“ | It's their own body, they can do what they want. I just hope it doesn't end up affecting us down the road. | ” |
Kiya Wilhelm was a contestant on Season 20 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 3rd place.
Season 20[]
Episode 1/2[]
- Main article: Episode 2001 - Young Guns: Young Guns Come Out Shooting
- Main article: Episode 2002 - Young Guns: Temping the Meat
The eighteen Young Guns arrive at Las Vegas on a bus heading to Hell's Kitchen, and they drove past the real Hell's Kitchen restaurant. Kiya said she was eight when she saw Ariel compete in Season 6. The bus arrived at Hell's Kitchen, where Marino greeted the chefs. Josie wanted to say Ramsay's opening line for every service. Marino explained that Ramsay created a museum to celebrate the past nineteen seasons in honor of the twentieth season. Giving the tour were Shakala and Sean, who led the chefs into the museum. As the chefs toured the museum, they saw photos of past contestants, jackets hung, Hell's Kitchen Wall of Fame, and lines from past seasons. Then, they see video clips of moments from the show. The last stop was an exhibit of the doors used to reveal the winner of each season. Sean said that the final part of the tour was a documentary film about the show's history. However, the curtain pulled back to reveal an audience waiting for them and Ramsay on a stage behind them. Once on stage, Ramsay explained that the museum was meant to showcase the past, while the eighteen of them were the future. Ramsay added that the desire to become a chef was a dream for many young people, and food has evolved over the years since the show began. So, Ramsay announced that the season's winner would become his protégé and become the new Head Chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Afterwards, Ramsay announced the Signature Dish Challenge and gave the chefs 45 minutes to cook their dishes.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, Kiya was the third person from the blue team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Sam. She said she worked as a bartender and chef for a gun club, owning 67 guns altogether. Ramsay was stunned when she said that, and Brynn did not want to anger her after that. She added that she introduced her boyfriend to her gun collection and got him to start shooting. She made an applewood smoked salmon on a bed of lettuce and apple slaw. It looked beautiful, and Ramsay said she was on target with four points. The red team won the challenge 30-28. They were rewarded with dinner at Gordon Ramsay Steak 2.0 and had three previous winners joining them: Season 17 Michelle, Season 18 Ariel, and Sous Chef Christina.
Later that evening, Kiya told Brynn to take deep breaths and drink cold water when the latter was suffering from an anxiety attack. However, she was worried that the latter might leave.[1] During the Alcohol Challenge, she lost the challenge as her dish was not chosen as part of the Top Three.
During the 300th dinner service, Kiya was at the fish station with Josie. As she and Josie worked on their first order, she was unsure of the latter as she was vegan and wondered how she could serve scallops if she could not taste them. As Josie got her scallops started, Ramsay came in and gave them a short demo on how scallops should be cooked. Josie got infatuated by Ramsay's presence and claimed she could smell his cologne, but she got her focused again. Later, she hoped that Emily and Josie's lifestyle did not affect the women down the line. The red team won the service.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 2003 - Young Guns: Come Hell or High Water!
During the Whole Squid Prep Challenge, Kiya was seen getting two of her attempts accepted. The red team won the challenge 16-14, and she was happy to win again and felt they were undefeated. They were rewarded with an off-road racing experience at Speed Vegas and eating lunch provided by BLT Steak. During the reward, she called the reward a home experience.
Kiya was on the appetizer station with Keanu during dinner service. She was not seen that night, and the red team won the service. After elimination, she thought the men needed to get it together while the women would kill it.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 2004 - Young Guns: Young Guns Going Big
During the Paris Hotel Brunch Service Challenge, Kiya was at the eggs Benedict station with Keanu. She was not seen at all, and the red team won the service. They were rewarded with a Caesars Entertainment’s Private Jet ride to see locales like the Paris Strip, Hoover Dam, and the Grand Canyon. They also won a staycation at Planet Hollywood’s mega-suite. During the reward, she saw Steve come out of his shell by dancing with Emily and Keanu and wanted to see the women keep their winning streak.
During dinner service, Kiya was on the garnish station. At one point, she got annoyed when Brynn did not get Ramsay's lecture. When Victoria struggled on the VIP order, she told the former to focus and own up to the VIP order. Both teams were named joint losers and were asked to nominate two each.
