| “ | Just because someone's louder than me doesn't mean that their dish is always going to be better. | ” |
Christine Hazel was a contestant on Season 14 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 9th place.
Season 14[]
Episode 1[]
- Main article: Episode 1401 - 18 Chefs Compete
When the chefs arrived at Hell's Kitchen, the doors were locked, and they noticed that Ramsay was on the roof, who revealed that they would have to jump onto an air mattress to see if they were 100% committed. While Christine was more eager to jump after seeing Enrique and Ruth doing it, Ramsay revealed that it was not necessary as those two were stunt people, and asked the chefs to cook their signature dishes.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, Christine was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay, and went up against Brendan. She made scallops with polenta cake, Ramsay praised the dish for being delicious, and she scored four points. The red team lost the challenge 28-31, and they were punished by resetting the dining room for the opening night, and sealing confirmation letters in envelopes.
During dinner service, Christine was on the meat station with Monique. When she sent her first order of pork, Ramsay noticed that she sliced it before the lamb was ready, it became dry, and they were forced to start over. Later, she found out that her lamb was raw after slicing it, and was told by Meghan to put it in the convection oven as the other oven was not hot enough. When she and Monique sent their entrées, Ramsay told that not only was the lamb raw, but the pork was dry, before calling it ridiculous. Then, she sent the lamb refire, but the pork did not come despite there being six chefs on the meat station, much to Ramsay’s dismay. After the red team was kicked out of the kitchen, she revealed that she had no idea how the oven was turned off.
The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people. During deliberation, Christine was considered by T and Michelle, but after Chrissa broke a mug while putting away dishes, she felt that the latter did not care about what was going on.
Christine was not nominated for elimination, but she was called down by Ramsay, along with Monique and Chrissa. During her plea, she admitted that meat got out of control, and added that she took the competition more seriously than Chrissa, who needed to go to the bathroom earlier, which the latter was offended about. She survived elimination.[1]
Episode 2[]
- Main article: Episode 1402 - 17 Chefs Compete
During the Crabs Challenge, Christine was on a boat with Meghan, T, and Michelle during the first part, and they were seen struggling to launch their boat into the water, and later, they struggled with trying to paddle to their destination. During the second part, she was paired with Monique, and they were seen getting two of their attempts accepted. The red team won the challenge 10-7, and they were rewarded with a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, traveling through cactus trails by horseback, and a dinner at the Four Seasons Resort. When she learned what the reward was, she revealed that she did not care about it as she wanted to win.
During prep, Christine helped Mieka after the latter proved to be confused. During dinner service, she was on the garnish station with Mieka. She was not seen at all, and the red team won the service.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 1403 - 16 Chefs Compete
During the Alaskan Fish Challenge, Christine was paired with Sarah, and they were not seen collecting their cod pieces due to the blue team finishing first. They were the third pair from the red team to have their dishes judged, and went up against Randy and Nick. She made a cod with chive Berblanc, and while the fish was praised for being perfectly cooked, she did not score. The red team won the challenge 3-1, and they were rewarded with a trip to the Manhattan Beaches, and surfing lessons from surfer Anastasia Ashley.
During dinner service, Christine was on the appetizer station with Mieka. At one point, she was left alone, and left the capellini at the pass despite the flatbreads not being ready yet. When Ramsay saw it, he berated the red team for their lack of coordination and told them to get it together. Later, she sent a cavatelli that was missing the mascarpone for the sauce, and Ramsay said that he had no idea what she and Mieka were doing.
Both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate two people each. During deliberation, Christine believed that their failure was a team effort, but Alison and Meghan considered her and Mieka for their poor performance on appetizers.
Christine was the red team's second nominee for elimination, with Mieka being the first, and they joined Michael and Nick from the blue team. During her plea, she believed that there was a lot of communication problems in the red team, but while she was willing to learn from her mistakes, Ramsay said that he could not wait ten years of it. She survived elimination, and while being dismissed, she said that she wanted to be there like everybody else, and did not want to go home.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 1404 - 15 Chefs Compete
During the American Classics Challenge, Christine was paired with Alison on the macaroni & cheese, and during the cooking, she saw the latter's dish was a macaroni & cheese on top of a bun, and felt that it may not work. Despite trying to push her macaroni & cheese as the best, the red team went with Alison’s dish. After Alison lost the round, she knew that her dish was not the best. The red team won the challenge after a tie breaker at 4, and they were rewarded with a trip to Long Beach, and a ride on the historic American Pride yacht.
During the Family Night dinner service, Christine was on the garnish station with T. She was not seen at all, the red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people.
