| “ | I’m coming chef, I’m fighting back! | ” |
Edward "Ed" Battaglia was a contestant on Season 7 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 6th place.
Season 7[]
Episode 1[]
- Main article: Episode 701 - 16 Chefs Compete
When the chefs entered Hell's Kitchen, Ed did not want to sound cocky but declared that it would be a piece of cake. During the Signature Dish Challenge, he was the seventh person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Autumn. His dish was unknown, but the fish was deemed too salty by Ramsay, and he lost the round to Autumn.
The blue team won the challenge 4-3, and they were eventually rewarded with a breakfast in bed prepared by the red team the next morning. Back in the dorms, the men felt more pressure while studying the menu for the opening night.
During dinner service, Ed was on the meat station with Andrew. After three of his teammates were kicked out, the blue team merged with the red team to serve all the remaining customers. When Ramsay declared he would not shut the place down, he decided to take vocal leadership of the team, while Ramsay urged him to bring it together. He was determined to take control of the team, gave clear instructions to Siobhan and Nilka, and declared that he would get done all it may take. Because of his strong leadership, entrées were served at a good pace, with Ramsay telling him that his Wellingtons were perfectly cooked. The team rallied to serve their last tickets while he continued to vocally rally everybody, and finally, the last ticket was served, with him declaring that it was awesome. The blue team won the service.[1]
Episode 2[]
- Main article: Episode 702 - 15 Chefs Compete
Back in the dorms, while talking with his team about their problems during the opening night, Ed acknowledged that Ramsay expected perfection. The next morning, at 5 am, the chefs were awakened by an alarm clock amplified all over the dorms by Sous Chefs Scott and Andi. During the Egg Relay Challenge, he was paired with Jay, and they were the second pair to compete for the blue team. They succeeded to score three points, the blue team won the challenge 11-10, and they were rewarded with a helicopter tour of Los Angeles, and lunch with Ramsay on top of a building.
During dinner service, Ed was on the appetizer station with Mikey. He was not seen much, except at one point when he noticed that Andrew was talking to himself and compared him like a maniac while wondering what that was.
Both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate one person each. During deliberation, Ed was torn between Salvatore and Jason, and stated that it was hard to decide.
He was not nominated for elimination.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 703 - 13 Chefs Compete
The next morning, the chefs went to the dining room, where Ramsay introduced the Marching Band Lunch Service Challenge while revealing they would be serving the marching band of the University of Southern California. During the challenge, Ed was on the fries station. He was not seen much, but near the end, while rallying, he asked what was the next order, and after the women sent their last ticket before the men, he was ready to take the responsibility for the loss as he was not fast enough with the fries.
The blue team lost the challenge, and they were punished by cleaning a section of the Los Angeles River to help the Heal the Bay organization while wearing yellow jumpsuits. During the punishment, after getting a shopping cart out of the river, Ed acknowledged there was a lot of weird things coming out of it.
During dinner service, Ed was at the dessert station. He was not seen much, except at one point when he tried to help Scott on appetizers before being rejected by him while stating that he was fine if he did not want any help. The blue team won the service.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 704 - 12 Chefs Compete Part 1
The next morning, the chefs went downstairs, where Ramsay introduced the Craps Challenge. Ed was the third person to roll the die for the blue team, landed on S, and chose salsify. During the cooking, he was not seen at all, the blue team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with an indoor skydiving activity.
During dinner service, Ed was on the garnish station. He was not seen much, except at one point when he served mashed potatoes that were too hard. He was schooled by Ramsay for not cooking them properly, Jay was dismayed, he was disappointed in himself, apologized to Ramsay, but despite that, customers were enjoying their meals. Both teams were named joint-winners, and for the blue team, Salvatore was named "Best of the Best". On the patio, he admitted that Ramsay was upset with him as he made some stupid moves, but did not think that tables were sitting and waiting on the pass because of him.
Ed was not nominated for elimination, and said goodbye to Scott, who was transferred to the red team, while welcoming Autumn as a new teammate.[4]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 705 - 12 Chefs Compete Part 2
The next morning, the chefs were woken up by Sous Chefs Scott and Andi, who gave them butchering outfits to wear for the Pork Creation Challenge. During the first part, Ed was the fifth person from the blue team to grab his pig, and during the second, he was paired with Benjamin. They were the first pair from the blue team to have their dish judged, he did not present the dish, which was a pan-roasted pork loin with thyme and baby bok choy, but they won the round over Nilka and Fran.
