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Hell's Kitchen (U.S.)
Encyclopedia
Hell's Kitchen is an American reality-television
cooking competition (based on a series of the same name, broadcast in the UK) broadcast on Fox
. It is hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay
and produced by Daniel Kay
.
Hell's Kitchen has surpassed The Apprentice
(hosted by Donald Trump
) in number of non-celebrity-contestant seasons and has not attempted to bolster ratings with major format changes. Each season has aired consecutively on a yearly (or twice yearly) basis. Due to continued strong Nielsen
ratings, in November 2010, Fox held auditions for contestants for a ninth season, which premiered July 18, 2011.
After the players are split into teams, the series begins with each chef preparing a signature dish
and presenting it to Gordon Ramsay to taste. After that, each chef is presented with a set of utensils (theirs to keep), a menu and/or book to study (also theirs to keep), and a chef's jacket of their team color. In later seasons, the signature dish has now been presented as the first team challenge.
Each remaining episode begins with a team or individual challenge; the winning chef or team may get a reward, while the losing team or players are required to perform some form of manual labor, usually consisting of kitchen duty in preparation for the dinner service but may also be cleaning the dormitories or decorating the restaurant for a particular event. It may also take the form of "punishment fitting the crime," meaning preparing the same foodstuffs that were used in the challenge for a dinner service. This punishment sometimes includes a lunch consisting of less palatable parts of those foodstuffs. Often the losing team or chef(s) will have to prepare a meal for the winning team or chef(s) to enjoy during their reward.
During dinner service, teams are responsible for preparing food to Gordon Ramsay's very demanding taste and appearance requirements as well as within a limited time frame. Ramsay does not prepare any of the foods, and only supervises the outcome, dispatching the correct preparations to the dining hall. He may throw away an entire plate of food due to one element being off, requiring the team to re-prepare the dish or the entire table if necessary, and usually sends a barrage of insults and obscenities to the responsible player or team. If Ramsay sees failure in a specific area in the kitchen, he may force one player to take over for another. In more recent seasons, if he sees complete failure in one or more chefs, he will kick the responsible individuals out of the kitchen for the remainder of the service, and have himself and his sous-chefs come in to finish the service. If the entire kitchen is in a debacle, Ramsay may end the dinner service prematurely, often using his catchphrase "Shut it down!" or "Switch it off!"
After the dinner service, Ramsay will select the winning team who may get an additional reward. In earlier seasons Ramsay would name the best member of the losing team as the "Best of the Worst" and have them pick two teammates for elimination, though in more recent years the Best of the Worst is generally not used unless one of the losing team turns in an exceptionally good performance, and nominations are decided on via a consensus of all the losing team members. Alternatively, if the service is exceptionally bad (or good), Ramsay may declare no team the winner (or name the teams as joint winners), requiring both teams to nominate someone for elimination. Sometimes Ramsay overrules the nominations and chooses someone else entirely, and in rare cases of an exceptionally good service, will not eliminate any of the contestants. When the game is down to a single team but still more than three people, the winning player (or "Best of the Best") will sometimes be asked select the two to be nominated. Each nominated player has a chance to plead their case to Ramsay, but he makes the final decision, at which point the eliminated player hands over their chef's jacket, which he forcefully hangs up on a hook until the hook pokes a hole in the jacket and also sends an above photo of the player up in flames to symbolize their elimination. If one of the players turns in an exceptionally bad performance, then Ramsay may eliminate them while the service is still in progress. An additional elimination may also occur at the end of the episode as normal; usually this occurs if the already-eliminated chef's team was still able to win despite losing a member. Often players will voluntarily exit the competition either due to medical conditions or their own free will. Depending on how well they've done in the competition overall, Ramsay may or may not let the eliminated chef(s) keep their jacket(s) upon exiting.
When the competition is down to the final two players, Ramsay splits the Hell's Kitchen dining area into two sections, and each of the two final contestants runs their own restaurant; each contestant is allowed to choose the menu for his or her restaurant. In earlier seasons, they are allowed to design a decoration and style into these dining areas. Six previously eliminated contestants return as aides to help the two finalists to prepare the meals. Ramsay will use his observations of how the finalists work in the kitchens and with their teams; not just during the final service, but throughout the whole competition as well, and feedback from the patrons of each restaurant, to select the ultimate winner of the show. In most recent seasons, eight previously eliminated contestants return to work with two finalists in the kitchens. The two finalists meet in his office (which includes the hung jackets of all eliminated players, their burnt photos, and the photos of the two finalists), and each stands behind one of two doors, one of which is locked and the other of which is unlocked. On the count of three, they try to open their doors, and the chef whose door opens is declared the winner.
