Hell's Kitchen (American season 4)

Season 4 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen began airing on the Fox Network starting on April 1, 2008.[1][2] The show was originally planned to air later in the season, but instead was aired as a replacement for shows that were affected by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.[1]

Hell's Kitchen
Season 4
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	15
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	April 1 (2008-04-01) – July 8, 2008 (2008-07-08)
Season chronology

Culinary student Christina Machamer won the season and was awarded a "senior sous chef" position with a $250,000 salary at Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood[3][4] – not an executive chef as mentioned in show-related publicity and press releases.[5] The London West Hollywood restaurant opened on May 27, 2008, while the series was still airing.[3][4]

Production location

This season was filmed in the warehouse district in Culver City, California.

Sous chefs and Maître d'hôtel

• Sous chefs – Scott Leibfried and Gloria Félix
• Maître d'hôtel – Jean-Philippe Susilovic

Opening sequence

Unlike the previous three seasons, this is the first season to feature a cinematic intro using live-action. It depicts the chefs, all shrunken down as they work about the kitchen.

Contestants

There were 15 chefs (8 men and 7 women) who competed in season 4. It is the first season to begin with an odd number of contestants, as well as continue again to season 6 with total of 17 contestants (despite the competition starts with 16 contestants in the beginning, because the addition of the contestants from previous season).

Contestant	Age (at time of filming)	Occupation	Hometown	Result
Christina Machamer	25	Culinary Student	St. Louis, Missouri	Winner
Louis Petrozza †	47	Catering Director	Charlotte, North Carolina	Runner-Up
Courtney "Corey" Earling	25	Private Chef	Brooklyn, New York	Eliminated before Finals
Jennifer "Jen" Gavin[lower-alpha 1]	24	Garde Manger	Chicago, Illinois	Eliminated after 12th Service
Robert "Bobby" Anderson	37	Executive Chef	Niagara Falls, New York	Eliminated after 11th Service
Matthew "Matt" Bloch[6]	35	Sous Chef	Pine Hill, New Jersey	Eliminated after 10th Service
Louross Edralin	24	Hotel Cook	Las Vegas, Nevada	Eliminated before Black Jackets
Rosann Fama	33	Law office receptionist & Former Cook	Staten Island, New York	Eliminated after 8th Service
Benjamin "Ben" Caylor	29	Electrician & Former Chef	Charlotte, North Carolina	Eliminated after 7th Service
Shayna Raichilson-Zadok	28	Catering Company Owner	Buffalo, New York	Eliminated after 6th Service
Vanessa Gunnell	31	Line Cook	Bozeman, Montana	Left before 5th Service
Craig Schneider	30	Sous Chef	Coram, New York	Eliminated after 4th Service
Jason Underwood	29	Sous Chef	Las Vegas, Nevada	Eliminated after 3rd Service
Sharon Stewart	31	Room-service chef	Las Vegas, Nevada	Eliminated after 2nd Service
Dominic DiFrancesco	43	Stay-at-home Dad	Catawba, South Carolina	Eliminated after 1st Service

Notes

† Indicates that the contestant died after filming ended

On November 15, 2019, Louis Petrozza passed away due to complications with lung cancer.

1. Chef returned to Hell's Kitchen again on Season 18.

Contestant progress

Each week, the best member (as determined by Ramsay) from the losing team during the latest service period was asked to nominate two of their teammates for elimination; one of these two was sent home by Ramsay. In Episode 1, the teams selected captains for service, though Ramsay changed both captains during service.

