Chad Gelso

“

Does anybody have a tranquillizer gun ready?

”

Hometown/Residence	Philadelphia, PA
Occupation	Sous Chef
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	4 out of 5
Challenges Won	5
Services Won	3
Times as BoW/Announcer	0
Times Nominated	2
Placement	9th
Episode Eliminated/Withdrew	9 Chefs Compete

Chad Gelso was a contestant on Season 15 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 9th place.

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, Chad remarked that the last time he was at Las Vegas was when he was twelve but it didn't count and that all he needed was food, booze, and girls. After participating in a parade, the chefs met Ramsay at the BLT Steak, which was the prize-winning restaurant, and they were asked to cook their signature dishes there.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Chad was the eighth person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Ariel. He made a partridge breast confit and glazed pears, it was praised for having a be beautifully glazed partridge, and he scored 4 points. The blue team won the challenge 24-22, and they were rewarded with a ride on the High Roller, and a VIP night at Drai’s Nightclub.

During dinner service, Chad was on the garnish station. At one point, he got confused when Alan stated cooking entrées as Ramsay did not call for them, but decided to support him and brought his garnishes up as well. However, it was not the time for entrées. The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he considered Mark for elimination for the burnt pizza incident.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 2

Main article: Episode 1502 - 17 Chefs Compete

Back in the dorms, Chad got annoyed by Frank's comment that the blue team needed more of himself as he himself believed that the latter did not have enough experience in a kitchen, and felt that he sounded like an idiot.

During the Dumplings Challenge, Chad was paired up with Kevin. They got four of their baskets accepted. The blue team lost the challenge 12-13, and they were punished by prepping for a special tableside appetizer for the following service which included pruning 40 logs of mushrooms, taking deliveries of corn, and shucking them.

During dinner service, Chad was on the appetizer station with Joe. He was not seen that night, and the blue team won the service.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 1503 - 16 Chefs Compete

Before the Jacket Challenge, Chad was able to translate that Ramsay called the previous service an embarrassment in French. He made an unknown dish and did not compete in the challenge as it ended prematurely. The blue team won the challenge 5-3, and they were rewarded with a trip to Bacara Resort in Santa Monica for mixology classes and foot massages. During the reward, he took notice of how the mixologist pronounced cucumber.

During dinner service, Chad was on the fish station with Eddie. When the blue team was working in the red kitchen after the women got kicked out of the kitchen, he felt on top of the world for not only completing their own service but the red team’s as well. The blue team won the service.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 1504 - 15 Chefs Compete

During the Duck Challenge, Chad was in a canoe with Ariel, he was concerned that she was trying to sabotage him, and tried to be firm with her. He was the second person from the blue team who had his dish judged and went up against Ariel. He made a duck breast with pomegranate jus, and while it was criticized for a clumsy presentation, it was praised for tasting good, and he scored 5 points. The blue team eventually won the challenge 32-30, and they were rewarded with a yacht ride, and eating dinner at the Penthouse Restaurant with Ramsay.

During dinner service, Chad was on the fish station with Jared. He was not seen that night, and the blue team won the service after they helped the red team complete service.

At elimination, Chad said goodbye to Hassan as the latter was transferred to the red team.

Episode 5

Main article: Episode 1505 - 14 Chefs Compete

During the Holiday Platter Challenge, Chad was paired up with Kevin on the Mardi Gras platter, but had to keep a close eye on the latter as he was working on two dishes, and that he could have done the three himself. They were the final pair from the blue team to have their platter judged and went up against Ashley and Ariel. His first dish, a sautéed langoustines, were deemed dry and did not score. His second dish, Cajun chicken, was criticized for having pink inside and did not score on that dish as well. The blue team lost the challenge 4-5, and they were punished by making hard candy, caramel, cake pops, and cookies for the Family Night service.

During the Family Night dinner service, Chad was on the grilled cheese station with Jared. He was not seen that night, both teams were named joint losers, and were asked to nominate two each.

Chad was not nominated for elimination, and after Alan's elimination, he welcomed Manda as a new teammate.

Episode 6

Main article: Episode 1506 - 12 Chefs Compete

During the Shopping Cart Challenge, Chad decided to use black rice as, even though it takes longer to cook, he felt that it paired well with the salmon and that he could make it work. He was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged and presented his poached salmon with black rice, parsnip purée, grapefruit fennel minuet. While Ramsay liked the purée taste, and the salmon cooked perfectly, he criticized the rice for being undercooked, he scored 3 points, and he was disappointed in his stupid mistake. The blue team lost the challenge after a tie at 22, and they were punished by prepping ingredients for sangrias which included peeling apples and grapes. During the punishment, he jokingly called Joe a psycho after the latter said that he might threaten to burn down a vineyard after that day.