Hell's Kitchen is somewhat rare among elimination-style reality shows in that all of the responsibilities of judging and eliminating fall to a single person, Ramsay, instead of a full panel of judges, or a majority vote by the contestants. Additionally, Ramsay has the power to override the basic format of the competition, such as ignoring the losing team's nominations for elimination, eliminating contestants from a winning team, eliminating contestants in the middle of dinner service, or changing around team members.
, a Belgian
maître d'
comes from Petrus, one of Ramsay's London restaurants and has appeared in the first seven seasons. Susilovic was also the maître d' for the first series of the original British version. James Lukanik replaced Susilovic since the eighth season.
Each team also has the services of one of two sous-chefs. Scott Leibfried
has appeared in all seasons, the other sous-chef is Andrea "Andi" Van Willigan (from season 7 onwards). Previous sous-chefs are Mary Ann Salcedo, Gloria Felix and season 2 winner, Heather West.
(s) - Sous-chef
" by the Ohio Players
. Hell's Kitchen USA when broadcast in the UK, Italy, Portugal and some countries (shown on the table below) feature only the instrumental version of this song.
In Turkey, Portugal, Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia, Hungary, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Korea, Ireland, Slovenia, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Italy and Japan, all the profane language is transmitted uncensored; however, in Hungary and Italy, the show is dubbed with local voices, so the original voices can't be heard clearly.
. KCOP was acquired by News Corporation
in 2001 and its studios were integrated with those of Fox affiliate KTTV
in 2003, leaving the La Brea facility vacant. Originally the studio was put up for sale, but in the end they were retooled for the production of Hell's Kitchen. The dining room area was the location of the former KCOP news studios, and living quarters for the contestants were built on behind the restaurant. Before season three, the Hell's Kitchen facility was moved to 3322 La Cienega Place in Los Angeles. Since the fourth season, Hell's Kitchen's venue was located at 8660 Hayden Place in Culver City
.
In 2009, Gordon Ramsay won an Astra Award for Favourite International Personality or Actor.
In the 2011 People's Choice Awards Hell's Kitchen was nominated for Favorite Reality Show and Gordon Ramsay was nominated for Favorite TV Chef
Apparently many of the show's winners did not receive the exact prize that was offered, but received different, and what could be deemed lesser positions.
has released the first five seasons of Hell's Kitchen in Region 1. Season 6 will be released in Canada on November 1, 2011 and in the US on February 7, 2012.
In Region 4, Shock Entertainment
has released seasons 1-8 on DVD in Australia.
released Hell's Kitchen: The Game for the Nintendo DS, Windows, and iOS which features the likeness of Ramsay, and the many important tasks shown in the U.S. version of the show.
On April 2, 2009, Ludia and Social2u released the official Facebook version of the Hell's Kitchen game.
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
cooking competition (based on a series of the same name, broadcast in the UK) broadcast on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. It is hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
and produced by Daniel Kay
Daniel Kay
-Movie career:He has produced such shows as Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares and Chopped.-References:...
.
Hell's Kitchen has surpassed The Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)
The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...
(hosted by Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
) in number of non-celebrity-contestant seasons and has not attempted to bolster ratings with major format changes. Each season has aired consecutively on a yearly (or twice yearly) basis. Due to continued strong Nielsen
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
ratings, in November 2010, Fox held auditions for contestants for a ninth season, which premiered July 18, 2011.
Format
The format of the program is similar to the United Kingdom version, with a red team and a blue team competing in various cooking challenges for most of the season; once the number of remaining contestants is reduced to five (or six in seasons 4-8), the two teams combine to become a single black team and compete individually.After the players are split into teams, the series begins with each chef preparing a signature dish
Signature dish
A signature dish is a recipe that identifies an individual chef. Ideally it should be unique and allow an informed gastronome to name the chef in a blind tasting. It can be thought of as the culinary equivalent of an artist finding their own style, or an author finding their own voice...
and presenting it to Gordon Ramsay to taste. After that, each chef is presented with a set of utensils (theirs to keep), a menu and/or book to study (also theirs to keep), and a chef's jacket of their team color. In later seasons, the signature dish has now been presented as the first team challenge.
