Janai Simpson

“

Chef, I know I overcooked the risotto and that's all it was.

”

Hometown/Residence	LaGrange, GA
Occupation	Chef de Partie
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	1 out of 5
Challenges Won	2
Services Won	1
Times as BoW/Announcer	0
Times Nominated	1
Placement	17th
Episode Eliminated/Withdrew	17 Chefs Compete

Janai Simpson was a contestant on Season 13 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 17th place.

Season 13

Episode 1

Main article: Episode 1301 - 18 Chefs Compete

When the chefs arrived in Los Angeles and entered the Hell's Kitchen bus, it pulled over to Pacific’s Cinerama Theatre, as Ramsay wanted to show them an inspirational video before beginning the competition. Janai was one of the eight chefs who were shown receiving their acceptance invitation, and she was seen doing a cartwheel while celebrating. After revealing the prize of the season, Ramsay asked everybody to cook their signature dish.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Janai was the eighth person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Aaron. She made a lobster stuffed lamb, but Ramsay called it a horror show, and she scored only 1 point out of 5. Despite that, the red team won the challenge 24-23, and they were rewarded with a dinner at the Bel-Air Hotel, cooked by Wolfgang Puck. When she met Puck, she asked if she could hug him, which she did.

During dinner service, Janai was on the fish station with Jennifer. On her last order of scallops, she sent eight of them instead of the ten who were ordered. When Ramsay asked her the answer of five times two, she struggled to answer, but eventually answered correctly. Despite that, she managed to send the missing scallops to the pass, and the red team won the service.

Episode 2

Main article: Episode 1302 - 17 Chefs Compete

During the Geoduck Challenge, Janai participated in the first part, and asked what they packed the sand with as she said it felt like cement. Before the second part, she said that only Ramsay could take something that was looking like a dildo and turn it into a $150 plate, after seeing him create his geoduck sashimi dish. She was paired with Denine, and they were seen getting one of their attempts accepted. The red team eventually won the challenge 15-14, and they were rewarded with a day on an 80-foot luxury yacht with Ramsay, and on a local beach with an obstacle course on the water which she was shocked that they shut it down for them. She declared being happy to keep the red team's winning streak.

During dinner service, Janai was on the appetizer station with Ashley. Despite being focused on making sure her risotto was perfect, she did not communicate with Denine or Katie when they asked for a time, much to their annoyance. When she sent her risotto, it was mushy, and Ramsay forced the women to taste it, before revealing that she overcooked it by ten minutes. Her second attempt was too soupy, and Ramsay asked what was wrong with her. While working on her third attempt, she did not give proper time to Denine. When she sent her risotto, Ramsay asked Marino to come in the kitchen to taste it, which he responded that it was mushy. After Ramsay sent the women to the pantry room to work out their problems, Roe told her to get her risotto happening. Then, she communicated properly to Denine and because of that, they were finally able to send their first table of appetizers. Both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate two people each.

Janai was the red team's first nominee for elimination, with Denine being the second, and they were joined by Sterling and Fernando from the blue team. During her plea, she only acknowledged that she overcooked the first risotto despite screwing up multiple times after. She was eliminated for her poor performance on appetizers and refusal to admit the rest of her mistakes.

Ramsay's comment: "Cooking risotto is elementary. But tonight, I found out Janai is still in kindergarten."

Nomination history

Week 1	Win
Week 2	Nominated

Post Hell's Kitchen

• After her appearance on the show, Janai became a Sous Chef at Epic Restaurant.

Trivia

• She, Ralph (Season 12), and Steve (Season 20) are the only three Chefs de Partie to compete on the show.
• She is the only contestant in her season who never had to do a punishment.

Quotes

• "Only Chef Ramsay can take something that looks like a dildo and turn it into a $150 plate. I mean seriously, I'm just saying."
• (After being eliminated) "I definitely feel like Chef Ramsay made a mistake. Nobody in that kitchen is better than me. Chef Ramsay may not know it, but in all honesty, it's his loss that he didn't get a chance to see that."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Janai's Intro Spot

Janai in Red Jacket

Janai's Confessional

Janai, Denine, Sterling, and Fernando Nominated

Janai Eliminated

Janai's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

External links

• Janai Simpson on Instagram