| 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 16 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox between September 23, 2016 and February 2, 2017. Event chef Kimberly-Ann Ryan, from Traverse City, Michigan, was the winner of the season and was awarded a Head Chef position at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar at The Venetian in Las Vegas, with a $250,000 salary.
Contestants[]
18 contestants competed during this season. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica Boynton | 32 | University Chef | Raleigh, NC |
| Genaro Delillo | 26 | Sous Chef | Lebanon, PA |
| Paulie Giganti | 34 | Executive Chef | Brooklyn, NY |
| Shaina Hayden | 28 | Banquet Chef | Long Island, NY |
| Matt Hearn | 27 | Sauté Chef | Los Angeles, CA |
| Johnny McDevitt | 29 | Burger Chef | Philadelphia, PA |
| Wendy Mendez | 32 | Line Cook & Pastry Chef | Bronx, NY |
| Heidi Parent | 33 | Executive Chef | Auburn, ME |
| Andrew Pearce | 27 | Sous Chef | Prospect Park, PA |
| Kimberly Roth | 34 | Sushi Chef | Ontario, NY |
| Kimberly-Ann Ryan | 29 | Event Chef | Traverse City, MI |
| Devin Simpson | 33 | Assistant Restaurant Manager | Mount Pleasant, SC |
| Aaron Smock | 22 | Culinary Student | Frankenmuth, MI |
| Pat Tortorello | 47 | Culinary Instructor | Belleville, NJ |
| Heather Williams | 26 | Sous Chef | Easton, PA |
| Koop Wynkoop | 28 | Kitchen Manager | Carey, OH |
| Aziza Young | 34 | Harrisburg, PA | |
| Gia Young | 31 | Catering Chef | Queens, NY |
Contestant progress[]
At the end of each episode, one chef is eliminated from the losing team by Ramsay. The season is the third, overall and consecutive, that featured an all-female final three, as well as the second that featured an elimination where two chefs were eliminated instead of one, and the third that featured a chef eliminated after a challenge and this season marks the fourth time that the final two chefs avoided elimination following Seasons 6, 7, and 14.
| # | Chef | Original Teams | First Switch |
Second Switch | Black Jackets |
Finals | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1601 | 1602 | 1603 | 1604 | 1605 | 1606 | 1607 | 1608 | 1609 | 1610 | 1611 | 1612 | 1613 | 1614 | 1615 | 1616 | |||||
| 1 | Ryan | WINNER | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Heather | RUNNER-UP | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Heidi | OUT[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Paulie | NOM | NOM[2] | NOM | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Kimberly | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Andrew | OUT[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Devin | NOM | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Wendy | NOM | NOM | NOM[2] | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Matt | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Shaina | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Koop | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Johnny | NOM[2] | OUT[3] | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Aziza | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Aaron | NOM | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Gia | NOM | OUT[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Jessica | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Genaro | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Pat | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| Final Service Brigades | |
|---|---|
| Heather | Ryan |
| Andrew | Heidi |
| Kimberly | Paulie |
| Shaina | Koop |
| Devin | Wendy |
| 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 pages.
