Hell’s Kitchen, over its almost twenty-season run on the air, has lived up to its name. Cooks from all across America who think they have what it takes are put into Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen and must battle it out to win a shot at being one of his head chefs
In a show of this nature, an entire cast of characters has come and gone through the doors of Hell’s Kitchen. Some were stronger than others. Some knew how to turn on the charm, while some chose to be more abrasive. And some knew how to do both.
10 Elise Harris
Elise will easily go down in Hell’s Kitchen history as being one of the most hated contestants on the show. Her aggressive nature in season 9 didn’t win her many friends, and her ongoing feuds with Carrie Keep and Jennifer Normant were explosive, to say the least.
When she returned in Season 17, she spent most of her time fighting with everyone, particularly Michelle Tribble. Despite her lack of popularity, Elise proved to be a strong cook and leader who tried hard to drive her team.
9 Jessica Cabo
Jessica Cabo, after starting shyly, became a strong competitor. She had a few rough services, but her finesse improved and she ended up placing third overall. However, her attitude didn’t go through the same improvement.
Her attitude was very stand-offish and she often had a hard time taking criticism. Her headstrong personality and “tell it like it is” attitude didn’t mesh well with the show’s environment. Her and fellow competitor Andrew Bonito were frequently butting heads.
8 Virginia Dalbeck
Among the competitors in season 2, Virginia did not get any brownie points for popularity. She had a strong personality and a good leader who clearly had culinary skills. If anything, she did not know the meaning of the phrase “give up”.
However, she was very inconsistent throughout the competition, which caused a lot of stress and annoyance from her teammates. She also had many issues working with fellow competitor, Sara Horowitz, who betrayed her on multiple occasions.
7 Rock Harper
Rock Harper was the well-deserved winner of Season 3. He had the entire package: good leadership skills, the culinary skills and techniques to ace challenges, and generally compassionate and charismatic. He helped many teammates in moments of need, including Melissa Firpo and Aaron Song. However, that does not make him perfect.
He did have a few outbursts of anger (albeit, understandable) that made him come off as obnoxious. He also had confrontations with fellow cook Jen Yemola, which affected his performance during service.
6 Dave Levey
In the show’s history, no one has proved as resilient as Dave Levey. He went on to win season 6…. with a fractured wrist. Levey then went on to prove his immense talent by coming to his teammate’s rescue (including running multiple sections) and performing great on the line.
Dave never once used his injury as an excuse to slack off. Ramsay even told him he was “ten thousand times better with one hand.” A down to earth, friendly and funny guy, he was well-liked by most of the contestants.
5 Bonnie Muirhead
Bonnie is easily one of the sweeter contestants that has entered Hell’s Kitchen. She also demonstrated a lot of passion and very sympathetic to viewers. During her confessionals, she often expressed frustration that people didn’t take her seriously and that she was just “the nanny with a good palette.”
She was very inconsistent throughout her season and was often nominated for elimination. However, she never lost her will to keep fighting and ended up being the runner up that season, behind Brock. Her friendship with Jen Yemola was also very wholesome.
4 Robert Hesse
Robert Hesse was the comic relief throughout his run on season 5 and short-lived return on season 6. He was always cracking jokes and being humorous, especially during his confessionals. He got along with most of his fellow chefs, except for Lacey D’Angelo (with good reason).
Despite the health issues that took him out of the show both times, he proved to be a strong competitor with his eye on the prize. He always took criticism well, except (obviously) when Ramsay was fat-shaming him.
3 Louis Petrozza
Petrozza rightfully won his place as runner-up on Season 4. His big heart and approachable personality helped him get along with most of his fellow chefs, including Louross Edralin, Corey Earlin, and Bobby Anderson (the latter helping him through a low point in the competition.
Despite his rocky start in the kitchen and messy habits (that Ramsay criticized him for often), he proved to be a competent leader and one of the strongest players in the kitchen.
2 Mary Poehnelt
Viewers would have to stretch to find Mary unlikable. She was always very sweet (beyond her soft voice) and never got involved in any serious drama. Rarely without a smile on her face, Mary was a breath of fresh air on Season 11.
Besides her likability, she quickly became a force to be reckoned with. She was nominated for elimination a few times and quickly bounced back to become the runner up for that season. She even kicked out a brigade member during the finals.
1 Sterling Wright
Not only was Sterling sunshine personified, but his elimination was also one of the most wholesome in the history of the show. “Mr. 100” was never without a smile on his face.
He demonstrated that he had strong leadership skills, especially when he lead his team during a troubled breakfast service (his “orchestra” bit in confessionals was just the cherry on top). Unfortunately, he was eliminated due to his inconsistent performance. But his infectious positivity was a lasting legacy for the season.
