“ | A lot of chefs get up here and say, 'this is all they know how to do'. Well you know what, fuck that Chef, this is all I wanna do. | ” |
Daniel "Danny" Veltri was a contestant on Season 5 of Hell's Kitchen. He was the winner of that season and was awarded with a Head Chef position at Italian restaurant Fornelletto, at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, with a $250,000 salary. However, it turned out to be a Sous Chef position instead of head chef.
Season 5[]
Episode 1[]
- Main article: Episode 501 - 16 Chefs Compete
In the series biggest turnout, thousands of chefs auditioned for Hell's Kitchen. However, only three hundred arrived at Hell’s Kitchen and met Jean-Philippe and Ramsay. Out of the three hundred, sixteen were selected to compete. Jean-Philippe began calling out the chefs chosen to compete. Danny was the seventh of the sixteen called to compete. When called down, he said he would dwarf everyone and make them look like nothing compared to the God of cooking he was.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, Danny was the sixth person to have his dish judged by Ramsay. He called himself a redneck who hunted animals and cooked them. His Mahi Mahi with grilled bananas was criticized for its poor creation, and Ramsay said he went bananas making the dish. Danny arrogantly knew Ramsay was looking for a rise out of him, and the latter asked him where the idea came from. Danny said he pulled it out of his ass, but Ramsay told him to put it back in there because it sucked. After the challenge, Ramsay asked both teams to decide on a team name for the opening night. Per Robert's suggestion, they went with Blues Brothers. Ramsay admitted to liking the name.
During dinner service, Danny was at the fish station. At one point, Ramsay found his scallops on the hot plate, which were overcooked. Ramsay said it was not rocket science, but he rudely said it was not. Angered by his attitude, Ramsay ordered him to be a team player with the men. During the power outage, Robert told Danny to keep his words to himself in the blue kitchen and never argue with Ramsay again. He knew he had a big mouth, but he was surprised that Ramsay did not pull him from the line. Still, Robert knew he had to learn to shut up. The blue team lost the dinner service because of Giovanni's poor performance as a waiter. They were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he picked Wil as the worst performer of that night.
He was not nominated for elimination.[1]
Episode 2[]
- Main article: Episode 502 - 15 Chefs Compete
The following day at 5:49 AM, a marching band came into the dorms and played loudly, and the chefs woke up. Sous Chefs Scott and Gloria ordered the chefs to get downstairs, and they were led outside to find Ramsay. Wanting both teams to learn how to respect their products, Ramsay had them go to their crates and gather all the scallops into their colored buckets. During the Scallop Cleaning Challenge, Danny got nervous after seeing Carol get the red team off to a strong start. After seeing Ben under perform, he got annoyed as he felt the former had yet to prove his boasting. He managed to have nine of his ten scallops accepted by Ramsay. The blue team won the challenge 36-35, and he felt pumped up. They were rewarded with a helicopter tour of Catalina Island along with a submarine ride.
During dinner service, Danny was at the meat station. His lamb was praised for being spot on and he felt he was on cloud 9 for that compliment. It was thanks to his strong performance the blue team got entrées out. At one point, Ramsay said he had been busting his butt off cooking perfect meat that night when chewing out Giovanni. The blue team won the service.
At elimination, Danny participated in the standing ovation for Ji's departure, along with his teammates and the red team.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 503 - 14 Chefs Compete
The following morning, the Sous Chefs woke up the contestants at 6 AM with cowbells and told them to get dressed and out the front door to the SUVs. The barely awoke chefs were driven to an unknown place. It turned out to be a meat processing plant and the chefs took a tour of the place, with Sous Chef Scott showing them where each beef cut on a cow was. Before the Meat & Cow Challenge, Danny realized that there was a reason they went to the plant and hoped they paid attention to Sous Chef Scott's lecture. He was not seen participating in it, but the blue team won the challenge. They were rewarded with a trip on a private jet to Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez, where they had a wine tasting and a steak dinner with Ramsay. When the blue team came back from their reward, he was one of the three chefs seen mocking the red team during their punishment.