Kiya was not nominated for elimination. After Alex's elimination, she said goodbye to Victoria, Emily, and Megan as they were reassigned to the blue team while welcoming Sam and Payton as new teammates.[4]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 2005 - Young Guns: Stirring the Pot
Before the Emoji Jacket Challenge, Kiya was not happy about deciphering emojis because she never used emojis on her phone. During the cooking, Keanu told her to make fish and chips with tartar sauce, but she struggled to decipher Payton's dish. She was the first person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Trenton. When it was revealed that Trenton made modifications to the recipe, she felt he insulted Ramsay for adding the extra bits. She won that round because she followed the recipe. When Josie lost due to adding paprika, she got annoyed because the point of the challenge was to follow the recipe. The red team won the challenge 4-2, and they were rewarded with a ride on the High Roller and lunch at Chayo.
During dinner service, Kiya served a shaved white asparagus and fraiche salad with fried egg tableside. She was seen tableside and made a pee joke about asparagus. The red team lost the service after getting kicked out for making multiple mistakes. They were asked to nominate three people for elimination. During deliberation, she reminded the red team they had to pick a third nominee and nominated Josie as she only found her voice that night compared to the other services. However, Josie argued she helped her with fish on the opening night. Still, she felt Josie was a weak link and the red team.
She was not nominated for elimination.[5]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 2006 - Young Guns: A Ramsay Birthday in Hell!
Before the Megan 21st Planning Challenge, a picture of Kiya with uncurled hair was seen. She cooked one of the red team's three appetizers. She was the first person from the red team to have her dish judged and went up against Steve. She made sticky wings, and they were praised for living up to their name with great seasoning. She scored that round. The red team lost the challenge after a tie at three each. They were punished by decorating the dining room for the party under the instructions of a strict party planner.
During Megan's 21st dinner service, Kiya was at the appetizer station with Josie. When Sam called out a flustered order, she got nervous about him, and Payton on meat as both sucked in the previous service. After the two men served a raw steak, she got frustrated as she accused them of touching it too much. The red team was kicked out of the kitchen after all but herself were responsible for the raw lamb. They lost the service and were asked to nominate three people for elimination. During deliberation, she was pissed and reminded Sam about accounting for rest time. She quickly nominated Sam, Payton, and Josie as the red team's nominees.
She was not nominated for elimination.[6]
Episode 7[]
Before the International Cuisine Challenge, Kiya welcomed Antonio as a new teammate. She cooked Italian cuisine. She was the fifth person from the red team to have her dish judged and went up against Megan. She made a grilled flank steak with prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, it was deemed good, and she won that round over Megan. The red team won the challenge 4-2. They were rewarded with a pool party at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino with a private Piff the Magic Dragon poolside performance.
During dinner service, Kiya was at the meat station with Josie. At one point, she wanted Antonio to back up his talk as the latter was a minute late on risottos. Fortunately, Antonio’s risotto was accepted, and she was slowly trusting him. Both teams were named joint winners.[7]
Episode 8[]
- Main article: Episode 2008 - Young Guns: A Devilish Challenge
During the Relay Challenge, Kiya and Sam were the first pair to enter the red kitchen. They began prepping garnishes as Sam did not want the proteins cooked too far ahead. But after their turn ended, she felt she and Sam should have prepped the proteins first and hoped Brynn and Antonio could pick it up. The beef came out undercooked on the Beef Wellington round, and Ramsay reminded her that he wanted proteins done first before the garnish. On the New York Striploin Round, the steak was cooked perfectly thanks to her and Keanu was not surprised because she always killed it. When the red team scored that round, she was relieved she could cook a steak. On the salmon round, she tasted the sauce and said it was salty.
The red team won the challenge 3-1, and Kiya called it exhilarating to see their hard work pay off. They were rewarded with a zip lining experience at High Link, going over the Vegas Strip, and having lunch at the Strip Bistro Bar. During the reward, she called it the best reward yet and thanked Ramsay for setting it up.
