JR Robinson

 

“

Sterling, keep it 100, I still love you, but the rest of you can just fuck off, and keep stabbing each other in the back.

”

Hometown/Residence	Washington, D.C.
Occupation	Private Chef
Culinary Education	Monroe College
Culinary Inspiration	Grandmother
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	3 out of 5
Challenges Won	1
Services Won	1
Times as BoW/Announcer	0
Times Nominated	1
Placement	15th
Episode Eliminated/Withdrew	15 Chefs Compete

James "JR" Robinson was a contestant on Season 13 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 15th place.

Season 13

Episode 1

Main article: Episode 1301 - 18 Chefs Compete

While the chefs entered the bus to get at Hell's Kitchen, it pulled up to Pacific’s Cinerama Theatre as Ramsay wanted to show them an inspirational video before the competition. After Ramsay revealed the grand prize of the season, he ordered everybody to cook their signature dish.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, JR was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Denine. He made a rockfish taco with mango slaw and lemon aioli, and while Ramsay said that it was not brilliant, he praised it for its crunch and being tasty, so he scored 3 points out of 5. The blue team eventually lost the challenge 23-24, and they were punished by setting up the dorms for both teams, and carrying the red team's luggage when they came back from their reward. During the punishment, he was getting tired, and claimed that he has not sweated that much since 2006, before deciding to go upstairs and take a break. However, Bryant and Santos were not happy about that, and he was told to get back to work. However, he said that he did not come to Hell’s Kitchen to make beds but to cook and live the good life.

During dinner service, JR was on the fish station with JP. Despite asking Aaron for a time, he did not get any answer and was forced to send his scallops. When forced to start over, Ramsay kept pestering him for the scallops, much to his annoyance, and he asked if Ramsay wanted raw scallops. When he sent the scallops, they were raw, and Ramsay called him Just Ridiculous based on his initials. When entrées began, he and JP were confused about what to do, and despite Bryant offering to help, he pushed the latter away. He was kicked out of the kitchen along with JP, after the latter sent a raw halibut, and moments later, the rest of the blue team got kicked out as well.

The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, JR received votes from Aaron and Steve, but he said that he got his dishes out in time, and believed that Aaron and Fernando’s slow performance on appetizers were the reason why they lost. However, Bryant yelled that he offered to help him, but he shoved him away despite the fact that he sucked.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 2

Main article: Episode 1302 - 17 Chefs Compete

During the Geoduck Challenge, JR was not seen participating in the first part but told Sterling to hurry the fuck up when the latter was struggling. During the second part, he was paired with Fernando. Out of their two attempts shown, their first attempt was rejected for being five grams short, but their second attempt was accepted. The blue team eventually lost the challenge 14-15.

They were punished by cleaning up all the sand outside the restaurant, prepping the remaining geoduck for the next service, and eating a boiled salt cod for lunch. During the punishment, JR complained that he was tired of losing as it was the blue team’s third loss in a row, and added that he was frustrated about not everybody on the blue team was doing their job. During lunch, he said that their meal was not worth serving to a dog, before comparing the smell to a tuna fish can left open for a week. When he saw Sterling dancing, he asked if he was on medication and told him to sit down. After seeing Sterling and Bryant argue, he annoyingly asked how they were going to win services if they were going to argue. When the women came back from their reward, he bitterly said that he wanted to slice their asses up.

During dinner service, JR was on the garnish station. He was not seen much, and both teams were named joint-losers, before being asked to nominate two people each. During deliberation, he considered Steve for the raw halibut incident.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 1303 - 16 Chefs Compete

During the Jacket Challenge, JR was the fourth person from the blue team to compete and went up against Denine on the burger round. He lost the round to her as his burger was raw. Despite that, the blue team won the challenge 6-4, and they were rewarded with a trip to the Venice Beach boardwalk, a zip line experience, and lunch on top of the Erwin Hotel. He was the only man not excited about the zip line due to his fear of heights, and he was coached by Sterling to do it.

During dinner service, JR was on the appetizer station with Steve. He was not seen much, but at one point, Ramsay urged him to take the lead, he refused to sink, and communicated with Bryant and Sterling. Because of him, appetizers left at a good pace, and the blue team eventually won the service.

After Denine's elimination, JR said that it was the blue team’s time to shine.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 1304 - 15 Chefs Compete

During the Brunch Service Challenge, JR was not seen much, but the blue team lost the challenge. They were punished by grinding chorizo sausages for the next service. During the punishment, he called it bullshit and said that it was not right for a man to help another man with their meat.

During dinner service, JR was on the meat station with Frank. He sent pork that Frank deemed raw, and later, he was lectured for saying thank you for a halibut Santos cooked. He managed to get his refire accepted but did not communicate with Santos about when his meat would be ready. Despite hoping for a comeback from his earlier mistakes, he sent raw lamb, and a fed-up Ramsay kicked him out of the kitchen, along with Frank, Santos, and Fernando.

The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, JR was considered by Steve, Santos, Aaron, and Bryant, and he considered Steve for his soupy risotto incident and feeling that he was only here to watch the team drown. He also accused Aaron of being a kiss-ass when the latter tried to defend Steve, even adding that he was on a downward spiral.

JR was the blue team's first nominee for elimination, with Steve being the second, and they were eventually joined by Frank. During his plea, he acknowledged that he had a bad night, especially about the pork incident, and claimed that he was not done yet. He was eliminated for his poor performance on meat, not improving since the beginning, and Ramsay feeling that he has given up. During his exit interview, he knew that his quiet attitude got him eliminated, and while he told Sterling he loved him and to keep it 100, he told the rest of the men to fuck off and keep stabbing each other in the back.

Ramsay's comment: "I waited for JR to wake up and find his voice, but he never did. And so I let him sleepwalk out of here."

Nomination history

Week 1	Safe
Week 2	Safe
Week 3	Win
Week 4	Nominated

Post Hell's Kitchen

• After his appearance on the show, JR became a Chef instructor for Raising Expectations Inc, and currently hosts an online cooking show.
• He also owns a Restaurant called KitchenCray Cafe in Lanham, Virginia

Trivia

• He is the second contestant from the capital city of Washington D.C., following Tavon (Season 10).
• He is the first male contestant to score a 3 out of 5 in the new format of the Signature Dish Challenge.
• He is the second contestant who gave a shoutout to another contestant (specifically to Sterling) during his exit interview, following Brendan (Season 9).

Quotes

• (About Sterling) "I don't know if he on medication or what's wrong with the dude, but Sterling sit the fuck down."
• (After being eliminated) "Chef Ramsay is disappointed because he expected me to lead that station. I could've been more vocal, but I'm not the type to yell over everybody, so I just stay quiet. Sterling, keep it 100, I still love you, but the rest of you can just fuck off, and keep stabbing each other in the back."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Katie and JR's Intro Spot

JR in Blue Jacket

JR's Confessional

Steve, Frank, and JR Nominated

JR Eliminated

JR's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

JR's Jacket Dish (Burger) (Episode 3)

External links

• James "JR" Robinson on Instagram
• James "JR" Robinson on Instagram