During the Steakhouse double dinner service, Danny was on the appetizer station for the first seating. When Giovanni had a raw steak come back, he was pissed as the former was an Executive Chef at a steakhouse. During the second seating, where he was a waiter, he was not seen. The blue team lost the dinner service and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he agreed with Seth to nominate Giovanni, saying he he would not mind seeing the latter eliminated as he deemed Giovanni a hothead.
He was not nominated for elimination.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 504 - 13 Chefs Compete
The following morning, both teams lined up in front of Ramsay, asking each team who their strongest chef was. Danny named himself as the strongest of the men, which confirmed in Ben's mind that he was getting arrogant. During the Football Team & Cheerleaders Breakfast Service Challenge, Danny was at the pancake station. He wanted a three-for-three streak on challenges for the blue team. When Seth slowed them down on eggs, he thought the football players could cook better than the former.
The blue team lost the challenge and they were punished by cleaning up the dining room, both kitchens, and prepping them for that night’s service. As the men went back to the dorms to await their punishment, Ben said he hated losing and turned the blame on to Danny because he was slow on pancakes. However, he argued that Ben at least helped him send them to the pass. When J reminded him about his earlier claim about being the best cook on the men, he still stood by that statement. However, Ben argued he was a better chef and that he could not even cook his cock. That caused Giovanni to try and defuse the argument, and Ben left for some alone time. Ben believed that he was becoming arrogant and needed to come back to Earth while claiming he would beat up the latter outside the restaurant. He admitted he was cocky but also did not care if he was. During the punishment, Robert admitted to him that he did not like how Ben argued with him, especially since it made him look small by comparison. The two agreed to take the chance of getting Ben out.
During prep, Danny knew there was a lot to do and was nervous about getting everything ready that night. During dinner service, he was at the garnish station. At one point, Ben had him make another batch of tomato butter sauce after the first batch was salty, and he said he could cook anything. He sent up his tomato butter sauce, which was deemed acceptable. Ramsay informed Ben that his sauce was better than the disgusting batch he made, and he said he could rock out anything he cooked. Later that night, Ramsay asked him for the chicken garnishes, making Ben wonder if he could talk the talk. However, he was unresponsive, which frustrated Ramsay. He said it was rough despite the job being to reheat vegetables, and Ramsay threatened to kick him out if he did not answer. He responded that he needed one more minute.
Both teams were named joint losers and they were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, Danny agreed with Giovanni nominating Seth and Ben for elimination. However, Ben recalled that he had problems on garnish and did not see him step up to the plate that night.
Danny was not nominated for elimination. After Seth's elimination, he welcomed Lacey as a new teammate.[4]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 505 - 12 Chefs Compete
During the Asian Fusion Challenge, Danny said the blue team ran like crazy people during the shopping and made the menu on the fly. He was paired with Robert on the poultry dish. They were the first pair from the blue team to have their dish judged and went up against the pair of Carol and Coi. Their dish was a pad Thai BBQ chicken, and both judges praised it for the seasoning and the southern inspiration. They scored over Carol and Coi, and he said he and Robert nailed it. The blue team lost the challenge 1-2 and they punished by making fortune cookies and decorating the entire dining room with origami.
During dinner service, Danny was at the dessert station. He was not seen that night. Both teams were named joint losers, and Giovanni was named "Best of the Worst" for the blue team.
He was not nominated for elimination.[5]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 506 - 11 Chefs Compete
During the Bar Mitzvah Planning Challenge, Danny was not seen at all. The blue team won the challenge 2-1, and they were rewarded with a trip to Skin Haven spa for a day of relaxation. As the blue team went to change, he was down for a massage even though he never went to a salon. During the reward, he liked getting pampered.
During the Bar Mitzvah dinner service, Danny was at the meat station with Lacey. He sent up his burgers, but Ramsay noticed that he got the bottom of his plates dirty. He claimed they were clean at his station, but they got dragged through different items when he brought them to garnish. Ramsay lectured him to check his plate and clean it before bringing it to the pass, while Ben called him a pig for not doing so.[6]
Episode 7[]
- Main article: Episode 507 - 10 Chefs Compete
Before the Leftovers Challenge, Danny and the blue team said goodbye to Giovanni, who has just been transferred to the red team. He was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Paula. He made a grilled filet mignon with a wild mushroom ragu, which was praised for tasting nice. He tied that round with Paula. The blue team lost the challenge 2-3 and they were punished by prepping both kitchens for that night’s service and polishing the tapa plates. He was not thrilled about prepping both kitchens as he considered it the worst punishment to get, especially when there was a service that night. During the punishment, he and Ben began riffing on Lacey's attitude. When Lacey got annoyed with Robert yelling at her, he and J reminded her the latter was trying to help her. Eventually, Lacey threatened to quit if she got into another argument with anyone, but he said that was the last thing they wanted.
