April 23--When the stakes were high, Chicago line cook Kristin Barone never lost focus on "Hell's Kitchen."
The former Longman and Eagle line cook advanced to the final round of the Fox cooking competition in Friday's episode. Barone, 29, will face New Jersey country club chef Ariel Malone to win the job as head chef at BLT Steak at Bally's hotel and casino in Las Vegas, which comes with a $250,000 salary.
"I'm the best person for this position," Barone says in a preview of the Season 15 finale, scheduled to air 8 p.m. Friday.
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Barone, who says on her LinkedIn page that she has been working at The Blanchard in Lincoln Park since February, got off to an early lead in Friday's episode. Barone, Malone and Florida chef Ashley Nickell were tasked with cooking a steak dish in 40 minutes.
Barone served a ribeye with red wine demi-glace in a cast iron skillet, a bacon-and-gorgonzola potato puree and grilled asparagus. Ari Rosenson, executive chef at Wolfgang Puck's Bevery Hills steakhouse Cut, judged Barone's dish to be the best of the three.
Barone, who hails from Grand Rapids, Mich., won a meal at Cut with "Hell's Kitchen" host Gordon Ramsay and her parents.
"I'm so happy right now. This is the greatest feeling," Barone said.
Ramsay then tested the three contestants' ability to work quality control during dinner service. Barone, who attended the Illinois Institute of Art in the Loop, shined while Nickell struggled and was eliminated.
Barone was the first contestant picked by Ramsay to compete in the finale.
"I'm soaring right now; so excited," Barone said.
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