In Hell's Kitchen, a team is a group of contestants forming a side, cooking in the same kitchen during services.
Team Division[]
Every season begins with two teams, the blue team and the red team. Both teams are evenly divided by numbers, except for Season 4 as it started with an uneven number of contestants. On Season 1, both genders were divided randomly between the two teams, but from Season 2 onwards, the teams are divided by gender, male chefs in the blue team and female chefs in the red team.
In Season 18, the teams were divided into newcomers (labeled as Rookies) on the red team and returning chefs (labeled as Veterans) on the blue team, making it the first time since Season 1 where the teams were not divided by gender.
In Season 21, the teams were divided into 20 Somethings on the red team, and 40 somethings on the blue team. This would be the 3rd time the teams would not be divided by gender, after Season 1 and Season 18.
Team Switches[]
Sometimes, Ramsay would switch things up and transfer some contestants into a different team. There are two reasons why he would do it, which are to level the numbers or by reassignment.
Leveling the numbers[]
The most common reason to mix up the teams. If a team is down two members or more, Ramsay will either ask the team with greater members to name a volunteer to move to the other team or choose himself based on performances. The times it happened were:
Season | Chef Count | Chef | Reason | Tenure |
---|---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | Ten Chefs: Six on the Blue Team and Four on the Red Team |
Michael | After the red team lost two chefs in a row, Ramsay moved Michael from the blue team to the red team, evening the numbers at five members each. Not only would this give the red team a chance to bounce back, but Ramsay wanted Michael to use it as an opportunity to start shining as a leader.[1] | Michael would stay in the red team until the black jackets.[2] |
Season 2 | Eight Chefs: Five on the Red Team and Three on the Blue Team |
Heather | Heather, Sara, and Rachel emerged as leaders from the red team, so Ramsay said he would give the blue team a leader after losing half their members. So, Ramsay transferred Heather to the blue team, evening the numbers at four members each.[3] | Heather would stay in the blue team until the black jackets.[4] |
Season 4 | Jen | After Ben's elimination, Ramsay asked the red team for a volunteer to join the blue team. The following day, Jen volunteered to transfer to the blue team, evening the numbers at four members for each team.[5] | Jen would stay in the blue team until the black jackets.[6] | |
Season 5 | Twelve Chefs: Seven on the Red Team and Five on the Blue Team |
Lacey | After Seth's elimination, Lacey, nominated by the red team, was transferred to the blue team, evening the numbers at six members each.[7] | Lacey would stay in the blue team until her mid-service elimination during the eighth service.[8] |
Ten Chefs: Six on the Blue Team and Four on the Red Team |
Giovanni | After Coi's elimination, Ramsay announced that he would send a member of the blue team to the red team to even the numbers at five each before starting the Leftovers Challenge. He picked Giovanni.[9] | Giovanni would stay in the red team until the black jackets.[10] | |
Season 6 | Thirteen Chefs: Eight on the Red Team and Five on the Blue Team |
Robert | After Joseph's departure and Tony's elimination, Robert was placed back into the blue team after one service on the red team, giving the blue team six members compared to the red team's seven.[11] | Robert would stay in the blue team until his elimination after the seventh service.[12] |
Season 7 | Ten Chefs: Six on the Blue Team and Four on the Red Team |
Benjamin | After Scott's elimination, Ramsay transferred Benjamin to the red team as he was impressed with his leadership skills during that night's service, evening the numbers at five members each. He told Benjamin to give the red team the leadership they sorely need.[13] | Benjamin would stay in the red team until the black jackets.[14] |
Season 8 | Eight Chefs: Five on the Red Team and Three on the Blue Team |
Trev | After Boris's elimination, Ramsay needed to even the teams back to four each. After a terrible performance, Trev, who Ramsay initially sent to the red team, was placed back into the blue team.[15] | Trev would stay with the blue team until the black jackets.[16] |
