Did anyone else know that the season finale of FOX’s “Hell’s Kitchen” was last night? I didn’t until Mrs. Mike read the TV listings to me, and suddenly I was stressed that I had to watch four hours of TV (more like 3, thank you TiVo) for blogs this morning about this show and “The Biggest Loser.” Will Harris, I have more respect for you at this moment than ever. But I made it through and now HK is done for a while as FOX turns its attention to the baseball playoffs. Anyway, we have a season finale to discuss, but it was really two back to back episodes, and they shortened the finale episode considerably compared to previous seasons (thank you FOX, seriously).

The first episode began with Gordon Ramsay having the three semi-finalists, Ariel, Dave and Kevin, make a dish out of a cuisine chosen from under a dome. Ariel went first and drew Chinese; Dave drew Indian and then moaned and groaned; and Kevin had Mexican. They would be judged by Ramsay and three celebrity judges that specialize in those cuisines.

Ariel made a duck breast with noodles, Kevin an orange/cumin pork tenderloin with a mole sauce that he forgot to serve, and Dave made a pork dish with curry sauce but admitted he’d never made Indian food before. He also wrestled with what protein to use, and chose pork because he had thought the cow was sacred in India.

The judges liked Ariel’s okay and like Kevin’s okay despite the missing sauce, but Dave’s was the favorite among them. The only glitch was the Indian chef said that pork was also not something typically eaten in India…and yeah, think about that…they usually serve lamb, chicken, fish and veggie dishes in Indian restaurants (man, I could go for that right about now, much to the dismay of Mrs. Mike!).

Dave’s prize was to have each of the three chefs cook their signature dishes for him, and his fiancee and sister joined him once again. Ariel and Kevin, meanwhile, had to prep the kitchen and dining room. Dinner service got off to a good start with each of them taking turns at the pass…Kevin was boisterous, but not as boisterous and obnoxious as Dave. Ariel could not cook lamb properly but Kevin appeared to be throwing her under the bus. Chef Scott and Chef Heather were purposely messing orders up and Kevin was hip to them but Dave was struggling at the start, but got better at finding the mistakes. Ariel also struggled, not noticing parsnip puree was substituted for mashed potatoes.

Ramsay asked them each to pick one nominee for elimination–Kevin and Dave chose Ariel and Ariel chose Kevin. Ramsay admitted that he didn’t care what they had said, he was going to make his own choice…and he chose Ariel to go home anyway. He told her to keep her jacked and keep her head held high for making it this far, but it was now down to a final between Kevin and Dave.

After rehashing most of the season, the second episode began with Dave and Kevin being whisked off in a limo but the limo only took them a short distance to downtown LA hotel. From there, they noticed fans down below and they would be squaring off by cooking a meal in 45 minutes for guest judges, including some potential future bosses at the Araxi restaurant in British Columbia. Dave cooked a rack of venison and Kevin a vanilla flavored lobster. With five judges, the first two picked Dave and the next two Kevin. The tiebreaker chose Dave and he won, but isn’t it funny how these things always end up so close? Fixed you say? Yeah, or at least skewed.

Then Kevin and Dave found out they would be choosing teams from previous contestants–and Dave chose first since he won the challenge. He chose Ariel, Dave chose Van. Then Dave chose Robert and Kevin chose Amanda (because she knew how to cook fish and he had a fish-heavy menue), and finally Dave chose Suzanne and Kevin wound up with Sabrina.

Robert noticed that Dave’s menu was much simpler than Kevin’s. Kevin’s dishes all looked like they could be on a magazine cover, and Robert commented that if they tasted as good as they looked, Dave was in trouble. But Ramsay noted that this could also work against Kevin, as the dishes would be more complicated and tougher to execute.

Anyway, Kevin’s menu featured scallop risotto, beef tenderloin and three kinds of creme brulee. Dave’s included a mushroom risotto, his rack of venison and a chocolate mousse. Much to Kevin’s chagrin, Amanda kept having trouble cooking fish properly and it set the team way behind. Dave’s team was doing much better, until he pissed off Robert with a comment and Robert apparently turned against him for a few minutes. Kevin’s team caught up but it appeared that Dave’s team had the better service overall.

