| “ | Something is smelling a little fishy and it's not the risotto. | ” |
Kanae Houston was a contestant on Season 18 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 6th place.
Season 18[]
Episode 1/2[]
- Main article: Episode 1801 - Rookies vs. Veterans
- Main article: Episode 1802 - A Fond Farewell
When the sixteen chefs arrived at Hell's Kitchen, they were welcomed by Marino and the Sous Chefs and were given butternut squash risotto for lunch. Kanae said that she had a hard life growing up in south-central, but knew that her parents had her back and that she wanted to make them proud. She was the fifth rookie to explain her credentials. She revealed that she was working under Eric Greenspan.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, Kanae revealed her Belizean-style fish stew with plantains, but none of the veterans were interested in the dish, until Kevin decided to compete against her. She was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged, wanted to see how badass Kevin was with ingredients that were not his, and presented her coconut broth fish stew with mashed plantains. However, Ramsay was disgusted with the plantain’s presentation, comparing it to a camel’s turd, and she scored 3 points. The rookies won the challenge after a tie at 29, and they were rewarded with dinner at Josiah Citrin’s Charcoal, with Ramsay joining them along with Citrin. During the reward, she stated that she had a tough upbringing as she grew up in an area with Gang Bangers, and when the red team came back from their reward, she called her Henkel knives amazing.[1]
Before the Creative Risotto Challenge, Kanae said that she wanted to win the punishment pass just in case she had to eat testicles in the future. She lost the challenge as she was not called up as the top four of the rookies, but she was not too upset that Bret won the pass as he would need it a lot, implying that the veterans were going to lose the rest of the challenges.
During prep, Kanae said that she wanted to beat the veterans that night. During dinner service, she was on the appetizer station with Gizzy. She was not seen much, except for telling Jose to get it together, the rookies lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she reluctantly agreed with Motto that Jose made mistakes that night despite being a strong chef, and defended Chris by arguing that he was not the sole person to keep up with the tickets and that both he and Mia should have paid attention.
She was not nominated for elimination.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 1803 - Hell's Riders
Before the Marine Service Challenge, Kanae called it a great honor to cook for the marines. She was on the meat station with Jose, was not seen, and the rookies won the challenge. They were rewarded with a trip to Paramount Ranch and got to star in their own Western film. During the reward, she called Marino fly due to his cowboy attire, and was excited to be featured in a film.
During dinner service, Kanae was on the garnish station. When Jose took over the halibut from Gizzy, she felt his energy. Later, she was late on the garnish for the chicken, with Scotley accusing her of being lost, and she was getting worried as she told her teammates how she was a strong line cook. Despite that, she received help from Mia. After dinner service, she noticed that Jen was no longer there, and wondered what happened in the blue kitchen that night. Both teams were named joint-winners, and while being dismissed, she knew that while the rookies completed a service, it was not in a strong way, before knowing that the joint-victory was their get out of jail card.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 1804 - Hell Freezes Over
Before the Winter Soup Challenge, Kanae was paired up with Jose, and they were the final pair from the rookies to sled down. However, she face planted as she and Jose tried to take off, was pissed off by that, and the rookies lost the pre-challenge. During the cooking, she was irritated as the veterans were going to grab all the good ingredients during their ten-second advantage. After Roe's dish was criticized, she commented that if it was a zero, then the judges would probably not hold up their judging signs. She was the final person from the rookies to have her dish judged and presented her roasted mushroom soup. It was praised for having an amazing texture, and she scored a perfect nine.
The rookies won the challenge 51-41, and they were rewarded with an overnight trip to L’Horizon at Palm Springs and ate dinner at Sopa. During the reward, Kanae said that Ramsay really hooked them up with an amazing place to stay, and at the pool, she was seen wearing a cover-up over her bikini. However, she said that her husband would kill her if she was not wearing a cover-up.
During dinner service, Kanae was on the meat station with Motto. At one point, she asked Chris if she could slice her Wellingtons, but was told not to. Both teams were named joint-losers and were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, she considered Chris for elimination for being lost all night and not being certain about timings and even reminded Gizzy on how Ramsay was pissed that she left her tableside station to help appetizers back in the red kitchen.
