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The love for food comes from my family.

Kori Sutton was a contestant on Season 19 of Hell's Kitchen. She was named the winner of the season and was awarded a Head Chef position at Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen Lake Tahoe, with a $250,000 salary. However, she turned it down, but kept the winning salary and kept the title of "Season 19 winner".

Season 19[]

Episode 1/2[]

Main article: Episode 1901 - Welcome To Vegas
Main article: Episode 1902 - Shrimply Spectacular

The eighteen new chefs arrived at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas as Ramsay wanted them to see the first official Hell's Kitchen Restaurant. Marino greeted the chefs at the front doors and took them inside the restaurant. As the chefs drank champagne, they got to know each other. Eventually, Ramsay came in, explained that the Hell's Kitchen Restaurant was built on the show's eighteen-season legacy, and revealed that it was one of the highest-grossing restaurants in America. Ramsay revealed that he brought them to the restaurant for inspiration because the winner of that season would become the Head Chef at the brand-new Hell's Kitchen Restaurant in Lake Tahoe. Ramsay admitted that they would not be competing in the real Hell's Kitchen restaurant due to the demand, so they would be going to Los Angeles to compete. The chefs returned to the bus to head to the airport as Marino handed out the tickets, and once arriving at the strip, they see a helicopter revving up, with Ramsay taking it and flying off. After some time, the chefs were called in for boarding, and Kori was trying to hold her excitement as she wanted to show Ramsay who she was. However, as the chefs walked through the doors, they found themselves standing inside the restaurant. Then, Ramsay appeared in his chef jacket, revealed that for the first time in the show's history, Hell's Kitchen would take place in Las Vegas and had some performers do some shows for the chefs. While the chefs could not do any of the tricks they saw, they reaffirmed that they could indeed cook to Ramsay.

Before the Signature Dish Challenge, Kori said she was doing a chilli relleno stuffed with shrimp and scallops, but she was forced to scrap it due to the changes. She was paired up against Kenneth, they were the third pair to play for their ingredients, and they received chicken, eggplant, and orzo. During the cooking, she was confident in her dish but wondered what Kenneth was doing as she wanted to outshine the latter. She was the third person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay, but before presenting her dish, she explained that her family was her inspiration and spent time in Mexico before coming back six years ago. She made a yogurt marinated chicken breast, and Ramsay praised it for cutting like butter as she cooked it when there were 20 minutes left, with Ramsay telling Kenneth to take note of that. She scored 4 points, and Jordan glad to have her on her team for now before she beated her later. The red team lost the challenge 27-28, and they were punished by cleaning the Caesar Palace's fountain. During the punishment, she knew Sous Chef Christina had every right to be pissed at them because they humiliated her in front of the restaurant she helped open.[1]

Before the Creative Shrimp Challenge, Kori called the new addition to the Punishment Pass evil. While Sous Chef Christina looked at her dish, she felt the former had a great poker face and wanted something from her. She lost the challenge as her dish was not called as one of the red team's top three.

During prep, Kori felt that the women were focused when Sous Chef Christina showed the chefs the dishes they were making. During dinner service, she was on the appetizer station with Amber. She and Amber sent up their appetizers, but after Nikki sent up a raw lobster tail, she was pissed as the latter's raw lobster tail wasted her perfect risotto. When Nikki started to tear up over her mistake, she told her not to cry in front of the customers as she should do that in the walk-in where nobody could see her. The red team won the service, and while she admitted that their service was fucking rough, they finished strong. After elimination, she said that the women have yet to lose a chef and refused to lose their momentum now.[2]

Episode 3[]

Main article: Episode 1903 - Hell Caesar!

During the Caesar Salad Challenge, Kori was paired up with Amber due to the red team having two extra people. They got two attempts accepted, and the red team won the challenge 10-8. They were rewarded with a dune buggy experience in the Nevada desert, and during the reward, she and Mary Lou saw Las Vegas from the horizon and called it a great reward.

Right before prepping for dinner service, she called bullshit on Fabiola's illness. During dinner service, she was on the garnish station with Nikki. At one point, she tried to calm Fabiola down after the latter served raw flatbread and tried to work with her. However, she warned Fabiola that if she continued to screw up, she would step over her work and do it for her. When she saw the meat station struggle, she was furious at Lauren's lack of help and Jordan's lack of communication skills and felt that Apolo Ohno was looking at them like a couple of dumbasses. The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she agreed with Lauren and Fabiola as nominees.[3]

Episode 4[]

Main article: Episode 1904 - Wedding Bells In Hell

Back at the dorms, Kori was willing to own the women's mistake for nominating Nikki.

