| “ | I'm gonna kick some ass if it's the last fucking thing I do! | ” |
Elsie Ramos was a contestant on Season 1 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 4th place.
Season 1[]
Episode 1[]
- Main article: Episode 101 - Day 1
The twelve contestants arrived in Hell's Kitchen and celebrated with a champagne glass and getting to know each other. After some time, Maître D' Jean-Philippe and Sous Chefs Scott and Mary-Ann greeted them, revealing that their first test began now.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, Elsie was excited to compete but was also scared as she never worked around chefs before and asked what the hell she was doing. After seeing the harsh critiques, she started to panic and sweat as she felt her dish was up next, which it was. She was the sixth person to have her dish judged by Ramsay and served turkey tacos. Before Ramsay tasted her dish, he asked her who she would usually make her turkey tacos for. She said her children, leading him to ask if they were still alive. Despite a disastrous presentation, they were deemed not bad, making her thrilled that Ramsay did not spit it out. After the challenge, she was placed on the red team, along with Chris, Carolann, Dewberry, Jimmy, and Jeff. When they saw the dorms, she admitted that she did not think they lived close to the kitchen.
During prep, Elsie said she wanted to win a restaurant more than the men. During dinner service, she was at the appetizer station. She wanted to make Ramsay proud, but her risotto was overcooked entirely like it was glued to the plate. When Ramsay waved it around, none of it moved. So, he trashed it, and she had to start over while being terrified. Later, she sent a second risotto hoping to redeem herself, which she successfully did, and felt that Ramsay noticed her determination. Then, she noticed that Carolann was doing nothing but staring at her team and waiting. After many tables walked out of the restaurant early, Ramsay shut down both kitchens.
The red team lost the dinner service, but Ramsay named Elsie the "Best of the Worst" after bouncing back from her initial poor risotto. She was asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she did not like being in that position, and Jimmy did not feel like talking to her as he knew he had no chance of staying after his poor performance. Carolann told her that she kicked ass that night, but she left to lie down for a bit and brought Dewberry with her. While Dewberry feared he would be sent home that night, she promised him that he would not be going anywhere. After, she began to decide who she would nominate.
Elsie named Carolann as her first nominee, and Dewberry as her second, despite convincing the latter he was not going anywhere. While being dismissed, she said she had never been through something stressful like that night before but knew she was there to win.[1]
Episode 2[]
- Main article: Episode 102 - Day 2
After elimination, Elsie went to the bathroom but ran into Dewberry, who had just survived elimination. After looking at each other in the eyes through the mirror, she was given a big hug by him, and he understood that it was hard for her.
After a brutal wake-up call the next morning, all the contestants were told to get down to the dining room, where Ramsay explained the next challenge, which was the Squid Cleaning Challenge. Elsie cleaned one squid acceptable to Ramsay's standards. Because the red team won the challenge 6-5, they were rewarded with a dinner with, and prepared, by Ramsay.
During dinner service, Elsie was at the fish station. She showed great teamwork with Chris when he told her how to cook a piece of salmon on the grill properly. During Dewberry's meltdown, she looked at him, stunned, and she was the cause of him returning to his station, like if she saved him from walking out. After some pizza was delivered to one of her team's tables and a physical assault on Jean-Philippe, Ramsay shut both kitchens down, declared the red team losers, and named Chris "Best of the Worst".
She was not nominated for elimination.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 103 - Day 3
After elimination, Elsie was already missing Dewberry because he made her laugh every day. Moments later, when Jeff showed her his kidney stone, she thought it was a joke as it was very small.
Before the Five Course Meal Challenge, Elsie and her team welcomed Michael as a new teammate. Jeff annoyed his teammates at the grocery store, especially her, as he was shopping by himself instead of being a team member and felt her hair standing up. She was the first person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay, cooked the cold appetizer, and went up against Jessica. She served a salad, it was deemed not bad by Ramsay, and she scored that round over Jessica. The red team won the challenge after a tiebreaker at 3, and they were rewarded with a night out with Ramsay at the bar, with drinks and a darts game.
