It's been another season through Hell and back, but tonight, it will all be worth it for one of the remaining two competitors.  Last week, the chefs had a chance to show what leadership skills they had, but Keith didn't show enough to continue forward.  Now, it's down to Heather and Virginia.  Which of them will win the honor of being Executive Chef at a multimillion-dollar restaurant in the Red Rock resort in Las Vegas?

A surprise visit

When we last left off, the two ladies were celebrating the fact that they made it this far, when there was a knock on the door.  Who came to visit?  Virginia's mother and husband, and Heather's parents!  It was a shock to both of them, but it seems like a pleasant shock!  Soon enough, Heather is telling her parents about when they had to dive into the dumpsters some time ago, and how she made friends here, including Rachel.  And Virginia is telling her mother and husband about how she had been complimented on her palate, with the taste test and dish re-creation challenges.  After some more of the two telling their loved ones about their experiences in Hell's Kitchen, it's time for the visitors to go, leaving Heather and Virginia by themselves again.  And they hug, both thankful that they got to see those people after all that they've been through.

The final battle begins

The finalists wake up the next day, preparing for what is sure to be a big day.  Heather is confident that she'll "run her over", but Virginia plans to use her palate as best as she can.  The phone rings, and Heather answers.  Ramsay wants to see them in the dining room immediately.  Greeting them out there is... the press!  A group of people are sitting in there with cameras flashing as Heather and Virginia head out to a podium, where Ramsay is waiting.  Yep, it's time for a press conference!  Ramsay introduces the finalists, then opens the floor to questions.  When asked about her reaction to the prize, Heather mentions how huge it is, and that though she had competitors here, there will be bigger competitors awaiting the winner there.  When asked about dealing with moving to Vegas, Virginia said that she'd hire her husband, since he's a chef as well.  This causes Ramsay to remind her not to "mix business with pleasure".  The last question asks about what they did in their off-time, to which Virginia says they made up a dance.  And despite Heather's reluctance, they demonstrate it!  Cute.

With the questions done, Ramsay says that it's time to start their biggest test, to determine who will win it all.  That's the cue to drop the drape, dividing the dining room in half!  He then explains that Virginia will be in charge of the blue side, and Heather will take care of the red side.  Ramsay tells them to return to the dorm, to think about how they want their restaurants to look.  But before they go, he gives them new "head chef" uniforms to put on!  Back in the dorm, the two of them express their surprise with the press conference and everything, as they get changed into their new uniforms.  But at the same time, it's clear that the game is on.

After a bit, they're now in their respective halves of the dining room, trying to visualize their dream restaurants.  They then get to meet the designers who will make their visions into reality for this final; John Janavs (the designer of Hell's Kitchen) and Albie Colotto (the designer of the Red Rock resort).  Once they convey to these two what they want their restaurants to look like, they are to meet JP about uniforms for the wait staff, then Virginia will meet with Maryann and Heather will meet with Scott to put together their menus.  With that, Ramsay gets them going.

First, the design of the dining room.  Heather wants to see three picture frames, depicting women cooking.  Albie improves on the idea, suggesting a video wall.  Needless to say, Heather likes that.  Virginia wants to see some sort of a waterfall on the walls.  Heather sees a family-style restaurant, while Virginia sees more mature and sexy clientele in her restaurant.  Next, the uniforms.  Heather is looking for something outgoing, trendy, and colourful, while Virginia wants something dark.  Heather goes with skirts for the ladies, above the knee.  Virginia wants long bistro aprons, so that they'll seem like ghosts.  Um, okay.  Finally, the menus.  Heather wants to keep things simple, concentrating on the flavors.  Good approach.  Her theme is something vibrant, colorful, and outgoing, while Virginia's theme is, well, what comes from her brain.  Yeah.

A road trip for a challenge

Now that things are under way, Ramsay gathers the two for some more important business.  And he needs them to pack their bags, so that they can take care of it right away.  Sounds like they're going on a trip!  To Vegas!  This gets them really excited, as they head to the back to pack!  And soon after that, Ramsay leads them to a nice limo, and they get going.  During the trip, Ramsay gives them a reminder of what they've been through this season; their signature dishes back at the start, all the challenges Virginia had a hand in winning, Heather trying her best to help her team even when her hand was burned...  Heather knows that she's better in service, while Virginia is better at challenges. 