During dinner service, Danny was at the appetizer station. After Ben was caught putting raw Wellingtons on a dirty tray, he compared the former's poor performance to J's. The blue team lost the service and each member of the team was asked to nominate one person for elimination. During deliberation, he knew Ben sucked in every dinner service despite running his mouth and would not be sad to see the latter go home.
At elimination, Ramsay asked the blue team who they wanted to see go home and why. Danny said he wanted Lacey gone as he had enough of her attitude. He did not receive a vote from anyone.[7]
Episode 8[]
- Main article: Episode 508 - 9 Chefs Compete
During the Blind Taste Test, Danny was the final person of his team to participate and he went up against Paula. For that round, Ramsay presented a minestrone soup and told them to guess as many of the ten ingredients as they could. He managed to get chicken stock, carrot, and celery. The blue team lost the challenge 7-8 and they were punished by serving lunch to the red team and prepping both kitchens for that night’s dinner service. That dismayed him and Robert as it was the blue team's third time doing it and he called it a bitch as there was so much work to do. During the punishment, he got annoyed by Ramsay's nagging as they were already having a bad day.
During prep, Danny admitted he had no idea what went through Lacey's head as she should either cook or leave. He had to tell Lacey where everything was at meat in the blue kitchen, believing she did not know where ass was from a hole in the ground. During dinner service, he was at the fish station. When the blue team cooked Eric McCormick’s appetizers, he did not consider a VIP different than a normal table as he put a lot into every dish he cooked. He got his scallops accepted as McCormack’s table received their appetizers. When he saw Lacey struggle on meat, he and Ben tried to calm her down but he did not like spoon-feeding the latter. Then, he went over to meat to try and help Lacey, but a fire erupted, and Ramsay took the pan away. When Lacey continued to struggle, he was not happy to see her lose it as the latter kept saying she could not cook meat. After Lacey's mid service elimination, he knew it was time for the trio to step up and show Ramsay they were worthy. He was reassigned to the meat station and got McCormick's entrées accepted. The blue team won the service.[8]
Episode 9[]
- Main article: Episode 509 - 7 Chefs Compete
Before the Red King Crab Challenge, Danny felt good about the blue team because he thought they had three strong chefs. During the cooking, he called Ben a dumbass when the latter failed to explain to Ramsay what his dish was. He said he was getting confident with the dishes he made in the challenges, especially since he scored in previous challenges. However, Ben did not think that his dish had any crunch. He reluctantly let Ben's dish be the representative for the blue team, even though he thought his dish was better. When Ben bored everyone with a long speech about his dish, he told the former to shut up. After Ben's dish failed to impress Ramsay, the latter called him down along with Paula from the red team. When her and Paula brought up their dishes, he felt his heart pounding. He presented his poached crab in a Madeira Berblanc with sautéed celery and fennel. It was deemed delicious, making him feel good as he showcased to Ramsay what he had. When Ramsay asked why his dish was not chosen first, he said the blue team made a joint decision. In the end, Ramsay gave his dish the win for the blue team after a very tough decision. He felt good that he won it for the blue team.
The blue team was rewarded with a day at the Santa Monica State Beach with Ramsay for lunch and a Segway ride. As the blue team left to change, Danny felt good to be at the top of the totem pole and won it for the blue team. During the reward, he called Ramsay a good buddy to be with on the rewards.
Before dinner service, both teams were tasked to create their own menus. During the menu designing, Robert pushed for Danny's crab dish as the special. When Ben suggested pomme fondants, he did not think the former knew what he was talking about and did not want to hear the word pomme fondant again.
