Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 4)

15 chefs arrived at Los Angeles International Airport and were driven to Hell's Kitchen, unaware Chef Ramsay was accompanying them in disguise. When they arrived, they met Jean-Philippe and each chef took turns impersonating Ramsay, who then revealed himself to the chefs.

Signature dishes: The chefs were given 45 minutes to create their signature dish. Vanessa's pan-seared halibut was chosen as the best, with Rosann's spicy mussel soup also getting good feedback, while Ben's mash potatoes and gravy was deemed "not bad". The remaining dishes were poorly received; Craig's jerk seared Chilean sea bass was a "pile of shit", Jen served raw rice, Ramsay described Corey's dish as plain and Jason's as something that would not even pass as something tinned. Shayna burnt her protein and Ramsay found Dominic's chicken cacciatore boring, Petrozza's hen-in-a-pumpkin both bizarre and dry, and told Sharon her dish was not up to scratch. Christina's dish was ruined by "terrible execution" despite a good concept, Ramsay scolded Louross for not doing more and Bobby for deep-fat-frying his fish, which he found lazy. Matt's exotic tartar received the worst review with Ramsay vomiting after sampling it.

Captains: For the first time in Hell's Kitchen history, the teams were each told to choose a captain. The women quickly decided on Vanessa, while the men eventually chose Bobby, at the expense of not learning the menu for the first service.

Service: None of the men knew the menu. Petrozza and Shayna served tableside amuse-bouche. In the red kitchen, Sharon proved unable to get the appetizers out and was thrown off the station, and Jen didn't fare much better at first, ruining quail eggs by flipping them over. Ramsay fired Vanessa as captain due to her weak leadership and had Rosann take over, and thanks to her strong guidance and Jen rebounding, the team finished appetizers, though Corey overcooked a chicken on entrées. In the blue kitchen, Jason and Dominic on appetizers and fish failed to produce an acceptable dish between them, with both burning risotto and scallops respectively. The other men repeatedly requested Bobby's help, but even after Ramsay rebuked him he refused, saying he "didn't want to join the chaos". Ben said that Bobby needed to "have to have a little more scoot in his boot" Eventually, Louross helped the others, after which Ramsay had him take over from Bobby as captain. Jason finally served appetizers, but the customers had already left, leading Ramsay to shut the kitchens down. No entrees were served, but the women were named winners for at least serving appetizers; Louross was named Best of the Worst.

Elimination: Louross nominated Bobby and Dominic. Ramsay eliminated Dominic for his lack of creativity and talent, but warned Bobby and Jason that they had both "dodged a bullet."

Group punishment: Ramsay forced the chefs to pick up the wasted food from service and place it into cylinders.

Team challenge: The contestants were tasked with filleting a large halibut into 6 ounce uniform pieces, trying to leave little waste. The women took a more slow, measured approach, compared to the men's quicker, more rash approach. Both teams had 41 pieces accepted by Ramsay, resulting in a challenge tiebreaker for the first time in Hell's Kitchen history. One person from each team had to choose an accepted fillet that was as close to six ounces as possible. The men won a 5.9 ounce piece selected by Ben, compared to a 4.8 ounce piece selected by Corey.

Reward/punishment: The men were transported via Rolls Royces and Bentleys to a superyacht, where they had dinner with Ramsay and Jean-Philippe. The women had to prepare the seafood for service.

Service: Petrozza was threatened with elimination before service as he was twice unable to remember the menu, though he then did so with help from Bobby. Rosann and Craig were appointed assistant maître d's for service, but both struggled; Craig accidentally hit a woman in the head with a chair and was forced to apologize to her, while Rosann revealed mid-service that she had only given in half of her tickets as she did not want to overwhelm the team, which ended up having an adverse effect in then putting them behind. Corey and Bobby did well on appetizers, but both teams struggled with poor communication. Sharon struggled on meat, Jason on fish, Matt almost caused a fire, and Petrozza got numerous orders mixed up on meat. Ramsay closed service, but named the men winners for serving more entrees; Corey was named Best of the Worst.

