his team could cook his menu, and Fran praised it as she told it was worthy of Hell's Kitchen.
The dining room was separated into two houses during the night to differentiate both menus. The following day, both teams went down in their respective kitchens to begin prep. In the red kitchen, Holli was nervous as there were many things to do and was annoyed by Siobhan's slowness, stating that she was driving her crazy. Autumn acknowledged that Siobhan did not have the proper training to work in a fine-dining restaurant and hoped she would save enough money to go to culinary school one day. Then, Siobhan used two knives to prep, leading Sous Chef Andi to tell her that she would drive her insane. In the blue kitchen, Benjamin was very vocal. Fran acknowledged that Benjamin wanted to help Jay win but was also worried he might overpower the latter. Benjamin said he would at least compete with him despite not competing against Jay. Then, Sous Chef Andi asked both finalists to go to Ramsay's office. Jay was stressed as he still had a lot of stuff to do, and Holli wondered what was going on and thought something bad would happen. Arriving there, Ramsay surprised them by offering a trip to Australia, where they would visit the Rosemount Winery State to taste food and wine, and Holli was excited about that as she would hang out with Jay. They thanked Ramsay for the gift, and after, they received their chef's jackets, before Ramsay wished them good luck. Jay was confident that he would mop the floor with Holli's face despite her being attractive. After changing, both of them gathered their brigades for a last-minute pep talk. Jay was confident that he would win as Siobhan would be Holli's demise. But, Holli was confident that she would be the head chef at the Savoy and warned her team that she might be a bitch. Then, Ramsay gathered Holli and Jay, asked them if they were ready, which they answered they were. They gave each other a kiss when they were asked to shake hands. Ramsay asked Jean-Philippe to open Hell's Kitchen.
Dinner service[]
The finalists' families were in attendance in their respective dining rooms, and Holli received her first ticket before Jay. She had a little bit of struggle to call it out, but Jay called his first ticket with confidence, and he knew that it was the biggest moment of his life as it was the most he had to gain, but the most he had to lose at the same time. Benjamin plated the first amuse-bouche, and in the red kitchen, Holli pushed Siobhan to serve the amuse-bouche quickly. The latter said she took control of the appetizer station but wanted to keep her calm despite having a lot of stuff. Holli and Ramsay pushed her to go faster. When Siobhan brought her amuse-bouche to Holli, the latter was not satisfied because she filled them up too much. Holli asked Siobhan for another batch of amuse-bouche and was dismayed by the latter's problems that early into the service. Moments later, Siobhan brought an acceptable batch of amuse-bouche, and Ramsay warned Holli that she should not get behind with the amuse-bouche. Fran was determined to help Jay win in the blue kitchen but was pushed by him and Benjamin to cook the scallops beautifully. When she was asked for a time, she revealed that she burned them and asked for four more minutes. Jay was afraid of Fran as, despite knowing that she wanted to do good, she did not seem to understand what was going on. Fran revealed that she did not have her truffle sauce, as expected. In the red kitchen, Siobhan sent her lobster to the pass. Still, the vegetables were missing, so Autumn decided to jump on her station to cook them as she thought she was the best. Siobhan apologized for her mistake, Ramsay was dismayed because they were still on the first table, and Holli asked for the zucchini urgently. In the blue kitchen, Fran's scallops were accepted. Jay motivated his brigade by telling them that they were doing awesome, acknowledged that the pressure was on with Ramsay standing beside him, and satisfied his customers.