During dinner service, Danny was at the garnish station. After Ramsay called out Ben for trying to pass their potato dish as pomme fondants, he accused the latter of only knowing fancy terms and nothing else. The blue team lost the service as only 39% of their customers rated their entrées above average, compared to the red team's 54%. Ramsay named him "Best of the Worst" as he was the only one on the team not to make a mistake, and he was tasked to nominate one person for elimination. During deliberation, Ben pleaded his case to him on why he should stay, claiming that he was faster than Robert. That put him in a tough spot on who to nominate, even thinking that both should be up for elimination. Afterwards, Ben asked him who he wanted in the kitchen alongside him.
Danny nominated Ben for elimination, who was eventually joined by Robert.[9]
Episode 10[]
- Main article: Episode 510 - 6 Chefs Compete
The next day, both teams went downstairs to meet Ramsay, who asked Paula and Danny who were their weakest chefs on their respective teams. He answered Ben, which flabbergasted the latter. Ramsay called Andrea and Ben down, which shocked him as it looked like a surprise elimination. Instead of eliminating anybody, Ramsay gave all the remaining chefs a black jacket.
Before the 14 Ingredients Challenge, Danny said he wanted to win as he wanted the face time with Ramsay and learn how the latter got to where he was now. During the cooking, he admitted that most challenges had the ideas made up at the last minute. He was the fifth person to have his dish judged by Ramsay and presented his rosemary roasted chicken with shallots and salad. It was praised for its execution and being easy to eat. When it came down to him and Ben, Ramsay deemed his sauce delicious and he said he was proud of his dish as he put a lot into it.
Danny lost the challenge to Ben and was forced to participate in Delivery Day and prep for the following service. When Ben picked Robert to come on the reward, he was mad mad as he knew the former chose Robert out of spite for choosing him as the weakest of the blue team earlier that morning. When everyone went back to the patio to relax, Robert felt a little guilty as the former knew he had the second-best dish in the group and thought he deserved the reward more than himself. As everyone congratulated Ben, Robert saw how angry he was based on his face. Ben claimed that he picked Robert for evolving more than the rest of the chefs, but Giovanni saw how angry he looked. He retorted that he was disappointed and left the patio, causing Paula to comment how the men took losing poorly. Still, Ben had no guilt in picking Robert as he was not impressed with his dish from a visual standpoint
During the punishment, Danny called Giovanni an asshole for taking his time on the second delivery. Later, he was seen signing off the final truck order.
During dinner service, Danny was at the dessert station. After seeing everything go poorly, he was disappointed as he thought they should have had it down like clockwork. He said that once Giovanni failed, everyone else failed. After service ended, Paula was named "Best of the Worst".
Danny was not nominated. After Giovanni's elimination, everyone was in bed sleeping at 2:14 AM, but a phone call from Ramsay woke up everybody. Ramsay ordered everyone back downstairs, with their jackets on, immediately. Once downstairs, Ramsay stated he was very disappointed in their poor performance and asked how could the final six perform so poorly that night. Afterwards, Ramsay announced that after that night, he was shutting down Hell’s Kitchen, ending the episode in a cliffhanger.[10]
Episode 11[]
- Main article: Episode 511 - 5 Chefs Compete
Continuing from the previous episode, Ramsay announced he was shutting down Hell's Kitchen, much to the shock and disappointment of the final five. However, Ramsay revealed that they would be leaving for Atlantic City to visit the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa for a few days. Everyone was shocked and relieved by the news, and Robert almost fainted from the news. Ramsay said the final five would leave for the hotel tomorrow as he hoped they would see what was at stake. Ramsay urged the chefs to keep their eyes open on their trip because once they returned to Hell's Kitchen, they would be in the final push of the competition. As the final five went up to pack their bags, Danny admitted to not knowing what Atlantic City looked like as the only big hype of his hometown was Daytona.
The following morning, the final five left Hell's Kitchen and drove down to the airport, where a private jet was waiting for them. Later that night, they arrived in Atlantic City, and the jet turned to show them the hotel. They made their way to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, where they met Michael Facenda, the Director of Marketing. The following day, the chefs were given a tour of the hotel by Facenda. After hearing the number of tourists that come into the Borgata, Danny called it astounding. After looking at some of the restaurants in the hotel, he was happy to hear that food was not an afterthought for the hotel. Then, Facenda reminded them of the grand prize one of them would win, even showing the construction site of what their restaurant would be. That sparked inspiration in all of them, and some began to envision their restaurants on the spot. For the rest of the day, the chefs relaxed at the hotel.
