Episode Report Card Daniel: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT I'm Kind of A Big Deal
By Daniel | Season 9 | Episode 15/16 | Aired on 09.19.2011
Afterwards, with the chefs lined up, Ramsay thanks the returning cooks for great work, and everyone basks in the praise. It's time for them to say goodbye -- hugs all around. Ramsay says he's going to be going through every comment card and looking at every detail, and he'll call the guys when he's made his decision.
Will and Paul head back to the dorms to wait. Paul can't sit still; he's pacing around the couches, so Will joins him in anxiety. Eventually they settle into the chairs, all nervous energy and stubble. "You look exactly how I feel right now," Will tells Paul. Meanwhile, Ramsay's decision appears to involve looking at comment cards, staring at pictures of Paul and Will up on the wall like this is the finale of The Gay Bachelor, and watching fuzzy-bordered flashbacks.
Then, at 10:24 p.m. the phone call comes. Paul answers it. "Thank you, chef," he says and then tells Will, "Let's go." They head into Ramsay's office, where the boss man tells them it was an incredibly difficult decision. He says Will was Hell's Kitchen most consistent chef across the board, and there is no doubt that he belongs in a kitchen. Paul has been one of the best since he arrived, and his passion is undeniable.
Ramsay tells them both to step up to the doors. They do so, give each other a low-five, looking like they're trying not to pass out. Ramsay guides them step-by-step through the process of HOW ONE OPENS A DOOR, and they each put their hands on their door handles, and wait for Ramsay to count to three to turn them. I have to say -- I'm no reality show junkie, but of the ones I watch, I like this reveal the best, with the crowd lined up waiting to see who comes through the door.
Paul and Will exchange a look, and when Ramsay counts to three, they turn their handles -- and Paul walks through to the cheers and applause and confetti. He swears happily in celebration, and we see his brother shouting and clapping. Will's wife closes her eyes. Paul and Chris hug. Back up in the office, a downcast Will shakes hands with Ramsay, who's quite encouraging. Will heads downstairs and hugs Paul, who toasts Will in his victory speech. "If I had to win, I'm glad that I beat the best," he tells everyone, and then he thanks his team and reminds them that they didn't do it for him, for his mother. He hangs his own picture on the wall of winners while his brother and Ramsay watch, arms around each other. "Paul won tonight, because he's probably the most passionate, determined chef ever to enter Hell's Kitchen. He'll make a great head chef, because his enthusiasm is contagious," Ramsay tells us, adding that he's proud to "hand him over" to BLT Steak. Paul's last words? "I am a big deal!"