Eighteen new chefs arrived at Las Vegas to win the prize of becoming head chef at Hell's Kitchen Lake Tahoe.

Team Challenge/Signature Dish: This year, the signature dish challenge was changed to a cook-off between two chefs, one from each team. Both would go head to head with the same ingredients they received from a slot machine containing protein, vegetable, and starch. Ramsay judged each dish on a scale from one-five. While cooking signature dish, Kenneth finished cooking his dish with 20 minutes to go, only the second person to do this after JP in season 13. First Declan's New York strip received five points while Nikki's New York striploin received four points. Then, Syann's filet mignon received two points because of raw cauliflower served on the side, and Cody's filet mignon got three points for having great flavor, but bad presentation. Next, Kenneth's chicken scored only one point since it was badly burnt despite being finished too early, while Kori's chicken dish scored four. In the halibut round, Lauren scored three points for having too much pasta, while Drew scored two points because his pasta lacked salt. Next, Mary Lou scored two points for her salmon because of lack of seasoning and raw rice, whereas Eliott also scored two points for removing the salmon's skin. Adam's lamb received four points while Jordan's lamb received three points. Peter and Amber both received four points on their ribeyes. On scallops, Fabiola scored three points while Josh scored two for his burnt kale. Finally, Marc's pork loin dish received five points after Brittani's pork chop only scored two because it was overcooked, giving the men a 28-27 win.

Reward/punishment: The men were rewarded with dinner at Gordon Ramsay's Steak House with Ramsay himself joining them. The women were punished by cleaning the Caesar Palace fountain. Sous Chef Christina berated Fabiola, Jordan, and Mary Lou for not maintaining a serious attitude during the punishment.

Challenge – part one: The chefs assembled outside the front entrance to see a helicopter hovering. Somebody from the helicopter kicked a crate out and the episode ends on a cliffhanger before it hits the ground.

Challenge – part two: The smashed crate (thrown from the helicopter) revealed the ingredient for the next challenge, shrimp. Ramsay announced that the chefs would have to cook a shrimp dish to be added to the menu for the entire season. There was also a shocking caveat: whoever produces the worst dish would be sent home immediately. This individual would be the first person in show history to be eliminated before the first dinner service, for any reason other than injury or illness. The contestants would have 45 minutes to cook, then the sous chefs would nominate the three best and two worst dishes from each team.

Elimination: Sous Chef Christina nominated Nikki's and Jordan's dishes as the two worst for the women, while Sous Chef Jay nominated Eliott and Kenneth for the men. Ramsay eliminated Kenneth for leaving a large chunk of raw Parmesan cheese in his dish (he irked Ramsay even further by misidentifying it as potato) and being the worst performer in both challenges. No comment was given on Kenneth's elimination but his burnt picture and hung jacket could be seen next to Jordan's.

Challenge winner: The top three dishes from each team were Lauren, Amber, and Syann for the women, in addition to Josh, Cody, and Declan for the men. Syann's shrimp and grits (for which she had to substitute with polenta when she couldn't find grits in the storeroom) won the challenge, so she was rewarded a punishment pass allowing her to skip any punishment for the reward, while also sending a member of the other team to participate in the punishment.

Service: Ramsay opened the chef tables for two VIP families. Wayne Brady and his family ate in the blue kitchen, while Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd ate in the red kitchen. In the dining room were Antonio Fargas and Erik Kilpatrick. Despite Nikki breaking down in tears after serving raw lobster and too few scallops, and Mary Lou overcooking a steak, the women successfully completed service. In the blue kitchen, appetizers left the kitchen quickly, but Peter overcooked duck, while Ramsay berated Eliott for staring into space and not helping his team. After Drew put up raw lamb, he, Peter, and Eliott were thrown out of the kitchen. Cody took over the garnish station and served undercooked fries, which got the rest of the men kicked out; they did not serve a single entree, and were ordered to provide two nominees for elimination.

Elimination: Drew and Eliott were nominated. When Ramsay asked the two men whether each of them could perform better than the other, Drew gave a direct response in the affirmative, whereas Eliott only responded that he and Drew had "skills in different areas", to the annoyance and confusion of both Ramsay and his teammates. Ramsay again requested a simple "yes" or "no" from Eliott, to which he hesitated before replying no. Therefore, Ramsay immediately eliminated Eliott for his lack of confidence and focus, telling him he had just made it an easy decision.