Later that evening, the chefs went to the SeaBlue restaurant for dinner. They met VP Food and Beverage Nicholas Kurban and Executive Chef Ron Ross and spoke with them. A few minutes into dinner, Robert excused himself from the table and left, which Andrea noticed. The other chefs did not know that Robert was not feeling well and was having chest pain. Later that night, Robert called Ben and informed him he was at the hospital, saying he had chest pains and the medic was not sure if it was a heart attack. Robert said he would be staying at the hospital overnight, and Ben relayed the news to the other chefs. At 11:35 pm, the remaining four chefs returned to Hell's Kitchen but were still concerned about Robert's status. He and Ben feared the worst, but he wanted Robert to come back and fight.
A few days later, Robert came back but announced he was leaving the competition due to his heart condition. Robert said goodbye to the other chefs, hugging each of them as they gave him a standing ovation.
During the Borgata Signature Dish Challenge, Danny said that in every challenge he performed in, he nearly won and wanted to push over that hump that day. He was the first chef to have his dish judged by Ramsay and he made pan-seared scallops with citrus basil champagne sauce and ginger. While the dish did not look creative, it was praised for its flavor and perfectly cooked scallops. He lost the challenge to Andrea and he was mad about how the former won as she was the next to go. He and Ben vented how Andrea won despite the fact her dish was not cooked.
During dinner service, Danny was at the appetizer station. He sent out his appetizer successfully and said he was fighting to the bitter end, warning everyone he was coming. When Ben's station was in disarray, he knew the former was better than that. When Andrea struggled on fish, he said that fish was the easiest station and felt the former could not lead. After Andrea broke a John Dory, Ramsay to order him to help her out. He was irritated for helping Andrea out since she was immune and felt she got lucky due to her advantage. Although the black jackets finished service, he knew that service was rough.
After service, Ramsay asked the final four to name two people for elimination. During deliberation, Danny agreed with Ben that if Andrea was not immune, she would be up for elimination due to her poor performance. Also, he was unwilling to put himself for nomination.
Danny was not nominated for elimination. While being dismissed, he felt he had it.[11]
Episode 12[]
- Main article: Episode 512 - 4 Chefs Compete
Back in the dorms, both Danny and Ben agreed that Andrea should have gone home that night and that she was running out of chances.
During the Taste It Now Make It Challenge, Danny used red snapper, sea scallops, fish stock, and white wine, in an attempt to recreate Ramsay's Italian Fish Stew. He won the challenge as he was the closest to Ramsay's original dish, with the exception of the alcohol. He was rewarded with a biplane ride with Ramsay. On their way to the airfield, Ramsay noted that he matured a lot since the beginning of the competition, and had gotten stronger in the last 3–4 weeks. Danny said it was because he was determined to do well in the culinary industry.
During dinner service, Danny was on the garnish station. He was unresponsive to Ramsay's orders and, while it did slow the kitchen's momentum down, he was able to get a good order of carrot purée up to the pass. He was later seen trying to make new Wellingtons from scratch, along with Paula, after Andrea miscounted them during prep. After service, the team was asked to nominate one person who should be going home.
He was not nominated for elimination.[12]
Episode 13[]
- Main article: Episode 513 - 3 Chefs Compete
Immediately after elimination, Danny was surprised to see his father and girlfriend come to visit him, but it sparked his motivation back.
During the 100 Portions Challenge, Danny made a lightly blackened halibut with mango-peach salsa and basmati rice. After it was revealed his dish was the worst, with 76% of the professional chefs hating it, he lost the challenge to Paula. His punishment was to clean the dining room up and reset it for the following night's dinner service while having to participate in Laundry Day with Andrea. During the punishment, he was still disappointed about his loss as he was a strong front-runner until then, but he knew he had to pick himself back from that loss.
During dinner service, Danny was on the meat station. He was the second person to run the pass. He got off to a rough start when he nearly froze on the first ticket and did not notice a missing time mark that Jean-Philippe did not put in until Ramsay told him about it. He also struggled on plating, which slowed momentum down, but he did manage to reject Andrea's overcooked scallops. However, he failed to notice that Sous Chef Gloria sent up raw potatoes until Ramsay pointed it out. Despite these problems, Danny managed to pick it up near the end and got more vocal, leading to more food being sent out to the dining room. After service, Ramsay asked each chef to choose who they thought did not deserve to be in the finals.