The blue team won the challenge 2-1, and they were rewarded with a spa day at the Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa, in Corona, while wearing brown bathrobes. During the reward, Ed went to the grotto with Jay, Salvatore, and Benjamin, they were all painted in a substance crusted with seaweed by four women, sat down, rubbed themselves, and took a shower together. Later, when Autumn joined them in the mud bath, he was convinced that she would be a nice addition to the team as she would bond just fine.
During the Barbecue themed dinner service, Ed was a waiter during the first seating, and on the dessert station during the second. He was not seen at all, and the blue team won the service.[5]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 706 - 11 Chefs Compete
The next morning, everybody went to the dining room, where Ramsay introduced the Mother Sauce Challenge, and Ed worked with the velouté sauce while being paired with Autumn. During the cooking, he was happy to work with her as she was not trying to interfere or jump in everybody's job like Scott did. He was the third person from the blue team to have his dish judged, went up against Holli, and he served his and Autumn's pan-roasted sea bass with mushroom velouté and oysters, which won the round over Holli.
The blue team won the challenge after a tiebreaker at 2, and they were rewarded with a day at the British pub Ye Olde King's Head, in Santa Monica, being taken there in a double-decker bus, and a gift of brand new cookware. During the reward, they played a little game of darts, but Ed's dart did not stick to the board, fell to the ground, and he wondered if they were the worst dart throwers in the United States.
During the Family Night dinner service, Ed was on the fish station. He was not seen at all, the blue team won the service by a mile, and at elimination, he and his teammates said goodbye to Benjamin, who was transferred to the red team.[6]
Episode 7[]
- Main article: Episode 707 - 10 Chefs Compete
The next morning, the chefs went to the dining room, where Ramsay introduced the 50th Wedding Anniversary Planning Challenge, where they would update three dishes served at Sal and Marcy's wedding reception 50 years ago. During the challenge, Ed was paired with Jason on the steak Diane dish, they were the first pair from the blue team to have their dish judged, and went up against Nilka and Siobhan. He presented their pan-seared filet with mushrooms, crab cakes, and lobster, which was deemed very good by the couple, and they won the round over Nilka and Siobhan.
The blue team lost the challenge 1-2, and they were punished by decorating the dining room for the next service and building a three-story cake. During the punishment, Ed took control of the building of the dance floor as he knew how they had to build it, and later, he suggested Jay to help him with the cake, which the latter accepted. Sous Chef Scott explained to them that they would be serving a replica of the cake the couple had at their wedding reception, but he struggled to cut the first layer in half, asked Jay to do it for him, and declared that he did not want the cake to look like the leaning tower of Pisa. After that, he was tasked by Jean-Philippe to arrange some tiny gift boxes, but when he learned that he had to make one hundred of them, he was dismayed and wondered if Jean-Philippe was serious. Fortunately, he received help from his teammates but still wanted to make sure they were all perfect.
The next day, during prep, Ed was concerned when Jay sustained an injury because he did not want to lose anybody as it was a very important service, and when Jay came back in the kitchen, he told that the latter was a warrior and would come back whatever would happen. During the 50th Wedding Anniversary dinner service, he served steaks Diane tableside. At one point, the cake started to bend over, so he was dedicated to go and check on it, along with Jay, and he told that they just had to push the tilting part through the steady part. Later, he was dedicated to working on his steaks Diane in the dining room and started working on it while talking with some customers. After both teams went into the dining room to give a standing ovation to Sal and Marcy, the blue team won the service.[7]
Episode 8[]
- Main article: Episode 708 - 9 Chefs Compete
The next morning, the chefs went on a field trip to the Philippe's restaurant, in Los Angeles, where they tasted the classic French dipped sandwich with Ramsay. After the tasting, Ramsay introduced the Gourmet Sandwich Challenge. During the challenge, Ed was excited, but was nervous because of the ingredient list, saying that it would be difficult to make a sandwich tasting as good as the French dipped, and knew that Jay was his biggest competition as both of them were ready to work hard. He was the first person from the blue team to have his sandwich judged, went up against Benjamin, served an Ahi tuna sandwich with grilled sesame bread, wasabi mayonnaise, fresh mint, and chives, which was deemed delicious by Ramsay, and tied that round with Benjamin.