Elimination: Corey nominated Christina and Jen, openly admitting she was being tactical in choosing people she personally disliked and saw as threats. After watching Jen's extremely long plea and Christina burst into tears, Ramsay spared them and eliminated Sharon for her second terrible service in a row.

Team challenge: The chefs were tasked with making eight perfect cuts of a chicken, part by part, without cutting too much meat or having portions of other parts on it. As the blue team had an extra member, Louross was forced to sit out. Jen and Shayna scored six, and Corey, Christina, Rosann and Vanessa each scored eight, making the red team's total 44. Jason scored six, and Ben and Petrozza both scored eight, but Craig, needing a score of at least six, only scored two, so Ramsay ended the challenge early and the women won.

Reward/punishment: Ramsay and the women visited the Saddle Ranch Chop House at the Sunset Strip and have lunch, where they unintentionally met restaurant regular and season 3 contestant Aaron Song. The guys picked peppers from a country field. During the punishment Ben threw a few peppers at Craig as payback for single-handedly losing the challenge.

Service: Bobby was tasked to cook the tableside appetizer for the men, though was criticized after service for waving to the diners. Like Petrozza during the previous service, Jason was thrown out before service for not being able to remember the menu. He still could not remember the menu when he returned and even wanted to quit before finally remembering the menu with prompting from Ramsay. Both teams completed appetizers well thanks to Christina's leadership and Petrozza's concentration, but struggled on entrees. Vanessa undercooked meat and needed her teammates to help her, but Rosann burned meat by starting a fire in the pan, resulting in Ramsay having to put it out. Craig struggled on appetizers and argued with his teammates, while Ben overcooked and undercooked salmon, angering Ramsay when he blamed his mistakes on "different cooking techniques." Jason could not get soufflés to rise, and shocked Ramsay when he suggested coating the rims with sugar and cocoa, which is the first step in making a soufflé, causing Ramsay to bash his head on the table repeatedly. Upon receiving another undercooked salmon by Ben, Ramsay closed service, declared no winning team, and instructed Christina and Petrozza to nominate one person for elimination.

Elimination: Petrozza, while feeling that the rest of the men would rather nominate Craig, nominated Jason, and Christina nominated Vanessa instead of exacting revenge on Corey. Ramsay eliminated Jason for consistently being a terrible performer and not recovering after almost quitting.

Group punishment: Ramsay forced both teams to clean up their kitchens. During the punishment Corey annoyed her teammates by going to bed instead of helping them out.

Team challenge: The chefs were tasked with making perfect strands of pasta; the team with the most pasta weight winning. One member from each team was required to sit out and allow the pasta to be hung on their arms; Matt volunteered for the men, while the women made Shayna sit out. The women won their second consecutive challenge with 6.57 lbs of pasta, compared to the men's 5.48 lbs, as Craig struggled.

Reward/punishment: The women rode a Hummer limousine to the Pacific Park amusement park at the Santa Monica Pier. The men prepared the night's service for both teams, while Ben unknowingly volunteered to clean the petting zoo to set up for Family Night.

Service: Both teams cooked a special family menu, given to them just hours in advance. Vanessa did well on appetizers, but was sent to hospital after severely burning her hand putting out Shayna's burning pan. On the men's team, Matt served raw chicken and hard hamburgers until Bobby helped him. The women finished service well before the men due to Jen's strong leadership, and Ben was scolded after he congratulated the men, despite the blue team being four tables behind the red team. The women were sent to help them, but Craig, slow-paced, bad-tempered and uncommunicative throughout the night, yelled at the chefs and even Ramsay himself before finishing service. Ramsay named the women clear winners, likening the men's service to a horror movie, and named Bobby Best of the Worst. After service, Vanessa returned and revealed she had suffered a second-degree burn, and was unsure if she could continue in the competition.

Elimination: Bobby nominated Craig and Matt; Ramsay also nominated Ben. Though Ramsay accused Ben of not treating the competition seriously, and Matt of being the worst performer of the night, he eliminated Craig for his repeated mistakes and terrible attitude, and also because Ben and Matt delivered convincing pleas whereas he hadn't.

