Chef Jessica Vogel, a ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ contestant and Westwood resident, dies at 34

Chef Jessica Vogel, a former contestant on Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” show with Gordon Ramsay, died Monday morning. She was 34.

Vogel, who attended culinary school at Johnson & Wales in Denver, auditioned for the show, the first episode of which aired in March 2014, while working at a creperie and bakery in California. She began her career working in the kitchen of Kevin’s Thyme in Ho-Ho-Kus, now shuttered.

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She went on to work for chef Christine Nunn as a pastry chef at Grange in Westwood, then at Nunn’s Ridgewood restaurant, Picnic on the Square. From March 2016, she worked as executive chef of Black Rebel Burger in Hackensack, which shut its doors early last year.

Vogel, who proudly called herself a “Jersey girl,” was until recently a resident of Westwood. She grew up in Spring Lake. Vogel temporarily had moved to the shore three months ago to be with family, said her fiancé, John Michael Keyser, who recently moved to Teaneck. Her father is a critical care specialist in Ridgewood.

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Keyser said Vogel was being treated for colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, at a hospital in southern New Jersey when “her heart gave out.”

However, the tall, blond, thin chef in a post on medium.com in October seemed to admit to having a drinking problem.

She wrote:

“…when my sister says start a blog, the narcissistic alcoholic in me thinks me and I. Perfect. I’m f****d up. Truly. Sure. I was on Hells kitchen with Chef Ramsay and Cutthroat Kitchen on Food Network. I went to culinary school in Denver, grew up at the Jersey shore was raised by Mormon nannies in a mansion, dated a coastie and had a stint of living near strippers in St. Pete, Fl.

“I’m weeks away from 34 years old and got told I drink too much and have cirrhosis. Did it stop me from pouring shots of alcohol? Nope. Did my lifestyle of sex, drugs and foie gras come to a born again Christian revelation? F**k that noise… I don’t know if you want an adventure tale, but I’m here and ready to tell. My name is Jess and I’ve lived to tell about it. To be continued…”

The post has been deleted.

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Keyser said he talked to Vogel a week ago. “We were planning to open a restaurant together,” he said. “My heart is breaking.”

Fair Lawn-based chef Nunn, who occasionally writes for The Record and NorthJersey.com, said she knew Vogel well.

“She knew more about the Bergen County dining scene than just about anyone,” Nunn said. “She was really a talented chef who never reached her potential. It’s a shame.”

Chef Beth Taylor-Murray, who was on Season 12 along with Vogel, said she had spoken to Vogel six months ago.

“She wanted a recipe for Popeyes chicken,” she said, because Taylor-Murray had worked there while in high school. “I loved her,” Taylor-Murray said. “She was a kind soul. We all have our issues and problems. I just want her to be at peace.”

Vogel’s family could not be reached for comment.

Keyser said he did not yet know about funeral arrangements.

Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Kitchens