Season Finale
It’s been an exciting ride this season on Hell’s Kitchen, but sadly, it has come to an end. Two amazing chefs went head to head last night to see who’ll be taking the helm at the Savoy Grill in London. Chef Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) was a favorite from the start, and it wasn’t a shock that he made it to the finals. Banquet chef Holli, from Redlands, California was a bit more of a surprise, quietly winning everyone over with her talent and determination – not to mention her good looks, which certainly caught the attention of her fellow finalist.
To give the chefs a taste of what is to come, Ramsay takes Jay and Holli to his restaurant at The London Hotel in West Hollywood where they’re given an hour to prepare 5 courses to be judged by five of his executive chefs from England. Jay and Holli prove to be even competitors – it comes down to the fifth course to decide the challenge. In the end, Jay wins giving him a burst of confidence for the upcoming dinner service.
To help the final two for their ultimate – and most important – dinner service, Ramsay welcomes back six of the recent contestants that had left Hell’s Kitchen. Holli’s team (which includes Autumn, Siobhan and Nilka) has a sluggish start, and Jay’s team (with Jason, Benjamin and Fran) is the first to complete their service.
Finally, the moment of truth – whose door will open? Who’ll be heading up the kitchen at the Savoy Grill? Holli. Holli’s heading to London.
Who knew growing as a chef was the way to Gordon Ramsey’s heart (or to executive chef position, for that matter). But we’re not complaining – we’re happy Jay is staying in Somerville – call us selfish.
Episode 14
Now that the competition has dwindled from 16 chefs to 4, things heat up at Hell’s Kitchen. To test the chef’s palates, Ramsay creates a dish from the menu at the Savoy Grill. Once they’ve tasted it, the chefs are asked to recreate it as closely and deliciously as possible. Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) is the only chef to get the pear puree component correct – everyone else went with apple – but he’s also the only chef that chose to work with flank steak as his protein – everyone else got it right opting for venison. This earns Holli the win in the “Taste it Now Make it” challenge, which means she gets to lounge on a yacht with the surprise guests of her adorable son and his father. The losers are stuck cleaning the dorms.
The next day, Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf) wakes up with a strained back – a result of the heavy lifting and hard core cleaning from the day before. Too hurt to do prep work, he spends the day snoozing and jacuzzing, then eventually sees a medic and a chiropractor. Convinced he’s too hurt to cook, Knack announces that he’s giving up and congratulates his fellow chefs. After some inspirational words from Ramsay, Knack turns up in Hell’s Kitchen just in time for dinner service. Knack has an awesome dinner service and runs the kitchen smoothly during his turn at the hot plate. He seems to have recovered fully, which raised a few eyebrows. Knack isn’t the only one to have a great service – Jason is practically flawless running the kitchen – so ultimately Ben and Autumn are sent on their way, leaving Holli and Jason as the final two. Be sure to tune in next Tuesday when this flirty little pair are pitted against one another, and the executive chef of the Savoy Grill in London is revealed.
Episode 13
It’s down to four in Hell’s Kitchen. This week, Ramsay turns the tables and prepares monk fish – which he claims is one of the most difficult fish to prepare – for the contestants. When it comes to the challenge – surprise, surprise – Ramsey throws in a twist introducing four pretty boy bachelors who barely know how to boil water. The chefs are each assigned an amateur who they must instruct as to how to recreate Ramsay’s monkfish. The dish that most closely mimics the original wins. Though everyone does pretty well, Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) wins the challenge and gets to bring a teammate along to tour Los Angeles from the comfort of the Goodyear blimp. Despite his friendship with fellow Bostonian Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf), he chooses Holli, with whom he has a fun little flirtation going. Knack is stuck on maintenance duty with Autumn, of whom he’s not particularly fond.
For the first time in Hell’s Kitchen history, Ramsay lets the chefs choose their station for dinner service in hopes of a perfect service. They get off to a rough start and Knack, once again, can’t cook and talk at the same time. The gang pulls it together and has their best service thus far. Santos is tasked with choosing the chefs that will be up on the chopping block and ultimately settles on Autumn and fellow Bostonian Ben Knack. After a few tense moments, Ramsey revels no one will be going home and contestants are all rewarded with a surprise visit from their loved ones.
Be sure to tune in next week when 2 chefs are sent home, and we get one step closer to finding out who will soon call London home.