Ramsay's comment: "Eliminating a chef this early is usually quite hard. But tonight, I didn't have to eliminate a chef, I had to eliminate Eliott".

Team Challenge: The first team that prepared 10 Caesar salads that were accepted won the challenge. Also, because the Red team had two extra people, two pairs were created: Kori and Amber, and Lauren and Brittani. The red team won the challenge 10-eight.

Reward/punishment: The women were rewarded with a dune buggy experience in the Nevada desert. The men were punished by prepping and peeling Scotch quail eggs for Ramsay's Caesar salad dish for that night's service. After the women returned from their reward, Fabiola suffered a panic attack and received medical attention, not being able to join her team until moments before service began.

Service: Dan Reynolds was in attendance, while Apolo Ohno and Marshall Faulk were seated at the red and blue chefs tables, respectively. Drew was caught with his pants down, while Cody served extra orders of scallops twice and raw salmon, but rebounded, and the men successfully finished service. In the red kitchen, Fabiola undercooked a flatbread and burned another. Jordan and Lauren struggled with timing on the meat station, forcing Mary Lou to help them. After Lauren undercooked duck while Jordan mistakenly served a New York strip instead of Beef Wellington, Ramsay kicked the women out and they lost the service.

Elimination: Lauren and Nikki were nominated by the red team. However, Ramsay, disagreeing with the nominations, did not call them down and nominated Fabiola and Jordan instead. Fabiola was eliminated for her poor performance on appetizers and also out of concern for her health.

Ramsay's comment: "To be my head chef, you need to have passion, leadership, and great skills. Fabiola had passion and not much else".

After the elimination ceremony, Drew was not feeling well, complaining he was experiencing bad body cramps and was sent to the hospital after talking with the medic.

Team Challenge: Both teams had thirty minutes to prep for service for the Wedding Brunch Service. The menu featured an avocado toast appetizer served with mimosas, and the entrées included steak and eggs, eggs Benedict, and buttermilk waffles. Josh undercooked and overcooked steak, while Amber got overwhelmed by the number of eggs that were on order. Thanks to Declan overcooking eggs Benedict on the last ticket, the women finished serving their brunch first and won the challenge.

Reward/Punishment: The women were rewarded with an overnight trip to Lake Tahoe where they would ride snowmobiles in the mountains, and stay at the Harrah's Hotel and Casino. The men were punished by making 600 cupcakes for the wedding couples. Josh caused setbacks by having cupcakes collapse due to overmixing batter, while also putting sugar pearls on the wrong colored cupcakes.

Drew's Exit: Prior to service starting, Ramsay notified the teams that Drew's health had not improved, so he would not be able to return to the competition. Drew did not receive a coat hanging and picture burning sequence, but his burnt picture could be seen next to Marc's.

Team Switch: With the men down two members and in need of a leader, Ramsay reassigned a not particularly keen Amber to the Blue team. Amber is the first person in show history to switch teams after a challenge but before the corresponding dinner service.

Service: Sous Chef Christina's girlfriend and family dined in the red kitchen, Sous Chef Jay's wife and best friends dined in the blue kitchen, while Marino's family was in the dining room. Also attending service were DJ Ashba, DJ Friese, and Donna D'Errico. In the blue kitchen, Peter struggled on the fish station, incorrectly cooking scallops, while Declan served raw New York strip and argued with Marc on garnish. The last straw for Ramsay was Peter burning a halibut, which was also their last, leading to the Blue team getting kicked out of the kitchen. In the red kitchen, Syann undercooked flatbread twice, needing all her teammates' help, while Brittani overcooked salmon. Although Nikki helped Brittani with the salmon, Kori's raw New York strip forced Ramsay to kick them out of the kitchen as well. Neither team was able to serve its chef's table, so they both lost.

Elimination: Brittani and Syann were nominated by the red team, while Marc and Peter were nominated for the Blue team. Although Ramsay acknowledged Brittani's determination, she was eliminated for her lack of improvement, poor performance on fish, and ceding her station to Nikki.

Ramsay's comment: "Brittani floundered on the fish station and sank her team, which left me with one option: cut bait".

Team Challenge: The teams are challenged to put their own spin on four Mexican dishes: tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, and Chile Relleno. The dishes were judged by Aaron Sanchez in a head-to-head competition. Although the teams initially tied at two-two, judge Sanchez deemed Adam's enchiladas the best dish of the day, giving the Blue team the win.

