Final moments of HK: Last girl cheering
The entire Hell's Kitchen season is over, a reason to cheer and finally move on. Last night's HK3 viewing party ended on a sad note for some, but it's not who you think: Bonnie couldn't be more ecstatic. She couldn't have been more gracious for the night, the experience, and (we think) the attention, but who wouldn't? We have some final thoughts from the blonde runner-up including what went through her head when she stood at the door to her fate, what Gordon Ramsay said, and how cupcakes figure in her future.
On standing at the door?
"I was thinking, 'Oh my God, what am I going to do if I win?' I was thinking 'Please don't open?please don't open?please don't open?'"
On not winning?
"I never went on the show to win. I wanted to learn, I was curious, and I learned a lot. When I made it to the final five I thought this is getting way too serious. I started thinking of ways I could screw up. It takes a lot of training to run a restaurant, and I didn't think I was qualified. I feel like I have the basic skills, but to actually run an established restaurant in Vegas, there's no way. Rock has that experience, he deserved to win."
On Rock?
"I'm so proud of him. We talk on a daily basis. He's a great guy. He doesn't forget people behind him. It just reinforces how happy I am that he won."
On Gordon Ramsay?
"When Rock stepped through the door, I stepped back because it was his moment. And Gordon came up to me and said, 'Come here. You're amazing, you're amazing!' And he gave me this big hug. It was nice that he validated everything for me. We weren't allowed to contact him when the show aired, but I hope to track him down to say hello when he opens his restaurant here."
On being the "Barbie"?
"I feel like I got a really bad rap for being an idiot, but we were set up to fail a lot of times. I don't think people realize how smart I am. Rock was the only person to finally pick up on that fact. He made the comment that 'Homegirl knows how to play the game,' and that kind of scared him I think. My relationship to everyone on the show was genuine, I didn't befriend anyone just for the sake of the show. But people saw me as the nice girl, and they wanted to do things for the nice girl which worked in my favor. People saw me as the dumb blonde, but that allowed me to fly under the radar."
On knowing the ropes?
"I feel like because I was in the Industry for awhile, I know how the entertainment business works, and I know what you can ask for and can't. I'm a ham, I like to entertain people. You know, when I was cleaning the dorms with Rock, I was playing a role. I knew the cameras were there."
On the reality of it all?
"They tell us Gordon Ramsay has the final say, but it's TV. It's Hollywood. I don't really know."
On the future?
"I have a very cushy job, and I like it. My friend and I are talking about writing a cookbook maybe. I have an idea for a new venture, but it's not a restaurant. It's a dessert idea, something to rival Sprinkles, but a completely different concept."
· Hell's Kitchen Winne REVEAL: Milking the Secret For All Its Worth [~ELA~]