Episode 12
In order to ensure that the future executive chef of Savoy in London can handle budgeting and food costs, Ramsey sets up a challenge to see how far each of the five remaining chefs can stretch a dollar. They’re each given ten big ones to create a profitable, fine dining dish. Judges will then name the price they’d be willing to pay for the dish whoever winds up with the highest perceived value wins. Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) is confident his Greek-inspired lamb dish will wine the day with its perceived value of $28.66. Not so fast, Santos. Holli, the last to be judged, beats Santos by just $1. Her prize – a private poolside cabana at the Peninsula Hotel and $1000 shopping spree at a kitchen supply store – is to be shared with one other, and she chooses runner-up Santos. Sparks, witty little quips and flirty comments fly between the two while the losers get stuck with laundry duty.
During dinner service, the chefs are required to continuously rotate stations, and Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf) finds it challenging to concentrate on his cooking while still communicating with his fellow chefs. Seeing his chance to prove his leadership abilities, Knack takes an ill-timed shot at expediting angering sous chef Scott to Ramsey proportions. When Jason (not Santos) and Benjamin are up for elimination, Benjamin slides by, once again, and Jason is sent home due to his lack of confidence and culinary skills.
Be sure to tune in Tuesday at 8:00pm to see what happens as Santos’ budding romance leads Ramsay to do something never seen before on Hell’s Kitchen, and Knack struggles to step up to the leadership plate.
Episode 11
With only the final 6 chefs left, the pressure to be perfect is on more than ever. Since aesthetics are such a crucial component of a successful dish, contestants must create a dish to be photographed and judged on its visual appeal. But looks aren’t everything – the two most visually pleasing dishes compete against each other in a taste test. A slightly over-confident Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) is less than thrilled when his deconstructed beet salad only earns him 5th place (perhaps he should have use this one). Fellow Bostonian Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf), however, is elated when his complicated halibut dish goes up against Ed’s, and then wins the taste test. While the others get stuck cleaning the dining room, Knack gets sent to a salon for his “Celebrity Chef” make-over and a photo shoot of him and his dish to be featured on Epicurious.com.
For good reason, the chefs get nervous for dinner service when Knack’s intricate halibut dish makes it on the menu. Ed can’t keep up with the incoming halibut orders and gets the wrath from Chef Ramsay. Knack crumbles under the pressure, literally – he trips over himself, drops his chicken and shuts down all communication to his team members, leading Ramsay to kick both Knack and Ed out of the kitchen. Whoopi Goldberg makes a guest appearance at the Chef’s Table for dinner service, so the chefs left in the kitchen step it up and serve her a flawless meal.
Ramsay establishes that Knack can cook, but can’t lead, but in the end, he’s safe for another week. Ed, however, is not and is sent home when he and Autumn are up for elimination.
Episode 10
Now that the competition is getting tougher, it’s time to put the chef’s creativity and execution to the test. Each team is given a 10 pound lobster to split amongst them, and each member must create an original dish using the enormous crustacean. The Boston boys, Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf) and Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) are put head to head when their dishes are judged against each other. Both dishes are huge disappointments and neither chef is awarded a point. Holli (on the red team) has the best dish and clinches the victory for her team, earning them a day spent tasting the world’s best caviar and shopping with their $1,000 shopping sprees. Knack shows his sensitive side when he uses his money to buy gifts for his wife. Aww..
The chefs are thrown for a loop when they discover that they will all be cooking in the same kitchen for dinner service. The guests will be attending the theater so the pressure is on for the chefs to have a successful and speedy service. Nilka has a rough time and gets thrown out of the kitchen. On her way out, Ramsay yells to take off her coat. So then there were six… Aside from Nilka’s performance, the chefs have their best service ever. To congratulate the six remaining chefs, nobody goes home and new coats are distributed. The red and blue team are now one team, and the competition is about to get more intense. Tune in next Tuesday at 8 on FOX to see the final six battle it out.
Episode 9
To test the tasting abilities of the remaining contestants, chef Ramsey challenges the chefs with a blind taste test. Blindfolded and wearing earphones, each of the chefs try four different foods and attempt to identify them without the use of sight, touch, or sound. Somerville’s own, Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) was the only chef to get two correct answers – cilantro and roasted eggplant – and earned his team, the Blue Team, the win and a trip to Sea World. The Red Team, including Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf) sent the rest of the day unloading delivery trucks.
