Ariel Malone

 

“

If you want to continue to talk, I will continue to raise my voice! The conversation is now OVER, B!

”

Hometown/Residence	Hackensack, NJ
Occupation	Country Club Chef
Culinary Education	Bergen Community College
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	3 out of 5
Blind Taste Test Score	5 out of 8
Challenges Won	7
Services Won	4
Times as BoW/Announcer	3
Times Nominated	3
Placement	Winner

Ariel Malone was a contestant on Season 15 of Hell's Kitchen. She was the winner of that season and was awarded a head chef position at the BLT Steak at Bally's Las Vegas, with a $250,000 salary.

Season 15

Episode 1

Main article: Episode 1501 - 18 Chefs Compete

When the chefs arrived at Hell's Kitchen, they found out that they had to go to Las Vegas immediately. Arrived there, Ariel called it crazy as they just got to Las Vegas, and they were already getting celebrity treatment. After participating in a parade, the chefs met Ramsay at the BLT Steak, which was the prize-winning restaurant, which she called awesome. Then, they were asked to cook their signature dishes there.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Ariel was the eighth person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Chad. Before tasting her dish, she revealed that she was half-Jewish. She made traditional Middle Eastern dish shakshuka (which she incorrectly pronounced "shashooshka" twice), Ramsay praised the dish for being a comfort dish that oozed quality, and she received 3 points. The red team lost the challenge 22-24, and they were punished by peeling 50 pounds of shrimp and making 1000 pounds of truffle mashed potatoes at Sterling Buffet. During the punishment, she was pissed as her dish got great reviews, felt that the rest of her teammates were not pulling their own weight, and felt that Meese and Vanessa were doing a poor job of prepping.

During dinner service, Ariel served a special grilled shrimp bruschetta appetizer tableside with Meese. She was not seen that night, and the red team won the service.

Episode 2

Main article: Episode 1502 - 17 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, Ariel told Vanessa that she needed to bounce back.

During the Dumplings Challenge, Ariel was paired up with Ashley. While most of their baskets were rejected for having holes in their dumplings, they managed to get two baskets accepted, and the red team won the challenge 13-12. They were rewarded with a helicopter trip to Geoffrey’s in Malibu for a seafood lunch with Ramsay.

During dinner service, Ariel was on the garnish station. When she found out that The GAME was in the dining room, she wanted to go and meet him in person and was mad she was not doing tableside that night. When Meese left the kitchen to grab some more sizzle plates, she took the former's snapper up, it was raw, and she did not take responsibility for it. After Sherkenna's arctic char was burnt, she told Ramsay that they were refiring that order.

The red team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Ariel was considered for elimination by Meese and Dannie for fucking the former up by grabbing her snapper without her knowledge, but she refused to acknowledge that it was her fault and blamed Meese for not speaking up about it.

Ariel was the red team's second nominee for elimination, with Meese as the first, and Sherkenna as the third. During her plea, she said that she was a strong cook, and believed that if she did not bring up the raw snapper, Meese would have done so. She survived elimination, and when being dismissed, she said that she took pride in her work, was not looking to make friends, and was ready to fight.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 1503 - 16 Chefs Compete

While going back to the dorms, Ariel was accused of being a bitch by Meese, but she argued that they needed to bring out dishes, said that the former could not even be a dishwasher at her own restaurant and that she should be a telemarketer for talking about irrelevant things.

During the Jacket Challenge, Ariel was the sixth person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Jared in the spaghetti carbonara round. Her dish was deemed tasty, and she tied that round with Jared. The red team eventually lost the challenge 3-5, and they were punished by taking in a delivery of 100 pounds of sea bass, prepping it for the following service, zesting lemons, and eating a fish head soup for lunch. During the punishment, she called Jackie gross, only for the latter to mockingly repeat the comment back.

During dinner service, Ariel was on the dessert station. At one point, she got astonished after seeing Meese's trashed Wellingtons and asked why she would trash them. When the red team got kicked out of the kitchen, she pointed out that they were hitting walls. The red team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she got angry that everybody was not accepting responsibility for their mistakes.