Later that day, Ramsay held one-on-one meetings with the chefs. Kiya was the ninth chef to have her meeting. Ramsay said she had been solid so far despite her young age and said she could show off without trying. She was surprised at how well she was doing so far, and Ramsay urged her to keep it up. She did not compete in the Cook For Your Life Challenge.[8]
Episode 9[]
- Main article: Episode 2009 - Young Guns: A Game Show From Hell
During the Spells Kitchen Challenge, Kiya went up against Steve in the third round of part one. She unscrambled cabbage and put it on the red team's veal chop. During the cooking, she let Antonio have control over the team effort dish. She cooked the sea bass with Brynn. They were the second pair from the red team to have their dishes judged by Ramsay and went up against the pair of Emily and Victoria. She made a pan-seared sea bass with fried cabbage and red pepper vinaigrette. It was bland, and she did not score. The red team lost the challenge 3-6, and they were punished by baking bread for Ramsay's Las Vegas restaurants and churning butter.
During the charity night dinner service, Kiya led the lobster spaghetti course. Ramsay called her and Megan to the front and told them to get their course ready in fifteen minutes. Despite Megan asking for 16 more minutes after failing to get their water boiling, Ramsay told her not to hold back on the blue team. She had the red team begin plating the spaghetti. She felt proud of owning her station and wanted the rest of her team to follow in her footsteps as they got their course out. During the snapper course, she decided to sear the filet mignons. However, that decision came back to haunt her as Ramsay saw the filets she cooked earlier and brought them to the pass. It was too early for the red team to send them out, despite being cooked perfectly, frustrating Brynn.
Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, Kiya considered herself and Josie as nominees, to which everyone else agreed with. However, Josie nominated her and Brynn. She reminded Josie about the raw filets, but the latter reminded her about firing the filets early. Still, she argued that they bounced back from it.
She was not nominated for elimination.[9]
Episode 10[]
- Main article: Episode 2010 - Young Guns: More Than a Sticky Situation
During the Blind Taste Test, Kiya playfully fed Sam a nacho chip when he sat back down. She was the second person from the red team to compete and went up against Trenton. She only got pistachio correct, resulting in Antonio getting the caramel corn and nacho punishment. During Brynn's turn, she got the caramel corn punishment, and she compared the feeling to floating in a poppy cow creek. The red team lost the challenge 6-9, and they were punished by cleaning up the dining room and resetting it for that night’s service.
During dinner service, Kiya was at the fish station. As the red team began appetizers, she led the order as she knew they had to get through their internal problems. She wanted it done and got her scallops accepted. On entrées, she got her proteins accepted. Despite offering Josie some help, the latter rejected it. Both teams were named joint winners, and Ramsay named her the "Best of the Best" for her immaculate fish. She was asked to nominate one person for elimination. During deliberation, she told Sam he and Brynn were not at risk of being nominated thanks to their performance on appetizers. Kiya knew Josie was her nominee and told Sam and Brynn that. She said the same thing to Antonio as she knew Ramsay did not want a wishy-washy person as his protégée. When she spoke with Josie, she reminded the latter how she struggled on garnish. Josie tried to argue she did not know they could fire garnishes ahead of time, but she called it an invalid excuse.
Kiya nominated Josie for elimination.[10]
Episode 11[]
- Main article: Episode 2011 - Young Guns: Swiping Right
During the Protein Match App Challenge, Kiya cooked the filet and went up against Megan. During part one, she decided on manchego and haricot verts. During the cooking, she picked quail eggs as her blind date ingredient. She was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged and presented her filet mignon with parsnip puree and crispy carrot chips under a quail egg. Richard Blais could not find the quail egg as it was buried, and while the temperature was okay, he would have liked a sauce component. She lost that round to Megan, and the red team lost the challenge after a tie at two each. They were punished by cleaning the dorms. During the punishment, she accidentally dropped the vacuum canister onto the rug, causing a big mess.
During prep, Kiya hugged Brynn in relief after the latter turned out okay from a mess. She did not want the red team to flake out before dinner service, but Antonio did not want a hug. During the Steak Night dinner service, she was at the appetizer station. She said the game plan was to communicate and help when needed as there were four chefs in the kitchen. She got her appetizers accepted and felt pumped to be set. After Sam served a raw steak, she told him to focus on cooking instead of feeling the meat but hoped he would bounce back and get out of Ramsay’s crosshairs. After Sam served overcooked chicken, she complained about babysitting him as he was frazzled. Eventually, the red team was kicked out after Sam served raw chicken. The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she suggested that Sam and Antonio do not throw each other under the bus.