Team challenge: The chefs were tasked with making a gourmet pizza each before deciding which team member's pizza would be judged by Ramsay. The women went with Jen's "Little Bit of Italy, Little Bit of France" pizza, whilst the men went with Ben's mushroom pizza. The women won as Ben's mushrooms were gritty.

Reward/punishment: Before leaving the kitchen to take the women on their reward, Ramsay gave the blue team a pep talk, saying they had talent, and only lacked teamwork. The red team rode a helicopter to the Square One restaurant in Santa Barbara, California, home of the "$90 Burger" and their truffle "fries". The men prepared both kitchens for service and given dry burgers for lunch.

Vanessa's exit: Though Vanessa managed to struggle through the team challenge, the pain of her burnt hand became significantly worse during prep, to the point where she was unable to work effectively. After talking with Ramsay, Vanessa decided to leave Hell's Kitchen, as her injury was not likely to heal quickly, and she did not want to be a hindrance to her team working at only half power.

Ramsay's comment: "It's unfortunate that Vanessa's burn took her out of the competition. We'll never, ever know if she really had what it takes to win Hell's Kitchen."

Service: Jen's pizza was featured on the menu for this service. Before service, Ramsay brought the chefs outside and informed them that Hell's Kitchen would be serving pizzas that night. Ben was forced to make pizza deliveries in a tuk-tuk style delivery cart. Shayna undercooked beef wellingtons, and Rosann struggled on garnish, forcing Ramsay to send the beef wellingtons alone and send Jen to help her. Matt struggled cooking eggs for the scallops, forcing Bobby to take over, and Louross overcooked steak, but Petrozza managed to fool sous chef Scott by slicing the sides of the beef. Although Christina and Jen were both supposed to be on the dessert station, Jen abandoned Christina, who was struggling on her own and asking for help, which she did not receive at all until Ramsay ordered a reluctant Corey to help her. Both teams completed service, and for the first time in Hell's Kitchen history, Ramsay declared the teams joint-winners. However, he still required each team to nominate one member for elimination.

Team challenge: The chefs prepared an appetizer and two entrees for Melissa, a girl celebrating her "Sweet 16", to vote on; the team with the most chosen dishes would win. The men won two dishes to one, with the tie-breaker coming on the meat entree; Melissa preferred the women's entree, but after pressure from her mother, chose the men's as it was what more guests would prefer.

Reward/punishment: The men spent a day kart racing, followed by treats at the Simon LA restaurant. The women decorated Hell's Kitchen for Melissa's party, under the supervision of party planner Francesco and Melissa's mother Lori.

Service: Melissa and Lori were VIP guests. The service generally went well, though flaws still occurred. Christina forgot the ingredients for a risotto, while Shayna was slow on garnish. Ben served dry chicken wings but recovered, Matt struggled on fish, to the point where Bobby once again took over his station, and despite his scallops receiving praise, Ramsay berated Matt for lacking heart. Rosann struggled on meat, forcing Ramsay to eventually take over. Both teams completed service, and while the red team had a 99% approval rating compared to the blue team's 98%, Ramsay refused to name a losing team based on a difference of just 1%, and named the teams joint winners for the second time in a row. However, he told each team to nominate one chef and announced someone would be eliminated this time.

Elimination: Matt and Shayna were nominated; Ramsay then asked Christina for who she considered the worst on the red team, and she exacted revenge on Rosann by nominating her. After Shayna and Rosann plead their cases Ramsay told Matt that he had peaked to which the latter burst out saying that no one on his team listens to him and that if he was transferred to the women then the failure would become more apparent in the men. Ramsay then sent Matt back in line and eliminated Shayna for her slowness, but praised her for her big heart.

Team change: Ramsay then accepted Matt's request to be transferred to the red team.

Team challenge: The chefs took part in a blind taste test. Since the red team had an extra member, Jen was forced to sit out. Rosann identified two ingredients compared to Petrozza's one, Corey identified one while Louross failed to get any, and Christina identified two while Bobby failed to get any, making the score 5-1. Lastly, for Matt and Ben, Ramsay made a dish with ten ingredients and alternated between the two, with both scoring points for identification. Ben identified four ingredients, but Matt also scored four, giving the red team a 9–5 win and making it impossible for the blue team to win.

