Hell's Kitchen (American TV series) season 20

Eighteen chefs arrived in Las Vegas and were led on a tour of the Hell's Kitchen museum. At the end of the tour, a curtain parted to reveal Ramsay and an audience. Ramsay introduced the "Young Gun" chefs, and revealed that the winner of the season would become the head chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak at the Paris Las Vegas hotel.

Team challenge/signature dish: The chefs were given 45 minutes to cook their signature dishes, which Ramsay would rate on a scale of one–five.

Reward/punishment: After winning with a final score of 30–28, the women ate lunch at Gordon Ramsay Steak, while the men had to prepare stock for both kitchens. After the reward and punishment, the contestants learned the menu from the sous-chefs.

Challenge – part one: Ramsay then introduced the first individual challenge, where the contestants would have to cook a creative dish using alcohol. He revealed that the winner of the challenge would receive a punishment pass, allowing them to skip a punishment and join a reward while being allowed to choose a member of the other team to take their place in the punishment. However, he also said that one chef would be leaving the competition shortly, ending the episode on a cliffhanger.

Challenge – part two: The chefs were given 45 minutes to cook a dish that included any type of alcohol. After the chefs finished cooking, Ramsay instructed them to taste all the dishes from their team and decide on the three best. After tasting the six dishes, Ramsay picked Brynn and Steve as the best on their respective teams and awarded both of them a punishment pass.

Elimination: Ava and Matthew's dishes were deemed the worst before Ramsay ultimately eliminated Ava.

Service: Kurt Busch and his friends sat at the red chef's table, while Mike Tyson and his family sat at the blue chef's table. The red team had a flawless service, besides vegans Emily and Josie being slightly confused on fish and meat respectively. However, the men completely fell apart due to a lack of communication and cohesiveness. Jay delivered a raw salmon before entrées began, Matthew undercooked lamb, and Payton forgot an order of chicken while giving out inconsistent times. Despite being given a wake-up call in the pantry room, the men continued to give conflicting times, so a fed up Ramsay kicked them out and asked for two nominees.

Elimination: The men nominated Matthew and Payton while Ramsay also nominated Jayaun. After Payton and Jayaun gave their pleas, Ramsay eliminated Matthew without hearing one, for his bad attitude and consistently terrible performances, even while using a meat thermometer during service.

Ramsay's comment: "Matthew may be considered a chef on the Internet, but unfortunately, I had to taste his food, and that's why I had to block him from the competition."

Team Challenge: To test their attention to detail, Ramsay announced the squid preparation challenge. The chefs would have to dive into a tank to fetch squid, and the first team to properly clean 16 squid would win. While the men were leading 14–13, Victoria, Megan, and Emily each got one accepted to give the women their second challenge win.

Reward/punishment: The women drove off-road trucks in sand dunes and were treated to lunch from BLT Steak, while the men prepared a delivery of seafood and ate raw calamari sandwiches.

Service: Curtis Stone sat on the red chef's table during dinner service and Nancy Silverton sat on the blue chef's table. Also attending service were Shane Mosely, Jr. and Bob Bergen. While the women finished their second dinner service, the men failed to improve upon their mistakes from the previous one. Kevin cooked scallops too early and Jayaun twice forgot what garnish to cook. After Alex brought up two raw chicken when there was only one on order, Ramsay promptly kicked the men out and demanded two nominees.

Elimination: The men picked Alex and Jayaun, while Ramsay also called down Antonio, Trenton, and Sam to understand what happened with Alex's mistake. He then eliminated Jayaun for his second poor service in a row.

Ramsay's comment: "After watching Jay struggle so badly on garnish, I decided to assign him to a different station: the train station."

Team Challenge: The chefs were tasked with cooking brunch for Paris Las Vegas employees, and the first team to complete dishes for one half of the diners would win the challenge. The women won yet again, but only by a matter of seconds.

Reward/punishment: They toured the Las Vegas Strip, Grand Canyon, and Hoover Dam in a private plane and stayed overnight at Planet Hollywood while the men prepared pastries for Caesar's-owned buffets. Steve used his punishment pass to join the women and Brynn volunteered to join the men for the punishment.

