Hell's Kitchen/Heartwarming

Though Gordon can be quite nasty, when somebody with real skill comes to Hell's Kitchen he doesn't hesitate to recognize it.
Season 3 had Julia, who despite being a "mere" Waffle House chef made it to the final four because of her natural talent and passion (and a generous helping of common sense). When she was eliminated, Gordon paid for her to attend cooking school.
- That one needs to be explained more. The heartbreaking reveal of her leaving (or as Ramsay stated, "I'm really sorry. It's Julia.") only leads onto how Ramsay also states that he wants Julia to come back after her stay at cooking school and "win the competition hands down". After a tearful hug, Julia walks out but everyone knows that she's off to do some great things.
Ramsay shouldn't get all the glory. Season 4's "General Bobby" helped get Petrozza back on his feet after being chewed out by Ramsay caused him a crisis of faith in his abilities. Petrozza went on to place second overall.
Season 5 had Ji, who despite being a strong competitor (and one of the best compared to most of the others) had to withdraw in the second episode thanks to a twisted ankle. Gordon praised her courage and skill, and actually let her keep her jacket as a sign of her bravery. And then as one of her teammates helped her leave, the men's team gave her a standing ovation.
- "Do good, okay? Win the competition, alright?"
Season 5 also had Robert, who after making it to the top five had to withdraw due to a heart condition. When he left, Gordon told him "you have been a fantastic competitor. You've had the potential to win this competition. Do not ever, ever forget that." And when he was brought back and subsequently eliminated in Season 6, he had a miniature CMoH where he said "My cooking career is far from over" and as Gordon replied, shaking his hand, "I look forward to it."
Season 6, when Tennille was eliminated (justifiably; she was the only one of the three to have a bad service that night), Ramsay offered words of encouragement, highlighting that Tennille had "the greatest comeback" the show had seen. Before leaving, the four chefs have a group hug, and Tennille is told to leave with her head held high.
Season 7 had Nilka, who completely broke down during a dinner service and was repeatedly yelled at by Ramsay for incorrectly cooked food. After Ramsay finally threw her out for undercooked lobster and told her she was going home, she threw a fit, begging him to take her back. She tried to come back into the kitchen and continue cooking, only to be shunned by everyone. Finally, she put her bags together and left, only to find Ramsay was waiting for her near the taxi, much calmer and consoling. He told her to leave with her head held high, and that she really was a good cook who put together some phenomenal things. They parted amicably, and he wished her the best. One could cry...
- He did make her give back her jacket though.
Season 7 also has one with the final 4 chefs. The chefs performed so well in the dinner service that Chef Ramsay REFUSED to send anyone home and he brought out their friends and family to visit them in a tearful reunion. There had been previous instances of Ramsay not eliminating anyone, but those had been due to injuries, the chef storming out, etc, This was a first for Ramsay to refuse to eliminate anyone due to good service.
- He did it again in season 8 where Ramsay asked Rob to give in his jacket, only to give him a fresh and clean one because no one was going to be sent home after they did very well after 6 nights of lousy dinner service in a row.
When Russell won a challenge in season 8, he was allowed to select one of his five competitors to accompany him on his prize outing, a tour of the prize restaurant. Until Russell had presented his entry in the challenge, it had appeared that Gail was a sure shot to win, so he selected her since she placed second. Ramsay complimented him on the choice, calling it "honorable."
- Subverted two episodes later; Nona won a challenge and was also allowed to select someone to accompany her to a spa trip. She chose Russell, who had been the runner-up in that challenge -- then later revealed in a Confession Cam segment that the only reason she did so was because she thought Russell was her strongest competitor, and she wanted to keep on his good side until the final.
In one episode, Lacey, in all her whiney, moany, throw-in-the-towel-before-you-even-GET-the-towel glory is less-than welcome in the men team, no less so when they lost the challenge of going grocery shopping and creating three dishes through the ingredients they bought. There is a small glimmer of hope, however, as the punishment the team had to face was folding origami pieces, which Lacey happens to know how to do and happily teaches the rest of the group to complete the task without incident. Granted, it wasn't enough to completely redeem her for her past attitudes, it offered a small moment the team were on good terms with her. In that same episode, there was also Robert, who took a turn in jackass when he started showing attitude and refusing to listen to Ramsay, earning his wrath. When Ramsey pulled him away, however, Ramsay learns Robert's rebellion was sparked, among other things, by Ramsay constantly calling him "Bobby". Bobby was the name of his father, who he was not on good terms with, and so disturbed him when his name was brought up. When he learns this, Ramsay backs off as well as promises Robert he will refer to him as "Robert" from now on, and while he had choice words of his earlier attitude to show he won't stand for it, he decided against sending him home that night.
In Season 4, after a particularly bad service, the men came up with a plan to cause a deadlock by nominating each other. Petrozza, however, refused to go along with the plan and threw himself to the lions, saying that he couldn't nominate his teammates because, mistakes or no, they're hard workers and good guys. Gordon responded by calling Petrozza "the most gracious man on that team" and "a true gentleman", with Petrozza thanking him by saying "Coming from you, Chef, that means a lot."
(Your Mileage May Vary) In season 9, episode 10, when the bitchy, drama-causing, and all-around weak Carrie was (apparently just barely) eliminated in place of the lovably dorky and good-spirited Tommy, the quick shot of Tommy's teammates hugging him immediately after his survival was enough to put a smile on this troper's face.
On the "romance dinner" in Season 9, the marriage proposal at the end of service. While wedding proposals have happened before on Hell's Kitchen, the editing always showed the set up for the wedding proposal. This time, the payoff was the only sign it was going to happen. And just seeing the stunned look on the woman's face when the lid came off of the dessert, with "Will you marry me?" written underneath it in chocolate sauce...a Tear Jerker of the good sort.
In episode 14 of Season 9, Ramsay angrily kicked all of the chefs out kitchen when Elise consistently failed on cooking their fish. Will and Paul, who had done nothing wrong that service, are infuriated that they got kicked out. Then sous chef Andi walks in and asks for Will and Paul. It turns out that Ramsay personally requested to have Will and Paul return to the kitchen to help him complete the service, which ended up as a huge confidence booster for the two chefs.
The Finale of Season 9, with Paul's speech for his mother as he was announced the winner.
Elsie from Season 1. Unlike Julia from Season 3, Elsie had no cooking background and was labeled as a "Mother of Six". She somehow made it to the top 4 and after going through a lousy service (due in part by her accidentally telling on LIVE TV that she won a challenge and making the other competitors team up against her), was sent up for elimination. Ramsay actually took note and gave her a second chance to call someone out. She decided to take the blow and got eliminated. However, Ramsay congratulated her on how far she came and wished her the best of luck.