For dinner service, teams were tasked with creating their own menus. Diners had their choice between the two. Knack, who seemed to have the most to say about how to build the menu, looked the most crestfallen when it wasn’t well received by Ramsey or dinner guests. Santos, who had encouraged his team to keep the menu simple and easy-to-execute, took it on the nose for playing it too safe. It’s a banner day for both teams in the end – the Red Team is happy to see Fran sent packing while the Blue Team is equally pleased to see Autumn make the move back to the Red Team.
Episode 8
Another episode of Hell’s Kitchen sees Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) and Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf) squaring off on opposite teams. Ramsay’s irritation knows no bounds.
The episode begins with a trip to Filipe’s in Los Angeles (home of the French dip) and the contestants are tasked with creating a gourmet sandwich to showcase their ability to be innovative. Both Knack and Santos receive praise from Chef Ramsay on their sandwiches, but in the end, the blue team wins due to the red team’s poor choice in the “Worst Sandwich” award given to Siobhan.
While the blue team celebrates the win in a private jet to California’s wine country, the red team is forced to shell peanuts and make homemade peanut butter and jam for Ramsay’s amuse bouche of PB & J with foie gras.
Nasty hangovers plague Santos’ team, and prep for kitchen service proves challenging. Both teams have subpar performances in the kitchen, which leads Chef Ramsay to kick them both out of the kitchen. Santos and Knack survive yet another week in Hell’s Kitchen and Siobhan gets sent home.
Don’t miss Episode 9 next Tuesday at 8:00pm on FOX25.
Episode 7
After yet another loss for the Red Team, Chef Ramsay moves Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf) over from the Blue Team. This puts him and other Boston cooker Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) on opposing teams but gives both chefs a chance to step up and take on leadership roles.
When given the challenge of updating the three classic dishes (steak Diane, chicken Kiev and trout almandine) that a couple served at their wedding 50 years ago, the red team finally wins a challenge thanks to Knack’s leadership. As punishment, the Blue Team is left to set the hall for the 50th wedding anniversary party and baking a three tiered wedding cake.
As kitchen service begins, Knack and Santos once again take control of their teams. Santos cuts his finger badly, but perseveres despite the setback while a smug Knack gets all kinds of wrath from Ramsay when his crab cakes come out cold, and then burnt.
Both teams encounter some problems during service, but in the end the red team loses and must choose two members to be up for elimination. Fran and Siobhan get chosen but Ramsey – in a classic Ramsay switcheroo – ignores their recommendation and sends Salvatore packing.
Episode 6
To honor the five mother sauces, both teams are tasked with making a dish to highlight each sauce choosing from twenty main ingredients that can be used. Guest judges include Ramsay’s mother and his wife, the mother of his children – get it? Mother sauces. Mothers.
Anyway, the Boston boys, Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) and Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf), each prepare dishes that the judges find a touch bland but the Blue Team still ekes out a wine over the beleaguered Red Team.
During kitchen service, it’s Family Night, which means kids. Lots and lots of kids. Salvatore (the Italian one) irks Ramsey – and loses his trust – by fudging the number of risottos he’s prepared to plate but Knack steps up and gets the team back on track. The Red Team gets kicked out of the kitchen and Ramsay declares it their “most disorganized service ever”. Scott despite his extensive fine dining experience and good leadership skills gets the boot.
To make things more interesting, Chef Ramsay sends Knack to the Red Team, splitting up the Boston boys, allowing him to take control of the chaotic team and clearing the way for Santos to step up as the new leader of the Blue Team.
Episode 5
In Episode 5 things get messy on Hell’s Kitchen – the chefs head to the farm where contestants get down and dirty in an old fashioned pig scramble trying to catch the surprisingly agile little piglets, each of which has an ingredient named on its collar. Teams are then tasked with putting a dish together based on whichever little piggies they caught. Chef Ramsay actually spit out the Red Team’s concoction of blood sausage with prunes, so it was no surprise when the Blue Team, featuring Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf) and Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) snagged the win.
The Red Team got stuck washing the mud off the pigs, while the Blue Team took a dip in the mud on a victory spa visit.
For the first time in Hell’s Kitchen history, it was BBQ night at the restaurant. Due to a surprise! (*gasp*) double booking, one team cooked while the other headed out to run the front-of-house – swapping duties for the second turn. The Red Team couldn’t keep it together in, or out of the kitchen, and Chef Ramsay’s was displeased.
