Hell’s Kitchen
“Three’s Company, Two is a Crowd, and the Winner is…”
Season 6, Episode 14
By CPS10

The final show of Season 6 of Hell's Kitchen starts with highlights from the thirteenth episode, seen previously. Please see the recap from Episode Thirteen for more details. We begin the Season 6 Finale with Chef Ramsay telling the final three contestants “good night” as they go back to the dorm excited about their prospects of winning. Ariel and Kevin get some sleep, but Dave is restless because he is nervous that he can’t beat the other two.  This episode is all about “Three’s Company, Two is a Crowd, and the Winner is…”

The next morning, the chefs come down to meet Ramsay. He explains that the winner will be the head chef at Araxi Restaurant in Whistler, British Columbia just in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Because of this, there are three domes representing three countries. Each contestant selects one and they must prepare a dish in 45 minutes from the country they pick. Ariel gets China, Dave gets India and Kevin gets Mexico. Kevin feels that he has it in the bag. Dave is confused because he has never cooked Indian food before. Dave was visibly frustrated because he didn’t know which meat to use for his entrée. The time is up and the dishes are placed in front of Ramsay. Ramsay then announces that he will judge with three other chefs, one for each cuisine that has been prepared. Ariel presents her dish first. She can’t remember what she put in her dish when presenting it. The three chefs and Ramsay taste her Chinese dish. Two of the three chefs weren’t overly impressed. Kevin is next with his Mexican food dish. Kevin forgets that he needed to put on a mole sauce and as they are about to continue with the tasting, we come to our first commercial of the night.

When we return from the break, we get a review of Ariel’s dish, which was less than impressive, and then Kevin’s dish, that did not have a sauce, had two chefs who enjoyed it. Next is Dave, whose Indian dish will be judged by a master Indian chef. He is nervous, and for good reason, because he selected pork for his dish, which is not used in Indian cuisine because of the large Muslim population. Despite the mishap, all chefs liked his dish. When it comes to voting which dish is best, all three chefs select Dave as the winner. His reward is to have all three chefs cook lunch for him at the Chef’s Table and gives him the opportunity to ask questions. Because of the fact that HK is open for service that night, the other two have to prep the kitchen and get the dining room ready. Dave also received an incredible cookware set, the same kind that is used in HK. Also part of his reward is that his sister and fiancée getting to eat with him. The three of them go into the kitchen to allow for some one-on-one time with the three chefs that are cooking. They enjoy all of the cuisines prepared. Dave then finishes and says goodbye to his family and we come to the second break of the night.

After the break, we see the three contestants prepping for the final dinner service before the finals. Ramsay calls them together for the pep talk. He tells them that two of them will go to the finals. Each chef will get a chance to run the hot plate at the pass. Ramsay then asks J.P. to open HK. Since there are only three chefs remaining, Sous Chefs Scott and Heather will be assisting them. The orders start coming in and the first appetizers leave the kitchen quickly. Kevin then gets to run the pass first. He gets off to a good start; however, Scott will try to slip sea bass by Kevin instead of the halibut that was ordered. He passes the test. Next, Ariel brings up overcooked lamb and sends it back. He continues to send back the lamb and Ariel has stalled the food getting out to the diners. As she says that she has five minutes left on the next lamb, Ramsay turns to her and says “WHAT?!” At this time, we come to the third commercial of the night.

Upon return from the commercials, we get a review of Kevin’s turn running the kitchen and Ariel stalling him with inferiorly prepared lamb chops. As she brings another order of lamb to the pass, she forgets the sauce. After they locate the sauce and the orders go out, Kevin is pulled off and Dave now has his turn to run the kitchen. Dave is being very loud and Ariel says it’s a side that nobody has seen before. His aggressiveness has food going out quickly and diners are happy. His quality test is a substitution of spinach puree risotto instead of asparagus. He fails this test. Another sabotaged dish comes to the pass. He fails this one as well. Ramsay pulls him aside to tell him to concentrate and sends him back out. Dave gets a grip and starts to rally and diners continue to enjoy their entrees. After an hour and a half, Ariel then gets her turn to run the pass. She has good command of the kitchen and gets her first test as Sous Chef Heather substitutes a parsnip puree for mashed potatoes. She fails this first test. Despite failing, she is pushing out entrees. Scott then substitutes salmon for sea bass, and she spots it. Ramsay tells her well done and keeps the kitchen moving. Kevin begins getting confused because Ariel has barked out too many orders. Ramsay then tells her that she has lost control of the kitchen as he begins directing the kitchen. As he has a tirade because of the loss of control, we go to the fourth round of commercials.

