Hell's Kitchen

On the Season 12 premiere of HELL'S KITCHEN, the newest batch of twenty aspiring restaurateurs attempt to impress Gordon Ramsay and his fiery personality as they head to the kitchen. In the first challenge of the season, Chef Ramsay splits the chefs into two teams: men (blue) vs. women (red) and asks the them to present their signature dish. The winning team gets treated to an exclusive dinner with Chef Ramsay, while the losing team is left behind to scrub down the kitchen. During opening night dinner service, both teams make major mistakes and some tempers reach their boiling point. Find out which contestants are safe and who is the first to be eliminated.

Chef Ramsay tests the contestants' ability to work as a team by setting up a tricycle relay race during which both teams must work in pairs to accomplish basic culinary tasks. The winning team earns a trip to San Francisco, while the losing team goes carrot picking at a farm. Later, both teams fail to impress Chef Ramsay during another disappointing dinner service. Find out who is sent home for good.

Chef Ramsay teaches the chefs a lesson in teamwork when he puts them through a physical challenge involving pigs and potatoes, but the competition really heats up when the team competition continues in the kitchen. The winning team earns a luxurious day on a yacht while the losing team is tasked with bathing their new livestock friends. Later, a disorganized dinner service disappoints Chef Ramsay, and once again an entire team is kicked out of the kitchen. Find out who is eliminated.

Chef Ramsay challenges the contestants to an intense team competition involving lobster ravioli. The first team to successfully create 10 perfect plates of lobster ravioli will win a relaxing day by the pool at a luxurious Beverly Hills mansion, while the losing team must spend the day cleaning the kitchen. Later, the competition heats up as contestants prepare a steak dinner for hungry diners. While some rise to the top, others scramble to complete the simplest dishes, and Chef Ramsay grills the losing team.

Chef Ramsay puts the contestants to the ultimate memory test when he challenges the red and blue teams to match side dishes with four different types of protein. The team that pairs the dishes successfully wins a day trip to Laguna Beach, while the losing team spends the day preparing honey taffy from scratch. Later, the contestants get an early wake-up call to prepare a breakfast reception for the first-ever HELL'S KITCHEN wedding. While some contestants rise to challenge, others scramble to complete the simplest dishes, resulting in an emotional elimination round.

In the continuation of a heated elimination, Chef Ramsay asks each team to pick a team leader for the next dinner service. Each team strategizes station assignments, as they anxiously prepare for their first VIP guests in HELL'S KITCHEN. But the meal takes a turn for the worse when one chef prematurely serves an undercooked dish. Find out which team has to present two chefs for elimination and which contestant Chef Ramsay chooses to send home.

The teams must create a unique pizza dish for VIP guest judge Chef Wolfgang Puck.

Chef Ramsay announces that HELL'S KITCHEN will be hosting a 160th anniversary party for the Phi Mu sorority. During the first challenge, the Red and Blue teams prepare a southern-inspired menu for the Phi Mu social committee. The team with the most impressive dishes earns an elaborate trip to Las Vegas, while the losing team stays behind to transform the restaurant for the party. Later, Chef Ramsay puts the pressure on the chefs to execute a flawless dinner service, but each of the teams struggle to communicate with each other, and the losing team must nominate two of its weakest links to be up for elimination.

In the ultimate adaptability challenge, contestants from the Red and Blue teams are given 30 minutes to shine, as each team member must create an entrée with four surprise ingredients in a hidden dome challenge. Chef Ramsay and VIP guest judge, Chef Michael Cimarusti, will determine which team will be treated to a beachside lunch and volleyball lesson with Kerri Walsh Jennings and which team will stay behind to do the kitchen chores. Later, tensions rise as Chef Ramsay announces it is time for 1:1 performance evaluations. Then, for the first time in HELL'S KITCHEN history, Chef Ramsay pits the lowest-ranking chefs from each team against each other, beginning an emotional elimination round.

After a dramatic elimination, Chef Ramsay starts the day with a surprise field trip to a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, welcoming them into a kitchen that one day could be theirs. Later, the Red and Blue teams must prepare the restaurant's inspired meals. While one team leads the way, the other team struggles to communicate and is eventually kicked out of the kitchen, forcing them to present numerous chefs up for elimination.

After an emotional elimination, Chef Ramsay challenges the contestants to a team competition testing their knowledge of pork. The winning team is rewarded with an indoor sky-diving experience, while the competition gets nuts for the losing team as they prepare for the dinner service. Later during the dinner service, the competition heats up as one team struggles to divide responsibilities in the kitchen while the other team is unable to coordinate timing and food delivery. With both teams unable to successfully complete the dinner service, Chef Ramsay challenges the contestants to work together in a completely new way.

