Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 2)

Signature dishes: Chef Ramsay asked each contestant to make their signature dish. Giacomo received praise for his frutti di mare, while Heather's chocolate raspberry empanadas and Rachel's butterfly shrimp received positive feedback for taste, but were too thick and had too much sauce, respectively. The remaining dishes received negative feedback; Keith's tuna was too hot, Ramsay refused to eat Polly's focaccia bread, Larry's crab cakes were undercooked, Ramsay spit out Maribel's soup and Tom's shrimp scampi as they were too hot, Garrett's meat was overcooked, Gabe's fish was raw, Sara's pasta was overcooked, and Virgina's salad was crunchy, and she was scolded by Ramsay for not doing more.

For the first time, the chefs were divided into teams of men (the blue team) and women (the red team).

Service: In the red kitchen, Polly was thrown out after struggling on appetizers despite help from her teammates, and though Heather put in a strong performance after replacing her, Sara was scolded for cheering. Virginia struggled on meat, and the team had mistakenly prepared veal stock rather than lamb stock, leading to Virginia fruitlessly asking the blue team for help. In the blue kitchen, Tom caused a fire on appetizers and then forgot to turn his stove back on, Larry did little and Gabe undercooked wellingtons. After three hours, Ramsay shut down the kitchens. Ramsay named the men winners for at least serving entrees; Heather was named best of the worst.

Elimination: Heather nominated Polly and Virginia. Ramsay eliminated Polly for her lack of passion and poor performance on appetizers.

Group punishment: The teams were forced to dig into the trash bin containing the food that was wasted in the previous dinner service.

Team challenge: The teams were challenged to cut the most steaks to exactly ten ounces; as the blue team had an extra member, Keith was forced to sit out. For the red team, Sara and Rachel both scored three, while Heather, Virginia and Maribel scored two. For the blue team, Gabe scored three, Garrett scored one, Giacomo scored two, but Larry scored zero. Lastly, Tom scored five and was praised, but the red team won 12-11.

Reward/punishment: The women were rewarded with a helicopter lunch at The Saddle Peak Lodge with Ramsay, while the men were forced to prep steaks for service.

Larry's exit: The night after the challenge, Larry had trouble breathing and was rushed to hospital. The following morning, he called the remaining chefs from hospital and told them that he would not be returning due to health problems. Ramsay gave no comment on Larry's departure, but his photo was shown to be burned, but he did not receive the coat hanging scene.

Service: Keith and Sara were chosen as servers for service, but both struggled. Heather burned her hand and had to leave service, but delegated her station to her team before leaving, later earning Ramsay's praise; Sara replaced her. Virginia put incorrect sauce on monkfish and shocked Ramsay when she said she would serve a tortellini that was split. The blue team failed to serve an appetizer as Gabe allowed his teammates to work his station, while Tom and Giacomo struggled to work together on meat and garnish as Giacomo did not know what sides were required. After several customers walked out, Ramsay closed the kitchens. Ramsay named the red team winners for their improvement; Garrett was named best of the worst.

Elimination: Garrett nominated Giacomo and Tom. After Tom plead his case, Ramsay sent him back in line and nominated Gabe. Ramsay eliminated Gabe for his poor performance on appetizers and lack of desire.

Team challenge: Both teams had to cook three entrees (chicken, tortellini and salmon) in twenty minutes, with one person in the kitchen at a time. During the switch, each team member would only have fifteen seconds to give information to their replacements. Heather sat out as she feared her hand injury would slow her team down. Maribel did not hear the tortellini entree from Rachel, which caused the women to only create two entrees and the men to score on tortellini by default, but the women won by scoring on chicken and salmon.

Reward/punishment: The women were rewarded with a yacht trip with Ramsay, while the blue team were forced to do both team's laundry by hand. When they returned, Garrett argued with Heather, creating a bitter rivalry.

Service: Sara and Keith both put in strong performances on appetizers, though Keith was scolded for handling rice with his hands. Tom was scolded for giving up after burning his hand and argued with Keith, while Giacomo forgot to turn the oven on before losing track of his orders; Ramsay switched Giacomo to the fish station. Giacomo and Tom used up virtually all of the blue kitchen's food during their unsuccessful attempts to serve entrees, making it impossible for service to get back on track. In the red kitchen, Heather tried to control other stations, but was scolded by Ramsay, while Maribel struggled on meat. Ramsay was angry at Maribel and disappointed in Heather, but praised Sara as the red team's best for the night. The red team were named winners for serving more entrees.

Elimination: While Keith was acknowledged as the best of the worst, Ramsay refused to let him select two nominees for elimination due to his failure to step up as a leader. Instead, the men individually nominated another teammate for elimination. Tom nominated Giacomo, and Giacomo, Garrett, and Keith nominated Tom. Ramsay eliminated Giacomo for being the worst performer of the night.

