Characters / Hells Kitchen Season 21

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Alexander "Alex" Belew

"That was weird. That was... I didn't know what the hell was going on. That was a very awkward moment for me."

Occupation: Former Restaurant Owner

Age: 40

Hometown: Murfreesboro, TN

• The Ace: He was usually extremely strong in challenges and service, with his only nomination was due to him deciding to pull his dish and being forced to compete in the Cook For Your Life Challenge. Also, he notably breaks the tradition of an older chef usually being weak during service. His victory was one of the least surprising in the show's history, with many ranking him amongst the likes of Dave and Christina from Season 10 as one of the show's best winners.
  • The most notable exception to this occurred in Episode 13, where he sent up an overcooked and undercooked New York strip. However, this was the last of the many mistakes from the black jackets that night, and it resulted in the black jackets being kicked out.
• All-Loving Hero: Alex was easily the friendliest chef on the 40-somethings team, being incredibly mature and kind-hearted towards everyone. Even when it came to chefs who disliked him such as Abe and Billy, Alex never raised his voice at them, instead staying incredibly calm to try and cool them down.
• Badass on Paper: One of the most consistently strong chefs in the season, despite only winning two challenges by the time of the Black Jackets due to being leaps-and-bounds above most of his teammates.
• Beginner's Luck: Never cooked with a live crab before, but managed to make a crab dish good enough to at least be better than Alejandro, who usually was great in challenges.
• Bumbling Dad: Downplayed. While he is without a doubt the best of the 40-somethings, he has had a few moments where he comes off as one.
  Alex: I was born to spell. I won the third grade spelling bee, I know there's two T's in cat!
• Cool Old Guy: Downplayed example since he's only 40 and thus one of the youngest 40-somethings (tied with Billy and Charlene), but Cheyenne describes him as a "Cool Dad" during the bowling trip. He's also the oldest winner in the show's history, beating Season 19's Kori by three years.
• Determinator: Alex went through punishment after punishment, yet never faltered during any of those and took them in stride, which all eventually led to him winning the season.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Oh yes. He was forced to close his restaurant back in 2020 because of COVID, and sold it only a few days before arriving on the show. On the show, he had to endure punishment after punishment thanks to the incompetence of his teammates during challenges. It all paid off for him in the end though, as his victory ensures that he'll be able to get his career back on track.
• Ensemble Dark Horse (In-Universe): Is this to the 20-somethings, as he is notably the only 40-something to avoid any sort of conflict with them, and in turn, they treat him far better than any of the other 40-somethings.
  • In Episode 9, it got to the point where, when the Red Team (which at this point was all women and all 20-somethings except Tara) was asked by Ramsay which member of the Blue Team they would like most to switch teams and join them, they unanimously chose Alex. They got Brett instead.
• Epic Fail: Scored 0 out of 4 in the Blind Taste Test.
• Establishing Character Moment: Revealed that before coming onto Hell's Kitchen, his restaurant shut down due to COVID.
• Expy: Shared a lot of similarities with Jon from Season 11, as both were without a doubt the best chefs on their team, but were constantly forced into punishments due to their teammates failing. Additionally, both would take their punishments in stride for the most part. Unlike Jon, however, Alex had a far more successful turn at the pass, allowing him to advance to the finals and, eventually, make it to the final two after narrowly defeating Alejandro in the Final Menu Challenge, and after the final service, he would emerge as the winner of the season.
  • Additionally shared some similarities to Petrozza from Season 4, as both were the strongest members of their respective teams, the oldest black jackets of their seasons, and were without a doubt the nicest chefs of their seasons.
• Failed a Spot Check: He failed to plate a beurre blanc sauce for his steak in the Episode 9 challenge, leaving him to present an incomplete dish that cost the blue team the win. He acknowledged this mistake and asked his teammates to remind him to plate everything next time.
• Family Man: One of the reasons he entered Hell's Kitchen was to provide a better life for his family.
• Flawless Victory: Not a chef since Season 14's Meghan has a chef been as completely dominant in their season as Alex. The only nomination he ever received was of his own accord, and even then all it led to was a Cook For Your Life Challenge that he passed rather easily. By the time Sakari and Cheyenne were eliminated, there wasn't much chance of anyone else winning.
• Gentle Giant: The tallest out of all the 40-somethings, and the nicest of them as well.
• Genre Savvy: During the build-up to the finale, he expected several times for the audience reveal...only to be surprised with several fake-outs.
• Good Ol' Boy: Due to being from Tennessee, he of course is this. He even has the accent to boot.
• Good Parents: He's on the verge of Manly Tears when he watches a video of his two sons cheering him on for the finale. Part of his motivation to win is wanting to show them that hard work pays off. Indeed it does, Alex.
• Hidden Depths: In the first episode, he revealed that he has never been to culinary school and instead taught himself how to cook.
  • Additionally, according to other chefs in interviews, he's very good at the piano.
• Humble Hero: Would rarely outright brag about his cooking abilities (even in Confession Cam segments), despite often having every right to. More often, he expresses gratitude and relief whenever he performs well in challenges and services.
• Incoming Ham: The first thing Alex does once he enters the Black Jacket lounge is stick his hand through the door and act like it's a hand puppet.
• Informed Flaw: Was considered to have an ego by Abe, even though he was actually pretty humble for the most part and even if he did, he could back up his words pretty well.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Unlike the rest of the 40-somethings, he gets along well with the 20-somethings, especially Dafne and Alejandro. It has to do with the fact that he has no hostility with them throughout the season whatsoever.
• Last of His Kind: After Abe's elimination, he becomes the sole male 40-something remaining. Eventually becomes the only 40-something remaining once the black jackets are handed out.
• The Leader: Ended up as this during the first black jacket service, managing to briefly get Cheyenne's fish orders out. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to complete the service.
  • Overall, he was considered the leader by both the original 40 somethings on the blue team, and the 20 somethings, which is probably why he got along with the younger chefs when people of his age failed at that. Ramsay even noted this in his closing comment after he takes home the gold, stating that Alex was a natural-born leader.
• Magnetic Hero: With the exceptions of Billy, Abe, and Tara, Alex got along with absolutely everyone, and everyone liked and valued him (to the point where the Red Team hoped for him to switch to their team when the teams needed to be re-balanced). Even then, he eventually buries the hatchet with Abe.
  • During the final dinner service, his brigade is extremely supportive of him, and genuinely do their best to help him win. In particular Tara, who despite having the most tense relation with him (since he used his punishment pass on her), actually ends up being his best player in the finale.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After selecting Tara to take his place in the punishment and realizing how bad she was doing, he genuinely felt bad, and tried to talk to Tara, only for her to rebuff him.
• My Greatest Second Chance: After being forced to close his restaurant two years back, Alex can finally lead a kitchen again after coming out on top this season.
• Nerves of Steel: Never once lost his temper or panicked under pressure. Chef Ramsay even described him as having an iron will.
• Nice Guy: Oh so much. It's to the extent he could be the most likable winner in the show's history.
  • Is usually seen being calm and pleasant towards the other chefs, and even with Abe, he never raises his voice. Even when he used his Punishment Pass on Tara, it wasn't out of malice, but more of that he thought she would be okay with it and apparently was unaware that she felt the female 20-somethings were picking on her. He even felt bad when he found out how upset she was about it and tried to apologize.
  • He generally does not like yelling at people when they make a mistake, and tries to encourage them to do their best and bounce back, the complete opposite to Ramsay who yells and berates chefs who make mistakes. This is best shown in the finale where Alex keeps calm and never raises his voice at his brigade whenever they make a mistake.
  • Even after he wins, one of the first things he does is check on Dafne and hug her.
  • In fact, in an interview where he revealed he applied for Hell's Kitchen 13, he was previously turned down because he was too nice.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is Alexander, but he went by Alex during the show.
• Only Sane Man: Out of all the 40-somethings, Alex seemed to be the only chef to have any sort of calmness about them. It's even to the extent that the 20-somethings (who notably don't think highly of the 40-somethings), outright enjoy Alex's company.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Probably one of the funnier chefs of the season, as he is more often than not lighthearted and goofy.
• Post-Victory Collapse: After surviving the Cook For Your Life Challenge, Alex went down to his knees on the way back upstairs as the stress of the challenge was too much for him.
  • Happens once more when he wins the season.
• Power Trio: With Alejandro and Dafne.
• Rags to Riches: He went from losing his restaurant due to COVID to winning the season and becoming the head chef at one of Gordon's restaurants.
• The Rival: To Abe, due to him disliking his overly aggressive attitude. Ironically enough, the two get along outside of the show. Episode 9 revealed that they buried the hatchet.
• Self-Made Man: Never actually went to culinary school, instead teaching himself how to cook. Based on the fact he won the season and cemented himself as one of the most dominant chefs to ever enter the show, it's clear he taught himself well.
• Sole Survivor: Becomes the only remaining 40-something left after Tara was eliminated, and therefore the only 40-something to make Black Jackets.
• Sorry to Interrupt: Accidentally walked in on Dafne when she was yelling at Gordon to test her assertiveness.
• Spear Counterpart: To Season 14's Meghan. Both were chefs who gave strong challenge performances yet suffered through punishment after punishment due to their teammates not being as up to par, both were clear leaders for their respective teams, both made little-to-no mistakes during service, and both were so dominant in their seasons that their eventual victories were just about guaranteed. Where they differ is in their leadership style; Meghan was stern and abrasive in running her team during her final service, whereas Alex was calm and patient with his, focusing on encouragement and gently directing them. Additionally, Alex usually took his punishments in stride, while Meghan nearly quit the show during one of them.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Had a lot of screentime compared to the rest of the cast, with the only other chef coming close being Billy. This might've helped foreshadow Alex’s eventual win.
• Taught by Experience: Explains that he began his career in the cooking industry before "food was really a cool thing in Nashville", and therefore all his culinary skills are self-taught and gained from experience rather than culinary school.
• Team Dad: Turns into this into the latter half of the season to the 20-somethings, which certainly propelled him a lot. It even extends to outside the show as both Alejandro and Dafne jokingly consider him a second dad.
• Unskilled, but Strong: While Alex never went to culinary school (instead teaching himself how to cook), he was far and away the best chef of the season.
• What Could Have Been: In an interview, Alex revealed he applied to be on the 13th season of Hell's Kitchen.
• You Are a Credit to Your Race: He's the notable exception to the 20-somethings' general lack of respect for the 40-somethings.

