| 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 9 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox between July 18 and September 19, 2011. Jr Sous Chef Paul Niedermann, from Davie, Florida, was the winner of that season and was awarded a Head Chef position at BLT Steak, in New York City, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Bianchi | 27 | Line Cook | New York, NY |
| Natalie Blake | 23 | Sous Chef | Harrodsburg, KY |
| Chino Chang | 39 | Executive Chef | Hatboro, PA |
| Amanda Colello | 26 | Personal Chef | Sun City, CA |
| Jamie Gregorich | 24 | Sous Chef | Bradenton, FL |
| Brendan Heavey | 31 | Head Chef | Hoboken, NJ |
| Carrie Keep | Pantry Chef | Dallas, TX | |
| Monterray Keys | 34 | Line Cook | Darby, PA |
| Will Lustberg | 31 | Sous Chef | Jersey City, NJ |
| Gina Melcher | 34 | Restaurant Consultant | Cape May, NJ |
| Paul Niedermann | 27 | Jr Sous Chef | Davie, FL |
| Jennifer Normant | 34 | Chef de Cuisine | Boston, MA |
| Steven Paluba | 44 | Sauté Chef | Ridge, NY |
| Krupa Patel | 30 | Private Chef | Queens, NY |
| Jonathon Plumley | 34 | Head Cook | Memphis, TN |
| Tommy Stevens | 31 | Line Cook | Brewster, NY |
| Elise Wims | 26 | Pittsburgh, PA | |
| Jason Zepaltas | 29 | Chicago, IL |
Contestant progress[]
At the end of each episode, one chef from the losing team is eliminated by Ramsay. From that season on, the "Best of the Worst" nominations very seldom happen. That season also marked the first time that Ramsay eliminated a chef without nomination despite having four nominees to choose from. This season marked the first time that a chef once nominated won the contest against another chef who wasn't nominated.
| # | Chef | Original Teams |
Team Switch | Black Jackets | Finals | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 901 | 902 | 903 | 904 | 905 | 906 | 907 | 908 | 909 | 910 | 911 | 912 | 913 | 914 | 915 | 916 | |||||
| 1 | Paul | NOM | WINNER | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Will | RUNNER-UP | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Elise | NOM | NOM | NOM | NOM | NOM[1] | NOM | NOM | OUT[2] | |||||||||||
| 4 | Tommy | NOM | NOM | OUT[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Jennifer | NOM[1] | NOM[1] | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Elizabeth | OUT[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Natalie | NOM | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Carrie | NOM[1] | NOM | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||
| 9 | Jamie | NOM | OUT[2] | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Jonathon | NOM[1] | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Krupa | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Monterray | NOM | NOM | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||||||
| 13 | Gina | OUT[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Chino | NOM[1] | NOM | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Amanda | OUT[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Brendan | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Steven | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Jason | HOSP | ||||||||||||||||||
| Final Service Brigades | |
|---|---|
| Will | Paul |
| Tommy | Elise |
| Natalie | Elizabeth |
| Jennifer | Jonathon |
| Krupa | Carrie |
| 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 901 - 18 Chefs Compete | July 18, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: The new contestants were given a reality check before even coming to Hell's Kitchen, one chef had to withdraw before the opening night, and four chefs got benched during dinner service. | ||||
| 02 | 
|
Episode 902 - 16 Chefs Compete | July 19, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs worked with meat temperatures, and an arrogant chef made the worst mistake possible during service. | ||||
| 03 | 
|
Episode 903 - 15 Chefs Compete | July 25, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: A woman helped the men win their first service, a chef failed to fight back, and nobody was safe from the losing team. | ||||
| 04 | 
|
Episode 904 - 14 Chefs Compete | July 26, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: One team finally won a challenge, dinner service was a disaster on both ends, and one chef's luck ran out. | ||||
| 05 | 
|
Episode 905 - 13 Chefs Compete | August 1, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs made dishes using two earthly elements, another inconsistent dinner service occurred with multiple ejections, and one chef threw their teammate under the bus to save their own butt. | ||||
| 06 | 
|