During the Wedding Brunch Service Challenge, Kori was on the egg station with Amber. She was not seen much, except for noticing that Jordan got flustered when it came to multiple items. The red team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with an overnight trip to Lake Tahoe, where they would ride snowmobiles in the mountains and stay at the Harrah's Hotel and Casino.

Before dinner service, Kori said goodbye to Amber as the latter was reassigned to the blue team. During dinner service, she was on the meat station with Nikki. When Syann burned the flatbreads, she got dismayed as she did not understand what was going on and wanted to pray to a deity for everything to come out well. On Sous Chef Christina's VIP order, she walked up her meat, Ramsay called them down to the front, and she to look on the positive side of their situation. Ramsay showed them that the meat she walked was all raw, and it served to be the final straw as he kicked the red team out of the kitchen. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two people each. During deliberation, she was embarrassed that it was her mistake that broke the camels back, but she argued that appetizers were when they had a clusterfuck of a start, and it snowballed from there. Afterward, she reminded Brittani how she struggled on fish and needed Nikki's help to cook the refire.

She was not nominated for elimination.[4]

Episode 5[]

Main article: Episode 1905 - Hell Starts Taking Its Toll

During the Mexican Cuisine Challenge, Kori was paired up with Mary Lou, and they decided to cook the Chile Relleno and enchiladas. She was confident about her and Mary Lou's chances due to her Latin background and the latter's Southern Tex-Mex flavor. They went into the pen to grab beef for their enchilada, and for their Chile Relleno, she said that duck was common in the northern mountain areas. The red team won the first part of the challenge, and they received 45 minutes of cooking time. During the cooking, she called the first five minutes an hour in kitchen time and said that she learned how to cook from her grandmother as she showed Mary Lou how to prep a cactus paddle. On their first dish, she and Mary Lou were the first pair to present their dish, went up against Adam, and introduced herself to Aarón Sanchez in Spanish. They made an enchiladas de puerco with green mole, but to Aarón's reluctance, he called the presentation problematic as the colors were muted, there was too much cheese on the plate, and the enchilada was breaking up. While Aarón praised the mole sauce, he found it the wrong type of filing for an enchilada. They lost that round to Adam, and she was extremely disappointed in her failure. On their second dish, she and Mary Lou were the final pair from the red team to have their dish judged and went up against the pair of Declan and Cody. They made a duck de pato Chile Relleno, but while Aarón liked the presentation, he found the filling to be a mess and decided not to award a point to either team. The red team lost the challenge after a tie a two each, and they were punished by cleaning the animals in the pen, scoop up the manure, and clean up the hay bales before that night's dinner service. During the punishment, Cody asked her if Lauren's inactivity happened at dinner services.

During dinner service, Kori was on the fish station. At one point, she and Mary Lou communicated well, but she saw Lauren standing around and doing nothing, urging the latter to start pulling her weight. Although both teams were named joint winners, Ramsay asked both teams to nominate one each.

She was not nominated for elimination.[5]

Episode 6[]

Main article: Episode 1906 - Metal & Marina

Before the Modern Italian Cuisine Challenge, Kori was seen rocking out to Spandex Nation. She chose to compete against Marc, and their dish was veal Milanese. She was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged and presented her artichoke and veal Milanese. It was criticized for getting lost in the flavors and not being fried enough, and she scored three guitars. The red team lost the challenge 28-33, and they were punished by making hand-made pasta, prepping tomatoes, and making pesto. Back at the dorms, she tried to calm Jordan down but later snapped that they should all leave her alone. During the punishment, she felt she was going to get Popeye forearms after making the pesto.

After the punishment, Kori told Jordan that she must promise not to break her sobriety over this competition over competition no matter what. Jordan tearfully promises her that she would remain strong, even after she and Syann promised to kick the former's ass if she did. Later that evening, both teams were finishing prep as Ramsay took them outside the kitchens, leading her to wonder if there was a twist waiting for them. After hearing about the Penn and Teller show, she knew that they had to get the guests to the show on time. During the Italian Night dinner service, she was on the appetizer station with Nikki. At one point, she put her spaghetti in and said she needed four minutes, but Ramsay revealed that Jordan put her scallops in earlier despite needing two minutes of cooking. Jordan admitted that she did not talk to her before dropping her scallops, and an angry Ramsay tossed the scallops into the trash bin. In response, Jordan left the kitchen despite her telling the former to tough it up. The red team won the service.[6]

Episode 7[]

Main article: Episode 1907 - A Pair Of Aces

During the Protein Identification Challenge, Kori was paired up with Nikki, they were the second pair from the red team to compete, and they grabbed the bison and lobster dish. Per Syann's suggestion, they grabbed bison and king crab legs, but it was half right. They swapped out the bison for filet, making it fully incorrect, and as the red team tried to help her and Nikki out by calling out suggestions, she told them to shut up as they were not tasting the dish. Their third attempt was bison and lobster, and that time, it was correct. The red team won the challenge after the blue team failed to beat their time of 8 minutes and 46 seconds, and they were rewarded with a flow riding experience on top of the Planet Hollywood roof.