Placement: Winner

Alex's Winner Comment - "I just won Hell's Kitchen! (laughs) What? This journey has been wild. I mean, ups, downs, hella punishments, feeling beat down. To see it come to fruition, it's unreal. You want to talk about the ultimate moment of validation for 24 years of hard work, tonight it happened."

Ramsay's Winner Comment - "From the start, Alex emerged as a leader, not just among the 40-year olds, but also the 20-year olds. His cooking and his passion led him to the front of the pack, making him the ideal choice to be my next head chef."

Dafne Mejia

"I've been to Britain, and your food fucking sucks!"

Occupation: Executive Chef

Age: 29

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

• Achilles' Heel: The garnish station seemed to be this to her, as every time she was on there, she had a number of struggles.
• Author Appeal: Her entire menu was Italian cuisine.
• Badass Boast: She calls herself a badass...a lot. Considering she made it to the finals, it's justified.
• Epic Fail: During the 4th service, Dafne managed to burn three salmon, wasting them as a result, which also resulted in Ramsay calling in the Blue Team to help finish service. She managed to avoid nomination however.
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: She reveals in the finale that her parents didn't approve of her becoming a chef, and wanted her to be a doctor instead. They've come around by the time they visit her for the finale, acknowledging how much passion and talent she has for the culinary arts.
• Follow in My Footsteps: Mentioned that her parents initially wanted her to become a doctor like them. She became a chef instead and fortunately her parents came around to accepting her decision.
• Friendly Rivalry: Eventually forms one with Alex, which both of them acknowledge in their lunch reward.
• The Generic Girl: Despite being the runner-up of the season, Dafne never stood out much among the more outspoken members of the red team. It was only in the finale that she finally started getting some character focus.
• Graceful Loser: Took her loss to Alex very well, stating she was happy for him. The fact that she and Alex had a Friendly Rivalry probably helped.
• Intergenerational Friendship: She, along with the other 20-somethings formed one with Alex, due to Alex being easily the most talented and friendly of the 40-somethings. Out of all of them, she, along with Alejandro, are probably the closest.
• Irony: She's a Mexican-American based in California who's close enough to her roots that her father can't speak English. So what's her specialty? Italian food.
• Never My Fault: Threw Cheyenne under the bus when the two were up for nomination, stating that Cheyenne was frazzled that night. Granted she was right about that, but she did also state that she was a team player, which was very much the opposite due to her poor communication.
• Nice Girl: Felt this was her fatal flaw, and stated she would shed it to become a better leader.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: This is the best way to explain the difference between her and Alex: Dafne is a decent chef, but Alex is that much better.
• Pet the Dog: After winning the final black jacket challenge, she would select Alex to join her on the reward as he hadn't been out of Hell's Kitchen in seven weeks.
• Poor Communication Kills: Had several problems communicating in the first black jacket episode. That, along with her problems on garnish resulted in the team being kicked out.
• Power Trio: With Alejandro and Alex.
• Spicy Latina: Would regularly describe herself as one (though not quite to the level of Mia being Puerto Rican, Bret being Italian, or especially Kimmie being from the South), and would occasionally pepper in Spanish in her Confession Cam segments.
• Took a Level in Badass: After the aforementioned Epic Fail above, she would get more consistent in service, eventually making it all the way to the finals. It wasn't enough for her to measure up to Alex though.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Somewhat. While she was mostly nice, after her charity night she did start to gain a sort of attitude, with the most notable example involving throwing Cheyenne under the bus and being unapologetic about it.

