Hell's Kitchen Episode Rating Graph

Two-hour season finale, part 1. From the menu to the decor, the two finalists must prove their worth to Chef Ramsay as they are each in charge of their own restaurant, completing a dinner service with the help of their former competitors.

The six remaining chefs are on their own now that Chef Ramsey has dissolved the teams. This week's challenge is for the chefs to use 14 simple ingredients in a dish. Later, the chefs will once again need to work as one for dinner service, but things heat up and one chef finds themselves in need of medical attention.

The two teams are combined to create a single team. Each chef is asked to create a dish designed specifically to please Chef Ramsay centered around a single main ingredient. The new unified team struggles to complete its first service together. Two chefs scheme together to plot another's downfall. The winner of the challenge is invited on a very special trip -- a visit to Vegas and a meeting with Rock Harper, the winner of the show's third season. The show's medics are put the test when things once again get a little too hot. One chef goes ballistic when the pressure of the evening's dinner service gets to be just a bit too much.

Chef Ramsay challenges the teams to create delicious tapas style, or small portioned, dishes out of left-overs. At dinner service, one chef's performance nearly takes both teams down and the lack of unity on the Blue Team leaves Chef Ramsay fuming.

The pressure is at an absolute boiling point as the three chefs remaining try their hardest to reach the final two. Chef Ramsay brings in a group of surprise guests whom serve each the aspiring chefs a breakfast they must then attempt to recreate. Each of the remaining chefs is given a chance at running the hot plate, but must face tests designed by Chef Ramsay.

It's down to the final three, who must prepare a meal for 100 of L.A.'s finest chefs. The winner gets some face time on FOX's local morning show, while the losers do the laundry as they watch the winner on TV. At the dinner service, each contestant is given a chance at the pass running the kitchen.

Chef Ramsay starts the challenge by having his mother present her own mac 'n cheese and then producing his own more elegant version. Each of the five remaining contestants must take a randomly selected comfort food dish and re-create it as a gourmet version. A new surprise team of judges brings the contestants to tears.

The chef's taste buds are put to the test when Chef Ramsay prepares three dishes for them to try. They are then given thirty minutes to prepare just one of the dishes, the fish stew, identifying the ingredients only by taste. The winner enjoys an afternoon with Ramsay, taking an amazing ride in a bi-plane. The losing chefs are punished with polishing crystal and cutlery, cleaning the carpets and prepping for the evening's service. During the dinner service Chef Ramsay tells them they need make it all the way through not only for themselves, but for one of their guests, who plans to propose to girlfriend during the dessert course. Two chefs rise to the challenge, but two struggle throughout the night. One is ultimately eliminated and then Chef Ramsay announces a surprise, to be revealed in the next episode.

The final two chefs prepare for their ultimate challenge. They must design their restaurants as well as create a winning menu. But they won't be there to oversee the renovations- Chef Ramsay flies them back to the Borgata where they compete to wow the Hotel's CEO with their signature dish.

With Melissa saved from elimination, she now must join the men's team and compete against the women to see which team can prepare the best lobster dish. At that evening's dinner service, one team turns in a performance to remembered.

As with the previous seasons, Hell's Kitchen is separated into two sides. Both chefs begin planning for their own side of the restaurant, including decor, staff uniforms and menus. One chooses an eclectic French bistro feel and the other opts for a clean decor with a southern-inspired menu. On one side of Hell's Kitchen, the ideas are flowing. On the other side, each decision is a struggle.

In part 1 of the two-hour season finale, it’s down to the final two contestants who have survived the wrath of Ramsay and many disastrous nights at Hell’s Kitchen. Ramsay turns HK over to the battling duo by dividing the restaurant in half – with each wannabe chef choosing their own menu and decor.

The two Hell's Kitchen finalists take opposite approaches in dealing with their staff. Chef Ramsay reviews the proposed dishes and presents the finalists with their own head chef’s jackets in preparation for the final dinner service. At the end of the night, one finalist emerges the winner.

Season six returns with one change. Instead of working alone, now the red and blue teams work will be a team effort. The first dinner service (which is a predictable disaster) comes next before the first chef is eliminated, but an old friend shows up. Dinner service 2 winds up being an even bigger disaster.

Each team member is asked to create a dish using King Crab, but only one dish can be selected to represent them in front of Chef Ramsay. Both teams have a chance to show off the creativity in the kitchen when they get to create their own menus for dinner service, but internal conflicts cause chaos in the kitchens.