Service: Dinner service opened early for theater guests. The chef's table guests were Criss Angel and his wife for the red team, and Penn & Teller for the blue team. For the first time this season, the red team struggled, as Josie burnt pizzas, Brynn called out the wrong tickets, while Victoria sent up salmon too early and undercooked the refire. For the blue team, Antonio delivered only partially seared scallops, dragged on halibut, and delivered raw salmon. Meanwhile, Alex was flustered on garnish all night, even requesting a "breather" on the first table of entrées. Although neither team was ejected, Ramsay was not satisfied with either team's performances and required two nominees from each.

Elimination: The men nominated Alex and Antonio, and the women nominated Josie and Brynn. Ramsay sent Brynn back in line and replaced her with Victoria, but ultimately eliminated Alex for his poor performance on garnish, admitting to being flustered in the kitchen and not backing up his talk.

Team change: Ramsay sent Victoria, Emily, and Megan to the blue team, and switched Payton and Sam to the red team, hoping that both teams can recover after tonight.

Ramsay's comment: "I was shocked when Alex asked me for a breather on the first ticket of the night. Fortunately for him, he's got plenty of time for that breather now."

Team Challenge: In order to test their communication skills, the chefs were given jackets with recipes in emojis on the back that their teammates had to interpret for them in order to cook the corresponding dish. The red team won four-two.

Reward/punishment: The red team rode on the High Roller and ate lunch at the Chayo Mexican restaurant while the blue team had to clean the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas in maid uniforms.

Service: Miss Behave attended this service. Kiya and Antonio served shaved asparagus salad tableside. The blue team won their first dinner service thanks to improved communication and strong performances by Emily and Megan. The red team, despite a strong start by Brynn on appetizers, got kicked out due to Payton twice serving the wrong garnish and Morgana serving raw halibut and salmon and struggling with communication. Ramsay declared the red team losers for the dinner service and asked them to nominate three people, rather than two.

Elimination: The red team nominated Payton, Morgana, and Keanu, but Ramsay did not call Keanu down, as he felt she did not have a poor service. After calling Payton and Morgana forward, Ramsay ultimately eliminated Morgana for her poor performance on fish and lack of voice.

Ramsay's comment: "Morgana might be baby-faced, but tonight, she behaved like a baby when her fish station struggled. The protégé I'm looking for needs to be confident and outspoken. Morgana was neither."

Team Challenge: The chefs would have to create three appetizers and three entrées to be served during a special dinner service for Megan Ramsay's 21st birthday party. Since the blue team had an extra member, Victoria's dish was dropped. Kiya's sticky wings, Brynn's lobster roll, and Antonio's lobster macaroni and cheese were selected as appetizers, and Trenton's chicken lollipops, Megan's soy noodles, and Keanu's shrimp and grits were selected as entrées. Since the score was tied at three-three, Megan's noodles was selected as the best dish of the day, earning the blue team their first challenge victory.

Reward/punishment: The blue team enjoyed their first challenge win, with a flow rider surfing experience at Planet Hollywood and later had dinner at Cafe Hollywood, while the red team had to set up the dining room ahead of Megan Ramsay's special birthday dinner service.

Service: The six dishes from the challenge were additions to the menu. The blue team had another strong service, where the only issues were Antonio delivering undercooked carbonara, as well as being slow on the refires. The red team fumbled for the second time in a row. First, Payton and Sam undercooked New York strip twice, and then Megan Ramsay sent back Payton's noodles for being bland. The final straw was when everyone but Kiya jumped on the meat station to work on an order of lamb, yet they still undercooked it. Ramsay kicked the red team out of the kitchen to nominate three individuals.

Elimination: The red team nominated Sam, Payton, and Josie. Ultimately, Payton was eliminated for his inconsistency and for serving bland noodles to Megan.

Ramsay's comment: "Payton struggled on the Blue Team and the Red Team. One thing's for sure, I don't want him on my team."

Team change: Ramsay moved Antonio to the red team to even up the numbers.

Team Challenge: The teams faced off in an international cuisine challenge, where they would have to kick soccer balls with ingredients on them into the net marked by the country whose style of cuisine they must cook. Michael Cimarusti was a guest judge for the challenge. The red team won, four to two.

Reward/punishment: The red team was treated to a pool party at Flamingo Beach Club which featured a magic show from Piff the Magic Dragon, while the blue team had prep the dining room by steaming and ironing tablecloths and polishing silverware.

Service: Forrest Griffin sat on the red chef's table while Dana White sat on the blue chef's table. Both teams struggled on appetizers, especially Kevin, who undercooked lobster three times. The red team rebounded on entrées despite Keanu not communicating clearly on garnish.