Reward/punishment: The red team spent the day at a patio, which converted into a spa while the blue team cleaned the kitchen and the dorms. Ben was also called to serve iced tea to the red team.

Service: In the red kitchen, Rosann burnt scallops and Jen tried to call orders for a table in place of Ramsay; he rebuked her and Jen became angry and non-responsive for the rest of the service. Matt and Christina rallied the team and pushed forward with strong performances on appetizers and meat, but the team was dragged down by Jen's attitude and Rosann's poor performance on fish. In the blue kitchen, Bobby cooked scallops correctly but Louross forgot to provide quail eggs and Ben mixed up orders, ran out of ingredients and undercooked nearly every meat entree, making Ramsay angrier by trying to claim that he was not used to cooking on the line. The few entrees that Ben served were returned, causing Ramsay to shut service down. The red team were declared winners and Ramsay praised Matt, while the blue team were each told to nominate one person for elimination.

Elimination: After Ben unsuccessfully tried to persuade Bobby and Petrozza to nominate Louross, he came up with a plan whereby the team would spread their nominations out and deadlock the vote. In the end Ben and Louross nominated each other, and Bobby nominated Petrozza, but Petrozza nominated himself, saying the other three men had worked hard and it was unfair to pick them. Ramsay complimented Petrozza on his gracious attitude, and seeing through Ben's plan, eliminated him for consistently bad performances, laid back attitude and refusal to own up to his mistakes.

Team change: Following the elimination, Ramsay called for a volunteer from the red team to move to the blue team, which was Jen.

Team challenge: The chefs had to cook four dishes per team in 45 minutes, using all 20 ingredients on hand only once. During the challenge, Matt accidentally cut off a tip of his finger, but returned after receiving first aid. The blue team automatically lost when Louross admitted he forgot an ingredient.

Reward/punishment: The red team attended a photo shoot and interview for In Touch Weekly magazine. The blue team spent the day doing laundry by hand. Jen repeatedly insulted Louross for admitting to his mistake, which she believed caused them to lose.

Service: The night's service included two food critics (Sophie Gayot of Gayot Publications and Merrill Schlinder of the Los Angeles Zagat Guide) among the customers who would order the same item from both kitchens for comparison, and neither Ramsay or the chefs were aware which orders were served. The blue team managed to serve all entrées successfully and received good reviews from the critics, their only problem being Petrozza slicing meat too early. The red team struggled; despite Corey and Christina getting appetizers out on time and to a good standard, Matt cut tenderloin three completely different sizes, Christina overcooked salmon and had difficulty cooking both salmon and scallops at the same time. Rosann burned garnish and ran out, causing Ramsay to leave the kitchen in disgust. Ramsay threw the red team out after Matt served raw meat and had the blue team finish their service. The blue team were deemed the clear winners by both Ramsay and the critics; Corey was named Best of the Worst.

Elimination: Corey nominated Matt and Rosann; Ramsay also nominated Christina. Despite telling Rosann to get back in line, Ramsay changed his mind and eliminated her for her lack of organization and many simple mistakes, along with her failure to improve after being spared from elimination several times.

Team challenge: The chefs had to prepare three dishes; John Dory, chicken, and scallops. Each team had three members to compete; Louross was indirectly chosen by Jen to sit out. Only one chef from each team was allowed in the kitchen at a time, and only for six minutes. The next chef then took their place, with the previous chef having 15 seconds to brief them. Ramsay then compared the same dishes from each team on completeness, taste, and appearance. The red team won.

Reward/punishment: The red team went to the beach with Ramsay and Jean-Philippe, where they learned how to surf. The blue team spent the day cleaning the restaurant's exterior, the flaming Hell's Kitchen sign and the red carpet.

