Hell’s Kitchen 6, Finale, Part 2: And the Winner Is…

We start the final episode right after the previous episode. You can read my review of that one right here.

As you recall, last time Ramsay regrettably booted Ariel. She was by far the best woman on the show this season. But as was obvious for the last seven or eight episodes, Kevin and Dave are far superior to any other chef this season. Ariel was simply facing two very tough opponents.

And what makes them so tough is that they have been playing injured. Dave broke his wrist and has been playing one-armed for most of the season. Kevin stumbled and strained his ankles on that same day. He’s been hobbling around ever since. Ramsay understands that too and calls them the best two chefs this season and congratulates them again.

But the show is far from over. This will be the toughest week for them yet. As with previous seasons, each player will be assigned one half of the dining room (set for 50 diners) to decorate any way they want. They must also design their own menu to go with the restaurant décor. Then they will have to supervise several returning chefs as they cook and serve their meals. That will be a lot of work.

Fortunately for Dave, none of that work seems like it will strain his wrist. He’s not doing the cooking, he’s making sure that the chefs do it right. He’s putting on the final garnishes and giving it to the servers. He’s not building the restaurant either and making a recipe doesn’t need hands.

But that all has to wait for a while. Ramsay tells the chefs to head outside to a waiting limousine. They are whisked away to a hotel and hustled up to the roof.

Chef Ramsay is waiting for them. He takes them to the edge of the roof and shows them a crowd of people cheering for them. Their final challenge is to make a meal for the owners of the Araxi restaurant waiting down below. They have 45 minutes.

Kevin has decided to make petite clambake with poached lobster and corn pudding. Dave is cooking a rack of venison with a sour cream and parsnip puree.

We see a montage of them cooking. Kevin is worried that Dave’s dish is too simple and that his own dish might be too complicated to finish in time.

But he does and it is time to judge the results. Five judges will taste the dishes and decide. And if any challenge is going to be tied, we know that this one will certainly be. In previous seasons you could see the disapproval on the judge’s faces as they were forced to create a tie by voting for dishes they didn’t like.

The first judge is the author of a famous guidebook for restaurants and hotels. He tastes Dave’s dish and says it is very good. He tastes Kevin’s dish and says that the presentation is nice and the ingredients are fresh. That’s code for “this dish sucks.” Dave gets the first point.

The second is one of Canada’s famous gourmets. He tastes Dave’s and says that the taste is great. He tastes Kevin’s and says that the dish should be served in the spring. That’s also code for “it sucked!” That’s two points for Dave.

These next two judges will have no choice and will be forced to pick Kevin, of course. The third judge is the editor of a food magazine. She tastes the venison and says that it is beautifully cooked. She moans a little as she tastes it. She tastes the lobster and says that the vanilla in the butter sauce is a nice touch. She looks away as she says, “I have to say that Kevin gets the gold medal.” Note that she didn’t say Kevin’s dish was better, she said that she had to vote for him.

The fourth judge is the executive chef of a local restaurant. He tastes the lobster and says, “Nice dish.” He tastes the venison and says that it is absolutely perfect. Without delay, he says that his vote goes to the lobster and then he slinks away as fast as he can.

So the score is artificially tied up with one judge left to go. The final judge is the editor of a gourmet magazine. He tastes the lobster and says that the pudding underneath it is delicious. He tastes the venison, looks like the wind has been knocked out of him, and breathlessly declares Dave as the winner.

Back in Hell’s Kitchen, the two halves of the dining room are being decorated apparently without any input from the chefs. That’s certainly different from previous seasons.

At least they still get to create their own menus. Heather will help Kevin and Scott will help Dave. They work on that for a while under Chef Ramsay informs them that there is a special delivery out front for them. Loyal viewers of the show should already know what is in the truck. Yes, it is the former chefs returning to help out in the kitchen tonight. Everyone seems happy to see each other.

Dave won the challenge and he gets to pick his first teammate first. He selects Ariel. Kevin picks Van. Dave selects Robert. Kevin picks Amanda because she can cook fish and his menu is heavy with fish. Dave picks Suzanne. That’s a decent choice because she is a strong chef. The final player, Sabrina, gets put on Kevin’s team.

Strangely, Tennille is not one of the returning chefs. She finished fourth and for some reason the producers did not invite her back for this segment. She probably made it clear that if she couldn’t win, she wasn’t going to play.

The chefs get to work prepping the food for dinner. Each finalist needs to teach his chef how to cook the new dishes on the menu. Kevin’s menu is very complicated and we see a montage of his chefs looking confused and asking lots of questions.