Reward/punishment: The blue team was rewarded with a spa day at the Voie, located at the Paris Hotel. The red team was punished by cleaning the animals in the pen, scooping up the manure, and cleaning up the hay bales. Syann used her punishment pass, choosing Cody to take her place in the punishment.

Service: Marc had trouble with the risotto and couldn't communicate with Josh on fish. Josh also broke a piece of halibut by picking it up with tongs instead of a fish spatula. In the red kitchen, although Nikki lacked some confidence on the meat station, she produced flawless entrees. Lauren was called out by Ramsay for not proactively helping her team.

Automatic elimination: One hour into dinner service, Peter was struggling to keep up on the garnish station. After needing Cody's help with tomatoes, overseasoning lentils, and falling behind on mashed potatoes, Ramsay asked the blue team if they had the qualities to become his next head chef. While most of the blue team enthusiastically responded affirmatively, Peter openly admitted that he was not qualified to continue any longer. Ramsay eliminated Peter on the spot, making him the tenth person in the show's history to be eliminated in the middle of service. He then instructed Amber to take over the garnish section for the rest of the service. Peter stated that he felt he was not ready to become an Executive Chef if these were the steps he had to take, that the cash prize was not worth the mental stress, and that he wanted to go back home to his family.

Ramsay praised both teams for their improved communication without Peter, and named them joint winners, but had them nominate one person each for elimination.

Nomination: Lauren and Marc were nominated. However, after Peter's exit, Ramsay decided to spare both. Peter did not receive the coat hanging and picture burning sequence and Ramsay did not issue a statement for his departure.

The chefs celebrated Josh's birthday before getting called to the dining room by Ramsay.

Team Challenge: The chefs had to modernize Italian Cuisine, with a chef from each team going head to head for the best dish. The dishes consisted of lobster ravioli, chicken Parmesan, chicken saltimbocca, veal Milanese, seafood risotto, and tortellini. They took turns smashing open guitars to randomly determine who would cook what dish. Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Ditolo were guest judges, who along with Ramsay would score each dish out of three. The Blue team won 33-28.

Reward/punishment: The blue team was rewarded with riding in muscle cars with professional drivers and eating an Italian meal at the Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant. The red team was punished by making hand made pasta, prepping tomatoes, and making pesto.

Service: Frank Pellegrino Jr. and Robert Earl dined at the chef tables for an Italian Night themed dinner service. Amber had troubles on the fish station, sending up raw lobster and soggy salmon. Josh was also a roadblock on the garnish station, not communicating and serving bland mashed potatoes. In the red kitchen, Jordan preemptively fired scallops and Mary Lou and Syann sent up raw Beef Wellington and lamb, but they all recovered. Although both teams completed the service, Ramsay gave the Red team the win in a close decision.

Elimination: Amber and Josh were nominated by the Blue team. Josh was eliminated for his poor performance on garnish and lack of voice.

Ramsay's comment: "Tonight, when Josh blows out the candles on his birthday cake, he should wish for one thing: a stronger voice".

Team Challenge: The chefs faced the protein identification challenge, where two chefs at a time would race to correctly identify the proteins used in 3 surf and turf dishes. If both proteins were incorrect, the light would turn red; if both were correct, the light would turn green; if only one protein was correct, the light would turn blue. The team that correctly guessed their proteins the fastest would win the challenge. The Red team went first and clocked in at 8:46, but the Blue team timed out due to Declan having to go twice and slowing them down by making random guesses.

Reward/punishment: The red team was rewarded with a flow riding experience on top of the Planet Hollywood roof. The blue team was punished by de-shelling crab and prepping them for crab cakes for that night's service.

Service: The blue team had a near-flawless service, where the only issue was Adam's scallops being seared on side but raw on the other side. Amber was praised for her performance on meat, despite her uncertainty over its temperature, and they had a smooth service. In the red kitchen, Syann burned salmon twice. Jordan served meat before garnish was ready, and miscommunication between Kori on garnish and Nikki and Jordan on meat resulted in Jordan bringing up New York strip instead of the Wellington on order. After Kori served soggy fries while Jordan and Nikki overcooked steak and Syann undercooked salmon, Ramsay kicked the Red team out of dinner service, and had the Blue team finish their tickets.