During dinner service, Chad was on the meat station. At one point, he got confused when Jared started saying oui. Later, he decided to lead the blue team to victory as he used to work in Michelin star restaurants. However, his chicken was undercooked, Ramsay forced the blue team to sit at the chef's table, and asked if anybody wanted to eat the chicken. But, when everybody said that they did not, Ramsay asked why they would expect anybody to, and told him to say that he needed one more minute. Despite that, his refire was accepted. Both teams were named joint-losers, and for the blue team, Jared was named the Best of the Worst. During deliberation, he acknowledged that he sent up raw chicken, but reminded Jared that he did manage to bounce back.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 7

Main article: Episode 1507 - 11 Chefs Compete

During the Chef Andi Wedding Planning Challenge, Chad was paired up with Joe on the seafood appetizer course, they were the first pair from the blue team to have their dishes judged, and went up against Ariel and Kristin from the red team. He made handmade pasta and prawns, they were praised for having plentiful pasta and tasting good, and he scored for the blue team. The blue team won the challenge 2-1, and they were rewarded with an overnight trip to Las Vegas which included a zip line experience and a stay at Caesars Palace's presidential suite. During the reward, he noted that the rewards were getting bigger.

During prep, Chad tried to calm Jared down over the latter's nervousness for that night. During the Wedding dinner service, he was on the fish station. At one point, Ramsay caught him picking out the scallops from the pan despite reminding him that they had to be slid off at once, and his scallops were overcooked. After forcing the blue team to feel them, he was disappointed and hoped to bounce back. Fortunately, his refire was accepted. Later, he sent up raw salmon, Ramsay asked how he could be struggling on the easiest entrée, but got his refire accepted.

Both teams were named joint-losers and were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, Chad was considered for elimination by Jared for obvious reasons, but he remarked that the latter was not perfect either, and felt that Jared's raw chicken made him weak, before announcing him and Joe as his nominees.

Chad was named the blue team's first nominee for elimination, with Jared as the second, and they joined Hassan and Dannie from the red team. During his plea, he said that he brought a level of skill sets to the kitchen, but Ramsay reminded him that he had to cook as well. He survived elimination.

Episode 8

Main article: Episode 1508 - 10 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, Chad got a little hot over the risqué moves Manda was doing with Dannie.

During the Ingredient Number Challenge, Chad decided to crust his ahi tuna in black garlic, despite Jared suggesting that he rinse it off as it might be too powerful. He was the fourth person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Ashley in the ahi tuna round. He made a four-ingredient black garlic tuna tataki with olive oil and black garlic sauce with lemon, it was compared to shit on a plate by Ashley, and was heavily criticized for being doused in garlic. He lost that round to Ashley, and the blue team lost the challenge 1-3. They were punished by taking part in delivery day.

During dinner service, Chad was on the garnish station. After Jared was temporarily kicked out for some fresh air, he took over fish, and appetizers were leaving the blue kitchen. Later, he asked Jared a question, but was ignored, leading Ramsay to send the two to the chef's table, berated the two for not communicating despite being next to each other, and ordered them to talk through their problems. After, the two talked through their problems and went back to their respective stations. It was thanks to that that their communication has improved and sent out their food.

The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination, During deliberation, Chad remarked that communication was their biggest issue, and while he recalled how he and Jared were singled out for not communicating, he felt that there was somebody else that had the same problem, referring to Manda, which Jared agreed with. While he was considered for elimination by Manda, he agreed with Jared on how Frank shut his ears that night, and that it hurts them badly while refusing to play the pity card on Manda.

Chad was not nominated for elimination, but Ramsay called him to the front, asked him for his jacket, and after saying that he has lost his confidence, Ramsay hopes that he could regain it in the red team while being exchanged for Dannie. After moving into his new team, Ramsay warned him that he was getting one last chance as, while he started off strong, his time was running out quickly. While being dismissed, he knew that he was on his last chance, and believed that with the red team on the up and up, he could not wait to be part of that.

Episode 9

Main article: Episode 1509 - 10 Chefs Again

While going back to the dorms, Chad was welcomed to the red team by Ashley, and he admitted that he thought he was going home.

During the Bison Cut Challenge, Chad was paired against Manda on the flank, he lost to her in the shootout, and their country was Italy. He was the first person from the red team to have his dish judged, went up against Manda, and he was confident as he worked with Italian food before while telling her to bring it on. He made flank steak with truffle cannellini beans and blood orange gremolata, it was deemed delicious as he nailed the protein, and he scored that round over Manda. When the score was tied at 4 each, Ramsay used his dish to break the tie as it had the right garnish with the right cut of bison, giving the red team the win. He was extremely happy about their victory, and deemed it his bounce back, and that he proved to his new teammates that he meant business.

The red team was rewarded with meeting Hollywood animals and receiving Vitamix blenders. While he thought he would be meeting Bradley Cooper and Matt Damon, he called his new blender the best trophy ever. After being dismissed, Ramsay told him that he made a great impact on the challenge.

Before service began, Chad considered that night to perform at their best. During the Cowboy Steak Night dinner service, Chad was on the appetizer station with Jackie. When Jackie went to help Ariel out on fish, he took over appetizers and believed that the scallops would go extinct by the rate the latter was burning them. After Ashley's ribeye was raw, he said that their ship was sinking fast, before the red team got kicked out of the kitchen. The red team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he asked where the major breakdown happened and nominated Jackie for that night's service.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 10

Main article: Episode 1510 - 9 Chefs Compete

The next day, Chad told Kristin that they needed Jackie for a full team after the two's argument the previous night.