Once the Blue Team got in the kitchen, Santos shined and got appetizers out of the kitchen fast enough to earn praise from Ramsay. In the end, the Red Team lost and Maria’s chef coat was taken away and set on fire.
Episodes 3&4
As if one hour in the fire wasn’t enough, last night Fox gave us two full episodes of Hell’s Kitchen – but fear not, both Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) and Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf) made it out of the gauntlet un-singed.
Hour one saw the chefs serving up lunch to the USC marching band and cheerleaders which Chef Ramsay hoped would help the chefs work better as a team. Although the women came away with the win, the men weren’t far behind. They nevertheless had to help clean up the Los Angeles River as punishment. Both Boston chefs managed to fly under Ramsay’s scary radar during dinner service, although in the end Knack did get special praise for his superior meat cooking skills. Jamie from the women’s team was sent home at the end of the first hour, leaving the girls yet one more team member short.
Hour two began with a challenge that required the chefs to roll dice, pick ingredients and create a fabulous dish. The men barely squeaked out a win on this challenge, crafting a halibut, crab and salsify centered plate. As punishment, the women were forced to clean the entrance hall to the restaurant as well as prep both kitchens for dinner service. Despite running low on time, both teams managed to churn out their best dinners yet, prompting Ramsay to call both teams winners (well, not losers at least). In the end both teams nominated members for the chopping block that Ramsay declared too good to cut so Autumn and Scott were safe for another day, despite having to switch teams.
Don’t forget to tune in to FOX25 next week at 8:00pm to see how if Santos and Knack can keep up the good work. And if you feel the need to support your favorite chef in person, both Gargoyles on the Square and Sel de la Terre Long Wharf are hosting weekly viewing parties. Call Gargoyles at 617.776.5300 or Sel de la Terre at 617.720.1300 for reservations.
Episode 2
Both Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) and Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf) made it through last night’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen pretty much unscathed. In the egg challenge, chefs faced off over four preparations – scrambled, sunny-side up, poached and soft boiled. Though Santos’s scrambled eggs didn’t earn any praise from Ramsey his sunny-side up preparation got a “beautiful”. Knack fared even better, earning the Blue Team a win with his “perfect” soft-boiled egg.
During dinner service both chefs managed to keep their heads down and not draw too much ire from Ramsey though blue-haired Santos earned himself a new nickname – Blue Jay (a step up from last week’s Smurf). Mikey, the one with the mohawk-meets-pompadour and the Hell’s Kitchen tattoo got the boot – not a surprise really, since he screwed up the risotto repeatedly and duh, since he got a Hell’s Kitchen tattoo (a jinx if there ever was one).
Tune in to FOX25 next week at 8:00pm to see how it all goes down. Don’t forget both Gargoyles on the Square and Sel de la Terre Long Wharf are hosting weekly viewing parties so you can cheer on your local chefs live and in person. Call Gargoyles at 617.776.5300 or Sel de la Terre at 617.720.1300 for reservations.
Episode 1
For those of you who can’t sit through a whole cringe-worthy hour of Hell’s Kitchen, but want to know how the two Boston-based chefs on this season fared – we’ve got you covered. In the first round of competition, it’s the boys vs. the girls preparing their signature dishes. Both Jason Santos (of Gargoyles on the Square) and Benjamin Knack (of Sel de la Terre Long Wharf) won their rounds – Knack with a freshly made lobster agnolotti with butter poached lobster and truffle sauce (which Ramsey declared “absolutely delicious”) and Santos with a steak that was “seasoned beautifully”. During dinner service, Santos was sent into the dining room to make Caesar salad tableside avoiding Ramsey’s wrath for a good portion of the episode. Knack, on the other hand, was kicked out of the kitchen for tasting his risotto and putting the spoon back in the pan (something that probably happens 10,000 times a day in your average professional kitchen). Luckily for the boys’ team, the girls’ team had an even worse service and were forced to someone packing. Contestants Fran, a caterer from New York and private chef Stacey from Studio City, California were nominated by their teammates. Ramsey cut Stacey’s stay in Hell’s Kitchen short taking her chef jacket and having her picture burst into flames. To catch next week’s episode, tune in to FOX next Tuesday at 8:00pm.
