Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 9) Hell's Kitchen (U.S. season 9) Season 9 of the American competitive reality television series "Hell's Kitchen" premiered on July 18, 2011, on Fox and concluded on September 19, 2011, with a two-hour season finale. Jr. sous-chef Paul Niedermann won the season and was awarded a "head chef" position at BLT Steak in New York City, New York. Gordon Ramsay returned as head chef, as Scott Leibfried and Andi van Willigan remained as sous chefs, as did James Lukanik as the maître d'. The entire season took about six weeks to film. It also saw the show return to its original
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares show's "economic realism" in the tired food television genre. She wrote, "There is something refreshing about a show that doesn't promise a ticket to ride (a surgical makeover, a million dollars, Richard Branson's job) but instead offers restaurant owners the hope—if they seriously reform their establishments—that they might, just might, break even for the next few months." "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" was named Best Feature at the 2005 and 2008 BAFTA awards. It also earned the 2006 International Emmy for best non-scripted entertainment. On 3 March 2009, Acorn Media released season 1 of "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" on DVD in the US.