Ariel was not nominated for elimination, and when she was asked for the nominees, she went against the red team's decision and nominated Vanessa instead of Manda. While being dismissed, she argued that Ramsay asked her who the weakest chefs were, she picked Meese and Vanessa, and that there was nothing to change it.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 1504 - 15 Chefs Compete

While going back to the dorms, the red team was pissed that Ariel went against the team’s nominee choices by nominating Vanessa over Manda, and Dannie asked if they were on the same team. However, she argued that Vanessa was the weaker chef, and told Dannie that she was put on the spot by Ramsay. As Dannie tried to get her to quiet her voice, she left in frustration.

During the Duck Challenge, Ariel was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged and went up against Chad. She made a duck breast with pomegranate glaze received 5 points for being underwhelming. After Kristin's poor performance, she angrily deemed the latter's performance an ultimate embarrassment. The red team lost the challenge 30-32, and they were punished by prepping ducks for the following service and eating a duck feet sandwich for dinner.

During dinner service, Ariel was at the fish station with Kristin. At one point, she got annoyed when Ashley's gas was revealed to be off as it was the latter's second time on appetizers and wanted to kick her in the shins. Later, she was a little concerned as chicken and wellingtons had to cook at the same time, and that Jackie did not drop the chicken with the Wellington. The red team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she asked Jackie why she never told them about the pink chicken earlier, and when the latter yelled that she would have served it regardless of the cook, she remarked that they could not have someone on their team that was okay with serving raw chicken.

Ariel was not nominated for elimination, and after Meese's elimination, she welcomed Hassan as a new teammate.

Episode 5

Main article: Episode 1505 - 14 Chefs Compete

During the Holiday Platter Challenge, Ariel was paired up with Ashley on the Mardi Gras platter and revealed that she went with that holiday because it was her scene. They were the final pair from the red team to have their platter judged and went up against the pair of Chad and Kevin. Her first dish, a muffuletta, was praised for being spot on, and it scored a point. Her collaborative effort with Ashley, shrimp and polenta, were praised for being cooked nicely, screaming Bourbon Street, and it scored a point as well.

The red team won the challenge 5-4 and were rewarded with a trip to the Santa Barbara Sunstone Valley for wine blending lessons, and lunch. Also, Ariel and Ashley's platter was deemed the best of the red team and would be featured in the next issue of Family Circle. During the reward, she toasted the red team’s victory and welcomed Hassan to the red team.

During the Family Night dinner service, Ariel was on the grilled cheese station with Jackie. She was not seen that night, both teams were named joint-losers, and were asked to nominate two people each.

Ariel was not nominated for elimination, and after Alan's elimination, she said goodbye to Manda as the latter was reassigned to the blue team.

Episode 6

Main article: Episode 1506 - 12 Chefs Compete

During the Shopping Cart Challenge, Ariel claimed that her chef’s shoes were not ideal for running when the chefs had a minute to collect another ingredient, but she went for bacon as it made anything taste good. She was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and presented her pan-seared halibut and bacon back vinaigrette. Ramsay told her that it was one of her most brilliant dishes so far and, she received 5 points. The red team eventually won the challenge after a tie at 22, and they were rewarded with a day in stunt planes.

During prep, Ariel and Jackie argued on how much cream for the Berblanc was needed as the latter did it by eyeing instead of using a measuring cup. During dinner service, she was on the appetizer station. While her risottos were deemed delicious, she was forced to start over after Hassan dripped sweat into the lobster tails. Then, Ramsay reminded her that the secret to being a good leader was to support the weakest chefs, and when the first table of appetizers was accepted, he urged her not to stop, and she declared herself a beast from the start to the end. Later, she got annoyed when Jackie declared that she did not need help despite struggling.

Both teams were named joint-losers, Ariel was named the Best of the Worst for the red team for being vocal and assertive, and was asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she declared that she had the power, told Jackie that she would be nominated for being cocky on garnish when she needed help, and reminded her that she needed to take responsibility for her mistakes. Later, she told Kristin that she was going up for elimination for the French fry incident, but the latter believed that she was making a bad decision on personal beliefs, and when Kristin accused her of running around with a crown on her head, she retorted that she was a strong black woman for that reason.

