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See other uses for the term Hell's Kitchen.
For the original British program, see Hell's Kitchen (UK TV series).

Hell's Kitchen (US) is the name of a cookery-based reality show. It is based on the original Hell's Kitchen, broadcast in the UK on ITV1 in 2004, featuring chef Gordon Ramsay. The first American season aired in the United States on FOX in 2005, while the second season started with two back-to-back episodes on June 12, 2006.

Format

The US version of Hell's Kitchen, also starring Gordon Ramsay, is broadcasted on the FOX television network. In Canada, the show was broadcast on Citytv. The first season of the show, shown during the summer of 2005, featured 12 ordinary people (some with chef and restaurant experience, some without) competing to own a "million-dollar restaurant" of their own.

The show was taped at a converted former television broadcast facility (KCOP - UPN 13) located on the corner of La Brea Avenue and Willoughby Avenue in Los Angeles, California.

The format of the program was the same as the UK version, with a red team and a blue team competing in various cooking challenges. The restaurant's maitre d’, Jean Philippe Susilovic, came from Petrus, one of Ramsay's London restaurants. Jean Phillipe was also the maitre d’ for the first UK series of Hell's Kitchen. Each team also had the services of one of two sous chefs: Scott Leibfried and Mary Ann Salcedo.

Season one

Season one featured the following contestants:

Red Team

  • Carolann
  • Elsie
  • Dewberry
  • Jeff
  • Chris
  • James

Blue Team

  • Ralph
  • Michael
  • Mary Ellen
  • Wendy
  • Jessica
  • Andrew

Each week, the best member from the losing team during the latest service period ("best" as determined by Ramsay) is asked to nominate two of their fellow teammates for elimination; one of these two is sent home by Gordon Ramsay.

Episode 1
  • Original airdate: May 30, 2005.
  • Nominees for elimination: The red team's Carolann and Dewberry. Carolann was eliminated.

Episode 2
  • Original airdate: June 6, 2005.
  • Team challenge: Cleaning squid. The team that could clean and prep the most squid received a dinner with Ramsay. The red team won, and the losing blue team had to prepare squid while the dinner was taking place. The losing team also had their kitchen's air conditioning turned off during the next restaurant service period.
  • Nominees for elimination: The red team's Jeff and Dewberry. Dewberry was eliminated.

Episode 3
  • Original airdate: June 13, 2005.
  • Michael was transferred to the red team in order to even out the number of contestants on each team.
  • Jeff, a member of the red team, walked off the show. Ramsay still eliminated a contestant from a team, meaning that two contestants left during this episode.
  • Team challenge: Ramsay asked the teams to cook him a five-course meal of original dishes. The catch was that they only had 10 minutes of shopping time at a local supermarket, and only $100 per team to spend at the market. The red team won the team challenge, winning an evening out at a pub with Ramsay while the losing blue team stayed behind to clean the dorm. The red team also won the next service period. Although both teams had difficulty preparing meals on time, the food critics in the restaurant preferred the meals prepared by the red team.
  • Nominees for elimination: The blue team's Wendy and Andrew. Wendy was eliminated.

Episode 4
  • Original airdate: June 20, 2005.
  • Team challenge: Ramsay passed the two teams to JP, his maitre d', for a lesson in how to properly set a dining table. The teams then had to replicate a sample table containing over 90 items within a 5 minute time period. The blue team won the team challenge and received an afternoon of spa treatments, while the red team had to clean/polish all the glass and silverware. An additional penalty was that the red team had to take time away from their food prep to set all 100 tables in the restaurant before the next service period.
  • Both teams learned how to cook pigeon and frog legs.
  • During the service period, Ramsay promised that the first team to complete all of their orders, no matter how long that takes, would be safe from elimination. Despite their handicap of starting their food prep later than the other team, the red team pulled ahead and won the service period.
  • Nominees for elimination: The blue team's Andrew and Mary Ellen. Mary Ellen was eliminated.