Jeff left a hot sheet on the counter during prep, and Elsie picked it up, burning her hand in the process. That angered Chris, who told Jeff to put a towel over it, and she said not to leave something hot out that they did not know. During a short break, she went to go get Jeff to join them, and when the latter and Chris got in a heated argument about his behavior, she was dismayed as they could not afford to fall apart.
During dinner service, Elsie was at the dessert station. After Jeff's departure, she stated that she would have voted him for the second time had the red team lost once again. She and the red team rallied to complete the orders, but it was not enough, as Ramsay shut down both kitchens after tables started to walk out. The red team was declared winners after the critics enjoyed their lamb more than the blue team's.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 104 - Day 4
Following Jeff's departure, Elsie and the red team celebrated back to the dorms. She believed they won because Jeff walked out while they held it together before believing Jeff was more of a problem than actual help and the red team was relieved with him gone.
Before the Perfect Table Challenge, Jean-Philippe gave the chefs a long explanation of setting the table properly, but Elsie felt that all the information was leaving as it was going. After Ramsay destroyed the table in front of them, she realized that he destroyed their only cheat sheet. During the challenge, she struggled to set the table up due to the complexity. The red team lost the challenge as they made four mistakes, compared to the blue team's one. So, they lost the challenge and were punished by polishing all the glassware and silverware for the following night's service. During the punishment, Chris told the red team what the blue team's reward was, and she became really jealous as she would have loved an hour of relaxation.
Later that night, Elsie discovered a huge billboard outside the dorms showing Ramsay's face and the show's title. She made everybody else look at it, all laughing when they saw it saying they could not believe it. During prep, she was disgusted by the smell of the pigeon and even refused to touch it. As the chefs prepped the pigeon and the frog legs, she struggled to prep the pigeon and gagged by the visual but went through with it as she had a do-or-die attitude that day. Thirty minutes before service, because the red team lost the challenge, they had to arrange all the tables in the dining room, which made them lose valuable time of prep.
During dinner service, Elsie started at the meat station. When the first order arrived, she started to panic, not giving an exact time for her spaghetti dish to Ramsay's dismay as he wanted her to calm down, and was comforted by Chris, who gave her reassurance. When the red team only had ten tickets to go, Ramsay told her to focus and get in the game. Despite feeling anxious, she had a positive attitude, which led her to bring properly cooked Wellingtons to the pass. The red team continued to send out main courses by showing great teamwork, with her being congratulated by her teammates for her good job on the meat station. The red team eventually won the service after having completed all their tickets, which made her very emotional and proud of herself as her male teammates were congratulating her.[4]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 105 - Day 5
Back at the dorms, Elsie comforted Jessica, who was already crying when her friend Mary Ellen was eliminated. She gave her a hug when they were in the bathroom, agreeing that Andrew should have gone home instead.
During the Pasta Making Challenge, Elsie helped Michael by pouring flour into the machine, so the dough would not get stuck inside and called the experience incredible. The red team managed to get 2,45 lbs. of pasta acceptable, compared to the blue team's 2,41, therefore winning the challenge. They were rewarded with a nice tour on a gondola, with wine and cheese.
Before dinner service, Elsie announced to Ramsay that the red team would cook during the first seating and serve during the second. During the first seating, she was on main courses with Chris. She was confused over the ordered items, and after giving a bad timing, she was corrected by Chris. Then, Ramsay asked her the status of the lasagnas before commenting on how she did more prep work than actual cooking and reminding the red team that nothing was coming out. After the first seating ended, Ramsay made it clear to her that he was not happy. During the second seating, she convinced her customers to get lasagna to sabotage the blue team. She heard Jessica calling her team "assholes" for trying to sabotage them. After Ramsay shut down the blue kitchen as the time limit was over, he announced the red team losers as both their service in the dining room and the kitchen were shocking. Michael was named "Best of the Worst." During deliberation, Jessica and Andrew comforted her as she started to wonder if she could keep up with the pressure any longer.
Elsie was Michael's first nominee for elimination, with Chris being the second. During her plea, she wanted to stay despite little knowledge of running a restaurant as she put her best foot forward for her team. She survived elimination, and while being dismissed, she said she had never been through a stressful experience like Hell's Kitchen, even claiming that birthing kids was easier.[5]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 106 - Day 6
Following Chris's unexpected elimination, Elsie was in shock because she truly believed she would be eliminated. However, she was comforted by Jessica, who told her that if she was still there, it was because she was deserving to. However, she still felt that Chris should have stayed over herself, but in the end, she felt Ramsay truly saw something in her.
