“ | Let's go! | ” |
Alexander "Alex" Lenik was a contestant on Season 20 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 15th place.
Season 20[]
Episode 1/2[]
- Main article: Episode 2001 - Young Guns: Young Guns Come Out Shooting
- Main article: Episode 2002 - Young Guns: Temping the Meat
The eighteen Young Guns arrive at Las Vegas on a bus heading to Hell's Kitchen, and they drove past the real Hell's Kitchen restaurant. Finally, the bus arrived at Hell's Kitchen, where Marino greeted the chefs. Marino explained that Ramsay created a museum to celebrate the past nineteen seasons in honor of the twentieth season. Giving the tour were Shakala and Sean, who led the chefs into the museum. As the chefs toured the museum, they saw photos of past contestants, hung jackets, the Hell's Kitchen Wall of Fame, and lines said from the past seasons. Then, they see video clips of moments from the show. The last stop was an exhibit of the doors used to reveal the winner of each season. Sean said that the final part of the tour was a documentary film about the show's history. However, the curtain pulled back to reveal an audience waiting for them and Ramsay on a stage behind them. Once on stage, Ramsay explained that the museum was meant to showcase the past, while the eighteen of them were the future. Ramsay added that the desire to become a chef was a dream for many young people, and food has evolved over the years since the show began. So, Ramsay announced that the winner of that season would become his protégé and become the new Head Chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Alex nearly said he had to get a work visa when he heard Paris but took it back after Ramsay said it was in Las Vegas. Afterwards, Ramsay announced the Signature Dish Challenge and gave the chefs 45 minutes to cook their dishes.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, Alex was the eighth person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Ava. He made a pan-seared duck with a soy whiskey reduction and sautéed bok choy, but it was overcooked due to him slicing the duck too thin despite having great flavors. He scores three points, felt he overthought his dish and felt he let the men down. The blue team lost the challenge 28-30, and they were punished by taking in deliveries for ingredients to make stock. During the punishment, he disregarded the red team's attitude as they had no idea what the men were capable of.[1]
During the Alcohol Challenge, Alex lost the challenge as his dish was not chosen as part of the Top Three. Steve named him as part of the blue team's three worst dishes. Because Antonio and Matthew already presented their dishes to Ramsay, he was the only one of the three that went up. He made a pan-seared New York striploin with honey-glazed carrots and scotched eggplant. Even though Ramsay felt it was far from great, it was not terrible either. He was not nominated by Ramsay.
During the 300th dinner service, Alex served a shrimp flambé appetizer tableside. He was not seen during the first part of the service, but could briefly be seen with Matthew and Payton on the meat station towards the end of the service. The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination.
He was not nominated for elimination.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 2003 - Young Guns: Come Hell or High Water!
Before the Whole Squid Prep Challenge, Alex said he could not see Marino saving someone with a dad's body. During the challenge, he wanted to win a challenge for the men and explore Las Vegas. While he was not seen getting any attempts accepted, he refused to let the women win again. The blue team lost the challenge 14-16. They were punished by taking in seafood deliveries, breaking down 50 pounds of squid and shrimp, and eating calamari sandwiches.
During dinner service, Alex was at the meat station with Antonio. After Kevin accidentally cooked scallops when Steve needed more time on tableside, he told the former to communicate with appetizers for timings. On entrées, he was not happy about Jay's garnish mishap as he feared it would ruin the meat station's momentum and his New York strip got accepted. Later, he cooked the chicken alone as he felt a ten-year-old could cook one easily. Sam walked it up, but the chicken came out raw. As the men worked on the refire, he told his teammates to provide him with a second opinion about the chicken. Trenton told him to cook it for nine more minutes, but he was not happy about his mistake. When the men brought up their entrées, Ramsay sliced into the chicken and showed the men how raw it was. It was so pink Curtis Stone could see it across the room, and Marino claimed that he could cook a chicken better than them. That served to be the last straw as Ramsay ejected the men from the kitchen.
The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Alex reminded the men about his need for a second opinion. Still, Trenton thought he deserved to be nominated based on his lack of communication skills and letting a raw chicken walk. However, he said there were other stations with poor communication skills that night and blamed Jay. Jay admitted to his mistake but refused to be eliminated over his raw chicken. Trenton nominated him.
Alex was the blue team's first nominee for elimination, with Jay as the second. After coming down, Ramsay asked him if what Jay said about meat was true, but he argued that the real problems began when the chicken orders came in. He told Ramsay that he could cook chicken and thought he communicated with the men on the temperature. However, that led Ramsay to believe that none of the six men behind him could cook a chicken and asked who told him to send it up. He blamed Antonio, leading Ramsay to bring the latter to the front. Antonio denied touching the chicken, and he blamed Trenton for telling him about the chicken's cook. However, Trenton denied telling him about that. Growing frustrated by the minute, Ramsay went back to his office for thirty seconds and demanded the truth when he came back. As the four nominees squabbled over who did what, the women tried to get a clear idea as well. He blamed Sam for bringing the raw chicken up to the pass, but the latter denied doing so. Once Ramsay came back, he asked him for the truth about the chicken. He said Sam, leading a frustrated Ramsay to bring down the latter down as well. Sam said he did not touch the chicken for him; he only pulled it out for the latter. However, he told Sam he should have felt it afterwards, to which the latter agreed. Ramsay told him that he should have kept control of his station and now knew that the chicken gate happened because Sam pulled the chicken out of the oven and sent it up without checking. After the chicken gate was solved, Ramsay gave him ten seconds to plead his case. He wanted to stay as he refused to back down. He survived elimination, but Ramsay told him to show some confidence and stand up to his own techniques while remaining calm. While being dismissed, he said he was not making enemies with the men but was pissed at Sam for being self-centred.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 2004 - Young Guns: Young Guns Going Big
While going back to the dorms, Alex's chicken gate controversy pissed Trenton off. Trenton deemed his actions unacceptable because he did nothing but help that night.
