Season 11

Hell's Kitchen Seasons
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24

Season 11
The cast lined up (not seen are Sebastian, Gina, Christian, Danielle, and Jeremy)
Airdate:	March 12 – July 25, 2013
Number of Episodes:	22
Number of Contestants:	20
Winner:	Ja'Nel Witt
Runner-Up:	Mary Poehnelt
Season Chronology
Previous Season:	Season 10
Next Season:	Season 12
Intro Sequence
Hell's Kitchen Season 11 Into
Images of Season 11

Season 11 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox between March 12 and July 25, 2013. Executive Chef Ja'Nel Witt, from Houston, Texas, was the winner of that season and was awarded a Head Chef position at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, with a $250,000 salary. However, she was denied the position due to unforseen circumstances, but kept the money and the title of "Season 11" winner. The position at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill was subsequently given to the winner of the next season.

Contestants

This season marked the first time 20 contestants competed and is tied with Season 12 for the most contestants competing. The teams were divided by gender, male contestants in the blue team and female contestants in the red team. The contestants were (in alphabetical order):

Contestant	Age	Occupation	Hometown
Gina Aloise	49	Line Cook	Bronx, NY
Ray Alongi	51	Executive Chef	Boston, MA
Jacqueline Baldassari	27	Roundsman	Florence, NJ
Barret Beyer	35	Head Chef	Long Island, NY
Danielle Boorn	33	Executive Chef	Atlanta, GA
Amanda Giblin	28		Orange County, NY
Nedra Harris	24	Kitchen Manager	Detroit, MI
Susan Heaton	29	Culinary Student	Whittier, CA
Michael Langdon	33	Executive Chef	Plains, PA
Jessica Lewis	25	Chef Tournant	New York, NY
Jeremy Madden	22	Lead Cook	Los Angeles, CA
Mary Poehnelt	26	Butcher & Line Cook	Belchertown, MA
Anthony Rodriguez	27	Line Chef	New Orleans, LA
Christian Rosati	38	Line Cook & Sandwich Maker	Boston, MA
Sebastian Royo	32	Sous Chef	Brooklyn, NY
Dan Ryan	27	Head Cook	Westchester, NY
Jon Scallion		Chef de Cuisine	York, PA
Cyndi Stanimirov	25	Head Chef	Queens, NY
Ja'Nel Witt	31	Executive Chef	Houston, TX
Zach Womack	34	Head Line Cook	Philadelphia, PA

Contestant progress

At the end of each episode, one chef from the losing team is eliminated by Ramsay. On that season, an elimination from the winning team, and Ramsay giving a "Best of the Worst" nomination, happened for the first time since Season 8.

#	Chef				Original Teams											First Switch		Second Switch	Black Jackets			Finals
					1102	1103	1104	1105	1106	1107	1108	1109	1110	1111	1112	1113	1115	1116	1118	1119	1120	1121	1122
1				Ja'Nel																NOM		WINNER
2				Mary		NOM		NOM	NOM											NOM		RUNNER-UP
3			Jon														BoW				OUT
4			Cyndi										NOM					NOM	NOM		OUT
5			Susan							NOM						NOM		NOM	NOM	OUT
6	Zach												NOM	NOM	NOM		NOM	OUT
7	Anthony																OUT
8		Nedra							NOM					NOM		OUT
9	Michael														OUT
10	Ray								NOM	NOM				OUT
11	Barret										NOM		OUT
12	Amanda											NOM	OUT
13	Jacqueline						NOM	NOM				OUT
14	Dan								NOM	NOM	OUT
15	Jessica						NOM			OUT
16	Jeremy				NOM	NOM		OUT
17	Danielle					NOM	OUT
18	Christian					OUT
19	Gina					LEFT
20	Sebastian				OUT

Final Service Brigades
Ja'Nel	Mary
Cyndi	Jon
Susan	Anthony
Zach	Nedra
Amanda	Michael
Ray	Dan

Color Legend
NOM	Regular Nomination	Ramsay Nomination	Voided Nomination
OUT	Regular Elimination	Ramsay Nomination	Without Nomination
MISC	Ejected during service	Quit or Hospitalized	Best of the Best/Worst

Episodes

Here is the list of episodes of that season, with links to detailed pages.