In the red kitchen, Nilka sent her Foie gras and brioche. Still, Holli sent the brioche back because it was not toasted enough. Ramsay motivated her brigade. Despite all of their problems, food was sent out at a good pace. In the blue kitchen, Jason sent his lamb, but it was undercooked, and Jay asked him to fire it more, with Benjamin telling that if he was Jay, he would cuss at him and call him an idiot. Jay sent an incomplete table hoping that Jason's refire would be accepted. However, when Jason sent his lamb refire, it was still undercooked, and Ramsay was dismayed, with Jay saying he would doom him. Jason received help from Benjamin, was told by Jay to cook the lamb medium-rare. The latter said that he would send anything that was not perfect back as it would be his fault if Ramsay would see him send something like that. Jason sent his third attempt at the lamb, it was accepted. Holli's brigade completed the appetizers in the red kitchen, with the customers being delighted, and they moved on to entrées. Holli asked Nilka for the venison, which she admitted to have never cooked before, but was willing to try hard for her first time, and when she sent it up, it was overcooked. Holli was angry that Nilka brought crap that she would not eat herself and criticized her for her mistake by comparing the venison to beef jerky. Nilka was pushed by Holli and Ramsay for her refire. Holli said Nilka was killing her, adding that it was her restaurant so she would not serve shit, and Ramsay said it started to be embarrassing. In the blue kitchen, a dish was returned because the lamb was not sliced properly, so Jay asked Jason to cut it a little thinner, which the latter took notice of. Then, Ramsay started to push Jason by yelling at him. Still, Jay noticed that he was reacting badly to yelling, so he decided to talk to him calmly, which he called babying him, and the lamb that Jason brought to the hot plate was accepted. After, Jay ordered Fran to dress the salads. Still, Benjamin was already doing them and acknowledged that Jay was not as vocal as she should have been. Hence, he decided to lead himself by calling out the next ticket. Jay revealed that Benjamin was his Sous Chef as he did a good job and had his back, and the latter was leading Jason and Fran by asking them for a time on their entrées. Then, Benjamin went to the appetizer station to help Fran dress her salads. Because of his help, food was served at a good pace to some delighted customers. In the red kitchen, Holli rallied her team as she wanted to finish strong and told Nilka that her meat was gorgeous despite not understanding the first time. Still, when she asked for the garnish, Autumn was behind as she had a lot of stuff to do but refused help from Nilka and Siobhan as she thought they did not know what they were doing. Nilka was insulted by that statement and added that if Autumn were as good as she thought, she would be in the finals instead of Holli. The latter ordered Nilka and Siobhan to help Autumn despite the latter refusing their help. Holli was dismayed as she had twelve pans in front of her, and nothing was coming out while adding that it was not the time to argue. Ramsay ordered Autumn to send her garnishes, and she still believed that Nilka and Siobhan did not know what they were doing. Still, when Nilka sent her meat to the pass, it was accepted.
Two hours into service, both kitchens had three tickets remaining, and Jay urged his brigade to pick up the speed as it became a race at that point. Both finalists rallied their respective brigades to finish the service strong, Holli rejected Autumn's tuna as it was too cold. Eventually, Jay served his last ticket before Holli, but she said it was a matter of quality and not speed. After she sent out her last ticket, Ramsay congratulated her and Jay, and both finalists were visited by their loved ones at the hot plate. When Holli's son greeted her, Nilka, Siobhan, and Autumn found him cute.
Post-mortem[]
When both teams lined up, Ramsay congratulated the returning chefs for doing a good job, both finalists hugged and thanked them, Jay hoped that his good job would pay off. Holli was glad that the service was over but acknowledged that her fate was in somebody else's hands at that moment. After the returning chefs were dismissed, Ramsay told Jay and Holli that he would study the customer comment cards, so they were told to relax while waiting in the dorms.
While going back to the dorms, Jay felt a little bit insecure for no particular reason and admitted that he did not even know how he felt at that moment. On the patio, both of them were nervous; Jay acknowledged that they would face a decision that would change one of their lives forever, and they drank more wine. Jay burped, and Holli was disgusted by that.
Winner announced[]
After reading the customer comment cards and making his decision, Ramsay welcomed Jay and Holli in his office and told them that despite one of them would become the Head Chef at the Savoy, both of them would have bright careers in the culinary industry. Then, both finalists stood in front of a door each, knowing that it would open if they were the winner, and waited nervously for Ramsay's countdown to end. Jay called it monumentally life-changing as one of them would move to another continent to work for the most amazing chef. Holli acknowledged that while it would change her life, it would mostly change her son's and best friend's lives for the better. After Ramsay finished counting to three, both finalists turned their handles, but only Holli's door opened.
Holli became the winner of Hell's Kitchen, and she was excited about that while wanting Jay to win if she was not in the finals against him. On his side, Jay became the runner-up and took his defeat graciously by acknowledging that it was close and Holli deserved to win. During the celebration, Holli was hugged by her son, crying overseeing him, told that she missed him very much, and called him her little chef. After, Ramsay spilled some champagne on everybody, and when he did on Jean-Philippe, the latter was annoyed. Then, everybody congratulated Holli, and when Jay did, he hoped to take her pants off afterwards.
Ramsay's comment: "Holli won because she has grown as a chef more than any other chef in Hell's Kitchen. At the start, she was barely noticeable, but then, she got her confidence. She emerged, and there was no holding her back. I'm absolutely thrilled she'll be working with me at the Savoy Grill in London."
Trivia[]
- From this episode forward, the Final Tasting Challenge officially replaces the Final Signature Dish Challenge as the final challenge of the season.
- This marks the third season in a row where a black jacket chef did not return for the final dinner service.
- This episode ends Jean-Philippe's seven season run as maître d' as he left the show temporarily to attend to other business. However, he does return three seasons later in Season 11.