The final six remaining contestants must make appetizers and entrées from leftovers, a challenge Chef Ramsay always gives his chefs to test their creativity. Then the teams must come up with their own menus for the evening's dinner service. At dinner service the diners definitely prefer one team's menu; however, lack of teamwork and poor communication may spell the end for one contestant.

The final two contestants battle to the crown when they are tasked with designing a menu for their kitchen and showing Chef Ramsay they have what it takes to be his head chef. Finally, after sixteen weeks of explosive meltdowns and explosive meals, one chef is crowned winner and the next head chef of Hell's Kitchen Las Vegas, securing $250,000 and finally achieving their American dream.

The remaining eight chefs are asked to make crepes, where the winners receiving a night out dining at a French restaurant and the losers creating a French-themed dinner service. During the prep time one contestant is injured, and the other three can't make it through the service.

Three contestants remain and Gordon’s order that they serve an entire dining room becomes too much for one contestant who succumbs to fatigue. The contestants serve their signature dishes, but the teammates suffer from one disastrous performance. Who will create the best dish and who will be sent home without his or her just desserts?

After sending the chefs to an Asian market, Chef Ramsay challenges them to create three Asian-fusion dishes utilizing poultry, seafood and beef. The teams then present their dishes for judging by Chef Ramsay and Tanya Steel, Editor-in-Chief of Epicurious.com. The following night, the teams go head-to-head at dinner service, and tensions run high as chefs from both teams crack under pressure. Chef Ramsay throws in a last-minute twist before sending the losing chef home.

The aspiring chefs teach the art of gourmet meat preparation to housewives, with the winner of the challenge given one-on-one time with chefs Mark Peel and Ben Ford. The chefs later struggle to complete their most complicated dinner service yet.

The remaining 14 chefs get a surprise awakening in the middle of the night to make a spaghetti dinner for a group of hungry firefighters. The winner will be determined by which team can serve first, and the losers must wax the firetrucks. later, two contestants are rushed to the hospital after suffering injuries.

A relay race puts both teams to the test, with a sunny reward on the line. To up the stakes, the losing team faces a top-to-bottom complete restaurant cleaning. At the evening's dinner service, the teams are required to serve items from menus that they each created. One chef is called out for serving a disgusting extra ingredient in the food -- their own sweat. Chef Ramsay makes an unprecedented move at the evening's elimination.

The final two All-Stars pick from the season's past contestants to join them on their team for the final dinner service. With a head chef position at the first ever Hell's Kitchen flagship restaurant at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and a salary of a quarter of a million dollars on the line it all comes down to this.

Winter Olympic medalists Sasha Cohen and Jonny Moseley will serve as judges of the meals created by the contestants using ingredients brought in from Whistler, B.C., site of the restaurant in which the winner will be stationed.

Day 4 tests the palates of the remaining chefs as they compete in a blindfolded taste test. The losers must face a difficult punishment while the winners dine with Chef Ramsay. At the dinner service, the dishes are critiqued and rated by the diners

With just 15 chefs remaining, Chef Ramsay pits the red team against the blue team in another intense challenge. The winning team celebrates in high style while the losing team is left behind to fulfill drab duties. Tune in to see which contestants are on the chopping block

The pressure is on, as the Hell's Kitchen finale closes in! The final three contestants face their last challenge before the final dinner service by impressing guest chefs Brian Malarkey, Curtis Stone, Giada De Laurentiis, Michael Cimarusti and Nyesha Arrington.

The final six chefs celebrate earning their new black jackets, but they quickly realize that the competition is getting more and more intense. Eager to see how the chefs measure up, Chef Ramsay brings back a team of former HELL’S KITCHEN runners-up to compete against the chefs in the ultimate dinner service showdown.

The remaining 12 chefs have the honor of creating a welcome back home dinner for a returning U.S. marine, where the losers will be left in charge of cleaning and decorating the dinning room for a party under the watchful eye of Gordon Ramsey's wife, Tana. Later, chef Ramsey gets heated up during dinner service over cold food.

It is time for Chef Ramsay to hand out the legendary black jackets. Determined to win the coveted black jacket, the chefs play a high stakes game of craps to determine the dishes they will be making for this week's first challenge. It will take three challenges to determine which chefs are ultimately worthy of standing amongst the greats.