Placement: 2nd

Dafne's Runner-Up Comment - "I really put my heart out there. I put my soul in everything that has happened in this competition. I left my mark. I feel content right now. Congratulations, Alex. You completely deserve it.”

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - No comment.

Alejandro Najar

"Chef Ramsay told me not to let anything get in my way so I'm gonna fucking do it."

Occupation: Executive Chef

Age: 28

Hometown: Barberton, OH

• Big Fun: The biggest chef of the 20-somethings, and is very energetic.
• Crippling Overspecialization: In challenges, he usually performs very well. In service however, he tends to struggle from time to time.
• Dramatic Irony: During the final Black Jacket challenge, he's instructed by Chef Ramsay to taste each of the remaining competitors' pork dishes and choose the best one, but he isn't allowed to know who cooked what. He thinks Sakari's was the weakest dish, but assumes that it's Tara's.
  • In a more positive example, while he struggled with leadership throughout the season, Alejandro's pass performance was strong enough for him to be chosen as the first finalist.
• Family Man: Usually brought up his family in a very positive light.
• Graceful Loser: Despite losing the Final Menu Challenge by one point, he took his elimination in stride, congratulating Alex and even putting in a solid finale for him.
• Intergenerational Friendship: He, along with the other 20-somethings formed one with Alex, due to Alex being easily the most talented and friendly of the 40-somethings. Like Dafne above, he formed a particularly close bond with Alex.
• Manipulative Bastard: He chose to have Sommer take his place once he used the Punishment Pass to upset her and make her lose focus.
• Power Trio: With Alex and Dafne.
• The Rival: To Sommer, stemming from when he used his punishment pass on her.
• Seen It All: By the time of the first Black Jacket Challenge, he stops assuming things to happen in Hell's Kitchen regarding what would Chef Ramsay have in store for challenges, as anything could happen.

Placement: 3rd

Alejandro's Elimination Comment - "I would not trade this experience for anything. I’m extremely proud of myself. This has been such an amazing experience. My head is held up high. And I’m excited what the future brings.”

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - No comment.

Sommer Sellers

"Nicole doesn't have a clue about anything."

Occupation: Lead Line Cook

Age: 24

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

• Alliterative Name: Sommer Sellers.
• Bookends: At the start of the season during the Signature Dish Challenge, she proudly said her nickname, "VIP" (which came from a comment she made on her first job), to which it fell short as Chef Ramsay felt her dish tasted more like general admission as it was too sweet for his liking. Then after her tremendous growth during the competition, Chef Ramsay told her that she is the definition of VIP when she was eliminated.
• Dramatic Irony: Had the best charity night on the Red Team in Episode 11, but when running the pass, she ended up having the worst pass performance of the Final Four.
• Epic Fail:
  • Scored 0 out of 4 in the Blind Taste Test.
  • Also, her pass performance. Missed several ticket orders, sabotages, and even sent out an incomplete table.
• Expy: She seemed to be one to Season 6's Tennille. Both entered as leaders, and despite struggling in the early stages of the competition, they both would improve big time to the extent they would become front-runners. However on their final service, they would make several mistakes while others would do better, resulting in their elimination. Bonus points to them placing 4th as well.
• Heroic BSoD: Had several of these throughout the season, with some examples including after messing up on the lobster challenge, and Alejandro using his punishment pass on her.
• Intergenerational Friendship: She, along with the other 20-somethings formed one with Alex, due to Alex being easily the most talented and friendly of the 40-somethings.
• The Leader: Grew into this as the season progressed, even having the best charity service on the red team. However, it was subverted in the penultimate service as Sommer had the weakest performance on the pass and was eliminated afterwards.
• Manipulative Bitch: Played With. While deciding nominations after the seventh service, Cheyenne gave her the idea to put up Tara instead of Ileana due to her beliefs that Tara could not hold down a section by herself while Tara was out of the room. While it appeared that Sommer was considering it, it was subverted once she decided to nominate Ileana instead.
• Mirthless Laughter: Ended up laughing quite a few times out of nervousness during her turn running the pass.
• Nervous Wreck: Pretty much was this during her pass performance.
• Never My Fault: After losing the fourth service, Sommer said that the reason meat struggled tonight was because Alyssa failed to give her proper times, despite Sommer being as much at fault for the meat station's problems.
• The Rival: To Alejandro, stemming from when he used his punishment pass on her.
• Took a Level in Badass: Initially started out with a weak signature dish and was labeled as a potential early boot due to mistakes she would make. However, she would improve in the weeks to come, even getting the first black jacket with a much better dish that was inspired by her mother.
• What Were You Thinking?: This is the reaction Sommer got from Alejandro once she started talking over Dafne turning her turn on the pass.

Placement: 4th

Sommer's Elimination Comment - “Having the opportunity of winning swept from under my feet, it overwhelms me. But I'm very happy of the progress that I made throughout my journey here. And I have to prove that I deserve to be here. There were so many moments of joy. There were so many moments of stress. There were moments of sadness. But I never gave up on myself, and I definitely showed Chef that I'm resilient. Walking in here, Chef said I wasn't a VIP. But leaving here, he said I'm the definition of VIP, which means everything to me.

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - “There’s no doubt in my mind that Sommer is going to do great things in this industry. She’s definitely VIP in my book.”

Cheyenne Nichols

"It is definitely not gonna be a wok in the park."

Occupation: Sous Chef

Age: 21

Hometown: Louisville, KY

• The Ace: Was this in the beginning, where she was never in any danger of elimination as she performed extremely well in both challenges and service.
  • Very much averted come the black jackets, where her poor performance on fish resulted in her being sent home despite being nominated for the first time.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Is the youngest 20-something of the season.
• Boyish Short Hair: Has very short hair.
• Butch Lesbian: Mentions in the wedding episode that she has a girlfriend back home.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has her moments, but this moment stands out:
  Cheyenne: Grilling a steak? I'm riding a horse.
• Determinator: In Episode 10, Cheyenne suffered a massive burn from a flare up and had to seek medical attention. She managed to get back in line afterwards and performed no worse than she did earlier.
• Epic Fail: Her final service. Not only was she horrifically out of time with the other chefs, sending up her fish when other orders were at the pass, but they often ended up messed up anyways. It was bad enough that she was sent home despite being on her first nomination and being one of the stronger chefs of that season.
• History Repeats: She’s the most recent chef to be the last one to get a black jacket only to be the next one eliminated.
• Intergenerational Friendship: She, along with the other 20-somethings formed one with Alex, due to Alex being easily the most talented and friendly of the 40-somethings.
• Jerkass to One: While Cheyenne is nice to everyone else, she clearly has a hate boner for Tara by the second half of the season and wants her gone for her inconsistent performances and lack of communication when the chips are down (though to be fair, both are strong arguments against Tara).
• Little Miss Badass: Despite being the youngest chef of the season, she was without a doubt one of, if not, the strongest of the 20-somethings. That was until her final service...
• Nervous Wreck: Was this on her final service, where she could not bounce back after numerous problems on the fish station.
• No-Sell: This was her reaction after the UTV she rode with Sommer crashed in the first black jacket episode, and stated she wouldn't mind going again. Considering the service that happened after however, it's likely it affected her more than what was shown.
• One of Us: She's by far the most active former contestant on the Hell's Kitchen subreddit, under the name c_rookie.
• Only Sane Woman: She is the only one on the red team not to be argument prone or, at the very least, try to make logical decisions on why someone should be nominated.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Was this in the fourth episode, where she was very much against the team putting up Nicole and Mindy over Dafne and Sommer, both of whom made more mistakes that night.

