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Hell's Kitchen Season 5 Episodes
Season 5 Episode Guide
15 Episodes 2009 - 2009
Episode 1
16 Chefs Compete
Thu, Jan 29, 2009 60 mins
Chef Gordon Ramsay returns for a fifth season to bedevil would-be culinary superstars, and things begin promisingly as contestants prepare their signature dishes. "Best ever," Ramsay reports. Dinner service doesn't go as well. For starters, the field of 16, the largest ever, is unwieldy, so a member of each team waits on tables. One does so disastrously. And in the kitchen, it's worse. The winner gets an executive-chef position at an Atlantic City, N.J., hotel.
Episode 2
15 Chefs Compete
Thu, Feb 5, 2009 60 mins
Fifteen chefs compete for what will be 14 slots at the end of the show.
Episode 3
14 Chefs Compete
Thu, Feb 19, 2009 60 mins
The 14 remaining chefs visit a meat locker to learn about various cuts of beef, then put their knowledge into practice when chef Ramsay proclaims Hell's Kitchen a steak house for the night.
Episode 4
13 Chefs Compete
Thu, Feb 26, 2009 60 mins
The 13 remaining chefs must serve breakfast to 50 young football players and cheerleaders. One of the teams runs out of eggs.
Episode 5
12 Chefs Compete
Thu, Mar 5, 2009 60 mins
The 12 remaining candidates shop at an Asian market for ingredients for Asian-fusion beef, poultry and seafood dishes that are judged by chef Ramsay and food writer Tanya Steel, the editor of Epicurious.com. At dinner service, chefs from both teams crack under pressure, and before the field is reduced to 11, Ramsay does something unusual.
Episode 6
11 Chefs Compete
Thu, Mar 12, 2009 60 mins
The 11 remaining chefs cook for a Bar Mitzvah, preparing fine-dining variations on the guest of honor's three favorite dishes. Later, the dinner service goes well---but not well enough for one contestant.
Episode 7
10 Chefs Compete
Thu, Mar 19, 2009 60 mins
The 10 remaining chefs must make tapas-style dishes (aka small plates) from leftovers. At dinner service, one chef's mistake nearly derails both teams, and the lack of blue-team cohesion steams Chef Ramsay.
Episode 8
9 Chefs Compete
Thu, Mar 26, 2009 60 mins
The presence of guest diners Eric McCormack and Robert Patrick intensifies the competition among the nine remaining chefs, who also face a surprise taste-test challenge.
Episode 9
8 Chefs Compete
Thu, Apr 2, 2009 60 mins
The eight remaining chefs must prepare a dish made with king crab, with each team presenting its strongest plate to chef Ramsay. During dinner service, the teams devise their own menus.
Episode 10
6 Chefs Compete
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 60 mins
The teams are dissolved and the competition becomes strictly individual as the six remaining chefs must each prepare a dish using 14 simple ingredients. Later, though, the competitors must pull together at dinner service, but things get heated and one chef must seek medical attention.
Episode 11
5 Chefs Compete
Thu, Apr 16, 2009 60 mins
After a trip to Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, where one will soon be a top chef, the contestants must prepare a signature dish that they would serve at the Borgata.
Episode 12
4 Chefs Compete
Thu, Apr 23, 2009 60 mins
Chef Ramsay cooks for the remaining four chefs---then tells them to replicate what he had prepared. Later, there's a surprise proposal planned for the dinner service's dessert course.
Episode 13
3 Chefs Compete
Thu, Apr 30, 2009 60 mins
The final three contestants prepare a meal for 100 top L.A. chefs. The winner gets to appear on Fox's local morning show while the losers must wash and iron the Hell's Kitchen linens---and watch the winner on TV as well. At dinner service, each of the three must "run the pass," a test that two will pass.
Episode 14
2 Chefs Compete
Thu, May 7, 2009 60 mins
The two finalists go back to Atlantic City to discuss their potential menus with the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa's chief operating officer. But first they work with an architect to design restaurant spaces for their final dinner-service competition.
Episode 15
2 Chefs to Winner
Thu, May 14, 2009 60 mins
Season 5 finale: The final two contestants square off in their last dinner-service competition. The winner gets the head-chef job at a new restaurant at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.
