Jak Knife and Brandi Love kick off season 7 with Philly cheesesteaks and homemade sweet potato chips.

Jak enters with two years of deli experience, though that confidence fades quickly once the deli slicer comes out. Meanwhile, Brandi admits red meat is completely outside her comfort zone.

Brandi keeps the trash talk flowing while Chef Jojo hovers nearby trying to keep Jak’s roux from falling apart. Brandi’s roux earns early praise, but an aggressive shake of paprika threatens to overpower the dish.

Both chefs manage to plate solid-looking sandwiches before time runs out, but the final decision comes down to flavor.

Chef Jojo enjoys the flavors in Jak’s cheesesteak despite the sandwich running slightly dry and the chips bordering on burnt.

Brandi’s sandwich delivers tender meat, rich cheese sauce, and flavorful chips, though the paprika nearly causes problems of its own.

In the end, Brandi Love does enough to secure the first semifinal spot of season 7.

Amanda Nicole, a self-described carnivore raised on The Cooking Channel, faces Holly Randall in a soft-shell crab eggs benedict challenge with no recipe in sight.

Even after Chef Jojo demonstrates how to poach eggs and build hollandaise sauce from scratch, both contestants still look completely overwhelmed.

Holly pulls surprisingly crispy crab from the fryer while Amanda manages to bring together a buttery hollandaise. But the momentum disappears fast once Chef Jojo catches Holly attempting to poach eggs with the shells still on.

As the final minutes approach, Holly’s dish begins falling apart after her egg breaks completely and her hollandaise turns into a wet scramble.

Amanda, meanwhile, manages to plate a polished soft-shell crab Benedict that immediately stands out to Chef Jojo.

This one isn’t particularly close. Amanda Nicole advances to the semifinals.

Minnesota native Siri Dahl and Ricky Johnson head into the This Is Fire kitchen for a poutine challenge built around crispy fries, cheese curds, and rich gravy.

Siri immediately focuses on the potatoes, knowing they’ll take the longest, while Ricky spends more time reacting to her strategy than developing one of his own. Once he starts falling behind, Ricky pivots toward distracting Siri instead.

Both gravies begin coming together as Chef Jojo repeatedly reminds them not to hold back on seasoning. But despite leading most of the challenge, Siri suddenly realizes her fries may have hit the fryer far too late.

The final plating rush leaves both contestants scrambling to beat the clock.

Chef Jojo praises Siri’s presentation and beautifully melted cheese curds, though her gravy runs thick and the fries stay undercooked. Ricky’s curds impress too, but his gravy ultimately becomes the deciding factor for all the wrong reasons.

Siri Dahl advances to the semifinals.

La Sirena and Gianna Dior step in for a spaghetti and meatballs challenge that quickly spirals into classic This Is Fire kitchen chaos.

As both contestants start grinding meat, Chef Jojo repeatedly warns them about cross-contamination, which La Sirena immediately ignores by tasting raw meat.

Meanwhile, Gianna reacts dramatically to nearly every correction from Chef Jojo as the pressure continues building around the kitchen.

By the final minutes, both contestants are simply trying to get edible plates across the finish line.

Gianna’s dish earns faint praise for being “not disgusting,” though undercooked meatballs and bland sauce ultimately sink her chances. 

La Sirena’s presentation may look rough, but properly cooked meatballs prove enough to secure the win. Sometimes survival is all it takes to advance.

Siri Dahl and Amanda Nicole return for the semifinals with a pork chop challenge that comes loaded with surprise ingredients including celery root, rhubarb, pears, blackberries, and star anise.

Amanda leans Mediterranean, building a berry sauce layered with blood orange, pears, and warm spice. Siri heads in a sweeter direction but quickly runs into trouble once her mashed potatoes drift closer to soup than a proper side.

As the clock starts running low, Siri nearly forgets to sauce her pork chop altogether before scrambling to finish plating.

Chef Jojo responds well to Siri’s pear sauce, mashed potatoes, and beautifully cooked pork chop, leaving her with the stronger overall plate.

Amanda earns praise for her inventive berry sauce too, though unrendered fat on the pork ultimately hurts her chances.

Siri Dahl advances to the finals with a shot at $20,000.

Brandi Love and La Sirena battle for the final spot in the season 7 finale with one of the trickiest proteins yet: scallops.

Chef Jojo raises the difficulty even further by forcing them to work with challenging ingredients like fennel, purple cauliflower, wine, Brussels sprouts, and baby corn. 

Brandi carefully maps out her plate while La Sirena jumps straight into cooking scallops despite repeated warnings about how quickly they can overcook.

La Sirena ends up improvising an unusual teriyaki-lime sauce at the last minute. Meanwhile, Brandi leans into bold flavors of her own, charring Brussels sprouts and building a cauliflower purée.

Both chefs manage to finish plating before time expires, setting up a surprisingly close tasting.

Chef Jojo enjoys the flavors on Brandi’s plate despite slightly overseared scallops. La Sirena’s “mermaid” presentation and unconventional sauce combination unexpectedly work too, though the flavor of her scallops leaves Chef Jojo less convinced.

Consistency ultimately carries Brandi Love into the finals.

Brandi Love and Siri Dahl face off in the season 7 finale with $20,000 and the championship title on the line. 

Chef Jojo wastes no time introducing the final challenge: a massive T-bone steak served with bone marrow and steakhouse potatoes.

Brandi opens the round with her usual trash talk and kitchen pranks, even pretending to steal Siri’s paper towels before both chefs fully lock in. 

Siri builds out “cowboy” mashed potatoes while Brandi roasts bone marrow with an unapologetic amount of butter.

By the final plating, both steak dishes look impressively polished heading into the tasting.

Chef Jojo praises Brandi’s bone marrow, asparagus, potatoes, and steak, with only slightly too much parmesan holding the dish back. Siri earns equally strong reactions, with her bone marrow, potatoes, and steak all landing especially well.

After calling it his hardest decision yet and going back for extra bites, Chef Jojo crowns Siri Dahl the season 7 champion.

Next up: a Grand Championship showdown against season six winner Melissa Stratton.

Season 6 Champion Melissa Stratton returns to face season seven winner Siri Dahl in the Grand Championship with another $10,000 and ultimate bragging rights on the line.

Chef Jojo throws out the rulebook entirely this time. No recipe, no assigned dish, just one requirement: every plate needs a protein, starch, and vegetable. 

Melissa initially pitches fish tacos before Chef Jojo immediately shuts the idea down for being “too basic,” forcing her toward swordfish with romesco sauce instead.

Siri swings bigger with lamb shanks despite never cooking lamb before, pairing them with couscous and an ambitious wine reduction.

Both chefs barely finish plating before time expires, closing out one of the messiest freestyle challenges of the series.

Chef Jojo praises Siri’s couscous and carrots, though the lamb runs overcooked and the mustard flavor overwhelms her sauce. Melissa recovers from a rocky start with flavorful swordfish and a standout romesco, even if the rice misses perfection.

In the end, Melissa Stratton successfully defends her crown and remains Grand Champion.