Chef Ramsay sends the remaining chefs off to New Jersey to dine in the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, where one of them will be running a restaurant. When the chefs return, they are asked to create their signature dish which they would serve in their restaurant should they win.

Conclusion. After a shocking elimination, the final two chefs receive unexpected help for their final menus. They share their highs and lows with Chef Ramsay over brunch and are surprised with a visit from their families. But, the fun is short-lived, as Chef Ramsay sends the teams back to Hell’s Kitchen to learn the menus and plan for the biggest service of the finalists’ lives, taking place at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

In the Season 8 finale, the final two chefs must prepare five-course meals to be judged by five L.A.-area executive chefs and food-service executives. The winner receives a head-chef position at LA Market at the JW Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles.

The nine remaining chefs are challenged to compete in a taste test, with the winner receiving a day at the spa and the losers sent to clean the dorm. Once the dinner ervice is completed, Chef Ramsay must decide on which tastes worse, raw food or a lack or communication within the kitchen.

In Day 7, the wannabe chefs must combine their skills and work as individuals for the first time in Hell's Kitchen. The prize for this challenge: a trip with Chef Ramsay to get a taste of the restaurant at the Red Rock Casino Resort.

Chef Gordon Ramsay is frustrated with both teams' work ethic after another lackluster dinner service. Ramsay communicates his experiences on running a successful restaurant to the teams while setting the third night's goal to have a complete dinner service.

The final five chefs must prove that they deserve to stay in the competition by creating their most impressive gourmet burger. They face a tough room of critics as Chef Ramsay and room filled with dining professionals will determine the best and the worst burgers. The winning chef earns a relaxing day at the spa, while the remaining chefs are tasked with endless chores. Later, pressure mounts when the chefs must serve a VIP guest, but huge missteps in the kitchen put dinner service at a virtual standstill. Find out which contestant is sent home after a dramatic elimination round.

The group dynamics are drastically changed when Chef Ramsey asks for a volunteer to switch sides. This week's challenge consists of creating 4 new dishes from 20 ingredients. One chef requires a medic after injuring himself during the challenge.

The remaining ten chefs are rolling the dice to see what ingredients they can use in their challenge dish, with the winners earning a trip to Las Vegas. Later, chefs from Gordon Ramsey's own restaurants help out in the dinner service, which is interrupted by repeating mistakes and one bossy teammate.

A fantasy birthday celebration is the order of the day for the remaining aspiring chefs. The chefs cook for a sweet 16 party, but the mood in Hell's Kitchen is anything but sweet. One chef must face Ramsay's wrath when a diner sends back undercooked meat. And in a surprise twist, a new chef joins one of the teams at the episode's elimination ceremony.

The previously eliminated contestants return to help the final two as they go head-to-head for the last time in Hell's Kitchen. Only one chef will earn the Head Chef position at Hell's Kitchen in Atlantic City, the $250,000 cash prize, and the coveted title.

The fifth season begins with Hell's Kitchen's most promising group yet: sixteen professional chefs competing for a position at the Borgata in Atlantic City. After Chef Ramsay judges their signature dishes, they face the pressure of the first dinner service, and one must face the ignominy of being the first sent packing.

The season's first challenge finds the contestants slicing halibut into thin 6 ounce fillets. One member of each team must serve as a maitre d' during the dining service, and one contestant will be eliminated at the shows conclusion.

Chef Ramsay reveals to the remaining All-Stars that they will be competing for the coveted black jacket by facing a series of three difficult challenges: "Taste It, Now Make It," in which contestants must use their senses to recreate a dish; "Five Domes," in which contestants have 30 minutes to create a cohesive restaurant quality dish using mystery ingredients hidden under domes; and "Free For All," in which the All-Stars must make a dish of their choice using ingredients picked out by Ramsay. Find out who receives Chef Ramsay's stamp of approval and who gets the boot.

Chef Gordon Ramsay puts aside the battle of the sexes and switches the chefs to even out the teams. Hell's Kitchen breaks new ground when the teams are put to the test during a lunch service cooking for a group of highly demanding customers.

The remaining nine chefs are given a blind taste test. The winners will receive a dinner with chef Ramsay...in a darkened dinning room where they'll have no idea what they are eating. Later, the dinner service is ruined by meat and potatoes.

The challenge: create a balanced fusion dish. The judges: Top L.A. chefs Philip Dubose (Asia de Cuba), Helene An (Crustacean) and Lee Hefter (Spago). Then, at dinner service, tempers flare and Chef Ramsay must intervene.