Automatic elimination: After Kevin fell so far behind on salmon that Steve and Trenton's lamb overcooked, Ramsay ran out of patience, gathered the blue team in the pantry, and eliminated Kevin on the spot, feeling that he had given up.

Ramsay named both teams winners for recovering from their earlier setbacks and spares them from nomination since Kevin was ejected. No statement is made on Kevin's departure, but his burnt picture can be seen next to Keanu's.

Team Challenge: The chefs had to prepare five entrées on the dinner menu in 35 minutes, relay style. Only two chefs were allowed in the kitchen at a time and they had to switch out every five minutes. The red team won three to one, scoring on New York strip, lamb, and halibut.

Reward/punishment: The red team went ziplining and had lunch at the Off the Strip bistro. The blue team had to sort through the trash for recyclables.

Cook for your life: Ramsay called the chefs into his office one by one to evaluate their teammates. Josie, Keanu, Victoria, Emily, and Sam were voted to participate in the Cook For Your Life challenge, where they had 45 minutes to create a dish using Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, green apple, bourbon, and double bone pork chop.

Elimination: Sam, Josie, and Emily (who forgot to plate the Brussels sprouts) were declared safe first. Keanu was eliminated for overcooking her pork chop, which she left on the grill so long it caught on fire.

Ramsay's comment: "Keanu has many of the important attributes required to be a great chef. But when her pork went up in flames, so did her chances of continuing in this competition."

Team Challenge: The teams faced off in a game of Spell's Kitchen, in which they would have to identify scrambled ingredients and assign them to dishes featuring ribeye, veal, or sea bass. They had to cook two of each protein and each dish that Ramsay deemed satisfactory scored a point. The blue team won six-three, scoring on every single one of their dishes.

Reward/punishment: The blue team spent the day relaxing in a hot tub at Drai's Beach Club, while the red team had to bake bread and churn butter by hand.

Service: Hell's Kitchen was closed for a private five course charity dinner, with a twelve top in each half of the dining room. The blue team cooked for Deion Sanders and the Stand Together Foundation, while the red team cooked for Brad Garrett and Keep the Memory Alive. Megan fell behind by 15 minutes on lobster spaghetti after she forgot to start boiling water, while Victoria failed to speak up while leading the snapper course. The red team began to fall apart as Sam served risotto of inconsistent portion sizes, Brynn broke down in tears after Josie gave her raw snapper, and Trenton and Josie both got stalled by raw filets, including Kiya cooking filets before the snappers were served. A disappointed Ramsay declared no winner, and each team had to provide two nominees.

Elimination: The red team nominated Brynn and Josie, while the blue team nominated Megan and Victoria. Ramsay eliminated Victoria for being the most passive leader of the night.

Ramsay's comment: "Victoria may have an impressive resume, but after her performance tonight there's one job she won't be adding to it — head chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak."

Team Challenge: The chefs faced the Blind Taste Test. Their teammates would get caramel corn poured all over them for two wrong guesses and nachos for three. Antonio, Steve, Kiya, and Trenton each got one right to tie the score two apiece. Megan and Emily scored three each to put the blue team up eight-six. Megan went up again against Sam, winning it for the Blue Team nine-six by identifying peas after Sam missed both of his attempts.

Reward/punishment: The Blue Team went bowling, taking a VIP party bus on the way there. The Red Team had to clean up the mess from the Blind Taste Test. Brynn used her punishment pass to swap places with Steve.

Service: Gabriel Iglesias and Melissa Joan Hart dined in the blue and red chef's tables respectively. The Red Team breezed through appetizers thanks to Kiya's strong leadership, while Steve served a dry risotto and refused to communicate with his team. On entrées, however, Josie and Emily both fell behind on salmon garnish, and Josie later brought garnish for only one lamb instead of two. Steve continued to take a backseat until Ramsay threatened him with automatic ejection, but both teams finished service on a positive note. Ramsay selected Kiya and Megan as the Best of the Worst for stepping up as leaders, asking them to each nominate one teammate for elimination.

Elimination: Kiya nominated Josie, while Megan nominated Steve. Although Ramsay was frustrated with Steve's lack of communication throughout the dinner service, he eliminated Josie for her declining performances but praised her passion.

Ramsay's comment: "Josie may have come a long way in this competition, but right now she still needs more time to grow."

