So here we are at this season’s finale. Christina gets handicapped by having Matt on her team and Petrozza was handicapped by Jen. I think Petrozza shot himself in the foot a little because it was so hard for his team to execute perfectly.

I think it was fitting for Christina to win. I was in a discussion today with someone who didn’t think she had paid the dues in years needed for this. I totally don’t agree. I believe in meritocracy. If she has proven that she has the knowledge and can put it into practice, why shouldn’t she get the job? We talked about if she was authoritative enough. Well, I think she is but the fact she can fire people helps with that. Not that she needs to rule a kitchen in fear but for those who won’t respect her just based on her age, that is how you deal with them.

The other thing for her kitchen to remember is, if you do a good job there is plenty of room in Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants for promotion.

So here we are, down to the final 2 and the last step before the finale. Of course that means that we are at the “Set up your restuarant” challenge.

Christina goes back and starts working on her menu but Petrozza couldn’t focus and went to bed. At 36 hours until opening Christina has a menu and Petrozza doesn’t. Then they start meeting with the designer. The designer wants to see Petrozza’s menu to set the scene and he just throws out some ingredients. Christina seems to have strong opinions. Petrozza likes a celedon green chef’s jacket and flowers. Whereas Christina wants plain black suits and t-shirts. Then they worked on their menus with the sous chefs.

Then Ramsay calls them into his office and says he isn’t sure that he has the right finalists. But then he said he knows he does. That was a mean joke;). He tells them that they are going to New York City. They all pile into the private jet and go. They all get out in the middle of Times Square and the big screen has their names on it. He then tells them that he is going to send them both to Dubai for 5 days to eat at his restuarant and observe there. Christina doesn’t know where Dubai is. Then he took them to London New York and told them they had to cook their signature dish there.

They had 45 minutes to make their dishes. Petrozza is making a filet mignon with a risotto and demiglace. Christina was making an aged NY strip with succatash and fingerling potatoes. The judges were Ramsay’s 5 Executive Chefs. I have seen some of these chefs on a BBC America show. Petrozza won and as a reward he gets to choose first out of the contestants for his chefs. Then Whoopi came out. Can we just get to the cooking?!?!?!

Then they came back to LA. Petrozza is very happy with his dining room but Christina is not happy at all. Then they all go to sleep.

Next up is choosing their staffs.

Christina’s line up: Corey, LouRoss and ???
Petrozza’s line up: Bobby, Ben and ???

I think there wasn’t a lot of cooking in the episode and I find that dissapointing. This was very predictable if you have ever seen the previous seasons. But next week should be very good! See you then.

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Sorry for the delay in this week’s blog post but life has been nuts. So lets jump right in. Going in Christina is looking good but I don’t think that Ramsay likes her. I think he respects Petrozza but he is a mess in the kitchen. We shall see.

Ramsay is cooking for the final 3 and their families walk in. I remember the chefs having to do some cooking/challenge with the families so we will see why there are here. So after the families leave, the final 3 will have to recreate the dish they just ate. Christina seemed to be the only one on the ball enough to try to figure out what was in the dish.

Ramsay did provide them 1 sample dish for them to try again. Christina seemed to jump right in. Christina went with a white bean puree that she was really sure of. Corey used a parsnip puree and Petrozza didn’t use a puree at all. Christina’s mom was right on the cream as a binder but she didn’t use it. Corey used the wrong meat but finished the sauce right. Christina and Petrozza used the right meat (venison). In the end Christina won the challenge! That makes 3 in a row.

So Corey and Petrozza are on bar duty. That includes polishing classes and crushing block ice. I think that will really suck the energy out of them for service. Chrstina’s reward was a 3 course meal and sight seeing tour with Ramsay and her parents.

Of course we all remember that when we get to the final 3 they each get a chance to run the hot plate. Ramsay also gives each of them a little advice on how to do it.

Petrozza seemed to do pretty well. He caught the planted mistake along with some others. Christina seemed to be screwing up a lot while Petrozza was on the pass. Corey got on and seemed pretty aggressive and on it but she didn’t catch the sauce plant until it was to late. Christina took a second to get agressive but then she got the hang of being assertive. Christina caught the planted mistake (basil instead of mint).

Overall the service was completed well. After service Ramsay said he didn’t know who should go to the final. Corey was perfect on the meat station but not at the hot plate. Christina was good on the hot plate and not on the fish station. Petrozza was ok but not great. Then they each had to nominate one to go home. Corey nominated Christina because she becomes a deer in headlights when she get yelled at. Christina nominated Corey because she is a team member but not a leader. Petrozza nominated Christina because of the problems with service and that she will be a great chef but isn’t yet. In the end the final 2 are Petrozza and Christina.

See you next time for the final!

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