Kanae was not nominated, but she was reassigned to the blue team with Gizzy and Mia, being exchanged for Bret, Kevin, and Trev, as Ramsay decided to end the Rookies Vs. Veterans team format, and brought back the battle of the sexes.[4]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 1805 - Fish Out of Water
Before the Seven-Way Challenge, Kanae said that she almost farted out of fear of the giant halibut dropping down. She received smoking as her cooking method, was the fourth person from the blue team to have her dish judged, and went up against Scotley. She made a smoked halibut with baba ganache, it was praised for a great texture, and being very moist, she scored that round over Scotley, and told the latter not to underestimate the women. The blue team won the challenge 5-3, they were rewarded with a VR experience at VR Territory, and received Vitamix blenders. During the reward, she accidentally hit against the coffee table holding the snacks.
During dinner service, Kanae was on the appetizer station with Ariel. At one point, she accused Mia of butchering their supply of Wellingtons after the latter sliced five raw potions, and later, said that it was weird to trust Mia and Mia on their stations when they themselves do not trust their own skills. The blue team won the service.[5]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 1806 - Hot Potato
Back at the dorms, Chris and Kanae met at the hot tub, where the former asked if it was possible to have a good service, but she felt that there was always acceptable services instead.
During the Potato Challenge, Kanae decided to make a potato crumble, but because the blue team had an extra person, her dish was chosen to sit out due to a clunky presentation. After T's dish received poor reviews, she told the former that she better pray that the blue team would not lose, and when Gizzy's dish received poor reviews, she complained that it was getting worse for the blue team. The blue team lost the challenge after a tie at 40, but Ramsay and Richard Blais were curious about her purple mashed potatoes with scallops and crispy prosciutto, and after tasting it, they revealed that she would have scored 8 points had the women picked her dish.
The blue team was punished by prepping 100 pounds of potatoes for Steak Night, and Kanae was pissed at T for sitting her dish out for judging, even claiming that she could smell the latter’s shit. Then, she commented that they can no longer judge dishes based on presentations, and reminded T that she could have won it for them with a possible 8, as the latter and Gizzy scored 3 points each before hoping that both of them had their fingertips shaved off.
During the Steak Night dinner service, Kanae was on the fish station. At one point, Sous Chef Jocky refused to allow her to send up broken branzino, forcing her to do a quick refire for the firefighters six top. She got dismayed as she made branzino a lot at her restaurant, and when she sent up her refire, it was raw, and a pissed Ramsay called it a joke as Marino apologized to the firefighters. Despite that, she managed to get the third attempt accepted, and the firefighters received their order. After T's raw steak nearly drove Ramsay to tears, she got dismayed as the former and Heather were supposed to be All-Stars.
The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Roe recalled how Kanae had a rough start on the branzino. However, she argued that she only had one fish sent back, disregarded the broken one as she never sent it up, and argued that meat had an even worse night than hers as every steak that was sent up was rejected.
She was not nominated for elimination.[6]
Episode 7[]
- Main article: Episode 1807 - Last Chef Standing
Before the Last Chef Standing Challenge, Kanae admitted that she never compared a pit crew to a kitchen before, but understood the comparison now after seeing it. During the cooking, she was the final person that left the blue kitchen. She was the second person from the blue team to compete and went up against Jose in the fried chicken round. Her dish was praised for tasting delicious, and she tied that round with Jose. The blue team won the challenge 4-3, and they were rewarded with a go-karting experience. During the reward, she felt good to have a different adrenaline rush and became a speed demon.
Because she was the final person from the blue team to leave the kitchen, Kanae did not have to compete in the Cook For Your Life Challenge.[7]
Episode 8[]
- Main article: Episode 1808 - One Hell of a Party
Before the Tilly Sweet 16 Planning Challenge, a picture from Kanae's Homecoming was shown. She was paired up with Roe on the appetizer round, and they went up against Motto and Scotley from the red team. She made Asian inspired kebabs, and while Ramsay noted that making them were risky as not all teenagers liked them, Tilly liked them enough to put them on that night’s menu. The blue team won the challenge 4-2, and they were rewarded with a day at a Malibu mansion and received ice cream from an artisan food truck. During the reward, she said that her episode of My Crib beat out Mariah Carey’s episode.
