Hell's Kitchen (American season 18)
The eighteenth season of the American competitive reality television series Hell's Kitchen began airing on September 28, 2018, on Fox. Gordon Ramsay returns as host and head chef, and Season 10 winner Christina Wilson and British MasterChef judge James "Jocky" Petrie return as the red and blue sous chefs, respectively, alongside maitre'd Marino Monferrato. This season features eight new contestants battling eight returning veterans. For the first time, the winner of this season will receive a position as an executive chef at Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen Restaurant at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This is the first season since season 1 to not begin with men on the blue team and women on the red team. It is also the second of the last two seasons to feature a chef eliminated during service, the second season, along with season 17, that no chef from the winning team was eliminated, and the first season since season 12 where two chefs quit. This is also the first season to have a chef quit before the finals, and the first season since season 17 to have two eliminated chefs keep their jackets. Ariel Contreras-Fox, who previously finished in third place on Season 6, won the competition; she is the second consecutive returnee, and sixth consecutive woman to do so. She is also the tenth contestant to win the competition without being nominated for elimination once, after Kimberly-Ann Ryan, Meghan Gill,
La Tasha McCutchen, Christina Wilson, Holli Ugalde, Dave Levey, Danny Veltri, Heather West, and Michael Wray. This season saw the return of tradition double elimination before finals since season 14.
Opening sequence
The introduction for season 18 was recycled from the previous season except for the title card, which shows the rookies on the left side and the veterans on the right side.Chefs
Sixteen chefs competed in season 18.Rookies
| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown | Result as "Rookies" on season 18 |
| Mia Castro | 28 | Private Chef | Miami Beach, Florida | Runner-up |
| Chris Motto | 35 | Executive Chef | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Left before Finals |
| Kanae Houston | 25 | Sous Chef | Los Angeles, California | Eliminated before Black Jackets |
| Jose DeJesus | 34 | Chef de Cuisine | Bronx, New York | Eliminated after 8th Service |
| Scotley Innis | 33 | Sous Chef | Atlanta, Georgia | Eliminated after 7th Service |
| Elizabeth "Gizzy" Barton | 31 | Sous Chef | Atlanta, Georgia | Eliminated after Cook For Your Life |
| Chris Mendonca | 25 | Executive Chef | Boston, Massachusetts | Left before 5th Service |
| Scott Popovic | 39 | Executive Chef | Cleveland, Ohio | Eliminated after 1st Service |
Veterans
| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown | Competed | Result on original season | Result as "Veterans" on Season 18 |
| Ariel Contreras-Fox | 35 | Chef de Cuisine | Brooklyn, New York | Season 6 | 3rd | Winner |
| Bret Hauser | 34 | Personal Chef | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Season 14 | 11th | Eliminated before Finals |
| Heather Williams | 28 | Executive Chef | Easton, Pennsylvania | Season 16 | Runner-Up | Eliminated after 10th Service |
| Trevor "Trev" McGrath | 37 | Lead Chef | New York, New York | Season 8 | 4th | Eliminated after 9th Service |
| Rosanne "Roe" DiLeo | 36 | Head Chef | Dallas, Texas | Season 13 | 5th | Eliminated after 6th Service |
| Torrece "T" Gregoire | 34 | Director of Operations Chef | Draper, Virginia | Season 14 | Runner-Up | Eliminated after 5th Service |
| Kevin Cottle | 43 | Executive Chef | Middletown, Connecticut | Season 6 | Runner-Up | Eliminated after 4th Service |
| Jennifer "Jen" Gavin | 33 | Private Concert Catering Chef | Chicago, Illinois | Season 4 | 4th | Eliminated during 2nd Service |