The next day, Ramsay told Elsie she deserved to be there after surviving elimination. During the Blind Taste Test, she was the second person from the red team to compete and went up against Jessica. She got scallops, Caesar dressing, and burger on her final food. The red team won the challenge 4-1, and they enjoyed wine tasting with Ramsay. Back at the dorms, she said she so needed the win, and despite the concerns, she got the best overall performance with three correct answers out of 4. Then, while she felt Ralph was pissed off, Jimmy reminded her what the former used to say that to the victors come the spoils. During the reward, she enjoyed Jimmy's tasting wine, saying it was funny, and said nothing refined in him.
The night before the next service, Ramsay announced that both teams would create their own menus. As the red team worked on their menu, Elsie said she had a paella recipe and had her scallops suggested agreed to by Michael. During prep, Michael showed her how to make bacon-wrapped scallops. When Ramsay looked over the menu items, he expressed concern over her paella as everything could overcook in one effort.
During dinner service, Elsie was at the dessert station and had her paella dish featured on the menu. When an order of mussel paella came in the red kitchen, she was very excited to cook it as it was one of her children's favorite dishes. However, it was not very well received by the customers. Ramsay eventually shut down both kitchens because too many orders came back. The red team won the service because their food was of better quality than the blue team's.[6]
Episode 7[]
- Main article: Episode 107 - Day 7
Back at the dorms, Elsie declared to Jessica she was homesick. She did not want to be there anymore, even wanting to go back home with her sons and hanging with her sisters.
The next day, Ramsay announced that the two teams would merge into the black jackets team. Elsie was the second to receive a black jacket, and when changing into her new jacket, she compared herself to a black belt and was proud of her survival in the competition.
Before the Fruit Flambé Tableside Challenge began, Elsie did not know what a flambé was, but she watched the demonstration very intently. She forgot her cart on her way to get her ingredients and had to go back and get it. She tried to remember the demonstration during the cooking and told Ramsay she never did a flambé before. She was the fourth person to have her dish judged by Ramsay, and her presentation and color on the caramel were praised. She finished second place, following Jimmy after some deliberation, therefore losing the challenge.
Elsie was punished by cleaning the entire dining room ahead of the next dinner service. After hearing Jimmy's decision to pick Michael over her, she was pissed as she was the runner-up. Jessica asked why Jimmy picked Michael, and she said because the former was an ass-kisser during the punishment. Ralph called it fucked up that Jimmy did not take her, especially since she has helped him in services, and she called him a punk.
Back at the dorms, Elsie explained what she thought of the situation. She felt Jimmy picked Michael because he owed him something after not being nominated two weeks before. Still, she continued by explaining that what Jimmy was not realizing is that Michael got rid of Chris, who was his biggest threat. When Jimmy and Michael returned from their reward, they told them what happened. It made her and Ralph envious, to the point where she did not want Jimmy to touch her anymore and flipped the bird behind his back. However, Jimmy did not care if she would be a bitch to him as it was a competition.
During prep, Elsie felt a little lost but knew she could pull Sous Chef Mary-Ann for advice. As part of his second reward, Jimmy picked her to Caesar salads and fruit flambés tableside in the dining room, as she finished second in the challenge. However, she knew it was Jimmy's way of putting her in the fire. Ramsay gave her a demonstration on how to make Cesar salad tableside.
During dinner service, Elsie was at tableside. She forgot her salad bowl in the kitchen on her first order, so she quickly came back to the kitchen and got it. The first salad she served was well received by the customer who ate it. Minutes later, the power went out in the restaurant, and she struggled as she could not see what she was doing. Fortunately, it only lasted for a few seconds. After that, Jean-Philippe told her that a customer wanted his lettuce to be cut into small pieces. She remembered cutting the meat for her kids and compared the customer to a baby, where she had to do everything for him. Later, when she got to the flambés, she went to the kitchen because she ran out of pans, prompting Jessica to ask her if she could get some pans for the meat station. She refused Jessica's request saying she was busy making the desserts. On her first try, she failed to fire up the alcohol, so the customer ate a flambé, not flambéed. However, she later bounced back and gave very good flambés to the customers, who were all satisfied. After a heated argument between Jimmy and Ramsay, the kitchen was shut down. Ralph was named "Best of the Worst." During deliberation, she pulled Ralph aside and told him to nominate her as she was tired of being in the competition and was not as fast as the rest of the chefs. Michael was not happy to hear her say that and thought it was bullshit.