						Original teams						First switch	Second switch		Individual				Finals
No.	Chef					401	402	403	404	405	406	407	408	409	410	411	412	413	414/415
1					Christina	WIN	NOM	BoW	WIN	NOM	WIN	WIN	NOM[n 1]	WIN	NOM	BoB	IN	NOM	WINNER
2					Petrozza	LOSE	WIN	BoW	LOSE	WIN	WIN	NOM[n 2]	WIN	BoW	IN	IN	IN	IN	RUNNER-UP
3				Corey		WIN	BoW	LOSE	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	BoW	WIN	NOM[n 1]	IN	NOM	OUT
4				Jen		WIN	NOM	LOSE	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	NOM	IN	NOM	OUT
5				Bobby		NOM	WIN	LOSE	BoW	WIN	WIN	LOSE	WIN	LOSE	IN	OUT
6				Matt		LOSE	WIN	LOSE	NOM	WIN	NOM	WIN	NOM	WIN	OUT
7			Louross			BoW	WIN	LOSE	LOSE	NOM	WIN	NOM	WIN	OUT
8			Rosann			WIN	LOSE	LOSE	WIN	WIN	NOM[n 1]	WIN	OUT
9		Ben				LOSE	WIN	LOSE	NOM[n 1]	WIN	WIN	OUT
10	Shayna					WIN	LOSE	LOSE	WIN	WIN	OUT
11	Vanessa					WIN	LOSE	NOM	WIN	LEFT
12	Craig					LOSE	WIN	LOSE	OUT
13	Jason					LOSE	WIN	OUT
14	Sharon					WIN	OUT
15	Dominic					OUT

Keywords WIN = Won the dinner service LOSE = Lost the dinner service BoB = Best of the Best, usually exempt from nomination BoW = Best of the Worst, sometimes exempt from nomination IN = not nominated for elimination NOM = nominated for elimination OUT = eliminated LEFT = withdrew from competition

Color key      Chef was eliminated after nomination      Chef was eliminated without nomination      Chef was eliminated during service      Chef withdrew from the competition      Chef was retained after nomination      The winner of Hell's Kitchen      The runner-up of Hell's Kitchen