During the Tilly Sweet 16 dinner service, Kanae was on the appetizer station. At one point, she knew that there was a lot of pressure to make sure that service that night went perfectly. but sent up poorly sliced ahi tuna, with Ramsay comparing it to dog chew, and that he has seen better tuna from takeout. After, Heather decided to take over her job of slicing the tuna, but she managed to bounce back eventually. The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she was considered for elimination by Mia for her problems on the ahi tuna earlier that night, but she refused to let that slide, and believed that the latter was trying to push aside her own mistakes, before considering Mia and Roe for elimination.
Kanae was not nominated for elimination, but when Mia tried to blame her for not getting her batter done properly during prep, she argued that she did make the batter when prep began, with both Ariel and Heather backing her up, and accused Mia of lying to save face. While being dismissed, she believed that Mia had a chip on her shoulder and that it would weigh her down in the end.[8]
Episode 9[]
- Main article: Episode 1809 - What Happens in Vegas
Back at the dorms, Kanae was still mad that Mia threw her under the bus.
During the Chinese Cuisine Challenge, Kanae went up against Jose, and their protein was spot prawns. However, because the blue team was down a member, she volunteered to go up against Scotley on the chicken breast as she wanted to show them who was the best. During the cooking, she did not know that her prawns were still alive until one of them started wiggling and had Ariel taste her sauce as she was allergic to nuts, which she was willing to get help as she was cooking two dishes. On her first dish, she was the third person from the blue team to have her dish judged and presented her unknown chicken dish. While it was praised for being very traditional, it was criticized for not coming together as a whole, and she lost that round to Scotley. On her second dish, she was the final person to have her dish judged and presented her prawns with cold cashew sauce. They were praised for being aromatic and flavorable, and while criticized for being on the dry side, she scored that round over Jose.
The blue team won the challenge 3-2, and they were rewarded with an overnight trip to Las Vegas, with a stay at the Nobu Hotel in the private villa, and flew in a private jet. While being dismissed, Kanae said that she felt more like Beyoncé with every reward. During the reward, she made the discovery that the toilet was able to clean her ass up.
During dinner service, Kanae was on the fish station. At one point, she accidentally dropped two scallops and had to quickly make two refires for the order. When Ramsay saw that, he reminded her to send them all out in one serving, but she was confused by that statement until she realized he meant to slide the scallops out at once instead of picking them out one at a time. Despite the delay, the women’s first order of appetizers were sent out. When the blue team was sent into the red kitchen to help the men out, Trev snapped at her to help Jose out on fish, though she told him not to get defensive when she was trying to help. The blue team won the service.[9]
Episode 10[]
- Main article: Episode 1810 - Poor Trev
Back at the dorms, Kanae was seen cleaning the dorm's kitchen along with Bret, with her asking the latter how many kids he had.
Before the Blind Taste Test, Kanae revealed that she would end her Italian meal with gelato. After hearing about the challenge, she was not happy as she never did a blind taste test before, and felt sorry for whoever would be sitting at the hot seat during her turn. When she was seated at the pedestal during Heather's turn, she complained that she did not want her ponytails to get messed up, and only received the spaghetti punishment. She was the final person from the blue team to compete and went up against Jose. She managed to correctly guess coffee, despite not drinking it, and because the blue team was in the lead for most of the challenge, they automatically won 10-6. They were rewarded with a spa day at Southern California’s Premiere Korean Spa.
During the Charity Night dinner service, Ramsay had to remind Kanae to leave the foil on the fish tray so they would still be warm at the pass. She was in charge of the truffle carbonara course and agreed with eight minutes to be ready. She felt the pressure of trusting her teammates in executing her course perfectly, but a small argument occurred when Ariel accused Heather of stealing her tongs, even though she pointed out that there were three extra tongs next to her. When plating, she was not happy when she discovered that a few of the plates had inconsistent pasta on them, and pushed Heather for better plating, annoying the latter. Then, Ramsay showed her and the women the inconsistent plating size, and despite being forced to take everything off the plate and replate, they got their course out not long after the men. The blue team won the service.[10]
Episode 11[]
- Main article: Episode 1811 - Devilish Desserts
During the Dessert Challenge, Kanae decided to make a deconstructed tiramisu and wanted to show Ramsay her stuff on desserts. After tasting Heather's dessert, she said it had a potent taste of whisky, told the former to cook it out, and accused her of being tipsy. While Heather was upset that her dish was sat out, she didn’t care as she felt it tasted terrible. She was the first person from the blue team to have her dish judged and went up against Motto. She made a deconstructed liquido tiramisu over a cherry glaze, but not only was the presentation criticized for looking unfinished, but the cherry glaze was also criticized for tasting like cough syrup for Valerie Gordon. So, she scored 3 points and was stunned Gordon was not holding back. The blue team eventually won the challenge 14-11, and while she felt they dodged a bullet that time, she was thankful that the men were worse than them. They were rewarded with a $2,000 shopping spree at Sur la Table, along with lunch at Joey Woodland Hills. During the reward, she compared their shopping spree to being like a kid in a candy store.
