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Season 12 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox between March 13 and July 24, 2014. Executive Chef Scott Commings, from Woodstock, Illinois, 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. He was awarded this position because Season 11 winner failed a drug test and was not allowed to work at this place.
Contestants[]
This season marked the second time 20 contestants competed and tied with Season 11 for the most contestants competing. The teams were divided by gender, male contestants in the blue team and female contestants in the red team. Jason Zepaltas was a returning contestant who initially competed on Season 9 but left for health reasons. The contestants were (in alphabetical order):
| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Aresta | 38 | Chef Instructor | Keyport, NJ |
| Rochelle Bergman | 27 | Catering Chef | Riverside, CA |
| Scott Commings | 36 | Executive Chef | Woodstock, IL |
| Michael DeMarco | 29 | Line Cook | Scranton, PA |
| Chris Eversole | 27 | Las Vegas, NV | |
| Melanie Finch | 24 | Woodland Hills, CA | |
| Sandra Flores | 36 | Sous Chef | Queens, NY |
| Michael Gabriel | 26 | Executive Chef | Spring, TX |
| Simone Hammond | 43 | Buffet Cook | Henderson, NV |
| Ralph Johnson | 28 | Chef de Partie | Boston, MA |
| Bev Lazo-Gonzalez | 42 | Food Truck Chef | Whittier, CA |
| Richard Mancini | 48 | Executive Chef | Bloomingdale, IL |
| Gaurav Navin | 34 | East Stroudsburg, PA | |
| Joy Parham-Thomas | 25 | Kitchen Supervisor | Philadelphia, PA |
| Nicole Rutz | 33 | Baker | Morganville, NJ |
| Beth Taylor | 43 | Line Cook | Independence, LA |
| Anton Testino | 39 | Head Chef | Butler, NJ |
| Jessica Vogel | 29 | Line Cook | Sparta, NJ |
| Jason Zepaltas | 31 | Sous Chef | Chicago, IL |
| Kashia Zollicoffer | 23 | Line Cook | Carthage, MS |
Contestant progress[]
At the end of each episode, one chef is eliminated from the losing team by Ramsay. That season featured a mid-service elimination for the first time since Season 7.
| # | Chef | Original Teams | First Switch |
Second Switch |
Black Jackets | Finals | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1201 | 1202 | 1203 | 1204 | 1205 | 1206 | 1207 | 1208 | 1209 | 1210 | 1211 | 1212 | 1213 | 1214 | 1216 | 1217 | 1218 | 1219 | 1220 | ||||||
| 1 | Scott | NOM | NOM | NOM | NOM | NOM | NOM | NOM[1] | WINNER | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Jason | NOM | RUNNER-UP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Melanie | OUT[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Rochelle | NOM[3] | NOM | OUT[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Joy | LEFT | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Kashia | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Gabriel | NOM | NOM | NOM | NOM | NOM | EJEC | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Anton | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Richard | NOM[1] | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Sandra | NOM | NOM[3] | NOM | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Ralph | NOM[1] | OUT[4] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Jessica | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Bev | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Chris | NOM[3] | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Beth | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | DeMarco | NOM | NOM | NOM | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Mike | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Simone | NOM | LEFT | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | Nicole | NOM | OUT[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | Gaurav | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Final Service Brigades | |
|---|---|
| Scott | Jason |
| Chris | Anton |
| Ralph | Melanie |
| Rochelle | Gabriel |
| Kashia | Bev |
| Jessica | Sandra |
| 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 all the episodes of the season, with links to the detailed articles.
| # | Image | Title | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 
|
Episode 1201 - 20 Chefs Compete | March 13, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: The twenty chefs arrived at Hell's Kitchen, a returning chef promised to stay longer after their very short stint last time, another was put in their place during the signature dish challenge, and the worst opening night in the show's history occurred. | ||||
| 02 | 
|
Episode 1202 - 19 Chefs Compete | March 20, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: The teams competed in a relay race, dinner service was another nightmare, and a satisfying elimination of an early bitch took place. | ||||
| 03 | 
|
Episode 1203 - 18 Chefs Compete | March 27, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: Potato was the main ingredient, two chefs got ill before service, another disastrous dinner service had Ramsay order a record-breaking nomination number, and one chef gave up at elimination. | ||||
| 04 | 
|
Episode 1204 - 17 Chefs Compete | April 3, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: Ravioli was the main dish, one team finally won a dinner service, and one chef was put in their place for yelling at needed help. | ||||
| 05 | 
|
Episode 1205 - 16 Chefs Compete | April 10, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs paired side dishes to main proteins, a special wedding brunch service took place, and one chef finally bit the bullet after surviving multiple eliminations. | ||||
| 06 | 
|
Episode 1206 - 15 Chefs Compete | April 17, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: Leaders were chosen, one team made a comeback at dinner service, and one leader proved to be ineffective. | ||||
| 07 | 
|
Episode 1207 - 14 Chefs Compete | April 24, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: Pizza was the main dish, a Family Night dinner service took place, and one chef wasted a lot of ingredients on what should have been an easy dish. | ||||
| 08 | 
|
Episode 1208 - 13 Chefs Compete | May 1, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: Hell's Kitchen hosted a sorority anniversary party, one chef showed their rude side to the committee, and another gave up their station after performing poorly. | ||||
| 09 | 
|