At night, they arrive, and Ramsay tells them that they're there for a challenge.  The challenge will be to get into a kitchen that he reserved for them, and cook their signature dishes.  Those dishes will then be served to people in Vegas to see whose is better.  With that, they get cooking.  Virginia will be putting her Chicken Roulade against Heather's Chilean Sea Bass.  The cooking goes smoothly, and they're ready to serve their dishes to 20 random people, who will each decide which one they like better.

The first person comes up and tastes the dishes, and gives the first point to Heather.  She also gets the second, but it then starts to go back and forth between the two.  After 9, Heather holds a 5-4 lead.  She then gets 2 more, before Virginia scores 5 in a row to take the lead, 9-7.  Heather gets 2 more to tie, before Virginia scores another.  With that, the score is 10-9 for Virginia, with 1 more to go.  The last person tastes the dishes, and says she likes both, before choosing... Heather!  The score is tied, 10-10!  So, for the tie-breaker, another random person is called over to taste the food.  He's not sure who he'd pick, prompting the ladies to try and convince him to pick their dishes!  Ramsay cuts them off, so the man can think.  Finally, the man chooses... the chicken!  Virginia wins yet another challenge!

With that taken care of, Ramsay has one more thing to show the finalists.  So he brings them up to the roof of the building they were in, where they get a nice sight of the city!  He then reminds them that in just 24 hours, one of them will win it all, and will live in Vegas as a result.  He then gives them tickets to London, where they'll have the chance to enjoy dinner at his establishment, where he first started his career!  Needless to say, they were both excited!  But now, it's time to return to Hell's Kitchen; they still have a competition to finish!

Upon returning at 2:15AM, Heather and Virginia get to see how far the designs of their dining rooms have progressed.  But there are problems.  Albie tells Virginia that the colour she wanted for some columns is too dark, and she agrees to go with something lighter.  John tells Heather that they can't get some Plexiglas for the stairs, so he suggests going with giving the railing a teal colour, and she says that's fine.  But those aren't the big problems.  Albie says that they're not sure how they'll get the waterfalls working, and John says they don't have enough upholstery for 9 booths.  It's getting tense, but it's getting late, so they head off to bed.

They're baaaaaaaack!

The next day, Heather and Virginia are in the dorm, getting ready for their biggest day yet.  But at 6:48AM, some familiar faces arrive.  Yep, 6 of the eliminated contestants from this season have returned!  The first to enter is Rachel, whom Heather greets with a big hug!  The others also enter, and they even brought breakfast!  A few of them were surprised to see Virginia as a finalist, of course.  But they both knew that they'd have to pick their teams for the final dinner service; Virginia saw that there were 3 strong people and 3 weak people, and Heather knew exactly who she wanted to pick.  Then, the phone rings, and Virginia answers.  Ramsay wants all of them in the kitchen right away.

Once there, Ramsay mentions that it's been a while since he saw some of them, as we get to flashbacks of Giacomo not realizing the oven is off, Tom sweating in the food, Rachel being asked if she wanted to go home, Sara ripping off her waitress' shirt in the back after asking to go back into the kitchen, Garrett being reminded about tasting the food, and Keith being asked to pull up his pants.  Ramsay says it's good to see them back, then tells Heather and Virginia what they already figured; they'll have to pick which of those 6 will be on their staff for the dinner service.  And since Virginia won the challenge in Vegas, she picks first.

Here are the teams (in the order picked):

Virginia's team: Keith, Tom, Giacomo

Heather's team: Rachel, Sara, Garrett

This is kinda interesting.  Tom and Giacomo weren't too good in service in the past, so I find it weird that Virginia chose them over Sara and Garrett.  This could be quite the dinner service that we'll see.

With the teams formed, it's now time for the finalists to inspire their staff and brief them on the menus that they'll be working on.  Virginia starts by telling her team that she wanted to pick people who seemed weak, so she could show what she could do with them.  That doesn't sound too inspiring.  Keith asked if that's why she picked him, and she says no, adding that he could carry the others a little.  Yeah, she said that while knowing full well that Tom and Giacomo could hear her.  Bad start, Virginia.  Meanwhile, Heather tells her team that they just need to stay cool, despite the differences they had in the past.  Considering Sara is on the team, yeah, I'd say that's important.  Heather does say that the 3 people in front of her are the 3 people that she wanted to pick.  Now that is how to inspire a team.