She was not nominated for elimination.[11]
Episode 12[]
- Main article: Episode 2012 - Young Guns: All Hell Breaks Loose
During the first Black Jackets Challenge, Kiya received salmon, beets, arugula, asparagus, and crème fraiche. During the cooking, she said she was a small-town girl from Barrelville and felt underestimated in the competition. She wanted to prove she did not come here by chance and wanted to win a black jacket. However, she accidentally sprayed beet puree onto her plate after shaking the bottle. Two minutes left, she complained about how plating was her weakest point and had no idea what finesse meant. So, she showed off the crispy side of the salmon and poured the lemon Berblanc sauce on top, knowing she doomed herself. She was the third person to have her dish judged and presented her sautéed salmon in a lemon peel Berblanc. Despite having a good presentation and a good cook on the salmon, Ramsay asked her why she would pour the sauce over the crispy skin. She admitted it was a terrible mistake, and Jason Shkorupa said the sauce made the skin soggy. She lost the challenge to Trenton and Brynn and had to compete in the second challenge.
During the second Black Jackets Challenge, Kiya got nervous when Ramsay picked bluefin tuna as their protein as she never worked with tuna before. She rolled a T, and after struggling on an ingredient, she picked turnip. She said she never worked with tuna before and struggled to cook a fresh version during the cooking. She asked Antonio for cooking times. She was the second person to have her dish judged by Ramsay and presented her sesame-crusted tuna paired with jasmine rice, blistered tomatoes, and pickled turnips. She told Ramsay that it was the first time she cooked tuna, and the latter was surprised by that claim because she cooked it beautifully. After that praise, she said she was a protein master. She won the fourth black jacket as her beginner's luck on tuna was outstanding. She was proud of herself for having the jacket in her hands as she met with the three chefs in the black jacket lounge. Brynn was excited to see her in the lounge as she called it surreal to hear Ramsay's praise. Then, she and Trenton played champagne pong.
When Steve came into the black jackets lounge, Kiya waited for him to come through the doors. As they toasted to their milestone, she said she had a twenty percent chance of winning and was pumped to do so.[12]
Episode 13[]
- Main article: Episode 2013 - Young Guns: Social Media in Hell
Back at the dorms, Kiya jokingly told Brynn to know her future husband, Steve, more.
During the Presentation Challenge, Kiya said she hated plating as she had no skills in that regard, and Steve felt she would struggle due to growing up in a small town. She was the third person to have her dish judged, she said she tried to make the dish pretty and hoped it was not the worst of the day. When Ludo Lefebvre saw the dish, he asked her why she plated the dish on a grey colored plate. She said she wanted more color, and Ramsay and Lefebvre praised her for that thought. As for her brown sugar seared haddock with cauliflower puree, it had a nice glisten along with a pleasant brown sugar taste. However, Ramsay wanted a little more finishing, and she ended with 7 points. After the online votes were tallied, her dish was ranked second-last, and she ended with 9 points. Still, she said second last was still not good. She lost the challenge to Trenton and was punished by separating peppercorns by color and grinding them by hand. During the punishment, she asked Megan if she would have brought along Trenton if she won.
During prep, Kiya asked Trenton to watch her corn. She got pissed at Trenton for not listening to her because Sous Chef Christina would disapprove of that. During dinner service, she was at the appetizer station with Megan. After getting the first order, she and Megan drove appetizers as the latter said she needed to turn into a new person. She called herself and Megan the dynamic duo as they led well on appetizers. Steve was stunned at how in sync they were and called them the Wonder Twins. On entrées, she wanted to see Trenton handle garnish as he had never worked there before. When Trenton struggled, she compared him to a boat sinking and a captain not realizing a hole in the hull. When Steve went quiet, she knew Ramsay wanted eye contact and felt the former could not do it.
After service, Ramsay asked the final five to name two people for elimination. During deliberation, Trenton boasted that he grew the most out of everyone, but Megan and Kiya retorted that they all did. Trenton picked on her due to her lack of finesse, which angered her because she learned a lot. She did not believe her poor plating skills were a big problem and felt Trenton placed himself on a huge pedestal. She nominated Trenton for his poor performance on garnish. While Trenton called it his worst service yet, he wanted to look on overall and did not think her plating showed progression. Trenton asked Brynn if she saw her grow on the red team, but she wanted to hit him in response. She said she came with little knowledge in cooking and was now a black jacket chef like everyone else and argued that she could learn finesse. She reiterated that the whole discussion was about who could run a restaurant.
