Hell's Kitchen Season 1 Where Are They Now?

Hell's Kitchen Season 1 Contestants

Hell's Kitchen Season 1 aired May 30 to August 1, 2005.

It aired on Fox Network and there were 12 contestants.

The prize for the winner was a position in London to work under Gordon Ramsay in one of his restaurants.

In this season, Gordon Ramsay was judge, Jean-Philippe Susilovic was MaƮtre d', Mary-Ann Salcedo was sous chef for the red team and Scott Leibfried was sous chef for the blue team.

Find out what the Hell's Kitchen Season 1 contestants did next after appearing on Hell's Kitchen with Gordon Ramsay. Hell's Kitchen season 1 cast where are they now?


Andrew Bonito Andrew Bonito was an Office Assistant from Livingston, New Jersey.

During the show, he did not get on well with Gordon and there were some heated exchanges.

He was eliminated in episode 6.

After Hell's Kitchen, Andrew credited the process for helping him to grow professionally.

In 2008, he returned to college to complete a Masters in Hospitality.

He became manager at The Palm in Manhattan before moving to Bond 45.

Andrew moved to various Director roles.

He is currently Vice President at EAT Restaurant Partners.

Carolann Valentino Carolann Valentino was a kitchen assistant from Dallas, Texas.

She created the signature dish of the season but was eliminated in episode 1 due to her lack of experience and teamwork skills.

After Hell's Kitchen, Carolann left the catering world.

She has an award winning one woman show "Burnt at the Steak".

It is about her experiences working in a Steakhouse and choosing to pursue a career in performing.

Carolann had a part in 2016 movie "Cassanova Was a Woman".

She was a gym instructor teaching classes in New York.

Chris North Chris North was an Executive Chef from Yorktown Heights, New York.

He was eliminated in episode 5 after Gordon questioned his abilities as an Executive Chef saying that he expected more from him.

After Hell's Kitchen, Chris returned to Rowayton Seafood, where he had been Executive Chef since 2005.

In 2019, he gave up his kitchen career, moved to Maine and is now a furniture maker.

Elsie Ramos Elsie Ramos was a self taught cook and mother of six, she learnt to cook from family members.

She was eliminated in episode 8 after performing poorly during the service despite strong performances in previous services.

After Hell's Kitchen, Elsie published "Elsie’s Turkey Tacos and Arroz con Pollo" in 2007.

She has done numerous cookery demonstrations, events and returned to cookery school.

Elsie has appeared on a number of cookery shows.

She partnered with Imusa Health, a homeware company and embarked on a series of cookery demonstrations.

She is also a partner to Health First and promotes healthier alternatives to home cooked classics.

Jimmy Casey Jimmy Casey was a Purchasing Manager from Williston Park, New York.

He graduated from The Institution of Culinary Education in New York and was a Manager in their purchasing department.

He was eliminated in episode 7 after Gordon felt he was the weakest chef.

After Hell's Kitchen, Jimmy described it as a positive experience that taught him a lot about cooking.

He is Account Executive, Key Accounts at The Chefs' Warehouse.

Jeffery Dewberry Jeffery Dewberry was a Pastry Chef from Stockbridge, Georgia.

During the show, he struggled with some tasks and even deserted his station after struggling with Beef Wellington.

This led to his elimination from the show in episode 2.

After Hell's Kitchen, Jeff became a Chef/Manager at The Flying Biscuit Cafe in Atlanta, Georgina.

Dewberry blogged briefly about Hell's Kitchen and his life afterwards in 2006.

He also has a YouTube Channel featuring vegan recipes.

Jeff currently offers home cooking lessons and parties.

Jeff La Poff Jeff La Poff was a Finance Manager from Orange, New Jersey.

Jeff struggled in the show and called Gordon an a**hole in one episode before walking out.

He left in episode 3 after arguing with Gordon.

His exit and poor performance was later put down to a sprained ankle and kidney stones.

It is reported that he and Gordon had a further argument in the parking lot, which led to the sprained ankle.

After Hell's Kitchen, Jeff worked in used car sales for a few years.

He now works as an insurance agent.

Jessica Cabo Jessica Cabo was a Head Hunter from Huntington, New York.

She was a self taught chef but had gained some experience from running a pizzeria whilst in college.

She was eliminated in episode 9 after her chicken dish scored the least votes.

After Hell's Kitchen, Jessica returned to working at Yahoo briefly, then decided to pursue her passion in the kitchen.

She worked her way up in a friends restaurant before working in LA with a number of well known chefs.

She opened her own restaurant Brick+Mortor in Santa Monica, which closed in 2020.

In 2013, she became a chef at CAM Cafe at the Cameron Art Museum before taking over the reigns as Head Chef. S

She is currently Head Chef at The Blockade Runner Resort in Wrightsville Beach.

Jessica is three-time winner of Taste of Wrightsville Beach.

Mary Ellen Daniels Mary Ellen Daniels was a Bartender and culinary student from Belmont, Massachusetts.

She was eliminated in episode 4 due to inconsistency in the the dishes she prepared.

After Hell's Kitchen, Mary got married in 2013 and has three children.

Michael Wray Michael Wray was a professional chef from Fort Collins, Colorado.

His dishes were well received by both Gordon and critics.

Michael Wray was the Hell's Kitchen season 1 winner.

His choice of prize was to either open his own restaurant or to travel to London to apprentice with Gordon in one of his restaurants.

After Hell's Kitchen, Michael accepted to work with Gordon.

Once he realised the strains this would put on his family, he decided not to take up the prize.

He went on to be Head Chef at The Standard in Los Angeles before moving to Arizona.

Michael planned to open his open restaurant HK One, ran his own knife company and taught culinary classes.

He suffered the loss of his newborn daughter, addiction and the loss of his home.

He had a fundraiser to help raise funds for a food truck.

Ralph Pagano Ralph Pagano was a Professional Chef from Livingston, New Jersey.

He was the Hell's Kitchen season 1 runner up, losing to Michael by just 4%.

After Hell's Kitchen, he worked at STK Miami.

He continued his tv career, hosting cooking shows Pressure Cook and All Mixed Up.

Ralph also challenged Chef Bobby Flay in an episode of Iron Chef and lost.

He opened restaurant Naked Taco in Miami Beach, Naked Lunch at the University of Miami and later Naked Tiki.

Ralph was host of Pressure Cook on Travel Channel and All Mixed Up on Lifetime.

In June 2017, he was injured in an accident and returned to his restaurant in 2020 after taking time off with his family.

Wendy Liu Wendy Liu was an account manager from New Jersey who graduated from The Institute of Culinary Education.

She was weak throughout the first three services.

Gordon referred to eliminating her in episode 3 as putting her out of her misery.

After the show, she appears to have returned to her career in account management.


Click for more Hell's Kitchen Contestants

Seasons

1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  910 

1112  |  13  |  14  |  15  |  16  |  17  |  18 |  19

20  |  21 |   22 |   23 

Hell's Kitchen Winners

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments will be moderated prior to being published. Those with spam links, offensive language or of an offensive nature will not be published. All comments are the opinion of the commenter and do not represent the opinions of the website owner.


Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter