Hell's Kitchen Season 15 Premiers with 18 Aspiring Chefs

Hell's Kitchen Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen Season 15 Premiers with 18 Aspiring Chefs

FRIDAYS HEAT UP WHEN SEASON 15 OF “HELL’S KITCHEN” PREMIERES JANUARY 15, ON FOX

18 Aspiring Chefs Battle for a Head Chef Position at BLT Steak at Bally’s Las Vegas

TV Personality Kris Jenner, Hip-Hop Superstar Lil Jon, Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Electronic Dance Musician Steve Aoki and Comedian Bill Engvall Among This Season’s Celebrity Diners

Host, executive producer and award-winning chef and Critics’ Choice Awards nominee Gordon Ramsay fires up a brand-new season of HELL’S KITCHEN when Season 15 premieres Friday, Jan. 15 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. 18 new chefs from across the country will be tested and challenged as Chef Ramsay puts them through a series of grueling challenges and dinner services to prove they have what it takes to win the HELL’S KITCHEN title and a Head Chef position at BLT Steak at Bally’s Las Vegas.

Throughout the season, the contestants will face challenging tasks, including a (rubber) duck hunting competition, preparing dishes for 100 high school students, a catered wedding reception for HELL’S KITCHEN sous chef Andi and the fan-favorite blind taste test challenge.  

Celebrity diners at HELL’S KITCHEN this season include: TV personality Kris Jenner (“Keeping Up with the Kardashians” franchise), rapper Lil Jon, musician/producer Steve Aoki, rapper/actor The Game, musician Flo Rida, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, comedian Bill Engvall, Cesar Millan (“Cesar 911”), dancers from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and “Dancing with the Stars,” comedian Terry Fator, burlesque entertainer Dita Von Teese, actor Omar Miller (“Ballers”), actor Sean Carrigan (“The Young and the Restless”) and Olympian swimmers Jessica Hardy and Dominik Meichtry.

In the Season 15 premiere of HELL’S KITCHEN, Chef Gordon Ramsay welcomes the newest bunch of contestants into the kitchen. The steaks are high when the contestants travel to Las Vegas and see the kitchen where this season’s winner will work as a Head Chef: BLT Steak at Bally’s Las Vegas. And, for the first time in HELL’S KITCHEN history, they will compete in that kitchen for the signature dish team challenge. The winning team will earn a ride on the High Roller – the world’s tallest Ferris wheel – and VIP service at Drai’s Nightclub while the losing team prepares a Vegas buffet service, which includes peeling 50 lbs. of shrimp and 1,000 lbs. of potatoes. Later during their first dinner service, one of the teams will fail early on in the service, prompting Chef Ramsay to kick them out of the kitchen.


Below are the 18 chefs competing on this season of HELL’S KITCHEN:

 
The Red Team (Women) includes:

 
KRISTIN BARONE                           Age: 27      
Hometown: Chicago, IL                   Occupation: Line Cook
Signature Dish: Grilled Pork Loin with Apricot Mango Puree and Fried Brussel Sprouts and Garlic Aioli

SHERKENNA BUGGS                     Age: 30
Hometown: Grand Junction, TN      Occupation: Personal Chef 
Signature Dish: Crab-Stuffed Blackened Salmon, Mushroom Couscous

MEESE DAVIS                                Age: 25          
Hometown: Upper Darby, PA         Occupation: College Chef
Signature Dish: Pork Loin Chop with Roasted Sweet Potato and Grilled Asparagus

JACKIE FUCHS                               Age: 32         
Hometown: Jersey City, NJ             Occupation: Line Cook
Signature Dish: Seared Scallop with Roasted Corn and Lemon Salsa with Bok Choy and Brown Butter

DANNIE HARRISON                         Age: 30          
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA           Occupation: Line Cook
Signature Dish: Scallops And Vermicelli With Thai Curry Sauce

ARIEL MALONE                              Age: 26          
Hometown: Hackensack, NJ           Occupation: Country Club Chef
Signature Dish: Shashkouka

ASHLEY NICKELL                           Age: 27         
Hometown: Orlando, FL                  Occupation: Chef de Cuisine 
Signature Dish: Ostrich Filet with Blueberry Sauce