Each remaining episode begins with a team or individual challenge; the winning chef or team may get a reward, while the losing team or players are required to perform some form of manual labor, usually consisting of kitchen duty in preparation for the dinner service but may also be cleaning the dormitories or decorating the restaurant for a particular event. It may also take the form of "punishment fitting the crime," meaning preparing the same foodstuffs that were used in the challenge for a dinner service. This punishment sometimes includes a lunch consisting of less palatable parts of those foodstuffs. Often the losing team or chef(s) will have to prepare a meal for the winning team or chef(s) to enjoy during their reward.
During dinner service, teams are responsible for preparing food to Gordon Ramsay's very demanding taste and appearance requirements as well as within a limited time frame. Ramsay does not prepare any of the foods, and only supervises the outcome, dispatching the correct preparations to the dining hall. He may throw away an entire plate of food due to one element being off, requiring the team to re-prepare the dish or the entire table if necessary, and usually sends a barrage of insults and obscenities to the responsible player or team. If Ramsay sees failure in a specific area in the kitchen, he may force one player to take over for another. In more recent seasons, if he sees complete failure in one or more chefs, he will kick the responsible individuals out of the kitchen for the remainder of the service, and have himself and his sous-chefs come in to finish the service. If the entire kitchen is in a debacle, Ramsay may end the dinner service prematurely, often using his catchphrase "Shut it down!" or "Switch it off!"
After the dinner service, Ramsay will select the winning team who may get an additional reward. In earlier seasons Ramsay would name the best member of the losing team as the "Best of the Worst" and have them pick two teammates for elimination, though in more recent years the Best of the Worst is generally not used unless one of the losing team turns in an exceptionally good performance, and nominations are decided on via a consensus of all the losing team members. Alternatively, if the service is exceptionally bad (or good), Ramsay may declare no team the winner (or name the teams as joint winners), requiring both teams to nominate someone for elimination. Sometimes Ramsay overrules the nominations and chooses someone else entirely, and in rare cases of an exceptionally good service, will not eliminate any of the contestants. When the game is down to a single team but still more than three people, the winning player (or "Best of the Best") will sometimes be asked select the two to be nominated. Each nominated player has a chance to plead their case to Ramsay, but he makes the final decision, at which point the eliminated player hands over their chef's jacket, which he forcefully hangs up on a hook until the hook pokes a hole in the jacket and also sends an above photo of the player up in flames to symbolize their elimination. If one of the players turns in an exceptionally bad performance, then Ramsay may eliminate them while the service is still in progress. An additional elimination may also occur at the end of the episode as normal; usually this occurs if the already-eliminated chef's team was still able to win despite losing a member. Often players will voluntarily exit the competition either due to medical conditions or their own free will. Depending on how well they've done in the competition overall, Ramsay may or may not let the eliminated chef(s) keep their jacket(s) upon exiting.
When the competition is down to the final two players, Ramsay splits the Hell's Kitchen dining area into two sections, and each of the two final contestants runs their own restaurant; each contestant is allowed to choose the menu for his or her restaurant. In earlier seasons, they are allowed to design a decoration and style into these dining areas. Six previously eliminated contestants return as aides to help the two finalists to prepare the meals. Ramsay will use his observations of how the finalists work in the kitchens and with their teams; not just during the final service, but throughout the whole competition as well, and feedback from the patrons of each restaurant, to select the ultimate winner of the show. In most recent seasons, eight previously eliminated contestants return to work with two finalists in the kitchens. The two finalists meet in his office (which includes the hung jackets of all eliminated players, their burnt photos, and the photos of the two finalists), and each stands behind one of two doors, one of which is locked and the other of which is unlocked. On the count of three, they try to open their doors, and the chef whose door opens is declared the winner.
Hell's Kitchen is somewhat rare among elimination-style reality shows in that all of the responsibilities of judging and eliminating fall to a single person, Ramsay, instead of a full panel of judges, or a majority vote by the contestants. Additionally, Ramsay has the power to override the basic format of the competition, such as ignoring the losing team's nominations for elimination, eliminating contestants from a winning team, eliminating contestants in the middle of dinner service, or changing around team members.