Placement: 5th

Cheyenne's Elimination Comment - "Coming to Hell's Kitchen was a dream of mine since I was 10, 11, 12 years old. I came into this competition the youngest one here. This is the most intense thing I've ever done in my life. Hell's Kitchen has definitely taught me how to push myself beyond my limits. I definitely saw so much growth in myself. I've learned from Chef Ramsay...How to have a stronger voice in the kitchen. I definitely saw so much growth in myself. I can do so much more than I ever thought I could do. My ride here has been a dream. Man, I've came really far. 21? I'll take it."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "As the youngest chef in this competition, Cheyenne came a long way. Unfortunately for her, the ride ends a few stops short of Atlantic City."

Tara Ciannella

"I'm not a weak fucking chef, Cheyenne!"

Occupation: Private Chef & Caterer

Age: 41

Hometown: Congers, NY

• All of the Other Reindeer: By Episode 8, Tara feels like this due to being the only female forty-year-old left in the competition. Overhearing Cheyenne contemplate putting her up for elimination and Alex using his Punishment Pass on her did not help matters. As the following episode shows, she seems to be right to think this — Brett expresses little faith in her skills on the meat station before the service even starts, and she gets put up for elimination despite making very few mistakes that night since they all feel her communication skills aren't up to par. Even Ramsay notices that the red team has basically given up on her. That said, the main reason why the Red team gave up on Tara was because she couldn’t get past the fact that she was the only 40-something on the team after Nicole and Mindy were eliminated and looked down on the 20-somethings as much as they looked down on her.
• Determinator: No matter how much the red team looked down on her, she would never give up fighting. She even was praised by Ramsay during her elimination for this.
• Dramatic Irony: Despite claiming she cleaned lobsters all her life, she put up a pitiful job of cleaning her lobster during the prep challenge and lost a point for the blue team.
• Female Misogynist: With the exception of Mindy, Tara has made it clear that she hates working with other women in the kitchen, believing them to be catty. When she ends up as the only 40-something on the Red Team after Mindy left, Tara spends a lot of her time belittling her team and thinks they're out to get her.
• Graceful Loser: Despite failing to make it to Black Jackets, she left happy she got as far as she did, and even asked for wine (in a joking way).
• Heroic BSoD: After Mindy's elimination, and after being selected by Alex to take his place in the following punishment, she would start to believe everyone was against her.
• Hypocrite: Tara had a lot of problems, and it makes sense to a degree why Cheyenne wanted her gone, with Tara's hypocrisy being one of her worst attributes. She acted very much like the 20-somethings she'd describe while the actual 20-somethings she worked with did try to get some kind of working relationship with her that she just refused to make happen. She isn't communicating? Well, she'll just cook fast and solve nothing in regard to communication. Hates working with women, and that they're catty? Bonded with Mindy last episode over shit talking younger women. Her team tries to tell her how they feel and that she isn't alone she just needs to trust her team? No, I'm all alone with evil 20-somethings. She did seem to mellow out come final service.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Asked for some wine after her elimination.
• Last of Her Kind: After Mindy's elimination, she would be the sole female 40-something remaining.
• Nervous Wreck: Had her moments of getting flustered in service, which resulted in the 20-somethings turning on her.
• No-Respect Guy: None of the 20-somethings have any respect for her. Or rather, they lost respect for her when she continually invoked this in the first place, and began falling apart in service as a result.
• Not Helping Your Case: Tara’s conviction that it was her against the 20-somethings and her refusing to listen to Alex when he tried to apologize for choosing to have her take his place in the punishment certainly didn’t help her win friends and influence the others.
• Only Friend: Considered Mindy to be this (as the sole remaining 40-something woman), and was absolutely devastated by her elimination.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: After Mindy's elimination, Tara would constantly bemoan the fact that she was the only 40-something woman left, and state how she felt the other Red Team members were always against and out to get her. Her attitude would end up contributing to this sentiment becoming a reality.
• Team Mom: Was built up to be this in the previews for the season. In reality, she ended up more of a Butt-Monkey and No-Respect Guy, especially after the teams became reassigned by gender and first Nicole and then Mindy were eliminated.
• Took a Level in Badass: Tara managed to keep her nerves straightened for the final dinner service and be one of the strongest links to Alex, despite the fact he used his punishment pass on her. She proved to better than her two biggest detractors: Brett and Cheyenne.
• What Were You Thinking?: When the red team justifiably brought up issues with Tara, such as her communication, she decided during service that the best idea would be to cook so fast they couldn't keep up. So, not communicating, but in a new way.

Placement: 6th

Tara's Elimination Comment - "Coming into Hell's Kitchen, I knew I had the chops, but Hell's Kitchen is the hardest experience of my life. I've had an emotional rollercoaster the whole time. I am so proud of where I am and everything I've accomplished. It's honestly the best experience of my life, and I would not give it up for anything in this world. Now, where's my wine?"

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - No comment.

Sakari Smithwick

"I like to be misunderstood a little bit."