Episode 5
  • Original airdate: June 27, 2005.
  • To shake things up, Ramsay threw out the entire previous menu and created a new menu featuring pasta dishes.
  • Team challenge: As Ramsay changed the menu of the restaurant to feature pasta, the two teams had 10 minutes to turn raw dough into as much spaghetti as possible, judged by suitability for serving in the restaurant and total weight. The red team won the team challenge and received an afternoon in Venice, California dining and drinking in a gondola.
  • The service period was split into two two-hour sessions. In each session, one team would wait on tables in the restaurant, take and deliver the orders; while the other team would work in the kitchen preparing the orders. As the red team won the previous challenge, they chose to cook first. Although the blue team did not complete as many dishes during their cooking time, the red team's lack of quality in food and service was enough to cost them the day.
  • Nominees for elimination: The red team's Chris and Elsie. Ramsay selected Chris for elimination, as Ramsay explained that someone who boasts about their skills needs to step up and meet that expectation or else be eliminated.

Episode 6
  • Original airdate: July 11, 2005
  • Always one to shake things up, Ramsay threw out the entire menu yet again, and asked each team to create menus of their own. The two teams were going to compete head-to-head, with diners choosing to eat from the Red menu or the Blue menu.
  • Team challenge: Team members were blindfolded/earmuffed and then asked to identify various foods on taste alone. Each participant had to identify 4 different food items. The red team won the challenge and received an afternoon of wine tasting with Ramsay, while the losing blue team had to clean all the cookware used in the previous night's service. A further penalty was that their storeroom would be secured by a combination lock during the next service period, forcing the team to enter the complicated code every time they needed supplies. The team was allowed to bring a tray of food in with them during each trip, however Andrew attempted to circumvent the rules and tape the door latch so the door would not lock. During this, sous chef Scott caught him and told the team as further punishment, they would have to go into the storeroom whenever they needed one item.
  • The service period was not divided into Red tables and Blue tables as diners were able to select an entire Red or Blue menu of selections created and cooked by the team. Although the blue team served more dishes during the period, they had a higher number of main dishes returned to the kitchen, causing Ramsay to select them as the losing team. Jessica was not involved in the preparation of the rejected entrees so Ramsay selected Jessica as the night's winner.
  • Nominees for elimination: Jessica nominated Andrew. Ramsay nominated Ralph. Andrew was eliminated.

Episode 7
  • Original airdate: July 11, 2005
  • Ramsay assigned the remaining five contestants to a single kitchen team, wearing black, where each contestant was now going to compete as an individual.
  • Challenge: Ramsay demonstrated how to make tableside fruit flambe. Based on Ramsay's opinion of presentation and taste, Jimmy and Elsie placed 1st and 2nd respectively. Jimmy received a helicopter trip over L.A. and was allowed to bring someone along; he chose Michael.
  • Jimmy nominated Elsie to prepare tableside caesar salad and fruit flambe during the next service. During service, Ramsay requested Ralph work alongside him at the hotplate. Based on performance in the kitchen, Ramsay selected Ralph as the day's best.
  • Nominees for elimination: Although Elsie had asked Ralph to send her home, Ralph decided to nominate Jessica and Jimmy. Based on Jimmy's poor performance and an in-kitchen confrontation during the service period between Ramsay and Jimmy, Ramsay eliminated Jimmy.

Episode 8
  • Original airdate: July 18, 2005
  • Challenge: Ramsay gave the final four contestants 15-minutes to each create an original dish out of a tray of 15 different leftovers from the previous evening's service. Among the ingredients were macaroni, parsnips, chicken, beef, raspberries, and a lemon. Elsie made chicken soup. Michael made a side dish of grilled chicken wings. Jessica made a raspberry dessert. Elsie won the challenge as Ramsay said that she used the most ingredients as well as having a hearty, tasty soup that he would order in a restaurant. As a reward, Elsie accompanied Ramsay to a taping of Good Day Live, where they demonstrated how to make risotto.
  • The next service period did not have any twists. Elsie was asked to assign the team members to various tasks on the line. During the service, Ramsay reassigned the team twice as he felt that there was inadequate communication between the team members.
  • At the end of service, Ramsay did not select a leader to nominate somebody; he nominated Elsie and Jessica as the weakest performers that night. Ramsay then eliminated Elsie.

