Season 5 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox between January 29 and May 14, 2009. Executive chef Danny Veltri, from Edgewater, Florida, was the winner of that season and became Sous Chef at Italian restaurant Fornelletto, at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, with a salary of $250,000. At age 23, he is, to this date, the youngest winner in the history of the show.
Contestants
16 contestants competed during this season. The teams were divided by gender at the beginning, male contestants in the blue team, and female contestants in the red team. The contestants were (in alphabetical order):
| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coi Burruss | 22 | Cafe Chef | Austin, TX |
| Ji-Hyun Cha | 33 | Private Caterer | Palisades Park, NJ |
| Colleen Cleek | 41 | Culinary Instructor | Papillion, NE |
| Lacey D'Angelo | 24 | Corporate Buffet Cook | Charlotte, NC |
| Paula DaSilva | 28 | Executive sous Chef | Coconut Creek, FL |
| Giovanni Filippone | 37 | Executive Chef | Destin, FL |
| Andrea Heinly | 30 | Line Cook | Reading, PA |
| Robert Hesse | 29 | Sous Chef | Quogue, NY |
| Wil Kocol | 26 | Quality Control Chef | Elgin, IL |
| Seth Levine | 27 | Private Party Chef | New York, NY |
| Alicia "LA" Limtiaco | 22 | Line Cook | Las Vegas, NV |
| Jason "J" Maxwell | 32 | Food Court Chef | Clifton Park, NY |
| Charlie McKay | 24 | Prep Chef | Las Vegas, NV |
| Carol Scott | 30 | Sous Chef | Knoxville, TN |
| Danny Veltri | 23 | Executive Chef | Edgewater, FL |
| Ben Walanka | 26 | Executive Sous Chef | Chicago, IL |
Contestant progress
At the end of each episode, one chef from the losing team is eliminated by Ramsay, sometimes after being picked by the "Best of the Worst", determined by Ramsay after the last dinner service. On that season, a large number of unusual eliminations occurred, with two chefs leaving for medical reasons, two chefs being eliminated during dinner service, and one chef being eliminated without nomination. That season also featured the first time ever that a chef was eliminated despite being on the winning side of the service.
| # | Chef | Original teams | First switch | Second switch | Individual | Finals | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501 | 502 | 503 | 504 | 505 | 506 | 507 | 508 | 509 | 510 | 511 | 512 | 513 | 514/515 | |||||||
| 1 | Danny | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | LOSE | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | WIN | BoW | IN | IN | IN | NOM | WINNER | |||||
| 2 | Paula | WIN | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | LOSE | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | WIN | BoW | NOM | IN | IN | RUNNER-UP | |||||
| 3 | Andrea | WIN | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | NOM | BoW | WIN | NOM[n 1] | WIN | NOM | NOM[n 1] | NOM[n 1] | OUT | 2nd - RU | |||||
| 4 | Ben | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | NOM | LOSE | WIN | NOM[n 1] | WIN | NOM | IN | NOM | OUT[n 1] | 1st - WIN | ||||||
| 5 | Robert | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | LOSE | LOSE | WIN | NOM[n 2] | WIN | NOM[n 1] | IN | LEFT[n 3] | ||||||||
| 6 | Giovanni | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | LOSE | BoW | WIN | WIN | LOSE | WIN | OUT | 3rd - WIN | ||||||||
| 7 | Carol | WIN | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | LOSE | LOSE | WIN | NOM | OUT[n 4] | 5th - WIN | |||||||||
| 8 | LA | WIN | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | BoW | NOM | WIN | OUT | 4th - RU | ||||||||||
| 9 | Lacey | WIN | NOM | WIN | NOM | LOSE | WIN | NOM | OUT[n 5] | 6th - RU | ||||||||||
| 10 | J | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | LOSE | NOM | WIN | OUT[n 5] | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Coi | WIN | LOSE | WIN | LOSE | LOSE | OUT | |||||||||||||
| 12 | Colleen | WIN | NOM | WIN | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||
| 13 | Seth | NOM | WIN | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||
| 14 | Charlie | LOSE | WIN | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Ji | WIN | LEFT | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Wil | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
Episodes
Here is the list of the episodes of that season, with links to detailed pages.
| # | Image | Title | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 
|
Episode 501 - 16 Chefs Compete | January 29, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: The sixteen new chefs were introduced, the signature dish challenge occurred, and the opening service became a train wreck. | ||||
| 02 |
|
Episode 502 - 15 Chefs Compete | February 5, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs competed in their first team challenge, dinner service came down to the wire, and one chef made an ultimate decision after getting injured, leading to an extremely emotional elimination. | ||||
| 03 |
|
Episode 503 - 14 Chefs Compete | February 19, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: Ramsay tested the chefs' knowledge on beef cuts, a Steakhouse double service occurred, and one team committed multiple embarrassing mistakes. | ||||
| 04 |
|
Episode 504 - 13 Chefs Compete | February 26, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: A breakfast challenge service took place, a new rivalry was born, dinner service was a disaster on both ends, and the first team switch occurred. | ||||
| 05 |
|
Episode 505 - 12 Chefs Compete | March 5, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: One chef tried to bond with their new teammates, Ramsay inexplicitly pressed one chef's personal button during dinner service, and a shocking elimination no one saw coming. | ||||
| 06 |
|
Episode 506 - 11 Chefs Compete | March 12, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: Hell’s Kitchen catered for a Bar Mitzvah party, a new rivalry was born, and one team tried to usurp the “Best of The Worst”'s nominees. | ||||
| 07 |
|
Episode 507 - 10 Chefs Compete | March 19, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: A blue chef was reassigned to the red team, one chef threatened to quit the competition, and another did not make it through dinner service. | ||||
| 08 |
|
Episode 508 - 9 Chefs Compete | March 26, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: The annual Blind Taste Test occurred, one chef did not make it through dinner service, and one team made a big comeback after a slow start. | ||||
| 09 |
|
Episode 509 - 7 Chefs Compete | April 2, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: The teams create their own menus, and when Ramsay accused one chef of sabotaging their team, it lead to one of the most shocking eliminations in Hell’s Kitchen history. | ||||
| 10 |
|
Episode 510 - 6 Chefs Compete | April 9, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown Here: The final six earned their black jackets, one chef almost quit in the middle of service, and another made the biggest mistake by talking back to Ramsay. | ||||
| 11 |
|
Episode 511 - 5 Chefs Compete | April 16, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs took a trip to Atlantic City to visit the prize hotel, one chef was forced to withdraw because of their health, and another proved they did not deserve immunity during dinner service. | ||||
| 12 |
|
Episode 512 - 4 Chefs Compete | April 23, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: The Taste It Now Make It Challenge took place, dinner service featured an engagement, and gender lines were drawn once again during elimination. | ||||
| 13 |
|
Episode 513 - 3 Chefs Compete | April 30, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: The final three had their dishes judged by some of Los Angeles' top chefs, ran the hot plate one at a time, and Ramsay picked the final two. | ||||
| 14 |
|
Episode 514 - 2 Chefs Compete | May 7, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: Danny and Paula worked on their restaurants, competed in their final challenge, and reunited with their former teammates. | ||||
| 15 |
|
Episode 515 - 2 Chefs Compete: Part 2 | May 14, 2009 | |
| Episode Rundown: Danny and Paula led their teams during the final service, and one of them is declared the winner of Hell’s Kitchen. | ||||