Now it was up to Ramsay to choose his head chef, and he was aided by some customer comment cards. Mrs. Mike thought for sure it was going to be Kevin and I had predicted that for a few weeks, but I still wasn’t sure. And Ramsay admitted it was the closest race ever for a winner. So with their families, customers and fellow chefs all waiting, one door opened and the winner was…Dave! The “one armed bandit” hung in there and won the whole thing. Kevin made it a point to show his young son that it’s okay to be gracious in defeat and not stop following your dreams. Good for him, and good for Dave for hanging tough despite that arm injury he suffered early in the season.

So that’s it…it’s been a pleasure blogging the show for you this season and since they mentioned casting for a new season during the show, we expect at least one more season, though probably not before next spring.

Congrats Dave, and see you all next time!

On Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” it’s down to the final three now–Kevin, Dave and Ariel. Who deserves it more? Well, Kevin is the only one who hasn’t been close to being sent home, and he let everyone else know it at the start of the episode, telling Dave, Tennille and Ariel that he was the only one indeed who hasn’t been in danger of being cut. Cocky, yes. But he’s right. Plus, Gordon Ramsay likes those cocky bastards because they remind him of himself.

Anyway, the show began with Dave giving himself a pep talk in the mirror at 6:30 am. Then the final four met downstairs where they were greeted by a mini-me version of chef Ramsay, who gave them all crap the way Ramsay would. Then Ramsay announced a challenge in which each of them would have to cook a vegetarian dish for 80 people. Each of them moaned a bit, but then went for it–Kevin made a mushroom crepe, Tennille vegetable stuffed eggplant with mushroom gray, Ariel eggplant lasagna, and Dave a polenta tower with goat cheese and roasted peppers. Then halfway through cooking, Ramsay informed them that the 80 customers would be kids. Yikes….we all know most kids hate vegetables (if you don’t believe me, come to my house and watch my 2 year old turn his nose up at anything green).

Dave’s arm was really hurting, but he plowed through with one hand. The kids sampled each dish and then picked their least favorite and most favorite. 40% chose Kevin’s as the least favorite and Dave and Tennille had the favorites, but Tennille won. Her prize was a day of pampering and a sushi lunch with Ramsay. The other three had to clean up the mess left behind by 80 kids.

At the dinner service, Tennille could not get it together on the fish station, under-cooking and over-cooking like crazy until finally Ramsay pulled her aside and screamed at her to get a grip. Kevin was on apps and I’m not sure what Ariel was doing, but maybe it’s the way she’s gotten this far, by flying under the radar. Dave really hurt himself trying to lift a pan out of the oven and was writhing in pain, but still managed to send out perfectly cooked meat.

Then, with like 20 minutes left in the show, Ramsay got them all together and asked Dave the burning question. “Are you okay? Can you stay?” And Dave repeated over and over that he was fine and he would not lie to Ramsay’s face. So Ramsay accepted that, and told Tennille to take off her jacket and leave Hell’s Kitchen. He did, however, offer a parting pat on the back because she really fought her way back from being almost eliminated very early in this thing more than once.

Then as the final three began celebrating, Ramsay called them back down. Uh-oh. He asked Dave once again if he had made the right choice and Dave squirmed. Commercial break….ahhhhhh. It was doubly hard for me switching from this to the Twins/Tigers one-game playoff that was about to go into extra innings. The TiVo was taping “The Biggest Loser” so I had to watch this. Back to the show, Dave was safe and then Ramsay congratulated the three, and then brought in their families to help them celebrate.

Next week things really heat up as we find out who the two finalists will be. Is this season really almost over? Do any of these four really deserve the grand prize? And for those of you who didn’t see it, the Twins won in 12 innings in a thriller.

See you next week!

I don’t know about you, but I get the feeling watching this season of Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” that Gordon Ramsay would prefer to scrap this batch of contestants and start over again. Last night’s dinner service surely was evidence that this is how he’s feeling. But maybe it’s just Ramsay being Ramsay–that he’s as hard on even his best employees. Anyway, here is how it went down…

At the start, Dave was pissed off at Tennille for throwing Van under the bus last week, leading to Van’s elimination. Dave wasn’t pissed that she chose Van, he was pissed that she chose Van after saying she wouldn’t.

