when it comes to hell's kitchen i don't think most casual viewers would label a chef as an underdog
when describing their character i mean this isn't a show like survivor where players are obviously
edited to be the underdog that the audience is supposed to get behind i mean all hell's
kitchen contestants do is cook how do they become underdogs well whether it's because they have
very little kitchen experience or simply never give up no matter how hard hell's kitchen gets
certain chefs throughout the years have absolutely earned their underdog label what's going on guys
i'm flip masters and today we'll be looking at the greatest underdogs in hell's kitchen history
these chefs definitely weren't perfect during their time on hell's kitchen but their will and
determination despite everything going against them makes them stand out from their competition
before we begin if you love hell's kitchen then please be sure to smash that like and
subscribe button as we're trying to build a great hk community here on this channel
and every little bit of support helps with all that said let's take a look at some of
the greatest underdogs to ever step foot in hell's kitchen bloody hell here we go again
i say it's only fitting that we start off with the first ever underdog in the show's history
and that is elsie ramos from hell's kitchen season one for those of you that don't know
for the first couple seasons of hell's kitchen not all the contestants were actual pro chefs
elsie was one of those people as she literally had no experience cooking in a professional kitchen
and her job occupation was mother of six i think it's fair to say that cooking for your
kids is much different than cooking for gordon ramsay however elsie this season proved that
you don't need to be an executive chef or heck have much experience at all in the kitchen to
make a good impression on chef ramsay elsie was nowhere near perfect but she had extreme heart
and determination and was in fact named the first ever best of the worst in hell's kitchen
also when she was nominated at the final seven she stayed over chris
the only executive chef this season proving to the audience that chef ramsay didn't care
about the chef's status he cared about what he saw with his own eyes and one could not deny
elsie's potential she had shown compared to chris while she ultimately fell just short of
the finale she touched the hearts of millions and even touched the heart of gordon ramsay
you've come a long way and for a woman that's never spent an hour in a professional kitchen
you impressed me and behind that you touched my heart thank you appreciate it
keep smiling you light up the place when you smile elsie i'm proud of you
thank you while we're on this topic i want to give an honorable mention to julia from season three
who had a very similar arc to elise and while julia did have kitchen experience as a waffle
house cook nobody could have ever expected her to hang with the executive and sous chefs of
season three but she also made it all the way to the final four and her performance was so
impressive this season that chef ramsay gave her his own personal reward listen
you have done phenomenally well and i'm going to do something now that i've never done before
i am personally going to send you to culinary school
because you have an exceptional amount of talent i am very proud of you thank you
oh jesus
now that we've talked about old school underdogs i think it's now time we talk about the most recent
underdog of hell's kitchen when taking one look at nikki hannah from hell's kitchen season 19
not many would think of her as a chef much less someone who could survive the brutal environment
of hell's kitchen yet despite her appearance and lack of experience compared to the other chefs
this season who had been cooking longer than she had been alive nicki made it all the way to the
final sticks of the season which keep in mind is even more impressive considering the fact that
season 19 is the second most talented group of chefs in the show's history and i could easily
see nikki making it to the final four in most other seasons as expected nikki started off slow
nearly going home night 1 and her team put her up for illumination as the prototypical weak link
after the red team's first loss however after the slow start nicki rised and shined this season and
noticeably got better every single service and she was an absolute standout in the challenges
unfortunately she became a casualty of the bs cook for your life black jacket twist at the final six
but despite not making it to the black jackets the fact that nicki was able to stand out so much
despite competing against some insanely good competition was something to behold and just
one of the many things that makes season 19 such a great season i have not gone to culinary school
i'm so sorry right behind i actually have only been in the field for
about two years but i've picked up as much as humanly possible
in that short amount of time i'll prevail it's gonna be good
at number three is a chef who had such an amazing comeback in hell's kitchen
that gordon himself considered it the greatest comeback in hell's kitchen history and that chef
is to neil from season six tennille had a lot going against her in the early stages of season
six she struggled big time at the gate thus results in getting put up for a nomination
in episodes two and three and it even looked like for a second she would be
in early boot as she was literally about to take her jacket off tanil come here
listen to me yes sir wake up big time back in line
despite this insanely lucky break denil still wasn't perfect as she was nominated for the third
time at the red team's next nomination but luckily it was voided however the following episode after
tanil once again screwed up it looked like ramsay was finally fed up with her and laid it into her
however to neil being the fighter that she was didn't hold back cause you're crap you're crap
i'm sick i'm sick man let me do my
believe it or not to neil's determination to get back into the kitchen despite everything
