'Hell's Kitchen': You're the winner, Mommy!

It's Holli.

Holli Ugalde, the 24-year-old banquet chef from San Bernardino, won Season 7 of "Hell's Kitchen," landing her a gig at Chef Gordon Ramsay's Savoy Grill in London, currently being remodeled as part of the Savoy Hotel's multimillion-dollar renovation.

Whether it was crafty editing or perhaps her Angelina-esque looks and coy laugh, Holli wasn't considered a contender in the early part of the competition. That honor went to the blue-haired Jay, who also made it into the finale, and Benjamin, who made it to the final four before his poor temperament and inconsistency in the kitchen caught up with him.

But before long, Holli began to shine and began winning week-to-week challenges. It was this progress that made her the winner, Ramsay said: Holli had grown more than any other cheftestant of the season, "and once she emerged, there was no holding her back."

Holli and Jay weren't just competitors in the finale ... sparks flew between these hot tub buddies.

And Jay made his intentions clear, if not to Holli then whenever there was a camera shoved in his face. He said his goals were winning the show and sleeping with Holli. When some of their teammates returned to help in the final dinner service, he lamented that he preferred being alone because "I planned to sleep with Holli tonight." And just in case there was any doubt that he's not a gentleman, even at the very end of this all he added: "Hopefully I can take her pants off tonight."

Nice, Jay!

I'm sure your parents -- who have been following every step of this journey and were surely watching the finale -- are proud.

Holli might be having some regrets too. The single mom probably revealed more of herself than she wanted to on the show; at one point, she left her castmates speechless when she bragged about her expansive porn collection.

But now Holli is off to a new adventure, moving to London with her cute-as-a-button 4-year-old son and giving him an "amazing" life, which was her goal all along.

What did you think? Did the right person win? Should it have been Jay? I think Jay is a pretty outstanding chef, and I thought he did a great job managing his kitchen. But Holli proved she has cooking chops, and Ramsay wants a person with loads of raw and innate talent who can follow direction and is willing to learn from the best and grow. Jay seems a little too headstrong for that.

A few random thoughts:

--Cringe moment of the night: Ramsay asking the returning Fran whether she'd been on an episode of "The Swan." That went too far, even for Ramsay.

--Sweetest moment of the night: Holli's son shouting, 'You're the winner!"

--TiVo moment of the night: Did anyone else see Dave, the-one-armed bandit from seasons past, in the background during the celebration? Why is he still in a cast? 

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Photo credit: Fox

Comments

[iron chef Macoroni]

did anyone else see bobby flay???...and did you catch the black chefs expression when his ol' boy jay lost???...that was PRICELESS!!!

[H Emerson]

I do not think the right person won! I love to see if she last 6 months ,She was way to trashy on the show !! Sorry Jay was just beening lead on I think so much we do not see and only what they want us to see, She to young and will not last 6 months!Like how she said my son and his father so what in that tag along babys father ? O well till next year !!

[mirela]

Jay's the real winner; the "single mom" was just Gordon's pathetic pick - and this is the reason I'll never (EVER!) watch HK again!

[Vicky]

Was I mistaken or did Holli say "to create an amzing life for my son and his father in London"??

[Mauri]

Once again Chef Ramsay goes for the young babe and not the male more experienced chef. Those very experienced male English chefs will eat her alive. I am getting tired of the bra shots and knowing what the outcome will be. I will just pick the good looking gal and not have to waste my time watching the show.

[Samantha]

Holli will last longer than Dave did.

[Holly]

He will have to move to London if they have joint custody

[Maddie]

I think they both could have been the right pick. Both had what it took. It's a shame he couldn't offer them both positions. This season had the strongest competitors out of the entire history of the show.

I can't believe some of the comments saying that she was "too trashy" to deserve win. Gordon Ramsey is looking for a head chef, not the pinnacle of morality.

[Cody]

Well i think Jay and Holli are FINALLY going to be alown in Austriala ^^ If you like Gordon Ramsay you should check his new show "Master Chef" its a gone one..... and no there is no swearing =(

[hippiechick]

I think she'll do OK. It appeared to be very close between the two, and Ramsay's choice is also influenced by the comment cards. It is in his best interest to put someone over there whose food people enjoy eating.

None of these chefs stay with the restaurant. They are under a contract for 6 mos-1 yr. and if he wants them to stay – or they want to stay – they do but thus far they have all gone on to do other things.

Having known a couple of people who were on national reality shows, after a while you forget the camera is there, hence a lot of things being said that might not normally be verbalized otherwise.

[Kasumi]

It was a toss-up at the beginning of the finale, but I thought Holli did a better job managing the kitchen since her crew was less talented. Jay had Benjamin to run things while Jay coddled Jason through service. Since Jay and Holli both completed service without any big mishaps and appeared to perform par with each other, I knew Holli would win because she managed the inferior crew. She accomplished more with less and Jay knew that since he did not 'hit it out of the park'.

[Kasumi]

I forgot about the Australia prize trip. Holli and Jay have time to be alone or will Holli bring her son and his Dad? It appeared there still was an emotional connection between Holli and her ex. At least from the ex's POV.

[PDB]

It was pretty clear that Jay is the more assertive chef and a better leader. His overall cooking acumen is also better. Based on those criteria he should have won. However, whoever would've won would have ended up as a sous chef at the Savoy anyway, so because of that fact, Holli was the logical choice. She has raw talent that would be easier to mold, as opposed to Jay who is ready to open his own restaurant at this point.

[Alex J Lulu]

I too saw Dave running past in the b/g as the show was ending. Why is his arm still in a cast? Or was this program recorded right after season 7? Very strange indeed.

I agree w/Kasumi in terms of their performance during the finale.

I think Jay or Holli would have been good choices, but I have to say that I think Holli's raw talent appeals to GR more than Jay's experience.

This season (towards the end specifically) made for good reality TV viewing.

[Bob]

I'm pretty sure Dave was there because the two seasons were filmed back to back and his arm wasn't healed yet.

[mirela]

I guess this is Dave's problem - Dave Levey: "It’s kind of funny because Gordon Ramsay nicknamed me the one armed bandit [chuckles]. Actually, when I was younger in Vermont, I broke my wrist and was in a cast for 7 months, which is why my arm is so weak. I was a Sous chef and I had to work through the pain with the cast, so this was not the first time for me."

[AliciaPeach]

I am so glad Holli won... Jay was conceded the entire show it was annoying... and for those who say Holli was trashy so was Jay so that is not a good argument...

[Tee]

I'm thrilled for Holli and her family! WTG girl!

I had to agree with Ramsay. Even though Jay is an excellent chef in his own right, Holli has shown much more growth in the short amount of time on the show and with more promise for the years to come.

I think Jay was wrong to underestimate her. Typical though for most men...both he AND Ben thought they had it in the bag. Ben needs to check himself.

Why would Holli take Jay to Australia??? I think Holli's main interest in Jay was to keep him sidetracked.

People need to grow up and give credit where credit is due. Ramsay isn't a skirt chaser and the bottom line is - he wants his business to succeed. He certainly isn't going to embarrass himself and choose a loser. Please.

[Vegas Guy]

FWIW, co-worker of my wife says he knows Holli. He even told us she won 2 months ago, so I believe him. He said she took the winnings, but opted NOT to go to London for the job, which I guess was an option.

[Dave]

Did anyone else notice Dave Levey from 2009 season floating around the background? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSD-YKuq8PM