Elimination: Kori and Syann were initially nominated by the Red team, but Ramsay nominated Jordan and sent Kori back in line. Syann was eliminated for her inexperience and poor performance on fish, but Ramsay praised her energy.

Ramsay's comment: "Sy's winning personality and determination were enough to take her far. But her lack of experience made me say sayonara".

Team Challenge: The chefs faced the Craps Challenge, where chefs would take turns rolling a die with letters on it, and then must quickly decide on an ingredient beginning with that letter their team would cook with. One chef from each team (Cody and Kori) will roll twice to gather six ingredients in total. Both teams performed well, each scoring 19 out of a possible 25 points. Ramsay deemed Cody's pork schnitzel the best dish, giving the Blue team the win.

Reward/punishment: The blue team was rewarded with high wire lessons with Absinthe, and a special lunch at Nobu. The red team was punished by prepping Wellingtons for both the restaurant and for Gordon Ramsay Steak, which included prepping the mushrooms for the duxelle.

Cook For Your Life: There was no service. Instead, Ramsay would have four chefs cook for their right to stay in the competition. For having the best dishes from the challenge on their teams, Nikki and Cody were told to nominate two teammates each. Nikki named Lauren as her first nominee and Jordan as the second, while Cody named Marc as his first nominee, and Amber as his second. The chefs had 45 minutes to cook a dish using filet mignon, wild mushrooms, potatoes, parsnip, and Brussels sprouts.

Elimination: Ramsay eliminated Lauren for undercooking her steak, despite other elements of her dish being strong, but praised her for her strength.

Ramsay's comment: "If you can't fit in with the pack, you better be the top dog. But Lauren was bringing up the rear".

Team Challenge: The chefs faced the Blind Taste Test. Chefs who missed two ingredients would cause ice cream to be dumped on one of their teammates. Subsequent misses result in dumps of chocolate syrup and maraschino cherries. Declan scored a perfect four, while Nikki missed them all. Kori beat Adam three-one, while Amber, Mary Lou, Cody, and Jordan each scored two. Because the Red team only had four members, they chose Kori to go against Marc. After Kori missed two of three ingredients, the Red team could no longer catch up, and the Blue team won 10-eight.

Reward/punishment: The blue team was rewarded with a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon and an overnight stay at the Caesar Palace's private villa. The red team was punished by taking in deliveries of beef and prepping them for Steak Night.

Service: Floyd Little and the Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders dined for Steak Night. The Red team had a near-flawless service, with Kori having a fantastic performance on meat. However, Marc's bland shrimp scampi held up the appetizers, while Cody forgot a filet. Adam also struggled to communicate while on garnish, and brought up Marc's overcooked eggs. When Ramsay noticed Marc calling the wrong ticket to his teammates, he kicked the blue team out.

Elimination: Marc and Adam were nominated for elimination. Although Marc had been significantly declining in performance, Adam was eliminated for not communicating on the garnish station, which Ramsay himself stated was designed to be a test of his communication and leadership skills.

Ramsay's comment: "Adam started off the competition strong. But unlike his beard, Adam stopped growing".

Team Challenge: In the episode's five protein burger challenge, each team needed to make five different burgers using beef, chicken, salmon, turkey, and lamb. In order to collect their ingredients, they must grab cards containing the ingredients in a classic 52 card pickup. While most of the chefs would be collecting the cards, one person from each team was responsible for putting them on the board for each burger. Jordan and Nikki scored on chicken and salmon to give the red team a two-zero lead, but Cody's turkey burger and Amber's beef burger tied it up at 2. However, Mary Lou's lamb burger won it for the red team.

Reward/punishment: The red team was rewarded with a trip to Dig This which included crushing cars in a construction site. The blue team was punished by prepping 500 pounds of potatoes for a pomme puree.

Service: Before dinner service began, Ramsay allowed both teams to decide on where they wanted to cook that night. Ramsay invited two former winners to dine at the chef's tables. Season 12 winner Scott Commings dined in the blue kitchen, while season 17 winner Michelle Tribble dined in the red kitchen. The red team had its second perfect service in a row, with Ramsay singling out Nikki in particular for her dramatic improvement since the beginning of the competition. Marc got the blue team to a bad start on appetizers by not realizing that his stove was off, which he attempted to blame on Cody. He then served bland and undercooked risotto as well as scrambled carbonara, earning a warning in the pantry from Ramsay. On entrees, Declan undercooked lamb and Ramsay kicked the blue team out once again after Amber undercooked halibut for Scott's table.