Team Challenge: The chefs used a dating app interface to match ingredients to proteins: lobster, filet, New York strip, or pork chop. They had 45 minutes to cook dishes with the combinations they picked, then Ramsay would critique with the help of guest judge Richard Blais. Steve and Brynn both scored on lobster, Megan beat Kiya on filet, Antonio beat Emily on pork chop, and neither Sam nor Trenton scored on New York strip, resulting in a two-all tie. Blais picked Steve's dish to break the tie in favor of the blue team.

Reward/punishment: The Blue Team enjoyed a spa day, while the Red Team had to clean the dorms, including scrubbing the toilets.

Service: Megan Olivi, Joseph Benavidez, and Jason Gastwirth attended this service. Despite Megan having a risotto sent back and Emily falling behind on steak and causing Steve's salmon to overcook, the blue team finished service on a strong note thanks to Steve's attention to detail. The red team breezed through appetizers thanks to Kiya's leadership, but fell apart on entrées as Antonio undercooked salmon and Sam undercooked New York strip. Sam then overcooked and undercooked chicken while Antonio refused to help him. With the blue team finished, Ramsay kicked the red team out.

Elimination: The Red Team nominated Antonio and Sam. Ramsay eliminated Sam for his poor performance on meat and not being able to respond when asked who was the weakest chef on his team.

Ramsay's comment: "Sam struggled with chicken all night and then struggled to give me a straight answer. I had no struggle taking his jacket."

Ramsay announced that the final seven would be competing for their black jackets; there were only five available, meaning two people would be eliminated today.

Black Jacket Challenge One: The chefs took turns pulling a slot machine to determine the ingredients they were required to use. They then had 45 minutes to cook. Ramsay enlisted the help of Jason Shkorupa, Vice President of Food & Beverage at Sunseeker Resorts, to judge the dishes. Trenton's rack of lamb and Brynn's filet (despite the latter's inexperience with required ingredient polenta) earned them the first two black jackets.

Black Jacket Challenge Two: The five remaining chefs each rolled a die with letters on the sides; whatever letter came up, they had to pick an ingredient starting with it to be used in the dish. The ingredients turned out to be rice, pepper, turnips, heirloom tomatoes, lemons and black truffles; Ramsay then added bluefin tuna as the main protein. The next two black jackets wound up going to Megan and Kiya.

Black Jacket Challenge Three: Antonio, Emily, and Steve each received a video call from their loved ones back home. They were then tasked to cook a dish in 45 minutes inspired by their families. Antonio made enchiladas verdes with chicken thighs, Emily made a porterhouse steak with Brussels sprouts, and Steve made shrimp and grits. Ramsay first eliminated Emily for an unevenly cooked steak, then gave Steve the final black jacket over Antonio, whose chicken was slightly underseasoned. Neither Emily nor Antonio received an elimination statement or the coat-hanging sequence.

Individual challenge: The black jackets received cookware sets in the dorms before their first individual challenge the next day: prepare dishes that not only look good, but also taste good. Chef Ludo Lefebvre guest judged alongside Ramsay, and Ramsay uploaded pictures of the dishes to his Instagram account for his followers to vote on. Trenton and Megan both received perfect 10's from Ramsay and Lefevbre, but the fans preferred Trenton's dish over Megan's, giving him the challenge win. The other three dishes from worst to best were Steve, Kiya, Brynn.

Reward/punishment: Trenton received a VIP tour of the Hell's Kitchen restaurant hosted by season 17 winner Michelle Tribble and a meatball-making master class, and chose to take Steve with him. Brynn, Kiya, and Megan were forced to prep for service by separating peppercorns by hand.

Service: For their first service as a single team, Megan and Kiya performed strongly on appetizers. Brynn struggled to give a time on her halibut and broke down in tears, but nevertheless got the halibut accepted. Trenton was unfamiliar with working in the red kitchen and communicated poorly from the garnish station until Ramsay intervened, while Steve also struggled to assert himself and overcooked Wellingtons. The black jackets regrouped to finish service on a high note, after which Ramsay requested two nominees for elimination.

Elimination: Brynn and Steve were nominated. Ramsay eliminated Steve for not being as vocal as the other chefs, but praised his relentless attitude, allowing him to keep his jacket.

Ramsay's comment: "Steve still has a lot to learn. Unfortunately tonight, he learned that silence in the kitchen isn't golden, it's goodbye."