Episode 9
  • Original airdate: July 25, 2005
  • Having been woken up at 4 AM unexpectedly, the three remaining contestants are told that they have to bake bread for the night's service. Jessica, who had had a lot to drink that night, went back to bed. Michael and Ralph did the majority of the work.
  • Challenge: On very little sleep, the three finalists were then asked to create a soufflé. Ralph's was the winner, followed by Michael's, then Jessica's. As a reward, Ralph got to choose which dish he would be creating that night: beef, chicken, or tuna. Ralph chose beef, Michael tuna, and Jessica was left with chicken.
  • Unbeknownst to the contestants, members of their families were seated in the restaurant for the service. They had a chance to try each of the specialty dishes and select their favorite, not knowing who had made each one.
  • When the time came to choose one contestant to leave, their family members appeared. Ramsay tells them to vote for each's favorite dish. Michael's tuna got the most votes, followed by Ralph's filet mignon. Jessica's chicken only got one vote.
  • Elimination: Ramsay told Jessica that "you know in your heart you aren't as good as Michael and Ralph," and asked her to leave.

Episode 10
  • Original airdate: August 1, 2005. 2-hour finale.
  • Michael and Ralph are informed that Hell's Kitchen is going to be split in two for the final service, with each contestant decorating their own restaurant, choosing the service uniforms, and creating the menu.
  • The two finalists were able to renovate Hell's Kitchen however they liked. Michael went with an LA-modern style theme named Lola Pop (named for his wife, Lola), while Ralph decided to go with more of a New York style Steakhouse he called Frank & Lulu's (named for dogs owned by himself and a friend).
  • All of the previously eliminated contestants returned to help Michael and Ralph compete in the big challenge.
  • After the service, Ramsay praised both of Michael and Ralph, saying that all of the customers loved their food and atmosphere, but one thing helped him make his decision: the number of customers who would return. While one scored 90% on this question, the other scored 94%. Ramsay declared Michael the winner. Ramsay then made Michael an offer: the original prize of his own restaurant, or an invitation to join Ramsay in London to work and learn alongside him at one of his restaurants. Michael accepted the offer to work in London.
  • As a side note, RealityNewsOnline claimed that whichever finalist had Dewberry on his side would lose.

Epilogue

Season Two

FOX is airing a second season of Hell's Kitchen in the US, which was cast in November 2005. The first episode aired on June 12, 2006, with the winner being offered a position as an executive chef at T-Bones Chophouse and Lounge in the new Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino. The winner will also be eligible to receive a financial interest in the restaurant and can assist in the design of the eatery.

While taping for season two was done in the same building as where season one was staged, the set is entirely new.

Season two features the following contestants on these initial teams, separated by gender;

Blue Team:

  • Gabe, 27, a marketing executive from Chicago, IL;
  • Garrett, 27, a former prisoner/chef from Cedar Park, TX;
  • Giacomo, 21, a pizza maker from Euless, TX;
  • Keith, 28, a chef/bartender from South Hampton, NY;
  • Larry, 38, a fishmonger from Arlington, TX;
  • Tom, 43, a former stockbroker from Belleville, NJ;

Red Team:

  • Heather, 25, a sous chef from Port Jefferson, NY;
  • Maribel, 31, a cafeteria chef from Brooklyn, NY;
  • Polly, 43, a caterer from Ben Franklin, TX;
  • Rachel, 39, a personal chef from Dallas, TX;
  • Sara, 31, a deli manager from Dallas, TX;
  • Virginia, 25, a salad chef from New York, NY;

Episode 1
  • Original airdate: June 12, 2006.
  • At the start, each contestant was given the chance to make a dish to impress Ramsey. Most of the dishes were disappointing to Ramsey.
  • The opening was deemed a major disaster, as it took nearly two hours to get even appetizers out.
  • Heather was deemed the best of the red team.
  • Nominees for elimination: The red team's Polly and Virginia. Polly was eliminated.

