Ileana D'Silva

“

Chef, I feel that I should stay in Hell's Kitchen. I do have leadership skills, I know that I can do better than that and show you more.

”

Hometown/Residence	Gloucester, VA
Occupation	Sous Chef
Kitchen Experience	-
Culinary Education	Culinary Institute of Virginia
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	2 out of 5
Challenges Won	5
Services Won	3
Times as BoW/Announcer	1
Times Nominated	3
Placement	11th
Episode Eliminated/Withdrew	Game On!

Ileana D'Silva was a contestant on Season 21 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 11th place.

Season 21

Episode 1/2

Main article: Episode 2101 - Let the Battle Begin

Main article: Episode 2102 - Just Wingin' It

The eighteen new chefs arrived at Los Angeles in two separate limos heading to Hell's Kitchen. The limos arrived at Hell's Kitchen, where Marino was waiting for them. When Ileana arrived, she was excited to be at Hell's Kitchen since she had never left Virginia. Still, she told herself to remember it was a competition, and she was there to win. Marino greeted the chefs and introduced them to their Sous Chefs Christina and Jason. They explained that there would be obstacles, but you can't let them get in your way. Later, Ramsay was on a monster truck and crashed into a car, shocking the contestants. When Ramsay did that, she felt like he was the only person who could drive a monster truck, crash into a car, and approach the chefs like it was nothing. Ramsay used it as an example of not letting anything get in your way. Ramsay explained that like how the limos got them where they wanted to go, he wanted a chef to take him where he wanted to go. Ramsay was questioning whether to hire a chef in their 20s or a chef in their 40s and announced that this season would be a battle of the ages. Ramsay told the contestants to separate between a group of 20s and a group of 40s. Ramsay announced the Signature Dish Challenge and gave the chefs 45 minutes to cook their dishes.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Sous Chef Christina asked Ileana what she was making. She revealed she was making a butternut squash risotto. She stated she made a lot of risotto, which ran through her blood, so she hoped she could nail it. When she asked Brett to stir her risotto, she realized her squash was not ready, much to her dismay. Luckily Vlad help her with her components. She was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Alex. She revealed that she's a Sous Chef and presented a butternut squash risotto. It was criticized for looking sloppy, undercooked, and under-seasoned. Ramsay told her there was a reason he put risotto on the menu, leaving her two points. The red team won the challenge after a tiebreaker at 31, and they were rewarded with a dinner cruise with Chef Ramsay. During the reward, she felt like it was a dream to have dinner with Chef Ramsay and being on a yacht.

Ileana fried her wings during the Creative Chicken Wing Challenge and deemed herself a badass in the kitchen. But with three minutes left, she asked Brett to bring her sauce over, leaving the latter to deem her the most frantic on the red team. Brett believed she would be the first to go home. She lost the challenge as she was not called up as part of the top three. When Alejandro went over the red team's wings, he found her wings to have pink chicken. She was Alejandro's first nominee, with Dafne as the second. She was disappointed as she wanted to stay. She was the second person to have her dish judged, and Ramsay found them tough to cut. He told her that her frying and oven cooking did not work. Her dish was deemed the worst of the bottom four, and Ramsay asked her if that was her best. She said it was not, but Ramsay wondered how she could make it to Atlantic City if she could not execute a wing properly. Ramsay asked her for her jacket, but she begged him to let her stay because she had leadership skills and wanted to prove she could do better. Although doubtful of that, Ramsay relented and gave her one more chance. As she returned in line, she claimed she was not done fighting and wanted to prove herself in the kitchen.

As the Sous Chefs went over the menu, Ileana got irked by Zeus' question about stations as the blue team would not learn new tricks due to their age. During prep, Alyssa was worried about working with her on fish as the former deemed her the weakest link of their team. After Alyssa had to teach her how to score some salmon, she called the former a bitch.

