Hell's Kitchen (American season 4)


Season 4 of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen began airing on the Fox Network starting on April 1, 2008. The show was originally planned to air later in the season, but instead was aired as a replacement for shows that were affected by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.
Culinary student Christina Machamer won the season and was awarded a "senior sous chef" position with a $250,000 salary at Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood – not an executive chef as mentioned in show-related publicity and press releases. The London West Hollywood restaurant opened on May 27, 2008, while the series was still airing.

Production location

This season was filmed in the warehouse district in Culver City, California.

Sous chefs and Maître d'hôtel

Unlike the previous three seasons, this is the first season to feature a cinematic intro using live-action. It depicts the chefs, all shrunken down as they work about the kitchen.

Contestants

There were 15 chefs who competed in season 4. It is the first season to begin with an odd number of contestants, as well as continue again to season 6 with total of 17 contestants.
ContestantAge OccupationHometownResult
Christina Machamer25Culinary StudentSt. Louis, MissouriWinner
Louis Petrozza †47Catering DirectorCharlotte, North CarolinaRunner-Up
Courtney "Corey" Earling25Private ChefBrooklyn, New YorkEliminated before Finals
Jennifer "Jen" Gavin24Garde MangerChicago, IllinoisEliminated after 12th Service
Robert "Bobby" Anderson37Executive ChefNiagara Falls, New YorkEliminated after 11th Service
Matthew "Matt" Bloch35Sous ChefPine Hill, New JerseyEliminated after 10th Service
Louross Edralin24Hotel CookLas Vegas, NevadaEliminated before Black Jackets
Rosann Fama33Law office receptionist & Former CookStaten Island, New YorkEliminated after 8th Service
Benjamin "Ben" Caylor29Electrician & Former ChefCharlotte, North CarolinaEliminated after 7th Service
Shayna Raichilson-Zadok28Catering Company OwnerBuffalo, New YorkEliminated after 6th Service
Vanessa Gunnell31Line CookBozeman, MontanaLeft before 5th Service
Craig Schneider30Sous ChefCoram, New YorkEliminated after 4th Service
Jason Underwood29Sous ChefLas Vegas, NevadaEliminated after 3rd Service
Sharon Stewart31Room-service chefLas Vegas, NevadaEliminated after 2nd Service
Dominic DiFrancesco43Stay-at-home DadCatawba, South CarolinaEliminated after 1st Service

;Notes
† Indicates that the contestant died after filming ended
On November 15, 2019, Louis Petrozza passed away due to complications with lung cancer.

Contestant progress

Each week, the best member from the losing team during the latest service period was asked to nominate two of their teammates for elimination; one of these two was sent home by Ramsay. In Episode 1, the teams selected captains for service, though Ramsay changed both captains during service.

Episodes