Link to the spreadsheet: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ve-P7zSYILu4znd82r4su26QlZqcFHoE-t9gkNy0GgU/edit?gid=0#gid=0](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ve-P7zSYILu4znd82r4su26QlZqcFHoE-t9gkNy0GgU/edit?gid=0#gid=0)

**Final Service Prep:** After Ashley and Jessica returned to Hell’s Kitchen with their brigades, the two immediately got to work briefing their brigades. Jessica’s first instinct was to ask her brigade for feedback. Although Ji and JR both gave good suggestions, Jessica realized that they were all straying too far from what she wanted, so she tried her best to strike a balance between her teammates’ suggestions and her vision. Eventually, they were able to get to a point in which everyone was happy with the final draft. 

On the other hand, Ashley took a more authoritarian approach and shot down her brigade’s suggestions, even some as simple as adjusting the plating of a dish. Although Drew and Meese went along with Ashley’s leadership style, half of her brigade felt discouraged. Melissa was still upset at being eliminated and was largely apathetic. Similarly, Alex openly admitted in a confessional that he wasn’t going to try because there was no incentive for him to do well. Ashley noted that the two were apathetic, so she challenged them to do their best and end on a good note. 

The next morning, both brigades began preparing for the finale. Mieka was uncertain in her capabilities and frequently asked Jessica if she was on the right track. Although Jessica wanted to build her confidence, she was somewhat annoyed with Mieka’s questions. Finally, the former decided to take a new approach and meet with each member of her brigade individually to address the problems that she anticipated. She knew that Ji might struggle with the expectations of being the “anchor,” JR is inconsistent, Mieka lacks confidence, and Amanda might overextend herself if everyone else struggles. Jessica reminded Mieka that she was a good chef who just needed to believe herself and trust that she can do well, JR that all he needs to do to have a good service is calm down and not get frenetic if he makes a mistake, Ji that she doesn’t have to put too much pressure on herself because Jessica believed in her, and Amanda to ensure that her own station is secure before she goes and helps someone else. The entirety of Jessica’s brigade felt empowered and enthusiastically promised to do their best for Jessica. She put Amanda on fish, JR on garnish, Ji on meats, and Mieka on appetizers. 

However, the same could not be said about Ashley. Alex burned the garnishes for Ashley’s cold appetizer and gave a half-hearted apology. Furthermore, Melissa worked lethargically and didn’t respond when Drew and Ashley asked if she had finished prep. Annoyed, Ashley pulled her entire team aside and said that she would do whatever it took to ensure that she won, which included kicking people out who didn’t give it their all. In the end, she put Drew on meat, Meese on garnish, Alex on appetizers, and Melissa on fish. 

Before the final service began, Ramsay gave some final pointers to the finalists. He also revealed that some very special guests would sit at the chef’s table in each kitchen. He turned to Jessica and revealed that some of her teammates from season 11 would sit in her kitchen. With that, two of the Black Jackets from season 11, Mary and Cyndi, arrived in the dining room and greeted everyone. Ramsay then brought in Ashley’s diners, who were some of her teammates on the Red Team from seasons 15 and 17: Jennifer, Manda, and surprisingly, Elise. With the finalists ready for the service, Ramsay told Marino to open Hell’s Kitchen for the final time. 

**Jessica’s Service:** Jessica read out her first order and looked to Mieka on appetizers to deliver. However, Mieka rushed the order and undercooked the hot appetizers. When Jessica ordered her to refire the order, Mieka then took too long to complete the order. Although she did get the order out, she delayed the kitchen. Ramsay berated her for letting Jessica down, which only hurt Mieka’s confidence more. She appeared very frantic on the next ticket, so Jessica reminded her to take a breath and focus on what was in front of her. In addition, Amanda called out times and walked Mieka through the ticket. JR and Ji also looked like they would jump in, but Jessica told them to not crowd the appetizer station. Ultimately, Mieka pushed through with everyone’s support and got into a rhythm. With Mieka holding her own on appetizers and Amanda delivering perfect scallops, the Blue Kitchen appeared to be doing well. When Jessica delivered the appetizers to the chef’s table, Mary and Cyndi praised her leadership skills. 

Eventually, Jessica felt confident enough to begin entrees. JR confidently ran the kitchen on garnish and helped guide everyone. In his confessional, he stated that the only thing he could think of was doing well for Jessica and ending his Hell’s Kitchen run on a good note. He worked well with Amanda and Ji, who held their own. However, Ji briefly fell behind on a ticket after she received a large number of Jessica’s fried chicken entrees. After a tiny bit of urging from Jessica and JR, she quickly recovered and delivered the entrees, which were perfectly cooked. Once Mieka had finished appetizers, Jessica assigned her to the desserts station so that the rest of the brigade could continue their momentum. Jessica’s brigade finished the service on a strong note, and Jessica applauded her team for their efforts. 

**Ashley’s Service:** Alex was slow to deliver the cold appetizers for Ashley’s first table, and he struggled to manage both the cold and hot appetizers. Even when Ashley instructed him to pick up the pace, Alex still moved slowly and did not communicate with Melissa on fish. He later undercooked a risotto and snidely remarked that it was undercooked because Ashley didn’t give him enough time to cook it thoroughly. Ramsay overheard this, pulled Alex aside, and rebuked him for his lack of respect towards Ashley. In a confessional, Alex remarked that he didn’t even know why he returned because he had no reason to help Ashley win. Despite Alex’s problems, Ashley still kept him on the station until Ramsay called her out and instructed her to do something about the problems. At this point, Elise remarked to Manda and Jennifer that Ashley was in trouble. Ashley reluctantly swapped Drew with Alex; this move allowed Drew to get the kitchen back on track. She also served the chef’s table and was met with praise from Jennifer and Manda. 