During dinner service, Kori was on the garnish station. The red team received their first order as she knew garnish was the backbone of the line as she talked with Mary Lou on times. After the meat station served meat that was supposed to be on the next order, she told them about the refired order. Unfortunately, it was for the following ticket rather than the current ticket, but while Nikki blamed her for telling them to fire that, she argued that she did not, even though the flashback said otherwise. Despite that, Jordan felt that she fucked them and refused to take fire for something she did not do wrong on as the red team was now dragging on poor communication. On their third attempt, she served soggy fries, and it was one of the three mistakes that got the red team kicked out of the kitchen.

The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Lauren considered Kori for her flustered performance on garnish. While she admitted to fucking up on the fries, she argued that it was due to rushing the order and did not understand why she was targeted when other mistakes were made that night. However, Jordan called it bullshit as she could not pull it together. As the red team struggled to make a final decision, she said she could go for a cocktail.

Kori was named the red team's second nominee for elimination, with Syann as the first. However, Ramsay asked why, and while Mary Lou explained that the red team had a miscommunication in the kitchen because of garnish, he found her nomination to be bullshit. So, she survived elimination as Ramsay did not call her up. When Jordan blamed her for the miscommunication, she said that she called out two minutes for the refired order for the current ticket, which Ramsay claimed to have heard earlier. After Syann was eliminated, Ramsay told the red team that if they thought that Kori deserved to leave that night, they were dreaming and telling them to cut the bullshit. While being dismissed, she was pissed at her teammates and said she only had to prove to Ramsay she was his next Head Chef.[7]

Episode 8[]

Main article: Episode 1908 - Crapping Out in Hell

While going back to the dorms, Kori knew she was one of the stronger chefs here and said that if someone wanted to nominate her, they better have a good reason because she was not going down without a fight.

During the Craps Challenge, Kori rolled the dice twice. On her first attempt, she had her team blow on the dice before she rolled, landed on M and picked mushrooms. After Lauren picked rice, she hoped it did not bite them in the ass. On her second attempt, she rolled an S and picked sprouts. She was the first person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and presented her sticky fried rice with a red miso poached monkfish. However, Ramsay pointed out that she failed to remove the veins, and Adam compared it to a brain. Despite that, Ramsay felt the dish was cooked nicely, liked the idea of the miso, and scored 4 points. The red team lost the challenge after a tie at 19 each, and they were punished by prepping Wellingtons for both the restaurant and for Gordon Ramsay Steak, which included prepping the mushrooms for the duxelle. During the punishment, she said that after that day, she hated mushrooms.

Later that day, Ramsay announced that there would not be a dinner service that evening, but regardless of that, someone would still be going home that night, causing Kori to freak out a little as it could be her going home. Ramsay gave Nikki the responsibility of interviewing the red team and naming two nominees. Nikki did not nominate her, and she did not have to participate in the Cook For Your Life Challenge. Back at the dorms, she did not think Amber could survive as the latter could go into her head too much.[8]

Episode 9[]

Main article: Episode 1909 - Blind Taste Test

The next day, Kori suggested that Declan wear one of Mary Lou's wigs.

Before the Blind Taste Test, Ramsay asked Kori to taste her milkshake and say what the flavor was, but while she said garlic, Ramsay said it was mango. She was the second person from the red team to compete and went up against Adam. She correctly guessed green beans, New York striploin, and mushrooms, sparing Nikki from any punishments. During Mary Lou's turn, she got the ice cream dunk. Before the final round, Ramsay asked the red team to decide on who should go up again, and Nikki immediately said her name, leading her to go up against Marc. However, she could only get strawberries, and after getting butternut squash wrong, the challenge ended 8-10 because it was now impossible for the red team to catch up, with Nikki getting the ice cream dunk. The red team lost the challenge, and they were punished by taking in delivery of beef and prepping them for Steak Night.

