Season 21 | Hell's Kitchen: Battle of the Ages

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Hell's Kitchen: Battle of the Ages
Airdate:	September 29, 2022 - February 9, 2023
Number of Episodes:	16
Number of Contestants:	18
Winner:	Alex Belew
Runner-Up:	Dafne Mejia
Season Chronology
Previous Season:	Season 20 (Young Guns)
Next Season:	Season 22 (The American Dream)
Images of Season 21

Season 21 of Hell's Kitchen (stylized Hell's Kitchen: Battle of the Ages) was announced as FOX renewed it for two more seasons, along with Season 22. It aired on FOX between September 29, 2022 and February 9, 2023. Former Restaurant Owner Alex Belew was the winner of the season and was awarded the Head Chef position at the Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen restaurant in Caesars Atlantic City, with a $250,000 salary.

Contestants

18 contestants are competing during this season. The teams are divided by age group, "40-somethings" in the blue team and "20-somethings" in the red team. The contestants are (in alphabetical order):

40-Somethings

Contestant	Age	Occupation	Hometown
Alex Belew	40	Former Restaurant Owner	Murfreesboro, TN
Tara Ciannella	41	Private Chef & Caterer	Congers, NY
Nicole Gomez	46	Private Chef	Los Angeles, CA
Zeus Gordiany	48	Executive Chef	Milford, DE
Mindy Livengood	42	Caterer	Liberty Township, OH
O'Shay Lolley	44	Executive Chef	New Castle, DE
Abe Sanchez	41		Crosby, TX
Charlene Sherman	40	Private Chef	Worland, WY
Billy Trudsoe		Head Chef	Melbourne, FL

20-Somethings

Contestant	Age	Occupation	Hometown
Brett Binninger-Schwartz	24	Executive Chef	Dublin, OH
Vlad Briantsev	26	Sous Chef	Chicago, IL
Ileana D'Silva	23		Gloucester, VA
Dafne Mejia	29	Executive Chef	Los Angeles, CA
Alejandro Najar	28		Barberton, OH
Cheyenne Nichols	21	Sous Chef	Louisville, KY
Alyssa Osinga	23	Line Cook	Chicago, IL
Sommer Sellers	24	Lead Line Cook	Brooklyn, NY
Sakari Smithwick	27	Pop-Up Chef	New York, NY

Contestant progress

At the end of each episode, one chef from the losing team is eliminated by Ramsay.

#	Chef					Original Teams			First Switch					Second Switch		Third Switch		Black Jackets		Finals
						2102		2103	2104	2105	2106	2107	2108	2109	2110	2111	2112	2113	2114	2115	2116
1					Alex	BoB							NOM								WINNER
2					Dafne	NOM										NOM		NOM			RUNNER-UP
3				Alejandro		BoB				NOM			NOM	NOM		NOM				OUT
4				Sommer							NOM					BoB			OUT
5				Cheyenne														OUT
6		Tara											NOM	NOM		NOM	OUT
7		Sakari										NOM			NOM	BoB	OUT
8				Brett										NOM		OUT
9	Abe										NOM	NOM			OUT
10		Vlad								NOM			NOM	OUT
11	Ileana					NOM						NOM	OUT
12		Mindy							NOM			OUT
13	Alyssa								NOM		OUT
14	Billy					NOM	NOM			NOM	OUT
15		Nicole						NOM	OUT
16	O'Shay					NOM		OUT
17	Zeus						OUT
18	Charlene						OUT

Final Service Brigades
Alex	Dafne
Alejandro	Sommer
Brett	Sakari
Cheyenne	Vlad
Tara	Abe