When the fourth set of commercials is complete, we get a review of the communication problem between Ariel and Kevin. Ariel realizes that she needs to regain control of the kitchen. Kevin brings up a bad scallop and he has to cook another for her. The dish is complete and she is taken off the pass. The last table comes up and is completed as is the entire service. After the service, Ramsay tells them that the real test was at the hot plate. He says he is faced with the toughest challenge to date. Each contestant is to think of a person who does not qualify to be in the finals. Once they come to a decision, they come back to Ramsay. Kevin says that Ariel should not advance; Ariel says that Kevin shouldn’t advance and as Ramsay asks Dave who should not advance, we go to the fifth commercial break.

After we get back from the fifth commercial break, we get a review of nomination ceremony in which each contestant must name one chef that should not advance to the finals. Dave is the one to break the tie and he says that Ariel should not advance. Ramsay then tells them that their answers have not helped him. He then asks them why they belong in the final of HK. After they give their explanations,
Ramsay says that he is about to announce who is advancing. The first one to advance is Dave. He congratulates him, and he then says that Kevin is also advancing to the finals. He congratulates him as well. He calls Ariel forward and tells her that she has extraordinary passion and drive that will carry her far. After she leaves, he congratulates the two finalists again and that they deserve to be there. He tells them that the next chef to perform best will become the head chef at Araxi. Once he tells them that they have 30 minutes to get ready, we get a review of the entire season.

Ramsay then tells the chefs Kevin and Dave that they each get 50 covers on a side of the kitchen. He then tells them that they have 30 minutes to get ready as there is a limo outside waiting for them. They show up to a hotel where they meet J.P. He then leads them to the roof of the hotel to meet Ramsay. As they get to the ledge, Ramsay tells them that their next final challenge is down there – meaning a crowd of people on a makeshift HK stage. The chefs are then to create their own dish for the Araxi restaurant in front of a large live crowd. The time is up and the cooking is complete. The finalists will now go head-to-head. They are introduced on stage as the crowd roars for each of them. For their dishes, they just need 3 votes to win the challenge. The first judge is Alain Gayot, of Gayot Publications. He says he is happy with Dave’s dish. After he compliments Kevin’s dish, he selects Dave’s as best. Jamie Maw, an international food critic, is the next judge. He selects Dave’s, making the score 2-0 in his favor. The third judge is Tanya Steel, the Editor-in-Chief of Epicurious. She is impressed with both dishes and as she is about to make her decision, we come to the sixth break of the Finale.

When we get back from the commercials, we get a review of the final challenge. As Dave takes an early 2-0 lead, Tanya Steel is about to make her decision on whose dish is best. She selects Kevin, reducing the lead to 2-1 for Dave. The next chef is Warren Geraghty, the Executive Chef of West Restaurant in Vancouver. He selects Kevin’s dish as the best, evening the score at 2-2. The last judge is a restaurant columnist for Gourmet Magazine, Colman Andrews. He selects Dave’s dish, and Dave wins the challenge, 3-2. Whereas Dave wins the challenge, the crew is setting up their two kitchens. The contestants get some rest before their biggest dinner service of their lives. They get up before 6am to start devising their menus. They finalize their menus and head into the kitchen. Kevin will be working with Heather, and Dave will be working with Scott.

Next, the guys go out to check out their delivery of ingredients and open the truck to many of the former contestants from this season. Ramsay calls these chefs their “special ingredients”. They all meet in the kitchen to be selected by the finalists for their teams. Dave gets to select first since he won the challenge. He took Ariel first. Kevin’s first pick is Van. Dave then takes Robert; Kevin takes Amanda; Dave takes Suzanne for his final pick; and Kevin gets his final pick as Sabrina by default. The teams are set and they are to take their teams back to the dorms to show them their menus. They all come down to start prepping their kitchens. Kevin’s menu is kind of elaborate, making his team think a lot, whereas Dave’s menu is simple. The finalists’ menus consist of three appetizers, three entrees and three desserts. Ramsay tells us on camera what he thinks of the two menus, and says that ultimately, execution will determine the winner. As Ramsay then tells everyone that something just isn’t right, and you hear Dave say “Oh crap”, we come to the seventh break of the finale.