Cast
The show is hosted by Gordon Ramsay and narrated by Jason Thompson. Jean-Philippe SusilovicJean-Philippe Susilovic
Jean-Philippe Susilovic is a Belgian television personality of Croatian ancestry, known for his appearances as the Maître d' on the American version of Gordon Ramsay's cooking reality show Hell's Kitchen; he was also the Maître d' for the first series of the original British version of the...
, a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
maître d'
Maître d'hôtel
The maître d’hôtel in the original French language is literally the "master of the hotel". In a suitably staffed restaurant or hotel, it is the person in charge of assigning customers to tables and dividing the dining area into areas of responsibility for the various servers on duty. The plural...
comes from Petrus, one of Ramsay's London restaurants and has appeared in the first seven seasons. Susilovic was also the maître d' for the first series of the original British version. James Lukanik replaced Susilovic since the eighth season.
Each team also has the services of one of two sous-chefs. Scott Leibfried
Scott Leibfried
Scott Leibfried is a chef and culinary consultant best known for his work hosting and participating in cooking-related competition programs Hell's Kitchen and the Food Network Challenge....
has appeared in all seasons, the other sous-chef is Andrea "Andi" Van Willigan (from season 7 onwards). Previous sous-chefs are Mary Ann Salcedo, Gloria Felix and season 2 winner, Heather West.
| Chefs and Maître d's | Seasons | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| Gordon Ramsay | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ |
| Scott Leibfried (s) | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ |
| MaryAnn Salcedo (s) | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ||||||
| Gloria Felix (s) | ♦ | ♦ | |||||||
| Heather West (s) | ♦ | ||||||||
| Andi Van Willigan (s) | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ||||||
| Jean-Philippe Susilovic | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ♦ | ||
| James Lukanik | ♦ | ♦ | |||||||
(s) - Sous-chef
Broadcasting
The theme song of the show is "FireFire (Ohio Players song)
"Fire" is a hit song by R&B/funk band The Ohio Players. The song was released in late 1974 and it is the opening track from the album of the same name and peaked at the top of both the pop and soul charts. It spent one week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and five weeks at the top of the...
" by the Ohio Players
Ohio Players
The Ohio Players were an American funk and R&B band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their double #1 hit songs "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster".- Biography :...
. Hell's Kitchen USA when broadcast in the UK, Italy, Portugal and some countries (shown on the table below) feature only the instrumental version of this song.
| Country | Channel | Current Season | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Middle EastMiddle East The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East... |
MBC 4 MBC 4 MBC 4 is the first free-to-air national television channel in the Middle East aired specifically for American programs. The downside of this all is that MBC 2, MBC 3, MBC 4, MBC Action, MBC Max,and MBC Drama all show movies and TV programs that are edited: taking out all drug use, sexual content,... |
Unknown | |
| Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... |
STAR World STAR World STAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation... |
Season 9 ended | Premiered on October 17, 2011, but aired only three times a week. First new season to be aired outside of the USA, Canada and the UK. |
 Australia |
Go! Lifestyle | Season 8 | Previously carried by Nine Network Nine Network The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia... and Lifestyle Food Network |
 Belgium |
VT4 VT4 VT4 is a Flemish commercial television channel. It is part of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG.The channel began broadcasting on 1 February 1995. The channel initially had no Belgian broadcasting license and was transmitted via London . The channel now broadcasts legally from Zaventem in Belgium... |
Season 4 (ended) | Broadcast as Hell's Kitchen USA and left uncensored. Also shown on AB3 AB3 AB3 is a private commercial television channel of the French Community of Belgium.-History:The company YTV, jointly owned by AB Groupe, TF1 Group and WB holding, in 1995 filed an application for a broadcasting licence in the French Community of Belgium with Laurette Onkelinx, Minister-President of... (Season 3) |
 Brazil |
Club Casa TV | Season 5 | |
 Kingdom of Bulgaria |
Nova Television | Unknown | Previously broadcast on Nova+ Nova+ Nova+ was the first Bulgarian reality TV channel. The channel is now defunct.The channel launched with the start of the first season of Big Brother , which was also the very first reality show in Bulgaria... |