Soon, Ashley had moved on to entrees. However, Alex undercooked her steak dish twice and clearly seemed to be mentally checked out. Since he still did not talk to Melissa, her timing was thrown off, and soon she got so frustrated that she shut down on communication, as well. The only person trying to help on entrees was Meese, who delivered perfect garnishes and tried to ask everyone else for times. Ramsay pulled Ashley aside and asked her if she could see that her team was sabotaging her. She insisted that she knew what was happening, so Ramsay responded by asking why she wasn’t doing anything about the situation. Ashley said that she wanted to see her team push through service, but Ramsay remarked that she is focusing on the wrong thing. Finally, Ashley turned to her team, called them all to the pass, and warned all of them to get their heads in the game or get kicked out. Although Drew and Meese took Ashley’s warning to heart, Alex sent up yet another undercooked steak. Ashley had enough and kicked him out of the kitchen. He simply went up to the dorms. 

With the meat station empty, Meese immediately took over and manned two stations until Drew had finished appetizers, at which point he jumped on garnish. The two of them helped Ashley recover, but Melissa served a salmon that was stuck to the pan. After Ashley threatened her with the same fate as Alex, she put her head down and got her refire accepted. Ashley’s brigade finished after Jessica’s brigade. 

**Post-Mortem:** Ramsay congratulated Jessica and Ashley on a service well done. He noted that while he saw some of their chefs struggle, he praised the brigades as a whole for doing their best for the finalists. He explained that he would need time to pick a winner, who would be judged based on leadership and overall performance in the finale. He instructed both finalists to bid their brigades farewell and head up to the dorms. Jessica reiterated how proud she was of her brigade, while Ashley thanked Meese for saving her service. 

When Jessica and Ashley entered the dorms, they collapsed on the sofa and talked about who they thought would win. Soon, the conversation turned to their relationship throughout the season: they started as rivals, but worked well professionally because they realized that they had to cooperate if they wanted to win services. Then they realized that they actually respected the other as chefs and people. Jessica admitted that she was happy to call Ashley her friend; the latter reciprocated. 

**Winner Reveal:** After what seemed like forever, both finalists were startled by the dorm telephone ringing. Ashley picked up and heard Ramsay on the other end instruct the two to come to his office together. They nervously entered his office. Ramsay praised the two’s growth throughout the competition. First, he stated that Ashley certainly had her low points, but no matter what happened to her, she always emerged stronger than she came in. She had tenacity and raw talent fit for a winner, and he was happy to see that she was in the right state of mind after season 17. On the other hand, Jessica was arguably the most consistent chef of the whole season. While Ramsay needed a consistent head chef, he also knew that that wasn’t enough. He wanted to see what Jessica was capable of, and she showed it all tonight, even if it took longer than he had hoped. He told both of them that no matter what happened, they should be bloody proud of themselves. 

With that, he told Ashley and Jessica to step up to their doors and turn the handles on the count of three: “One… two… three.”

Both finalists turned their handles, but only Jessica’s opened. Completely stunned, she nearly collapsed on the spot and burst in tears of joy. Her entire brigade and family cheered upon seeing Jessica emerge. She picked herself up, embraced Ramsay, and rushed downstairs to reunite with her loved ones. In her winner’s confessional, Jessica admitted that she genuinely did not believe that she would win. She still didn’t believe that she had won and thought that she might be dreaming. She knew that she worked her butt off and pushed herself until she couldn’t go any farther. She was so happy to have finally achieved her dream of winning Hell’s Kitchen. 

Meanwhile, Ashley simply hung her head in defeat. Ramsay returned to his office to console her and remind her that she still did a brilliant job. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough to win. Ashley said in her runner-up confessional that she was certainly disappointed that she lost despite coming so far. She had three chances to win and couldn’t capitalize on any of them. But she was still really proud of herself for making it to the finale, and if there was anyone she would have wanted to lose to, it was Jessica. Her season 17 castmates greeted her when she went downstairs and congratulated her on being the runner-up. 

After the initial wave of celebrations was over, Ramsay helped Jessica hang her winner’s portrait up. As everyone applauded, “The Alliance” of Drew, Ji, JR, and Mieka reunited one final time and celebrated their collective victories; the three who were on Jessica’s brigade congratulated Drew and told him that he did his best to help Ashley win. JR jokingly brought up the hypothetical of Alex or even Joseph winning the competition. The thought of that alone made Drew take a sip from his champagne flute. 

However, there was still one thing left to do: take pictures of the finalists. As Jessica finished her photoshoot, Ramsay wanted her, Ashley, Amanda, and “The Alliance” to gather together for one group photo. Unbeknownst to anyone, right as the cameraman took the final picture, Ramsay snuck up behind everyone and sprayed them all with champagne, catching them off-guard. 

**Ramsay’s winner comment:** “Throughout the competition, Jessica never gave me a reason to eliminate her. But I wanted to see what she was capable of doing, so I challenged her to give me a reason that she should win. And she rose to the occasion. At every stage of the competition, she delivered exactly what she needed to deliver. She’s a composed leader who is deeply attuned to her teammates’ needs. And in a season full of chaos and sabotage, Jessica is the perfect winner of Hell’s Kitchen: 15th Place.” 



Hell's Kitchen 15th Place, Day 20: Winner Revealed