The teams then go over the menus.  Keith likes what Virginia has planned, but there's still the matter of execution.  Heather tells her team that everything was designed to be easy for them, and Garrett asks if chicken is part of the plan (this comes with a flashback of him serving raw chicken).  The answer is no.  So, Garrett is obviously happy with Heather's menu.  Back on Virginia's side, after she says she wants perfection, Keith comes up with a demand of his own.  If they win, he wants some money for himself and the other two.  He's basically saying that that'll motivate them to do their best.  Virginia says she doesn't have to give them anything, but Keith isn't backing down.  Tom and Giacomo seem to be siding with Keith on this one.  Virginia soon caves in, saying she'll give them each $1,000 if she wins.  Her team seems to like that.

Final preparations

At 11:08AM, it's time to begin prepping for the final dinner service.  On the blue side, Virginia gives her team tasting spoons, asking them to taste everything.  I hope they wash those after every taste...  On the red side, Garrett says it's a day of reckoning.  Darn right, it is.  Heather is feeling really confident that her team will come through for her.  Then, Albie calls her into the dining room, because there's an issue; the booths for her side don't seem to fit well enough.  Heather suggests cutting off a notch, which seems to be a good idea.  Albie and John agree; it's a simple solution, and it works.  Back in the blue kitchen, prep continues, as we hear that Virginia is concerned about Tom and Giacomo working under pressure, but she thinks they'll all shine tonight.  They'd better, for her sake...  But now, it's her turn to meet with the designers again, and they bring up their concern that the waterfalls might not be working in time.  That could be a disaster for her...

But at least the kitchens are running well so far.  Speaking of which, it's time for Ramsay to check out the dishes to be made on each side.  He starts with Heather...

Appetizers: Vegetable Soup, Asian Chicken Salad, Goat Cheese Tart

Entrées: Mushroom Ravioli, New York Steak, Chilean Sea Bass

Desserts: Chocolate Empanada, Cheese and Crackers, Bread Pudding

What does Ramsay have to say upon seeing these?  Well, he says the chicken in the salad looks chewed up and regurgitated, the sea bass, while nice, looks boring, and the Empanada looks stunning.  Heather says she'll use the suggestions that he made to her.

Now, for Virginia's menu...

Appetizers: Pan Seared Scallops, Foie Gras, Jalapeño Tortellini

Entrées: Chicken Roulade, Red Snapper, Braised Short Ribs

Desserts: Chocolate Truffles, Fruit Churros, Ice Cream Sundae

Ramsay's opinions?  He likes the tortellini, though he says to be careful of the pasta's thickness, the foie gras is good, though he isn't sure what a couple of egg-looking things on the plate are doing there, and he likes the short rib.  Virginia feels that though he provided a few tweaks, she doesn't really have to implement them.  Hmm.

Now, Ramsay wants to see the dining rooms.  Heather says that she wanted to show how outgoing she is with her design, and with the video of herself on the wall, she wanted to show the customers her passion.  Ramsay notes that the room is quite vibrant, but he has one problem; there's graffiti on some of the walls.  Good thing the walls that this graffiti is on is dry-erase, so it could come off easily.  Meanwhile, it's time to see if Virginia will have a working waterfall for her walls.  And... they did it!  The designers managed to get it together in time, and not a moment too soon, because it's now time for Ramsay to check out her dining room.  Virginia says she wanted it to seem like a fine dining situation.  Ramsay likes the lighting that the room provides, and that it feels cozy.

It's now minutes before the doors open, and Ramsay has some final words of advice for the finalists.  He reminds them that they are one dinner service away from the multimillion-dollar restaurant in Vegas, then tells them that he'll be looking at everything; what's on the plates, their leadership qualities, everything.  He also advises them to regard their teams as their staff, not as friends.  With that, Ramsay tells them to brief their teams, before wishing them good luck.  Heather and Virginia shake hands, before heading off to their kitchens.  They get their teams psyched up, and they're ready to go!

The battle is on

It's 7PM, and Hell's Kitchen is open once more, this time as 2 different restaurants!  Virginia's "Desert Oasis" faces off with Heather's "Urban Bistro".  Before any orders come in, Maryann tells Virginia not to slam her team, due to how badly they do when they rush, and Heather is encouraging her team, telling them they got this.  And, of course, Ramsay has to make sure Giacomo has the oven on.  The orders come in, and Heather reads out her first one.  The red team responds well, which is a good sign, according to Ramsay.  Then, Virginia gets her first order, but she's not speaking loud enough.  The blue team is silent once she's done, so she has to tell them to move.  Not as good of a sign, as Ramsay notes that they're more sedate than the vibrant red team.