 Canada |
Current | Bleep censor Bleep censor A bleep censor is the replacement of profanity or classified information with a beep sound , in television or radio... ed; simsubbed Simultaneous substitution Simultaneous substitution is a practice mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requiring Canadian cable, direct broadcast satellite and multichannel multipoint distribution service television distribution companies to substitute the signal of a foreign or... with Fox in most areas. Reruns available on Food Network Canada |
|
 Mainland China |
ICS International Channel Shanghai International Channel Shanghai, better known as ICS, is the foreign-language cable channel of Shanghai Media Group. Long before the parent company was known as SMG, Shanghai Television Station began producing the English-language “News at Ten” in 1986. On January 1, 2008, ICS replaced the Shanghai... |
Season 4 | |
 Czech Republic |
TV Barrandov TV Barrandov TV Barrandov is a Czech television channel, launched in 2009. It was founded and started to broadcast on 2009. TV Barrandov currently broadcasts in Czech.-External links:*... |
Season 4 | Translated as Pekelná Kuchyně. Dubbed, profanity censored. After the seveth season was broadcasted the fourth started over again. |
 Estonia |
Kanal 12 | Season 3 | With uncensored Estonian subtitles. |
 Finland |
MTV3 MTV3 MTV3 is a Finnish commercial television station owned by Bonnier. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Finnish Broadcasting Company’s YLE1 took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV , due to the channel getting its revenue from running commercials... |
Season 6 | The title is translated as Kauhukeittiö which means "The Kitchen of Horrors". Profanity is left uncensored. |
 Early Modern France |
TMC Télé Monte Carlo Télé Monte Carlo or TMC Monte Carlo, traditionally known as TMC is a Monégasque general entertainment television channel.-History:The oldest private channel in Europe, TMC dates back to 1954, inaugurated by Rainier III, Prince of Monaco... |
Season 4(ended) | Season 4 has debuted in France on June 26th, 2011 and has ended on October 2nd, 2011. |
 Germany |
VIVA VIVA VIVA is a free-to-air 24-hour German language music and entertainment channel launched on December 1 1993 in Germany. The channel was originally operated by private German media group VIVA Fernsehen GmbH until 2004 when the brand was acquired by MTV Networks Europe... |
Season 5 | |
 Greece |
Makedonia TV | Season 2 | |
 Hungary |
Viasat3 | Season 6 | Season 6's last episode was broadcast on August 13, 2010. No episodes have been broadcast since then. |
 India |
TLC | Season 4 | |
 Republic of Ireland |
TV3 | Season 6(ended) | |
 Israel |
yes Next HD | Season 8 | Previously broadcast on yesStars Drama |
 Italy |
Sky Uno | Season 9 Season 7(Start) | |
| Fox Life Fox Life Fox Life is a television network, launched by the Fox Broadcasting Company, which airs across Latin America, Europe and Japan . Its basic programming include numerous television series, sitcoms and movies, among others, which includes some original programming in certain regions... |
Season 2 | Season 1 started on November 8, 2009. and Season 2 started on May 7, 2010. | |
 Lithuania |
BTV | Season 5 | |
 Malaysia |
Star World STAR World STAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation... |
Season 9 | Bleeped and pixelated to mask profanity. Astro Astro (Malaysian satellite television) Astro is the brand name of the Malaysian direct broadcast satellite pay television service. It transmits digital satellite television and radio to households in Malaysia & Brunei... mutes all profanity. The ninth season premiered on October 17, 2011, but aired only three times a week. Season 9 is the first new season to be aired outside of the USA, Canada and the UK. |
 Mexico |
Casa Club TV | Season 5 | Also available on Liv. |
| Net 5 NET 5 NET 5 is a commercial TV channel in the Netherlands owned by Sanoma and Talpa Holding . Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are SBS6 and Veronica.- History :... |
Season 8 | ||
 New Zealand |
TV2 | Season 7 | All profanity censored. Late night re-screenings of Hell's Kitchen on TV2 are mostly uncensored. |
 Norway |
TV3 TV3 (Norway) TV3 Norway is a commercial television channel targeting Norway owned by Viasat, which is a part of the Swedish media group Modern Times Group... |
Season 7 | |
 Philippines |
2nd Avenue | Season 3 (ended) | |
| Star World STAR World STAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation... |
Season 9 | Same with Asia feed with the premiere date shown above, but only five times a week. | |
 Poland |