During the Steak Night dinner service, Kori was on the meat station. At one point, she said she was driving the red team as she knew that the only way to find out a cooked steak is through the fingers. She got her steaks accepted, and later, she was sending out a stream of perfectly cooked meat, much to Nikki's amazement as she compared her to an octopus. The red team won the service.[9]

Episode 10[]

Main article: Episode 1910 - There's Something About Marc

During the Five Protein Burger Challenge, Kori picked Jordan as the red team's referee as she believed the latter could think fast on her feet. During part one, she tried to find the ingredients she wanted as fast as she could, and during the cooking, she cooked the beef burger. After seeing Laurent Tourondel come in to help Ramsay judged the burgers, she called him the guru of burgers. After Jordan scored a point, she said the latter could fry anything. She was the third person from the red team to have her dish judged and went up against Amber. She made a bourbon beef burger topped with smoked egg, but while it was praised being a chef's burger, she lost that round to Amber. The red team won the challenge 3-2, and they were rewarded with a trip to Dig This, which included crushing cars in a construction site.

Before dinner service, Kori chose to run the fish station. While the red team cooked Michelle's order, she felt confident with the team's communication skills. The red team won the service.[10]

Episode 11[]

Main article: Episode 1911 - Sink or Swim

Back at the dorms, Kori warned Amber to watch her back on the blue team and told her not to trust either Declan or Cody. As she and Amber walked past Mary Lou and Cody's card game, she called it cute but warned the former not to let her feelings get in the way.

During the Spells Kitchen Challenge, Kori wen up twice during part one. On her first attempt, she got carrot and broccolini, but on her second attempt, she got nothing. She cooked the ribeye, was the first person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay, and went up against Amber, ready to smash the latter like a bug. She made a pan-seared ribeye with mustard veal demi and celery root purée, and it was praised for the asparagus salad and the cook on the steak. So, she tied that round with Amber. The red team lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by baking 600 twill cookies. Back at the dorms, she and Jordan comforted Mary Lou, and during the punishment, she was seen rolling the cookies with the latter.

During the Charity Night dinner service, Kori was in charge of the pan-seared halibut course. She called that night the biggest they have done and focused on executing her dish the way she wanted it. She got her course out with no problems and felt she sent out her dish with success. On the filet course, she felt Jordan should be mad at them for screwing her on the meat temperatures. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate one each. During deliberation, she brought up Nikki's missing scallop dishes and reminded Jordan that they had to own their courses by reminding the latter how she failed to touch the steaks before they went out. Afterwards, she called it a tough decision to pick either Nikki or Jordan for elimination.

She was not nominated for elimination.[11]

Episode 12[]

Main article: Episode 1912 - There's Magic In Hell?

Back at the dorms, Kori reminded Amber that they were close to the black jackets and had a feeling the two men would not put each other for elimination. The next day, Sous Chefs took the chefs out to see a VIP show of Criss Angel, but she knew Ramsay had a trick up his sleeve and wondered what it would be. The chefs saw Angel do his routine to their amazement, and afterwards, Ramsay said there was one more trick Angel had. Angel revealed a 360-spinning box and unveiled it to reveal four models in black jackets, confirming that it was time for the Black Jacket Challenge.

When Ramsay announced that the first Black Jackets Challenge was Taste It Now Make It, Kori deemed it an important one as not only did it show how great your palate was, but also execute the dish perfectly. During the cooking, she used cauliflower and butternut squash for the purées, green apple for the salad, and sea bass for the fish protein due to the flakes of the demo dish. When she presented her dish, she immediately began to second guess herself after seeing the demo dish again and seeing Nikki and Mary Lou having cod on their plates. She lost the challenge to both Mary Lou and Declan as she did not get the fish correctly, and she had to compete in the second challenge.

Before the second Black Jacket Challenge, Kori said she would stab someone for a black jacket, making it an awkward moment. She picked Danny's briefcase and got salmon, making her happy as she wanted a Latin-themed dish. During the cooking, she had an idea to blend her spinach to give Ramsay a black jacket worthy dish. She was the third person to have her dish judged by Ramsay, was ready to show Ramsay she could adapt to anything and presented her pan-seared salmon with spinach pesto and roasted cauliflower. Ramsay praised the pesto as it matched the salmon well but criticized the cauliflower for tasting bland, and afterwards, she felt she made Popeye proud. She won the fourth black jacket due to her spinach pesto, and she joined the rest of the black jacket chefs in the lounge as she felt sharp in black.

Later that night, as the black jacket chefs celebrated, she knew that come the next day, a new chapter began as she was going to fight until the end.[12]

Episode 13[]

Main article: Episode 1913 - It's Time!