On to the initial challenge, in which Ramsay whisked in the editorial staff of Bon Appetit Magazine. The five remaining chefs would have to create a dish in 45 minutes that is as visually appealing as it is in taste. Suzanne made a calamari salad, Kevin a Caribbean sea bass, Tennille red snapper with Asian flavors, Ariel prosciutto wrapped john dori and Dave some sort of rack of lamb with red and yellow peppers. Dave couldn’t spit the words out of his mouth as to what his dish was, something that’s bound to be a problem for an aspiring head chef.
The two favorites were Kevin and Ariel, and from there Ramsay and editor-in-chief Barbara Fairchild had to choose their #1. They loved them both and declared it a tie. So Kevin and Ariel had the reward of a photo shoot for the magazine in Santa Monica, with their recipes to be featured in the mag.

Meanwhile, the losing three had to pick up garbage on a main road that Hell’s Kitchen was sponsoring, in orange jump suits and all!

Kevin, who hasn’t been in much danger of elimination at all, was starting to get cocky. When Dave’s wrist swelled up again, he tried to talk Dave into quitting the competition, and Dave knew what Kevin’s motive was. But Kevin was becoming cocky in the kitchen to everyone else as well.

Meanwhile, Tennille kept serving overcooked risotto and when Ramsay and everyone else realized it was because Kevin overcooked the rice in the first place, you couldn’t help but think sabotage was Kevin’s motive. But Tennille should have noticed something was wrong and she blamed herself. Suzanne over-cooked scallops and other fish, and Ariel undercooked chicken, about as big a no-no as there is in food service. Ariel also tried to send out ragged lamb chops.

As half of the diners were not being fed, Ramsay was becoming more and more irate. He told them he was disappointed that this was the final five and they were making rookie mistakes. He had even gotten in Kevin’s face for the first time about the rice. He asked them for a consensus two contestants for elimination. They went back to the dorms and decided Ariel would be the first nominee. The second was Suzanne, though she did not agree with that decision. Ramsay asked them to step forward and state their case, and he sent Suzanne packing, since she had been on the verge of being sent home several times lately.

He did, however, offer this parting shot: “I should send you both home.” Yikes. Regardless, we’re down to the final four–Dave, Kevin, Tennille and Ariel. It’s hard to believe Tennille has hung around this long, and Ariel has been on the chopping block a few times now. Kevin and Dave, both gimpy since like 10 episodes ago, have hung in there.

It’s hard to imagine that Kevin won’t take home the title, but you just never know what’s going on inside Ramsay’s mind. What do you all think? Let me know in the space below and we’ll see you next week…

Last night’s “Hell’s Kitchen” episode on FOX was gruesome, but also telling in how things might shake out in the coming weeks. The theme was French food, which is a cuisine that inspires many chefs to become chefs in the first place. The initial challenge? To make crepes, something that can’t be as easy as it looks, and that was proven when most of these chefs had trouble with them. Anyway, they had to create four dishes each–breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert–and with 8 remaining contestants, they would each be responsible for one.

Gordon Ramsay and Jean Phillippe would be the judges, and Van squared off against Ariel first, with Van’s bacon, egg and cheese crepe having a nice filling but failing on the crepe. Ariel’s smoked salmon crepe won–red team up 1-0. Then Andy’s ham & cheese crepe beat out Tennille’s spicy shrimp and black bean crepe, which was too spicy. 1-1. Kevin and Suzanne both presented nice dinner crepes, so they both received points. 2-2. But when Ramsay called Dave’s dessert crepe “diahrrea on a plate,” it was easy for Sabrina’s poached pear/chocolate/cinnamon crepe to earn the ladies the victory.

So the red team was whisked off to mime lessons and a French lunch, which, admittedly, is a prize that would make me want to poke my own eyes out. Meanwhile, the guys had to prep the kitchen, and eat some very disgusting items like cow’s tongue and head cheese. Ewwwwwww.

Then at dinner service, we had another accident, when Andy almost entirely sliced off the tips of three fingers on a mandoline. They didn’t even give us a chance to look away…..and I am shuddering as I write this. But Andy got stitched up and returned, though he was having trouble keeping up the pace.