Season 9 | Fifteen Chefs: Nine on the Red Team and Six on the Blue Team |
Natalie | After Brendan's elimination, Ramsay asked the red team for a volunteer to move over to the blue team. Carrie volunteered, but Ramsay picked Natalie to switch over, giving the blue team seven members compared to the red team's eight.[17] | Natalie would stay in the blue team until her elimination after the eleventh service.[18] |
Season 10 | Fourteen Chefs: Eight on the Red Team and Six on the Blue Team |
Roshni | After Don's elimination, Ramsay moved Roshni, nominated by the red team, to the blue team in hopes she would bounce back after being nominated three times in a row, evening the numbers at seven members each.[19] | Roshni would stay in the blue team until her elimination after the seventh service.[20] |
Ten Chefs: Six on the Red Team and Four on the Blue Team |
Robyn | At elimination, Robyn, nominated by the red team, told Ramsay that things were not working with the women and asked if she could join the men. After Patrick's elimination, Ramsay honored Robyn's request and transferred her to the blue team, evening the numbers at five members each.[21] | Robyn would stay on the blue team until the black jackets.[22] | |
Season 11 | Eight Chefs: Five on the Red Team and Three on the Blue Team |
Nedra | After Michael's elimination, Ramsay asked the red team for one team member to move over to the blue team.[23] After a lengthy discussion which led to Cyndi pulling her name out, Nedra did. Ramsay granted her wish and gave her a blue jacket, evening the teams at four each.[24] | Nedra would stay on the blue team until her elimination after the following service.[24] |
Six Chefs: Four on the Red Team and Two on the Blue Team |
Ja'Nel | Ramsay asked the red team for a volunteer to be transferred to the blue team once again. Ja'Nel took the offer after Anthony's elimination, evening the teams at three each.[25] | Ja'Nel would stay on the blue team until the black jackets.[26] | |
Season 12 | Eight Chefs: Five on the Red Team and Three on the Blue Team |
Melanie | After Richard's elimination, Ramsay asked the red team for a volunteer to move to the blue team, aside from Anton and Scott, as they were initially in that team. Melanie volunteered, evening the teams at four each.[27] | Melanie would stay on the blue team until the black jackets.[28] |
Season 13 | Twelve Chefs: Seven on the Blue Team and Five on the Red Team |
Sterling | After Katie's elimination, Ramsay called Sterling, nominated by the blue team, to move over to the red team because, unlike the blue team, he was not giving up on him, evening the numbers at six members each.[29] | Sterling would stay on the red team until his elimination after the twelfth service.[30] |
Season 15 | Fourteen Chefs: Eight on the Blue Team and Six on the Red Team |
Hassan | After Meese's elimination, Ramsay called up Hassan, who impressed him with his leadership skills during the few previous services, to move over to the red team, evening the numbers at seven members each.[31] | Hassan would stay on the red team until his elimination after the seventh service.[32] |
Twelve Chefs: Seven on the Red Team and Five on the Blue Team |
Manda | After Kevin's mid-service elimination and Alan's elimination, Manda, nominated by the red team, was transferred to the blue team, evening the numbers at six members each.[33] | Manda would stay on the blue team until the black jackets.[34] | |
Season 16 | Ten Chefs: Six on the Red Team and Four on the Blue Team |
Ryan | After Koop's elimination, Ramsay asked the red team for a volunteer to move over to the blue team.[35] The following day, Ryan took the offer, evening the teams to five each.[36] | Ryan would stay on the blue team until the black jackets.[37] |
Season 18 | Six Chefs: Four on the Red Team and Two on the Blue Team |
Mia | After Trev's elimination, Ramsay asked the blue team for a volunteer to move over to the red team to even to three each.[38] The following day, Mia took the offer.[39] | Mia would stay on the red team until the black jackets.[39] |
Season 19 | Fourteen Chefs: Eight on the Red Team and Six on the Blue Team |