Ariel nominated Jackie and Kristin for elimination.

Episode 7

Main article: Episode 1507 - 11 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, Ariel fell trying to get to the bathroom due to drinking too much. Then, when she was running to the bathroom, she tripped and possibly broke her ankle, and felt that her leg was getting swollen. Soon, the medic came by to do a checkup and gave his prognosis that she pulled a tendon, and recommended that she stay off her foot for six weeks. That dismayed her as she did not want to leave the competition, and decided to go to bed in the hopes that it would get better the next day.

During the Chef Andi Wedding Planning Challenge, Ariel was paired up with Kristin on the seafood appetizer round, they were the first pair from the red team to have their dishes judged, and went up against the pair of Chad and Joe from the blue team. She made a grilled squid stuffed with lobster claw, it was criticized for looking phallic, with Ramsay comparing it to a bison’s penis, the squid being raw and chewy, and she did not score.

The red team was punished by helping the wedding planner, Kristin Banta, with the finishing touches for the following night’s service, and make macaroons. During the punishment, Ariel complained that her foot was killing her, and while the medic suggested that she get an x-ray that day, Jackie got concerned as a broken foot would mean being in a cast, and that could mean her time in the competition was over. Despite that fear, she wanted to know what was going on with her foot, and Hassan carried her to the taxi so she could go to the hospital. Later that night, she came back with a boot cast and crutches but said that she did not need crutches to cook and revealed that she broke her fifth metatarsal.

Before service began, Ramsay noticed Ariel’s boot cast, and after telling him about her situation, Ramsay warned her to be careful. During the Wedding dinner service, she was at the dessert station. At one point, she felt that Hassan was running like a headless chicken than cooking the actual chicken. then, when Hassan's chicken refire was raw, she got pissed, and asked why he could not produce. Deciding to have the red team cook more chicken to be on the safe side, she admitted that she had no idea what happened to Hassan, and the third attempt was accepted. Both teams were named joint-losers and were asked to nominate two each.

She was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 8

Main article: Episode 1508 - 10 Chefs Compete

While going back to the dorms, Ariel felt that that the wrong person was sent home, as she was annoyed by Dannie’s arrogance by that point.

During the Ingredient Number Challenge, Ariel was forced to use the seven ingredients, and later, got annoyed with Jackie's "I can't" attitude. She was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged and went up against Frank in the hanger steak round. She made a seven-ingredient hangar steak with sweet potato, baby eggplant hash, and Brussel sprouts mixed with lemon, it was deemed great, and she scored that round over Frank. The red team won the challenge 3-1, and they were rewarded with a paintball excursion.

During prep, Ariel wanted to do a chest bump before service began, but Dannie warned them that she might steamroll them, and Ashley did not want her fake boobs to pop. During dinner service, she was on the meat station. At one point, she said that if Dannie was not comfortable on any station, she had no place being the head chef at BLT Steak after the latter admitted that she was not confident about the pizza. Then, when Dannie went from six to seven minutes on her risotto, she remarked that the latter’s arrogance level did not match her production level. On entrées, she asked Dannie to run to the oven to check on her chicken, but the latter poked the chicken instead of cutting the thinker sides until she did it for her. That annoyed her as Dannie was having a sluggish performance over elementary aspects of cooking, even stating that her 13-year-old sister knew how everything worked. Near the end of service, she refused to lose another service, and when steak was accepted, she admitted that being in the kitchen was where she wanted to be as she was never accepted elsewhere in her life. The red team won the service.

At elimination, Ariel said goodbye to Dannie as the latter was transferred to the blue team, and welcomed Chad as a new teammate.

Episode 9

Main article: Episode 1509 - 10 Chefs Again

Before the Bison Cut Challenge, Ariel contemplated using her crutches to catapult herself out of the bison’s way. She was paired against Joe on the ribeye, she won the shootout, and picked Japan as their country. She was the fourth person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Joe. She made a Japanese ribeye with bok choy and noodle salad, it was deemed delicious with Ramsay adding on that it felt like he was eating it at a Japanese restaurant, and she tied that round with Joe. The red team won the challenge after a tie at 4, and they were rewarded with meeting Hollywood animals and receiving Vitamix blenders.