Danny and Andrea voted for each other. Instead of being nominated for elimination, he was nominated to not proceed to the finals but he survived and joined Paula in the finals.[13]
Episode 14/15[]
- Main article: Episode 514 - 2 Chefs Compete
- Main article: Episode 515 - Winner Announced
After elimination, Danny and Paula were introduced to their final task, which was creating their own restaurant. He would be cooking out of the blue kitchen. Back in the dorms, he and Paula celebrated with champagne, and he admitted he was surprised to get this far despite being the youngest competitor that season. The next morning, he woke up hungover and did not have a clear idea of what he would be doing.
During the restaurant construction, Danny met Hell's Kitchen architect Jon Janavs to discuss his restaurant ideas. His initial idea of having a wooden fish on the wall was rejected as Janavs did not want it looking like Bob's Bait Shop. After, he thought about using either "Velvet Hammer", his old college nickname, or "Susan Marie", his late mother's name, as his restaurant name. Later, he discussed his menu ideas with Sous Chef Scott, which was shown to have a few ambitious items. Before leaving for Atlantic City, he reunited with his father and girlfriend and told them his ideas for the restaurant. On the plane trip, Ramsay reminded him of his Mahi Gone grilled bananas at the Signature Dish Challenge and his rivalry against Paula. At the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, he got in contact with his loved ones and was happy by the progress, especially when he found out some of the compromises they had to make with Janavs.
During the Final Menu Challenge, Danny made his Caribbean jerked lobster tail with chili lime tomatillo salsa as his first sample dish, a baby arugula salad with crispy skin duck breast and ginger vinaigrette as his second, and a pan-seared filet of beef with twice baked potato and tempura fried spring onion as his third. While he lost the first round to Paula, he won the next two, therefore winning the challenge 2-1.
The next day, Danny was reunited with his former teammates and as part of his reward from the challenge, he was awarded the first pick for his team. He chose Ben as his first pick, Giovanni as his second, and Carol as his third.[14]
Back in the dorms, Danny gave his team a pep talk, while reminding them that he was in charge that night. For his sample dishes, he presented his arugula salad with crispy duck breast appetizer, his eight-ounce pan-seared filet with baked potato entrée, and his cinnamon poached pear with mascarpone mousse dessert. Ramsay warned him about the cooking of the duck as it needed a little bit more pink on the meat, suggested that the tempura spring onion should be cut in half as the whole tempura looked phallic, and noted that his poached pear was undercooked. Later, he showed Ramsay his "Velvet Hammer" restaurant, though Ramsay was a little concerned as it was looking a little intimidating.
During dinner service, Danny called out his first ticket strongly, which caused his team to communicate with each other. Later, he gave Carol a sizzling pan so the lobster would not be boiled, and continually asked her for the lobster. He was able to get his entrées out at a great pace but slowed down after Giovanni sent up a salty sauce of the monkfish, and when he asked Giovanni for a time on the refire, the latter did not respond. Despite that, he continued to push out entrées to the dining room and managed to finish before Paula. While clearing down, he was visited by his father and girlfriend who congratulated him on a job well done.
Later that evening, Danny, along with Paula, went to Ramsay's office, where he was praised for his growth in the competition. After that, he stood in front of a door, knowing it would open only if he was the winner. After waiting nervously for Ramsay's countdown to end, he turned the handle and his door opened, making him the winner of Hell's Kitchen. He won his own restaurant at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, in Atlantic City, with a salary of $250,000. He teared up as his deceased mother could not see him win, but knew she was looking down on him from heaven, extremely proud. Later on, he was introduced to the previous winners of Hell's Kitchen Michael (Season 1), Heather (Season 2), Rock (Season 3), and Christina (Season 4). He also hung his portrait on the newly revealed Hell's Kitchen "Wall of Fame".