During the 5 Dome Challenge, Kori grabbed lobster, tomatillo, white wine, and kumquats for her dish. She wanted the corn instead of the tomatillo, but she felt it would work well with her lobster. She was the final person to have her dish judged and presented her white wine poached lobster with tomatillo salsa and kumquats. Michael Cimarusti felt the dish delivered on flavors and was amazed that she made it in 40 minutes. However, she failed to dethrone Mary Lou and lost the challenge to her.

However, Mary Lou invited Kori to come on the reward, which was driving luxury sports cars and lunch at the Palm Las Vegas with the Sous Chefs. Before leaving, Amber complained about her situation, but she reminded her that she still had herself and Mary Lou and told her to stay focused. During the reward, she drove her sports car around the racetrack with her instructors guiding her throughout the course. At lunch, she was glad that Mary Lou brought her as speaking with the Sous Chefs was a big advantage.

During dinner service, Kori was on the appetizer station with Declan. At the start of service, she expressed nervousness with Declan and Cody as she never worked with them before now. After seeing Amber drag on fish, she went over to the fish to help, telling Amber to snap out of it. When Amber kept second-guessing herself, she got frustrated by that as she was making it more difficult and decided to take over fish, with things getting more organized. After service, Ramsay asked the final five to name two people for elimination. During deliberation, she could only judge things from what she saw during elimination before nominating Cody, feeling he lacked a voice.

Kori was not nominated for elimination, and while being dismissed, she knew she had the passion and hunger to be the last chef standing.[13]

Episode 14[]

Main article: Episode 1914 - Snuggling with the Enemy

During the 40 Nightclub Portions Challenge, Kori decided to make chicken lollipops as she knew they wanted a dish that filled them up, but when there were 5 minutes left, she realized that she forgot to check on her sesame seeds, only to find out they were burnt. Fortunately, she got more seeds frying on the pan. As she served her dishes, she decided to play the mom card to win over the crowd. She won the challenge and was excited that she was stepping up her game and showing her stuff.

Before announcing the reward, Ramsay told Kori that she could bring one person to join her. Although she wanted to repay Mary Lou for bringing her on the previous reward, she decided to have Cody come with her due to being the runner up, shocking the latter. The reward was a shared $4,000 shopping spree at Macy's and an entire suite of the brand-new Hell's Kitchen Collection of home and kitchen goods, making her excited as she never spent $2,000 on herself before. As the chefs went back upstairs, she knew that there were some groups in between them but wanted to get to know Cody more and keep a tight eye on him. During the reward, Cody thanked Kori for taking him on the reward, and she was happy to get to know him more than before. When they returned from the reward, they gave Declan an Al-Clad pan and Mary Lou a Vitamix blender.

During dinner service, Kori was on the meat station. When Cody called out an incorrect ticket that had duck on it, she knew that was wrong as it was no longer on the menu. During Mary Lou's turn, she walked up a raw lamb, and the former called her up to tell her that, but Ramsay called it embarrassing as he never expected that. As she kicked herself for fumbling on meat, she got her refire accepted, and Mary Lou sent out her order. During Declan's turn, she got annoyed when the former sweated a lot. She was the final person to run the pass, Ramsay told her that she could not afford to abandon the ship, and she was ready to prove to him that she was a strong leader. Then, she was able to catch Sous Chef Christina serving halibut rings instead of scallops and declared that nothing was slipping past her. On the next order, Sous Chef Christina served Chilean sea bass instead of the ordered halibut, but again, she caught it and felt she was showing to Ramsay she was his next head chef. As Adam Carolla's table got their order, she asked for times on the next order, but when Cody sent up his Wellingtons, Ramsay saw they were undercooked. While Cody was forced to refire the Wellingtons, he argued that she left him in a mess of a station and accused her of setting him up to fail. When Cody sliced into his refire, they were cold in the center and he wanted another three minutes, something Kori did not want him to have. Fortunately, the third time was accepted, and the rest of the orders were sent out with no issues.

After service, Ramsay asked the final four to name one person they wanted to go up against in the finale. During deliberation, Kori wanted to get straight to their opinions, but when she asked how many mistakes they made up on the pass, Mary Lou played dumb by saying, "I don't know" because she knew they would use it against her. Declan felt there were two failures on meat that night, meaning her and Cody, but she felt that he latter should leave that night based on his poor performance. While Cody called her the catalyst of everything that went wrong for him, she argued that it was his responsibility once he went on meat.