Elsie was not nominated for elimination. While being dismissed, she knew everybody would try their best to win and predicted some backstabbing.[7]
Episode 8[]
- Main article: Episode 108 - Day 8
Back at the dorms, Elsie knew from the start she was not confident in her chance of winning, but now, she believed she became a strong contender to win the prize.
During the Leftovers Challenge, Elsie deemed herself the leftover queen as she learned how to utilize leftovers very well thanks to being a mother of six and decided to make chicken soup. She also took notice of Ralph's multiple pans while she was throwing stuff in her pot. She was the final person to have her dish judged by Ramsay and presented her traditional chicken soup. While Ramsay said he was worried about the color as it looked like something found from a sewer's canal, he found it to be a delicious and whole hearty soup. She was declared the winner, and Ramsay told her she would be doing something special the following day. While cleaning up, Ralph and Jessica tasted her soup but were secretly jealous of her winning. Later that night, she said she had to be up by 7 AM for her reward but still had no idea what it was. However, when she said that it was better than prepping, it caused a sore spot for Ralph as he had yet to win a challenge since he's been there.
The next day, Elsie woke up, got changed, and met Ramsay outside, where they got in a limo. Ramsay told her that her reward was an appearance on the morning show "Good Day Live" in the FOX Studios, where she showed how to cook a risotto. She was shocked, asked for a drink, and begged Ramsay not to yell at her, and he playfully said he would not as long she did not burn the risotto as she did on opening night. During the reward, she and Ramsay went to make-up and felt like a movie star with her five minutes of fame. On the set, she was approached by Arthel Neville and claimed she was not nervous. Once the show was on the air, she did the demonstration with no problems. After the show ended, she knew that if she were in the other chef's shoes, she would be jealous, but she got her few moments of fame on national television without cracking.
When Elsie came back from her reward, Ralph gave a fake smile when he said they watched her. After, Ramsay told her that she had the privilege to choose who would be at which station during the next service for her second reward. When she joined the others in prep, she tried to read the vibes on them but did not care as it would have bugged her. Michael told her that nobody was resenting her for winning and that Ramsay had different expectations for all of them based on their skills, but she did not take kindly to his passive-aggressive remark. Later that evening, five minutes before service opened, Ramsay asked her where she was placing everybody. She put Jessica on appetizers, Michael on garnish, Ralph on meat, and herself on fish.
During dinner service, Elsie was at the fish station, but Ramsay had everybody switch stations after one hour of service. So, she moved to the garnish station. When she got there, she struggled to make the penne dish as she never made it before, and while Michael reached over to do the dish for her, she told him not to bring it to his station as she wanted to see how it was done. After that, Ramsay made the second switch of the night, and she was sent to the appetizer station. Two hours into service, she found herself in the weeds on appetizers, and when she asked for some help, her three teammates stuck to their original plan and did not help her. Ramsay, unaware of that going on, shouted at her because she was mixing up the orders. Her continually frantic behavior started to frustrate Ramsay even more before taking her to the blue kitchen for a private pep talk. He sent her in the bathroom for a short break, something the others took notice of. In the bathroom, she cried and was furious because she realized she was the group's outsider and could not even get through her confessional. Eventually, she went back into the kitchen, ready to fight back, but Ramsay warned her that not talking to him would cause more trouble. After two tables walked out, Ramsay shut down the kitchen. Nobody was named "Best of the Worst," and Ramsay would come with his own decision for the first time ever. Back at the dorms, Elsie admitted that she had the worst performance of the night before leaving to be by herself. At the same time, the remaining three chefs agreed that she was slow on every station she was on. She felt alienated by having nobody around her.
