Atoye Johnson

“

You can sleep on me all you want, but I creep through the night- and I come and get ya!

”

Hometown/Residence	Bowie, MD
Occupation	Executive Chef
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	2 out of 5
Challenges Won	3
Services Won	4
Times as BoW/Announcer	1
Times Nominated	3
Placement	9th
Episode Eliminated/Withdrew	The Pastabilities Are Endless

Ashley "Atoye" Johnson was a contestant on Season 22 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 9th place.

Season 22

Episode 1/2

Main article: Episode 2201 - The Dream Begins

Main article: Episode 2202 - Tad Overwhelming

The eighteen new chefs arrived at Hell's Kitchen, where Marino awaited them. The chefs entered Hell's Kitchen and noticed the past winners from each season before entering the dining room. To give the chefs some inspiration, Ramsay decided to have them walk through the famous doors and have a taste of what it felt like to win. Afterwards, the chefs got to know each other before the Sous Chefs arrived, explaining how their time in the competition helped their careers. Afterwards, a guitar player appeared and played the national anthem as four other doors appeared behind the curtain, each figure explaining their journey for the American Dream. After Ramsay stepped out, he welcomed the chefs to the twenty-second season, where they were celebrating the American Dream. Ramsay said the three celebrities the chefs saw were proof of the American Dream and that Hell's Kitchen was part of the American Dream. When she heard what traits the celebrities had to make their American Dream come true, she was inspired. Ramsay said the winner of that season would become his Head Chef at Hell's Kitchen in Caesars Las Vegas with a salary of $250,000. Then, Ramsay told the chefs that their Signature Dish Challenge was about to begin.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Atoye was the sixth chef from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay, and she went up against Tad. She made a habanero-infused cod. It was too hot for Ramsay to handle as there were too many scotch bonnet peppers in the sauce, and she scored two points. The red team won the challenge after a 29-point tie. They were rewarded with a day at a Beverly Hills Mansion.

During the Creative Scallops Challenge, Atoye made an unknown dish that Carmen felt lacked salt. She lost the challenge as her dish did not make it to the top three.

During prep, Atoye felt terrific to get an opportunity to compete, mainly as she worked her butt off for her young children. During dinner service, she was at the meat station with Sandra. At one point, she and Sandra worked on what to cook for meat, but the latter wanted to work without her micromanagement. However, neither woman cooked the chicken, as Sandra misheard her commentary. The two tried to work together on the chicken, but they ended up serving it raw. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, Sandra explained the confusion they had, but while she acknowledged that they messed up, she argued that everyone messed up.

Atoye was the red team's first nominee for elimination, with Sandra as the second. They joined Tad and Brad from the blue team. During deliberation, she said she was a team player and was willing to go down with the women. She survived elimination, but Ramsay told her to get a grip. While being dismissed, she was relieved to stay another day and promised to work on her communication skills to show why she was still there.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 2203 - Citizens of Hell's Kitchen

During the American Citizen Brunch Service Challenge, Atoye was at the garnish station with Sammi. She was not seen during the challenge, and the red team lost. They were punished by cleaning up all the confetti in the dining room by hand.

During dinner service, Atoye was at the garnish station with Melissa. At one point, she sent out the garnish for the steak. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were nominated two each. During deliberation, she got annoyed by Carmen’s elongated explanations.

She was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 2204 - Gimme an H!

During the American Classics Challenge, Atoye went up against Ryan, and their dish was spaghetti & meatballs after she picked an E. She was the third person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay, and she presented her penne and veal and pork meatballs. They were not well received as they were not an American classic, and Ramsay reminded her that he asked her to elevate the dish, not change it. She lost that round to Ryan, and the red team lost the challenge 6-7. They were punished by baking bread for the following service, which included grinding the wheat by hand. During the punishment, she waited for the men to come back after getting annoyed by Jason.

During dinner service, Atoye was at the fish station with Sammi. At one point, she dropped fries before the order was ready, but Donya was not upset as the latter knew she would eventually rise like Beyoncé. The red team won the service.

Episode 5

Main article: Episode 2205 - Just Bring the DARN Fish!

During the Protein Identification Challenge, Atoye was paired up with Carmen, and they were the first pair from the red team to compete. Their dish was oysters and venison. The fish threw off Carmen as nothing seemed simple, so she and the latter grabbed venison and crab. It was half right, and they grabbed ostrich to replace venison. However, they got a red light, and their third attempt, crawfish and venison, was half right. For their fourth attempt, Carmen realized that she was overthinking it and grabbed oysters to pair with the venison. That time, it was right. The red team lost the challenge 13:14-6:39, and they were punished by taking in deliveries of Alaskan salmon and prepping them for the following service.