kept her from being nominated that night but still she struggled all season lily looked to
be a garner at one point and even got into it with chef ramsay she can't belong for
this competition at this point well after her argument with ramsay it was almost like teneal
flipped a switch as she not only improved immensely the rest of the season but she
literally became a frontrunner to win season six despite going up against the likes of ariel kevin
and dave three of the greatest chefs in the show's history unfortunately after a miserable
night at the final four teneal was an obvious goner but chef ramsay used this time to praise
her insane underdog run in hell's kitchen i am so proud of you you fought back like
i've never ever seen anybody in hell's kitchen fight back and you are an amazing competitor
the greatest comeback you never forget that no way head up high always chef
if you would have told me in the early parts of season 11 that mary would go on to make it to
the finale i would have laughed in your face this was a woman who i thought was simply casted to be
an easy target for chef ramsay due to her voice and lack of real cooking experience on the line
given that she was a butcher and that looked to be the case early on as mary was nominated in
three of the first five elimination ceremonies and only survived the third one due to the dumb
probation twist so at the final 15 mary had been put up three times was saved by a dumb twist
and was arguably the weakest chef in the entire competition at that point there is no way she can
last too much longer well mary wouldn't just make it farther than anyone could have ever imagined
but she absolutely dominated the rest of season 11 having multiple standout performances
absolutely destroyed the final four pass and kicked out dan during the final dinner service the
first time a chef had ever done this unfortunately for mary janel had simply proven to be the better
all-around chef that season but you can't deny the heart shown by mary as she went from a pro
typical early boot to nearly winning hell's kitchen i've been nominated for elimination
three times i have no more chances left i'm walking mary yes chef that music coach
beautiful service place mary's made a full like 180. she's really coming into her own right now
even though i didn't one like i'm still a winner and hal's kitchen has completely
transformed who i am as a chef it's bye bye mary the butcher and hello mary the chef
most underdogs in hell's kitchen usually have a pretty similar trajectory they're able to
scratch and claw their way to the black jackets but ultimately their flaws are simply too much to
overlook and the chefs who are much more dominant go on to make it to the finale over the underdog
in fact i would argue that there's only been one true underdog winner and boy is his right
to the top of crazy one in my opinion the greatest underdog in hell's kitchen history is the winner
of season 12 scott cummings the funny thing is just taking one look at scott you wouldn't think
of him as an underdog as he was a 36 year old executive chef with plenty of experience i think
it's fair to say that chef ramsay would expect more from him than someone like nicki or elsie but
scott battled back non-stop in season 12 and no matter how bad it looked he kept on fighting and
in the end it led him to that quarter of a million dollar prize along with a headshot position at
gordon ramsay pub and grill and caesar's palace scott started the season okayish as his signature
dish was awful he had a mistake here and there but overall he didn't stand out due to all the
other terrible early boots of season 12. his flaws really started the show though around
the mid-season where he was put up for elimination at the final 14 and 11 and was even nominated by a
couple of his teammates at the final 12 for being the weakest chef on the blue team at the final 10
he was switched to the red team where again he had his fair share of mistakes but it was never
truly anything terrible however at the final seven he objectively had a terrible service
but was luckily bailed out by gabriel having an even worse performance and thus was able
to sneak his way into the black jackets okay this story seems all too familiar the underdog
scratching called their way to the black jackets and will be going home shortly after while scott
was able to survive the final sixth round due to keisha simply not being ready to be a head chef
he had nowhere to hide at the final five melanie jason rochelle and joy have been stellar all
season and it would take an absolute miracle for scott to survive this round i'm done you're done
again say what you will about scott getting extremely lucky by joyce quit and gabriel's
meltdown but at the end of the day no matter how he did it he made it
to the final four and the final four and finale are of course the time to shine
as ramsay doesn't really care about the past he's now looking for a leader
and let's just say scott would prove himself as a leader in the most dominant of ways
as he would go on to have the best pass and finale performance of all time leading to the wildest win
in hell's kitchen history entrees one halibut two salmon one chicken order in two halibut one salmon
one halibut two salmon one chicken you got it boss thank you excellent finally good voice let's go
let's go stop stop jessica yeah go no no please joe don't talk to me anymore i want you out go
you are the biggest comeback chef in the history of this competition let me tell you and tonight
you proved that on running the hot plate you did a great job thank you so much chef he's got one
tonight because there's all the qualities i'm looking for in a head chef he is passionate
determined and a true leader there's no doubt in my mind that he's got a great career ahead of him
thank you guys so much for watching if you enjoyed this video antel's kitchen
then remember to smash that like and subscribe button and leave a comment down below
of your favorite underdog in hell's kitchen and other underdogs you would have added to my list
with all that said take care everyone and i'll see you next time get out of there