Meanwhile, Sabrina made a bland risotto and Suzanne was confused about how to keep time. Suzanne then really messed up by over-cooking lamb chops. Ramsay was keeping an eye on Dave, who with one hand was running rings around everyone else in the kitchen. Then after Ramsay had seen enough of Andy, he threw him out of the kitchen. He wasn’t done. He then kicked out both Suzanne and Sabrina, leaving Ariel and Tennille; and Dave, Kevin and Van.

They finished the service, but Ramsay was clearly pissed. He asked the teams to come up with two consensus nominees for elimination, and while Suzanne was obvious, they struggled on who to choose between Andy and Sabrina. Andy was the choice, making Sabrina breathe easy for the moment.

After hearing them state their cases, Ramsay kicked out Andy along with his patched-up fingertips. But he wasn’t done. He asked Sabrina to step forward. Would this be a double or triple elimination? No chance. He told Suzanne to go to the blue team and Sabrina to get back in line. So we have some drama unfolding….Suzanne and Sabrina are now on opposite teams, and the guys now have to deal with Suzanne’s selfish antics. Meanwhile, Tennille has managed to survive after being on the chopping block the first few episodes. It’s amazing, really, that she’s managed to do this.

So we’re down to 7–Tennille, Ariel, Suzanne, Sabrina, Van, Dave and Kevin. I think Ariel, Dave and Kevin are the only ones not to face elimination, and they appear to still be the favorites. What do you think? We’re getting down to the wire, with maybe six weeks remaining in the season. See you next week…

Last week on FOX’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” Gordon Ramsay eliminated Robert, his 500 pound pet project who did not get a fair shake due to health reasons the previous season. This week he let someone go who he didn’t see enough leadership qualities in. But more on that later (unless you are lazy and want to scroll down!). Anyway, the guys were making comments at the start of the episode about “Biggins” being gone.

Then Ramsay subjected the teams to his palate test, in which they are blindfolded and wear headphones that block out any conversation. One person from each team would square off against each other–Ariel vs. Van, then Suzanne vs. Dave, Sabrina vs. Kevin and finally Amanda vs. Andy. Andy was spouting off about what a great palate he has, and so was Suzanne, but these chefs always suck at this challenge, especially when they start talking trash. The best, and most shocking really, was when Kevin thought clams were spinach….say what??? Andy also called avocado “boiled coconut.” Ha! Anyway, the ladies won, and their reward was to have lunch at Opaque, a restaurant completely in the dark. Suzanne was trying to suck up to Ramsay, and it was becoming clearer that her teammates had zero respect for her.

The guys, meanwhile, had to make sorbet from scratch for that evening’s dinner service, and prep the kitchen as well. They also were served their lunch, including a duck entree, but sous chef Scott served it to them after whirring it in a blender. Yuck!!!

At dinner service, there were multiple problems as usual. Amanda couldn’t cook pasta properly, Van had to take over Kevin’s risotto station but didn’t know how to season it properly. Sabrina gave in to Suzanne’s timing issues and undercooked some lamb, making Ramsay kick her out of the kitchen to eat her mistake. Tennille took her place and served perfectly cooked lamb. Then the guys ran out of mashed potatoes thanks to Andy, but at least he told Ramsay about it…Dave then made more from scratch, earning Ramsay’s kudos. Finally with the red team having timing issues, Suzanne tried to throw Amanda under the bus after Amanda helped her finish cooking some fish. Ultimately, both teams finished the service, but not without difficulty.

Ramsay declared the blue team the winners, and commended Dave again, who still is performing with a cast on one arm. Tennille, who has made an incredible comeback lately, was the best of the worst and was asked to nominate two teammates for elimination. She knew Suzanne was obvious, but wasn’t sure if Sabrina or Amanda should be the second choice. She went with Sabrina, but Ramsay also wanted Amanda to step forward.

Then, after asking the three of them to state their case, and hearing Suzanne and Tennille argue like Robert and Andy did last week, Ramsay told Suzanne to get back in line. Of course he did….why would he want to mess with the drama factor? Then he sent Amanda packing, saying that she just didn’t demonstrate enough leadership qualities to run one of his restaurants.

The preview for next week shows Andy cutting off part of a finger (ewwww) and fireworks from Ramsay that may be his most explosive outburst yet. At least that is what FOX wants us to believe, right?

See you all next week!