Hell's Kitchen (American season 16)
The sixteenth season of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen premiered on September 23, 2016 on Fox. Gordon Ramsay returned as host/head chef, Marino Monferrato and Aaron Mitrano returned as maitre d' and blue kitchen sous chef respectively while Andi van Willigan-Cutspec resumed her role as sous chef for the red team after Season 10 winner Christina Wilson filled in for her in the previous season while she got married. This was also the first season since Season 13 to take a hiatus due to Fox's coverage of the 2016 World Series in addition to the holiday breaks. The remaining episodes of the season were moved to Thursday nights on January 5, 2017 as part of the network's midseason schedule. This is the first season to have episode titles other than the usual " Chefs Compete" and "Winner Chosen". This season was filmed between November to December 2014, shortly after the completion of the previous season, about two years before the season aired.
This season's team stage is the most one-sided in the show's history; the red team won a record eight dinner services, while the blue team was thrown out of service a record-worst seven times. This is the fourth time, after seasons 6, 7 and 14, that neither the winner nor runner-up was nominated once all season, as well as the first time that none of the top three were ever nominated.
Event Chef Kimberly-Ann Ryan from Traverse City, Michigan won the competition and a head chef position at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar at The Venetian Las Vegas.
Opening sequence
A slow motion sequence features the chefs causing many accidents in the kitchen, while Ramsay says a bunch of orders.Chefs
Eighteen chefs compete in season 16.| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown | Result |
| Kimberly-Ann Ryan | 29 | Event Chef | Traverse City, Michigan | Winner |
| Heather Williams | 26 | Sous Chef | Easton, Pennsylvania | Runner-Up |
| Heidi Parent | 33 | Executive Chef | Auburn, Maine | Eliminated before Finals |
| Paul "Paulie" Giganti, Jr. † | 34 | Executive Chef | Brooklyn, New York | Eliminated after 13th Service |
| Kimberly Roth | 34 | Sushi Chef | Ontario, New York | Eliminated after 13th Service |
| Andrew Pearce | 27 | Sous Chef | Prospect Park, Pennsylvania | Eliminated before Black Jackets |
| Devin Simpson | 33 | Assistant Restaurant Manager | Mount Pleasant, South Carolina | Eliminated after 12th Service |
| Wendy Mendez | 32 | Line Cook/Pastry Chef | Bronx, New York | Eliminated after 11th Service |
| Matthew "Matt" Hearn | 27 | Sauté Chef | Los Angeles, California | Eliminated after 10th Service |
| Shaina Hayden | 28 | Banquet Chef | Long Island, New York | Eliminated after 10th Service |
| William "Koop" Wynkoop | 28 | Kitchen Manager | Carey, Ohio | Eliminated after 9th Service |
| Johnny McDevitt | 29 | Burger Chef | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Eliminated after 8th Service |
| Aziza Young | 34 | Kitchen Manager | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | Eliminated after 6th Service |
| Aaron Smock | 22 | Culinary Student | Frankenmuth, Michigan | Eliminated after 5th Service |
| Rajeeyah "Gia" Young | 31 | Catering Chef | Queens, New York | Eliminated after 4th Service |
| Jessica Boynton | 32 | University Chef | Raleigh, North Carolina | Eliminated after 3rd Service |
| Genaro Delillo | 26 | Sous Chef | Lebanon, Pennsylvania | Eliminated after 2nd Service |
| Pat Tortorello | 47 | Culinary Instructor | Belleville, New Jersey | Eliminated after 1st Service |
;Notes
On April 20, 2017, Paulie Giganti passed away after an accidental overdose on an unknown drug.