During the Cowboy Steak Night dinner service, Ariel was on the fish station. While she got her scallops out to Stacy Dash’s table, they were sent back for being salty and undercooked. When she sent up her refire, the scallops were now overcooked, and Ramsay called it a fucking embarrassment. Then, her third attempt was sticking to the pan, and after an angry Ramsay called it beyond a joke, he brought the red team to the front, berated them for making simple mistakes, and asked for somebody to help her out. Jackie volunteered to help, and the fourth attempt was accepted and was sent to Dash’s table. However, after Jackie's tuna was burnt, she accused the latter of not helping.

The red team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Ariel was blamed for causing the red team to get kicked out of the kitchen and was considered for elimination by Kristin and Ashley. However, she remarked that she was not responsible for the burnt tuna, but when Jackie felt that she did nothing wrong, she told her that she should have helped out properly, and said that she was not strong enough before considering Ashley and Jackie for elimination, before reminding the latter how she struggled more in challenges and that they could not carry her any longer.

Ariel was named the red team's first nominee, with Jackie as the second. During her plea, Ramsay called her performance that night her worst, but she believed that she was passionate and creative, and while she felt that one service should not dictate her fate, Ramsay reminded her that she struggled that night, before remarking how disappointed he was. She survived elimination, and when being dismissed, she was upset with herself about her worst performance ever and knew that she would have to push herself to go further.

Episode 10

Main article: Episode 1510 - 9 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, Ariel entered the patio in the middle of a heated argument between Jackie and Kristin and was told by Manda to stay far away.

During the Breakfast Challenge, Ariel was paired up with Jackie on the vegetarian dishes, but when it came time to choose between the two's dishes, her vegetarian sweet potato was forced to sit out as it had a lesser presentation than Jackie's. However, that baffled her, especially since Jackie was going up against Jared. After Jackie's dish received poor reviews, she was pissed and wanted to smack her teammates in the face. The red team lost the challenge 23-25, and they were punished by cleaning up both kitchens and making mimosas for the brunch service, which included hand squeezing oranges. Back at the dorms, she angrily yelled at her teammates for their poor decision and even asked when the last time was that she put up something that did not taste great.

During the brunch service, Ariel was on the appetizer station. After she had Chad serve her Nicosia salads to the pass, she realized that she forgot the quail eggs for them, and Chad was yelled for that. Later, she tried to give Chad some input on his dish, but he rejected her help, even though was trying to help him. Eventually, the remaining red chefs merged with the remaining blue chefs to complete service. Both teams were named joint-losers and were asked to come up with an explanation over what happened. During deliberation, she told Chad that he should have taken more time on his French toast, but he disagreed with that notion and reminded her how he took the blame for her forgetting to put the quail eggs in the salad.

Ariel voted for Chad for elimination and received a vote from Chad. She survived elimination, and when being dismissed, she commented how sweet it was that Chad got eliminated after calling her out and that it sent a message to the rest of the chefs not to mess with her.

Episode 11

Main article: Episode 1511 - 8 Chefs Compete

During the Relay Challenge, Ariel got annoyed when Jackie did not speak up on suggestions. On the first round, she told Ashley that Jackie was not that stupid when the latter reminded Jackie to season the lamb. On the second round, she told Ashley to wipe off the burnt Dijon mustard from their lamb. She participated in the third round and had no problems. On the fourth round, she told Kristin how to prep their carrots, but the latter told her to calm down as she knew what she was doing. She participated in the seventh round and was seen getting things ready for Kristin so the latter could focus on platting. She presented the red team's pan-seared sea bass with fennel France tomatoes and purple spinach, it was praised for having a beautifully cooked sea bass, and they tied that round with the blue team. When the red team's chicken dish was criticized for raw carrots, she was furious over Kristin not listening to her earlier.