Over in the red kitchen, Heather tells her team that she wants to hear them communicating.  That is when Ramsay informs her of some very important customers in the restaurant on this night.  What he doesn't mention is that it's the president of the Red Rock resort, Scott Kreeger, and his wife, Suzette, and they'll be sampling food from both sides, so they can give Ramsay their recommendations.  As Ramsay reminds Virginia of quality control, Heather is asking for appetizers right away, and Sara gets them in.  Appetizers are flying out of the red kitchen.  Can't say the same for the blue kitchen, though.  Mainly because Virginia is plating the dishes herself.  This is causing things to slow down, and both Giacomo and Keith asked if they could help, but she says no.  This isn't looking good for her.

Heather's team is still moving quickly, having gotten appetizers out to over half of the customers, but one of them says his tart isn't hot enough.  JP has to take it back, along with a new order for some soup.  Heather calls the order out to her team, then Ramsay has to remind her of quality control.  She ends up telling her team to do better with the food, and telling Sara to make sure she heats up the tarts all the way through.  Meanwhile, Virginia asks Giacomo to redo a salad.  Ramsay tells her that the quality control is good, but her team needs to be fired up a bit.  She tries to get them fired up, but Tom doesn't seem to appreciate it.  Hmm.

At 8:03PM, Heather has served most of her appetizers, while Virginia hasn't served much, apparently thanks to Giacomo.  Ramsay expresses his concern to Virginia about this, telling her that she shouldn't be isolated the way that she has been.  So, she finally asks Keith for help.  But he's busy.  She won't take that for an answer, and she does get him to help, but there seems to be some tension between those two.  Virginia feels that he's taking advantage of her because he knows his help is needed, while Keith doesn't like that he and the other guys are doing the work for her benefit.  But with the help, appetizers are finally coming out of the blue kitchen.  Most of her customers are enjoying the food, but Scott Kreeger, sampling some of her food, says the pasta is a bit thick, taking away some flavor.

As for Heather's customers, they seem to have mixed reactions, and another dish gets sent back to the red kitchen.  Ouch.  And it seems that it's Sara that screwed up that dish, so Heather gets on her case for a bit.  Sara, in an aside, wanted her to chill out.  Um, it is Heather's restaurant, you know...  Heather reminded her team earlier that for this service, she's their boss, not their friend.  And she's taking that to heart, as she's even on Rachel's case when it comes to the steaks.  And it's working, as Rachel then gets the steaks straightened out, so they can be sent out.  The customers like the steaks, and so does Mr. Kreeger.  Over in the blue kitchen, Virginia is trying to catch up with her entrées, but Tom is just standing there.  Virginia is trying to get him moving, but he seems reluctant.  He does get going, though, but as he's cutting up some of the chicken roulade, he ends up cutting himself.  Uh-oh.  Looks like he'll have to head out and get some medical attention, leaving the blue team one person short.

At 9:06PM, Heather has served 42 of the 50 entrées, while Virginia has managed 35.  And Tom's departure isn't helping Virginia at all.  Tom sees the medics, and Ramsay goes to see the extent of the cut.  It's just on his left index finger, and it doesn't really look as bad as Tom makes it seem.  Ramsay tells him to get it taken care of quickly and get back to the kitchen.  So, Tom gets a Band-Aid and a glove to cover it up, then gets back to the kitchen to resume what he was doing.  Keith asks him if he's alright, he seems confused as to what he should be doing, going back and forth "like a rhinoceros", as Ramsay says.  Her team does get more food out, and Scott K. likes what she's serving.  Back in the kitchen, Tom is still unsure what is going on with the roulade, prompting Ramsay to tell him to look at the tickets.

