–“HELL’S KITCHEN”—(9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) CC

PA: Viewer discretion is advised.

TOP 2 FINALISTS COMPETE ON “HELL’s KITCHEN” THURSDAY, MAY 7, ON FOX

The final two chefs start designing and planning their restaurants by working with an architect to create their own spaces for the final dinner service. Chef Ramsay then surprises the finalists with another trip to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ. Upon arrival, they are thrown into a challenge in which they must impress the Borgata’s Chief Operating Officer with their potential restaurant menus. The pressure is on as their dreams are one step closer to becoming reality on Hell’s Kitchen airing Thursday, May 7 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (HK-514) (TV-14 L)

Last week the challenge was each chef has 90 minutes to create dishes for each of the 100 diners — all of them Los Angeles’ best chefs. Each of the diners would also determine which dish was the best and which was the worst. 76% of the chefs polled determined Danny’s to be the worst, while 76% thought Paula’s was the best. Paula got a special makeover; the following morning, she and Chef Ramsay appeared live on KTTV’s Good Day L.A.. Andrea and Danny stayed behind to thoroughly clean the dining area and do the laundry — as well as watch the Good Day L.A. segment.

At service, as with previous seasons, each chef took turns at the pass, while Scott and Gloria purposely added errors to the dishes for them to spot. Each of them failed to spot the first error, but spotted the second. Paula and Danny each had weak starts in their performance, but improved. Andrea was rather strong during her time at the pass, including spotting various deficiencies and errors left and right — nit-picking to a point that sous chef Scott became extremely annoyed with her (even expressing a desire at one point to “punch [her] in the mouth”). Overall, there were no serious errors or returns, and the service was very successful. Chef Ramsay asked what was different about him later that night, and after a couple of panicky responses, Chef Ramsay pointed out that he was smiling for the first time that season. (Not counting, of course, his involvement in the rewards following the challenges.)

Each contestant chose who should leave Hell’s Kitchen. Danny and Paula chose Andrea; Andrea chose Danny. Paula was happy that she had not been selected by her fellow team mates for elimination but also remarked that she therefore would have the deciding vote. Chef Ramsay told Andrea to leave Hell’s Kitchen, leaving Paula and Danny to advance to the final service. As with Ben and Giovanni, Ramsay gave no reason for eliminating Andrea and praised her tenacity and skill as a chef, and told her that she would do well in her career.

The Top 2 chefs remaining in HELL’S KITCHEN are:

Paula DaSilva
Hometown: Coconut Creek, Florida
Occupation: Executive Sous Chef
Signature Dish: Organic Kabocha Soup with Baby Scallops and Lemon Crème Fraîche
Number of Red Team Challenges Won: 4
Number of Individual Challenges Won: 1
What she has learned from Chef Ramsay: “Ramsay taught me that you can push yourself and others to a much higher level of standard and attain that through perseverance.”

Danny Veltri
Hometown: Edgewater, Florida
Occupation: Executive Chef
Signature Dish: Mahi Gone Bananas
Number of Blue Team Challenges Won: 4
Number of Individual Challenges Won: 1
What he has learned from Chef Ramsay: “I am grateful that I was able to work with such great chefs and learn many different things from them. Chef Ramsay has taught me that you never settle for anything less than perfect…standards are No. 1.”

HELL’s KITCHEN is produced by Granada America in association with A. Smith & Co. Arthur Smith and Kent Weed serve as executive producers.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, a joint venture between Boyd Gaming and MGM MIRAGE, is a Las Vegas-style destination on the East Coast offering guests an unparalleled travel experience with world-class dining, entertainment, nightlife and gaming options. Since its opening in 2003, Borgata has changed the face of Atlantic City, igniting the city’s revival and continuing its evolution toward becoming a multi-dimensional travel destination.

Source: FOX Press Release