The red team lost the challenge after a tie at 2, and they were punished by taking in a delivery of two full lambs and prepping them for a special lamb shank dish for the following service. During the punishment, Ariel believed that they lost due to Kristin’s inability to cook carrots, and felt that everybody on her team was lazy and slow. Later, she and Jackie had a spat over where to saw the lamb.

During prep, Ariel and Kristin had different views over what to do on meat as the latter wanted to put her steak in the oven, while she said that she never did so before. However, Kristin deemed her a toddler for trying to nitpick at everything she did, and the two had an argument over the former lying to Sous Chef Christina about putting the steak into the oven. Then, an annoyed Sous Chef Christina put the two into the back pantry and ordered them to work it out. She and Kristin continued to argue, with the latter arguing that it was a practice service and that she was sticking her nose into things that were not her problem. However, she said that she was done being diplomatic, but knew that they still had to work together despite her and Kristin’s differences.

During dinner service, Ariel was on the garnish station. She was not seen much but remarked that despite not liking Kristin, she knew that they both worked well together at services. When clearing down, she reminded Jackie that she did not have the other components ready as well after the latter vented over losing. The red team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she told Jackie that she needed to relax after service.

She was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 12

Main article: Episode 1512 - 7 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, Ariel wondered why Ashley was still crying as she did not get eliminated, and when the latter admitted that she may not be in the industry without her dad's, she was shocked as the grand prize was to become a head chef and that Ashley’s dads do not trust her enough to run one of their three restaurants. When Jared comforted Ashley, she annoyingly said that it was not a soap opera.

During the Blind Taste Test, Ariel went up twice as the red team was down a member. On the first round, she went up against Frank, correctly guessed coconut and peanut butter, and saved Kristin. After Dannie asked Jared not to get whipped cream in her hair, she was annoyed by that. On Ashley's round, she survived being shot at. On the final round, she went up against Dannie and scored on apple, fresh mint, and garlic. The red team won the challenge 10-3, and they were rewarded with a $2000 shopping spree at Rolland’s Kitchenware. During the reward, she called it a chef’s dream to be able to buy anything they wanted.

During dinner service, Ariel was on the fish station. After Ramsay praised the red team for their strong start so far, she believed that the three of them were the top contenders to become the head chef at BLT Steak, while adding on that they only way they could get there was through teamwork. However, Ramsay lectured her for bringing her scallops in the hot pan as they could come out overcooked, berated the red team for going AWOL after his praise, and she knew that there was no time to argue about it. The red team eventually won the service.

Episode 13

Main article: Episode 1513 - 6 Chefs Compete

The next day, Ariel received a visit from her mother.

During the Cooking School Challenge, Ariel’s mother struggled to figure out if the oven was on or not, and she commented that they had a love and hate relationship. They were the first pair to present their branzino dish, and she called it nerve-wracking to present their dish as it did not look like the original. While it was criticized for a hectic presentation, it was praised for having a crispy skin, which made her proud of her mom. It was not chosen as the best of the red team, but the red team eventually won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a spa day at Berk Williams.

During dinner service, Ariel was on the appetizer and garnish stations. At one point, she got her appetizers accepted, and commented that Kristin should have known how to count to five after the latter sent up unbalanced scallops. After completing the service, the red team received their black jackets. The red team won the service, and both teams were asked to nominate two people from the blue team. During deliberation, she asked Dannie how she could become a head chef with that kind of attitude after the latter commented that she did not want to deal with drama.

Episode 14

Main article: Episode 1514 - 5 Chefs Compete

Before the 100 Animo Venice Charter Portion Challenge, Ariel was shocked over the amount of hair Kristin used to have. She decided to make cumin rubbed steak tostada as she had two younger siblings that were in high school, and thought about how they would enjoy their lunches. She lost the challenge to Jared as her dish ranked in 2nd place, and was punished by participating in recycling day, which included sorting through the trash from the Animo Venice Charter High School’s trash from last week.