Individual challenge: The final four were taken to a fake beach setup behind Hell's Kitchen, where they would have 45 minutes to cook and serve dishes for the beach guests, who would then vote for their favorite. The ranking from worst to best was Megan, Brynn, Kiya, Trenton; Trenton only beat Kiya by three votes.

Reward/punishment: Trenton received a shopping spree and took Megan with him. Kiya and Brynn had to clean up the sand from the fake beach setting.

Service: Carmen Electra attended this service. Before service, the final four each got a turn to yell at Ramsay. They were each given a chance to run the pass, with Ramsay and the sous-chefs testing their quality control as well. Brynn nearly cried again after failing to notice a tuna tartare in place of beef and also a salmon with no skin. Trenton missed the tuna tartare as well, but recovered after Ramsay told him to wake up, and proved to be a vocal, if occasionally abrasive, leader. Megan led strongly and was the only one to pass quality control: a risotto with orzo pasta instead of rice, and zucchini instead of peas in a carbonara. Kiya broke down in tears as well after missing a risotto with shrimp instead of lobster and a six-top ticket that was missing an entrée, prompting Ramsay to give her a pep talk in the storeroom. Eventually, service was completed with no further setbacks.

Elimination: Ramsay asked the final four to have an open discussion about the recent service. After they each pled their cases, Ramsay named Megan and Trenton as the first two to advance. In a very tough decision, Ramsay then named Kiya as the third finalist and eliminated Brynn, whom he felt was not emotionally strong enough to lead as a head chef. Despite this he praised her skill and passion, allowing her to keep her jacket.

Ramsay's comment: "Brynn definitely has what it takes to be a great head chef. Once she learns to control her emotions, I know she will get there."

While celebrating in the dorms, the final three are summoned back to the kitchen by Ramsay, who gives them their final challenge: to design a menu consisting of one cold appetizer, one hot appetizer, one seafood dish, one red meat dish, and one surf and turf. They will each receive the help of a sous-chef: Megan got Christina, Kiya got Jason, and Trenton got Michelle, season 17 winner who appeared two episodes ago.

Individual challenge: The next morning, the final three got to spend time with their families: Megan's parents, Kiya's mother and sister, Trenton's father and girlfriend. They each get a full makeover before being transported to the site of their final challenge, where they would have an hour to cook their menus which would be scored one to ten by a panel of guest judges. Megan fell behind Trenton and Kiya on the appetizers, but closed the gap on Kiya as Trenton began to pull away, scoring an impressive 48 out of 50 possible points to earn the first spot in the final two. On the last dish Kiya held a 35-34 lead, but she only scored eight on her surf and turf after overseasoning her filet, opening the door for Megan to claim the second spot in the finale with a perfect 10.

Trenton and Megan picked their brigades for the final service from the last ten chefs eliminated. Trenton picked Kiya, Antonio, Brynn, and Sam. Megan picked Steve, Victoria, Emily, and was left with Josie.

Megan and Trenton prepare their teams for the final service. Sous-chef Christina has to warn Megan about being too nice, while Trenton's brigade finds him too bossy, especially Kiya and Brynn, who are dealing with the emotions of not making it to the finals. Shortly before service begins, Ramsay calls Megan and Trenton up to the dorms, demanding to know who is responsible for a bag with what appears to be drugs and threatening disqualification, before revealing it was a joke and handing them their chef's jackets.

Service: Both kitchens get through appetizers smoothly despite Victoria dragging on crab cakes and Antonio's undercooked risotto. During entrées, Josie overcooked and then undercooked ribeye, forcing Megan to switch her with Steve. Brynn served garnish too early, forcing Kiya to bring up her chicken before it was ready. When Kiya undercooked the chicken again, Trenton brought his entire team into the pantry for a scolding. Both teams rebounded to complete service on a strong note afterwards.

Winner announced: After having reached a decision, Ramsay called down Megan and Trenton to his office and offered them praise for their hard work throughout the course of the competition. He asked them to stand in front of two separate doors and turn the handles. Trenton's door opened, making him the winner of season 20 of Hell's Kitchen; he is the first male winner since Scott Commings in season 12. Trenton celebrated his victory by proposing to his girlfriend, who enthusiastically said yes. Megan took her defeat graciously.

Ramsay's comment: "Trenton is everything I could want in a protégé. At a very young age, he's already proven to be creative, passionate, and a driven leader. He will be a great asset at Gordon Ramsay Steak 2.0 at Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas."