Hell’s Kitchen is back for Season 22, so here’s everything to know about the cooking competition’s 18 contestant chefs.
Hell’s Kitchen Season 22 features 18 chefs competing for a job offer at Gordon Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen restaurant located inside Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada and a $250,000 cash prize
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Subtitled “The American Dream,” Season 22, which premiered on Fox on September 28, 2023, includes a diverse cache of chefs who have all dealt with particularly challenging hardships in their lives, pushing through those struggles to get the opportunity to compete in this series.
The teams are split by men (Blue Team) and women (Red Team), with Season 10 winner Christina Wilson serving as the red team’s leader and sous-chef while Season 7 runner-up Jason Santos holds that position for the blue team.
Every Chef Contestant in Hell’s Kitchen Season 22
Ahead is more information on all 18 contestants:
Ashley “Atoye” Johnson (Red Team)
35-year-old Ashley “Atoye” Johnson works as a private chef and caterer in Bowie, Maryland, calling the opportunity to compete on Hell’s Kitchen “one in a million” and telling fans that they “can do anything in this world” with a dream.
Johnson was nominated for elimination in the first week, although she also has one Challenge win and a Service win under her belt so far and scored two points out of five on her Signature Dish Challenge.
Bradley “Brad” Delgado (Blue Team)
Bradley Deldago is a 25-year-old caterer and line cook from Miami, Florida who Chef Santos described as “one of the most chaotic, frantic cooks” that he’d ever been around in his entire cooking career.
He’s been nominated twice thus far for elimination, although he’s also won a challenge and proven to be a solid competitor for the Blue Team.
Carmen Florencia Ibarra (Red Team)
Carmen Florencia Ibarra is 29 years old and resides in Miami, Florida, putting forth her best effort to win whenever she has her “eye on a prize.”
Chef Wilson expressed confidence that Ibarra would “lead [their] team to a lot of successful dinner services,” scoring four points out of five on her Signature Dish Challenge and earning both a Challenge and Service win while avoiding nomination for elimination.
Claudia Diawara (Red Team, Eliminated – 17th place)
Claudia Diawara works as a private chef in Atlanta, Georgia, with the 34-year-old revealing that she just officially became an American citizen one year prior to being on Hell’s Kitchen Season 22.
Unfortunately, Diawara was the second contestant eliminated this season, the reason for this being that she didn’t help out her teammates and that she showed an unprofessional attitude.
Chef Ramsey’s blunt comment on Diawara noted that “Claudia can speak four languages, but cooking definitely isn’t one of them.”
Dahmere Merriweather (Blue Team)
29-year-old Dahmere Merriweather works as a line cook in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Chef Santos describing him as a “solid cook” when the competition began.
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Although he’s avoided nomination for elimination, Merriweather hasn’t been able to impress Ramsey and the judges, earning low scores for his dishes but remaining in the competition.
Devon Rosenblatt (Blue Team)
Devon Rosenblatt is 29 years old and employed as an executive chef in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, telling audiences that he’s a queer Canadian-Jewish Black man who’s been homeless and jobless at various points in his life.
Scoring three points out of five on his Signature Dish Challenge in Week 1, Rosenblatt avoided elimination through the first four episodes for the Blue Team.
Donya Taylor (Red Team)
Hailing from Long Island, New York, Donya Taylor is a 28-year-old caterer who revealed that she was “born addicted to drugs,” sharing her story to show fans that “you can make it from anywhere.”
Described as having “a great voice” by Chef Wilson, Taylor scored four points out of five on her Signature Dish Challenge, although she had an elimination scare in Week 3 before being brought back.
Jason Hedin (Blue Team)
Jason Hedin is 35 years old and works as an executive chef in Milaca, Minnesota, sharing that he takes his career incredibly seriously and even expressing confidence in his ability to “elevate food.”
However, Chef Santos shared concern that Hedin’s “ego is going to get in the way,” and even though he’s won a pair of challenges, he was nominated for elimination in Week 4 before moving on.
