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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 8 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox between September 22 and December 15, 2010. Sous Chef Nona Sivley, from Atlanta, Georgia, was the winner of that season and was awarded a Head Chef position at the LA Market Restaurant at the JW Marriott Hotel, in Los Angeles, with a $250,000 salary. She also became the official spokesperson for Rosemount Estate Wines.
Contestants[]
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinny Accardi | 29 | Line Cook | Queens, NY |
| Antonia Boregman | 40 | Line Cook & Beautician | Chicago, IL |
| Raj Brandston | 49 | Personal Chef | Queens, NY |
| Sabrina Brimhall | 22 | Prep Chef | San Diego, CA |
| Lewis Curtis | 26 | Executive Chef | Beebe, AR |
| Melissa Doney | 31 | Executive Sous Chef | Albany, NY |
| Jillian Flathers | 28 | Sous Chef | Pagosa Springs, CO |
| Russell Kook | 29 | Madison, WI | |
| Emily Kutchins | Senior Home Executive Chef | Chicago, IL | |
| Lisa LaFranca | 48 | Corporate Food Director | Brooklyn, NY |
| Rob McCue | 36 | Law Firm Chef | |
| Trev McGrath | 30 | Line Cook & Bartender | Chicago, IL |
| Gail Novenario | 28 | Executive Chef | Wantagh, NY |
| Boris Poleschuk | 38 | Catering Chef | Manalapan, NJ |
| Louis Repucci | 28 | Children's Camp Chef | Diamond Bar, CA |
| Nona Sivley | 29 | Sous Chef | Atlanta, GA |
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.
| # | Chef | Original Teams | First Switch |
Second Switch |
Black Jackets | Finals | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 801 | 802 | 803 | 804 | 805 | 806 | 807 | 808 | 809 | 810 | 811 | 812 | 813 | 814 | 815 | |||||||
| 1 | Nona | NOM[1] | NOM | WINNER | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Russell | NOM | NOM | RUNNER-UP | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Jillian | OUT[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Trev | NOM | BoW | NOM[3] | NOM | NOM | NOM | OUT[2] | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Gail | NOM[1] | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Sabrina | NOM | NOM | NOM | BoW | NOM | NOM[3] | NOM[3] | OUT | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Vinny | NOM[1] | NOM[1] | OUT | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Rob | NOM | NOM[1] | OUT | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Boris | NOM | NOM | NOM | NOM[3] | OUT | |||||||||||||||
| 10 | Melissa | NOM | NOM | OUT[4] | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Emily | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Louis | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Raj | NOM | NOM | OUT[2] | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Curtis | OUT[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Lisa | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Antonia | HOSP | |||||||||||||||||||
| Final Service Brigades | |
|---|---|
| Russell | Nona |
| Jillian | Gail |
| Vinny | Melissa |
| Sabrina | Trev |
| Rob | Boris |
| 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 801 - 16 Chefs Compete | September 22, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: The sixteen new chefs were introduced, one of them was forced to leave before service would begin, and the opening service became one of the worst starts in the show's history. | ||||
| 02 | 
|
Episode 802 - 14 Chefs Compete | September 22, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: Sushi was the main item, one chef got in trouble when they tried to manipulate the diner’s orders, and another's poor performance got their team frustrated with them. | ||||
| 03 | 
|
Episode 803 - 13 Chefs Compete | September 29, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: A breakfast challenge service took place, dinner service was mixed at best, and one of the most incompetent chefs in the show’s history finally pushed Ramsay to the breaking point. | ||||
| 04 | 
|
Episode 804 - 12 Chefs Compete | September 29, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown : One chef felt alienated by their team after the challenge, an Italian themed service was a disaster for both teams, and an explosive argument occurred in the dorms. | ||||
| 05 | 
|
Episode 805 - 11 Chefs Compete | October 6, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: Hell’s Kitchen hosted a prom for the first time, one chef showed their nasty side towards the prom committee, another made a very embarrassing mistake during dinner service, and a third got their revenge on their team. | ||||
| 06 | 
|
Episode 806 - 10 Chefs Compete | October 6, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: Ramsay relocated two chefs to different teams, salad was the main dish, and one chef burned their last chance to stay in the competition. | ||||
| 07 | 
|