Team change: Before the challenge, Ramsay transferred Heather to the blue team.

Field trip: The teams were taken to Pink's Hot Dogs, where Ramsay surprised them with news that they would be opening for lunch for the first time, forcing them to run back to Hell's Kitchen.

Team challenge: The teams had to cook lunch for a group of children. Heather clamped down on bickering between Garrett and Tom and helped the blue team finally come together. Meanwhile, the red team was marred by a power struggle between Rachel and Sara. Both teams managed to complete a service for the first time, finally impressing Ramsay. The red team earned a score of 9.84 out of 10, but the blue team won with a score of 9.85.

Reward/punishment: The blue team won a trip to an amusement park, while the red team was forced to clean up the dining room, full of food on the floor, balloons and silly string. Garrett and Heather made up, and became friends, along with Keith. They all secretly plotted to get Tom out of the team, because he was holding them back.

Service: In the red kitchen, Rachel struggled on risotto, and though Sara told Virginia she was "ready and waiting for her call" on turbot, Ramsay berated Virginia, accusing her of lying. Maribel served poor mashed potatoes, Rachel and Virginia left bones and wing on a quail, and Rachel left to buy ice after running out. Meanwhile, Tom was scolded for working the wrong order and cooking in a burnt pan. Virginia served rare wellington instead of medium, and when Ramsay realized the women were glazing with egg whites instead of egg wash and ran out of wellingtons, he closed both kitchens. Ramsay named both teams losers, ordering one nominee from each team for elimination; this was the first time in the show's history that Ramsay named both teams losers. Keith and Sara were named the best of their respective teams.

Elimination: Tom and Virginia were nominated. Ramsay eliminated Tom for his string of bad services.

Team challenge: The teams were told to taste various high cuisine dishes, not realizing they were made of low quality processed foods. Afterwards, they were challenged to a blind taste test; Rachel was forced to sit out. Keith and Maribel both scored two, Virginia scored three compared to Heather's two, and Sara and Garrett both scored two, giving the red team a 7-6 win.

Reward/punishment: The red team were rewarded with a photo shoot with Ramsay for TV Guide, while the blue team were forced to clean the kitchen and serve champagne to the red team.

Service: In the blue kitchen, Heather cooked a pasta starter not on order and attempted to take over meat from Garrett, but caused disarray, eventually forcing Keith to step in and take control; the blue team completed service. Meanwhile, when hair was found in one of the red team's entrees, Maribel argued with Ramsay, and Rachel struggled on meat. After she overcooked wellingtons for their few remaining tickets, Ramsay shut down the kitchens; Ramsay named Virginia the best of the worst.

Elimination: Virginia nominated Rachel and Maribel. Ramsay eliminated Rachel for her many mistakes, but praised her for her effort. During Rachel's exit, a retrospect montage was played.

Team challenge: Both teams, after going to the Grand Central Market to buy ingredients, had to create a three-course meal. On appetizers, Ramsay was bothered by a sharp shrimp tail in Garrett's roasted corn scallop and shrimp bisque and felt Sara's bell pepper soup was too burnt. For the entree, Ramsay was pleased with both Virginia's chicken roulade stuffed with Mexican heart salamis, sliced tomatoes and garlic, and Keith's bone in pan roasted ribeye with a tomato and smoked chill demi. For desserts, Maribel's strawberry shortcake Ramsay found tasty albeit uninspired, while Heather's fresh fruit crepes with a mango peach puree was soggy; Ramsay gave the red team the win.

Reward/punishment: The red team spent a night in town with Ramsay, while the blue team were forced to help with the restaurant's delivery service.

Service: Ramsay allowed both teams to create their own menu. Virginia and Sara (shutting out Maribel) came up with exotic ideas for the red team including sashimi and a rack of lamb. For the blue team, Keith and Heather came up with the ideas for their menu; Garrett offered suggestions, but Keith and Heather shot down his ideas as they were too complex. The blue team were forced to stop during service to unload more deliveries, but in the end, they still managed to complete service. In the red kitchen, Sara and Virginia had problems with their overly ambitious menu, while Maribel did not help them. Sara did not manage a single acceptable serving of lamb, which led Ramsay to order it off the menu. The red team barely managed to send out a few appetizers, but when Ramsay suggested their salmon dish just be cut into a slice, Sara rebutted him, causing Ramsay to scold her. The blue team were ordered to help the red team, while Ramsay left the kitchen in disgust. Ramsay named the blue team clear winners.

Elimination: Ramsay asked the red team to come up with nominees, but nominated the entire team for elimination at the ceremony. Ramsay eliminated Maribel for her lack of leadership.