Elimination: Cody announced Marc as the blue team's first nominee and himself as the second, the latter to teach Declan and Amber a lesson in loyalty since both threw each other under the bus during discussion (as well as attempt to force Ramsay's hand into eliminating Marc, as Cody saw him as a serious liability to the welfare of the team). Ramsay eliminated Marc for his declining performances and refusing to take responsibility for his mistakes.

Ramsay's comment: "Marc is a big talker and a decent cook. But I'm looking for someone who can lead a brigade. Marc couldn't even win over his own team".

Team Challenge: In the first ever Spells Kitchen Challenge, one chef from each team would go head to head and see a scrambled ingredient on the screen. They then must decipher the ingredient, and any chef who got it first had the choice of either keeping the ingredient for one of the three dishes (ribeye, halibut, and veal chop) or send it to the opposing team. Since the red team had an extra member, they had Nikki and Mary Lou both cook halibut, before choosing to drop Nikki's dish. Both teams scored on ribeye and veal chop, then Cody's halibut dish beat Mary Lou's to give the blue team the win, three-two.

Reward/punishment: The blue team was rewarded with a pool day at the Link and an all-American barbecue lunch, but were forced inside due to rain. The red team was punished by baking 600 tuile cookies.

Service: Dinner service was for two charities headed by Sarah McLachlan and Chris Long. Also attending service was Beau Allen. Declan had to lead both the scallops and the filet courses due to the blue team being short a member. On the scallops course, Ramsay criticized Declan for cooking all the scallops himself and relegating Amber and Cody to plating, while Nikki only put out ten plates instead of twelve. There were no issues on the pea risotto or the halibut courses. However, Amber got overwhelmed by Declan asking her to cook all the filets for him and burned one, while Jordan led passively and did not check the filets Nikki and Mary Lou gave her before Ramsay pointed out that they were raw. Ramsay refused to name a winner on the grounds that he had to stop both teams' mistakes from leaving the kitchen and requested one chef to be nominated from each team.

Elimination: The Blue team nominated Amber and the Red team nominated Jordan. Ramsay eliminated Jordan for her lack of leadership but praised her for her hard work and energy.

Ramsay's comment: "Jordan soldiered through many battles here in Hell's Kitchen. But tonight, she lost the war".

The remaining chefs were taken to see Criss Angel perform. At the end of his performance, Ramsay revealed that he would be rewarding black jackets.

Black Jacket Challenge One: The first challenge was Taste It Now Make It. Ramsay gave the chefs a signature dish to recreate in 40 minutes, only allowing them to look at the dish and taste it. Mary Lou, Nikki, and Declan all used cod in their dish, while Kori, Cody, and Amber misidentified it as sea bass. Although Mary Lou, Nikki, and Declan also correctly identified the cauliflower and butternut squash purees, only Mary Lou recognized both green apple and endive in the salad, earning her the first black jacket and a pass to the Black Jacket Lounge. Declan also correctly identified shallots as part of the garnish, earning him a black jacket and a pass to the lounge as well.

Black Jacket Challenge Two: The remaining chefs were presented with 6 briefcases, all of which had different ingredients in them. They were tasked with creating a great dish in 40 minutes using those ingredients. Kori's salmon and spinach pesto garnered Ramsay's praise and Cody's pork chop with polenta and bourbon corn also impressed. Nikki's lobster tail was overcooked forcing her to chop it up and put it in her polenta, but Ramsay still enjoyed the flavors. Amber's dish was also impressive, but her black cod was bland. Cody and Kori both earned their black jackets and passes to the lounge.

Black Jacket Challenge Three: Ramsay asked the remaining chefs to create a dish that represented their childhood. Nikki cooked a panko baked pork chop, scalloped potatoes, and green beans, while Amber made a play on beef bourguignon, cooking a filet, mashed potatoes, and pearl onions. Both proteins were cooked perfectly and Ramsay deemed both dishes phenomenal.

Elimination: Ramsay ultimately decided that Amber's dish barely edged out Nikki's earning her the final black jacket. However, Ramsay praised Nikki's growth throughout the competition, telling her she earned his respect. He would also fly her to any of his restaurants to study. Nikki was able to keep her jacket and received a retrospective montage. She did not receive the coat hanging and portrait burning sequence, but her burnt picture could be seen next to Amber's.