During dinner service, Kanae was on the fish station. After Heather served an overcooked New York striploin, she knew that the latter should not blame fish for her mistake. Later, she was struggling with the salmon for the chef's table, to the point that she used a spoon to cut open a portion to see the cook on it, annoying Heather as she should have just touched it for that. Then, she sent up a raw salmon, and an irritated Ramsay decided to cook the refire by himself, dismaying her as she was praying for him not to kick the women out that night. The blue team won the service. After Trev's elimination, Ramsay asked the blue team to name one volunteer to join the red team the next day.[11]
Episode 12[]
- Main article: Episode 1812 - Break on Through
Before the Black Jackets Challenge, Kanae said goodbye to Mia as the latter moved over into the red team. During the first challenge, she lamb, asparagus, green beans, red potatoes, and black truffle for her dish. She was the second person to have her dish judged by Ramsay and presented her potato crusted lamb with string beans and asparagus purée. It was praised for the small and dainty flavors but criticized for having raw beans on the plate which destroyed any textures. She lost the challenge to Ariel and Mia, and was forced to compete in the second challenge.
During the second Black Jackets Challenge, Kanae got excited when Heather landed on quail as she perfected that protein during culinary school. She spun on the second vegetable wheel and landed on baby leeks. During the cooking, she struggled to rice her cauliflower as she never did that before. She was the first person to have her dish judged by Ramsay and presented her charred grilled quail with a creamy rice cauliflower and creamy leeks. However, Ramsay was not impressed with the cauliflower's presentation as it looked gloopy but noted that it tasted better than it looked. Then, while Ramsay noted that her eggplant needed more spice, the quail was spot on, leaving her to feel that there was no way she could not get a black jacket now. She lost the challenge to Bret and Motto, and was forced to compete in the final challenge with Heather. She felt pumped as her eye was on the prize, as Ramsay reminded her that she was close in the previous two challenges.
During the final Black Jackets Challenge, Kanae was determined to win a black jacket, and decided to go creative with an Asian inspired surf and turf, but was not impressed that Heather decided to do a simple surf and turf dish, and believed that the latter has officially peaked. She was the last person to have her dish judged by Ramsay, felt that her dish was black jacket worthy, and presented single boned pork chop with a soy sauce marinated shrimp and coconut rice. Ramsay was impressed by how she kept thinking outside the box, having medium-well pork, and while he questioned her if she cleaned the shrimp properly, she stated that she did. However, Ramsay found the shrimp to be too sweet for his liking, and the rice was under seasoned. Despite that, Ramsay deemed it a strong effort, and she felt that she deserved a black jacket as she did not take it safe. Ultimately, she lost the challenge to Heather, and was automatically eliminated. Before leaving, Ramsay told her that while she was not ready to become his Executive Chef at Hell’s Kitchen, he strongly believed that she was going to go forward to amazing things, and eventually, she would become an amazing Executive Chef, before telling her that she had nothing to feel ashamed about. She admitted that she was proud of her accomplishments and enjoyed the competition as Ramsay wished her luck. During her exit interview, she remarked that nothing would compare to what she went through, was proud to have made it that far, and was proud of her accomplishments.
Ramsay gave no comment on Kanae’s elimination, and she did not receive the coat hanging and picture burning sequence.[12]
Episode 15/16[]
- Main article: Episode 1815 - A Rollercoaster Ride
- Main article: Episode 1816 - The Grand Finale
Kanae was one of the eight chefs who returned for the final dinner service. Before Ariel and Mia made their picks, she said that she did not want to be on the latter's team. She was Ariel's first pick, and she was followed by Bret, Motto, and Scotley. When Ramsay allowed the chefs to ride the Full Throttle, she commented that her face was going to be messed up.[13]
During the episode recap of Episode 16, Kanae received the burning picture sequence for the first time since her elimination.