Notes

1. Chef was nominated by Ramsay
2. Chef nominated self

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date	US viewers (millions)	Weekly rank
34	1	"15 Chefs Compete"	April 1, 2008 (2008-04-01)	12.55	16
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. While Petrozza was amicable with customers, he was criticized by Jean-Phillipe for his slowness. In the red kitchen, Sharon proved unable to get the appetizers out, serving a completely tasteless risotto Chef Ramsay likened to rice pudding then one that reeked of garlic and was thrown off the station, while Jen, who took over for Sharon didn't fare much better at first, ruining quail eggs by flipping them over despite serving acceptable risotto. 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. Jason was first reprimanded for smoking on the patio at the start of service and not being present when Ramsey called out the first order. He then repeatedly served the risotto incorrectly, first serving a bland risotto and then overcooking and burning it. After this, Ramsey forced him to eat the burned risotto. Jason also served under-seasoned and congealed soup. Dominic repeatedly binned orders of scallops in his failed attempts to cook them and, when he finally did serve them, he overcooked them. Ramsey also criticized him for stupidly holding the order of scallops in his hands, even though Jason wasn't even close to completing the risotto. The other men repeatedly requested Bobby's help, but he repeatedly refused, stating that he "didn't want to join the chaos" and "make them look stupid," for which Ramsey rebuked him. Craig likened this to Bobby quitting, and Ben said that Bobby needed to "have to have a little more scoot in his boot." Eventually, Louross took the initiative and led 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. Despite Bobby's horrendous leadership, Ramsay eliminated Dominic for being out of his depth and poor performance on fish, but warned Bobby and Jason that they had both "dodged a bullet." Ramsay's comment: "To be a great chef you need passion, creativity, and talent. Dominic had passion, but that was it."
35	2	"14 Chefs Compete"	April 8, 2008 (2008-04-08)	11.63	19
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 appetizers, 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 put cooked meat and raw meat next to each other and forgot an order of beef, and was lectured for sticking her tongue out. Matt almost caused a fire on the garnish station, and Petrozza undercooked a steak and got numerous orders mixed up. Ramsay closed service after Jason served raw halibut twice, 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 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, much to Corey's dismay and the shock of the rest of the women. Ramsay's comment: "Sharon clearly showed great attention to detail. Unfortunately, it wasn't for her cooking, it was for her makeup."
36	3	"13 Chefs Compete"	April 15, 2008 (2008-04-15)	11.08	16
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 what the desserts were. He still could not remember 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 later burned the meat and started 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 completely shocked Ramsay when he suggested coating the rims with sugar and cocoa in an attempt to get them to rise. Ramsay bashed his head on the table repeatedly in frustration, as that was the first step in making a soufflé. 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, despite having a desire to nominate Corey as payback, nominated Vanessa. Ramsay eliminated Jason for consistently being a terrible performer, lack of passion, and not recovering after almost quitting. Ramsay's comment: "I kept waiting for Jason to show me some energy, to wake up, but he never did. And that's why I'm putting him to sleep."
37	4	"12 Chefs Compete"	April 22, 2008 (2008-04-22)	11.56	19
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 the hospital after severely burning her hand putting out a fire Shayna accidentally started in a sauté 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 his teammates, Shayna, and even Ramsay himself before finishing service. Ramsay named the women clear winners (singling out Jen as the best cook of the night for her exceptional performance), likening the men's service to a horror movie, and named Bobby Best of the Worst for finally stepping up as a leader and helping pull the men "somewhat" back together. 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, much to the men's reliefs, for his repeated mistakes and terrible attitude, and also because Ben and Matt delivered convincing pleas whereas he hadn't. Ramsay's comment: "I can teach someone how to cook, but Craig was a bad cook with an even worse attitude. There was no hope for him."
38	5	"11 Chefs Compete"	April 29, 2008 (2008-04-29)	12.26	16
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 Wellington, and Rosann struggled on garnish and soon fell behind, forcing Ramsay to send the beef Wellington 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 team's joint-winners. However, he still required each team to nominate one member for elimination. Elimination: Louross nominated himself, while the women planned to nominate Rosann, but Rosann, spurred on by Jen, talked personally to each of her teammates and had them turn against Christina, leading to her being nominated. Though Ramsay was confused by the women's decision and disappointed in Louross, in the end, he announced that due to both teams successfully finishing service and Vanessa's departure earlier in the day due to her injury, no one else would be eliminated. Although Vanessa withdrew herself, she still receives her jacket hung and her picture burned at the end of the elimination.
39	6	"10 Chefs Compete"	May 6, 2008 (2008-05-06)	11.25	18
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: Before service began, Shayna expressed frustration over Ben's laid back attitude towards her challenge winning dish, while the red team was equally as frustrated with Shayna for her slow work during prep. Hell's kitchen hosted Melissa's "Sweet 16" birthday party for the service, with Melissa and Lori as VIP guests. The service generally went well, though flaws still occurred. Christina forgot the ingredients for a risotto, while Shayna frustrated Ramsey and Gloria with her slowness 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 team's 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. During the pleas, Matt stated that Bobby had pushed him off his station that night and, after Ramsey accused him of hiding behind Bobby, stated that Ben was hiding behind Bobby. He then requested to be transferred to the red team, as he felt he had no voice or respect in the blue team and stated that if he were transferred 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 granted Matt his request to be transferred to the red team. Ramsay's comment: "Shayna has a big heart, but at times I felt her heart wasn't here. It was back home with her newborn baby. She made far too many simple mistakes and that's why she's going back to something she's good at Changing diapers."