She was not nominated for elimination.[13]
Episode 14[]
- Main article: Episode 2014 - Young Guns: Hell Hath No Fury...
Back at the dorms, Kiya got annoyed hearing Trenton's boast because she felt he was not a good leader despite the latter putting himself on a pedestal.
Before the Beach Grilling Portions Challenge, Kiya said she did not like the sand despite eating sand as a kid. During the cooking, she made turkey sliders with a spicy slaw and barbecue sauce. She said she never cooked one before, but she channeled her inner dad as a flare-up occurred near Sous Chef Christina. While serving her dishes, she said the female patrons were skinny. When she saw Brynn flirt with the male guests, she called the former thirsty as hell. She lost the challenge to Trenton as her dish was named the second-best. However, she was pissed that she lost to Trenton as she wanted him to lose. When Trenton picked Megan for his reward, she knew he would not have picked as she felt he was too cocky for his own good. Still, she thought she deserved to go on the reward because her dish was amazing, and she only lost by three points.
Kiya was punished by cleaning up the beach from the front entrance. While awaiting the punishment, she complained that Trenton picked the chef with the worst dish to come on his reward, while Brynn was pissed that she lost a shopping spree. She said she would have liked if Brynn kept her Punishment Pass to force Trenton to do the punishment. When Trenton came down to sit with the two women, he said he did not think he would have won, unaware of the two's hate towards him. During the punishment, Trenton and Megan walked by for the reward, and she made a snide comment and wondered if he would bring her on a reward out of guilt. Still, she did not think so, and she would not do the same for Trenton if she won.
Before dinner service, Ramsay did individual assertive training with the final four by having them tell him off. Kiya got the giggles when she made her attempt. During dinner service, she was at the garnish station. During Trenton's turn, she felt he was trying too hard to be like Ramsay. During Megan's turn, she praised the former for catching the sabotages and communicating well. She was the final person to run the pass and knew it was her opportunity to show Ramsay she was his next head chef. She wanted to be better than Trenton but failed to notice that she was given an improperly written ticket as an entrée from a six-top table was missing. It was only after she read it was when Ramsay told her the mistake. She called Marino for a new ticket as Ramsay gave her jumbo shrimp instead of lobster for the risotto. Despite feeling she was a leader for Ramsay, she failed to notice the mistake even after slicing them. She said she had never seen shrimp that huge before as Ramsay urged her to notice everything. Then, Sous Chef Christina brought up black beans instead of lentils, but she caught the mistake that time. Still, she was disappointed in her performance as she never had a bad service before. Afterwards, the rest of the dishes were sent out. As the chefs cleared down, Ramsay told her that she got better the longer she ran the pass.
Sometime after service ended, Ramsay came to Kiya and asked why she broke down after one mistake. Ramsay said everyone, including himself, makes mistakes, and it was all about how they bounce back. She was sent to the back storeroom for water, but she ended up having a meltdown and hyperventilated. Sous Chef Christina came in and calmed her down as she screamed in frustration. Sous Chef Christina reassured her that she needed to focus and show no weakness in front of the other chefs. Later, Ramsay asked the final four to have an honest discussion about everything that happened.
At elimination, Ramsay asked the final four why they deserved to be in the final three. Kiya said there was nothing else she wanted other than the opportunity in front of her, and she learned a lot in a small amount of time. Despite her lackluster performance, she thought she had shown a lot to Ramsay. She was named the third finalist due to her no-die attitude and strength in challenges. She joined Megan and Trenton. While being dismissed, she called it an amazing feeling to make it.[14]
Episode 15/16[]
- Main article: Episode 2015 - Young Guns: What the Hell
- Main article: Episode 2016 - Young Guns: Two Young Guns Shoot It Out
Later that evening, Ramsay called the dorms and asked the final three to come back downstairs. Once downstairs, Ramsay reminded them about their final challenge to determine who would be in the finale. Ramsay asked them to design a menu featuring a cold appetizer, hot appetizers, and three entrées. One seafood, one red meat, and one surf n turf. To help them out, Ramsay passed out binders to get their ideas down on paper and revealed that the Sous Chefs would serve as advisors on their menus. Afterwards, the final three split off to different rooms to see who their Sous Chef was. Kiya went to Ramsay’s office but said she was not used to planning out menus and creating dishes. Fortunately, she got Sous Chef Jason as an advisor. As she worked on her menu items, Sous Chef Jason suggested cooking something that reflected her home. However, her idea for venison was shot down because she only killed deer and never cooked it. Sous Chef Jason told her to think about a dish she had eaten that she liked in the last six months. She said she wanted a seafood cream sauce and used it with a crab cake. As the two worked on the menu, she felt she grew more confident and called Sous Chef Jason a great person.