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

#	Image	Title	Airdate
01		Episode 2101 - Let the Battle Begin	September 29, 2022
		Episode Rundown: The eighteen new chefs were split by age, one chef made a huge mistake that set their team back in the Signature Dish Challenge, and Ramsay forewarned a huge stake in the first Individual Challenge.
02		Episode 2102 - Just Wingin' It	October 6, 2022
		Episode Rundown: Chicken wings were the main dish, one chef made a gutsy move to avoid being the first boot, experience proved to be of little value during service, and Ramsay made a shocking move at elimination.
03		Episode 2103 - Clawing Your Way to the Top	October 13, 2022
		Episode Rundown: Lobster was the main theme, one team continued their domination, and Ramsay made a drastic decision after elimination.
04		Episode 2104 - Slipping Down to Hell	October 20, 2022
		Episode Rundown: The battle of the sexes began once more, sliders were the main dish, one team had a big comeback, and a questionable elimination took place.
05		Episode 2105 - Breakfast 911	October 27, 2022
		Episode Rundown: The chefs served breakfast for emergency workers, a smelly punishment occurred, dinner service had minimal errors, and no one from the losing team was sent home.
06		Episode 2106 - Til Chef Do Us Part	November 10, 2022
		Episode Rundown: Reigning champion Trenton got married, both teams made the wedding service unforgettable in the wrong way, and Ramsay cut the fat by sending two people home.
07		Episode 2107 - Wok This Way	November 17, 2022
		Episode Rundown: The chefs cooked with a unique cooking utensil, one chef got angry when an advantage was used, and while that night's service was an improvement, Ramsay still sent someone home
08		Episode 2108 - Game On!	December 1, 2022
		Episode Rundown: Game meat was the main theme, an advantage was used, one chef bemoaned their low status on their team, and five chefs cooked for their lives to stay in the competition.
09		Episode 2109 - Putting the Carne in Carnival	December 8, 2022
		Episode Rundown: A male chef joined the red team, steak was the main theme, one chef continued to fight against their teammates, and another used a unusual contraband item at service.
10		Episode 2110 - Everyone's Taco'ing About It	January 5, 2023
		Episode Rundown: Tacos were the main dish, dinner service came down to the wire, and the third team switch occurred in the middle of elimination.
11		Episode 2111 - 21st Annual Blind Taste Test	January 12, 2023
		Episode Rundown: The annual Blind Taste Test took place, a private dinner service was held, and one chef’s luck ran out.
12		Episode 2112 - What in Hell's Kitchen?	January 19, 2023
		Episode Rundown: The final seven competed in a series of challenges for a black jacket, and two chefs were eliminated.
13		Episode 2113 - The Fab Five Take Flight	January 26, 2023
		Episode Rundown: The final five competed in their first black jacket challenge, the reward had an accident, and an early front runner ruined the service.
14		Episode 2114 - Lights, Camera, Sabotage!	February 2, 2023
		Episode Rundown: The final four made beautiful dishes, took turns running the pass, and the final three was revealed.
15		Episode 2115 - A Finale for the Ages, Part 1	February 9, 2023
		Episode Rundown: The final three made their menus, competed in their final challenge, and the final two was announced.
16		Episode 2116 - A Finale for the Ages, Part 2	February 9, 2023
		Episode Rundown: Alex and Dafne led their brigades in their final dinner service, and one of them was crowned the winner of Hell’s Kitchen.

Trivia

• Following Seasons 1 and 18, this is the third season where the teams are not divided by gender at the beginning of this season. Instead, they are divided by the group of ages (40s on the blue, 20s on the red).
• This season, along with the next season, are the first two seasons filmed following the start of COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of tables reduced to adjust with the social-distancing rules. Other safety protocols seen are the wait staff wearing masks and the tableside station modified to be a stationary area where customers can pick up their dishes from the chefs in front of a plexiglass window.
• This is the fourth season where every contestant participated in at least one punishment, following Seasons 12, 14, and 16.
• This is the first season since Season 16 where no chef was eliminated in the middle of dinner service.
• This is the first season since Season 18 where it is filmed back in Los Angeles, instead at Las Vegas like the past two seasons, although this season didn't use the same building as the past seasons when they were filmed in Los Angeles before moving to Las Vegas.
• This is the third season to end up in a tie in the Signature Dish Challenge, following Seasons 8 and 18.
• This is the second season to not feature any contestants in the 30s age group, following Season 20.
  • This season also set a record to feature the most amount of the contestant in the 40s age group, with 9.
• For the second time, the Punishment Pass is issued to one member from the Red Team and the Blue Team, following Season 20. However, this is the first time which Ramsay explicitly announced that so from beginning.
• This is the first season since Season 18 to not feature the elimination during the first individual challenge.
• This marks the greatest number of eliminations from an original team at five in a row, where five of the “40-somethings” were eliminated before a single member of the “20-somethings were.
  • Furthermore, this would mark the first time since Season 16 that only one chef from the original blue team would make the black jackets.
• This season marks the second time Chef Ramsay has reassigned team members and balanced out the teams during the same episode, following Season 20. This change also set the record for most chefs involved in a team switch, with 7.
  • This season is also tied with Season 7 and Season 15 for having the most team switches, with three.
  • This season also marks the only time to date where a contestant switched teams three times.
• This season marked the fourth time where two chefs were formally eliminated in one night instead of one during a traditional elimination, following Seasons 11, 15, and 16.
  • This is the first season to do so on opening night.
  • This marks as the second season since Season 16 where Ramsay did two double eliminations in two different nights. It is also the first time he did so during the team phase. The second of these such eliminations marks the first instance where a male chef is eliminated before a female chef.
• This season features the hightest number of double eliminations overall, with three, including the Black Jacket Challenge.
• This season is tied with Seasons 4, 7, and 20 for the record of most joint-wins, with two.
  • This is also the only season where in total, 2 chefs were eliminated on joint-wins.
• This is the second season where every contestant was nominated, following Season 15.
• This is the last season to date to have 5 black jackets.
• This is the second consecutive season where a male is named winner against a female finalist in a mixed-gender finale since Season 20.