Individual challenge: Ramsay merged the final five into one team and awarded them all black jackets. Each chef was given twenty minutes to cook a special dish for Ramsay. Sara's dish was deemed the worst due to poor presentation, while Garrett and Heather made good tasting dishes, but were ruled out due to over-seasoned prawns and unwashed spinach respectively. Ramsay selected Keith as the winner, with Virginia a close runner-up.

Reward/punishment: Keith received a trip to Las Vegas to visit the Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino, and chose Virginia to go with him, and also his veal chop was placed on the menu for service. The others were forced to fumigate the kitchen, much to Garett's frustration.

Service: For the first time, the chefs served the entire restaurant. Sara and Heather got off to a slow start on appetizers, but eventually rebounded. Garrett served several unacceptable dishes and Virginia struggled on garnish. A bachelorette party arrived and occupied a twelve top table, but Garrett served raw chicken. Virginia continued to struggle on garnish, but service was completed. Keith was named best of the night, thus being the only chef to receive Best of the Best/Worst four times.

Elimination: Keith nominated Virginia and Garrett. Ramsay eliminated Garrett for his poor performance on meat.

Individual challenge: The task was to serve a group of construction workers. Each construction worker sampled all four dishes and instructed to vote for the best and the worst entree. Virginia's turkey and feta sandwich was voted the best and Heather's chicken sandwich with french fries was voted the worst.

Reward/punishment: Virginia was rewarded with immunity from elimination in the next service and a shopping spree at Sur La Table, while the others had to remove meat from crabs.

Service Three master chefs dined at Hell's Kitchen for service; Michael Mina, David Myers and Josie Le Balch. Keith did well on appetizers, but Virginia on garnish struggled to keep up with Heather on meat. The three master chefs then arrived, and each chef served a meal to them. Keith served three spaghetti lobsters for appetizers, but his spaghetti was undercooked. Sara also struggled to keep up with Heather and ran out of salmon, substituting with turbot. Sara's scallops received mixed reviews from the master chefs, and although Heather's wellingtons received praise, Virginia's peas were burnt, which angered Ramsay. Virginia then still struggled to keep up, causing Ramsay to strip her of her immunity. The chefs completed service; Ramsay named Heather best of the night.

Elimination: Heather nominated Virginia and Sara. Ramsay decided to give Virginia back her immunity and eliminated Sara for her lack of teamwork and disintegrating performances.

Challenge: The chefs were given twenty minutes to recreate Ramsay's signature dish on taste alone. Virginia won.

Reward/punishment: Ramsay gave Virginia tips on how to run a restaurant, while Keith and Heather polished glasses and silverware.

Service: Each chef took a turn running the hot pass. Sous-chefs Scott and Mary-Ann, assisting with the cooking, were secretly instructed by Ramsay to make a deliberate mistake. Keith spotted overcooked pasta, but struggled in leadership. Heather led well, but failed to send lumpy potatoes back to be recooked. Virginia impressed Ramsay with her leadership and spotted bass instead of salmon.

Elimination: Ramsay asked the chefs to nominate one other person for elimination. Heather and Keith nominated Virginia, and Virginia nominated Keith. Ramsay eliminated Keith for his poor leadership and hostile attitude. Keith did not receive a coat hanging or burning picture sequence.

Heather's parents and Virginia's mother and husband came in for a surprise visit. Heather and Virginia were then given control of half of Hell's Kitchen each and instructed to remodel it for service, as well as create their own menus.

Challenge: They then travelled to Las Vegas to make a signature dish judged by twenty people. After a 10-10 tie, Virginia won the tie-breaker.

Reward: Virginia was granted first pick in drafting a team using the six chefs eliminated from the competition prior to the final.^{[note 2]} Virginia picked Keith, Tom and Giacomo, while Heather picked Rachel and Sara, and was left with Garrett.

Remodeling: Heather and Virginia remodeled the dining room per their wishes. Heather made the walls look like a blank canvas with a video wall and graffiti. Ramsay liked most of her ideas, but suggested she remove the graffiti. Virginia created a waterfall behind the walls with an atmosphere akin to a desert sunset, which Ramsay liked.

Service: Heather had a great service rate but struggled with quality control, while Virginia was proficient in quality control at the expense of service rate. Keith and Tom showed Virginia little respect and Tom cut himself, leaving the kitchen late into service for over ten minutes seeing a medic. For Heather's team, Sara made several mistakes and the team was annoyed by Heather's abrasive leadership. Ramsay praised both teams for their services, but unbeknownst to them, the President of the Red Rock Resort was among the clients sampling dishes from each menu. Ramsay based his decision on comments from the President of the Red Rock resort, customer comment cards and his own observations.

Winner: Heather and Virginia stood in front of a closed door; Heather's door opened, making her the second winner of Hell's Kitchen.