Individual Challenge: The first black jacket challenge was the adaptability challenge hosted by Bruce Buffer, where periodically, domes of ingredients would be revealed to the chefs, and they would have to fight for their desired ingredient. Michael Cimarusti was the guest judge, and judging was king of the hill style. Declan's chicken with champ impressed, beating out Amber's filet. Mary Lou's veal chop with parsnip and corn dethroned Declan, and topped both Cody's halibut with couscous and Kori's lobster with tomatillo salsa, winning her the challenge.

Reward/punishment: Mary Lou received a set of All-Clad cookware and selected Kori to join her on her reward. They raced in luxury race cars and had lunch at The Palm restaurant with sous chefs Christina and Jay. Amber, Cody, and Declan were subjected to recycling day and prepping for dinner service.

Service: Ember Moon and Wayde King were in attendance for the first black jacket dinner service. Declan initially sent up cold crab cakes, but rebounded. Amber sent up scallops that were not cooked on one side. Mary Lou communicated well on garnish, and Cody was consistent on the meat station. However, Amber burned a salmon, and got overwhelmed by salmon and halibut on a later ticket, needing help from Kori, Declan, and Mary Lou, much to Ramsay's frustration. After Amber undercooked halibut and Mary Lou didn't catch it, Ramsay took Amber to the pantry to regroup. The rest of the service was smooth, but Ramsay wasn't satisfied with the performance.

Elimination: Declan was nominated for his lack of organization and temperament while Amber was nominated for her inconsistency. Ultimately, Ramsay eliminated Amber for her poor performance on fish and inconsistency, but praised her palate. Amber received a retrospective montage.

Ramsay's comment: "Amber came here expecting to beat the competition, but her biggest obstacle ended up being herself".

Individual Challenge: Sous chefs Christina and Jay woke up the final four at 7:00 a.m. and told them to meet Ramsay in his office. They passed through a crowd of clubbers in the dining room where Ramsay told them they would have an hour to cook 40 portions of any comfort food for the clubbers, who would vote on their favorite. While cooking, Declan got distracted by a pole dancer and Kori burned a pan of sesame seeds. The ranking, from worst to best, was Mary Lou, Declan, Cody, Kori.

Reward/punishment: Kori received a $4000 shopping spree at Macy's and had to pick someone to split it with, which was Cody. They also each received a set of Hell's Kitchen home and kitchen goods. Declan and Mary Lou had to clean out the dorms. Kori bought a pink suit for Cody, a pan for Declan, and a Vitamix blender for Mary Lou, the only person remaining who had yet to win one in a challenge.

Service: The chefs took turns running the pass while looking out for acts of sabotage from Marino and the sous chefs. Cody caught Christina giving him risotto with orzo instead of rice, as well as carbonara with pappardelle instead of fettuccine. However, Marino gave him a ticket containing duck, which he didn't realize wasn't on the menu until Kori pointed it out for him. Cody also noticed Mary Lou's overcooked salmon, but hesitated while telling her to refire it. Mary Lou missed a Wellington stuffed with tapenade instead of duxelle, but spotted beets instead of carrots when asking for Wellington garnish. Kori did not respond when Mary Lou called out the ticket, and eventually served raw lamb. Declan failed to notice endive substituted for fennel, but recovered to catch tuna tartare instead of beef and zucchini (courgettes) in a carbonara instead of peas. Kori stopped Christina from sending up halibut nuggets instead of scallops, and later sea bass instead of halibut. Cody was slowed by burnt meat Kori left behind, bringing up a raw Wellington and falling behind on the refire. Overall, Ramsay was satisfied with the chefs' performance at the pass but not so much on the line, and asked them each to name someone they wanted to be with in the finale.

Elimination: Kori and Cody said they wanted to cook against Mary Lou, who picked Kori, while Declan picked Cody. Ramsay eliminated Cody for his indecisive leadership and struggles on the meat station, but told Cody he could keep his jacket and reach out to him anytime. Cody received a retrospective montage. He named Declan as the first finalist, before announcing that Kori and Mary Lou would both join him in the finale. Declan, Kori, and Mary Lou would have to face one more challenge to determine which two would cook in the final dinner service. This is only the second three person finale in the show's history after season 17.