At elimination, Kori said she wanted to go up against Mary Lou as the latter found her voice in the competition, while she felt she was a team player and fighting. After Cody's elimination, she was named the second finalist after Declan and was followed by Mary Lou. While being dismissed, she was ecstatic to be in the final three, planning to cook her fingers off to win.[14]

Episode 15/16[]

Main article: Episode 1915 - What Happens in Vegas...
Main article: Episode 1916 - Hitting the Jackpot

While going back to the dorms, Kori remarked that she fought so hard, lost time with her son to give them a better life, and felt that all of it was coming together. When the final three entered the dorms, they saw cookware and champagne waiting for them, and as they toasted to their milestone, she said it would be an honor if she ended up losing to either of them in the finale. Later that night, Ramsay called them back downstairs to pair up with one of the Sous Chefs. She drew the ace of hearts, pairing her up with Sous Chef Christina, and she felt that the two of them were in sync. While going over the menu, she wanted to keep her dishes nice, simple, and herself as she wanted to add her own take on a risotto dish she made for her father.

The next day, Ramsay called the dorms and asked Mary Lou to bring Kori down to his office as he had some concerns he needed to say. As she went downstairs, she was nervous about the criticism Ramsay would have about her menu but was willing to hear them out. Indeed, Ramsay said he felt that her menu was not herself as he saw more flair from her before and felt two major components were missing in the beef dish. Those components turned out to be Kori's father and her son, making her tear up at the sight of seeing them. As Sous Chef Christina took them to the black jacket lounge for some quality time, she was more determined to win the competition for her family. Talking with her family, she told them how Ramsay called her focus phenomenal. After spending time with her family, Ramsay took the final three to the five special locations he discovered in Las Vegas. Their first stop was Caesars Palace, and as they ate dinner, she remarked how hard it was juggling being a mother and a chef, and he sympathized with that as it was a tough road to success. The second stop in the tour was at the bottom of a garage where Ramsay was waiting for them. Ramsay explained that he was introduced to an underground tunnel to reach different restaurants and showed them the prop ship of the Titanic. After having the final three sit down, the platform below them began to rise, and they found themselves on a stage in front of a crowd of people. After introducing them to the crowd, Ramsay said this was their final challenge and the one that determined who would make it to the final two and compete in the final dinner service.

During the Final Menu Challenge, Kori was not ready to cook for that day, but she was ready to put on her Wonder Woman outfit and cook. She said she had extra motivation thanks to her son and father being in the audience, and as time was nearing its end, she began platting as she knew what the risks were. Before having her dishes judged, Ramsay asked the final three how they felt about their dishes, and she was super excited about her chances. During the cold starter round, she was starstruck seeing Michelle Bernstein and presented her bib lettuce with blueberry compote and blue cheese. It was praised for the cheese aspect and making the blueberries subdue, and she scored a perfect 10. On the hot starter round, she made a truffle and mushroom risotto with chicken stock and porcini mushrooms, and while Tyson Cole liked the mushroom flavor, he found the risotto to be too tight for his liking. So, she scored 8 points. On the seafood entrée round, she made a red snapper with chimichurri, it was praised for the balance and simplicity, and she scored 9 points. On the chicken entrée round, she made a pan-seared roasted chicken with roasted cauliflower, and while it was praised for a perfect chicken, it was criticized for lack of acidity, and she scored 9 points. On the red meat entrée round, she made a pan-seared filet with bourbon demi sauce, Wolfgang Puck liked the tenderness of the meat, and she scored 9 points. She won the challenge alongside Mary Lou 45-45-42 and moved onto the final dinner service. After hearing that, she said that she did it.

Because Mary Lou scored two perfect 10's in a row, Kori was forced to have the final pick. She named Declan as her first because he was a no-bullshit kind of guy, picked Jordan as her second, Adam as her third, and was left with Marc as her last pick by default. She was upset that Mary Lou picked Amber as she wanted her on her team.[15]

Returning to Hell's Kitchen, Kori said she was not giving up without a fight as she could both cook and lead a brigade, before expressing confidence with her brigade, having heard good things about Adam from the blue team, knew that Jordan would kick ass on any station she was assigned to and really wanted Declan. However, the only person she was not confident with was Marc due to his aggressive behavior in the past. As she went over the menu, Marc kept making quips to the annoyance of Declan as the latter could not stand it, while Jordan told him to relax as it was her reputation on the line. Afterward, she gave out the station assignments, putting Jordan on meat, Marc on garnish, and Declan on appetizers. She was excited to show Ramsay how rounded she was, while Marc gave his loyalty to her. Later that night, Amber confronted her over picking Jordan over herself, but she argued that it was not personal. Despite claiming that she was over it, Amber still gave her a hard time about it come the next day, much to her annoyance.