The blue team won the challenge after a tiebreaker at 3, and they were rewarded with a day at the California Central Wine Country for a wine tasting, and being taken there in a private jet. Ed was excited because he accomplished his two goals, which were to go on the private jet and to be told he was perfect by Ramsay. When they came back from their reward, he was so drunk that he was dancing, and later, he struggled to get inside the hot tub. He was joined by Holli, who encouraged him to drink even more, and he drank three more beers. Eventually, Siobhan joined them, he started to dance, making the two women laugh, and after Jay and Benjamin joined them on the patio, Holli ripped a part of his bathing suit. Because of that, he was challenged by everybody to get naked, which he did, and he declared that the shit was wild.
The next morning, Ed was still hungover, stated that he felt like hell, wondered what was he thinking the previous night, and declared that he was still tired. Because of that, he worked very slowly during prep. During dinner service, he was on the meat station. Near the end, he was urged by Ramsay to pick it up as Autumn was still slow, and because he was not sending his food to the pass despite being ready. He was upset because of Autumn's lack of communication, but when Jason brought his salmon to the pass, he was still slicing his duck, which Ramsay was furious about as the food was not coming together. The duck was still raw, Ramsay was angry as it was not good enough, gave him the entire order, and kicked the blue team out of the kitchen because of that. Back in the dorms, he apologized to his teammates as he knew it was his fault that they got kicked out.
When both teams were lined up, Ed admitted that he was not listening, and Ramsay asked him if he drank too much white wine supposed to go in the risotto, which he answered not. Both teams were named joint-losers and were asked to nominate two people each. During deliberation, he was considered by Jay, and he acknowledged that he had a bad service, but reminded that at this stage, a bad service could mean everything.
Ed was the blue team's second nominee for elimination, with Autumn being the first, and they joined Siobhan and Fran from the red team. During his plea, he was asked why he could not cook a duck breast, and he acknowledged that he should have waited a little bit more and that he was rushing, but Ramsay reminded that only the feathers and the beak were missing because the duck was so raw. He survived elimination, and while being dismissed, he was nervous as the competition turned up a notch, but was ready to be more careful in his cooking.[8]
Episode 9[]
- Main article: Episode 709 - 8 Chefs Compete
The next morning, the chefs went to the kitchen where they tasted chicken gorgonzola prepared by Ramsay, but it was revealed that the dish was actually frozen, and Ramsay introduced the Blind Taste Test, which excited everybody. During the challenge, Ed was the second person from the blue team to compete and went up against Holli. He failed to score any points, and he acknowledged that it was harder than it looked with the blindfold and headsets on. The blue team won the challenge 4-3, and they were rewarded with a day at SeaWorld as VIP guests.
When the blue team came back from their reward, they opened their box from the special delivery, and they had to create their own menu that would go against the red team's. During the menu creation, Ed agreed with Jay to keep the menu simple, and was happy because of the great teamwork between the four of them, who were working well together. However, Ramsay was not satisfied with the menu, and they agreed to improve it a few minutes before the beginning of the service.
During dinner service, Ed was on the appetizer station. He was not seen much, except on the first order, when he sliced his duck too early, much to Ramsay's dismay. The latter told him to not slice the duck-like if it was a fast-food chain, he admitted that he had a bad performance in the previous service and wanted to be on top of his game, but that he rushed it. At another point, he was dedicated to the meat station by Jay because of Autumn's bad performance. Both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate one person each.
Ed was not nominated for elimination, and he and his teammates said goodbye to Autumn, who was transferred back to the red team.[9]
Episode 10[]
- Main article: Episode 710 - 7 Chefs Compete
During the 10-Pound Lobster Challenge, Ed wanted the tail and the claws, but when he started to grill his tail, which was already poached, Jason thought it was indeed a little bit rubbery. Also, when Jay expressed confidence in his dish, he believed that the latter thought he knew more than everybody but did not want to be bothered by that as he knew that most people who were talking like that were failing. He was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged, went up against Holli, and presented his poached and grilled lobster tail with ginger purée to David LeFevre. It was deemed too chewy and rubbery despite being well-seasoned, and he lost the round to Holli.
The blue team lost the challenge after a tiebreaker at 1, and they were punished by cleaning the dorms while wearing housewife outfits, and prepping both kitchens for the next service. On the patio, Ed was annoyed because Jay thought he knew too much, and that it might not be a good thing. During the punishment, he stated that the outfits were the reason why nobody wanted to lose challenges and told that cleaning the toilets was pretty nasty. Later, when he learned that they had to complete prepping the red kitchen before starting the blue one, he was scared as there were only three of them. When the red team came back from their reward, they were still prepping the red kitchen, he and Jason started to prep the blue one, and was worried because they did not have enough time to prep everything before the service would begin while calling it nuts.