MANDA PALOMINO                         Age: 30         
Hometown: Atlantic City, NJ            Occupation: Sous Chef 
Signature Dish: Fried Scallops with Rustic Corn Salad

VANESSA SOLTERO                      Age: 33         
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA          Occupation: Airport Chef 
Signature Dish: Eggplant Involtini Rolls with Sausage Ricotta Stuffing and Marinara Sauce


The Blue Team (Men) includes:

JARED BOBKIN                               Age: 28      
Hometown: Oak Park, MI                Occupation: Line Cook
Signature Dish:   Halibut

FRANK CALA                                  Age: 25         
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY                Occupation: Marine Chef
Signature Dish: Penne alla Vodka with Grilled Chicken

CHAD GELSO                                  Age: 25         
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA           Occupation: Sous Chef
Signature Dish: Confit Cabbage, Celeriac Fondant, Poached pear

EDDIE JASKOWIAK                         Age: 27       
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA           Occupation: Sous Chef
Signature Dish: Hunters Edge, Bambi Tenderloin

HASSAN MUSSELMANI                   Age: 24       
Hometown: Detroit, MI                      Occupation: Catering Executive Chef  
Signature Dish: Pan-Seared Diver Sea Scallops with Roasted Sweet Corn Coulis, Poblano Coulis, Parmesan Risotto and Crispy Capicola

MARK PARAS                                 Age: 27         
Hometown: Anaheim, CA                Occupation: Line Cook
Signature Dish: Black Mussels with Chorizo in a Fennel and Tomato Broth

ALAN PARKER                    Age: 42         
Hometown: Lancaster, PA               Occupation: Sous Chef
Signature Dish: Maple-Glazed Arctic Char

JOE RICCI                                       Age: 31        
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA          Occupation: Sous Chef  
Signature Dish: Veal Braciole with Creamy Polenta and Grilled Broccoli Rabe with Balsamic Red Wine Reduction

KEVIN RIDLON                                Age: 29         
Hometown: Warwick, RI                  Occupation: Culinary Manager 
Signature Dish: Chicken Caesar Piadina

HELL’S KITCHEN is produced by ITV Entertainment in association with A. Smith & Co. Productions. Arthur Smith, Kent Weed and Gordon Ramsay serve as executive producers.

“Like” HELL’S KITCHEN on Facebook at facebook.com/hellskitchen. Follow the series on Twitter at @hellskitchenfox, and follow Ramsay at @GordonRamsay. 

About ITV Entertainment:

ITV Entertainment is one of the largest entertainment producers in the U.S. market and a leading force in acquiring, developing and producing non-scripted programming. Its extensive slate of series for a wide range of networks and syndicators includes: HELL’S KITCHEN (FOX), “Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris” (NBC), “The First 48, After The First 48” (A&E), “#RichKids of Beverly Hills” (E!), “Cesar 911” (Nat Geo WILD), “The Chase” (GSN), “Secret Space Escapes” (Science), and “The Bill Cunningham Show” (syndicated).

ITV Entertainment is the flagship production arm of ITV America - the largest independent non-scripted producer in the U.S. - which is a part of ITV Studios. ITV Studios is a world leader in television production and distribution. It has international production centers also include the U.K., Germany, France, the Nordics and Australia. Through its distribution business, ITV Studios Global Entertainment, the company is a distributor of programs to all regions worldwide.

About A. Smith & Co. Productions:
A. Smith & Co. Productions creates some of the most innovative, highly rated, and high-quality programming for the domestic and international television marketplace. The company has produced more than 3,000 hours of award-winning programming - with budgets totaling over one billion dollars across more than 45 broadcast and cable networks. Current productions include HELL’S KITCHEN, “American Ninja Warrior,” “Spartan Race,” “Ellen’s Design Challenge,” “Unsung,”  “Full Throttle Saloon,” “Team Ninja Warrior,” “Container Homes,” and “The Dunk King.” Past hits include "Kitchen Nightmares," "Wizard Wars," "Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura," "UFC Countdown," "Joe Rogan Questions Everything," "Paradise Hotel," "I Survived a Japanese Game Show," "The Swan," "Trading Spaces," "Pros vs. Joes," "Skating with Celebrities," and many others.