Amber | Before dinner service, Ramsay moved Amber to the blue team after announcing Drew's medical exit, evening both teams at seven each.[40] | Amber would stay on the blue team until the black jackets.[41] |
Season 20 | Victoria | After Alex's elimination, Ramsay moved Victoria, nominated by the red team, to the blue team to even the numbers at seven each.[42] | Victoria would stay on the blue team until her elimination after the seventh service.[43] | |
Twelve Chefs: Seven on the Blue Team and Five on the Red Team |
Antonio | After Payton's elimination, Ramsay announced that one person from the blue team would join the red team for an even six for each team before collecting ingredients for the International Cuisine Challenge. While Emily and Victoria expressed interest in returning to their original team, Ramsay decided to give someone else a new experience and picked Antonio.[44] | Antonio would stay on the red team until his elimination after the Black Jackets Challenge.[45] | |
Season 21 | Ten Chefs: Six on the Blue Team and Four on the Red Team |
Brett | After Ileana's elimination, Ramsay announced that one person from the blue team would join the red team for an even five for each team before the challenge. Although the red team wanted Alex on their team, Ramsay instead moved Brett back into the red team.[46] | Brett would remain on the red team until he was transferred back to the blue team after the ninth service.[47] |
Eight Chefs: Five on the Red Team and Three on the Blue Team |
Right before Abe's elimination, Ramsay decided to preemptively even the teams back to four each. Brett, who Ramsay initially sent to the red team, was placed back into the blue team after it was clear he was being carried by the red team in the past two services and challenges.[47] | Brett would stay on the blue team until his elimination after the following service.[48] | ||
Season 22 | Ten Chefs: Six on the Red Team and Four on the Blue Team |
Atoye | Right before the Budget Challenge, Ramsay moved Atoye to the blue team to even both teams to five each.[49] | Atoye would stay on the blue team until her elimination after the ninth service.[50] |
Reassignment[]
If Ramsay feels that a team or an individual is struggling or wants to experiment, he will transfer some specific people from one team to the other. The times it happened were:
Season | Chef Count | Chef | Reason | Tenure |
---|---|---|---|---|
Season 3 | Seven Chefs: Four on the Red Team and Three on the Blue Team |
Melissa | Melissa was on a downward spiral, and after being nominated for the second consecutive time, Ramsay gave her one more chance by moving her to the blue team.[51] | Melissa would stay on the blue team until her elimination after the following service.[52] |
Season 4 | Nine Chefs: Five on the Blue Team and Four on the Red Team |
Matt | When Matt was nominated and pleading his case to Ramsay, he claimed that the blue team mistreated him and requested a transfer to the red team. Immediately after Shayna's elimination, Ramsay granted Matt's wish and transferred him to the red team.[53] | Matt would stay on the red team until the black jackets.[6] |
Season 6 | Seven Chefs: Four on the Red Team and Three on the Blue Team |
Suzanne | After Andy's elimination, Ramsay called up Suzanne, nominated by the red team, and transferred her to the blue team to give her one last chance after being nominated two times in a row.[54] | Suzanne would stay on the blue team until the black jackets.[55] |
Season 7 | Twelve Chefs: Six on both teams |
Scott and Autumn | After both teams did a fantastic job during that night's service, Ramsay asked Nilka and Salvatore to nominate who they thought was the weakest chef on their respective teams. Nilka picked Autumn, while Salvatore picked Scott. Ramsay decided to exchange them to the other teams instead of eliminating them, Scott moving into the red team and Autumn moving into the blue team.[56] | Scott would stay on the red team until his elimination after the sixth service.[13] |
Autumn would stay on the blue team until she was transferred back to the red team after the ninth service.[57] | ||||
Seven Chefs: Four on the Blue Team and Three on the Red Team |