During prep, Kanae was pushing herself to get the dumplings ready for service. During dinner service, she was on the appetizer station. She knew that they only had one shot to help Ariel win, before saying how determined the red team was to see the latter succeed. However, she found out that her dumplings came out burnt, dismaying Motto as that was not how things were supposed to go, but despite Ramsay growing concerned about the wait, she got her refires ready, relieving her as she did not make them earlier for nothing. Ariel eventually won the finals over Mia.[14]
Nomination history[]
| Week 1 | Safe |
|---|---|
| Week 2 | Win |
| Week 3 | Safe |
| Week 4 | Win |
| Week 5 | Safe |
| Week 6 | Safe |
| Week 7 | Safe |
| Week 8 | Win |
| Week 9 | Win |
| Week 10 | Win |
| Week 11 | Eliminated |
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After her appearance on the show, Kanae became a personal chef and offers cooking classes through her company Always Homemade.
Trivia[]
- She and Chris are the youngest of Rookies Vs. Veterans, at age 25.
- She is the fourth contestant to get eliminated after the Black Jacket Challenge, and the third who was never nominated for elimination, following Andrew (Season 16) and Jennifer (Season 17). She is also the first member of the blue team to do so following a team switch.
- She is the twelfth female contestant to switch teams and not make it into the black jackets, following Melissa (Season 3), Lacey (Season 5), Melissa (Season 8), Natalie (Season 9), Roshni (Season 10), Nedra (Season 11), Sandra (Season 12), Dannie (Season 15), Shaina, Wendy (both from Season 16), and Gizzy (also from Season 18).
- She is the seventh contestant, and third female contestant who was never nominated for elimination that did not made it to the black jackets throughout her run, following Jim (Season 6), Salvatore (Season 7), Gina (Season 9), Bret (Season 14), Andrew (Season 16), and Jennifer (Season 17).
- She holds the record for the best reward/punishment ratio in the show's history for any contestant who participated in at least one of both, at 90% (9 rewards, 1 punishment).
- Celebrity chef Eric Greenspan was her boss.
Quotes[]
- "Something is smelling a little fishy and it's not the risotto."
- "My husband would kill me if I didn’t have a cover-up."
- "Jose! Get it together on the halibut, please. You're like sinking right now."
- (When seeing a giant halibut being dropped from the ceiling) "I almost farted!"
- "Heather and T, you guys are supposed to be the all-stars in this competition, and you're sinking our entire ship."
- (To Trev during the Blind Taste Test after he said he can't hear to Chef Ramsay) "You can't taste either."
- (After being eliminated) "Nothing compares to this experience. Nothing I think ever will compare to this experience. It makes me so happy to know I stayed here this long. Like, I know I wanted to win it, but still it's like: 'Damn, I did good!' I am so proud of myself."
Gallery[]
.png "Kanae's Confessional (Red Jacket).png (1.55 MB)")
.png "Kanae's Confessional (Blue Jacket).png (1.59 MB)")
.png "Kanae's Confessional (Returning Chef).png (1.2 MB)")
.png "Kanae's Risotto Dish (Not Judged).png (1.93 MB)")
.png "Kanae's Potato Dish (Not Judged).png (1.5 MB)")
.png "Kanae's Chinese Cuisine Dish (Chicken Breast).png (1.09 MB)")
.png "Kanae and Jose's Chinese Cuisine Dish (Spot Prawns).png (942 KB)")
.png "Kanae's Black Jacket Dish (Round 1).png (889 KB)")
.png "Kanae's Black Jacket Dish (Round 2).png (953 KB)")
.png "Kanae's Black Jacket Dish (Round 3).png (754 KB)")
External links[]
Kanae Houston on Instagram
References[]
| Hell's Kitchen: Rookies vs. Veterans |
|---|
| Staff |
| Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • Jocky Petrie (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Christina Wilson (Red Team Sous Chef) • Marino Monferrato (Maître d'hôtel) |
| Contestants |
| Veterans |
| Ariel Contreras-Fox • Kevin Cottle • Roe DiLeo • Jen Gavin • T Gregoire • Bret Hauser • Trev McGrath • Heather Williams |
| Rookies |
| Gizzy Barton • Mia Castro • Jose DeJesus • Kanae Houston • Scotley Innis • Chris Mendonca • Chris Motto • Scott Popovic |