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay announced that they would cook in the red kitchen together with a two and a half hours time limit, much to the blue team's relief. During dinner service, Ed was on the garnish station. When Ramsay asked him for the asparagus, he told it was coming, but a minor fire erupted in one of his pans, which made Ramsay telling him to look inside them. He started to panic, Ramsay told him that his pans were cracking because the asparagus was burned, he was pulled aside by Ramsay, who told him to have finesse, and he told that he would rather being yelled at for burning pans than for not sending food out. Another fire erupted on his station, he was still panicking, but later, he succeeded to bounce back, and entrées were being served at a good pace. Later, he knew that Nilka was struggling, but despite him wanting to help her, she had to step up and bounce back herself. When the latter came back in the kitchen after being eliminated, he reminded that she had to get the hell out of there after being told to, and after, he acknowledged that everything was perfect without Nilka in the kitchen.
When both teams were lined up, Ed was reminded that despite his shaky start, he bounced back, which Ramsay deemed the most important part. Both teams were named joint-winners, and they were asked to nominate two people together. During deliberation, he was considered by Jason and Autumn, but disagreed as he got in the weeds for being alone on garnish, and thought that he should stay for fighting back and that some people might be intimated by him.
Ed was the first nominee for elimination, with Autumn being the second. During his plea, he told that he would not give up and keep fighting back, but Ramsay reminded him that he was standing in front of two pans which were close to having holes in them without realizing it. After deliberation, he was asked to take off his jacket by Ramsay, but he survived elimination as he received the first black jacket, and Ramsay jokingly told him "Gotcha!".[10]
Episode 11[]
- Main article: Episode 711 - 6 Chefs Compete
While going back to the dorms, Ed and Benjamin hugged each other, and he acknowledged that his last performance was not the best and that he had to reach for the gold. In the dorms, the chefs celebrated with champagne.
During the Presentation Challenge, Ed revealed that he would make a striped bass, that he liked to create and get outside of the box, and hoped that his style would be good enough to get him to London. After some photos of his dish were taken, the culinary students that were invited ranked it in second place, so he competed in the second part of the challenge, along with Benjamin. When Tanya Steele was invited as a guest judge, he presented his pan-seared striped bass with celery purée, mango and avocado salsa, and cilantro oil, and he was not nervous at all as Steele showed non-verbal signs of excitement over his dish. It was praised for being cooked beautifully, but he eventually lost the challenge to Benjamin.
Ed was punished by cleaning the dining room under Jean-Philippe's supervision. During the punishment, everybody was making jokes about sex, so at one point, he asked Jean-Philippe if he should keep the utensils sideways or straight, which Jean-Philippe answered straight, before understanding the innuendo.
When the chefs were lined up before service, Ed knew that the competition was very stiff and that Ramsay would be looking at every single detail. During dinner service, he was on the fish station. When he fired his John Dory and his scallops on the first ticket, he declared that he was psyched about working on fish, while knowing that he had to keep his cool and calm. However, when he sent his scallops and John Dory to the pass, they were both raw, Ramsay ordered him to get them back in the pan, and he acknowledged that it added more pressure. Then, Ramsay urged him to stop panicking and show some composure, but he was panicking because he was determined to not mess up. Moments later, Holli asked him for a time on scallops, which he answered that he was ready, and they were accepted. Later, Autumn was ready to help him on the halibut, and after, he sent a raw John Dory to the pass. Ramsay asked him what was wrong with him cooking John Dory, which he did not give any excuse, and he acknowledged that it was hard to keep up with the appetizers and entrées being fired at the same time. When he sent his halibut to the pass, it was raw as well, and Ramsay was dismayed that he had to tell him at that stage of the game, which he agreed with. He got pushed by Ramsay, sent his halibut, was told by Autumn that he got fourteen more on order, and his halibut was returned for being raw one more time, much to Ramsay's dismay. So, he was berated by Ramsay for trying to serve raw fish, and because of his mistake, Ramsay was forced to serve an incomplete order.