The following morning, Ramsay invited the final three for one-on-one meetings at Nobu in Caesars Palace. Kiya told Ramsay her menu as it fancy downhome cooking. She was reunited with her mother and sister, calling it a boost. Ramsay called her one of the most improved chefs he had seen, but he asked her mother if she had 67 guns, and her mother said she did and could fire every one of them. Her mother went fangirl on Ramsay, which she took a moment to appreciate. She went up to the villa with her family. There, she told her family about wearing a black jacket for the past three services and hoped to make it to the final two. However, her mother pushed her to make it forward, which she appreciated.
After some time, Ramsay brought all three families together and told the final three he was taking them on a night of the town. He arranged make-up and wardrobe to get them dressed as the final three’s loved ones departed. Kiya said she did not like make-up due to having sensitive skin. Once the trio got dressed, they met Ramsay downstairs, waiting for them at a limo. Their first destination was a helicopter tour of Las Vegas, and Ramsay showed them the home for one of them. She saw that all her hard work was coming to fruition. Then, Ramsay dropped a bombshell that they were not having a night out on the town. Instead, their final challenge would occur immediately below them as a crowd, including their loved ones and the seven previous eliminated chefs were waiting for them. Once down at the stage, Ramsay reintroduced the final three the eliminated chefs and reminded them that the top two chefs would compete in the finale, and one would become the winner.
During the Final Menu Challenge, Brynn rooted for Kiya because she was there for the former a lot. She got a chant from the crowd, and Sous Chef Jason told her to acknowledge them. She refused to go home now but said she never cooked under that amount of pressure and placed a lot of her soul into her dishes. She presented her bruschetta salad with cheese ball center and basil and garlic pesto on the cold appetizer round. It looked beautiful and had a perfect ratio between the tomatoes and burrata. She scored a perfect 10. During the hot appetizer round, she made a. Asian chicken lollipop. While it had crispy skin, it needed more acid, and she scored 9 points. During the seafood entrée round, she made a pan-seared salmon with a quinoa cake ad grapefruit Berblanc sauce was up next. Aarón Sanchez was concerned about the amount of quinoa and felt it was a miscue to use. While the sauce tasted delicious, the crab meat was overcooked. She scored 8 points, but she was not worried as she had to beat Megan to be in the finale. For the red meat entrée round, she made a sake marinated hanger steak with grilled asparagus. It was cooked well, but Roy Yamaguchi wanted more punch, and she scored 8 points. For the surf n turf round, she presented her garlic butter basted filet mignon and crab cake with Brussel sprout and bacon hash. Aaron Franklin liked the cook of the steak, but he wanted more salt to it. In contrast, he found the crab cake a little salty for his liking. Still, Franklin deemed it a good dish. She scored 8 points and lost the challenge 43-44-48.
Kiya was eliminated from the competition. Ramsay told her that despite coming a hair short of being in the finale, she was the perfect sponge in Hell’s Kitchen. She was strong, passionate, and he thought she had a bright future. As she joined the other eliminated chefs, she did not believe she could have learned more than she had and felt proud of herself. She was Trenton's first pick and the first pick overall. She was followed by Antonio, Brynn, and Sam. When she came up, jokes were made about her just being up with the final two. While she felt Trenton was smart with his choices, she did not want to work under him.[15]
Back at the dorms, Kiya did not think Trenton was a good leader as she and Brynn hated him. During prep, she acknowledged Trenton's strength, but she felt he did not respect her when he pushed for the carrot puree. While listening to Ramsay's critiques, she knew his input was essential to Trenton as, despite being nitpicking, it was necessary for the final dinner service.
