Hell's Kitchen

- For the 21st time... -

...chefs from all over America will be competing to be

the one chosen by Gordon Ramsay as the next great chef

Yo, I'm excited

- Where's everybody from? - I'm, uh, Vlad. I'm from Chicago

So I've worked at a lot of fine dining establishments that have Michelin stars

James Beard Awards

- Exciting. This is exciting - Yeah, for sure

I'm ready for it

You know, cocky, confidence, tomato, tomahto,

whatever you want to call it

You know, I've paid my dues, and I'm here to win

I know the girls are going to kill it anyways

Hell yeah

The fact that Hell's Kitchen is in Los Angeles, this is my hood

It's where I grew up It's where my career took off

So I'm pumped that I get to still have that little comfort

- Uh, ages if you guys don't mind asking -

- I'm 41 - Forty-one

- Forty-two - Forty-two

- Twenty-three - Twenty-three

- Twenty-three? - Twenty-three

- Twenty-four - Got some youngins

- I'm 48 -

I know I don't look it, but yeah

I'm 48 years old. People may look at me as an old head, you know

Like, don't fall, you're gonna break your hip

But I'm probably one of the youngest one's here

I'm still a kid at heart

Where are they?

There he is!

Oh, my goodness, this is insane!

I'm so excited to finally be here on Hell's Kitchen

I've never really been away from home before

I'm from little Gloucester, Virginia, out in the middle of nowhere

But I need to push that away and remember that this is a competition,

and I'm here to kick some ass

Whoo!

Holy cow. Here it is

Let's do this

I was born for Hell's Kitchen

This is what I'm made for

B-True brings the mad flavor

Hi. Welcome

Hi. Grab a glass of champagne

This is wild

You have Marino standing there. I feel like I'm looking at, like, a figurine

Just kinda wanna just squish him a little bit

Cheers. I'm Billy

- Nice to meet you. Alyssa - My pleasure

- Vlad here - What's the name?

- Vlad - Oh, my God. No way

- What? - Do you even recognize me?

I know who you are

I didn't expect Alyssa to be here

She's from Chicago. I'm from Chicago

I don't know if that's good or not, because I'm not here to socialize

I'm here to win this, and dominate this competition

Chefs, can I have your attention?

First of all, welcome to Hell's Kitchen

So I wanted to introduce you to your sous chefs

For the Red kitchen, please welcome Chef Christina

So fresh and bright-eyed. Thank you, sir

Oh, my God Chef Christina had won her season,

and now, you know, she's in charge of Chef Ramsay's empire

I am just, like, hoping to God that this is still a men versus women season,

and I get to have Christina as my sous chef

And returning for the Blue kitchen, Chef Jason

Chef Jason's got some serious chops

Buttermilk and Bourbon is a great restaurant in Boston

And he's got that electric blue hair,

which is just lightning insane. I love it

- Extra blue baby - That's how you do it!

One of the biggest things in Hell's Kitchen

is you need to listen and absorb

Every chef can have a bad night, let's get that straight

It's how you bounce back, that's what's important

You're gonna have obstacles thrown at you

But the biggest thing is you can never, ever, ever,

let anybody or anything stand in your way

- - What the fuck?

Oh, shit. Uh-oh

Oh, my God

- Oh, my God - I love it

- Nice - That was amazing

That's why we park in the back

- Did that really just happen? - Yeah!

What a badass

Like, only Chef Ramsay

would drive a monster truck through a wall, smash a car,

and then approach a whole bunch of chefs like it's nothing

As Christina said, do not let anything get in your way

What a ride that was

And come on, you guys had quite a ride yourselves, right?

Yes, Chef

Each of your limos are from different eras

But they all got you to where you want to go

When I'm opening a new restaurant, I need a chef

that's going to get me to where I want to go

Am I better off hiring a younger chef?

Bursting with energy, fresh ideas, great creativity

Or hiring an older chef, who's been battle tested,

solid as a rock, and very consistent

This season, for the first time ever on Hell's Kitchen,

get ready for Hell's Kitchen: Battle of the Ages

Chefs in their twentysomething, come and stand together. That's it

And the rest of you in your forties, stand together

Hell yeah. I'm definitely a different chef now that I'm 40

compared to when I was in my late 20s, early 30s

Let's go We have so much experience on our side

I know we're going to crush it

It's time for our first big challenge, your signature dish

You got 45 minutes, and your time starts now

Off you go. Let's go

This season on Hell's Kitchen,

Biggest service of our career

- Guys, we got this - Behind

For the 21st time, Chef Ramsay is opening the doors

Cheers!

Push it!

My excitement is probably covered up by crippling anxiety

What did I get myself into?

But this time he's trying something a bit different

Clearly one of the youngest but beautifully done

It's an epic battle of the ages...

- They're all young, 23 and 21 - Her parents are our age

...and an answer to the age old question...

Know what I'm saying? Know what I'm saying?

You know what I'm saying?

Shit. What was I saying?

Can the well-seasoned fortysomethings

conquer the youth movement?

I love the strength of the heat, but the caramelization...

This old guy's here to play

Or will the fresh, up-and-coming twentysomethings...

- Let's show 'em what we got - Get it!

...show maturity beyond their years

We're here to win, not to learn

Perfect. Lobster extracted

These old geezers better work

We're all used to being exec chefs and running things

They're used to being on the line, sweating it out

You can't teach an old dog new tricks

I need to see everybody, as quick as you can

These chefs will face a gauntlet of new challenges

I will do what it takes. Oh, my goodness

Let's go. Quick

Sorry, buddy. That's hot

- No, please! - We gotta get some points on the board

Explosive dinner services

Nobody's running that station

You're supposed to be the twentysomething, not the slowest

- Yes, Chef - I feel stressed out already

- Oh, my God - You're the most mature,

- but you're actually cooking like babies - The Blue Team is sweating

Get the fuck out of here

'Cause it looks like I can't cook fish now

- This place does tear you down - I'm a scrappy little bitch

- Hot pan - Much better

It's the most impressive culinary season yet

Bold move, but the dish is delicious

- Dude - It bursts in your mouth

Please welcome, Michael Cimarusti

This is a style of food that I love so much

This is like the 24k burger right here

Sexy. It's colorful

Cooked immaculately. Perfect

This is a really good dish It's what you want

- when you eat duck - Yep

- Come along for the ride... - Sup, y'all?

- ...for a season of magnificence... - Oh, my God

Swan dive in the doughnut.

...and mayhem...

- -

...as Hell's Kitchen is the place to be

Yo, is that Tony Hawk?

Mr. Simmons, yeah!

Fish is delicious

- Are we well? - Yeah

- He's real cute - I feel like we just... whoa, Rachel

Because it's going to be the wildest...

- Dibs on gorilla meat, okay? -

...scariest...

- Oh, my God - Is there a dead body?

...most fiery season you've ever seen

Ow!

You're a grown ass man and I'm a grown woman, right?

- Don't be turning up on me - That's your fault

Shh

It's all my fault? All the fucking communication?

Y'all got your little lies goin' on Get us out of here, I don't give a fuck

You talked him out of it, you ding-dong!

I am going to cut somebody

This is a joke How can we be this bad?

- Are you okay? - Go fuck yourself

There are 40 minutes remaining in the chef's first big test:

the signature dish challenge

- What do you got working? - We got an oyster and potato stew working

Lovely

I've worked in some of the best restaurants in the world,