During dinner service, Ariel was on the garnish station. She participated as Ramsay's Sous Chef first, immediately got vocal and gave out orders to the chefs, while admitting that she loved being the Sous Chef. Then, she kept communicating with Kristin on risottos, noting the irony that she originally did not want to talk to the latter at the beginning. After Manda's steak was blue, she told the latter that she did not speak loud enough when Manda claimed she was not ready.

After service, Ramsay asked the final five to nominate one person for elimination. During deliberation, Ariel was baffled by Manda's statement that she sent out perfect steaks, and even suggested that both the latter and Jared should go home that night.

Ariel was not nominated for elimination, and when being dismissed, she knew that she had what it took to win.

Episode 15

Main article: Episode 1515 - 3 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, Ariel was excited about being in the final three but was not ready to celebrate until she won the competition.

During the BLT Bone-in Steak Challenge, Ariel picked the third briefcase after jokingly asking for the first one as it contained the $250,000, and she received the New York Striploin cut. During the cooking, she decided to make multiple sides as she had no idea what to use until they were cooked. She was the second person to have her dish judged and presented her New York Striploin steak with roasted garlic and poblano pepper butter with corn and spaghetti squash. It was praised for having a great flavor and a spot-on temperature, despite having a lot of elements going on. She lost the challenge to Kristin, even though she felt that she should have won due to the latter playing it too safe, and was punished by cleaning the armored truck and police motorcycles, and prepping for the following service. She was upset as she was very close to winning, and the fact that Kristin had a chance to pick Ramsay’s brain had her over the punishment before it even began. During the punishment, she was annoyed that Ramsay parked his car right in front of them.

During prep, Ariel was envious and irritated at the same time when Kristin revealed that she had lunch with her parents. During dinner service, she was on the appetizer station. She was up first to run the pass and was reminded to show the others who was the best. Immediately, she became vocal, felt that she had the strongest chance of winning the competition, but was unaware of what was to come as she was impatient with Sous Chef Christina’s slow performance on appetizers. However, what she did not know was that Sous Chef Christina sent up a risotto that had carrot purée instead of squash, and she failed to notice it until Ramsay informed her of that. After a brief squabble with Ramsay, she admitted that she had no idea that it would happen as she never watched the show before as Ashley did. Despite that, she rejected Sous Chef Aaron’s char garnish for not being crispy enough, told Kristin to slice the Wellingtons in a way she could stand them up properly, and said that success was her only way to make it into the finale. Later, she did not respond to Ashley's request for the risotto, even though she felt that the latter was just moving around a lot without doing anything. Then, her risotto was rejected for not being seasoned enough.

After service, Ramsay asked the final three to name one person each that did not deserve to be in the finale. During deliberation, Ariel said that she could not remember a time when Ashley stepped up as one, which Kristin agreed with. However, Ashley told her to go fuck herself and reminded her about her attitude problem throughout the competition, but she argued that she never disrespected anybody in the competition, before saying that she wanted to go up against Kristin in the finale.

When asked by Ramsay why she deserved to be in the finale, Ariel said that she pushed herself a lot in the competition and learned a lot about herself as a leader. Then, she said that Ashley did not deserve to be in the finale for overthinking a lot of things and doubting herself. She was named the second finalist, with Kristin as the first, and she called it crazy. After Ashley left, she called it awesome, and when being dismissed, she was proud of herself for making it far.

Episode 16

Main article: Episode 1516 - Winner Chosen

Continuing from the previous episode, Ramsay told Ariel and Kristin that he wanted them to enjoy their milestone, and revealed that he arranged for them to stay in the presidential suite at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, as well as a chance to meet the Executive Chef of BLT Steak, and Season 9 winner, Paul for questions on the final service. Heading up to the dorms to pack up, she said that there was nobody else that she wanted to compete against in the finale other than Kristin. Arriving at the Biltmore Hotel, she and Kristin were greeted with champagne, and a surprise visit from their loved ones, with her stating that she missed her family a lot, especially her little sister as they lost their father. After some time together, she worked on her menu for the rest of the night. The next day, she received a one on one session with Paul, who told her that her menu should be something her brigade could execute properly, keep her attitude in check, and think of the bigger picture. After receiving a makeover, she and Kristin received a helicopter tour with Ramsay. At the end of the tour, they arrived at the USS Iowa, where it was revealed that their final challenge would take place there.

