So last night was the season finale of “Hell’s Kitchen” and with the finale of “Next Food Network Star” set for Sunday night, I’ll only have “Top Chef” to blog….what am I going to do with myself for the next month? But hey, that’s my problem, not yours!

“Hell’s Kitchen” has progressed a lot in the last few years. It used to be that the season finale was stretched out over two episodes that were usually two hours long each. Now, they have mercifully condensed that to one hour, and in the process there is far less fluff and much more meat.

Still, that leaves one very large looming question–did Jay and Holly do it? Are they an item? Will the loser join the winner in London? Okay, that’s more than one question. But they are valid questions, don’t you think?

So this episode began with Holli and Jay being told by sous chef Andrea to come down to the kitchen and dress nicely. Chef Ramsay had a surprise for them, but they had no idea what that would be. He brought them to the Savoy Hotel in L.A., and brought them up to the roof where they were looking down at a bunch of screaming fans. Then, of course, he had them prepare five dishes each in one hour’s time, after which they would be judged by some executive chefs that work for Ramsay in the U.K. Talk about pressure. But somehow these two delivered and their dishes looked amazing. I’m really not sure how they did that in one hour….could that have been a white lie that Ramsay told us? No matter. The judges of course chose the winners of each round so to make it a 2-2 tie with one dish to go. That was clearly done on purpose. But the fifth dish went to Jay and he was the winner of the challenge.

Back at Hell’s Kitchen, Jay and Holli were given three sous chefs each to work with–Siobhan, Fran, Nilka, Jason, Ben and Autumn. Since Jay won the challenge, he was allowed to choose first, and he went with Ben. Holli chose Autumn, Ben chose Jason and Holli picked Nilka. That left Siobhan and Fran and Jay took Fran, leaving Siobhan with Holli.

Then as they were prepping, Ramsay called Holli and Jay into his office. He told them they would both be going to Australia as a gift from him to experience some of the world’s best food and wine. Then he gave them each an executive chef’s jacket to wear.

During the dinner service, Siobhan was screwing up almost instantly, and Fran was burning scallops. Nothing new from those two! Jason couldn’t cook meat properly and Nilka overcooked some venison. Ben, meanwhile, was a huge help to Jay, even being assertive and vocal to help move things along in the kitchen. Autumn and Nilka were arguing, and that wasn’t helping production in Holli’s kitchen. Still, both teams managed to get their dinners out in about the same amount of time with few overall problems.

So now, Ramsay stood in front of Holli and Jay and told them what a great job they’d done. He held some customer comment cards and he would review those and consider his own observations before declaring a winner. They would each stand in front of those doors, with one of them opening and one not, with a waiting crowd down below.

And……..the winner was…..Holli! I have to admit that this time around, I had no idea who might win, other than to think that this was one of the most evenly matched finales so far. Ramsay congratulated Jay and then the confetti flew….and Ramsay even shot champagne at Jean Phillippe….one of the show’s best moments ever!

So again…we have to ask…will Jay join Holli in the U.K.? Or will he just go back to his executive chef position in Boston? It’s been a good, if fast, season…and the interesting relationship Jay and Holli have or had made it even more intriguing.

That’s it folks….thanks for reading and joining with me this season, and we’ll start the new season of “Hell’s Kitchen” in late September. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

I say “rush rush rush” because we are already at the season finale of “Hell’s Kitchen” on Fox. All those two-hour episodes caught up to them, probably on purpose. But seriously, this season began in early June with like 17 contestants! Anyway, here we are, as last night Gordon Ramsay cut his candidates for the London Savoy gig down from four to two.

The episode began with Ramsay having one of his sous chefs call up to the dorms to have the contestants come down first thing in the morning, but asked them to dress nicely. They all did except for Jay, who wore jeans and a black shirt. Ramsay said he looked like a sack of potatoes, especially next to Ben, who wore a jacket and tie. Anyway, Ramsay brought the Savoy to Hell’s Kitchen, serving them a dish that is served in London–but of course, there was a challenge attached. They had to re-create the dish in 45 minutes. Holli, Ben and Autumn made venison but Jay used flank steak. Holli, Ben and Autumn made it on apple puree but Jay made his on pear puree. Jay was correct on that but wrong on the protein, which was venison. So Ramsay ruled him out and declared that Holli and Ben had the two best dishes…and that Holli had the better dish. Ben of course thought his dish was better and wouldn’t shut up about it.

So Holli’s prize was to spend the day on a yacht, but to her surprise her son and baby daddy were there waiting for her! When she got back, Ben was even more pissed that he had lost and didn’t get to spend the say with his family. Also, Jay, Ben and Autumn had to do kitchen and dorm maintenance, including some heavy lifting. Ben wound up throwing out his back and needed to call on a chiropractor to come in and help him. Meanwhile, he said he couldn’t do any prep work and then said he was quitting the show. Say what??? He went into Ramsay’s office and Ramsay of course convinced Ben to stay. That infuriated the other three finalists, because A) Ben didn’t help with prep and B) he had told them he was quitting.