During prep, Kori called it the big one and believed that her food would push her to the end of the winning door that night. As her team prepped, Adam offered them a shot before service. Later, Jordan asked her about the sweet potato purée, but when Marc said he just made it, the former was frustrated because he did not tell her earlier. She was worried about Marc due to never working with him before and knew he was very opinionated, but decided to go with a clean slate as she continued to give her brigade instructions as she refused to have a rotten apple. Forty-five minutes before service began, Ramsay pulled her and Mary Lou into his office for a final meeting. He reminded the two women that this was their final test to prove that they were his next head chef at Hell's Kitchen at Lake Tahoe and gave them their head chef jackets. Before leaving, Ramsay reminded them that it was their night to run the kitchen. Just when the finalist exited the office, they saw the dining room already filled with diners, including their loved ones, and Ramsay asked them to give insight into their menus. She said she was basing her menu on the dishes both her father and son loved and said her win would be for her son. Ramsay told the diners that one of the finalists would become his next head chef at Hell's Kitchen at Lake Tahoe and sent them back to their kitchens. Right before service began, Declan was determined to see her as the winner and make Ramsay proud of them, while Marc was focused on winning it for her.

During dinner service, Declan got his risotto up to the pass, but Adam was late with the shrimp, even though he felt that Kori should not worry about it as they were cooking food. However, Adam's shrimp were missing their heads, and he could not find them, much to Ramsay's frustration. So, Adam had to refire the shrimp, and she told him not to lose his head over the missing shrimp heads. Fortunately, Adam got his refire accepted, and she served her first table of appetizers. Eventually, she was pushing out appetizers and moved onto entrées. She called out the blue kitchen's first entrée order, and Jordan said she was not here for herself anymore, but for her, calling her a rock for the red team before wanting to return the favor. However, one of the filets Jordan served was rare, frustrating Declan and Marc as the latter felt she was shutting down. Ramsay reminded the brigade that they already sliced the chicken and sauced the plates before asking for the togetherness. Jordan served her refire, but she found out it was rare after slicing into it. Afterwards, Ramsay pulled her aside, warned her that they were getting screwed on filets, and reminded her that Declan was inches away from making it to the finale while Jordan was nowhere near him. So, she told Declan to help Jordan with meat, and he refused to let her down. Fortunately, Declan's attempt was accepted, and she was able to serve her first order of entrées to great reviews. After Mary Lou got her order out, Ramsay pulled them to the middle of the pass and told them that they were dead even with their mistakes. She wanted to finish strong as she refused to stop. Eventually, both teams got their final orders out with no problems, and the dining room gave both finalists a round of applause. As both teams cleared down, she told Declan that she owed him drinking for saving her ass as the latter felt it was her victory, while Adam thought she did a great job and thought they all did a fucking great job tonight as she signed his menu.

With both teams lined up, Ramsay announced that he decided to forgo the traditional door opening ceremony and said he would make the announcement right now. Ramsay announced that the winner that season would be a woman, but everybody knew he was just joking, even though Mary Lou did not find that funny. Ramsay admitted it was a massive decision that could not be done so simply, told the finalists that night was a close one and he would be using the comment cards to help decide the winner before dismissing them back to the dorms. Back at the dorms, Kori felt she kicked ass that night, and despite a few bumps, she was going to go home with her head held high. As they waited, Mary Lou said it was an honor competing with her.

Later, Ramsay called the dorms and asked the finalists to come down to his office while the crowd was waiting for the results. At Ramsay's office, he said how proud he was of them, telling Kori that she was an extraordinary chef with all the tools on top of being a born leader. Afterwards, Ramsay had the two stand in front of their doors, with only one opening to reveal the winner. After a countdown from three, both turned their door handle, but only her door opened. She was crowned the winner of Hell's Kitchen and won the head chef position at Hell's Kitchen in Lake Tahoe, and while she was in shock that she won the competition, she knew it was thanks to her focus and determination that led to her door opening. In her celebration speech, she said it was all for her son and thanked everyone for their support. During the celebration, she hung her portrait on the Wall of Fame, telling Lake Tahoe that she was coming.