During dinner service, Atoye was at the meat station with Leigh. At one point, she walked Leigh's steaks to the pass, but they were undercooked. The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination.

She was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 6

Main article: Episode 2206 - Fusion Confusion

During the Fusion Cuisine Challenge, Atoye went up against Devon, and she hit Chinese while the latter hit Thai. When Jason struggled to hit a target, she got amused as the former sucked at kicking. She was the fourth person from the red team to have her dish judged, and she presented her red snapper and Thai basil salad. It had a good cook on the fish despite the lack of acidity, and she scored that round over Devon. The red team lost the challenge 3-4 and they were punished by prepping ingredients for the carbonara for service, including shucking peas, dicing pancetta, and shredding parmesan by hand. During the punishment, she tried to perk Raneisha up as she knew the latter was a good person and wanted her to do well.

During dinner service, Atoye was at the fish station with Raneisha. After Sammi got her and Raneisha back on course, she served acceptable scallops and said she was here to stay. After service ended, she said they banded together after pushing all the nonsense aside. After Brad's exit, Ramsay asked both teams to nominate two each.

She was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 7

Main article: Episode 2207 - All Up in Your Grills

When the Sous Chefs unveiled the Vision brand grills both teams would use, Atoye said she was looking to buy one recently. During the Grilling Challenge, she went up against Dahmere, and their protein was chicken thighs. During the cooking, she poured bourbon into a pan so she could use it as a reduction for her dish. She was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged, and she presented her bourbon-glazed chicken thigh with grilled vegetables. Although the dish had a slightly burned piece of chicken, Aaron Franklin loved the slaw component. She lost that round to Dahmere, but the red team eventually won the challenge 5-2. They were with the right to keep the Vision brand grills, a day at Dave and Busters, and lunch cooked by Yamashiro.

During the Steak Night dinner service, Atoye was at the appetizer station with Donya. She felt the adrenaline rush through her and wanted to keep that up. She got her appetizers accepted. The red team won the service.

Episode 8

Main article: Episode 2208 - Cooking For Your Life

When Ramsay asked the chefs what the top five ethnic cuisines in America were, Atoye answered Italian, which was number three. When Ramsay revealed that the first dish was Chinese prawn fried rice, she claimed she made it every Friday as her family loved it. During the Last Chef Standing Challenge, she was the first chef to leave the red kitchen and tried to communicate with Carmen about her fried rice dish. However, Carmen ignored her suggestion not to over-salt her dish. Later, Carmen ignored her instructions about what rice to use as the latter told Sandra to use the fried rice for the curry. When she went back to finish her dish, she was unhappy to see that Sandra had mixed the wrong rice with her dish and could not salvage it. She was the third chef from the red team to have her dish judged, and she went up against Dahmere. Her dish had overcooked rice and undercooked shrimp, and Ramsay said he could not taste any seasoning. Ramsay told her that she should have stayed in the kitchen longer than she did, and she agreed with that notion as she blamed her teammates for mixing in the wrong rice for her dish. She lost that round to Dahmere, and a disappointed Ramsay told her that he expected better. She felt angry and refused to be quiet again.

The red team lost the challenge 3-5 and they were punished by participating in trash sorting day, which included building compost boxes. Back at the dorms, Atoye bitterly declared that she wanted to go home as the women's communication was not working. Then, she started ranting loud enough for the others to hear her, as she blamed Carmen for not letting her speak in the challenge. She stormed off to the bedroom angrily and began packing up her bags so she could be with her kids and fiancée. Dahmere went to her and told her not to leave as she had people leaning on her to do well. Dahmere encouraged her not to leave and said he was there for her. She was thankful that Dahmere was around and said that his presence helped her not give up. She returned to the women and said she was not leaving, with Donya encouraging her that she could do well.

Later that day, Ramsay called the dorms and asked Atoye to come to his office. As she went down, she wondered what would happen after all the emotions she went through that day. Once there, Ramsay asked her how she was feeling, and she said she felt terrible. Ramsay saw she was disappointed after the challenge and told her he loved her determination in the competition. Ramsay told her to start showing some abrasiveness and call out those who wronged her because he wanted to see her in the top ten. She knew she had much to prove to compete in Hell's Kitchen and refused to give up.