Occupation: Pop-up Chef

Age: 27

Hometown: New York, NY

• Achilles' Heel: The meat station. Both of his nominations occurred when he was on that station, and during the finale, his problems with meat stalled the kitchen. That's not even to mention the pork chop that got him eliminated.
• Alliterative Name: Sakari Smithwick.
• Crippling Overspecialization: A very strong link on challenges for the most part, but tends to have a few problems in service.
• Disappeared Dad: Revealed that his father had passed away due to COVID complications.
• Dramatic Irony: Had the best scoring dish in the Signature Dish challenge, but was the first chef eliminated during the Black Jacket Challenge for an undercooked porkchop.
• Epic Fail: Scored 0 out of 4 in the Blind Taste Test.
• For Want Of A Nail: Despite his lack of screentime, Sakari was a major front-runner throughout the entire season due to his overall consistency in challenges and his usually strong performances in service. Not only that, but he was named the Best of the Best on charity night, which certainly meant he could lead and thus, actually be considered a threat to win even against the likes of Alex and Cheyenne. However, on his final shot in the Black Jacket Challenge, his pork chop dish was undercooked, which cost him the black jacket and a potential win.
• Glass Cannon: Usually a strong chef, but if he messes up, pretty much it'll spell doom for the entire service. Perhaps the best example of this was when the blue team was close to winning service, only for Sakari to send up raw steak, resulting in the blue team's loss and his second nomination.
• Intergenerational Friendship: He, along with the other 20-somethings formed one with Alex, due to Alex being easily the most talented and friendly of the 40-somethings.
• The Load: Was definitely this in the finale, as his problems on the meat station stalled Dafne's kitchen.
• Nice Guy: Perhaps the nicest out of all the 20-somethings of the season, as he is usually seen encouraging his teammates and joking around with them. Even when he was named the "Best of the Best" in Episode 11, he gave his teammates constructive criticism when doing private meetings. He also was the only 20-something to never join in with the dislike towards the 40-somethings.
• No-Respect Guy: Downplayed. The blue team was surprised that Sakari was labeled the Best of the Best after charity night, and felt that his valid criticisms towards them could also apply to him.
• Only Sane Man: During the first half of the competition, he would more often than not be the one to break up conflicts. He also served as this for the 20 somethings overall, being the only one of them to never get involved with any sort of conflict.
• Out of Focus: Despite having the best signature dish of the season and being eliminated during the Black Jacket Challenge, Sakari never got much focus due to the other personalities overshadowing him. Despite this, he performed well enough in service and challenges to be considered a massive threat, with many thinking he would have a Dark Horse Victory similar to Holli. Come the Black Jacket Challenges however...
• Took a Level in Badass: Initially quiet throughout the season, his charity night would see him perform the best out of the blue team. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to get him into the black jackets.
• Underestimating Badassery: Sakari admits that he wanted to be underestimated by his competitors so he would strike hard when they let their guard down.

Placement: 7th

Sakari's Elimination Comment - "Nothing compares to the challenges and the journey in Hell's Kitchen. I cooked my heart out every single day, done things that I never thought I would do. Leaving here today on the anniversary, passing of my dad, I know he's looking down, and I have that connection with him to know that, uh, he's proud."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - No comment.

Brett Binninger-Schwartz

"Every season on Hell's Kitchen a few crazies slip in, and I think Zeus is one of those guys."

Occupation: Executive Chef

Age: 24

Hometown: Dublin, OH

• Alliterative Name: Brett Binninger-Schwartz.
• The Big Guy: Towered over the rest of the 20-somethings by a head.
• Catchphrase: Bringing up his wife. While it is touching that he has such a bond with his partner, it doesn't help his Generic Guy status that most of his run time involved her being mentioned in some way with little else.
• Dramatic Irony: Stated that before the final service that he worried that Tara would not be able to keep up with Alex's menu. However, Tara would actually do fine, while Brett would without a doubt be the worst performer of Alex's brigade.
• Dye Hard: Has very pink hair, much like Nicole although all his hair was pink while only the tips of Nicole’s hair was pink.
• Epic Fail: His charity night performance. On top of being very quiet when he was supposed to be leading, he would miscount the plates. This would result in his elimination.
• Failed a Spot Check: Out of all the mistakes Brett made during his performance on Charity Night, it's his miscounting of the plates that served to be the reason he got the boot.
• The Generic Guy: Aside from a couple of moments in challenges, Brett never stood out among the other chefs.
• Graceful Loser: He takes his elimination well, accepting Ramsay's judgment that he's not ready to be a head chef yet and that he still has a lot to learn.
• Intergenerational Friendship: He, along with the other 20-somethings formed one with Alex, due to Alex being easily the most talented and friendly of the 40-somethings.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Before his first service back on the red team since the return to the battle of the sexes format, he immediately expresses zero confidence in Tara despite having never worked with her before, which only further added to her paranoia that the 20-somethings were ganging up on her. In the services that followed, he would turn out to be far weaker than her, to the point that he was booted back to the blue team when Ramsay noticed that he was underperforming every night. He only lasted one more service after that as he continued to be the weak link of any team he was placed on.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg: Due to Brett not contributing well to the red team in his short switch over, he got this treatment from Ramsay, albeit in a light hearted manner, as the latter referred to the red team as the "woman and Brett."
• The Load: Became this as the season progressed, as he was frequently the weakest member on the red team in both challenges and service. Ramsay quickly noticed this and decided to move Brett back to the blue team after being carried by the red team after the eighth dinner service, and even then, he was eliminated afterwards.

Placement: 8th

Brett's Elimination Comment - "I came into Hell's Kitchen insecure about my ability as a chef, but this whole experience has been a dream come true. I think I've grown so much as a chef, as a human being, as a leader. I’m leaving Hell's Kitchen knowing that I’m a talented chef, but I also am being reminded that I have a lot to learn."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "Attention to detail is vital in a fine dining kitchen. When Brett couldn’t even count 12 plates correctly, I knew I couldn’t count on him."

Abe Sanchez

"If you're pissed off, hey, that's your fault."

Occupation: Executive Chef

Age: 41

Hometown: Crosby, TX

• Can't Catch Up: Strongly implied by Ramsay in his final comments. While Abe did not perform poorly in Episode 10, his skills were not up to par with the other chefs.
• Can't Take Criticism: Will get extremely defensive if he's even considered for nomination.
• Failed a Spot Check: Missed a salmon order while on the fish station. While the service went smoothly regardless, he would still end up eliminated for it.
• Graceful Loser: In his elimination comment, he thanked Ramsay for everything he did, and knew his family was proud of him for making it as far as he did.
• Hated by All: Once he started acting like a jerk, pretty much the entire team turned on him. Eventually subverted once he got better. People still found him incredibly annoying in the dorms, but only Sommer really still seemed to hate him, but not without her own justifications.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Apologized for his outburst after his first nomination, but the others didn't believe him at all.
• Hidden Depths: Revealed before Spells Kitchen he had dyslexia.
• Kick the Dog: Threw Billy, who pretty much considered Abe his only friend, under the bus to save himself. Granted Billy was likely to be eliminated either way, but Abe pretty much made sure to burn his bridges with him to keep himself in.
• The Load: Was considered to be this by Ramsay the night of his elimination on a night where everyone, including Abe, had a good service.
• Manly Tears: Had these upon his elimination.
• Never My Fault: Whenever he would be targeted due to his mistakes, he would claim the other chefs were in an alliance, which he believed explained why he was being targeted.
• Only Friend: To Billy. That was until Billy's final night where Abe threw him under the bus to save himself. He would even try to help Billy when it was clear Billy was really annoying his fellow chefs. Abe tried to communicate with Billy that not everyone is going to mesh with Billy the way Billy wants and he needs to work with that, but Billy refused. He would later become this to Tara. Basically, if someone was shitting on the 20 somethings, it would be Abe and X.
• Picked Last: Dafne's final pick by default.
• Rule of Three: He was eliminated on his third nomination.
• The Rival: Becomes this to Alex. Ironically enough, the two get along outside of the show. It was revealed in Episode 9 that they made up after the blow up in Episode 6.
• Took a Level in Kindness: After his outburst at Sommer and another nomination, Abe notably started to get in less arguments with the team, even managing to mend fences with Alex.