Elsie was Ramsay's second nominee for elimination, with Jessica being the first. During her plea, Ramsay asked her if she got the proper support, but instead of telling Ramsay the truth about being left alone, she felt she was incredibly disoriented that night as she could not prepare most of the dishes despite having the support. She was eliminated for her total meltdown during service, but before she left, Ramsay told her how much he was proud of her and congratulated her on how she could impress him. After she gave him her jacket, Ramsay told her to keep smiling because she was lighting up a place when she did. She hugged everybody and was told by everybody how much they were proud of her. During her exit interview, she received a retrospective montage of her run.
Although Elsie's jacket was hung, Ramsay did not comment on her elimination. [8]
Episode 10/11[]
- Main article: Episode 110/111 - Day 10
Elsie was one of the six chefs that returned for the final dinner service. When she returned, a clip of her having a breakdown during the second black jacket service was shown. When she was being passed over for other chefs, Ramsay noticed how down Elsie looked as based on her performance, she should have been either finalists' first pick. She was Michael's last pick, following Jessica and Jimmy. She felt a little insulted over being his last pick and was very bitter.
During dinner service, Elsie was at the appetizer station. At one point, she accidentally put plastic in a salad by accident, and when it came back, Michael threatened to kill her if she would do it again. Later, she got into a heated argument with Jessica, who was about to take over her station and told her to shut up. Michael calmed the situation down. Michael eventually won the finals over Ralph.[9]
Nomination History[]
| Week 1 | BoW |
|---|---|
| Week 2 | Safe |
| Week 3 | Win |
| Week 4 | Win |
| Week 5 | Nominated |
| Week 6 | Win |
| Week 7 | Safe |
| Week 8 | Nominated |
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After her appearance on the show, Elsie published a book called "Elsie's Turkey Tacos and Arroz con Pollo."
- She also appeared on cooking shows, returned to culinary school, and made herself partner with Health First to promote healthier choices for homemade cooking.
- She married in 2010 and now goes by Elsie Umpierre.
- She, along with a couple of former contestants, appeared in Vice's Dark Side of Reality TV episode about her experience on the show.
Trivia[]
- She is the first contestant ever to be named "Best of the Worst."
- She is the first contestant whom Ramsay asked to reveal the team's elimination nominees.
- She is the first female contestant ever to have survived elimination.
- She is the first contestant ever to appear on national live television during the competition.
- She is the first contestant to get eliminated after being nominated by Ramsay. She is also the first black jacket contestant to do so.
- She is the first contestant in the show's history to get eliminated in an unusual way.
- At age 40, she is the oldest contestant of the season. She is also the oldest female to receive a black jacket.
- She and Jimmy held the original record for most challenge victories, with five each. This would be subsequently beaten in the next season.
Quotes[]
- "I'm gonna kick some ass if it's the last fucking thing I do!"
- "I did it! I'm proud of myself, and the guys are proud of me and, it's a good feeling! What can I say?"
- "I've just never through anything this stressful in my life! I had four kids, and it wasn't this bad!"
- (About not being picked by Jimmy to go on the reward with him after the flambé challenge) "It really, really, really, REALLY pissed me off. I was second in line (Runner-up of the challenge)! And he picks, 'i GoTtA pIcK mIcHaEl.'"
- "No one said a fucking word to me the whole night!"
- ("After being eliminated") "I have no regrets. This has been the most exciting, hellish experience of my life. Coming into this, it was a long shot, and then I got as far as I did. I didn't win the restaurant, but I won, nonetheless."
Gallery[]
.png "Elsie's Confessional (Black Jacket).png (230 KB)")
.png "Elsie's Confessional (Returning Chef).png (222 KB)")
External link[]
Elsie Ramos on Instagram
References[]
|
| Hell's Kitchen Season 1 |
|---|
| Staff |
| Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • Scott Leibfried (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Mary-Ann Salcedo (Red Team Sous Chef) • Jean-Philippe Susilovic (Maître d'hôtel) |
| Contestants |
| Andrew Bonito • Jessica Cabo • Jimmy Casey • Mary Ellen Daniels • Jeffery Dewberry • Jeff LaPoff • Wendy Liu • Chris North • Ralph Pagano • Elsie Ramos • Carolann Valentino • Michael Wray |