Service: Each team made their own menus. Customers chose from either team's menu; while it was initially announced that the team whose menu was chosen more would win, Ramsay stated that the winner would be decided by quality, not quantity. The red team collaborated on their dishes, while Jen ignored her teammates and largely devised the menu by herself; Ramsay had the blue team rearrange it. On the red team, many of Matt's pasta appetizers were sent back, and after he sweat into the food, Corey kicked him off and relegated him to desserts. Christina and Corey put aside their differences and made it through service almost flawlessly. On the blue team, Petrozza was strong on appetizers despite being messy, though Louross struggled on meat, having two being sent back. When Louross finally served an acceptable filet mignon, the customer had left. Later on into service, Jen undercooked desserts, and her messiness meant that Bobby and Petrozza struggled to help her. Ramsay declared the blue team losers; Petrozza was named Best of the Worst.

Elimination: Petrozza nominated Louross and Jen. Despite Corey, Christina, Matt and Bobby all wanting Jen gone, Petrozza said Louross deserved to leave, as he had had the worst service. Ramsay agreed and eliminated Louross for being responsible for the blue team's defeat. Louross's Departure marks the first time an eliminated chef did not receive a walk of shame sequence. Ramsay then said that Matt and Jen would return to their original teams, as he felt their reassignments were not working.

While Ramsay had previously told Jen and Matt they would return to their original teams, he decided to merge the remaining six chefs into a united black team, the first black team in Hell's Kitchen history to have six members.

Challenge: Each chef had 45 minutes to create a meal using the main ingredient they were given. Corey's dish was named the worst as she only used a small amount of lobster, while Bobby's duck was overcooked. Petrozza's chicken and Matt's veal received positive feedback, but Jen's ribeye narrowly beat out Christina's sea bass for the win.

Reward/punishment: Jen won an overnight trip to Las Vegas where she had dinner at the Green Valley Ranch resort and spa with last season's winner, Rahman "Rock" Harper, and chose Corey to join her. The others took in several deliveries of food.

Service: One of Jen's ribeye's was returned for being undercooked, and Corey had difficulty re-heating vegetables and communicating and also suffered a burn. She refused to leave and maintained a negative attitude until Ramsay insisted on her getting first aid. Jen served a nicely cooked risotto but then a poor one shortly after, and Christina and Bobby were both chastised for cooking beef and chicken and salmon and scallops in one pan respectively, despite Bobby's shellfish allergy. Matt and Christina failed to remember an order and Petrozza placed food onto dirty plates. Matt received a berating when he complained about his migraine and Ramsay sent him out to rest. Ramsay kicked out Jen, Christina and then the whole team after noticing burning rice on Christina's station caused by Jen.

Elimination: Matt and Christina were nominated, but when Corey said she should have been chosen, Ramsay agreed and called her forward. Ramsay eliminated Matt for his numerous bad services and terrible attitude, but gave him encouragement.

Challenge: Each chef had 45 minutes to teach a housewife how to make lobster spaghetti. Christina won, narrowly beating out Corey.

Reward/punishment: Christina spent time with Ramsay and two other chefs, Mark Peel from "Campanile" and Ben Ford from "Ford's Filling Station", learning tricks of the trade. The others cleaned the kitchen.

Service: The dining room included a twelve-top that had to be served at the same time. Christina forgot a spaghetti, but recovered, while Jen undercooked and overcooked John Dory and Bobby burned wellingtons. When the twelve-top arrived, Christina and Corey worked well together and got twelve appetizers out at the same time. Jen served raw fish, leading Ramsay to step in, while Petrozza struggled to keep up on garnish. Service was completed, but Ramsay described it as "painful". Christina was named Best of the Best.

Elimination: Christina nominated Jen and Bobby. Despite Christina advising Jen to be eliminated, Ramsay eliminated Bobby for worsening performances and failing to step up as a leader.

Challenge: Each chef had one hour to cook an entree for a lunch service of 80 pregnant women, with their votes determining the winner. Christina's Island Turkey Sandwiches won, beating out Petrozza's Monte Cristo Sandwiches by two votes, while Jen's Calypso Groupers was third and Corey's Grilled Salmon B.L.T.s last.

Reward/punishment: Christina and Ramsay visited the Lisa Kline boutique in Beverly Hills, where she spent over $1000 on new clothing. The rest had to clean the dining room and polish silverware for service.