After Chef Ramsay reorganizes the members on the Red and Blue teams, contestants must learn to trust their senses -- and each other -- as he challenges contestants to a "dark grocery store" challenge. Each contestant blindly chooses his/her ingredients and must create a unique dish that uses all of them. The contestant with the best dish wins the challenge, as well as a day full of pampering at a Beverly Hills spa for his/her entire team, while the losing team unloads the dinner service deliveries. Later, Chef Ramsay announces that they will be serving a five-course meal to VIP attendees from UNICEF, including actress and UNICEF ambassador Angie Harmon ("Rizzoli & Isles"). Both teams struggle to deliver the dishes on time, and Chef Ramsay asks for both teams to present contestants for elimination.

Following a disappointing dinner service and contestant elimination, Chef Ramsay asks each team to create their own restaurant menu for the battle of the menus challenge. After each team presents their menus and dishes to Chef Ramsay, they begin preparing for the next dinner service. Dining guests will have the option to order either the Red or Blue team menus. The team with the most popular menu and that successfully serves their dishes wins the dinner service challenge. Although both teams finish strongly, one team impressed the dining guests more, and the losing team must present two contestants up for elimination.

After members of each team change up once again, Chef Ramsay challenges the remaining eight contestants to a HELL'S KITCHEN classic: the blind taste test. The team that correctly identifies the most ingredients wins an ice skating lesson with former U.S. National Champion and Olympian figure skater Rachael Flatt, while the losing team chisels down ice blocks and prepares homemade ice cream for the next dinner service. Later during the dinner service, contestants struggle to stay organized in their stations and temperatures flare when one team is unable to work together. As one team completes one of the most successful dinner services this season, another team must put two contestants up for elimination.

With seven contestants remaining, Chef Ramsay puts the Red and Blue teams to the test in the grocery store. Each team must purchase ingredients under a small budget, in hopes of producing three entrees with the highest dollar value. The team that achieves the greatest profit wins a shopping spree, while the losing team must clean the dorms. For the next challenge, Chef Ramsay welcomes three former HELL'S KITCHEN winners to judge each contestant's entrée. This time, each person is competing individually for the chance at the black jacket and immunity from elimination. The contestants battle for the judges' approval.

After spending time with three former HELL'S KITCHEN contestants, this season's remaining seven contestants prepare for a dinner service with special guests from Oxfam America, including Academy Award nominee and Oxfam America ambassador, Minnie Driver. Later, during the dinner service, two contestants struggle with their stations, leading to an early elimination in the middle of the dinner service. Find out which contestant can't take the heat and who earns their black jackets.

After Chef Ramsay hands out the final black jackets, the remaining six chefs head to the University of Southern California to prepare tailgate fare for hungry football fans. The chefs who earn the most fan votes will be treated to an exquisite lunch in Malibu, complete with wine tasting, while the other chefs will return to HELL'S KITCHEN to separate trash on recycling day. Later, tempers flare during the first black jacket dinner service, and two of the weakest links will be put up for elimination. Find out whose dreams of winning HELL'S KITCHEN will go up in flames.

Chef Ramsay challenges the remaining contestants to create dishes with only leftover ingredients. With the help of special guest Laurie Buckle, editor of Better Homes & Gardens, Chef Ramsay must decide which contestant dish will be featured in the magazine. The winning contestant also gets a flight session on a private jet, while the remaining contestants must remain in the kitchen and prepare for the next dinner service. With VIP dining guest and comic book mastermind Stan Lee at the VIP table, the pressure is more intense than ever as the remaining contestants attempt to execute a successful dinner service. Find out whose journey will end.

The final four finalists are treated to a surprise when their loved ones visit HELL'S KITCHEN, but family time comes to an end when Chef Ramsay announces the classic "Taste It Now Make It Challenge." Relying only on their palates and one sample plate of Chef Ramsay's complex seafood entrée, the contestants must recreate the dish and correctly identify its protein, garnish and purée. The winner will receive a VIP restaurant tour around Los Angeles, while the other chefs will do all heavy lifting during move-out day. After dinner service, Chef Ramsay makes one of the most difficult decisions yet, when he sends two of the four chefs home.

Chef Ramsay sets the stage for the remaining two contestants when he throws them into the ring to prepare five unique dishes for the final challenge, which will be judged by five of the most renowned chefs in Los Angeles. Later, with the help of former HELL'S KITCHEN contestants, the two chefs prepare their menus for the most important dinner service of their life. After an epic battle in the kitchen during the final dinner service, only one chef will be crowned HELL'S KITCHEN winner and receive a life-changing grand prize: a Head Chef Position at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants, with a salary of $250,000.