40	7	"9 Chefs Compete"	May 13, 2008 (2008-05-13)	12.40	17
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, which just caused Ramsay to criticize her more for her mopey attitude. Matt and Christina rallied the team and pushed forward with strong performances on appetizers and meat respectively (Matt was even praised by Ramsay for serving the best risotto to ever come out of Hell's Kitchen), but the team was dragged down by Jen's attitude and Rosann's poor performance on fish. In the blue kitchen, Louross performed well on appetizers but had communication problems with Bobby on fish, who cooked his scallops too early, prompting Ramsay to berate the entire blue team for not working as a team. Ramsay also scolded Petrozza for having a messy work station shouting at him to "get clean." Ben, meanwhile, was a complete disaster on the meat station: he first angered Ramsay by not responding to him when he called out a ticket and then struggled to communicate to him what meat entrées he had ready. He then revealed that was short three wellingtons despite the fact that the ticket for them came on an hour ago, and he only made Ramsay angrier by trying to claim that he was not used to cooking on the line. The few entrees that Ben served were returned for being undercooked, causing Ramsay to berate Ben for his laid back attitude towards it and shut service down. Ramsay declared the red team the winners and 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 nominated Louross, Louross nominated Ben, 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 terrible performances, laid back attitude and refusal to own up to his mistakes. Ramsay's comment: "Ben left a manual labor job shoveling ditches to get back into cooking, but all he did in Hell's Kitchen was digging himself into a hole. A hole too deep to get out of."
41	8	"8 Chefs Compete"	May 20, 2008 (2008-05-20)	12.60	N/A
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 were given 20 ingredients to split between them and had to cook four individual dishes without using any ingredient twice. During the challenge, Matt accidentally cut off the tip of one of his fingers but returned after receiving first aid. The blue team was bogged down during the challenge as a result of Jen taking most of the ingredients for herself and then trying to make Louross do a surf and turf for his dish, despite the fact that he thought that the flavors wouldn't work. Due to Jen and Louross's conflict over his dish, the blue team was unable to plate an ingredient in time and, therefore, automatically lost the challenge. However, this wasn't revealed until the last round when Louross, against Jen's advice, admitted to Ramsay that they forgot an ingredient. Reward/punishment: The red team attended a photoshoot 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 nor 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 overcooked meat and had the blue team finish their service. The blue team was 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. Ramsey then sent Christina and Matt back in line but warned Matt he was on borrowed time and Christina that she'd have to bounce back very soon. Ramsay's comment: "If the size of one's mouth corresponded to the size of one's talent, then Rosann would have been a world-class master chef. Unfortunately, she just has a big mouth."
42	9	"7 Chefs Compete"	May 27, 2008 (2008-05-27)	9.50	N/A
Team challenge: The chefs had to prepare three dishes in a relay competition; 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 scored on scallops after the blue teams were undercooked. The blue team scored on John Dory despite Jen forgetting to plate the sauce because the red team's looked dreadful. The red team won on the chicken after Jen forgot the sauce on that dish as well. 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 reacted positively to the red team's menu, but hated the blue team's and required them to rearrange it, with Bobby taking the lead on most of the dishes. On the red team, Matt declined Christina's help for her pasta dish and had numerous of his appetizers sent back to the kitchen for being bland, too salty, and undercooked. After he was caught sweating into the food, Christina kicked him off to go work on the garnish station where he proceeded to serve undercooked brussels sprouts. Corey then kicked him off again and relegated him to desserts. After that, 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, however, Louross struggled on meat and had three steaks sent back to the kitchen for being undercooked. As a result, Ramsay issued an ultimatum to shut down the service if another steak got sent back. When Louross finally served an acceptable filet mignon, the customer had already left. Later on into service, Jen undercooked desserts and her disorganized station and messiness meant that Bobby and Petrozza struggled to help her. Both teams managed to finish service, and Ramsay declared the blue team losers; Petrozza was named Best of the Worst. Elimination: Petrozza nominated Louross and Jen. Ramsay also nominated Matt despite him being on the winning team. Despite everyone else 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. Ramsay's comment: "Louross was never short on energy, he was just short... on cooking ability."
43	10	"6 Chefs Compete"	June 3, 2008 (2008-06-03)	9.36	N/A