Placement: 9th

Abe's Elimination Comment - "Being here was an uphill battle for me. I felt like I was a black sheep, but I'm proud. I know my family is gonna be proud. Chef Ramsay, thank you for everything. I came out a winner tonight. I walked out the door as a winner."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - “Abe’s performance tonight was more like a C-. With only the best chefs left in the competition, his grades just don’t make the cut.”

Vladheslav "Vlad" Briantsev

"Truffle boy's 'bout to party on a yacht, baby!"

Occupation: Sous Chef

Age: 26

Hometown: Chicago, IL

• Catchphrase: He really tried to make Truffle Boy happen, but he was the only one saying it unless he was being mocked.
• Epic Fail: During his final service, he ended up using a cake tester for a meat thermometer, which resulted in his filets being undercooked. This would also be what got him eliminated, as Chef Ramsay pointed out in his Elimination Statement.
• Fiery Redhead: Downplayed as Vlad never got confrontatinal with anyone, but he did tend to hype himself up in the confessionals.
• I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine: It's revealed in Episode 1 that he and Alyssa knew each other before coming onto the show as both lived in the Chicago area. Alyssa was the first one to mention his attempt at making "Truffle Boy" his moniker.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While Vlad could be pretentious sometimes, he is willing to help his teammates if they need it, like he did with Ileana during the Signature Dish Challenge. Also, he spoke fondly of his wife during a reward.
• No Indoor Voice: Primarily saved to the confessionals. He would shout talk like they didn't give him a microphone.
• Never My Fault: On his first nomination, he primarily blamed Billy for the downfall of the meat station and the raw lamb, even though Vlad was the one who cooked it. Averted with the cake tester incident, which he admits in his elimination comment was his own fault.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is Vladheslav, but he went by Vlad during the show.
• Out of Focus: Despite his ego and getting a five on his signature dish, he usually never got much screen-time, only usually been seen whenever he made a mistake.
• Poor Communication Kills: Granted this wasn't what got him eliminated, but Vlad was notable for the number of times he would not respond to an order called out to him.
• The Quiet One: Despite being entering with an ego, Vlad was rather quiet for the most part. This would even extend into service, where numerous times he will not respond to orders called out to him.
• Self-Applied Nickname: Truffle Boy.
• The Rival: Appeared to be this to Alyssa early on, as they knew each other before going on the show and Alyssa didn't like his cocky attitude. After the team switch however, the rivalry fizzled out completely.
• Rule of Three: He was eliminated on his third nomination.
• Shorter Means Smarter: Downplayed. While he had some talent, he was still one of the weaker 20-somethings of the season. That's not even to mention the Epic Fail above.
• Small Name, Big Ego: A more downplayed example of this, but Vlad had a tendency to talk himself up a lot. He would also refer to him by a title he gave himself more than his actual name. If his name actually were Truffle Boy, he'd be a third person person.
• Took a Level in Badass: While a solid chef, his constant communication problems would usually screw him over. Come the final service, he would be one of the strongest links of Dafne's brigade, having found his voice.

Placement: 10th

Vlad's Elimination Comment - "You know I'm walking out of this competition with my head held high. I brought my style, you know. I stayed true to myself. The cake tester, you know, definitely was my fault. I've done it before, and it worked out. And today, you know, it bit me in the ass."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "It's called cake tester for a reason. It tests cakes, not steaks. Vlad, that was bad."

Ileana D'Silva

"Chef, I feel that I should stay in Hell's Kitchen. I do have leadership skills, I know that I can do better than that and show you more."

Occupation: Sous Chef

Age: 23

Hometown: Gloucester, VA

• Book Ends: Ileana's first nomination was in a Cook For Your Life Challenge where she barely survived elimination despite having the worse dish of the day. Her final nomination was in another Cook For Your Life Challenge where her poorly executed dish got her eliminated.
• Crippling Overspecialization: On the line, Ileana can produce decent dishes from the menu and bounce back from mistakes she made. In the challenges, she struggles to create dishes on the fly and ends up making mediocre to bad dishes. This is why she lost the Cook For Your Life Challenge twice and why she was eliminated on her second failure.
• Elimination Houdini: Was set to be eliminated first in the wings challenge, but gave a plea to Gordon that convinced him to give her one last chance.
• Fatal Flaw: As mentioned above, Ileana struggled on making dishes of her own creation as they were not as well received as several other people's dishes. This struggle would be why she lost the second Cook For Your Life Challenge near the second half of the season and resulted in her elimination.
• The Generic Girl: Outside of her managing to convince Ramsay to let her stay after losing the elimination challenge, she didn't really have that many standout moments.
• Graceful Loser: For all her faults, she did take her elimination very well, saying that she was happy to have tried it out, and was willing to do way better.
• Informed Ability: In her plea that ultimately kept her from being the first eliminated, she stated that she did have leadership skills. However, in the time that she was around, she never really showed any sort of leadership during service.
• Laser-Guided Karma: She would manage to talk herself out of being the first eliminated in the first elimination challenge, but once it came to the Cook for Your Life challenge, she would fail again, this time being eliminated.
• The Load: Outside of two services where she was mostly in the background, Ileana was usually a pretty weak performer overall, although not to Alyssa's extent. She was very mistake prone in service, and as mentioned above, Ileana had trouble trying to come up with dishes on the fly, which often resulted in her usually doing poorly in challenges. Other than her positivity, she didn't bring anything really to the table overall.
• Rule of Three: She was eliminated on her third nomination.
• Shocking Elimination: Subverted. She was set to be eliminated first due to her presenting the worst wings for the first challenge, but instead rejected the elimination and told Gordon that she has more to prove to him. He decided to give her one more chance in the kitchen after this.
• Took a Level in Badass: Initially was the worst chef of the 20-somethings, only managing to survive elimination due to Gordon giving her another chance and managing to be on the winning team. Once the team switch happened though, Ileana started to get more consistent, and got better overall. Unfortunately for her, this was subverted later as she returned to making mistakes, and she was gone not long after.

Placement: 11th

Ileana's Elimination Comment - "I feel hurt to be leaving Hell's Kitchen right now, but I'm in no way disappointed. I definitely don't think as quick on my feet as I should have, but you only know what you've been exposed to, and unfortunately, I haven't been exposed to enough. And I feel very proud to have experienced this. I'm really looking forward to the future, and I'm really looking forward to continuing to grow."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "When you're cooking for your life, every detail matters. One overly sweet puree got Ileana sent away."

Mindy Livengood

“I may have peed a little I… I don’t… that’s my age, maybe… I don’t know.”