Autumn | After Fran's elimination, Autumn, nominated by the blue team, was told to take her jacket off by Ramsay. Instead of eliminating her, Ramsay sent Autumn back to the red team, giving her one last chance to improve after her poor performances at the previous two services.[57] | Autumn would stay in the red team until the black jackets.[14] | |
Season 8 | Ten Chefs: Five on both teams |
Melissa and Trev | Before the Salad Challenge, Ramsay decided to transfer Melissa to the blue team, giving her one more chance to improve herself after some poor performances. Meanwhile, he also moved Trev to the red team as a way for him to step up as a leader.[58] | Melissa would stay on the blue team until her elimination after the following service.[58] |
Trev would stay on the red team until he was transferred back to the blue team after the ninth service.[15] | ||||
Season 12 | Rochelle, Sandra, Scott, and Anton | The red team nominated Rochelle and Sandra, while the blue team nominated Anton and Scott at elimination. Instead of eliminating them, Ramsay decided to correct things by making the four of them move to the other team as he believed their original teams lost faith in them. Anton and Scott moved over to the red team, and Rochelle and Sandra moved to the blue team.[59] | Sandra would stay on the blue team until her elimination after the following service.[60] | |
Anton would stay on the red team until his elimination after the thirteenth service.[61] | ||||
Scott and Rochelle would stay on their respective new teams until the black jackets.[28] | ||||
Season 13 | Eleven Chefs: Six on the Blue Team and Five on the Red Team |
Sade and Frank | After Ashley's elimination, Ramsay decided to switch things up after witnessing two miserable services in a row. So, he transferred Sade to the blue team and Frank to the red team.[62] | Frank would stay on the red team until his elimination after the ninth service.[63] |
Sade would stay on the blue team until the black jackets.[30] | ||||
Season 14 | Eight Chefs: Four on both teams |
Josh and Meghan | The blue team nominated Josh and Randy, but instead of eliminating them, Ramsay decided to move Josh over to the red team while moving Meghan over to the blue team. Ramsay did this to give Josh a chance to bounce back and give the blue team a leader.[64] | Both of them would stay on their respective new teams until the black jackets.[65] |
Season 15 | Ten Chefs: Five on both teams |
Chad and Dannie | Ramsay felt that Chad and Dannie were losing confidence in their original teams after some recent poor performances, so he decided to transfer them to the other team, Chad moving over to the red team, and Dannie moving over to the blue team.[66] | Chad would stay on the red team until his elimination after the tenth service.[67] |
Dannie would stay on the blue team until her elimination after the thirteenth service.[34] | ||||
Season 16 | Twelve Chefs: Six on both teams |
Shaina, Wendy, Andrew, and Matt | The red team nominated Shaina and Wendy. Instead of eliminating either of them, Ramsay decided to give them one last chance by transferring them to the blue team while moving Andrew and Matt over to the red team.[68] | Matt and Shaina would stay in their respective new teams until both of them were eliminated after the tenth service during a double elimination.[36] |
Wendy would stay on the blue team until her elimination after the eleventh service.[69] | ||||
Andrew would stay on the red team until his elimination after the Black Jackets Challenge.[37] | ||||
Season 17 | Fourteen Chefs: Seven on both teams |
Josh and Robyn | The blue team nominated Giovanni and Josh. Ramsay asked Josh to take his jacket off. Instead of eliminating him, he transferred him to the red team while moving Robyn over to the blue team, as Ramsay felt neither of them has yet shown the same strength as they did during their respective previous appearances on the show.[70] | Josh would stay on the red team until his elimination during the following dinner service.[71] |
Robyn would stay on the blue team until the black jackets.[72] | ||||