Ramsay changed his mind about returning Jen and Matt to their original teams, instead of merging 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 protein 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: The contestants would be competing as one team in one kitchen and serving the entire dining room for tonight's service. Jen and Petrozza managed to get appetizers out, but Jen served a nicely cooked risotto followed by one that was too salty, and Petrozza served his risotto on dirty plates. The team as a whole struggled to communicate on entrees and had trouble remembering tickets. Due to the lack of communication, Corey got overwhelmed on garnish and suffered a burn, for which she refused to get medical attention until Ramsay ordered her out. One of Matt's pans on the meat station caught fire, which he attempted to blow out despite Ramsay warning him that hot oil would splash in his face. Christina and Matt struggled to work together on the meat station, with Matt maintaining a defeated and lethargic attitude for most of the service due to his supposed migraine and Ramsay yelling at him. Christina also had one of her ribeye's, Jen's challenge winning dish, returned due to being undercooked, with both Jen and Christina disagreeing over whether Jen had told Christina the correct way to cook it. Bobby was caught cooking salmon and scallops in one pan (which he should have known better due to having a shellfish allergy), and Christina also cooked beef and chicken in one pan. Matt served raw wellingtons and overcooked filet and was berated by Ramsay for eating some of his food, though Matt claimed he was just tasting it. Fed up with Matt's constant complaints about his migraine and getting yelled at, Ramsay furiously kicked him out. 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. To everyone else's relief, Ramsay eliminated Matt for his numerous bad services and terrible attitude but encouraged him. Ramsay's comment: "There once was a boy named Matt, whose kitchen performance fell flat. He was far from neat, miserable on meat. So I kicked him out, and that's that."
44	11	"5 Chefs Compete"	June 10, 2008 (2008-06-10)	8.81	N/A
Challenge: Each chef had 45 minutes to teach a housewife how to make lobster spaghetti. Petrozza was easily distracted by his student's physical appearance, while Jen was threatened with disqualification after twice attempting to handle the ingredients herself. 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 served overcooked and poorly sliced wellingtons multiple times. When the twelve-top arrived, Christina and Corey worked well together and got twelve appetizers out at the same time. Jen was blamed for Petrozza sending up her John Dory early and received a berating in the pantry for talking back to Ramsay. On the last table, 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. Ramsay's comment: "Although Bobby was big in stature, he fell short in a number of areas. I kept on waiting for him to emerge, but he never did. That's why I have to say, 'Over and out, General Bobby.'"
45	12	"4 Chefs Compete"	June 17, 2008 (2008-06-17)	8.17	N/A
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 served mushy risotto and was slow on scallops, Petrozza, despite serving perfect meat, 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 even though 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, much to everyone else's relief, eliminated Jen for her lack of teamwork and refusal to improve her attitude but gave her encouragement. Ramsay's comment: "A great chef should not only be consistent with their cooking, but with their attitude. I never knew which Jen I was going to get at dinner service and that's why it was her time to go."
46	13	"3 Chefs Compete"	June 24, 2008 (2008-06-24)	7.70	N/A
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, which was wrong, landing her in third place. Both Christina and Petrozza used venison striploin 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 Petrozza 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 noticed Jean-Philippe giving her a ticket with six appetizers and five entrees, but struggled to get everyone to respond "Yes Chef", and was late to notice a Wellington being served with the wrong sauce. 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. Elimination: Each chef had to nominate someone else for elimination; Christina and Corey nominated each other, and Petrozza nominated Christina. Ramsay named Petrozza and then Christina to advance to the final, eliminating Corey, but Ramsay praised her for her talent.
47	14	"2 Chefs Compete"	July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01)	8.03	N/A
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. Reward: Petrozza was granted first pick in drafting a team using the six chefs eliminated before the final.[note 2] Petrozza picked Bobby and Ben, while Christina chose Corey and Louross. As Petrozza was about to choose between Jen and Matt, the episode ended in a cliffhanger.
48	15	"Winner Announced"	July 8, 2008 (2008-07-08)	N/A	N/A
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 despite receiving criticism for plating the dishes himself instead of asking his teammates for help, but Jen talked back to him while serving raw onion rings, though she stopped after Ramsay accused her of sabotage. Bobby undercooked salmon strudel appetizers and eventually ran out of ingredients for two of them. Upon prompting by Petrozza, he sent up a lobster risotto as a substitute. For Christina, two of Corey's steaks were returned for being cold, Louross needed Matt's help on salad, and Matt constantly undercooked monkfish while showing no respect towards Christina or 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 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. Ramsay's comment: "Christina had the least amount of experience coming into Hell's Kitchen. But I saw something in her that was quite special. She had the best potential across any other chef in Hell's Kitchen, and in my business, I think long term. I definitely, definitely made the right choice."

Notes

1. This was Christina's ninth challenge win, a record that stood until season 11.
2. Rosann did not return, so Ben took her place as the last chef eliminated before the final eight.

References

1. Seaton, Leslie (2007-11-12). "Hell's Kitchen: Season 4 Premiere Announced". BuddyTV. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
2. Fox Returns Series to Production. The Futon Critic.
3. Scattergood, Amy (2008-05-01). "Gordon Ramsay L.A. reservation line is open!". LA Times. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
4. "Gordon Ramsay opens news restaurant in West Hollywood". Yahoo. 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
5. "Hell's Kitchen". Futon Critic. 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
6. https://www.facebook.com/matthew.bloch.37

External links

• Hell's Kitchen official Fox.com
• Hell's Kitchen program description and commentary at the Internet Movie Database website