At 9:51PM, Virginia has gotten all of her entrées out, but one customer complains that his red snapper has too much oil.  JP takes it back, saying the customer wants another one.  But when Virginia asks for another snapper, her team is saying they ran out.  And they don't have anything for backup.  Oops!  We see that Keith appears to be eating something, though.  Hmm...  Meanwhile, Heather's team has started on desserts, and she's trying to keep her team's energy up.  But when Sara brings up a pair of dishes, Heather says they're not plated right, and returns them to Sara's station, telling her how they're supposed to be plated.  Sara didn't seem to understand, though, and with her second attempt, Heather sees that the dishes don't even look alike.  So, Heather tells Sara to redo them.  Then, Ramsay points out to her that the bottoms of the plates aren't clean.  She tells her team to make sure those plates are clean there, but they're starting to seem disgruntled by this time.

Back in the blue kitchen, Virginia still has the problem with not having enough food for another main course.  But JP soon tells her not to worry about it, as the table now just wants desserts.  So, at least that problem is out of the way, sort of.  Now, both finalists are pushing their team towards a strong finish, as we see that Scott Kreeger enjoyed Heather's bread pudding, as well as Virginia's sundae.  Soon enough, both teams manage to complete their services, and Heather and Virginia thank their teams for a good job.  And that is all for this season's final dinner service.

Relief and nervousness

With the customers gone and the teams gathered, Ramsay compliments both finalists, then tells them that his decision will be influenced by Scott Kreeger, who they did not know was there to sample their dishes.  Ramsay introduces him to the groups, before asking for his opinions.  Scott compliments Heather's sea bass and Virginia's short rib, and says that this is a really tough decision.  After he leaves, Ramsay tells Heather and Virginia to say bye to their staff, before returning to the dorm to wait for the decision to be made.

Back in the dorm, the two of them are trying to relax as much as they can after what they just went through.  Virginia is excited, while Heather has no idea what Ramsay's decision will be.  We then see him, pondering this decision, which will depend on customer comment cards, Mr. Kreeger's opinions, and his own observations.  We see flashbacks of certain events from this night, then back in the dorm, Virginia is saying that she thinks Heather won, and vice versa.  At that point, there's a knock on the door.  In come the sous-chefs, who tell the two that Ramsay wants to see them upstairs.  Sounds like the decision has been made!  Needless to say, Heather and Virginia both seem nervous.

2 doors, 1 winner

Upstairs, Ramsay greets Heather and Virginia at a pair of doors.  He tells Heather that the way she matured is "extraordinary", and he tells Virginia that she has quite the palate.  Ramsay then says that the comment cards show a very slight edge for one of them.  Really slight.  He also says that this was his toughest decision ever.  He then explains that, just like last year, the finalists each have a door, but only the winner's door will open.  This time, though, they'll be using keys to attempt to open them.  He gives each of them a key, then asks them to turn around and put the keys in.  Ramsay says to wait until the count of 3 to turn their keys.  As the count begins, Heather and Virginia each have a hand on their key.  Like last year, these doors lead out to the balcony of the dining room, where everyone is waiting to see who wins.

Here we go.

1...

2...

Wait for it...

3!

And just like last year, they cut to a commercial break.  Of course.  When they return, it's once again at the start of the count.  Here we go again...

1...

2...

Wait for it...

3!  And the winner of Season 2 is...

Heather!

She is in shock, as lights are flashing everywhere!  Everyone is cheering, as she heads downstairs to see her parents!  Even the 6 eliminated chefs seem to be happy for her!  Then, Ramsay heads downstairs with Virginia, telling her that she has nothing to be ashamed about.  After that, the two finalists hug, as Virginia congratulates Heather.  We then hear, in an aside, Ramsay saying that Heather won because of her determination, and the fact that she controlled her kitchen the whole way.  After Heather gets a hug from Ramsay, she goes to see the others, who also congratulate her.  Ramsay calls for some attention, to officially announce Heather as the winner.  And she knows that her life "has changed drastically".

We then cut to Las Vegas, 3 months later, where Heather is introduced as the newest Executive Chef at the Red Rock resort!  She shakes hands with other chefs there, and again, her parents are there!  This is a huge moment for Heather, as she says she thought she'd have to wait another 10 or 15 years to get her own restaurant!  She then dedicates this to her mom and dad, and to Gordon Ramsay, for putting her through so much in order to get to this point!

Of course, the last word goes to Ramsay, and back in his office, he has this to say: "My work is done.  It's been a phenomenal journey.  I'm ready for the next challenge, so **** you all!"  With that, Hell's Kitchen is closed once again.  It's been another good season, and I can't wait for the next one!  See ya then!