| Hell's Kitchen Seasons | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 2 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox between June 12 and August 14, 2006. Sous chef Heather West, from Port Jefferson, New York, was the winner of that season and became Executive Chef at the Terra Rossa restaurant inside the Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino in Las Vegas, with a $250,000 salary.
Contestants[]
12 contestants competed during this season. The contestants were (in alphabetical order):
| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giacomo Alfieri | 21 | Pizza Chef | Euless, TX |
| Rachel Brown | 39 | Personal Chef | Dallas, TX |
| Virginia Dalbeck | 25 | Salad Chef | New York City, NY |
| Gabe Gagliardi | 27 | Marketing Executive | Chicago, IL |
| Keith Greene | 28 | Chef & Bartender | Southampton, NY |
| Polly Holladay | 43 | Caterer | Ben Franklin, TX |
| Sara Horowitz | 31 | Deli Manager | Dallas, TX |
| Maribel Miller | Cafeteria Chef | Brooklyn, NY | |
| Tom Pauley | 43 | Former Stockbroker | Belleville, NJ |
| Larry Sik | 38 | Fishmonger | Arlington, TX |
| Garrett Telle | 27 | Former Prison Chef | Cedar Park, TX |
| Heather West | 25 | Sous Chef | Port Jefferson, NY |
Contestant progress[]
At the end of each episode, one chef from the losing team is eliminated by Ramsay, after being picked by the "Best of the Worst", determined by Ramsay after the last dinner service.
| # | Chef | Original Teams | Team Switch | Black Jackets | Finals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | 202 | 203 | 204 | 205 | 206 | 207 | 208 | 209 | 210/211 | |||||
| 1 | Heather | BoW | BoW | WINNER | ||||||||||
| 2 | Virginia | NOM | NOM | BoW | NOM[1] | NOM | NOM | NOM[1] | RUNNER-UP | |||||
| 3 | Keith | BoW | BoW | OUT[2] | ||||||||||
| 4 | Sara | BoW | NOM[1] | OUT | ||||||||||
| 5 | Garrett | BoW | OUT | |||||||||||
| 6 | Maribel | NOM | OUT[2] | |||||||||||
| 7 | Rachel | NOM[3] | OUT | |||||||||||
| 8 | Tom | NOM[4] | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||
| 9 | Giacomo | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||
| 10 | Gabe | OUT[2] | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Larry | HOSP | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Polly | OUT | ||||||||||||
| Final Service Brigades | |
|---|---|
| Virginia | Heather |
| Keith | Rachel |
| Tom | Sara |
| Giacomo | Garrett |
| 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 a list of all the episodes of the season, with links for the detailed articles.
| # | Image | Title | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 
|
Episode 201 - 12 Chefs | June 12, 2006 | |
| Episode Rundown: The new chefs and the staff were introduced, the teams were divided, and the opening night was nothing to cheer about. | ||||
| 02 | 
|
Episode 202 - 11 Chefs | June 12, 2006 | |
| Episode Rundown: A smelly group punishment to begin the day, the first emotional departure, and a surprise elimination occurred. | ||||
| 03 | 
|
Episode 203 - 9 Chefs | June 19, 2006 | |
| Episode Rundown: One chef dared to talk back to Ramsay, and another one forgot the basics to cook properly. | ||||
| 04 | 
|
Episode 204 - 8 Chefs | June 26, 2006 | |
| Episode Rundown: The first team switch happened, a very bad dinner service from both sides resulted in two firsts of the show, and a satisfying elimination of the biggest loud-mouth occurred. | ||||
| 05 | 
|
Episode 205 - 7 Chefs | July 10, 2006 | |
| Episode Rundown: The Blind Taste Test, and a heartbreaking elimination of the hardest worker occurred. | ||||
| 06 | 
|
Episode 206 - 6 Chefs | July 17, 2006 | |
| Episode Rundown: Both teams created their menus, and service resulted in one team performing strong, while the other struggled on their own dishes. | ||||
| 07 | 
|
Episode 207 - 5 Chefs | July 24, 2006 | |
| Episode Rundown: Black jackets were given, and a friendship was broken as one broke a promise made to the other. | ||||
| 08 | 
|
Episode 208 - 4 Chefs | July 31, 2006 | |
| Episode Rundown: Immunity was given for the first time, but the chef who received it made a performance not worthy of it. | ||||
| 09 | 
|
Episode 209 - 3 Chefs | August 7, 2006 | |
| Episode Rundown: The three finalists took control of the kitchen one by one, and a shocking elimination happened, where one of them was being very rude to Ramsay. | ||||
| 10 | 
|
Episode 210/211 - 2 Chefs/Winner | August 14, 2006 | |
| Episode Rundown: Heather and Virginia designed their new restaurants, chose their brigades for the final service, and one of them was declared the winner of Hell's Kitchen. | ||||
Trivia[]
- From this season being first and on, except for Season 18, the teams were divided by gender at the beginning, male contestants in the blue team, and female contestants in the red team.
- Up until Season 11, this was the only season of Hell’s Kitchen to have an all-female finale.
- This is the first season where a dinner service ended with both teams losing.
- This is the first season to have somebody leave due to medical problems.
- This is the first season where in one episode, the entire losing team is nominated.
- This is the only season where all the black jackets were named "best of the worst".
- This is the first season where black jackets nominate an individual for elimination before the finale.
- This is the first season where a contestant's portrait is burned after elimination.
- This season introduces recurring challenges such as:
- Half of the season's contestants came from the state of Texas.
- This is the final season to broadcast in 4:3 aspect ratio in standard definition.
- Future reappearances:
- Heather would return in Season 3 to greet the challenge winner from episode 8 as well as the guest at the Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino and serve as a guest judge during the final challenge. She also returned in Season 5 along with the three other winners to greet the winner of that season, and in Season 6 to serve as the Red team's Sous Chef.
- Virginia would return in Season 10 to compete against the black jackets as part of a team of returning runner ups.
- This is the second season when a contestant won without being nominated for elimination.