During dinner service, Ileana was at the fish station with Alyssa. After receiving their first order, she claimed her lobster tail would take seven minutes to cook. Cheyenne disagreed with that, as a lobster tail took three minutes to cook, and suggested that she stop arguing with Alyssa and focus. When Ramsay checked for a time, Dafne told him about the lobster tail's cook time, and he did not understand how it could cook longer than the risotto. Ramsay reminded her that a lobster tail took three minutes to cook and reminded her she was not supposed to be slow for her age. Then, she and Alyssa bickered over the lobster tail just as Dafne was ready on her risotto. Despite that, she got her lobster tail up to the pass, where it was accepted. When Ramsay called out the first entrée order, she and Alyssa were distracted by their bickering, frustrating Ramsay. He told the two to listen and reread the order. When she and Alyssa continued to bicker over fish timings, Dafne and Sommer told them to stop. Alyssa told her to listen to her as they were partners. Still, she got her salmon accepted for JoJo's table. She knew she had to prove to her team she could bounce back, and the red team completed their service with no other problems. The red team won the service.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 2103 - Clawing Your Way to the Top

During the Whole Lobster Prep Challenge, Ileana's lobster was initially included as part of the judging, but some found her attempt butchered. That angered her as she had all the components compared to Sommer. Upon a second review, Sommer told her that although she had everything on the board, it looked butchered while she had everything but the legs. As such, the red team swapped her attempt in place of Sommer's, angering her as she felt the red team had no faith in her skills after the last two challenges. When Tara lost out due to having no legs, she knew Ramsay would not like Sommer's attempt.

The red team won the challenge 6-5, and they were rewarded with driving European Sports Cars. When the red team had a meeting, Sommer defended her call to switch places with Ileana, but she was still mad that she was cast aside due to her previous challenge performances. Alejandro told her to stick up for herself more, and Alyssa felt she did have a decent lobster to present to Ramsay.

During dinner service, Ileana was at the fish station with Sommer. At one point, Alejandro got his flatbreads ready, but she was late getting her scallops up to the pass. Still, she got them up. On the following order, Alejandro asked her if she had the lobster tail cooking. Still, neither she nor Sommer did not respond to him. When Alejandro got his risotto up to the pass, Sommer realized they forgot to fire a second lobster tail. She promised to get a lobster tail ready in one minute, but she got frustrated working alone without Sommer's help. When Sommer walked up the lobster tails, one of them was raw. A frustrated Ramsay took the dishes and walked the red team into the pantry to scold them for shutting down. Ramsay called her and Sommer pathetic, and he told the red team to have a meeting to sort out their problems. Alejandro told her to take control of the fish. On entrées, she knew it was do or die after being called pathetic, and Sommer got angry when she left her nothing to cook. She found Sommer a backseat driver, only to burn her skin on the salmon and asked for six minutes on the refire. Still, Ramsay said Brett's Wellingtons were ready and got frustrated that nobody was leading the fish station, ordering her and Sommer to sort it out. Near the end of service, she did not want to get yelled at again and got her salmon accepted.

The red team won the service. After elimination, Ramsay called both teams downstairs and announced that the battle of the sexes would begin the following day. Ileana said goodbye to Alejandro, Brett, Sakari, and Vlad and welcomed Mindy, Nicole, and Tara as new teammates.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 2104 - Slipping Down to Hell

During part one of the Creative Sliders Challenge, Ileana was seen grabbing squash for the salmon sliders. The red team won the first part, and they received a five-minute head start over the blue team. During the cooking, she and Dafne cooked the salmon sliders, but her dish was not chosen for judging. The red team lost the challenge 14-16, and they were punished by prepping potatoes for fries needed for the following service.

During prep, Ileana was not confident about working with Nicole on garnish as the latter could not follow tickets. During dinner service, she was at the garnish station with Nicole. She was not seen that night, and the red team lost the service. They were asked to nominate three people for elimination. During deliberation, she agreed with Cheyenne about nominating Sommer and Alyssa.

Ileana was not nominated for elimination. When Nicole said she did not give up and started prepping garnishes, she said the former did nothing to help her other than drop some fries.

Episode 5

Main article: Episode 2105 - Breakfast 911

During the Emergency Workers Breakfast Service Challenge, Ileana was at the pancake station with Alyssa. At one point, she told Alyssa to help Sommer with the appetizers as the latter worked alone. Later, she burned the pancakes due to the stress of the challenge. Mindy told her to turn down the heat as Ramsay demanded the pancakes. Fortunately, they were accepted, and the women pushed out entrées. When Tara and Dafne bickered over building the sandwiches, she said they should not be difficult. The red team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a Hollywood Hills party at a local mansion with a Korean Mexican fusion cooked by Kogi. During the reward, she gave the food 15,000 out of ten.