Service: All four chefs encountered problems. Jen overcooked rice and was slow on scallops, Petrozza, despite serving perfect dishes, had a dirty workspace, Corey served raw John Dory, and Christina burnt Ramsay's hand twice by giving him a scalding hot pan. At one point Corey asked Jen to cook quail eggs since Jen was on appetizers, but Jen pretended to not hear her before later claiming she was too busy despite the fact that she was only stirring one risotto. Eventually Christina did it, but burnt them, and Jen still refused to help until Ramsay noticed the situation and ordered her to. Nevertheless, service was completed in record time and was declared a success.

Elimination: Ramsay had the final four nominate two people who should be nominated. They decided to each anonymously write down two names they thought should leave; despite this, they quickly found out Jen voted twice for Christina. Christina, Corey and Petrozza plotted to eliminate Jen, with Corey agreeing to be nominated purely on the basis that they thought Jen would leave. Ramsay eliminated Jen for her lack of teamwork and refusal to improve her attitude, but gave her encouragement.

Challenge: The remaining three ate one of Ramsay's signature dishes with their loved ones (Corey's mother and boyfriend, Christina's parents and Petrozza's father and girlfriend). Afterward, each chef had 45 minutes to replicate the dish, based on taste and looks alone. Corey was the only one to use cream to bind the lettuce and the only one to use raspberry creme in the sauce, which she both got correct. However, she was the only one to use buffalo fillet, as both Christina and Petrozza used venison striploin, which was wrong, and she ended up in third place. Petrozza was the only one to not have a pureé in his dish, as Corey had a potato parsnip pureé and Christina had a white bean pureé, while Christina used Aioli. Christina won, but Ramsay told Petrozza he would have won had he used a pureé.

Reward/punishment: Christina and her parents went on a tour bus through Hollywood, which included stops at two upscale restaurants.^{[note 1]} Corey and Petrozza crushed ice blocks by hand and polished glasses.

Service: The three took turns running the "hotplate" in Ramsay's place, and had to catch acts of sabotage by chefs Scott and Gloria. Ramsay also gave each chef one-on-one mentoring on running the hotplate; Petrozza stepped up and earned praise, Christina was initially criticized for not being serious though recovered, whilst Corey was criticized for not being severe enough. When running the pass, Petrozza failed to notice no peas in a risotto, but was otherwise strong in command. Corey struggled to be serious reading out orders, and noticed mistake too late. However, Ramsay praised her for her strong performance on meat. Christina struggled on fish numerous times, though rebounded at the hotplate, despite Scott becoming agitated with her leadership. She spotted incorrect seasoning in mashed potatoes, becoming the only chef to notice her mistake.

Continued from the previous episode, Corey's jacket was hung and her picture burned.

Remodeling: Hell's Kitchen was divided into two, with Christina and Petrozza getting to design their own menus, ambiance, and wait staff. As the builders remodeled Hell's Kitchen, Ramsay flew the two to New York City Times Square, where Ramsay's London NYC restaurant was located.

Challenge: Petrozza and Christina had 45 minutes to cook their signature dishes, judged by five of Ramsay's chefs. Petrozza won 3-2.

Continued from the previous episode, Petrozza picked Jen, so Christina was left with Matt.

Service: Each team served 13 tables of 50 customers. In the kitchen, Christina and Petrozza briefed their menus, but Jen had no interest in helping Petrozza and wanted to make Ramsay change his mind on eliminating her, while Matt openly displayed a negative attitude. Petrozza was a strong leader, but Jen talked back to him while failing to serve onion rings, though she stopped after a scolding by Ramsay. While attempting to serve appetizers, Petrozza's kitchen ran out of ingredients for two of them, but Bobby created a lobster risotto to fix the problem. Christina had steaks returned for being cold, and Matt frequently served raw dishes and showed no respect towards Ramsay, who offered to kick him out, though Christina declined. Despite the small problems in both kitchens, both teams finished service.

Winner: The criteria for deciding a winner was determined by the customer comment cards, as well as Ramsay's own observations. Summoning Christina and Petrozza to his office, Ramsay gave them his final thoughts before having them step in front of a door. Christina's door opened, making her the fourth winner of Hell's Kitchen; Petrozza took his defeat graciously.