Chefs created a menu of an appetizer and two main dishes for a high school prom. The winning team went to an amusement park, while the losing team cleaned the kitchens and helped the prom committee put up decorations.

The final four competing chefs face a tableside challenge that will send one lucky winner and their chosen partner on a luxurious day in Malibu, California. The chefs encounter a showmanship challenge that is rife with mistakes only rookies should make.

After the contestants get a brief night's sleep, sous chefs Scott and Andy show up with overalls and boots for the contestants to use in the next challenge. They all go downstairs, where Chef Ramsay explains today's test. Each team must create four chicken dishes, but before retreating to the kitchen they must determine what they will be working with. For every live chicken they catch and deposit into a cage, they can retrieve an ingredient from a list including such items as bleu cheese, pickles, and grits.

With just 12 chefs remaining, Chef Ramsay pits the red team against the blue team in another intense challenge. The winning team celebrates in high style while the losing team is left behind to fulfill drab duties. Tune in to see which contestants are on the chopping block.

The five remaining chefs are challenged to create as pretty as it tastes. A winner will be chosen by experts from Bon Apetite magazine and will win a dinner with Chef Ramsay and Bon Apetite editor Barbara Fairchild at a luxury hotel in Santa Monica.

With just nine chefs remaining, Chef Ramsay pits the red team against the blue team in another intense challenge. The winning team celebrates in high style while the losing team is left behind to fulfill drab duties.

The final two chefs compete to be the winner of Hell's Kitchen. Both are given a preview of what they could win and face their toughest challenge yet. One of the two is declared the winner of Hell's Kitchen, earning $250,000 and a position at the Savoy Hotel in London.

The 13 remaining contestants prepare a special lunch for two charitable organizations involving active and retired firefighters in Los Angeles. Later, dinner service becomes tense and multiple chefs are ordered to leave the kitchen.

The contestants compete to create Greek-inspired dishes, with the winners getting a trip to the go-kart track; chef Michael Psilakis guest judges; Ramsay kicks one team out during dinner service, leaving the other to cover.

The chefs jump back into the dating game on hkchefsonly.com, hoping to swipe right on the perfect match of ingredients; the stakes are high during a special steak night dinner service; one team struggles with overcooking its dish

When the contestants must deliberate on which chef makes the best scallops, tensions run high. A rocky first dinner service for both teams involves raw meat and bad communication. After serving stars like Garcelle Beauvais, Alex Mack, and Martina McBride, Chef Ramsay must decide who will not make the cut.

The teams must retrieve crabs from the ocean and create crab cake dishes, with the first team to come up with 10 dishes winning a trip to Arizona for horseback riding and dinner; during dinner service, one team struggles with the seafood.

A challenge involving exotic proteins, including alligator, ostrich and wild boar, is followed by chef Ramsay giving the remaining nine contestants one-on-one evaluations and sending one of the weakest team members home.

The teams must create six unique dishes for former sous chef Andi; while the challenge winners spend the night in Las Vegas, the losing team makes a mountain of macaroons; dinner service has the contestants cooking for Andi's wedding reception.

This season's contestants head to Las Vegas where they participate in the signature dish challenge; the winners of the challenge ride on the world's tallest Ferris wheel while the losers peel 50lbs of shrimp and 1,000lbs of potatoes.

Tensions run high in the house as the teams face their next challenge, which is to make eight unique dishes using a selection of ostrich cuts. While the winners get to go to Big Bear for a zip-lining excursion, the losing chefs have to pluck pine nuts out of pinecones.

An ocean adventure is up for grabs as the teams try to impress chef Gordon Ramsay during a cheese challenge. Later, emotions are elevated as the 14 remaining contestants work to avoid elimination and complete a star-studded dinner service.

Following a difficult elimination in the previous episode, the teams return to the dormitories. The Blue Team is determined to win a service, having lost the last challenge. In the meantime, Krupa is celebrating the Red Team's win by relaxing with a few drinks. The next morning the chefs are up and ready to go, but Krupa is in a world of pain. All of the contestants then meet Chef Ramsay in the dining room. He asks them to create something delicious from a table of ingredients that includes grains, fruits, and oils. After hearing a few of the contestants' ideas, he introduces them to his guests, beer sommeliers Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune. The competitors are told to prepare individual dishes using one or more types of beer. Chef Ramsay has designed the challenge to test the chefs' creativity and their ability to make a well-balanced and delicious dish using a unique element. Krupa's night of celebration is catching up with her, and she's not performing at her best. Since the women have six chefs to the men's five, they are told to drop one dish, and they choose Krupa's rabbit.