She was not nominated for elimination.[4]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 1405 - 14 Chefs Compete
During the International Cheese Challenge, Christine went up against Adam, and their dish was cordon bleu. She was the third person from the red team to have her dish judged, and presented her pork and Emmental cordon bleu, which Ramsay praised for having finesse, and she tied the round with Adam. The red team won the challenge 5-4, and they were rewarded with a trip to Marina Del Ray, and a Jet Ski activity at the ocean.
During dinner service, Christine was on the fish station with Michelle. At one point, she sent a raw salmon, a frustrated Ramsay led the red team to the pantry room, demanded to know who was responsible for that mistake, and warned them that one more mistake would be their last. Then, her refire was burnt on the bottom, had soggy skin, and that was the final straw for Ramsay, who kicked the red team out of the kitchen. The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people.
Christine was not nominated for elimination, even though she was considered by Monique.[5]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 1406 - 13 Chefs Compete
Back in the dorms, Christine was baffled when Sarah got confused about simple aspects and said that it should be second nature to her by that moment.
During the Firefighter Service Challenge, Christine served the drinks. She was not seen at all, the red team lost the challenge, and they were punished by detailing the fire engines outside the front entrance, and prepping 400 chicken wings for the following service.
During dinner service, Christine was on the appetizer station with Michelle. She knew that the red team had to make a comeback, deemed her teammates focused, and wanted to prove Ramsay that they could do it, but sent a raw risotto without any seasoning. The red team won the service.[6]
Episode 7[]
- Main article: Episode 1407 - 12 Chefs Compete
During the Greek Cuisine Challenge, Christine went up against Adam, and their dish was pork. She was the fifth person from the red team to have her dish judged, and presented her pork kebab with grapes and fig sauce. Michael Psilakis praised the dish for reminding him of his mother’s cooking, and she scored 8 points. The red team lost the challenge 40-41, and they were punished by cleaning both the dining room and the kitchens for the following service.
During dinner service, Christine was on the garnish station. On the first ticket of entrées, she sent burnt and mushy garnishes that Ramsay compared to baby food, before being asked what was going on. Then, she sent raw eggplant, and Meghan was forced to come and help her. Later, she sent lentils that were overpowered with garlic, and because of that, the red team was kicked out of the kitchen.
The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people. During deliberation, Christine was reminded by Meghan on how simple the garnish station should have been as a professional kitchen always had garnishes ready in two minutes, and Alison reminded her that it was her second time on garnish. Then, T remarked that she did not have an assertive voice, and she annoyingly asked T what her vote was.
Christine was the red team's second nominee for elimination, with Sarah being the first. During her plea, she said that she had improved since the previous service and felt that she was growing and learning a lot, but Ramsay reminded her how the lentils stunk of garlic, and she admitted it to be an oversight. She survived elimination, and while being dismissed, she believed that while the red team was underestimating her, she did not care as she would be the winner at the end.[7]
Episode 8[]
- Main article: Episode 1408 - 11 Chefs Compete
Back in the dorms, Christine was told by Josh that he was glad she survived as he needed a pretty girl to stick around, she realized that she survived her third nomination, and decided to make sure it would not happen again. Then, she told Josh and Randy that she did not want to be nominated ever again.
During the Alcohol Challenge, Christine's dish was not chosen to be judged, the red team lost the challenge 30-31, and they were punished by participating in laundry day, which included ironing, starching, folding, steaming the glassware, and polishing the silverware.
During prep, Christine heard Bret groaning in the back hallway, found him leaning against the wall, asked if he was okay, and informed the men about his situation. During the Gastropub dinner service, she was on the appetizer station. She was very communicative with T on appetizers as she wanted to get off to a strong start, deemed that her head was in the game, and her mussels were accepted. On the following ticket, she was confused about whether or not a risotto was on order, which T said was because she was overwhelmed, announced that she needed two more minutes on her mussels, and Ramsay urged her to speed up. The red team won the service.[8]
Episode 9[]
- Main article: Episode 1409 - 9 Chefs Compete
During the Exotic Protein Challenge, Christine picked ostrich meat, went up against Randy, and stated that she was more comfortable cooking with something other than a tarantula. During the cooking, she said one more time how relieved she was that they were not cooking with tarantulas. She was the last person from the red team to have her dish judged and presented her marinated ostrich on a bed of orzo. While the garnishes were praised for being good, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo criticized the meat for being bland and safe, and she scored 6 points. The red team lost the challenge 33-34, and they were punished by deep cleaning both kitchens and drinking a protein shake that contained the leftover protein from the challenge.