During dinner service, Kiya was at the meat station. With the blue kitchen moving onto entrées, she said she would not sabotage Trenton despite her hatred towards the latter. She wanted to give it her all and would not expect less if the roles were reversed. Trenton was confident in her because she was consistent in the competition and wanted her to drive meat. While she said she needed three minutes on chicken, Brynn ignored her as she and Antonio walked up garnish. That frustrated her as she needed that time as Sous Chef Jason told Trenton to call for meat. Sam brought up his hanger steak as she snapped at Brynn and Antonio for rushing her. She felt like an idiot due to Brynn and Antonio's mistake and sent up the chicken. However, it was pink, and Trenton brought the team to show it to them. Brynn admitted that she made her look like an idiot due to her communication problems, but she wanted to bounce back from that and have a smoother night. Her refire was accepted, and the table enjoyed their order. Later, she dragged on meat as she hesitated to bring her chicken to the pass and had Trenton feel them. They were raw, and Sam was confused about her poor performance as she was better than that. While Sam walked up his trout, she brought up the chicken. However, it was raw again, and Ramsay berated them for messing up on an important night. Trenton took the team to the pantry room while Antonio said that meat was going down in a spiral. Trenton called it ridiculous as they have been cooking meat all season and asked her why she was screwing him up. She said it was not on purpose but felt that Trenton needed to chill. Trenton eventually won the finale over Megan.[16]
Nomination History[]
Week 1 | Safe |
---|---|
Win | |
Week 2 | Win |
Week 3 | Safe |
Week 4 | Safe |
Week 5 | Safe |
Week 6 | Win |
Week 7 | Safe |
Week 8 | Safe |
Week 9 | BoB |
Week 10 | Safe |
Week 11 | Safe |
Week 12 | Safe |
Week 13 | Safe |
Week 14 | Eliminated |
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After her appearance on the show, Kiya is currently a part-time bartender and line cook.
Trivia[]
- She and Keanu (also from Season 20) are the second and third contestants from the state of Maryland, following Mieka (Season 14).
- She is the eighth contestant who ranked in third place that completely avoided nomination during the entire season, and the sixth female, following Jillian (Season 8), Dana (Season 10), Jon (Season 11), Melanie (Season 12), Sade (Season 13), Heidi (Season 16), and Nick (Season 17).
- She is the sixth black jacket contestant who did not receive a retrospective montage of her run after being eliminated, following Josh (Season 3), Santos, Jennifer (both from Season 13), Nick (Season 17), and Declan (Season 19). She is also the third contestant who is in 3rd place to do so.
- She is the third contestant and first female who was announced as a finalist but didn't make it to the final two, following Nick (Season 17) and Declan (Season 19)
- She is the twenty-third contestant to keep her jacket after elimination, following Ji (Season 5), Ariel (Season 6), Jillian (Season 8), Elise (Season 9), Dana (Season 10), Jon (Season 11), Melanie (Season 12), Sterling (Season 13), Ashley (Season 15), Heidi (Season 16), Elise, Jennifer, Robyn, Milly, Nick (all from Season 17), Motto, Bret (both from Season 18), Nikki, Cody, Declan (all from Season 19), Steve, and Brynn (both also from Season 20).
Quotes[]
- "If Josie can't taste the dish, like how can she say it's correct."
- (About Josie and Emily) "I don't have a problem with vegans (pointed to Josie) or vegetarians (pointed to Emily). It's their own body, they can do what they want. I just hope it doesn't end up affecting us down the road.
- (About Steve) "Steve is coming out of his shell, like a fucking pistachio."
- (After being eliminated) "Who the fuck would have thought that a girl from Barrelville would be on Hell's Kitchen and make it to the final round before the Finale? I didn't really know I could learn as much stuff as I have here, and I didn't know that along this process, I'd find my voice in a kitchen and find my confidence. Definitely feeling proud of myself."
Gallery[]
External links[]
Kiya Wilhelm on Instagram
Kiya Wilhelm on Twitter
References[]
Hell's Kitchen: Young Guns |
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Staff |
Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • Jay Santos (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Christina Wilson (Red Team Sous Chef) • Marino Monferrato (Maître d'hôtel) |
Contestants |
Kevin Argueta • Josie Clemens • Payton Cooper • Sam Garman • Trenton Garvey • Brynn Gibson • Megan Gill • Steve Glenn • Ava Harren • Emily Hersh • Keanu Hogan • Matthew Francis Johnson • Alex Lenik • Antonio Ruiz • Jay Smith • Victoria Sonora • Morgana Vesey • Kiya Wilhelm |