Jermaine Wright (Blue Team)
Jermaine Wright resides in Queens, New York, with the 31-year-old working as a private chef and describing himself as a “quiet assassin” in the kitchen.
Chef Santos started off with high hopes for this chef, as Wright impressed the judges with a four-point score on his Signature Dish Challenge and won a pair of other challenges while staying away from elimination.
Johnathan Benvenuti (Blue Team)
Huntington-Beach-based Jonathan Benvenuti is a 28-year-old sous chef who has dedicated his run on this show to his daughter, putting forth his best effort for her.
Chef Santos praised Benvenuti as “one of the better cooks in the kitchen” and highlighted that he “comes with a lot of experience,” with Benvenuti earning a perfect five-point score on his Signature Dish Challenge and winning two other challenges.
Leigh Evans (Red Team)
26-year-old Leigh Evans is employed as a private chef in Savannah, Georgia, although she openly admitted that she’d only been cooking professionally for about a year before entering the competition.
Earning three out of five points on her Signature Challenge dish, Evans has won both a Service and a Challenge while staying away from elimination nominations.
Melissa Irons (Red Team)
Melissa Irons, age 34, is a private chef from East St. Louis, Illinois who’s been quoted as being a “firm believer that people eat with their eyes” during her time on Hell’s Kitchen.
Scoring highly on her Signature Challenge dish with four points out of five, Irons has a couple of Challenge wins under her belt and hasn’t been nominated for elimination during the first four weeks.
Mattias Butts (Blue Team, Eliminated – 16th Place)
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28-year-old Mattias Butts works as a sous-chef in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he’s described himself as “20% water and 80% pizza” in one of his interviews for Hell’s Kitchen.
Called a “gentle giant” by those around him, he scored three out of five points on his initial Signature Dish but became the third contestant to be eliminated as he was sent home in Week 4.
Ramsey was not impressed with his work as he offered the comment, “Mattias has had three services to impress me. Unfortunately, he struck out.”
Raneisha Conerly (Red Team)
Raneisha Conerly is a 38-year-old mother of six children who works as an executive private chef in Foxworth, Mississippi, commenting to her fellow chefs that she “knows what an excuse looks like.”
Performing fairly well with three points out of five on her Signature Challenge, Connerly won both a Challenge and a Service while keeping herself out of danger of being eliminated.
Ryan O’Sullivan (Blue Team)
Serving as Season 22’s only contestant from outside of the United States is 28-year-old Ryan O’Sullivan, a Chef de Cuisine from Cork City, Ireland. He explained that he wants to win in honor of his father, whose dream was “to work for Gordon Ramsey.”
Earning a perfect five-point score on his Signature Challenge dish, O’Sullivan is finding early success with two Challenge wins and has remained clear of elimination nomination.
Sammi Tarantino (Red Team)
Columbus, Ohio’s Sammi Tarantino is a 25-year-old private chef and creative director who expressed her amazement and gratitude at getting the opportunity to compete for the Hell’s Kitchen prize.
Tarantino started off strong with a Signature Challenge dish that got her a perfect five points, winning both another Challenge and a Service while performing well in the first four weeks.
Sandra Gajovsky (Red Team)
Season 22’s oldest competitor is 39-year-old Sandra Gajovsky, an executive catering chef from Elmwood Park, New Jersey whom Chef Wilson praised for being “really creative, great technique, such a bright young talent.”
Earning two out of five points on her Signature Challenge dish, Gajovsky has won one other Challenge and a Service, although she had an elimination scare in Week 2 before moving on and surviving.
Tad Walters (Blue Team, Eliminated -18th place)
Tad Walters is 28 years old and resides in Houston, Texas, working as a sous chef. He also professed himself to be a “professional Quidditch player,” paying tribute to the classic Harry Potter sport.
Walters started off poorly by earning only one point out of five on his Signature Challenge dish and became the first contestant to be eliminated from Season 22.
Ramsey laid into Walters after he was eliminated, commenting that “Tad not only believes Quidditch is a real sport but also that he’s a real chef. Neither is true.”
Hell’s Kitchen Season 22 airs every Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
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