Episode 1209 - 12 Chefs Compete | May 8, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: Ramsay gave out progress reports, and for the first time ever, two chefs competed in a individual challenge to stay in the competition, leading to an emotional exit. | ||||
| 10 | 
|
Episode 1210 - 11 Chefs Compete | May 15, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: Ramsay took the chefs out for lunch, one team dominated over the other at dinner service, and one chef changed their team’s nominations to save their own butt. | ||||
| 11 | 
|
Episode 1211 - 10 Chefs Compete | May 22, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: Pork was the main ingredient, one team learned the struggles of being a chef during punishment, and the first team switch had the largest turnover in the show's history. | ||||
| 12 | 
|
Episode 1212 - 10 Chefs Again | May 29, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: One chef got their revenge against their former teammates during the challenge, a private dinner service took place, and one chef failed to impress their new teammates and Ramsay. | ||||
| 13 | 
|
Episode 1213 - 9 Chefs Compete | June 5, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: The teams put their menus to the test, a shocking elimination took place, and the second team switch occurred. | ||||
| 14 | 
|
Episode 1214 - 8 Chefs Compete | June 12, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: The annual Blind Taste Test took place, an unexpected chef made a comeback at dinner service, and an arrogant chef pushed their Sous Chef to their limit, leading to a satisfying elimination. | ||||
| 15 | 
|
Episode 1215 - 7 Chefs Compete | June 19, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: The teams cooked dishes on a budget, and for the first time ever, competed in an individual challenge for the first black jacket of that season. | ||||
| 16 | 
|
Episode 1216 - 7 Chefs Again | June 26, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: The winner of the Black Jackets challenge was revealed, dinner service was rough on both ends, and one chef did not make through the entire night. | ||||
| 17 | 
|
Episode 1217 - 6 Chefs Compete | July 3, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: The final six competed in their first black jackets challenge, one chef woke up hungover during prep, and two others lost their tempers at Ramsay. | ||||
| 18 | 
|
Episode 1218 - 5 Chefs Compete | July 10, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: The final five worked with leftovers, fingertips were lost, a comic book legend dined at dinner service, and the most shocking exit of that season's consistent chef took place. | ||||
| 19 | 
|
Episode 1219 - 4 Chefs Compete | July 17, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: The final four reunited with their loved ones, took turns running the pass, and Ramsay pick two chefs for the final two. | ||||
| 20 | 
|
Episode 1220 - Winner Chosen | July 24, 2014 | |
| Episode Rundown: Scott and Jason competed in their final challenge, picked their brigades for the final dinner service, and one of them was named the winner of Hell's Kitchen. | ||||
Trivia[]
- Tied with Season 10, this season is the second longest season of Hell's Kitchen with 20 episodes.
- This is also the third and last season to date to have more than 16 episodes.
- Despite being short of 2 episodes than Season 11, this season holds the record for the most dinner services and elimination challenges, with 19, compared to Season 11's 18.
- This is the second season to have no winning team on opening night, following Season 8, and would later happen in Season 22. This is also the only season to date where both teams lost the first three dinner services.
- Tied with Seasons 10 and 11, this season holds the record for having the services that ended with both teams losing, with six.
- Excluding joint-victories, this season's red team is tied with Season 10's red team for the second most dinner service wins, with five.
- This is the first season where every contestant participated in at least one punishment.
- This season holds the record for the most contestants being nominated in one night during a traditional elimination, with six.
- This is the first season to feature two quits, and with two distinctions:
- This marked the first time a chef quit after being nominated
- This marked the first time a black jacket chef quit mid-service.
- This is the first season where there was no dinner service (excluding two-part episodes) where the dinner service took place in the second half.
- This is the final season where Jean-Philippe Susilovic was the maître d', and the final season to feature an original staff member (besides Gordon Ramsay) since Season 1.
- This season and Season 11 are tied for beginning with the most number of contestants, with 20.
- This season introduced the Cook For Your Life Challenge and marked the first time a chef was eliminated during a challenge. This season also introduced the Black Jacket Challenge and featured the first and only time a black jacket chef participated in dinner service during the team format.
- This is the last season to date to have a Red Menu vs. Blue Menu service.
- This is the last season to date where there were only two male chefs competing in the final challenge.
- At age 36, Scott is the first oldest winner in the history of the show (streak was later broken by the Season 19 winner), the winner with the most nominations throughout the season, with seven, as well as the first and so far only winner to have never announced the nominees.
- This season's blue team set the worst record which lost for the first five dinner services (including joint losing with the red team). However, this is not the worst record set by a single team in the history of the show overall.
- This season along with Season 11 are both the only seasons where chef tables were hosted in the finals.
- Future appearances:
- Scott was featured in a parade in Season 15. He also returned in Season 16 along with Season 4 winner Christina Machamer to greet the Signature Dish Challenge winners. He also returned as a VIP guest at the chef's table in Season 19.
- This was the last season to date to have a male winner, until Season 20.
- This was the last season to date to have an all-male finale, until Season 22.
- This is the first season to have a returning chef advance to both the black jackets and the finals.