I hadn't seen the show since the beginning. For me, they've always had professional chefs & cooks competing. Watching season 1, I see that it didn't start out that way. They had a mix of home cooks & very few pros. Then he throws them into a restaurant kitchen to disastrous results.
This probably gave Chef Ramsey the idea to start Master Chef, a competition for home cooks, and made Hell's Kitchen a competition for pros.
This probably gave Chef Ramsey the idea to start Master Chef, a competition for home cooks, and made Hell's Kitchen a competition for pros.