So the four chefs each took turns at the pass, and as always, Ramsay had a few quality control tests in place. Jay passed his with flying colors but Holli, Ben and Autumn were tricked for various things. They all did pretty good overall playing Ramsay though, and the dinner service turned out decent.

But now Ramsay had to make a decision…or, he said that the four finalists would have to come up with a consensus for who would be going home. Nah……he wouldn’t let them decide, would he? Of course not. He asked them to each step forward and state their case as to why they should reach the finale. Then he sent Autumn home first.

So it was down to Ben, Holli and Jay. The first one in the finale…..Jay!
The next one in…Holli! Ben was going home….and of course looked pissed. But it was the right call….as was Autumn. So now, it’s between Holli and Jay, just as the producers would like it to be. They have a little love affair going on, and now they will be going head to head against each other for that dream job in London. How fitting, eh? Seriously, this is going to be the most interesting HK finale that I can remember. As for who will win? I’m going with Holli….she is the most consistent and seems to be a slightly better chef than Jay.

What do you think? Either way, this season will be over really really soon. And Season 8 will begin next month. Seriously, Fox? Yep. Thanks for reading and see you all next week!

If you’ve watched “Hell’s Kitchen” for any length of time, you know that Gordon Ramsay really is a nice guy and someone with a kind heart–not necessarily the yelling and screaming crazy man he plays on TV. I mean, he probably does have that side to him in the kitchen, but for the most part that tends to be an act. That was proven again last night.

The episode began with Ben and Jay talking about how they wanted to beat out Autumn and Holli and face off against one another in the finale. I am sure Jay wants this to be true so he doesn’t have to compete for the grand prize of a gig running Ramsay’s new London restaurant with Holli, who he is clearly falling for.

Then Ramsay cooked some monk fish for the contestants, but Holli knew to pay attention, because she knew a test was coming. Sure enough, Ramsay asked them to teach four dudes with no cooking skills to cook that same dish for him, with the trained chefs only guiding them verbally. Yikes. Autumn’s guy, Neal, failed when the fish fell apart. Jay and Rick did well both in taste and presentation. Ben’s guy Steve didn’t cook the peppers enough but burned the potatoes. And Holli’s guy Chris was cocky but backed it up with a good dish. However, Ramsay chose Jay and Rick as the winners. He told the four dudes to “bug off” and then told Jay he’d have a special treat today, riding in the Good Year blimp. Meanwhile, he was allowed to take one other chef, and of course he chose Holli. Autumn and Ben were left to do kitchen maintenance with JP watching over them.

Then at dinner service, Ramsay told them they would be choosing which station they’d be on for the night–Holli on fish, Ben on meat, Jay on appetizers and Autumn on garnish. Holli was up and down on her fish and Ben kept having the same problem he’s had all along–he won’t open his mouth in the kitchen. I’m not sure what his problem is….he is cocky as hell everywhere except in the kitchen, where he’s so focused that he is in his own world. I can’t see him lasting until the finale. He just can’t get past this problem he has.

But a funny thing happened last night…there was no food that came back to the kitchen, and aside from a few small glitches, it was maybe the smoothest dinner service ever in Hell’s Kitchen. But Ramsay said he needs one chef, not four, to run his restaurant. So he asked Jay to nominate two chefs for elimination. He chose Autumn and Ben. Ramsay asked them to step forward, and after telling Autumn to take off her jacket and…”get back in line!” he then did the same thing to Ben. He said he could not eliminate anyone based on how well the dinner service went.

Then, Ramsay introduced the families of each chef, who got to spend some times with those family members before going back to their dorms and getting ready for the next round. So nobody went home last night, but I’d say it’s safe to assume Autumn will be next and then probably Ben. And if it’s Holli vs. Jay, that should be real interesting, shouldn’t it? I mean, imagine falling for someone and then having to compete with them head to head for your dream job. Come to think of it, the producers are going to ensure that happens!

So that’s it, folks…we have just a few short weeks left of “Hell’s Kitchen.” But hey, Season 8 is just around the corner, literally. Thanks for reading and see you all back here next week….

Season 7 of “Hell’s Kitchen” is a bit different. Because as we plow on through it, and I do mean plow, there are some things that have made this season unique. Mainly, it’s been unpredictable. Those who we thought were contenders (Ed) and those we thought were non-factors (Autumn) have proved us wrong. Even Ben showed last night his days are likely numbered and he can’t possibly win. And oh yeah, there is a blatant romance budding here between Holli and Jay. Big time. The clips for next week show Ramsay putting his foot down about said romance, so that should be interesting.

