By  Arthur Perkins

This is it for the decision by Gordon Ramsay on who will be the next "head chef" at the Borgata resort in Atlantic City. By the end of this episode, all will be revealed in the unique FOX/producer Arthur Smith style (which you may or may not like; you will be hearing from me on this below). So the summary of what happened is mercifully brief since other than competing in the challenge at the Borgata and selecting eliminated chefs as sous chefs not that much did. The voiceover calls Danny a "self-proclaimed redneck" and Paula an elegant Brazilian. The audience is reminded that Paul won 5 challenges. The litany of past competitions is repeated briefly:
HK1 Michael vs. Ralph
HK2 Heather vs. Virginia
HK3 Roc vs. Bonnie
HK4 Christina vs. Petrozza.
 
All those winners (first column) are there for the announcement of the HK5 winner.
 
The finalists make comments about their dream team of support. Danny says "I got Ben; I didn't get Lacey." Paula says her dream team is "anyone but Lacey" but knows that she is stuck with her. Carol reveals to the camera that she really wants Paula to win because Andrea is a woman. Hopefully her professionalism will overcome that and she will perform for Danny. If she doesn't it will be to her future career detriment, so nobody wants someone who cannot perform in a range of tasks and who lets personal issues get in the way of job performance. There is a very brief opportunity for Ben to proclaim Danny's the best. Giovanni is upset that he has to be there and apparently doesn't care how it finishes since it's not himself in the finals. Paula make  it clear to Lacey what her expectations are and that she needs to change her attitude. What a bunch of duds except for Andrea and Ben!
 
Kitchen prep is for 60 to 70 diners, a bit less than the full capacity of the Hell's Kitchen dining room but understandable in view of the desire of Gordon Ramsay's apparent desire to lighten the load and both chef/sous chef staffs the maximum opportunity to succeed with a large viewing TV audience certain to eventually watch it. That will do the most good for the loser of this competition, since the winner's future is secure. Paul exhorts her team to get everything prepped and to work as a team. Lacey rewards her with inattention to a crème brulee, which has to be redone. Danny's cranberries and pork are a potential problem. Ben claims he will be going at full force tonight, so watch out.
 
Paula's menu has 3 appetizers, 3 entrees, and 3 desserts. We did not get exposed to all of it, but here are the parts I could figure out:
Appetizers - homemade pasta; eggplant basil puree; scallops
Entrees - Halibut with panchetta; Chicken; Pork
Desserts - Banana Crème brulee with whipped cream
 
Danny's menu is
Appetizers - arugula salad with ginger vinaigrette; crispy duck breast; lobster; quiche
Entrees - 8 oz. filet mignon pan seared, tempura fried spring onions, baked potato; monkfish; pork (probably with cranberries)
Desserts - persimmon poached pear; marscapone mousse
 
Ramsay samples all 18 dishes and makes comments on a few. Paula is warned that the halibut can come out dry. Her crème brulee had the consistency of scrambled eggs, so he ordered her to redo it. Danny is warned to make sure the duck is cooked enough. Ramsay's overall comment is that both menus are excellent.
 
It's time to assess the restaurant décor. SunErGy has candles and a range of strong colors. Velvet Hammer (Danny decided on that finally; I think he is nuts to demonstrate the limits of his good taste so boldly to the audience) has some candles and looks classy despite the name. Ramsay pronounces them both "beautiful".
 
Ramsay has a long-winded speech on the importance of all this, as if anyone in the kitchen or the dining room or the home audience did not know this. He then directs Jean-Pierre to open Hell's Kitchen for dining room orders.  The first for Danny is arugula salad and quiche comes in from his father, who says this is the first time ever that Danny has cooked for him, and his girlfriend. The first order shown for Paula comes in from her mother and sister. It is pretty clear how those tables will be voting, so I hope there's a way to discard their votes since Paula appears to have more family/friends there than Danny. Lacey is on desserts and garnishes and Andrea is on meat/fish. It is not clear what that leaves for LA was on appetizers but probably also vegetables. Giovanni is definitely on fish and appears to also be on meat. Ben is on appetizers and probably vegetables, leaving desserts and garnishes for Carol. Giovanni uses this time to say that he doesn't care who wins; he just wants to go home. What a committed team Danny has assembles, Ben who is win him 100%, Giovanni who is unmotivated and Carol who wants Andrea to win!
 
The first problem is dry halibut from Andrea. next, Ben has a problem with 2 order of potatoes. Giovanni overseasoned the monkfish sauce. Lacey discovers that the order was not "2 chicken, 2 pork, 1 halibut" but two orders of that so she has to immediately expedite doing garnishes for the second set. Lacey says for the record that "Paula's menu is too complicated and for the first time in HK5 Ramsay has got to her with his yipping English BS." Orders for cipollini onions and spinach fall behind on Paula's team. Paul is tasting everything (just the way Ramsay wants it). Danny says that his team is doing a great job. Danny's team finishes their order first, with Paula finishing son thereafter. Ramsay cautions that it is quality and not first completion that is critical.
 
Ramsay says it is two great service performances. He asks why they didn't do that well "for me" earlier in the competition. Part of my answer to that is additional experience gained in Hell's Kitchen. Part is working with the theoretically best support team. Anyway it's not even 45 minutes past 9pm and Ramsay is saying "the winner of Hell's Kitchen is ..." After the commercial he finishes the sentence with "from Florida.' Whoopee, that's clarifying since both Danny and Paula are from that state. The worst drivel in the entirety of HK5 from Gordon Ramsay follows for about 8 minutes plus a second commercial break. Hey, Fox TV, hey Arthur Smith, if you don't have the material for a full hour don't waste the time of the your nationwide audience with pure BS. Danny  Andrea says that Paula nailed Danny to the wall. We'll see. It looked pretty even to me.
 
Finally, Ramsay tells Paula and Danny to step up to open your doors simultaneously. Danny's door opens, revealing that he is the winner of HK5. He goes nuts.  Paula's does not so she goes through his to embrace Danny. Ramsay says it was the tightest competition ever and he tells Paula well-done. Paula says she is walking out of here a winner (which is very true). The decision was based on comment cards plus his own observation of the kitchen. However, he does not reveal how the chefs did on each of those criteria. Ramsay says Danny's level of growth has been extraordinary. He says that Paula had given consistent excellent performances.
 
Ramsay says he is starting a new Hell's Kitchen tradition, the Wall of Fame. Pictures of winners of HK1, HK2, HK3 and HK4 are already there and Danny's picture goes up to join them.

(Photo courtesy of FOX)

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