During dinner service, Ileana was at the meat station with Dafne. She got help from Dafne and deemed the meat station a rhythmic station due to the three steps. She got the meat entrées accepted and Ramsay showed her and Dafne a perfectly cooked rack of lamb, urging them to keep the momentum going. She was stunned that Ramsay complimented her food and felt she was on cloud 9. When Cheyenne was late on a salmon order, Ramsay feared the New York Striploin would be overcooked in six minutes. She swore it would not happen., but did not want to drop the ball and wanted that salmon to be perfect. The red team won the service.

Episode 6

Main article: Episode 2106 - Til Chef Do Us Part

Before the Trenton and Macee Wedding Planning Challenge, a picture of Ileana and her husband in a Bangladeshi wedding ceremony was seen. She cooked the scallop dish, was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged, and she went up against Billy. She made a sweet corn succotash and hard-seared scallops. While they were praised for having a wedding-like presentation, she lost that round to Billy. The red team lost the challenge 2-4, and they were punished by making a six-tiered Bailey's Irish cream cake for the wedding. During the punishment, she was unsure if the cake batter was baked properly as it felt giggly, but the outside was crispy. Her fears came true as the middle was still raw, forcing her to put it back in the oven. She got angry at herself for messing up.

During the Trenton and Macee Wedding service, Ileana was at the appetizer station with Dafne. She was not seen that night and both teams were named joint losers. They were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, she and Dafne scolded Sommer for rushing the proteins to the pass.

She was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 7

Main article: Episode 2107 - Wok This Way

During the Dome Challenge, Ileana grabbed lobster for her dish. She compared the rush for ingredients to a Black Friday sale, and as she grabbed lobster, she made a lemongrass chili to go with the dish and said she was not a one-trick monkey. Later, Sommer shoved her for a good ingredient. She was the fourth person from the red team to have her dish judged, and she went up against Sakari. She made a Tom Kha stew, but it was not brothy. She did not score a point even though she felt she deserved one. The red team won the challenge 4-2, and they were rewarded with a rooftop dance party and brand-new HexClad sets. During the reward, she dug the sushi in the pool and wished she did not have to return to Hell's Kitchen.

During dinner service, Ileana was at the meat station with Cheyenne. She said she needed six minutes on her Wellingtons, only to find that her batch was still raw. Knowing Ramsay did not like to be waited on, she got nervous as Tara pulled off her halibut to prevent it from being overcooked. As she struggled to find a decent Wellington from her pile, Tara was forced to send up her halibut as Ramsay did not want it overcooked. After seeing raw Wellingtons on her board, she said she needed two more minutes, forcing Ramsay to send out an incomplete table. Refusing to let Ramsay down, she got her heated Wellingtons to the pass, but they were rare. Ramsay was not pleased and told her and Cheyenne that their timings were off. Sommer was unhappy that they were messing up on their final ticket and felt she had dropped the ball too many times. Still, she got her refire accepted. Although both teams were named joint winners, Ramsay still asked them to nominate two each. During deliberation, Sommer nominated her and Mindy, but Cheyenne brought up the possibility of nominating Tara in her place.

Ileana was the red team's second nominee for elimination, with Mindy as the first. They joined Abe and Sakari from the blue team. During her plea, she said she was resilient and would continue to grow. She survived elimination. While being dismissed, she refused to go home as she wanted to prove to Ramsay she was a fighter.

Episode 8

Main article: Episode 2108 - Game On!

Back at the dorms, Ileana was relieved to survive elimination. The following day, both teams waited in the dorms, wondering what that day would bring, some even getting anxious. She wanted to see what would happen even though she had struggled in most of the challenges, specifically the Creative Chicken Wing Challenge. Then, she told Cheyenne how her mentor comforted her when she had a meltdown at work, feeling grateful for him.