#	Image	Title	Airdate
01		Episode 1101 - 20 Chefs Compete Part 1	March 12, 2013
		Episode Rundown: The new contestants arrived in Los Angeles thinking they would go to Hell's Kitchen, but got a surprise. Also, the Signature Dish Challenge occurred in front of a live audience for the first time, and two chefs from different genders were already annoying their teammates on their own way.
02		Episode 1102 - 20 Chefs Compete Part 2	March 12, 2013
		Episode Rundown: A beloved staff member made a return, the eleventh opening night of Hell's Kitchen, including a record of ejections, occurred, and one chef was put back in their place for not taking the competition seriously.
03		Episode 1103 - 19 Chefs Compete	March 19, 2013
		Episode Rundown: Lobster was the main ingredient, a shocking departure occurred before the challenge, and a serious injury occurred during the challenge.
04		Episode 1104 - 17 Chefs Compete	March 26, 2013
		Episode Rundown: A service challenge to raise awareness to a worthy cause occurred, a new rivalry was born between two teammates, and one chef was nominated for no apparent reasons.
05		Episode 1105 - 16 Chefs Compete Part 1	April 2, 2013
		Episode Rundown: The chefs' protein knowledge was tested, a special breakfast service took place, and one chef made one of the stupidest mistakes in the show's history.
06		Episode 1106 - 16 Chefs Compete Part 2	April 9, 2013
		Episode Rundown: Both teams took the gloves off, two chefs became waiters for their respective teams, and dinner service was so frustrating that Ramsay did something he never done before at elimination.
07		Episode 1107 - 15 Chefs Compete	April 16, 2013
		Episode Rundown: Chinese Cuisine was the main theme, the four chefs worked hard to get their jackets back, and a shocking elimination occurred.
08		Episode 1108 - 14 Chefs Compete	April 23, 2013
		Episode Rundown: A Family Night dinner service took place, one team served raw food to the staff's family, and a satisfying elimination of a very arrogant chef took place.
09		Episode 1109 - 13 Chefs Compete	April 30, 2013
		Episode Rundown: Steak was the main ingredient, and one team suffered from mass miscommunication during dinner service.
10		Episode 1110 - 12 Chefs Compete	May 7, 2013
		Episode Rundown: Hell's Kitchen hosted a quinceañera, both teams made the birthday girl's night one to remember in the worst way, and a shocking double elimination occurred.
11		Episode 1111 - 10 Chefs Compete	May 13, 2013
		Episode Rundown: One chef lost their temper after losing another challenge, a private service featuring serviceman took place, and the oldest chef of the season was eliminated.
12		Episode 1112 - 9 Chefs Compete	May 13, 2013
		Episode Rundown: The teams put their menus to the test, a shocking elimination took place, and a simple order to move to the blue team put the red team in shambles.
13		Episode 1113 - 8 Chefs Compete	May 23, 2013
		Episode Rundown: A red chef became a blue chef, both teams had their worst dinner service yet, and an elimination of an explosive chef took place.
14		Episode 1114 - 7 Chefs Compete Part 1	May 30, 2013
		Episode Rundown: The annual Blind Taste Test took place, and for the first time ever, the chefs competed in an individual challenge for immunity.
15		Episode 1115 - 7 Chefs Compete Part 2	June 6, 2013
		Episode Rundown: One chef finally cooked a struggling protein properly, an early front runner was sent home, and the second team switch took place.
16		Episode 1116 - 6 Chefs Compete	June 13, 2013
		Episode Rundown: One team ended their winning streak in the worst way possible, one chef needed medical attention, and another's luck soon ran out.
17		Episode 1117 - 5 Chefs Compete Part 1	June 20, 2013
		Episode Rundown: The final five reunited with their loved ones, became black jackets, and competed in their first black jacket challenge.
18		Episode 1118 - 5 Chefs Compete Part 2	June 27, 2013
		Episode Rundown: The final five competed against former winners at dinner service, and nobody was sent home.
19		Episode 1119 - 5 Chefs Compete Part 3	July 11, 2013
		Episode Rundown: The final five cooked burgers for Jean-Philippe's friends, a dreadful service had Ramsay leave his own kitchen for the third time ever, and nobody could agree who the nominees were.
20		Episode 1120 - 4 Chefs Compete	July 18, 2013
		Episode Rundown: The final four competed in the Taste It Now Make It Challenge, took turns running the pass, and Ramsay picked two of them for the finals.
21		Episode 1121 - 2 Chefs Compete	July 25, 2013
		Episode Rundown: Ja'Nel and Mary created their menus, met with a current winner, competed in their final challenge, and reunited with their teammates.
22		Episode 1122 - Winner Chosen	July 25, 2013
		Episode Rundown: Ja'Nel and Mary led their brigades for the final dinner service, one did something nobody had ever done before, and one of them was named the winner of Hell's Kitchen.

Trivia

• This is the longest season of Hell's Kitchen to date, with 22 episodes and has the series' only three-part episode.
• This is the second season since Season 2 to have an all-female finale.
  • It is also the second season since Season 5 to have a female runner-up.
• This is the first season in the show's history where the Signature Dish Challenge was done in front of a live audience, and the first where it took place outside of Hell's Kitchen.
• This season and Season 12 are tied for beginning with the most number of contestants, with 20.
• This is the first season where the Signature Dish Challenge is a separate episode from the Opening Night Service, which wouldn't be a tradition until Season 17.
• This season's blue team, along with Season 10's blue team, mark the worst start, as they set the record of first five losses in the first three challenges and the first two dinner services. This record is broken by Season 20's blue team.
• Tied with Seasons 10 and 12, this season holds the record for having the most services that ended with both teams losing, with six.
• The red team this season holds the record of most challenge wins, as they won 10 of the 12 team challenges that took place.
  • This is also the first season where a team won the first four challenges.
  • Inversely, the blue team this season holds the record of most challenge losses, as they won only 2 of the 12 team challenges that took place. This is also the only season where a team lost six straight challenges.
• This season's blue team holds the record for the most eliminations from a single team, with 10.
• This season marked the first time ever where two chefs were formally eliminated in one night instead of one during a traditional elimination, and the first season to feature a double elimination twice (counted with the double elimination before the finale).
• This is the only season ever where a contestant withdrew before a team challenge began.
• This is the first season where only one male contestant made it to the black jackets.
• This season along with Season 12 are both the only seasons where chef tables were hosted in the finals.
• This is the first season where James Avery was the blue team's sous chef.
• This season marked the first time an individual challenge took place during the team phase.
• This season marked the first time that both of the finalists had been nominated for elimination at the same time.
• This season features the highest number of services before a team switch occurred, with eleven.
• This season holds the record for having the longest streak of blue team members eliminated, with six.
• This is the third season where Chef Ramsay walked out during service.
• This is the only season where chefs were put on probation.
• This is the last season to date where a chef was assigned as a waiter during service.
• This is the only season where the final two were given the option to trade members of their brigade, although this option was not exercised.
• Future Reappearances: Jon returned in Season 13 for the 200th dinner service and in Seasons 21 and 22 to act as the third Sous Chef for the Final Tasting Challenge.