Anyway, we’re almost at the finale, and this show kicked off June 1…so Fox is trying to get it over with before Season 8 begins in September. Yes, that’s right. Season 8 is already in the can, too. I wonder how many more are in production, because the show is, despite the twists this season, getting really stale really fast.

So with that, here is our brief recap of last night’s double episode:

They began with a presentation challenge in which their dish had to look great and taste great, and it would be photographed by a professional. Culinary students were the judges on the looks, and the top 2 vied for the win with Gordon Ramsay and Epicurious.com’s Tanya Steel judging the taste. The winners were Ed and Ben, and Ben won the taste test with his fish dish. His prize was a makeover and spa treatment followed by a photo shoot with Epicurious. The five “losers” had to clean the dining room with Jean Phillippe watching over them.

At the dinner service, there was a special guest at the chef’s table…Whoopi Goldberg. Awesome! Anyway, there were some small errors by Jason and Ben–lack of seasoning pasta and not communicating, respectively. But no one failed more than Ed…who could not for the life of him cook fish all the way through. And I mean like 10 or 15 times. Yikes. Meanwhile, Ramsay called Ben out for being a great cook with no leadership skills. Ouch! And then he kicked Ben and Ed out, and left Holli, Jason, Autumn and Jay to finish service, which they did without a hitch.

Ramsay told the remaining chefs to choose two consensus chefs for elimination, not based on last night, but overall. Ben nominated Autumn, as he does every week. Autumn was a consensus pick, though, because she has landed on the chopping block numerous times. Meanwhile, the other was Ed, and his performance last night was enough to prove to Ramsay he didn’t have what it took. So Ed was sent packing.

In episode 2, Ramsay took the final 5 to a high end fresh market, where he gave them $10 to spend as they wished to create a dish with. They would be judged by Ramsay and three renowned culinary experts including a chef, magazine editor and Ramsay’s GM at one of his restaurants. Those judges would decide how much they would pay for the dishes in a restaurant.

Jay’s lamb chop went over well and averaged $28.66. Jason, however, used frozen ravioli for some stupid reason. I mean, does he not watch Ramsay on TV? He’s always preaching fresh ingredients! They liked his dish enough but it priced out at $16.00. Ben’s lamb loin came out at $25. Autumn made a veal chop and did really well, pricing out at $27.33. Finally it was Holli, who made a weird ahi tuna dish with 5 spice, parsnip puree and kumquat sauce. Say what? However, they loved it and thought the portion size alone garnered a high price–which came out to $29.66 and gave Holli the win over Jay.

Her prize was to hang out poolside for lunch at the Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills, and then have a $1K shopping spree at a restaurant supply store. Ramsay said JP would be going along with Holli but that she could also choose another chef to go…and she chose Jay…surprise surprise. Their flirting kept escalating. Meanwhile, the others had to do laundry, and Jason and Ben were annoyed by the motor that was Autumn’s mouth.

When they returned, Jay and Holli wound up in the hot tub and started, well, messing around…until Autumn showed up to break up the party! Jay had previously announced that he had two goals on this show….to win, and to sleep with Holli.

At dinner service, Ramsay made them switch stations constantly to help provoke communication and keep the flow moving in the kitchen. Everyone was struggling, but no one more so than Ben, who clearly can’t communicate with everyone else. Finally, sous chef Scott led Ben have it when Ben tried to take over Scott’s position at the pass. Dude! And I mean Scott got in Ben’s face like never before, Ramsay-style. It was awesome.

Ramsay told the chefs to come up with two for elimination, and once again Ben chose Autumn, but Autumn had seen enough of that crap and nominated Ben. Ben it was, against Jason. And Ramsay declared that Jason wasn’t enough of a leader and sent him home.

So there you have it…we’ve got Autumn, who Ramsay said is improving tons….the lovebirds Holli and Jay, and the struggling Ben.
Next week’s episode, as I said, shows Ramsay giving Holli and Jay and ultimatum…basically, end your love affair or leave the competition. I can’t imagine either of them wants to give up this dream after getting this far. And I think they will face off against each other in the finale. It’s TV too good for the producers not to let happen at this point! So my apologies to Autumn and Ben, but I’m sure that you’ve been sent home next.

What do you all think? Let me know in the space below and see you next week!

Fox gave us another two-hour episode of “Hell’s Kitchen” last night, and it’s becoming clear that they are trying to get the show out of the way before the fall. Next week the MLB all-star game is on Fox, so we’ll have a reprieve, and then on July 27 Gordon Ramsay’s new “Master Chef” show will begin and probably share air time with “Hell’s Kitchen.” Either way, we sure are moving swiftly, and are down to the final 6. Here is how we got there last night…..