Ramsay's comment: "Danny won Hell's Kitchen because in a very short period of time, he grew more than any other chef I've ever seen. He now has the talent, the maturity, to become a great head chef. Borgata Resort should consider themselves lucky. I know I would." [14]
Nomination History[]
Week 1 | Safe |
---|---|
Week 2 | Win |
Week 3 | Safe |
Week 4 | Safe |
Week 5 | Safe |
Week 6 | Win |
Week 7 | Safe |
Week 8 | Win |
Week 9 | BoW |
Week 10 | Safe |
Week 11 | Safe |
Week 12 | Safe |
Week 13 | Safe |
Finale | Winner |
Season 6[]
Episode 15[]
- Main article: Episode 615 - Winner Announced
Aside from fellow winner Heather who was a sous chef that season, Danny came back for the finale, along with Michael (Season 1 winner), Rock (Season 3 winner), and Christina (Season 4 winner). He was seen when Ramsay introduced the recently crowned winner Dave to them, and he saw the unveiling of the Hell's Kitchen "Wall of Fame".[15]
Season 8[]
Episode 8[]
- Main article: Episode 808 - 9 Chefs Compete Part 2
Danny came back for the 100th dinner service of Hell's Kitchen. He ate at the red team's chefs table, along with Season 7 winner Holli.[16]
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After his appearance on the show, Danny took the position as a Sous Chef instead of Head Chef at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but left after a couple of months.
- He started his own catering company called Back From Hell Catering, a reference to his time on the show, before moving to Gnarly Surf Bar & Grill, which he helped open with other investors.
- He was arrested in 2012 for drunk driving.[17]
- In 2017, Danny was named Executive Chef at Sinatra's Ristorante in Lake Helen, Florida.[18]
- He now has one daughter.
Trivia[]
- He is the third winner not to be nominated in the traditional sense following dinner service, following Michael (Season 1) and Heather (Season 2), but he was the only one nominated on why he should not be in the finale. However, since the nomination doesn't count, he remained safe from being nominated for elimination throughout the entire season.
- At age 23, he is the first youngest winner in the history of Hell's Kitchen, which later was tied with Trenton (Season 20).
- He has the most instances announcing the nominees in Season 5, with three, being called to announce them once, being involved in a vote once, and being "Best of the Worst" once. He is the third winner with this title and the first to have all types of nominee announcements.
- He and Paula are the second pair of finalists to come from the same state (Florida), following Heather and Virginia (Season 2).
- He is the second male contestant to win in a different-gender finale, following Rock (Season 3).
- He is the first winner who hung his portrait on the Hell's Kitchen "Wall of Fame", which was introduced that season, themselves.
- He won the most challenges in his season with six.
Quotes[]
- "I got a big mouth. I'm surprised Ramsay didn't fucking pull me out of the line, and fucking axe me."
- (About the inspiration for his signature dish) "I just pulled it out of my ass, sir."
- "I'm not a hero, I never said I was."
- "I am obviously the best cook on the team."
- "A lot of chefs get up here and say, 'this is all they know how to do'. Well you know what, fuck that Chef, this is all I wanna do."
- "I have a big mouth and I'm surprised Chef Ramsay didn't throw me off the line."
- "Ben is all about these fancy terms or whatever, but I guess it's not even a pomme fondant."
- "Dinner service didn't go well at all.....But at least we got all the food out."
- (After being named winner) "Unbelievable. This is the best I've ever felt, man. This is incredible. I can't believe it. I did it, man. I won. I'm going to be at Borgata in my own restaurant with a quarter million dollars. Like, holy shit."
- (Describing experience of winning) "The door swung open and it's just the most amazing experience I've ever been through. I love my mom so much and it's just so sad that she had to go before her time. But I know that she's looking down, crying with me, saying, you know, that's my boy, man! I knew he was gonna make something of himself. And here I am dude, the winner!"
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Danny Veltri on Instagram
References[]
Hell's Kitchen Season 5 |
---|
Staff |
Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • Scott Leibfried (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Gloria Felix (Red Team Sous Chef) • Jean-Philippe Susilovic (Maître d'hôtel) |
Contestants |
Coi Burruss • Ji-Hyun Cha • Colleen Cleek • Lacey D'Angelo • Paula DaSilva • Giovanni Filippone • Andrea Heinly • Robert Hesse • Wil Kocol • Seth Levine • LA Limtiaco • J Maxwell • Charlie McKay • Carol Scott • Danny Veltri • Ben Walanka |