As we get back from the seventh round of bill payers, we get a review of the prep for the final dinner service. There is something that has gone wrong, and we finally learn that it is nothing wrong, but that Ramsay gives them their new Executive Chef jackets. When they come back down changed, Ramsay orders J.P. to open HK for the last time this year. Kevin is running the Red Kitchen and Dave is running the Blue Kitchen. Each chef will serve 13 tables with 50 diners. In the audience will be some of the top chefs in British Columbia, including Chef James Walt of Araxi Restaurant and Bar, who will be one of the contestant’s new employer. Orders start coming into both kitchens. In the Red Kitchen, Amanda undercooks the scallops. Meanwhile, in the Blue Kitchen, Dave’s classic menu has allowed appetizers to go out quickly. Amanda is still stalling the appetizers and nothing is going out of the Red Kitchen. She overcooks another order and Kevin is getting stressed out. As he starts blowing a gasket in the kitchen, the eighth round of commercials on the night intervenes.

When the commercials are complete, we get a review of the final dinner service in which Kevin’s Red team is struggling to get their first appetizers out, while Dave’s Blue team is getting orders out quickly. Kevin then switches stations and puts Van on the scallops. Amanda goes to risotto. The decision pays off as the first appetizers finally leave the kitchen. Meanwhile, in the Blue Kitchen, Dave has almost completed his appetizers. Robert sends out risotto with very few mushrooms and Dave covers himself by saying he wouldn’t have sent out the dish that wasn’t complete. Finally, they get back on track. J.P. then comes to the pass to give the risotto back the Red Kitchen, since it was overcooked, another problem of Amanda’s. Van takes charge of all of the appetizers as Kevin pushes him hard. Van says he is starting to get “flashbacks” with a grin. Appetizers start going out thanks to Van. In the Blue Kitchen, entrees come up, but Ariel’s venison dishes are overcooked. Finally, she gets it right and food starts leaving the kitchen.

Next, the tenderloins for the Araxi table come in and Kevin urges them not to mess it up. Amanda again gives him trouble with the beef and appears to be too slow to keep up. As Kevin urges to get the Araxi dishes to the pass, Amanda’s pan catches fire. At this point, we come to our ninth round of commercials.

When we return from the break, we get a review of how the final dinner service is progressing. Then Kevin, as he is about to lose it, tells everyone to calm down and get things working. Things begin getting smoother and the Chef Walt’s filet gets out to him and he likes it. Kevin’s kitchen has finally got it together while Dave’s is starting to slip. Ariel’s raw salmon comes back to the kitchen, and he asks Robert to help Ariel. Both kitchens are down to their last four tables. They scramble to complete their services. After a final push, they both complete and the finalists congratulate their teams and thank them for their hard work. They go back to their separate quarters and self-evaluate themselves. Ramsay then tells the audience that the winner will be determined by the customer comment cards. As he is in his office contemplating the winner, he calls the two chefs to his office. They think that the moment of truth has come. He tells the two of them that he is very proud of them both. He tells them that this is the closest final in HK history. He tells them that he has reached a decision and for them to step up to their doors. Just as the chefs try to open their doors (the one that opens is the winner of HK), he tells them to put their hands on the handle and on the count of three, open their door. As Ramsay gets to “three”, we come to our tenth and final commercial break of Hell’s Kitchen Season Six.

After the final break of the Finale, we get a review of the fact that the winner of HK will be the chef whose door opens when they turn the handle. Ramsay then counts down to three again, and Dave‘s door opens, making him the winner of HK Season Six. The confetti flies and Dave looks stunned to have on. His fiancée and sister comes to congratulate him.  Ramsay’s final words are that he fought through pain and persevered to win HK. He wishes him luck, although he doesn’t think he will need it.

At this point, the Sixth Season is finished. Some previously unviewed scenes and funny clips from the season are then shown. This season has been a pleasure recapping for you. I look forward to Season Seven of Hell’s Kitchen. Now, move on to your next favorite show, Donkey!

Keith Cooke (cps10) is also a national travel writer for Examiner.com. You are invited to read more of his writings at http://www.examiner.com/x-4933-Charlotte-Cruise-Ships-Examiner  and his newest venture at http://www.examiner.com/x-23220-Charlotte-High-School-Sports-Examiner

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