TVN Style TVN Style TVN Style is a Polish channel aimed at women featuring the latest in fashion, health and beauty. It launched in August 2004 and is a part of the TVN network, owned by ITI Group.-Line-up:... |
Season 7 | Previously carried by Polsat Polsat Polsat is Poland's second biggest television channel, founded on December 5, 1992 and owned by Zygmunt Solorz-Żak.Polsat belongs to the Polsat Group , which also owns other channels:*Polsat HD*Polsat 2 International*Polsat News*TV Biznes... and kuchnia.tv |
 Portugal |
SIC Radical SIC Radical SIC Radical is a cable television channel in Portugal owned by Sociedade Independente de Comunicação.SIC Radical is an entertainment channel targeted at teens and young adults. Programs are mostly imported, mainly from the United States and the United Kingdom... |
Season 4 subtitled and onward uncensored | |
 Singapore |
Star World STAR World STAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation... |
Season 9 | Subtitled in Chinese and censored |
 Slovenia |
Kanal A Kanal A Kanal A is the first commercial television station in Slovenia. The television program, which has been operating within PRO PLUS d.o.o., has national coverage. In its primary target group of viewers , Kanal A is the second most watched TV programme in Slovenia... |
Unknown | Reruns on TV Pika TV Pika POP BRIO was launched by PRO PLUS in September 2010 and replaces the former TV Pika. POP BRIO is a brand new TV program in Slovenia. Its broadcasts of top series, reality shows and movie hits also specifically targets female viewers in the 18-34 age group... |
 Sweden |
TV3 TV3 (Sweden) TV3 is a television channel targeted at a Swedish language audience owned by Viasat . It was founded on 31 December 1987 by entrepreneur Jan Stenbeck as joint Scandinavian channel, but Denmark and Norway soon got their own versions of TV3... |
Season 7 | bleep censor Bleep censor A bleep censor is the replacement of profanity or classified information with a beep sound , in television or radio... ed when shown during the daytime, night time airings not censored. |
 Republic of China |
Star World | Season 9 | |
 Thailand |
Star World STAR World STAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation... |
Season 9 | Subtitled in Thai and censored |
 Turkey |
FX | Season 6 | |
 Ukraine |
CITI | Season 7(ended) | |
 United Kingdom |
ITV2 ITV2 ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the... |
Current | Broadcast as Hell's Kitchen USA (Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen USA from Season 8). Censored during watershed hours. |
 United States |
Fox Network Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... |
Current | bleep censor Bleep censor A bleep censor is the replacement of profanity or classified information with a beep sound , in television or radio... ed and pixelated Pixelization Pixelization is a video- and image-editing technique in which an image is blurred by displaying part or all of it at a markedly lower resolution. It is primarily used for censorship... to mask profanity |
In Turkey, Portugal, Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia, Hungary, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Korea, Ireland, Slovenia, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Italy and Japan, all the profane language is transmitted uncensored; however, in Hungary and Italy, the show is dubbed with local voices, so the original voices can't be heard clearly.
Setting
For the show's first two seasons, the Hell's Kitchen restaurant set itself was housed in the former studios of Los Angeles television station KCOP at 915 North La Brea Avenue, in Hollywood, which at one time hosted production of game shows Tic Tac Dough and The Joker's WildThe Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times during the 1970s through the 1990s. Contestants answered questions based on categories that were determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine....
. KCOP was acquired by News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
in 2001 and its studios were integrated with those of Fox affiliate KTTV
KTTV
KTTV, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in Los Angeles, California. Serving the vast Los Angeles metropolitan area, KTTV is a sister station to KCOP , Los Angeles' MyNetworkTV station...
in 2003, leaving the La Brea facility vacant. Originally the studio was put up for sale, but in the end they were retooled for the production of Hell's Kitchen. The dining room area was the location of the former KCOP news studios, and living quarters for the contestants were built on behind the restaurant. Before season three, the Hell's Kitchen facility was moved to 3322 La Cienega Place in Los Angeles. Since the fourth season, Hell's Kitchen's venue was located at 8660 Hayden Place in Culver City
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
.