Two hours into service, Ed was seen panicking a lot because of the large number of halibut orders, and after, he struggled to keep up with the halibut as he wondered why they were not cooking, which Ramsay answered that it was because they were not in the pan. When he attempted to put a piece back in the pan, he busted it, and Ramsay angrily told him that he was killing him, with him being disappointed in himself. Because he had thirty-eight orders of halibut still to go, he acknowledged that it was hard to keep up with as it was a thick fish, and received help from Benjamin, who told him he had to sear his halibut. Then, he was berated by Ramsay because the pregnant woman still had not received her fish while the two men finished their duck, and Ramsay told him that she was about to give birth. But, when he sent his halibut to the pass, it was still raw, Ramsay ordered everybody to pass it amongst them, and then, he asked for five halibuts to fire, with Holli helping him. When Ramsay asked him where was his fight back, he answered that he was fighting back at the moment, told that even though he tried to stay focused, he was behind, but added that when he was behind, he was trying to battle back. When he sent his halibut to the pass, it was finally accepted, but when he sent his scallops to the pass, they were overcooked, and because of that, he was kicked out of the kitchen, along with Benjamin. Back in the dorms, he called it pathetic, was disappointed in himself as he knew he could have done 100% better and was sure he would be nominated.
When the chefs were lined up, Ed was told that he should know how to cook halibut at that point, and they were asked to nominate two people based on overall performance. During deliberation, he was considered by Jay for getting frazzled easily despite being a strong cook, but he declared that he would fight back despite all of his bad services.
Ed was the second nominee for elimination, with Autumn being the first. During his plea, he thought that he was a better chef than her because he could multitask better, and had better communication and knowledge, which did not convince Ramsay. In the end, he was eliminated for his downward spiral and received a retrospective montage during his exit interview.
Ramsay's comment: "Ed was one of the favorites because of his strong start. Unfortunately, in cooking, it's not how you start, it's how you finish." [11]
Nomination History[]
| Week 1 | Win |
|---|---|
| Week 2 | Safe |
| Week 3 | Win |
| Week 4 | Win |
| Week 5 | Win |
| Week 6 | Win |
| Week 7 | Win |
| Week 8 | Nominated |
| Week 9 | Safe |
| Week 10 | Nominated |
| Week 11 | Nominated |
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After his appearance on the show, Ed returned to his previous career as a culinary teacher before becoming an Executive Chef at Ralic's Steakhouse but would later leave the restaurant to teach again full-time.
- In 2014, he got married and had two sons. He no longer cooks professionally and teaches high-school culinary arts.
Trivia[]
- He is part of a five-way tie for the most consecutive dinner service wins, with five, and is tied with Jen (Season 4), Jason, Jay, and Salvatore (all from Season 7).
- He, Jason, and Jay are the first three contestants to have survived the entire team phase without losing a single service to the opposing team, as the only instances where they lost a dinner service were joint losses.
- He did not come back for the last dinner service of the season as supposed to, so Siobhan took his place, making him the third black jacket contestant who did, following Robert (Season 5), and Tennille (Season 6).
Quotes[]
- "Ah, if you don't want help, that's... hey, that's fine with me!"
- "Fist pump, come and get you, how do you like me now?"
- (While being naked in the hot tub) "Relax! It's a penis."
- "Man, that shit was wild!"
- (After being eliminated) "It's disappointing, but I don't have any regrets. I had a great time here. The hardest part about being here is standing up for yourself, building self-confidence. Sometimes actions speak better than words. Apparently my actions tonight weren't too good. I guess it's kinda easy when you got fifteen others, but when you got only five others and you mess up, you really stand out."
Gallery[]
.png "Ed's Confessional (Blue Jacket).png (285 KB)")
.png "Autumn and Ed Nominated (Episode 10).png (345 KB)")
.png "Ed's Confessional (Black Jacket).png (271 KB)")
.png "Ed and Autumn Nominated (Episode 11).png (335 KB)")
_and_Ed%27s_Pork_Creation_Dish.png "Benjamin (S7) and Ed's Pork Creation Dish.png (244 KB)")
.png "Ed and Autumn's Mother Sauce Dish (Velouté).png (323 KB)")
References[]
| Hell's Kitchen Season 7 |
|---|
| Staff |
| Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • Scott Leibfried (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Andi Van Willigan-Cutspec (Red Team Sous Chef) • Jean-Philippe Susilovic (Maître d'hôtel) |
| Contestants |
| Siobhan Allgood • Ed Battaglia • Jamie Bisoulis • Salvatore Coppola • Jason Ellis • Andrew Forster • Scott Hawley • Nilka Hendricks • Fran Klier • Benjamin Knack • Autumn Lewis • Jay Santos • Stacey Slichta • Mikey Termini • Maria Torrisi • Holli Ugalde |