Episode 2
  • Original airdate: June 12, 2006.
  • The Morning After: To show his disappointment for the poor performance of both teams in the first episode, Ramsay had his assistants come into their rooms early in the morning banging cowbells, then the teams had to go outside and dig through trash. Ramsay told them that the trash was equivalent to all the food they'd wasted during the meal.
  • Challenge: To cut 10 oz. steaks. Keith of the Blue team sat out due to their having an extra member. The Red team won by one steak, although Tom came very close to tying the score. Larry was faulted for not cutting any steak properly.
  • Reward/Punishment: Red team got a dinner with Chef Ramsay at a restaurant, flown by helicopter. The Blue team's punishment was to cut the steak for the next night's service.
  • Early Exit: Larry had to leave the show after being hospitalized because of the stress caused by the show.
  • Dinner: Keith and Sara were servers for tonight's service. Keith slowed the team down, giving the women a good head start, but Virginia's poor choice of an appetizer caused Ramsay to order them to cook everything from scratch. Heather got burned and had to go to the hospital; before she left, she called out orders to the other women in spite of her pain, which greatly impressed Chef Ramsay. Sara went back in the kitchen after the team was in the weeds due to the loss of Heather. Virginia's poor cooking continued to hinder her team, while Gabe was not showing leadership. Even though both teams did badly, the blue team lost because of no entrees being served (while the red team served 10).
  • Elimination: Ramsay felt Garrett was the best of the Blue team, and asked him to choose two nominees for elimination. He chose Giacomo and Tom. Chef Ramsay sent Tom back after he said that he wouldn't let it happen again, and called Gabe up. Gabe was eliminated, because he had been confused in the kitchen and clearly didn't belong there. Both teams were surprised, as this was the first time on the series that someone who was not chosen for nomination was eliminated, and meant that potentially any of them could leave at any time.

Episode 3
  • Original airdate: June 19, 2006.
  • Challenge: To cook a three course meal in 20 minutes with one person in the kitchen at a time. Heather sat out because she feared her hand injury would slow her team down. Thanks to Maribel, the Red team forgot to make the tortellini. Due to misinformation, the Blue team made the tortellini several times. The Red team won, because the two dishes they made were better than the dishes the Blue team made. Ramsay criticized Tom for his slouching against the counter, which began a pattern of Ramsay belittling Tom throughout the episode until Tom basically gave up.
  • Reward/Punishment: The Red team were taken on a yacht with Chef Ramsay; The Blue team had to do laundry as punishment, by hand, including the laundry of the Red team. When the Red team returned from the yacht, Heather taunted the men and Garrett told the women to cook for them since they had done all the laundry. Heather took great offense at his remark and railed at him for what she saw as chauvinism.
  • Dinner: Heather tried to control stations other than her own and was rebuked by Ramsay. Giacamo was unable to start an oven while Tom gave up after burning his hand (Ramsay called him a "drama queen") and arguing with Keith. Ramsay felt Giacamo being in charge of the meat table had ground his team to a halt, and he broke his usual rules by ordering Giacomo to switch stations. Maribel (who was homesick) almost singlehandedly caused the Red team to slow down when she was unable to prepare the lamb wellington entrees quickly enough. Chef Ramsay was angry at Maribel and disappointed in Heather, and praised Sara as the Red's best for that night. Once again neither team managed to serve a full service, and many customers left, but the Red team managed to serve more entrees, so they won.
  • Elimination: In the ensuing nomination time for elimination, Ramsay felt there was no "best of the worst"; the losing Blue Team each individually nominated one other teammate for elimination. Despite three votes being cast against Tom and only one against Giacamo, Chef Ramsay eliminated Giacamo because of his failure with the oven.