The top five chefs must prepare a unique and elegant small-plate dish in under 45 minutes for people attending a private symphony performance; the challenge winner earns a private helicopter tour of Los Angeles; the top four chefs are revealed.

On this week's episode of Hell's Kitchen the chefs are feeling the heat. When faced with a pasta challenge judged by pasta experts and owners of the critically acclaimed Don Angie, Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli, the pasta-bilities are endless. Then, one team dishes out a stellar dinner service while the other must face Chef Ramsay's wrath.

It is the season finale of 'Hell's Kitchen: Head Chef's Only', and it is down to the finale two head chefs. With the help of some old friends, the finalists will compete in a final dinner service with their very own custom menu tailored to their unique tastes and signature dishes.

Rise and Shine! The chefs are in for a rude awakening that could make or break their Hell's Kitchen journey. During a fishy challenge, the chefs must go head to head in a seafood showdown where only one team can reign supreme.

Season 20 winner Trenton Garvey and soon-to-be-wife, Macee, enter the kitchen and challenge the contestants to create their upcoming wedding menu. It's a once-in-a-lifetime challenge when they find out who the dinner service is for.

The blue team gains a new member; the team that wins a grocery spelling challenge spends the day flying in a stunt plane, while the losing team makes sangria for dinner service; VIP dinner guests include Thomas Ian Nichols and Omar Benson Miller.

Ramsay splits the 18 aspiring chefs into two teams and asks them to present their signature dishes; the winning team spends time with Ramsay and chef Wolfgang Puck, while the losers set up the living arrangements.

With only four chefs per team, they must prepare to cook for a charity dinner service in support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Waterkeeper Alliance featuring Italian food, but one team's performance forces Gordon to get involved.

Grammy-winning guitarist Steve Vai performs; the contestants must create unique dishes with a limited number of ingredients; the winning team plays a game of paintball while the losing team is faced with delivery day at the kitchen.

Contestants from each team must work in pairs and present a unique pizza dish to Ramsay; the losers clean up and prepare both kitchens for dinner service, while the winners go to a luxurious hotel; one team runs out of a crucial ingredient.

The remaining seven chefs face a dinner service for pastry chef Valerie Gordon, who will harshly judge each team's dessert, but poor communication results in kitchen chaos and one dramatic elimination before the next round.

Communication is crucial in the kitchen, and this week the chefs will have to prove they have what it takes to communicate with efficiency. When team members must work together in a secret ingredient challenge some chefs will puzzle together a masterpiece while others need to get a clue.

John Ratzenberger judges the contestants' food pairings; while the challenge winners spend the day at a famous roller rink and go on a beer tasting, the losers prepare linens for dinner service; gastropub night doesn't go smoothly.

After both teams are reorganized, the chefs blindly choose ingredients from which they must create a unique dish; the chefs must serve a five-course meal to UNICEF Ambassador Angie Harmon and other VIP attendees.

The contestants race in the first annual Crepe Grand Prix challenge for a chance to win a luxurious dining experience on a yacht in Santa Barbara. Later, one team struggles right out of the gate during a dinner service featuring VIP guests Maureen DeWulf and Dash Mihok.

This week, it is the 350th episode of Hell's Kitchen! During this milestone episode, the chefs are challenged with putting together some fabulous burgers using an assortment of wild ingredients thrown their way by Chef Ramsay. Will they flip out under pressure? When the chefs start feeling homesick in hell, they must decide if they have what it takes to stick around.

Chef's face the ultimate test of their individual pallets in the 21st annual blind taste test challenge; actor Eric McCormack and professional baseball player Justin Turner attend the dinner service for their respective charities.

The nine remaining chefs take part in a breakfast challenge, during which their team must make a vegetarian, meat, seafood and sweet dish for surprise judges Suzanne Tracht and David LeFebve. While the winners ride all-terrain vehicles in Palm Springs, the losers prepare fresh-squeezed Orange Juice for a special brunch service featuring celebrity diners Flo Rida and Jeff Dunham.