EPISODE 1

This episode was the palate episode, but it began with Ramsay serving the remaining 8 chefs a dish he claimed to have created. He asked for their opinion of the chicken dish, and each of them raved about it. Then he broke it to them….it was a frozen meal. Ha! That should have been a sign of what was to come, and it was….the palate test. This is the one where he blindfolds each chef and puts headphones on them, and asks them to name what he puts in their mouth.

Fran and Autumn were first and Fran, after she claimed to have an awesome palate, was 0 for 4. Autumn guessed 1 correctly and the blue team was in the lead. Holli got 1 right to Ed’s 0. Ben and Jason each got 1 correct, and it was down to Nilka and Jay. Nilka got one right and Jay 2, giving the blue team the win.

Their prize was to spend the day at Sea World and swim with the dolphins. Meanwhile, the red team had to unload delivery trucks. Then for the dinner service later that day, the teams were empowered with creating their own menus. The red team was struggling, and/or letting Ben strong arm them, and the blue team chose items that were so simple that they ventured into boring territory. Ramsay got to sample all of the dishes, and he was not very impressed with the red team’s creations, except for Holli, who made all of the desserts, and made them very well. I’m starting to believe she has a real shot at winning this. Meanwhile, Ramsay was very disappointed that the blue team took the easy way out and didn’t create anything interesting or exciting. He asked them to re-consider their menu. But after that, the orders were coming in from the dining room and most guests were choosing the blue menu.

In the kitchen, Fran could not cook chicken all the way through and Autumn almost served raw pork. This prompted Ramsay into one of his “Get out!” modes. He pulled her aside and let her have it verbally. Then Jason was getting flustered because of the volume of orders for the blue team, and Fran was screwing up at the meat station, again. Then Ramsay pulled Fran aside too, but not before telling Autumn that her attitude “stinks.” In the end, Ramsay declared both teams losers and asked them to each choose one person for consensus nomination for being sent home. The blue team chose Autumn and red chose Fran. Big surprise! Ramsay told Fran he’d had enough, and sent her home. He then told Autumn to take off her jacket as well, but sent her back to the red team. They actually welcomed her back with open arms, and Ben commented that Autumn was a much stronger cook than Fran was.

EPISODE 2

This one began with Ramsay telling the chefs that whoever won the job at the Savoy in London would be cooking with exotic ingredients, such as the giant 10 pound lobsters he was holding. He asked them each to create a lobster dish for their initial challenge. But he also brought out three Michelin star chefs to help him judge the dishes.
Since it was 4 against 3, Ramsay told the red team to have one chef sit this out. They chose Nilka, whose boring lobster with mashed potatoes wouldn’t have done her team any favors.

Holli faced off against Ed and Holli won; Jason beat out Autumn; and Ben and Jay both failed, prompting the guest chef to not award a point to either. So Ramsay told them the winner would be the team that had the best dish overall, which was Holli’s. So the red team won a challenge! Their reward was to be whisked off to a caviar restaurant and then a shopping spree. Meanwhile, the blue team had to clean the dorms and prep both kitchens for dinner. They had to do the red kitchen first, and had no time to do their own, which would have been a major problem. However, Ramsay announced that they would now be working as one team, in the red side of the kitchen. Jay, Jason and Ed all breathed a huge sigh of relief.

For this dinner, the chefs had 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete service, as the guests were all going to the theater afterward. Nilka could not cook seafood properly, prompting Ramsay to tell her to “Get a grip!” Ed was not all there either, leaving frying pans to burn on the stove. Jason, meanwhile, was on his game, cooking all of his beef wellingtons perfectly. But Nilka kept failing over and over again, and finally Ramsay told her to take off her jacket and get out, for real. Nilka could not accept her fate, coming back in and begging with Ramsay to give her another chance. He told her to leave again, and when she didn’t, he asked the other chefs to get her to leave. Nice.
But after Nilka got her things and then headed out to her waiting cab, Ramsay was there waiting for her, and gave her some kind words of encouragement. Once in a while, Ramsay shows that he definitely has a good heart.

Meanwhile, the dinner service went really well, winding up at 2 hours, 15 minutes. But Ramsay told them to choose two people for consensus nomination for elimination. They chose Ed and Autumn. Then, when they were on the chopping block, Ramsay told Ed to take off his jacket. He then told him to put on a black jacket, and to get back in line. He congratulated him, Autumn and the other four remaining chefs on reaching the Final 6.

Seriously, the Final 6? This season is going to be over in just a few weeks. So your Final 6–Ed, Autumn, Jay, Jason, Ben and Holli. I’m going to predict that the final will be Holli vs. Jay. Okay, thanks for reading and we’ll see you all in two weeks!