Episode 4
  • Original airdate: June 26, 2006.
  • Team Shakeup: Chef Ramsay, saying the men had "lost the battle of the sexes, big time", cited Rachel, Sara, and Heather for emerging as leaders. Wanting to give the Blue team a leader, he transferred Heather to Blue to join Tom, Garrett, and Keith.
  • Field Trip: The teams were taken to Pink's Hot Dogs, the busiest restaurant in Los Angeles. Ramsay then surprised them with the news that they would be opening for lunch for the first time, forcing them to run back to Hell's Kitchen.
  • Challenge: The teams had to cook lunch for a rowdy group of children. Heather (the new leader of the Blue team) clamped down on the bickering between Garrett and Tom, and helped the Blue team to finally come together. Meanwhile the Red team was marred by a power struggle between Rachel and Sara. Both teams for the first time managed to serve a full course, finally impressing Ramsay. Ramsay told the Red the kids gave them a score of 9.84 out of 10 points. The Blue team garnered a winning score of 9.85.
  • Reward/Punishment: The Blue team got to go to have an amusement park all to themselves; Keith formed an alliance with Heather. The Red team had to clean up the dining room, which was full of balloons, food on the floor, and silly string. Sara repeatedly joked during the cleanup, irritating both Rachel and sous chef Mary Ann, who asked them if they were hungry, and threw a cake onto the carpet, forcing them to clean it up. Tensions rise within the Red team.
  • Dinner: The Blue team was held back when Garrett failed to properly taste several dishes. Rachel struggled to make risotto, and a conflict erupted over the turbot. Sara told Virginia she was "ready and waiting for * call" on the turbot, but when Ramsay came to get the meal, Sara said she hadn't started it yet. Virginia tells Ramsay that Sara had told her she was ready when Virginia was, but Ramsay berated Virginia, accusing her of lying as well bringing the others down to make herself look good. Sara, thinking of strategy, allowed Ramsay to think Virginia was a liar. Ramsay was unhappy with Maribel's poor mashed potatoes, and Rachel and Virginia for leaving the bones and wing on the quail. Rachel went to get ice (the ice machine was broken and the losing team had to get the ice), had to beg people at the store when she realized she had no money, and fell on one of the bags while running back to Hell's Kitchen. Meanwhile, Tom made bigger and bigger mistakes until Ramsay blew up at him, finally barring him from doing anything else in the kitchen. Virginia cooked wellington rare when the order was medium. Finally, when Ramsay realized the women were glazing all night with egg whites instead of eggwash, and that the women have run out of wellington, he had enough. He shut down the restraunt and did not even let either team clean its kitchen.
  • No Winner: Once again a full course was not served and many customers spent hours waiting for food. Fed up, Ramsay shut down the kitchen and declared both teams lost, demanding they each pick one person from their team to nominate for elimination. Team Blue quickly decided on Tom, while Team Red was torn between Virginia and Rachel as both women had made major mistakes. Keith and Sara (chosen by Ramsay as being the best of their respective teams that night) were asked to make the announcement. The nominees were Tom and Virginia.
  • Elimination: Ramsay was baffled that Virginia was chosen instead of Rachel, but although Rachel offered to take Virginia's place, Ramsay allowed their decision to stand. Ramsay then eliminated Tom, saying he had a big heart, but was a lousy cook and he had no idea why Tom thought he could be a chef. After the elimination, we see in a cutaway with Sara that she is prepared to continue to sabotage her teammates, and warns them to "watch out". Ramsay closed the elimination by saying that was the worst service he had ever seen and he was close to throwing in the towel, but he wouldn't give up on them if they didn't give up on him.