Eighteen new aspiring chefs dare to brave the heat of competition when Chef Gordon Ramsay opens the doors to a new season of HELL'S KITCHEN. The chefs must prove they have the skill, passion and dedication as they compete for the grand prize of a Head Chef position at BLT Steak in New York City. In the first team challenge of the season, Chef Ramsay asks the contestants to prepare their signature dish and splits the chefs into two teams: men vs. women. The winning team gets a taste of the sweet life when they wine and dine with Season Eight winner Nona Sivley at L.A. Market, while the losing team is left behind to scrub down the kitchen in preparation for their first dinner service. Following a sobering announcement moments before the grand reopening of HELL'S KITCHEN, tempers flare when the teams struggle to communicate effectively and the slow service forces diners to walk out before their entrees are served.

With just 16 chefs remaining, the tension among the contestants becomes palpable as Chef Ramsay pits the red team against the blue team in another intense challenge. The winning team celebrates in high style while the losing team is left behind to fulfill drab duties. During dinner service, both teams struggle to cook their dishes properly and on time, and the contestants’ lack of cooperation and efficiency sends Chef Ramsay over the edge.

The remaining contestants take part in an Ingredient Crossword Challenge. Later, kid-friendly items must be incorporated into the dinner service during a family night with VIP diners, who include actresses Lauren Lapkus and Ciara Hanna.

The remaining chefs compete in the thirteenth episode of the season and struggle against the pressure with only four chefs left. The chefs are challenged to teach bachelors how to prepare monkfish. During service, a chef is called out for sabotaging another. A budding romance forces Chef Ramsay to make a difficult decision.

The chefs step up to compete one-on-one in an ingredient game show, where contestants who win can either choose the fate of that ingredient or sabotage the other team; chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo join Gordon in the dining room.

Olympic athletes Maurice Greene, Natalie Coughlin and Danell Leyva help Ramsay lead a 3K race, with the red and blue teams racing to prepare lunch for the runners; communication issues lead to fights during the dinner service.

Teamwork plays an important role during a relay race in which duos must accomplish basic culinary tasks; while challenge winners go to San Francisco, the losing team picks carrots at a farm; both teams disappoint during dinner service.

Twenty aspiring restaurateurs present their signature dishes to Ramsay -- and an audience -- in Las Vegas; while the challenge winners earn a night out on the town, the losers must head back to Los Angeles on a school bus.

The teams have just 20 minutes to prepare breakfast for culinary school graduates and their guests; while the winning team goes to San Francisco to meet chef Dominique Chen, the losers grind meat by hand for dinner service.

When the punishment pass is introduced to the chefs, the pressure is on to deliver! Then, Hell's Kitchen is about to go up in flames with the fiery flambé challenge! During the chef's dinner service on opening night they get their first taste of Chef's Ramsay's wrath when their execution is not up to par and one chef will be send packing.

A rubber-duck hunt determines which ingredients the contestants will use with duck in a team challenge; the winning team spends the day on a yacht while the losers prepare a duck appetizer. Guests for dinner service include Kris Jenner and Dita Von Teese.

Special guest judge and fish-cooking expert Chef Michael Cimarusti joins Chef Ramsay, as the remaining contestants compete in a special challenge involving creatures of the sea. Then, during dinner service, the chefs aim to impress a host of VIP guests, including actor Aleks Paunovic, rapper E-40, professional dancer Cheryl Burke and actor Dan Bucatinsky. With two chefs fighting bitterly for authority and another struggling to communicate, Chef Ramsay is less than pleased. Find out who doesn't make the cut.

While chefs are challenged to serve five "staple" dishes, one chef is removed from each team at certain intervals until the final chef finishes all dishes; the teams are taken aback by an unexpected alteration to the dining service.

The remaining contestants are tasked with cooking their own version of a Southern staple, which will be judged by chef Chris Hastings. Later, there's a feeling of determination to impress VIP guests J.J. Redick, Blake Lewis, Mircea Monroe and Adrienne Maloof at dinner service. However, stress levels rise and Ramsay makes a shocking decision.

The six remaining aspiring chefs work together for the first time as one team. The chefs are presented with a challenge requiring them to come up with a creative dish using cheap ingredients. Switching stations create added pressure during service.

In the 16th season premiere, chef Gordon Ramsey welcomes his 18 new recruits on the grounds of the U.S. Army training facility. Then, it's survival of the fittest when they face the Signature Dish challenge and their first dinner service, during which they cook for VIP guests Nolan Gould and Erica Ash.