Episode 906 - 12 Chefs Compete | August 2, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: Hell's Kitchen hosted a High School reunion, one team crushed the other during the challenge, and one chef made a very passionate plea despite having their worst night ever. | ||||
| 07 | 
|
Episode 907 - 11 Chefs Compete | August 8, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: Beer was the main ingredient, another inconsistent dinner service occurred, and an early front runner was sent home. | ||||
| 08 | 
|
Episode 908 - 10 Chefs Compete | August 9, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: Unexpected leaders were named, a funny reward happened, and one chef's injury annoyed their teammates and Ramsay. | ||||
| 09 | 
|
Episode 909 - 9 Chefs Compete | August 15, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: Dessert was the main dish, a Date Night dinner service took place, and a very shocking elimination nobody saw coming. | ||||
| 10 | 
|
Episode 910 - 8 Chefs Compete | August 22, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: The annual Blind Taste Test occurred, and one of the fieriest feuds in the show's history finally came to an end. | ||||
| 11 | 
|
Episode 911 - 7 Chefs Compete | August 22, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: The chefs visited the grand prize restaurant, one chef became the last person standing of their own team at service, and a tearful elimination of an early front runner occurred. | ||||
| 12 | 
|
Episode 912 - 6 Chefs Compete | August 29, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown Here: The chefs worked with different timings, a bitchy chef was put in her place after losing the challenge, a private dinner service took place, and no one from the losing team was safe. | ||||
| 13 | 
|
Episode 913 - 5 Chefs Compete | September 5, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: The final five competed in their first black jacket challenge, faced off against former contestants at dinner service, and nobody was eliminated. | ||||
| 14 | 
|
Episode 914 - 5 Chefs Compete Again | September 12, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: Salmon was the main ingredient, all but two chefs got kicked out of dinner service, and one of the most controversial eliminations in the show's history occurred. | ||||
| 15 | 
|
Episode 915 - 4 Chefs Compete | September 19, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: The final four reunited with their loved ones, worked on the pass one at a time, and Ramsay picked two chefs for the finals. | ||||
| 16 | 
|
Episode 916 - 2 Chefs Compete | September 19, 2011 | |
| Episode Rundown: Paul and Will competed in on 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 marks the introduction of the Private Charity Night dinner service.
- Coincidentally, this marks the final season to date where a Double Seating Service occurred.
- This is the first season to feature 18 contestants.
- This is the second season since Season 3 to have only five black jackets instead of six.
- This is the second season since Season 3 where none of the black jackets had previously switched teams. It would happen again in Seasons 22 and 23.
- This season holds the record for having most contestants scoring a point during the Signature Dish Challenge with eleven.
- This is also the only season where all the black jackets scored a point during that challenge.
- This season holds the record for having the longest streak of female contestants eliminated, with five, and is tied with Season 17.
- Coincidentally in both seasons, they are ranked from 5th to 9th place.
- This is the first season, up until Season 11 to not have the "Best of the Worst" nominations.
- This is the first season where the airings had different days and times:
- Episodes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9–11, 15 and 16 all aired on Mondays at 8PM Eastern time, while Episodes 12–14 aired on Mondays at 9PM Eastern time.
- Episodes 2, 4, 6, 8 all aired on Tuesdays at 8PM Eastern time.
- This is the final season to be produced by ITV Studios.
- According to an interview with Ben (Season 5 and 17), Season 9 was originally supposed to be an All-Star season.[1]
- Future reappearances:
- Paul returned in Season 11 as part of a team of returning champions, and in Season 12 to help guest judge a challenge. He also returned in Season 15 to give tips to the final two.
- Jason returned to compete in Season 12, where he made it to the finals and finished as the runner-up of that season.
- Elise returned in Season 13 as a guest for the 200th dinner service. She and Jennifer would both return in All-Stars, where they would both be eliminated right before the black jackets phase in that season.