Episode 5
  • Original airdate: July 10, 2006
  • Challenge: The teams were told to taste various high cuisine dishes such as caviar and fondue, not realizing they were made of average ingredients such as hot dogs and spray cheese. After this embarrassment, they had to go through a taste test. Rachel sat out to make the teams even. A member of each team had to guess the correct item. Team Red won with 7 points, Team Blue narrowly trailing with 6 points.
  • Reward/Punishment: The Blue Team had to clean up the dirty kitchen. The Red Team participated with Chef Ramsay in a photo shoot for TV Guide; at one point Garrett was forced to bring them extra champagne. During the shoot, Sara disgusted everyone by farting.
  • Dinner: Heather's need to control everything helped cause disarray in the Blue Team. Keith's lack of focus made Ramsay give him a rare pep talk. Meanwhile, a black hair was found in one of the Red Team's entrees, but Maribel, when asked, denied she was responsible. Rachel ran the meat station and was the center of many problems, as she was unable to properly cook the wellington. At one point Ramsay took her to a storage room to get her to regroup, but she continued to struggle. Finally, after she overcooked the wellington (trying to hide this by adding extra sauce), Ramsay ordered the kitchen shut down. Heather said that her team had not worked to their full potential, yet said she herself did not deserve to be eliminated, angering Garrett and Keith. Ramsay chose the Red Team as the worst, as they had not managed to get all of their entrees out even though they had one more chef than the Blue Team, which managed to get all their entrees out.
  • Elimination: Cited as the "best of the worst" by Ramsay, Virginia struggled with her choice. She picked Rachel, and after informing Ramsay of Sara's schemes against her, Virginia chose Maribel, since Maribel had argued with Ramsay about the hair in the food. Ramsay praised her choices and eliminated Rachel. Although he felt she had worked harder than anyone else in the kitchen, he could not overlook her many mistakes.

Episode 6
  • Original airdate: July 17, 2006
  • Challenge: Both teams had to go to the market and be inspired by what could help them create a three-course meal. They then had to buy the right ingredients in 20 minutes. Virginia took control of the Red Team, which continued in the meal preparation (they had 30 minutes to fix the meal). Appetizers were first - Ramsay was bothered by the sharp scallop tail in Garrett's dish, and felt Sara's bell pepper soup was too burnt (due to Virginia asking Sara to burn the peppers). For the entree, Ramsay was pleased with Virginia's large chicken breasts, as well as Keith's dish. The final course, dessert, ended in a victory for the Red Team, due to Maribel making a dish Ramsay found tasty albeit uninspired, while Heather's fruit was soggy.
  • Reward/Punishment: The Red Team got to spend a night on the town with Chef Ramsay, while the Blue Team were forced to help with the resturant's delivery service. The Blue Team were very upset, because they felt the burned peppers should have caused the other team to lose. Garrett flipped Chef Ramsay and the Red Team's limo off as they left the resturant. At dinner, Virginia's constant talking irritated her teammates.
  • Dinner: Before giving the teams their instructions, Chef Ramsay berated Garrett for giving him the middle finger. Ramsay felt confident enough in the teams' abilities to allow them to create their own menu. Virginia and Sara (shutting out Maribel) came up with the ideas for the Red Team, while Keith and Heather (shutting out Garrett) came up with the ideas for the Blue Team. The Blue Team had to stop in the middle of the service to unload more deliveries. In spite of this, and Garrett struggling the entire night, the Blue Team managed to complete an entire service, a first for Hell's Kitchen. Maribel slowed her team town, but their overly ambitious menu was the biggest problem. They barely managed to send out a few appetizers, and the first appetizer was immediately sent back. The complexity of the salmon dish led Ramsay to suggest it just be cut into a slice. Sara rebutted that changing the dish might be inconsistent, and Ramsay told her off. This resulted in Ramsay ordering the Blue Team to help the Red Team finish their service. At the end of the service, Ramsay told Garrett how lucky he was to be on a team with Keith and Heather, and that the Red Team clearly lost.
  • Elimination: Ramsay felt there was no best of the worst and asked the Red Team to come up with nominees. Yet, when they arrived at the elimination ceremony, Ramsay told them he didn't want to hear their suggestions. After some back-and-forth between the team, Ramsay eliminated Maribel because he felt although she was a nice person, she didn't have the drive to be a leader.

References

External links

Citytv network shows | Reality television series

地狱厨房

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Hell's Kitchen (US TV series)".

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