During the progress report, Christine was the sixth chef to be called down in Ramsay's office. He remarked that while her journey has been extremely bumpy, her performance in the last service made him a lot better. She said that it was starting to click for her, that she was becoming more confident, and Ramsay urged her to become more aggressive, which boosted her confidence. After the report, she was deemed the weakest chef on the red team by her teammates, which annoyed her as she felt she was not the weakest of her team, and because of that, she had to participate in the Cook For Your Life Challenge, where she went up against Randy.
During the challenge, Christine was annoyed that her teammates picked her as the weakest chef, but decided that they would not break her if they loved or hated her. Then, she decided to make the dessert first in order to focus on the more difficult dishes but did not see the crème anglaise base that Ramsay prepared for the bread pudding. So, she decided to make her own base. Later, she cut the inside of the lobster, poorly butchering the lobster tail, and while Alison was concerned, she felt that the red team was not as supportive as they put her in that situation. During the judging, her lobster risotto was praised for looking beautiful and being seasoned beautifully, but it was lacking the tomato confit taste, and she admitted that she forgot to mix it in. After, the halibut was praised for having a great sear and nailing every component, and for the bread pudding, she revealed that she did not use the base that Ramsay provided as she thought they were supposed to make their own, and while he was impressed that she made her own crème anglaise, it tasted dry due to being cooked rapidly.
In the end, Christine lost the challenge to Randy, and was eliminated for forgetting the tomato confit in the risotto, and presenting a dry bread pudding. During her exit interview, she still thought that she was not the weakest chef on the red team, and while she considered herself an easy target, she said that she had a great experience.
Ramsay's comment: "Christine clearly didn't have the faith and confidence of her team. After giving her a chance to cook for her life, she didn't do enough to change their mind or mine." [9]
Episode 16[]
- Main article: Episode 1416 - Winner Chosen
Christine was one of the eight chefs who returned for the final dinner service. She was T's final pick, after Milly, Nick, and Adam.
During prep, Christine failed to get the ravioli toasted on time. During dinner service, she was on the appetizer station. At the start, she sent up two under portioned salads to the pass, but got her second attempt accepted. Later, she was sent to help Adam on garnish, but her truffle mac was lacking liquid. T would eventually lose the finals to Meghan.[10]
Nomination history[]
| Week 1 | Nominated |
|---|---|
| Week 2 | Win |
| Week 3 | Nominated |
| Week 4 | Safe |
| Week 5 | Safe |
| Week 6 | Win |
| Week 7 | Nominated |
| Week 8 | Win |
| Week 9 | Nominated |
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After her appearance on the show, Christine became a Private Chef and chef consultant.
- She also had several recipes published and appeared on local radio and television cooking segments.
- She is currently a Culinary Director at Moonshine Philly.
- In October 2018, she competed in and won the cooking show Chopped.
Trivia[]
- She is the third contestant to be nominated by Ramsay on the opening night, following Chino (Season 9), and Royce (Season 10). She is also the first female contestant to be so.
- She participated in the second Cook For Your Life Challenge, and is the second contestant to be eliminated after that challenge, following Jessica (Season 12).
Quotes[]
- (About putting her challenge dish up) "My team really wasn't even tasting my dish. Just because someone's louder than me doesn't mean that their dish is always going to be better."
- (After being eliminated) "I am very disappointed to leave Hell's Kitchen, I don't think I was the worst chef in the red team, but it's a competition and people are going to point fingers and I was definitely was the easy target. But it was a great experience for me, I've learned so much from Chef Ramsay, and I had Michelin star chefs trying my dishes on a daily basis. I feel like I am 50 times better of a chef after coming here."
Gallery[]
.png "Christine's Alaskan Fish Dish (Cod).png (399 KB)")
.png "Christine's International Cheese Dish (Cordon Bleu).png (200 KB)")
.png "Christine's Exotic Meat Dish (Ostrich).png (254 KB)")
External links[]
Christine Hazel on Instagram
References[]
| Hell's Kitchen Season 14 |
|---|
| Staff |
| Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • James Avery (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Andi Van Willigan-Cutspec (Red Team Sous Chef) • Marino Monferrato (Maître d'hôtel) |
| Contestants |
| Sarah Baumert • Randy Bell • Nick Peters Bond • Monique Booker • Michael Dussault • Meghan Gill • T Gregoire • Mieka Houser • Bret Hauser • Christine Hazel • Adam Livow • Milly Medley • Brendan Pelley • Alison Rivera • Chrissa Schmerler • Cameron Spagnolo • Michelle Tribble • Josh Trovato |