Atoye was named one of the weakest chefs on the red team, and she was forced to compete in the Cook For Your Life Challenge. She joined Sandra, Jason, and Devon. She knew she was fighting for her life but was ready to cook. During the cooking, she wanted to go simple with a little bit of elevation. As she blended her starches in the blender, she knew Ramsay gave her an opportunity to bounce back. However, the safe chefs were dismayed to see her blend parsnips without any liquid, and Donya hoped she strained her puree. When Jason was called out for slicing his filet, she knew that cutting a filet was meant for the guests only. She was the second chef to have her dish judged by Ramsay, and she wanted to show him the love she had in her dish. She made a parsnip and leek mashed and a habanero and thyme basted filet mignon. The temperature was mid-rare to what she wanted, but the parsnip was grainy. Still, Ramsay said the filet was spot on, making her hopeful about her chances. While Atoye lost out to Jason and Sandra, her dish was deemed better than Devon's and became the final chef sent to safety. As she went back to the dorms, she was proud to show she deserved to stay as she was not finished.

Episode 9

Main article: Episode 2209 - More Bang For Your Buck

Continuing from the previous episode, Atoye's arrival at the dorms was met with excitement from the women. However, she was done with the women after they named her one of the weakest chefs and refused to sit at their table any longer, referring to a quote Dia Simms made when the competition began.

Before the Budget Challenge, Atoye was reassigned to the blue team to even the teams up five each. She was happy to move to the blue team as she found the men welcoming and thought blue looked good on her. During the shopping, she bought an inexpensive chicken thigh as she knew it could be elevated to high standards. During the cooking, Sous Chef Jason got concerned upon seeing burnt shallots in Atoye's potatoes, and she admitted that she looked at them too late. After a quick taste, she rendered the sauce to make the potatoes look better. She was the first person from the blue team to have her dish judged, and she presented her crispy skin chicken thigh on a bed of roasted potatoes. Johnathan thought she would knock it out of the park as he was there when she plated everything, and Suzanne Goin deemed the dish appealing and balanced. As she wanted to impress the blue team on her first challenge with them, Goin gave her dish $32. Afterwards, Dahmere was excited to have her on the team and hoped the team switch was what she needed to boost her confidence.

The blue team won the challenge $208-$207, and they were rewarded with an overnight trip to Hicksville Trailer Park in Joshua Tree. Before leaving for the reward, Atoye tried to comfort an upset Donya over the latter's rough performance. During the reward, the men welcomed her to the team, and she felt like she fitted in with the blue team, happy to be on the men's level.

During dinner service, Atoye was at the appetizer station with Ryan. After tasting her risotto, she had a coughing fit as it was clear she had something in her throat, but a quick sip of water loosened it up. She refused to let a risotto be the end of her time on the blue team and quickly got back to work. The blue team won the service. After elimination, she felt good to be on the blue team after beating her former teammates on the challenge and the service.

Episode 10

Main article: Episode 2210 - The Pastabilities Are Endless

The following day, Atoye commented how sick she was of seeing teeth in her house after hearing Johnathan say that his daughter had recently lost her first tooth. Still, she she and Johnathan bounded over being parents and making the sacrifices to win it for their family.

During part one of the Creative Pasta Challenge, Atoye was seen slipping on the balance beam and dipping her foot in the marinara. The blue team won part one and received a five-minute head start over the red team. During the cooking, she and Dahmere worked together on the pappardelle as the blue team had an extra person. She decided to have fun with her dish and stuffed mozzarella into her meatballs. She and Dahmere were the third pair from the blue team to have their dishes judged, and they went up against Leigh. She presented her veal meatball and red wine sauce pappardelle. The dish intrigued Evan Funke due to the mozzarella stuffed meatball, but he found the sauce overpowering and the pasta bland. Also, Ramsay was put off by the dark colors against the pasta. She lost that round to Leigh, and the blue team lost the challenge 1-3. They were punished by making 200 lbs. of fresh pasta for that night’s service. During the punishment, she got tired from kneading the dough, but she knew it must be done.