Occupation: Caterer

Age: 42

Hometown: Liberty Township, OH

• Cool Old Lady: Was often fun and friendly towards the others, which also resulted in many fans rooting for her.
• Fatal Flaw: What ended up eliminating Mindy was her lack of self confidence on the line, which caused her to lose the support of the twenty somethings on the red team fast.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Tara, as after Nicole's elimination, the two of them were the sole remaining 40 somethings on the red team.
• Foreshadowing: Before one service, Ramsay asked Mindy if she could cook carbonara. Her needing help with carbonara despite saying she could cook it ultimately cost her.
• Formerly Fat: Said that she used to be more heavy set than she is today, and it got to the point she was fat shamed on Pinterest.
• Graceful Loser: Even though she was eliminated over Ileana (who most fans thought should've been eliminated), she took her elimination very well, saying she knew her kid was proud and was happy to have the opportunity.
• Informed Flaw: The 20-somethings had doubt that Mindy could work with them, even though Mindy was a fairly consistent Chef and was actually better than the majority of them. The main reason for their doubts seems to be Mindy’s lack of confidence.
• Nice Girl: Perhaps only second to Alex as the nicest 40-something of the season, but she was most of the time friendly towards the others. It did however work to her detriment as she didn't even argue being put up for nomination on a night where she was seen making no mistakes and even was praised by Ramsay during her performance.
• Only Friend: Was mutually considered as this by Tara, as the only remaining 40-something women. Her elimination would contribute to Tara's Heroic BSoD and falling apart in future services.

Placement: 12th

Mindy's Elimination Comment - "It's hard leaving here, but knowing that my kid is proud of me and that I did something not a lot of people get to do is just—it's mind-blowing. I'm just so happy I had this opportunity."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "Mindy had the guts to get her this far, but I have to go with my gut and cut her loose."

Alyssa Osinga

"Vlad is just a little too cocky. Back home, Vlad calls himself 'Truffle Boy', and that's all over his social media."

Occupation: Line Cook

Age: 23

Hometown: Chicago, IL

• All of the Other Reindeer: Feels this way with the red team due to her trouble bonding with some of the more high volume personalities. Also, no one else on the team likes her due to her poor attitude.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: As mentioned above, the Red Team didn't have a high amount of respect for her, mainly due to her being a consistently weak chef on the line and often being argument-prone. Brett even Lamp Shaded this by saying that she often brought out bad vibes whenever she was upset.
• I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine: It's revealed in Episode 1 that she and Vlad knew each other before coming onto the show as both lived in the Chicago area.
• Jerkass: While not nearly as bad as other chefs of the season, she was often very argument prone in the kitchen.
• Lazy Bum: After the Red Team lost a challenge, Alyssa put in very little effort during the punishment, feeling that she shouldn't be punished since she got a point.
• The Load: Outside of one challenge, Alyssa was without a doubt the weakest of the 20-somethings, as she more often than not was a weak link in challenges, and would rather argue with her teammates during service than any do good. It's telling that she was the first of the 20-somethings to be eliminated and in a double elimination no less.
• Manipulative Bitch: The moment she was considered for elimination, she immediately tried throwing Nicole under the bus, saying she didn't want to worry about her in the future.
• Nervous Wreck: Became this in the sixth episode where her frazzled mind hindered her performance on garnish. This leads to her elimination.
• Never My Fault: In her elimination comment, she blamed her lack of confidence on her teammates not having her back. All she ever really did was rub them the wrong way, either by not pulling her weight during punishments or service, or just being unpleasant to be around.
• Poor Communication Kills: She often had communication problems during service, which often resulted in her arguing with the other chefs.
• The Rival: Appeared to be this to Vlad early on, as they knew each other before going on the show and Alyssa didn't like his cocky attitude. After the team switch however, the rivalry fizzled out completely.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her decision to target Nicole due to her not wanting to worry about her pretty much marked the start of the 20-somethings overall dislike of the 40-somethings (except for Alex).
• What Could Have Been: In an interview, it was revealed she was meant to be on Season 22, but was moved to this season as one of the original cast members caught COVID.

Placement: 13th

Alyssa's Elimination Comment - "I was a little surprised by Chef Ramsay's decision, but if I could do this again, I would come in with more of a voice. I didn't have a team that initially supported me, so I lacked my confidence. I should have not even worried about my team. I should have just kept my confidence because I know that I can do it."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "It’s so sad that on Trenton and Macy’s wedding day I have to say ‘I don’t’ to both Billy and Alyssa."

William "Billy" Trudsoe

"Yo, can I get a chicken wing?"

Occupation: Head Chef

Age: 40

Hometown: Melbourne, FL

• Crippling Overspecialization: Wasn't actually that bad in challenges for the most part, but service wise, he was one of the weaker chefs.
• Dramatic Irony: He had a special scallops dish featured in Trenton and Macy's wedding in the sixth episode, only to crash and burn on them, which led to his elimination.
• Expy: He appeared to be this to Season 2's Keith in a way. Both would use a lot of slang in their sentences, and have a relatively goofy appearance. However, whilst Keith was one of the better chefs of that season, Billy was one of the worst.
• Four Is Death: Was eliminated after being nominated for the fourth time.
• Hot-Blooded: He is very enthusiastic to the point of being overly aggressive, which naturally annoys his teammates.
• Large Ham: Is he ever. He is so enthusiastic, his teammates constantly tell him to calm down.
• Leader Wannabe: Attempted to be a leader in his final service, where he wanted control of the fish station. Emphasis on tried, because he crashed and burned on his own scallops dish and was eliminated as a result.
• The Load: Despite a few solid challenge performances, Billy for the most part the weakest chef on the team.
• Never My Fault: Whenever he gets put up for elimination, he usually says it's because the other chefs consider him a threat, despite the other chefs usually putting him up whenever he messes up in service. They also put him up because he annoys them, but he doesn’t acknowledge that either.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is William, but he went by Billy during the show.
• Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Loves making slang in his sentences.
• Self-Applied Nickname: B-True.
• Unknown Rival: In a way he's this to Alex. Through confessionals and dorm room conversations with Abe, we learn that he feels that Alex doesn't like him (which is probably true), and wants him out. He also dislikes how Alex takes punishments for losing challenges in stride. In turn, Alex just sees him as an annoyance, which is basically the rest of the blue team's general opinion on Billy.
• Verbal Tic: Often ended his sentences with “bro”.

Placement: 14th

Billy's Elimination Comment - "It's crazy that I went home because of my scallop dish, you know? My boy Abe kind of staked me out tonight. I told him multiple times that I wanted to take the leadership role. I thought Chef Ramsay would see through Abe's BS. It is what it is, and at the end of the day, you know, I know I'm a talented chef."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "It’s so sad that on Trenton and Macy’s wedding day I have to say ‘I don’t’ to both Billy and Alyssa."