During the Game Meat Challenge, Ileana correctly guessed figs and placed them on the blue team's venison. Then, she got black garlic and put it with the red team's venison. During the cooking, she cooked the venison with Cheyenne. She was fine with most of the ingredients except for the venison, and when it came time for judging, her dish was taken out due to over-caramelizing her sugar. The red team won the challenge 2-1, and they were rewarded with a bowling trip at Lucky Strike Hollywood and lunch provided by Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook.

Later that day, Dafne and Ileana talked about family, as she had an older brother in the military and a younger sister. She added that she was always the lone female chef and the youngest in every job she worked, so she had to prove to everyone that she could cook. Because her dish was not judged in the Game Meat Challenge, she was forced to compete in the Cook For Your Life Challenge alongside Alejandro, Alex, Tara, and Vlad. During the cooking, she tried to be composed despite making something on the fly and grabbed an eggplant. However, she placed the eggplant in the blender, making Cheyenne fear that it would look terrible. Although she knew she was terrible at challenges, she knew she must cook her butt off to survive. She was the second chef to have her dish judged by Ramsay, and she felt happy with her dish. She made a seared chicken with aubergine purée, crispy fried Brussel sprouts, and lemon Sherry vinaigrette. Ramsay questioned the eggplant component, but she claimed it was inspired by her mentor. However, Ramsay found the purée too thin and sweet due to her adding honey, but he did find the chicken cooked well. She tried to keep confident, but she felt her heart go into her throat. She lost out to Alejandro, Tara, and Alex. When it came down to her and Vlad, she felt her heart beating as she represented everyone and did not want to go home. Ultimately, she lost out to Vlad and was eliminated. Ramsay told her that while her chicken was cooked beautifully, the sweetness and liquid aspect of the purée destroyed all the good aspects of the protein. Still, Ramsay urged her to keep going as she called it an honor to compete. During her exit interview, she felt hurt leaving, but she was proud to have experienced the competition and looked forward to continuing to grow.

Ramsay's comment: "When you're cooking for your life, every detail matters. One overly sweet puree got Ileana sent away."

Nomination History

Week 1	Nominated
	Win
Week 2	Win
Week 3	Safe
Week 4	Win
Week 5	Safe
Week 6	Nominated
Week 7	Nominated

Trivia

• She is the first contestant to lose the first challenge without being eliminated.
• She is the first contestant to avoid being eliminated with her plea to Ramsay after losing in an elimination challenge.
• She is the fourth female contestant to be nominated in the first individual challenge, following Nikki, Jordan (both from Season 19), and Ava (Season 20).
• She is the seventh contestant and sixth female chef to be eliminated in the Cook For Your Life Challenge, following Jessica (Season 12), Christine (Season 14), Giovanni (Season 17), Gizzy (Season 18), Lauren (Season 19), and Keanu (Season 20).

Quotes

• (After losing the first challenge) "Chef, I feel that I should stay in Hell's Kitchen. I do have leadership skills, I know that I can do better than that and show you more."
• "Pancakes look really easy but it's hard. They're hard in Hell's Kitchen."
• "Working meat station is a song and dance. (Sing) You sear it, put it in, and take it out."
• (After being eliminated) "I feel hurt to be leaving Hell's Kitchen right now, but I'm in no way disappointed. I definitely don't think as quick on my feet as I should have, but you only know what you've been exposed to, and unfortunately, I haven't been exposed to enough. And I feel very proud to have experienced this. I'm really looking forward to the future, and I'm really looking forward to continuing to grow."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Ileana in Red Jacket

Ileana's Confessional

Ileana, Dafne, Billy, and O'Shay Nominated (Elimination Challenge)

Mindy, Ileana, Abe, and Sakari Nominated

Tara, Ileana, Alex, Alejandro, and Vlad Nominated in Cook For Your Life Challenge

Ileana Eliminated

Ileana's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

Ileana's Chicken Wings Dish (Episode 2)

Ileana's Trenton and Macee's Wedding Scallop Appetizer (Episode 6)

Ileana's Dome-Wok Dish (Lobster) (Episode 7)

Ileana's Cook For Your Life Dish (Episode 8)

External links

• Ileana D'Silva on Instagram