Hell's Kitchen, the reality series that pits aspiring chefs against each other under the searing scrutiny of Chef Gordon Ramsay, thrusts Whistler and its Araxi Restaurant into the TV spotlight during a special two-hour episode...

airing Tuesday, Sept. 22 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Earlier this year, Hell's Kitchen announced that the grand prize for this season is a Head Chef position at Araxi - providing the winner with the opportunity to work under Executive Chef James Walt as Whistler welcomes the world during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Chef Ramsay paid a secret visit to Whistler earlier this year to film a teaser featuring Araxi Restaurant and the stunning mountain resort recognized as one of the world's top all-season destinations. In Tuesday's episode, Chef Ramsay shows the chefs just how high the stakes are via a satellite tour of the prized restaurant and Whistler's breathtaking natural surroundings.

Each week, Chef Ramsay puts the chefs through a series of cut-throat cooking challenges to see who can (and can't) take the heat in television's hottest kitchen. During the upcoming episode, the chefs must use 15 local ingredients - personally selected by Executive Chef James Walt and flown in from Whistler - to create three entrées. The stakes are raised when Chef Ramsay announces that each team must create their own unique menus. Guest judges for this challenge include Olympians Sasha Cohen and Jonny Moseley.

Set in Whistler Village at the foot of the spectacular Blackcomb and Whistler mountains, Araxi is firmly established as one of Canada's finest restaurants. A longtime leader of British Columbia's locavore movement, Executive Chef James Walt carefully sources fresh, regional ingredients from nearby farms and fisheries for Araxi's menu - a sentiment now showcased between the covers of his new cook¬book, Araxi: Seasonal Recipes from the Celebrated Whistler Restaurant. Whistler's reputation as a culinary hotspot is far reaching, with more than 100 restaurants and bars in the resort. As a nod to the resort's well-established culinary scene, Hell's Kitchen chose Araxi and Whistler as the destination of choice for the next step in the winner's culinary career.

Photo credit: Whistler