Nicole Gomez

"I'm in shock. I'm like from zero to fucking hero!"

Occupation: Private Chef

Age: 46

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

• Bystander Syndrome: What the women and Ramsay accused her of being on the third night. However, aside from one moment where Dafne told her to move, it is an Informed Flaw due to the edits focusing more on the mistakes her teammates made.
• Dye Hard: Has pink tips in her hair.
• Expy: To Season 20's Matthew to an extent. Both their signature dishes were labeled as one of the worst in the season for various reason (Matthew for leaving the poop sack in the shrimp, and Nicole for serving boxed tagliatelle), and both appeared to be on the fast track to winning the punishment pass. Where they differ however was that Matthew's dish was still awful and he was booted in his first service, whilst Nicole's dish actually was good and she nearly won the pass, and managed to survive for a while.
• From Zero to Hero: She says this when, after her awful signature dish pretty much cost the 40-somethings the first challenge, she manages to nearly win the punishment pass.
• Genki Girl: She was very excitable in the season.
• Genre Blind: Considering that it's the twenty-first season, you would think that chefs would know by now not to use pre-made ingredients. Nicole somehow didn't get this memo.
• Never My Fault: She had shades of this during her elimination comment, feeling that her team abandoned her and that everyone else failed. Downplayed, as she was technically right, as Sommer and Dafne both messed up far worse than her that night and yet were not nominated.
• Safe Word: According to her, it's Sandwich. It's also the name of her dog.
• Took a Level in Badass: Somewhat. While she still struggled a bit in service, she nearly managed to win the Punishment Pass, and had an accepted lobster. However, that would go away in the second service and continue in her very short stint on the red team.
• Weak, but Skilled: Judging by her dish that very nearly won her the punishment pass, Nicole did have some level of competence when it came to cooking. Unfortunately for her, it never translated well into the kitchen.
• What Were You Thinking?: She used boxed tagliatelle and canned tomatoes for her signature dish. That, along with her dish looking bad and tasting even worse, led to her earning a 1, which Ramsay admitted was a stretch.

Placement: 15th

Nicole's Elimination Comment - "I feel a little disappointed, but I'm a little disappointed in the girls. I feel that I was abandoned by them. I mean, all of them failed. I did not, not tonight. So that's on them. But it's okay, Sandwich. Mama's coming home."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "With her team struggling, Nicole decided to hide instead of help. That's all I needed to see."

O'Shay Lolley

"Who- who does that? You know what he's gonna say. You know he's gonna want everything fresh. Why would you come to Hell's Kitchen and make boxed pasta?"

Occupation: Executive Chef

Age: 44

Hometown: New Castle, DE

• Cordon Bleugh Chef: O'Shay's signature dish was salmon and corn grits with orange soda collard greens. While it did not make Ramsay throw up like another weirdly combined signature dish (looking at you Season 4 Matt), it did cost him a perfect five because of the orange soda component.
• Genre Savvy: Judging by the above quote, he clearly knew not to serve pre-made ingredients.
• The Load: Aside from a moderately well-received signature dish (that was only bogged down by his decision to use orange soda in it), he was never a standout performer. He was almost eliminated in the Chicken Wings Challenge, he failed to do an acceptable job with lobsters and he was unable to communicate effectively with Nicole on the meat station, leading to his elimination by Chef Ramsay.
• What Were You Thinking?:
  • While his signature dish had potential, Ramsay disliked the orange soda added to it, which dropped his dish from a potential five out of five to merely a three.
  • He also had this reaction to Nicole serving Ramsay a dish with boxed tagliatelle and canned tomatoes for her signature dish.

Placement: 16th

O'Shay's Elimination Comment - "It's just disappointing when you just don't perform up to your standards, and certainly up to Chef Ramsay's standards. But that's my next thing to keep pushing, to take what I learned from Chef Ramsay here, and it makes me want more for myself. It makes me dream, so I'm gonna dream."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "Some evictions are harder than others. This was an easy one. Goodbye, O'Shay."

Jesus "Zeus" Gordiany

"I'm probably one of the youngest one's here. I'm still a kid at heart."

Occupation: Executive Chef

Age: 48

Hometown: Milford, DE

• Every Scar Has a Story: Sports a very large scar on his head that he covered up with a cap. He stated that it was from a shark attack he got as a young man, although his story was met with skepticism from fellow contestants.
• Glass Cannon: Zeus showed he was a competent chef by cooking dishes that Ramsay loved from his Signature Dish to his chicken wings. However, he did not gel well with the stress of the competition and after one service, he was ready to call it quits by self-nominating himself.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is Jesus, but he went by Zeus during the show.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Decided to nominate himself after his first service due to his dislike of the pressure the show inflicted on him. Even though he was sent back in line by Gordon, he was eliminated shortly after due to his willingness to leave.
• Senseless Sacrifice: His attempt to take the fall for his team only resulted in them losing two members.
• Suicide by Cop: Double Subverted; After not being nominated despite having a bad night, he tried to nominate himself with Charlene and Billy and actually said that Charlene and Billy wanted to be there more than him. Ramsay sent him back in line before eliminating Charlene... but then eliminated him because of him trying to take a fall so early.

Placement: 17th

Zeus's Elimination Comment - "You're only as good as your last service. And after tonight's service, I felt a little ill. Look, it's hard. It's called Hell's Kitchen for a reason. This heat here, it was just something I didn't want a part of."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "Charlene had trouble with her chicken, and Zeus was nothing but a chicken. Good riddance."

Charlene Sherman

"I'm terrified. It's an icky, going to prom with your cousin feeling."

Occupation: Private Chef

Age: 40

Hometown: Worland, WY

• Beginner's Luck: About the only thing that went right for her was her signature dish, which received a 4 out of 5. After that, she would fail to win the punishment pass, and be the first eliminated.
• Dramatic Irony: Charlene thought Billy would be the downfall for the blue team on the opening night service. Instead, she caused the blue team to fail and was eliminated.
• For Want Of A Nail: In a way, it doesn't entirely involve her, but had Ileana been eliminated in the chicken wing challenge and Gordon decided to allow Zeus to quit, it's genuinely possible that Charlene might've survived a bit longer in the competition.
• The Quiet One: What ends up being her downfall. Charlene did not communicate at all during dinner service and it led to multiple mistakes at the meat station. Ramsay eliminated her not long after.
• Weak, but Skilled: As seen by her signature dish being one of the strongest of the season, it was clear that she had some talent. Unfortunately for her, it never translated well into the kitchen.
• We Hardly Knew You: Is the first one to be eliminated this season.

Placement: 18th

Charlene's Elimination Comment - "I'm definitely disappointed. You know, I didn't come all the way out here for one dinner service. But I'd lost my confidence, and I was not taking the initiative. And it was a fatal error."

Ramsay's Elimination Comment - "Charlene had trouble with her chicken, and Zeus was nothing but a chicken. Good riddance."