Seasons
| Season | Original run | Winner | Runner-up | Other contestants in order of elimination | Contestants | Winner's prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 1) This article contains contestant information and episode summaries from Season 1 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen... |
May 30 - August 1, 2005 | Michael Wray | Ralph Pagano | Carolann Valentino, Jeff Dewberry, Jeff LaPoff (left), Wendy Liu, Mary Ellen Daniels, Chris North, Andrew Bonito, Jimmy Casey, Elsie Ramos, Jessica Cabo | 12 | Tatou in Los Angeles |
| 2 Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 2) This article contains contestant information and episode summaries from Season 2 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen.... |
June 12 - August 14, 2006 | Heather West | Virginia Dalbeck | Polly Holladay, Larry Sik (left), Gabe Cunningham, Giacomo Alfieri, Tom Pauley, Rachel Brown, Maribel Miller, Garrett Telle, Sara Horowitz, Keith Greene | Terra Rossa at Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino is a resort spa and casino owned by Station Casinos on located in the Summerlin village of Summerlin Centre in Summerlin, Nevada. Red Rock is located far off of the Las Vegas Strip; it is known as a locals casino. Located on Charleston Boulevard at the interchange of... in Las Vegas |
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| 3 Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 3) This article contains contestant information and episode summaries from Season 3 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen... |
June 4 - August 13, 2007 | Rahman “Rock” Harper Rahman “Rock” Harper Rahman “Rock” Harper is a chef, television personality and restauranteur. Rock is known for winning the third season of Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen-Early life:... |
Bonnie Muirhead | Tiffany Nagel, Eddie Langley, Aaron Song (left), Joanna Dunn, Vinnie Fama, Melissa Firpo, Brad Miller, Josh Wahler, Julia Williams, Jen Yemola | Terra Verde at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson Henderson, Nevada -Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile... |
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| 4 Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 4) Season 4 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen began airing on the Fox Network starting on April 1, 2008. The show was originally planned to air later in the season, but instead was aired as a replacement for shows that were affected by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of... |
April 1 - July 8, 2008 | Christina Machamer Christina Machamer Christina Machamer is an American chef who won the fourth season of Fox Network's reality cooking show Hell's Kitchen. She was awarded a chef position at Gordon Ramsay's new London West Hollywood restaurant where she earned a $250,000 yearly salary.-Early life:Christina, the daughter of Rick and... |
Louis "Petrozza" Petrozza | Dominic DiFrancesco, Sharon Stewart, Jason Underwood, Craig Schneider, Vannesa Gunnell (left), Shayna Raichilson-Zadok, Ben Caylor, Rosann Fama, Louross Edralin, Matt Sigel, Bobby Anderson, Jen Gavin, Corey Earling | 15 | London West Hollywood in Los Angeles |
| 5 Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 5) Season 5 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen began airing on the Fox Network starting on January 29, 2009. The season concluded on May 14, 2009.... |
January 29 - May 14, 2009 | Danny Veltri | Paula DaSilva | Wil Kocol, Ji-Hyun Cha (left), Charlie McKay, Seth Levine, Colleen Cleek, Coi Burruss, J Maxwell, Lacey D'Angelo, LA Limtiaco, Carol Scott, Giovanni Filipponi, Robert Hesse (left), Ben Walanka, Andrea Heinly | 16 | Fornelletto at the Borgata in Atlantic City Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast... |
| 6 Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 6) Season 6 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen began airing on the Fox Network on July 21, 2009. Gordon Ramsay returned as the host and head chef. Scott Leibfried returned as a sous chef for the blue team, for his sixth season. This season, Heather West, the winner of... |
July 21 - October 13, 2009 | Dave Levey | Kevin Cottle | Louie Cordio, Melinda Meaney, Joseph Tinnelly (left), Tony D'Alessandro, Lovely Jackson, Tek Moore, Jim McGloin, Robert Hesse, Amanda Davenport, Andy Husbands, Sabrina Gresset, Van Hurd, Suzanne Schlicht, Tennille Middleton, Ariel Contreras-Fox | 16 + 1 returning contestant | Araxi Restaurant and Bar in Whistler Whistler, British Columbia Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver... |
| 7 Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 7) Season 7 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen aired on the Fox Network from June 1, 2010 to August 10, 2010. The winner, Holli Ugalde, was promised the head chef position at Chef Ramsay's newly renovated restaurant at the Savoy Hotel in London... |