| # | Image | Title | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 
|
Episode 1601 - When the Wall Comes Tumbling Down | September 23, 2016 | |
| Episode Rundown: The eighteen new chefs were put into boot camp, the Signature Dish Challenge took place, and one chef got put in their place when they tried to break the fourth wall. | ||||
| 02 | 
|
Episode 1602 - Crepe Grand Prix | September 30, 2016 | |
| Episode Rundown: A race featuring crepes took place, one team continued to struggle at dinner service, and Ramsay sent home a chef that lacked passion. | ||||
| 03 | 
|
Episode 1603 - The Yolks on Them | October 7, 2016 | |
| Episode Rundown: Ostrich was the main ingredient, one chef threatened to quit the competition, and another lied about an injury during service. | ||||
| 04 | 
|
Episode 1604 - Surf Riding & Turf Fighting | October 14, 2016 | |
| Episode Rundown: Ramsay tested the chefs' surf and turf knowledge, and a shocking, but satisfying, elimination of an early bitchy chef occurred. | ||||
| 05 | 
|
Episode 1605 - Walking the Plank | October 21, 2016 | |
| Episode Rundown: Pirates greeted the chefs before the challenge, one chef's bunch of questions annoyed their teammates, and a controversial elimination of a chef who did not do anything wrong during service occurred. | ||||
| 06 | 
|
Episode 1606 - Let the Catfights Begin | November 4, 2016 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs cooked by the alphabet, a Family Night dinner service took place, and one team conspired to sabotage one of their own. | ||||
| 07 | 
|
Episode 1607 - Don't Tell My Fiancé | November 11, 2016 | |
| Episode Rundown: Southern Cuisine was the main theme, one chef almost lost a finger, two station meltdowns caused one team to fall apart at dinner service, and the first team switch occurred. | ||||
| 08 | 
|
Episode 1608 - Dancing with the Chefs | November 18, 2016 | |
| Episode Rundown: Hell's Kitchen hosted an International Dance Competition, and one chef brought their team down by failing to do a simple request. | ||||
| 09 | 
|
Episode 1609 - Spoon Fed | December 9, 2016 | |
| Episode Rundown: The annual Blind Taste Test occurred, one team set a new low at dinner service, and a temper tantrum at the dorms produced a shocking elimination. | ||||
| 10 | 
|
Episode 1610 - Dancing in the Grotto | December 16, 2016 | |
| Episode Rundown: A red chef joined the blue team, sliders were the main dish, both teams had terrible performances at dinner service, and a shocking double elimination took place. | ||||
| 11 | 
|
Episode 1611 - Aerial Maneuvers | January 5, 2017 | |
| Episode Rundown: The teams competed in the Taste Now Make It Challenge, and a private dinner service took place. | ||||
| 12 | 
|
Episode 1612 - Fusion Confusion | January 5, 2017 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs worked with fusion dishes, one team continued their dominance of the other at dinner service, and one team turned on each other at elimination. | ||||
| 13 | 
|
Episode 1613 - Black Jacket Lounge | January 12, 2017 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs reunited with their loved ones, and competed in a series of challenges to earn a black jacket. | ||||
| 14 | 
|
Episode 1614 - Playing Your Cards Right | January 19, 2017 | |
| Episode Rundown: The final five competed in their first black jacket challenge, worked as Ramsay's Sous Chefs, and a shocking double elimination took place. | ||||
| 15 | 
|
Episode 1615 - Tequila Shots? | January 26, 2017 | |
| Episode Rundown: The final three's tableside skills were tested, they took turns running the pass, and Ramsay picked two of them for the finals. | ||||
| 16 | 
|
Episode 1616 - Leaving It on the Line | February 2, 2017 | |
| Episode Rundown: Heather and Ryan 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[]
- This season's team stage is one of the most one-sided in the show's history, the red team won a record eight dinner services.
- Inversely, the blue team was ejected from service seven times, the most out of any other team in the show's history.
- This is the first season where the final three chefs all avoided nomination.
- It would happen for the second time in Season 22: The American Dream.
- This is the first season to feature original episode titles as opposed to "Remaining Number" Chefs Compete that were used in the previous seasons.
- This is the third consecutive season with an all-female finale and all-female final three.
- This is the third season and the last one to this date where only one male contestant made it to the black jackets.
- This was the last season where the Signature Dish Challenge was held in front of a live audience until Season 20: Young Guns.
- This season introduced the "Black Jacket Lounge".
- This is the final season where Andi Van Willigan was the red team's sous chef.
- This is the final season this date to not feature a subtitle.
- This is the third season where every contestant participated in at least one punishment, following Seasons 12 and 14.
- This is the second season to have two eliminations before the semifinals elimination where two contestants were eliminated instead of one, following Season 11.
- This is the first season to air in two different years (it started in late September 2016 and ended in early February 2017).
- This is the last season to date to feature an intro displaying all the contestants' names.
- This is the last season to this date where the black jackets choose an individual who should not proceed to the finals before the finale.
- Future Reappearances: Heather would return in Rookies vs. Veterans.
- Kimberly was invited to All-Stars, but she turned it down as she felt coming back for another season was too much.
- This is the first season where two contestants that switched teams in the same episode were later eliminated in the same episode.
- This is the last season to feature the original long sleeve chef jackets.
- This is the ninth season when a contestant won without being nominated for elimination.