“Hell’s Kitchen” is barreling toward the finale already, but wait….now there will be a 2-3 week break for playoff baseball. Anyway, when they resume in early November there will be 8 contestants left and they will probably keep up with the two-episodes-in-one thing until just after Thanksgiving. Either way, here is our rapid-fire recap of last night’s doubleheader:

EPISODE 1

Initial challenge: Spinning a roulette wheel with letters. Using said letters to choose ingredients to then make a meal with. This was a team challenge. Blue team had kale, yams, miso, striped bass and asparagus. Red team had rutabaga, cauliflower, bok choy, fennel and salmon
Mistakes: Blue team did not exciting with asparagus or yams; and red team’s rutabaga chips were terribly bitter.
Winner: Red team
Prize: Trip to Vegas, lap of luxury prize and even hanging out with Penn and Teller
Punishment: Peeling and prepping a truck load of potatoes for the next dinner service
Dinner service: Family night, including chef Ramsay’s family
Mistakes: Vinny trying to re-use risotto, Nona too slow on garnish, Russell not being a team player and not bailing Rob out when he was sinking at his station, Trev and Sabrina arguing instead of working together
Quote: Ramsay said that 90% of the customers “left………happy”
Winner: Both teams, as it was one of the best services this season
On the block: Sabrina, Nona, Boris and Rob
Going home: Nobody. Ramsay asked Nona and Rob to step forward, again because you can’t send ratings darlings Sabrina or Boris home yet, right? Then he told Rob to give him his jacket…because it needed cleaning. Rob’s quote: “Come on chef, you can’t do that to a fat guy.” Classic.

EPISODE 2

Initial challenge: Starting at high end grocery store Bristol Farms, the chefs had to choose ingredients for under $60 per team and create four fine dining dishes. Guest judges were Mark Peel, Sophie Gayot, Libby Rego, and Justin Wyborn–a collection of great chefs and journalists
Mistakes: Not many…and it was incredible to see how much each judge would pay for each dish.
Winner: Red team, again.
Prize: Sailing for the day and lunch on the water. But Trev kept saying he didn’t feel welcome on his team, and they were giving him the cold shoulder
Punishment: Prepping kitchen and dining room for black tie, 100th episode anniversary dinner.
Dinner service: Elegant black tie affair, including chef’s tables with former “Hell’s Kitchen” winners–Rock, Christina, Danny and Holli.
Mistakes: Nona messed up the risotto, while Boris lit his on fire…Trev was completely in over his head with garnishes and could not keep up…Vinny made chewy lobster, as some of the dishes were returned to the kitchen…all of Trev’s teammates were helping him, leaving other stations unattended….Russell was not communicating, and Rob missed a ticket and had to rush cooking chicken, which of course was undercooked
Quote: “Get out!”–Ramsay to Trev, telling him to go get some fresh air
Winner: Red team
On the block: Boris and Vinny. But Ramsay asked Rob to also step forward.
Going home: Boris, finally. Whew. Okay, now just one whack job (Sabrina) left.

But wait…….Ramsay then said he wasn’t done yet….and asked Trev to also step forward. And then the dreaded “To Be Continued” appeared on the screen. Which means they wanted to leave us hanging for a few weeks. Don’t worry, producers…I’m surely not going to lose any sleep wondering if Trev is getting kicked off the show or not. In fact, I know he’s just going back to the blue team, because that’s how you guys roll!

Thanks for reading everyone, and see you in a few weeks!

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!