June 1 - August 10, 2010 | Holli Ugalde | Jason "Jay" Santos | Stacey Slichta, Andrew Forester (left), Mikey Termini, Jamie Bisoulis, Maria Torrisi, Scott Hawley, Salvatore Coppola, Siobhan Allgood, Fran Klier, Nilka Hendricks, Ed Battaglia, Jason Ellis, Autumn Lewis, Benjamin Knack | 16 | Savoy Grill at Savoy Hotel Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a hotel located on the Strand, in the City of Westminster in central London. Built by impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the hotel opened on 6 August 1889. It was the first in the Savoy group of hotels and restaurants owned by... in London |
| 8 Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 8) Season 8 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen was broadcast on the Fox Network on September 22, 2010 and ended on December 15, 2010. Sous Chef Nona Sivley won the season and was awarded a head chef position at the L.A. Market restaurant at the JW Marriott Hotel at L.A... |
September 22 - December 15, 2010 | Nona Sivley | Russell Kook II | Antonia Boregman (left), Lisa LaFranca, Lewis Curtis, Raj Brandston, Louis Repucci, Emily Kutchins, Melissa Doney, Boris Poleschuk, Rob McCue, Vinny Accardi Jr., Sabrina Brimhall, Gail Novenario, Trev McGrath, Jillian Flathers | LA Market at JW Marriott Hotel JW Marriott Hotels JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, namesake of John Willard Marriott, Founder, Chairman & CEO of is a luxury hotel chain. Found in major cities as well as vacation destinations world-wide, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts are becoming known in the hospitality industry for their practical approach to luxury... in Los Angeles |
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| 9 Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 9) Season 9 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen which premiered on July 18, 2011, on Fox. and concluded on September 19, 2011 with a two-hour season finale. Jr... |
July 18 - September 19, 2011 | Paul Niedermann | Will Lustberg | Jason Zepaltas (left), Steven Paluba, Brendan Heavey, Amanda Colello, Chino Chang, Gina Melcher, Monterray Keys, Krupa Patel, Jonathon Plumley, Jamie Gregorich, Carrie Keep, Natalie Blake, Elizabeth Bianchi, Jennifer Normant, Tommy Stevens, Elise Wims | 18 | BLT Steak in New York City |
Awards and nominations
Hell's Kitchen has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Art Direction for Variety, Music or Nonfiction Programming category in 2007, 2008 and 2009. It has also been nominated for two Art Directors Guild Awards in the Television — Awards Show, Variety, Music or Non-Fiction Program category in 2007 and 2008, winning one in 2008. It has also been nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Series.In 2009, Gordon Ramsay won an Astra Award for Favourite International Personality or Actor.
In the 2011 People's Choice Awards Hell's Kitchen was nominated for Favorite Reality Show and Gordon Ramsay was nominated for Favorite TV Chef
Apparently many of the show's winners did not receive the exact prize that was offered, but received different, and what could be deemed lesser positions.
DVD releases
Visual EntertainmentVisual Entertainment
Visual Entertainment Inc. is a home video/television distribution company that is based in Toronto, Ontario Canada. It is an independent label but has managed to release quite a few well-known TV series on DVD.-Children:* The Big Adventure Series...
has released the first five seasons of Hell's Kitchen in Region 1. Season 6 will be released in Canada on November 1, 2011 and in the US on February 7, 2012.
In Region 4, Shock Entertainment
Shock Records
Shock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...
has released seasons 1-8 on DVD in Australia.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release dates | ||
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| Region 1 (CAN) | Region 1 (US) | Region 4 | ||
| Hell's Kitchen USA - Season 1: Raw and Uncut | 10 | April 8, 2008 | December 1, 2008 | |
| Hell's Kitchen USA - Season 2: Raw and Uncut | 10 | October 27, 2009 | May 11, 2010 | February 2, 2009 |
| Hell's Kitchen USA - Season 3: Raw and Uncut | 11 | August 10, 2010 | September 21, 2010 | February 2, 2009 |
| Hell's Kitchen USA - Season 4: Raw and Uncut | 15 | November 16, 2010 | November 9, 2010 | April 1, 2009 |
| Hell's Kitchen USA - Season 5: Raw and Uncut | 15 | August 30, 2011 | August 30, 2011 | November 27, 2009 |
| Hell's Kitchen USA - Season 6: Raw and Uncut | 15 | November 1, 2011 | February 7, 2012 | March 9, 2011 |
| Hell's Kitchen USA - Season 7: Raw and Uncut | 15 | TBA | TBA | May 11, 2011 |
| Hell's Kitchen USA - Season 8: Raw and Uncut | 15 | TBA | TBA | May 11, 2011 |
| Hell's Kitchen USA - Season 9 | 16 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Hell's Kitchen: The Game
On September 11, 2008, UbisoftUbisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
released Hell's Kitchen: The Game for the Nintendo DS, Windows, and iOS which features the likeness of Ramsay, and the many important tasks shown in the U.S. version of the show.
On April 2, 2009, Ludia and Social2u released the official Facebook version of the Hell's Kitchen game.