During the Paris Hotel Brunch Service Challenge, Alex was on the meat station with Payton. He was determined to win the challenge and leave the dorms. However, he gave out inconsistent timings as he went from eight to ten. Steve knew it was a speed challenge as they must move quickly as one but felt that the timings were not registering with him on meat. When he gave out three minutes over Sam's two, Ramsay got upset and asked who was running the order. He said he was and asked for eggs, but Ramsay felt he needed a diaper instead. Despite that, he was able to get a couple of orders out. On the blue team's second to last order, he and Payton were constantly feeling them, much to Ramsay's annoyance. When they were sent up, Ramsay sliced them and showed the men that it was well done compared to Megan's medium-rare. Payton felt like an idiot as he could have done them instead of him and said that was why chefs drank.
The blue team lost the challenge, and they were punished by preparing 600 boxes worth of pastries for different Caesar's locations. Back at the dorms, Antonio demanded answers, but Alex argued that his rested steaks were the reason for being overcooked. However, Antonio accused him of not being confident about timings like he was about the chicken from the previous service and felt he was blaming Payton. He argued against that.
During dinner service, Alex was at the garnish station. When he walked up the cauliflower garnish, Antonio shouted that he needed forty-five more seconds for scallops. He did not know why Antonio was already struggling and wanted them to win something finally. Later, he struggled to remember the order and go back multiple times to get it right. Payton said that if he messed up on his third service, then he was gone. Then, he was late on garnish by a minute and a half, and a frustrated Ramsay threatened to kick out the entire team due to his poor performance. Ramsay asked him why he was not ready earlier, but he said he needed a breather due to overthinking things. Distraught overhearing that, Ramsay sent him outside for a breather, annoying Antonio as nobody should ever tell Ramsay that they were flustered. As he went to the museum, he decided to own up to his mistake, cleared up his head, and went back to the kitchen. As the men got their first order out thanks to Steve working on garnish, Ramsay warned him to wake up. Then, Antonio had him walk his salmon up, but it turned out to be raw. Fed up with the men's continual struggles, Ramsay took them back to the pantry room and accused them of showing no remorse. The men disagreed as he said they would push hard and communicate. However, Ramsay warned them to get it together or else.
Both teams were named joint losers and were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, Steve told Alex that they should never wait on garnish as they did earlier. Still, he said he had to focus next time. Sam said it was too late and nominated him and Antonio, but he argued that he pushed through that night and nominated Antonio. Then, he told Kevin that he got flustered on fish, but the latter felt he had more to give to the team.
Alex was the blue team's first nominee for elimination, with Antonio as the second. They were joined by Brynn and Josie from the red team, and then Victoria. During his plea, Ramsay deemed his performance a disaster, but he thought he had the willingness and drive to bounce back. He was eliminated for his poor performance on garnish, admitting to being flustered in the kitchen and not backing up his talk. During his exit interview, he was bummed to lose but was glad to work under Ramsay and show what the next generation was capable of.
Ramsay's comment: "I was shocked when Alex asked me for a breather on the first ticket of the night. Fortunately for him, he's got plenty of time for that breather now."[4]
Nomination History[]
Week 1 | Nominated |
---|---|
Safe | |
Week 2 | Nominated |
Week 3 | Nominated |
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After his appearance on the show, Alex works as a Chef de Partie at Verve Wine and Provisions and regularly posts delicious looking food on Instagram.
Trivia[]
- He is the second contestant of Polish descent, following Eddie (Season 15).
- He was in a relationship with Alyssa (Season 21) until April 2023.
Quotes[]
- "Let's go!"
- "Even a ten-year-old can cook a chicken."
- "Two halibut... Wait, what is two halibut?"
- (To Ramsay) "I need to take a breather, and I'm overthinking, chef."
- (After being eliminated) "I'm kind of bummed out that I lost tonight, but having the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest chefs in the world makes me want to push even harder and show the whole world what this generation is capable of, and I am not gonna stop."
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Alex Lenik on Instagram
References[]
- ↑ (May 31, 2021). "Episode 2001 - Young Guns: Young Guns Come Out Shooting". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 20. Episode 1.
- ↑ (June 7, 2021). "Episode 2002 - Young Guns: Temping the Meat". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 20. Episode 2.
- ↑ (June 14, 2021). "Episode 2003 - Young Guns: Come Hell or High Water!". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 20. Episode 3.
- ↑ (June 21, 2020). "Episode 2004 - Young Guns: Young Guns Going Big". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 20. Episode 4.
Hell's Kitchen: Young Guns |
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Staff |
Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • Jay Santos (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Christina Wilson (Red Team Sous Chef) • Marino Monferrato (Maître d'hôtel) |
Contestants |
Kevin Argueta • Josie Clemens • Payton Cooper • Sam Garman • Trenton Garvey • Brynn Gibson • Megan Gill • Steve Glenn • Ava Harren • Emily Hersh • Keanu Hogan • Matthew Francis Johnson • Alex Lenik • Antonio Ruiz • Jay Smith • Victoria Sonora • Morgana Vesey • Kiya Wilhelm |