During the Final Menu Challenge, Ariel felt that she was stronger than Kristin as she was the opposite of classic compared to the latter and that her menu represented herself. On the cold appetizer round, her cold lobster salad with purple Romanesco, and blood orange vinaigrette was praised for being striking, and she scored 8 points. On the hot appetizer round, her savory mushroom cheesecake was praised for being seasoned well, and while Chris Macchia felt that the portion size was bigger than he would have liked, she scored 9 points. On the fish entrée round, her mustard dill salmon with asparagus was deemed very well, and she scored 9 points. On the chicken entrée round, her herb garlic chicken with carrot purée was deemed a fabulous idea but criticized for lacking the juiciness of Kristin’s dish, and she scored 8 points. On the beef entrée round, her medium-rare hanger steak with poached fingerling potatoes and Thumbelina carrots was deemed delicious but criticized for the sauce being too sweet, and she scored 7.5 points. She lost the challenge to Kristin 41.5-42.

Because Ariel lost the challenge, she was forced to have the final pick of her team. She picked Jackie, Manda, Dannie, and was left with Jared as her final pick. Back at Hell's Kitchen, her quick description over her menu items had her brigade confused. During prep, Jackie asked her a question about seasoning before she did so. However, she said that she trusted Jackie’s instincts, and was ready to kill it.

During dinner service, Ariel that she was laying her trust in people she picked for that night and hoped that they would rock it out. However, she caught Manda prepping four lobster salads when it was supposed to be two lobster salads and two octopus salads, reminded the latter what was on order, and told her to stay focus. Later, she called out the first entrée order, but when Dannie sent up cold pork chops, she decided to flip a table that had two hanger steaks on the order, which Ramsay deemed a smart move. Then, she caught Jackie trying to cut sea bass into different portion sizes, said that she was killing her, and reminded her to cook what the customers were paying for. Later, one of her pork chops was sent back for being undercooked, much to her dismay, and Dannie's refire turned out to be overcooked. After Dannie walked out of the blue kitchen, she was annoyed that the latter leftover one comment from Ramsay, and that she was cooking only one meat entrée that night. Despite that, she assigned Jackie to the meat station, and the pork chops were leaving the blue kitchen. After service ended, she was proud of herself even if she won or lost.

Back at the dorms, Ariel deemed it a good fight, and no matter what, she was proud of what she accomplished that night. When she was called up to Ramsay's office, he praised her for being outspoken since the start of the competition, along with her creativity and attention to detail. After waiting nervously for Ramsay's countdown to end, she turned the handle, and her door opened. Ariel became the winner of Hell's Kitchen and won the head chef position at BLT Steak in Bally’s at Las Vegas with a salary of $250,000. She was in tears over winning the competition, and believed that new opportunities would open the doors for her future, and called it awesome, before hanging her portrait on the Hell’s Kitchen Wall of Fame.

Ramsay's comment: "Right from the very beginning, Ariel let her presence be known. She was always outspoken but she backed up her confidence with her cooking. Creative, talented, and unique, she is an out of the box thinker who will make a great head chef at BLT Steak."

Nomination history

Week 1	Win
Week 2	Nominated
Week 3	Safe
Week 4	Safe
Week 5	Safe
Week 6	BoW
Week 7	Safe
Week 8	Win
Week 9	Nominated
Week 10	Nominated
Week 11	Safe
Week 12	Win
Week 13	Win
Week 14	Safe
Week 15	Safe
Week 16	Winner

Post Hell's Kitchen

• After her appearance on the show, Ariel took up the head chef position at BLT Steak at Bally's Las Vegas until January 2017, before moving on to other opportunities.
• She also appeared as a contestant in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire during its 15th Season, winning $10,000 for the Dreamville Foundation.
• She is married and has three daughters: Aryah and twin girls Mattie and Lottie.
• She, along with a couple of former contestants, appeared in Vice's Dark Side of Reality TV episode about her experience on the show. On it, she claimed that the BLT Steak head chef position she won wasn't as much being an executive chef as much as it was being a celebrity and taking pictures. Despite that, she thinks winning the show changed her life for the better by giving her validation on her cooking abilities.