During dinner service, Atoye was at the fish station. When working on Kel Mitchell's order, she was excited as she used to watch the latter on All That. Ryan got concerned that her lobster tails were undercooked, and he tried to help a little bit. As the orders went up to the pass, Ramsay saw that the lobster tail she served was raw, and she was forced to try again. She served her second attempt sometime later, but that time, the lobster tail was ice cold and ragged. Dahmere asked her for a time on the third attempt, but she was too upset to speak up. Seeing that she was struggling, Dahmere asked Johnathan to watch appetizers alone while the former went to the fish station to help her. Dahmere tried to encourage her, but she struggled to keep herself composed as this meant everything to her. When Ramsay asked for a time on Mitchell’s table, she did not respond, leading the former to take her to the pantry. Ramsay told her that she had done very well in the competition, and he knew how tough the journey was for her. Ramsay encouraged her to do well, and she promised to keep fighting. Afterwards, her third attempt was accepted, and Mitchell’s table got their order.

Both teams were named joint losers, and Dahmere was named the "Best of the Worst" for the blue team. During deliberation, Dahmere gave credit to Atoye for keeping her composure despite the mistakes she made that night and was proud of how far she had come.

Atoye was Dahmere's second nominee for elimination, with Jason as the first. They joined Donya and Carmen from the red team. During her plea, she called herself a fighter, and while she did not use her voice that night, she promised to do better. She was eliminated for struggling with fish and losing her composure. Still, Ramsay told her that her kids would be proud of her for making it that far. During her exit interview, she took her elimination well as she went out fighting and wanted to show her daughters that even in failure, someone’s dream will not die.

Ramsay's comment: "Atoye's passion was admirable, but you need more than just passion to be a great head chef."

Episode 15/16

Main article: Episode 2215 - And Then There Were Two

Main article: Episode 2216 - One Hell of An American Dream

Atoye was one of the seven returning chefs that came back for the final dinner service. When she saw Johnathan compete in the Final Menu Challenge, she rooted for him to win. She was Johnathan's final pick for his team and the final pick overall. She joined Dahmere, Donya, and Leigh.

During dinner service, Atoye was at the fish station. At one point, she comment how amazing Johnathan was as they were working for him and his family. Then, she sent up her poke dish. Johnathan eventually lost the finale to Ryan.

Nomination History

Week 1	Nominated
Week 2	Safe
Week 3	Win
Week 4	Safe
Week 5	Safe
Week 6	Win
Week 7	Nominated
Week 8	Win
Week 9	Nominated

Trivia

• She is the fourth contestant from the state of Maryland, following Mieka (Season 14), Keanu, and Kiya (both from Season 20).
• She is the tenth contestant to survive the opening night elimination as the first nominee, following Joanna (Season 3), Bobby (Season 4), Raj (Season 8), Jeremy (Season 11), Sandra (Season 12), Aaron (Season 13), Monique (Season 14), Elise (Season 17), and Drew (Season 19).
• She is the second contestant to change teams outside the restaurant as the team reassignment, following Antonio (Season 20). She is also the first female contestant with this distinction.
• She is the seventeenth female contestant to switch teams and not make it to the black jackets, following Melissa (Season 3), Lacey (Season 5), Melissa (Season 8), Natalie (Season 9), Roshni (Season 10), Nedra (Season 11), Sandra (Season 12), Dannie (Season 15), Shaina, Wendy (both from Season 16), Gizzy, Kanae (both from Season 18), Victoria, Emily (both from Season 20), Nicole, Mindy, and Tara (all from Season 21).

Quotes

• (After surviving the Cook For Your Life Challenge) "You can sleep on me all you want, but I creep through the night- and I come and get ya!"
• (After being eliminated) "I'm proud of myself. I came here fighting. I went out fighting. And I have two little girls. I want them to know that no matter what happens in life, you rise above it. This is not the end of the road for me. This is only the beginning."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Atoye in Red Jacket

Atoye's Confessional

Atoye, Sandra, Tad, and Brad Nominated

Sandra, Atoye, Jason, and Devon Nominated in Cook For Your Life Challenge

Atoye joins the Blue Team

Atoye in Blue Jacket

Atoye's Confessional (Blue Jacket)

Carmen, Donya, Jason, and Atoye Nominated

Atoye Eliminated

Donya and Atoye as Returning Chefs

Atoye's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

Atoye's Scallops Dish (Not Judged) (Episode 2)

Atoye's American Classic Dish (Spaghetti and Meatballs) (Episode 4)

Atoye's Fusion Dish (Chinese-Thai) (Episode 6)

Atoye's Grilled Dish (Chicken Thigh) (Episode 7)

Atoye's Cook For Your Life Dish (Filet Mignon) (Episode 8)

Atoye's Budget Dish (Chicken Thigh) (Episode 9)

Atoye's Pasta Dish (Pappardelle) (Episode 10)

External Links

• Atoye Johnson on Instagram
• Website