Country of origin United States Original network Fox | No. of episodes 15 | |
Original release July 21 (2009-07-21) – October 13, 2009 (2009-10-13) | ||
Season 6 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen began airing on the Fox Network on July 21, 2009 and concluded on October 13, 2009.
Contents
Despite suffering a fractured wrist early in the competition, Executive Chef Dave Levey won the season and was awarded a Head Chef position under Executive Chef James Walt at the Araxi Restaurant in Whistler, British Columbia, the first time the prize was a position at a Canadian restaurant.
Format
The first half of each episode consists of a team challenge, in which the winning side gets a reward of some sort of leisure activity, while the losing side has to clean up and prepare both kitchens, as well as some activity that is not so pleasant. Afterwards, the teams compete in executing a dinner service, during which Ramsay can impose additional punishments or kick chefs out of the kitchen. The losing team(s) nominates chefs to be considered for elimination. Ramsay can also nominate chefs, and ultimately sends a chef home. At six chefs left, the teams merge to one, and the chefs compete as individuals.
Staff
Gordon Ramsay returned as the head chef, blue team sous chef Scott Leibfried, and Maître d' Jean-Philippe Susilovic as well. Heather West, the winner of Season 2, became the new sous chef for the red team, she replaced Gloria Félix who was the sous-chef for the previous two seasons.
Opening sequence
The chefs appear in a Hell's Kitchen style carnival. A second version was shown from episode 2 onwards featuring Robert taking the place of Dave who now appears before Tennille.
Contestants
Initially, sixteen chefs began the competition, and were joined by a seventeenth, Robert Hesse from the previous season, in the middle of the first episode.
Contestant progress
Each week, the best member (determined by Ramsay) from the losing team during the latest service period is asked to nominate two of their teammates for elimination; one of these two is meant to be sent home by Ramsay. On some weeks, there is a variation in the nomination process, depending on the losing team's (or even winning team's) performance.
Episodes
Each episode consists of a challenge with a reward, a service and an elimination.
Epilogue
Dave went on to work for the Araxi Restaurant until the end of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games at which point he left as he disliked the way they treated him like a line cook. Despite not appearing in Season 9, Dave was mentioned by Chef Ramsay who told Jonathon about Dave's victory with only one hand. Dave returned in the first episode of Season 10. He cooked a steak dinner for the red team along with Rock Harper from Season 3. Dave competed against Season 11's final five chefs alongside Season 3 winner Rock, Season 4 winner Christina, Season 8 winner Nona, and Season 9 winner Paul.
Tennille and Van returned in Season 9 as part of an All-Stars team alongside Ben (Season 5) & Trev & Jillian (Season 8) and competed against that seasons final five chefs at dinner service - only to end up losing to that season's Top 5.
Kevin later returned to Season 10, to face against that seasons final six chefs, with Virginia Dalbeck (Season 2), Bonnie Muirhead (Season 3), Paula DaSilva (Season 5), Jay Santos (Season 7) & Russell Kook II (Season 8) and ended up being the clear winners. Kevin also appeared on episode 4 of Kitchen Casino, where he was the winner of the four chefs competing. Ariel Fox competed on episode 1 of the same show and was the runner up of the episode.
Lovely took part in the ninth season of Food Network's Food Network Star. She was eliminated in the fourth episode but won the star salvation in the eighth episode but was eliminated that episode.