Season 18 | Kevin, Trev, Bret, Gizzy, Kanae, and Mia | At elimination, the rookies nominated Chris and Gizzy, while the veterans nominated Kevin and Trev. Ramsay sent Chris back in line, moved Gizzy over into the blue team, and moved Kevin and Trev into the red team instead of eliminating either of them. Then, Ramsay moved Kanae and Mia from the red team to the blue team and moved Bret into the red team. Ramsay did this as he realized that the "Rookies Vs. Veterans" team format was not working out as he planned and reignited the battle of the sexes with the men in the red team and the women in the blue team.[73] | Kevin would stay on the red team until his elimination after the following service.[74] | |
Gizzy would stay on the blue team until her elimination after losing the Cook For Your Life Challenge on the seventh episode.[75] | ||||
Trev would stay on the red team until his elimination after the tenth service,[38] | ||||
Mia would remain on the blue team until switching over into the red team before the Black Jackets Challenge.[39] | ||||
Bret would remain on the red team until the black jackets.[39] | ||||
Kanae would stay on the blue team until her elimination after the Black Jackets Challenge.[39] | ||||
Season 20 | Emily, Megan, Sam, and Payton | Shortly after Ramsay moved Victoria to the blue team, he moved Emily and Megan to the blue team and moved Sam and Payton to the red team. Ramsay did this to prevent another disastrous service like the one he witnessed that night and hopes that the blue team will improve after six losses in three challenges and three services.[42] | Payton would remain on the red team until his elimination after the fifth dinner service.[76] | |
Sam would remain on the red team until his elimination after the ninth dinner service.[77] | ||||
Megan would stay on the blue team until the black jackets.[45] | ||||
Emily would stay on the blue team until her elimination during the Black Jackets Challenge.[45] | ||||
Season 21 | Fifteen Chefs: Nine on the Red team and Six on the Blue Team |
Alejandro, Brett, Mindy, Nicole, Sakari, Tara, and Vlad | Following O'Shay's elimination, Ramsay called both teams back downstairs for a special announcement. Because the 40-Somethings on the blue team were getting dominated by the 20-somethings from the red team, Ramsay said he would not have half the dining room go hungry any longer. So, he announced that come the next day, the battle of the sexes were back on with all the remaining male chefs on the blue team and all the remaining female chefs on the red team.[78] | Nicole would remain on the red team until her elimination after the following service.[79] |
Mindy would remain on the red team until her elimination after the sixth service.[80] | ||||
Brett would remain on the blue team until he was transferred back to the red team after Cook For Your Life challenge.[46] | ||||
Vlad would remain on the blue team until his elimination after the eighth service.[46] | ||||
Alejandro would remain on the blue team until the black jackets.[81] | ||||
Sakari and Tara would stay on their new respective teams until their elimination during the Black Jackets Challenge.[81] |
Team Addition[]
This only happened once in the entire series. On Season 6, when Robert returned to the competition after leaving on Season 5, Ramsay placed him in the blue team during the post-mortem and elimination. After Melinda's elimination, Ramsay put him on the red team to help the women out.[82] Robert would stay on the red team until the beginning of the third episode, where Ramsay decided to move him over to the blue team as they were two men down and would stay there until his elimination on the seventh episode.[11]
Black Jackets[]
When five or six chefs are remaining, Ramsay will merge both teams into one black team, giving the chefs black jackets. With this merge, the chefs compete in individual challenges but are still cooking in one kitchen to cook for every table. There are multiple ways for the merge to happen:
Before a challenge[]
Before the first individual challenge, Ramsay will announce the merge right away. That commonly happened in the first six seasons,[2][4][6][10][55][83] but it was also done on Season 11.[26]
Reward after service[]
During the last team dinner service, Ramsay will announce that the winning team would receive black jackets as a reward. That happened on Season 8,[16] Season 9,[84] Season 10,[22] Season 14,[64] and Season 15.[34] The losing team would still do a normal elimination, where Ramsay would give black jackets to the chefs until one person does not receive one, therefore eliminating them from the competition.