Trivia

• She is the twelfth contestant who made to the black jackets after being nominated on their first time their team lost following Virginia (Season 2), Josh (Season 3), Bobby, Christina, Jen (all from Season 4), Jason (Season 7), Trev, Sabrina (both from Season 8), Jennifer (Season 9), Barbie (Season 10), and Mary (Season 11), the fourth who made it to the finals, and the second winner.
• She was part of the second, overall and consecutive, all-female final three of Hell's Kitchen, along with Kristin and Ashley.
• She is the fifteenth winner, third consecutive, following La Tasha (Season 13) and Meghan (Season 14), and ninth female winner of Hell's Kitchen.
• She is the second winner to be named "Best of the Worst", following Dave (Season 6).
• She is the fifth finalist to run the kitchen opposite her starting team without ever having been a member of that team, following Virginia (Season 2), Kevin (Season 6), Will (Season 9), and Jason (Season 12). She is also the second female contestant to do so (after Virginia) as well as the first person to do so and win.
• She is the third winner to be nominated two consecutive times in a row, following Nona (Season 8) and Scott (Season 12).
• She is the first biracial contestant to win Hell's Kitchen, and the third Jewish winner after Dave (Season 6) and Paul (Season 9).
• She is the second contestant and first female contestant to win the competition despite a physical injury, following Dave (Season 6).
• She wanted to use the money she would earn as the head chef at BLT Steak to help pay for her siblings' college education.

Quotes

• (To Dannie) "If you want to continue to talk, I will continue to raise my voice! The conversation is now OVER, B!"
• (After being chosen as a finalist) "Ahhhhh! So crazy! So crazy! So fucking crazy! So crazy!"
• "I don't like to think or feel that like I'm better than anybody here, but everyone on my team is a lazy, slow, motherfucker."
• (After winning) "This opportunity is just going to open the doors for me to have a happy life. It's just really an awesome feeling. I mean I can't even imagine. A quarter of a million dollars? I've never had more than $2,000 dollars in my bank account at one time. I just really can't wait to share this with all of my family and friends that have believed in me.

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Ariel and Mark's Intro Spot

Ariel in Red Jacket

Ariel's Confessional (Red Jacket)

Ariel, Sherkenna, and Meese Nominated

Ariel being checked by Medical

Ariel returning with a boot

Ariel and Jackie Nominated

Ariel in Blind Taste Test

Ariel in Black Jacket

Ariel's Confessional (Black Jacket)

Paul with Ariel and Kristin

Ariel in Head Chef Jacket

Ariel's Confessional (Head Chef Jacket)

Ariel after being crowned winner

Ariel's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

Ariel and Jared's Jacket Dishes (Carbonara) (Episode 3)

Ariel's Duck Dish (Episode 4)

Ariel and Ashley's Holiday Platter (Mardi Gras) (Episode 5)

Ariel's Shopping Cart Dish (Episode 6)

Ariel's Chef Andi's Wedding Seafood Appetizer (Episode 7)

Ariel's Ingredient Number Dish (Hanger Steak) (Episode 8)

Ariel's Bison Meat Dish (Ribeye) (Episode 9)

Ariel's Breakfast Dish (Vegetarian) (Not Judged) (Episode 10)

Ariel's 100 Animo Venice High School Portions Dish (Episode 14)

Ariel's BLT Bone-In Steak Dish (New York Striploin) (Episode 15)

Ariel's Final Tasting Dish (Cold Appetizer) (Episode 16)

Ariel's Final Tasting Dish (Hot Appetizer) ‎(Episode 16)

Ariel's Final Tasting Dish (Fish Entrée) ‎(Episode 16)

‎Ariel's Final Tasting Dish (Chicken Entrée) ‎(Episode 16)

Ariel's Final Tasting Dish (Beef Entrée) (Episode 16)

External links

• Ariel Malone on Instagram
• Ariel Malone on Twitter