Ramsay's comment: "Throughout this competition, Cody was never shy about his abilities. But when it came to running the pass, he was just a bit shy, so unfortunately, it was time to say goodbye".

The final three celebrated in the dorms with champagne before being summoned back to the dining room shortly afterwards, where Ramsay announced the last challenge: they would each need to prepare a menu consisting of a cold appetizer, hot appetizer, seafood entree, chicken entree, and red meat entree. Each finalist would receive assistance from a sous chef: Kori got Christina, Mary Lou got Jay, and Declan got Michelle Tribble, season 17 winner who appeared in the eighth dinner service as a guest at the chef's table.

The next morning, Ramsay called the finalists one by one to his office to reunite with their families: Kori's father and son, Mary Lou's mother and cousin, and Declan's parents, who had to be pulled out of their vacation. The finalists spent time with their loved ones in the black jacket lounge, then toured the city in a limousine.

The final three entered Bally's through an underground entrance, where they were introduced to a packed theater. Ramsay announced that they had an hour to cook their final menus, with the help of their sous chefs. Each course would be judged on a scale from one-10 by a guest chef brought in by Ramsay.

Challenge/elimination: Kori and Mary Lou both scored 10 on the cold appetizer, while Declan scored nine. Mary Lou scored a perfect 10 on the hot appetizer as well, but Declan and Kori each only scored eight. On the fish course, Kori and Mary Lou scored nine each to Declan's eight. Declan scored his first perfect 10 on chicken, while Kori got nine and Mary Lou got eight. With one dish to go, to be judged by Wolfgang Puck, who gave Mary Lou an eight, Kori a nine, and Declan a seven, leading to a final score of 45-45-42, and eliminating Declan. No statement was given regarding Declan's elimination.

Ramsay then summoned the last eight chefs eliminated and asked Mary Lou and Kori to pick their final brigades. Ramsay decided Mary Lou would choose first, as she scored more 10's than Kori. Mary Lou picked Cody, Nikki, Amber, and Lauren. Kori picked Declan, Jordan, Adam, and was left with Marc. The chefs then returned to Hell's Kitchen to prepare for the final dinner service, with the episode ending on a cliffhanger.

Kori and Mary Lou went through their final menus with their respective brigades. Mary Lou was concerned about Lauren asking too many basic questions, and Amber complained to Kori, whom she considered her only friend, about getting passed over in favor of Jordan. Mary Lou cooked in the red kitchen with Sous Chef Christina, and Kori cooked in the blue kitchen with Sous Chef Jay.

Ramsay brought Kori and Mary Lou into his office right before service and handed them their chef's jackets, then introduced them to the diners.

Service: On the first ticket of the night, Lauren didn't pay attention to Mary Lou calling out an order, and despite cooking grits properly, was slow to provide time for them. Kori was delayed by Adam looking unfocused before serving a shrimp without the head. After that, both teams completed appetizers smoothly. When entrees came around, Nikki did well on ribeyes, but Amber forgot to cook the chicken, forcing the entire ticket to be started over. When Amber did bring up the chicken on the refire attempt, it was undercooked, and Ramsay warned Mary Lou that Amber was going to sink her service. Mary Lou switched Amber to the garnish station and had Cody take over, after which the entrees could finally be served. Meanwhile, Jordan undercooked filet twice, so Ramsay suggested that Kori send Declan to help Jordan on the meat station. Eventually, both teams reached their final ticket simultaneously and completed service with no further issues.

After service, Ramsay faked Kori and Mary Lou out by announcing that the winner was going to be a woman for the seventh season in a row. He then sent them up to the dorms. When Ramsay made his decision, he summoned Kori and Mary Lou to his office. After offering praise for Kori and Mary Lou's performances this season, he asked them to stand in front of the two doors and turn the handles. Kori's door opened, making her the winner of season 19 of Hell's Kitchen and seventh consecutive female winner overall, and the oldest winner in the show's history, beating season 12's Scott Commings. Mary Lou took her defeat graciously.

Ramsay's comment: "Kori is everything I could want in a head chef. She is decisive, level-headed, and most importantly, passionate. From the moment she stepped into Hell's Kitchen, she was an instinctual and natural-born leader. She'll be a great asset to Hell's Kitchen in Lake Tahoe".