Hell's Kitchen (British TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hell's Kitchen
Genre	Cookery Reality
Created by	Gordon Ramsay
Starring	Angus Deayton Claudia Winkleman Gordon Ramsay Gary Rhodes Jean-Christophe Novelli Marco Pierre White
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	4
Production
Running time	30–90 mins (inc. adverts)
Production company(s)	Granada Productions (2004-2006) ITV Productions (2006-2009)
Release
Original network	ITV, STV, UTV
Original release	23 May 2004 (2004-05-23) – 27 April 2009 (2009-04-27)
Chronology
Related shows	Hell's Kitchen (American TV series)

Hell's Kitchen was a British TV show about cooking. It was a reality show where people who wanted to be chefs competed against each other. They wanted to win a big prize! The show was shown on ITV.

There were four seasons of Hell's Kitchen between 2004 and 2009. Angus Deayton hosted the first three seasons. Claudia Winkleman hosted the last season.

Who Was on the Show?

Different famous chefs and presenters were part of Hell's Kitchen over the years.

A Look at Each Season

Season 1 (2004): Celebrities Learn to Cook

Gordon Ramsay, a famous chef, taught celebrities in the first season.

The first season of Hell's Kitchen in the UK aired from May 23 to June 6, 2004. It was shown live every night for two weeks!

In this season, famous chef Gordon Ramsay taught ten celebrities how to cook. They worked in a special restaurant kitchen in London. Their job was to cook for other famous people who came to eat. The audience at home voted to decide who would leave the show, like in Big Brother. One memorable moment was when actress Amanda Barrie got very upset and tried to hit Gordon Ramsay!

Jennifer Ellison was the winner of this first season. After the show, a special program called Hell's Kitchen: School Reunion was made. Jennifer Ellison and the second-place winner, James Dreyfus, worked together. They cooked a healthy dinner for kids at Gordon Ramsay's old school.

Here are the celebrities who took part:

Season 2 (2005): Public Competitors

The second season of Hell's Kitchen in the UK was shown from April 18 to May 2, 2005. The show changed a lot for this season.

It became a competition between two kitchens. These kitchens were run by famous chefs Gary Rhodes and Jean-Christophe Novelli. This time, ten regular people (not celebrities) competed. They wanted to win £250,000 to open their own restaurant! The contestants were split into two teams: a red team with Gary Rhodes and a blue team with Jean-Christophe Novelli. A much bigger restaurant was built for the two kitchens.

The show still used the same music and Angus Deayton was still the presenter. The audience still voted to decide who would leave.

Terry Miller won this season.

Here are the contestants who took part:

• Blue Team (Head chef Jean-Christophe Novelli)
  • Henry Filloux-Bennett
  • Aby King
  • Rory O'Donnell
  • Gary Tomlin
  • Kellie Cresswell
  • Stien Smart
• Red Team (Head chef Gary Rhodes)
  • Terry Miller
  • Simon Gross
  • Aaron Siwoku
  • Tom Paisley
  • Caroline Gravy
  • Sam Raplin

Season 3 (2007): Marco Pierre White Takes Over

ITV decided to take a break from Hell's Kitchen in 2006. But then, in February 2007, they announced a new season!

This new season started on September 3, 2007. Michelin starred chef Marco Pierre White became the new head chef. He had two assistant chefs, Matthew and Timothy. This season went back to the original idea of having celebrities as contestants.

The season ended on September 17, 2007. Barry McGuigan, a retired boxer, was crowned the winner.

Here are the celebrities who took part:

Season 4 (2009): New Host, New Rules

The fourth season began on April 13, 2009. Marco Pierre White returned as the head chef and teacher. Claudia Winkleman took over as the host, replacing Angus Deayton. The show also brought back Nick Munier as the Maitre d' and the sous chefs Matthew and Timothy.

In this season, there was only one kitchen. Marco Pierre White decided who would leave for the first four eliminations. After that, the audience voted, and the person with the fewest votes left Hell's Kitchen.

Linda Evans won the season on April 27, 2009, after a public vote.

Here are the celebrities who took part:

Hell's Kitchen Around the World

The Hell's Kitchen TV show became very popular. Many countries made their own versions! Most of these international shows are like the American version. They are filmed ahead of time and shown once a week. They usually don't have a presenter, just a voiceover.

In these versions, chefs often have challenges. Winners get a reward, and losers get a punishment. The customers are usually regular people, not celebrities. The head chef decides who leaves the show, not the audience.

However, some countries, like Australia and Germany, made versions more like the British one. Their shows also featured celebrities who weren't professional chefs. Many of them were new to cooking!

Here's a quick look at some of the international versions:

     This show is still on TV!

     This show is no longer being made.

Country	Title	Broadcaster	Head Chef	Original Run
Albania	Hell's Kitchen Albania	Top Channel	Renato Mekolli	2018 – 2021
Australia	Hell's Kitchen Australia	Seven Network	Marco Pierre White	2017
Brazil	Hell's Kitchen - Cozinha Sob Pressão	SBT	Carlos Bertolazzi, Danielle Dahoui	2014 – 2016
Bulgaria	Hell's Kitchen България	NOVA TV	Viktor Angelov	2018 – Present (Season 5 in 2023)
Czech Republic	Na nože!	TV Prima	Zdeněk Pohlreich	2010
Denmark	Helvedes Køkken	TV 2, TV3	Wassim Hallal, Jakob Mielcke	2010, 2020
Finland	Hell's Kitchen	MTV3	Sauli Kemppainen	2013
France	Hell's Kitchen	NT1	Arnaud Tabarec	2016
Germany	Teufels Küche	RTL	Christian Rach	2005
	Hell's Kitchen	Sat. 1	Frank Rosin	2014
Greece	Hell's Kitchen Greece	ANT1	Ectoras Bottrini	2018
Indonesia	Hell's Kitchen Indonesia	SCTV	Juna Rorimpandey	2015
Italy	Hell's Kitchen Italia	Sky Uno, TV8	Carlo Cracco	2014 – 2018
Lithuania	Pragaro Virtuvė	BTV	Liutauras Čeprackas	2012
Poland	Hell's Kitchen - Piekielna Kuchnia	Polsat	Wojciech Modest Amaro, Michał Bryś, Mateusz Gessler	2014 – Present (Season 7 in 2022)
Portugal	Hell's Kitchen Portugal	SIC	Ljubomir Stanisic	2021 – 2022
Romania	Hell's Kitchen - Iadul Bucatarilor	Antena 1	Sorin Bontea, Florin Dumitrescu, Catalin Scarlatescu	2014 – 2015
Russia	Адская Кухня	REN TV	Aram Mnatsakanov	2012 – 2013
		Friday!	Konstantin Ivlev	2017 – 2021
Ukraine	Пекельна Кухня	1+1	Aram Mnatsakanov	2011 – 2013
		Novyi Kanal	Alex Yakutov	2021
Turkey	Hell's Kitchen Türkiye	Kanal D	Hazer Amani	(Season 1)
United States	Hell's Kitchen	Fox	Gordon Ramsay	2005 – Present (Season 20 in 2021)

See also

In Spanish: Hell's Kitchen (programa de televisión de Reino Unido) para niños