Before the Breakfast Challenge, Chad revealed that he ate a granola bar and protein shake for that day's challenge. During the cooking, he decided to cook the seafood dish. He was the second person from the red team to have his dish judged and went up against Dannie from the blue team. He made scallop ceviche tacos topped with avocado and fried quail egg, it was criticized for the lack of contrast between the egg and the ceviche, not delivering the wow factor, and he scored 3 points. 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.

During the brunch service, Chad was on the meat station. He felt that he needed to redeem himself after his poor performance in the previous challenge, but while he sent up Ariel’s Nicosia salads to the pass, the latter realized that she forgot the quail eggs for them. When he brought it up, Ramsay chewed him out for sending them up slowly, even though he knew that it was Ariel’s fault in the first place, and was more pissed that she did not take responsibility. Later, he communicated with Kristin on the next ticket, but when Ariel tried to give input on his work, he felt insulted as he did not need her lip at that moment and told her to either calm down or get the fuck out of his way. However, his French toast was raw on one side, and Ramsay kicked him out of the kitchen. Back at the dorms, he and Jared vented to each other on how Frank and Ariel screwed them respectively.

Both teams were named joint-losers and were asked to give an explanation of what happened. During deliberation, Ariel 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. Then, he brought up Jackie’s brunt chicken incident, but she argued that she did not perform as poorly as he did.

During elimination, Kristin blamed Chad's poor execution for service going poorly, but he argued that Ariel did not help his situation. He voted for Ariel for elimination, while receiving 4 votes from everybody else. He was eliminated for his declining performances and confidence and running out of chances to stay. Before leaving, Ramsay told him that he has run out of patience and that he was out of confidence beyond belief. During his exit interview, he admitted that he had no idea Hell’s Kitchen would be difficult, but was pissed that there were people still there that did not deserve to continue, and believed that the only good thing about being eliminated was being done with the red team and not having to deal with their bickering.

Ramsay's comment: "I gave Chad numerous chances to regain his confidence. Unfortunately, he wasted them all."

Episode 16

Main article: Episode 1516 - Winner Chosen

Chad was one of the eight chefs that returned for the final dinner service. He was Kristin's final choice for her team, after Ashley, Frank, and Joe.

During dinner service, Chad was on the fish station. At one point, his salmon was raw, but after receiving help from Ashley, his refire was accepted. Kristin eventually lost the finals to Ariel.

Nomination history

Week 1	Safe
Week 2	Win
Week 3	Win
Week 4	Win
Week 5	Safe
Week 6	Safe
Week 7	Nominated
Week 8	Safe
Week 9	Safe
Week 10	Nominated

Post Hell's Kitchen

• After his appearance on the show, Chad became Executive Chef at Fiola before briefly becoming Aldine restaurant in Philadelphia.
• He worked as Chef de Cuisine at SURAYA.
• As of August 2020, he is Executive Chef at Bank + Vine in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Trivia

• He is the seventh male contestant who switched teams without making it to the black jackets, following Robert (Season 6), Scott (Season 7), Anton (Season 12), Frank, Sterling (both from Season 13), and Hassan (also from Season 15).

Quotes

• (About the lady’s accent) "She wouldn’t say cucumbers, she would say... CUCUMBRES."
• (About Manda's past and Dannie and Manda doing risqué moves together) "Yeah, I mean I don't know how much sleep I'm getting tonight."
• (About his tie-breaking challenge dish) "Ahhh yes! This is my bounce-back, I'm getting back in the saddle. This is a great way to show to the red team I'm here, I mean business and I'm ready to work with you guys."
• (About getting to meet Hollywood animals) "Does anybody have a tranquillizer gun ready?"
• (After being eliminated) "I had no idea Hell's Kitchen would be this difficult. What pisses me off is just to see some of the people in there move forward that I know shouldn't move forward. The only good thing about leaving Hell's Kitchen is I'm done with the red team. I don't have to listen to the bickering."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Meese and Chad's Intro Spot

Chad in Blue Jacket

Chad's Confessional (Blue Jacket)

Dannie, Hassan, Chad, and Jared Nominated

Chad Joins the Red Team

Chad in Red Jacket

Chad's Confessional (Red Jacket)

Chad Eliminated

Chad as Returning Chef

Chad's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

Chad's Duck Dish (Episode 4)

Chad and Kevin's Holiday Platter (Episode 5)

Chad's Shopping Cart Dish (Episode 6)

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

Ashley and Chad's Ingredient Number Dish (Ahi Tuna) (Episode 8)

Chad's Bison Meat Dish (Flank Steak) (Episode 9)

Chad's Breakfast Dish (Seafood) (Episode 10)

External links

• Chad Gelso on Instagram
• Chad Gelso on Twitter