Episode 807 - 9 Chefs Compete Part 1 | October 13, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: A Family Night dinner service was held, one team felt the pressure of cooking for Ramsay’s family, and nobody was sent home due to a terrific performance. | ||||
| 08 | 
|
Episode 808 - 9 Chefs Compete Part 2 | October 13, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: Hell's Kitchen celebrated its 100th dinner service, and one team fell apart during service. | ||||
| 09 | 
|
Episode 809 - 8 Chefs Compete | November 10, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: Ramsay decides Trev's fate, the annual Blind Taste Taste occurred, and an unlikely hero emerged at dinner service. | ||||
| 10 | 
|
Episode 810 - 7 Chefs Compete | November 10, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: The teams' menus were put to the test, Ramsay gave out the black jackets, and an early fan favorite was eliminated. | ||||
| 11 | 
|
Episode 811 - 6 Chefs Compete | November 17, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown Here: The final six competed in their first black jacket challenge, dinner service was a disaster, and the bitchiest and immature chef of that season was finally eliminated. | ||||
| 12 | 
|
Episode 812 - 5 Chefs Compete | November 24, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs served their dishes in food trucks, a terrible dinner service forced Ramsay out of his own kitchen for the second time ever, and an early front runner was eliminated. | ||||
| 13 | 
|
Episode 813 - 4 Chefs Compete | December 1, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: Dinner service was an improvement, one chef threatened physical violence to another, and nobody was sent home. | ||||
| 14 | 
|
Episode 814 - 4 Chefs Compete Again | December 8, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs made fusion dishes, ran the hot plate during service, and two of them advanced to the finals. | ||||
| 15 | 
|
Episode 815 - 2 Chefs Compete | December 15, 2010 | |
| Episode Rundown: Nona and Russell competed in the final tasting challenge, picked their brigades for the final service, and one of them was declared the winner of Hell's Kitchen. | ||||
Behind the Scenes[]
- Episode 804 - 12 Chefs Compete is the only episode of this season where the transition does not show the HK logo or a pitchfork symbol, in this case when a chef sharpens the knife using a knife sharpener (found before the second commercial). This transition also appears in Episode 810 - 7 Chefs Compete, Episode 814 - 4 Chefs Compete Again (found before the fifth commercial), and Episode 1102 - 20 Chefs Compete Part 2 (found before the first commercial).
Trivia[]
- Season 8 marked the debut of maître d' James Lukanik, who would also be the maître d' for the next two seasons (Seasons 9 and 10).
- This is the first season where the finalists each select four chefs for their final brigade. This concept would carry on for the rest of the series, with Season 11 and Season 12 being the only exceptions. This is also the first season with this concept that had 16 chefs competing total.
- This is the first season to have black jackets be distributed before someone was eliminated.
- This is the first season to have a tied score at the end of the Signature Dish Challenge.
- This is the first season to have no winning team on opening night.
- This is the first season where no team switch happened the first time one team had two more members than the other.
- This is the first season where the chefs' jackets changed designs during the season.
- In the first episode, the chefs had their names on their collars. From the second episode onwards, their names were on the left side of their jackets, just like in past seasons.
- This is the first season where eight chefs came back for the final dinner service.
- Episodes 1-10 were aired as double features and aired at 8pm on Wednesdays. Beginning with Episode 11, the episodes aired at 9pm.
- This is the second season, following Season 6, where the contestant who ranked in 3rd place was allowed to keep their black jacket, which became as a regular tradition for the rest of the show (except for Seasons 13 and 14).
- Future reappearances:
- Nona returned in Season 9 to greet the Signature Dish Challenge winners, and returned in Season 11 as part of a team of returning champions.
- Both Trev and Jillian returned in Season 9 as part of a team of veterans. Trev would return in Rookies Vs. Veterans to compete as a veteran.
- Russell returned in Season 10 as part of a team of returning runner ups.
- Sabrina was invited to All-Stars but she turned it down because she did not want to leave her job.
- This is the only season to this date where the runner-up took their defeat ungraciously.
- This is the second season where Ramsay walked out during a service.