Hell's Kitchen (American TV series) season 1
| Hell's Kitchen | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
| No. of episodes | 11 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Original release | May 30 – August 1, 2005 |
| Season chronology | |
This article contains contestant information and episode summaries from the first season of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen. Season 1 aired starting on May 30, 2005 and concluded on August 1, 2005. Michael Wray from Fort Collins, Colorado, won the first season of Hell's Kitchen, thus winning his own restaurant in Los Angeles named Tatou (he was offered to go to London to work under Gordon Ramsay, but later declined due to family reasons). This was the first season where the teams were not separated by gender at the start, which wouldn't happen again until season 18. This was also the only season where Ramsay addressed the show's progress on camera to the viewers, rather than just a voice-over explaining eliminations.
The show was taped in Los Angeles at KCOP, in a converted former television broadcast facility that previously hosted shows such as The Joker's Wild and Tic-Tac-Dough in the late 1970s to mid-1980s.
Sous chefs and Maître d'hôtel
- Sous chefs – Scott Leibfried and Mary-Ann Salcedo
- Maître d'hôtel – Jean-Philippe Susilovic
Chefs
The 12 contestants were initially divided into the Blue team and the Red team, but not based on gender as in all the following seasons. The contestants were:
| Contestant | Age (at time of filming) | Occupation | Hometown | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Wray | 27 | Professional Chef | Fort Collins, Colorado | Winner |
| Ralph Pagano | 36 | Professional Chef | Livingston, New Jersey | Runner-Up |
| Jessica Cabo | 26 | Headhunter | Huntington, New York | Eliminated before Finals |
| Elizabeth "Elsie" Ramos | 40 | Mother of Six | Maywood, New Jersey | Eliminated after 8th Service |
| James "Jimmy" Casey | 25 | Purchasing Supervisor | Williston Park, New York | Eliminated after 7th Service |
| Andrew Bonito | 24 | Office Assistant | Livingston, New Jersey | Eliminated before Black Jackets |
| Christopher "Chris" North | 35 | Executive Chef | Yorktown Heights, New York | Eliminated after 5th Service |
| Mary Ellen Daniels | 27 | Bartender | Belmont, Massachusetts | Eliminated after 4th Service |
| Wendy Liu | 32 | Account Manager | Millburn, New Jersey | Eliminated after 3rd Service |
| Jeffery "Jeff" LaPoff | 28 | Finance Manager | Orange, New Jersey | Left during 3rd Service |
| Jeffery Dewberry | 33 | Pastry Chef | Stockbridge, Georgia | Eliminated after 2nd Service |
| Carolann Valentino | 33 | Server's Assistant | Dallas, Texas | Eliminated after 1st Service |
Contestant progress
Each week, the best member from the losing team during the latest service period ("least bad" as determined by Ramsay) is asked to nominate two of their teammates for elimination; one of these two is sent home by Gordon Ramsay.
| Original teams | Switched teams | Individual | Finals | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Chef | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105 | 106 | 107 | 108 | 109 | 110/111 | |||
| 1 | Michael | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN | BoW | WIN | IN | IN | IN | WINNER | |||
| 2 | Ralph | WIN | WIN | BoW | LOSE | WIN | NOM[n 1] | BoW | IN | IN | RUNNER-UP | |||
| 3 | Jessica | WIN | WIN | LOSE | BoW | WIN | BoW | NOM | NOM[n 1] | OUT | ||||
| 4 | Elsie | BoW | LOSE | WIN | WIN | NOM | WIN | IN | OUT[n 1] | |||||
| 5 | Jimmy | LOSE | LOSE | WIN | WIN | LOSE | WIN | OUT | ||||||
| 6 | Andrew | WIN | WIN | NOM | NOM | WIN | OUT | |||||||
| 7 | Chris | LOSE | BoW | WIN | WIN | OUT | ||||||||
| 8 | Mary Ellen | WIN | WIN | LOSE | OUT | |||||||||
| 9 | Wendy | WIN | WIN | OUT | ||||||||||
| 10 | Jeff | LOSE | NOM | LEFT | ||||||||||
| 11 | Dewberry | NOM | OUT | |||||||||||
| 12 | Carolann | OUT | ||||||||||||
|
|
- Notes
Episodes
Each episode consisted of a challenge with a reward, a service, and an elimination.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Day 1" | May 30, 2005 |
| 2 | 2 | "Day 2" | June 6, 2005 |
| 3 | 3 | "Day 3" | June 13, 2005 |
| 4 | 4 | "Day 4" | June 20, 2005 |
| 5 | 5 | "Day 5" | June 27, 2005 |
| 6 | 6 | "Day 6" | July 11, 2005 |
| 7 | 7 | "Day 7" | July 11, 2005 |
| 8 | 8 | "Day 8" | July 18, 2005 |
| 9 | 9 | "Day 9" | July 25, 2005 |
| 10 11 | 10 11 | "Day 10" | August 1, 2005 |