Faux Elimination[]
This will happen if the last chef eliminated before the black jackets happened before the traditional elimination ceremony. Ramsay will still do an elimination ceremony with nominees, but instead of eliminating somebody, he will give the remaining chefs black jackets. This happened on Season 7,[14] Season 12,[28] and Season 13.[30]
Black Jacket Challenge[]
On Season 12, Ramsay announced that the remaining chefs would compete in an individual Black Jacket Challenge, where the winner would receive a black jacket.[84] Joy won that challenge and went through the last team dinner service wearing her black jacket.[28]
On Season 16, it became a three-phase elimination challenge, where two chefs would receive black jackets after the first two phases and only one chef receiving a black jacket after the final phase. In the end, Andrew was the only one who did not receive a black jacket, therefore eliminating him from the competition.[37] That process also happened on Season 17, with both Elise and Jennifer not receiving black jackets and being eliminated.[72] On Season 18, Kanae was eliminated after losing out on a black jacket. In Season 19, Nikki was eliminated after losing out on a black jacket.[39] On Season 20, both Emily and Antonio were eliminated after failing to get black jackets.[45]
Trivia[]
Chefs[]
- Michael (Season 1), Heather (Season 2), Ja'Nel (Season 11), Scott (Season 12), Meghan (Season 14), and Ryan (Season 16) are the only contestants who switched teams and won the competition afterwards. Out of those six, Scott and Meghan are the only ones who switched by reassignment.
- Michael (Season 1) is the first contestant ever to switch teams.[1]
- Heather (Season 2) is the first female contestant ever to switch teams.[3]
- Melissa (Season 3) is the first contestant to switch teams by reassignment,[51] and the first to switch teams without making it to the black jackets.[52]
- Matt (Season 4) is the first male contestant to switch teams by reassignment.[5]
- Lacey (Season 5) is the first contestant to switch teams and be eliminated mid-service afterwards.[8]
- Robert (Season 6) is the first male contestant to switch teams without making it to the black jackets.[12]
- Season 7 marked the first time that a team switch included more than one contestant at the same time.[56]
- Autumn (Season 7) is the first contestant ever to be transferred back to their original team after a first switch.[57]
- Trev (Season 8) is the first male contestant ever to be transferred back to their original team after a first switch.[15]
- Josh (Season 17) is the first male contestant to switch teams and be eliminated mid-service afterwards.[71]
- Mia (Season 18) is the first contestant who switched teams and became runner-up. She is also the first to have done so twice and become a finalist.
- Gizzy (Season 18) is the first chef to switch teams and lose the Cook For Your Life Challenge.[75]
- Amber (Season 19) is the first chef to switch teams moments before dinner service.[40]
- Antonio (Season 20) is the first chef to switch teams outside of Hell's Kitchen.[44] Atoye (Season 22) is the first female chef with that distinction.[48]
- Brett (Season 21) holds the record for participating in the most team switches in one season with three.[78][46][47]He is also the first chef that failed to make it to black jackets after a brief stint in their original team.
Seasons[]
- The record for most chefs switching teams at the same time is seven, which happened on Season 21.[78] It broke the previous record with six which happened on Season 18.[73] Those two records broke the original record with four people, which happened on Season 12 [58] and Season 16.[67]
- Season 20 marks the first time where levelling the numbers and reassignments were done simultaneously. On another note, this is also the first season where Ramsay reassigned an odd number of chefs with five.[42]
- Robyn and Josh (both from Season 17) are the first pair of contestants who switched teams in two different seasons.[21][64][70]
- Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3 have the smallest number of contestants, with 12, while Season 11 and Season 12 have the highest, with 20.
- Season 4 is the only season ever to begin with an uneven number of contestants, with 15.
- Season 5 is the first season where more than one switch to level the numbers happened.
- Season 6 is the only season to have one contestant joining the initial group of contestants after the competition started.
- Seasons 7, 15, and 21 are tied for the most team switches with three.
References[]
Hell's Kitchen |
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Chefs (Returning Chefs) • Challenges • Deleted Scenes • DVDs • Elimination Ceremony (Withdrawal) • Episodes • Guest Judges • Punishments • Seasons • Service (Final Service) • Staff • Team • Video Game |