Ramsay's comment: "Kori is everything I could want in a head chef. She's decisive, levelheaded, and most importantly, passionate. From the moment she stepped into Hell's Kitchen, she was an instinctual and natural-born leader. She'll be a great asset to Hell's Kitchen in Lake Tahoe." [16]

Nomination History[]

Week 1 Safe
Win
Week 2 Safe
Week 3 Safe
Week 4 Win
Week 5 Win
Week 6 Nominated
Week 7 Safe
Week 8 Win
Week 9 Win
Week 10 Safe
Week 11 Safe
Week 12 Safe
Week 13 Safe
Week 14 Safe
Week 15 Winner

Season 21[]

Episode 6[]

Main article: Episode 2106 - Til Chef Do Us Part

Kori and her fiancé made a cameo appearance as one of Trenton and Macee's wedding guests, sitting at the same table with Mary Lou and Cody.[17]

Post Hell's Kitchen[]

  • After her appearance on the show, Kori continued to offer private chef services, but did not take the offer of the Head Chef position at Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen Restaurant in Lake Tahoe, due to family reasons.
  • In 2021, she contracted Covid, but has since recovered from it. Later that same year, she also got engaged.
  • She got married in May 2023.

Trivia[]

  • Before her appearance on the show, she had appeared on an episode in the first season of Food Network's "Cutthroat Kitchen" in 2013. She wins the episode "Steak Out" after declaring her motivation is to "prove to her son that mommy really is all that and a bag of potato chips," taking home $7,700.
  • She participated in the seventh all-female finals of Hell's Kitchen.
  • She is the nineteenth winner, thirteenth female winner, and seventh consecutive female winner of Hell's Kitchen, following La Tasha (Season 13), Meghan (Season 14), Ariel (Season 15), Ryan (Season 16), Michelle (Season 17), and Ariel (Season 18).
  • She is the last female winner to this date after the streak of female winners for seven consecutive seasons ended in Season 20.
  • At 37 years old, she is the oldest female winner of Hell's Kitchen.
  • She is the first Latin-American winner of Hell's Kitchen.
  • She is the twenty-first contestant to be picked as a guest for a prize during the black jackets, following Michael (Season 1), Virginia (Season 2), Jen (Season 3), Corey (Season 4), Robert (Season 5), Jay, Holli (both from Season 7), Gail, Russell (both from Season 8), Elise, Tommy (both from Season 9), Justin (Season 10), Cyndi (Season 11), Jason (Season 12), Sade (Season 13), T (Season 14), Kristin (Season 15), Heidi (Season 16), Nick (Season 17), and Bret (Season 18). She is also the third winner with this detail.
  • She is the first winner that had her sole nomination voided and the third to have it rejected in some form, following Paul (Season 9) and Michelle (Season 17).
    • Coincidentally, the three of them defeated a chef that avoided nomination throughout the entire season in the finale.
  • She is the seventh finalist to run the kitchen opposite her starting team without ever having been a member of that team, following Virginia (Season 2), Kevin (Season 6), Will (Season 9), Jason (Season 12), Ariel (Season 15), and Ariel (Season 18). She is also the third winner with this detail.
  • She is the third winner to turn down their head chef position, following Michael (Season 1) and Ariel (Season 18).

Quotes[]

  • (About Nikki crying) "Miss Nikki, you don't cry in front of ANYbody! (whispering) You cry in the walk-in where nobody sees you, and then you walk out and say 'ah, shit! I got pepper in my eye!'"
  • "Five minutes is legit like an hour kitchen time!"
  • (About failing to impress Chef Aarón) "I'm super disappointed and I'm super upset. This is definitely gonna take a while to get over."
  • (After Jordan promises her not to break sobriety) "Tell it to momma here. I'mma come kick your ass, motherfucker. I'll find you in Texas. You understand me?"
  • (After being named winner) "Wow. I won! I won. I did it. I stayed focused, I stayed determined, I kept my head down, and just kept on pushing through and I pushed right through the door!"

Gallery[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. (October 21, 2020). "Episode 1901 - Welcome To Vegas". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 1.
  2. (October 22, 2020). "Episode 1902 - Shrimply Spectacular". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 2.
  3. (October 28, 2020). "Episode 1903 - Hell Caesar!". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 3.
  4. (November 4, 2020). "Episode 1904 - Wedding Bells In Hell". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 4.
  5. (November 5, 2020). "Episode 1905 - Hell Starts Taking Its Toll". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 5.
  6. (November 12, 2020). "Episode 1906 - Metal & Marina". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 6.
  7. (November 13, 2020). "Episode 1907 - A Pair Of Aces". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 7.
  8. (November 20, 2020). "Episode 1908 - Crapping Out in Hell". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 8.
  9. (November 21, 2020). "Episode 1909 - Blind Taste Test". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 9.
  10. (November 27, 2020). "Episode 1910 - There's Something About Marc". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 10.
  11. (November 28, 2020). "Episode 1911 - Sink or Swim". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 11.
  12. (December 2, 2020). "Episode 1912 - There's Magic In Hell?". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 12.
  13. (December 3, 2020). "Episode 1913 - It's Time!". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 13.
  14. (December 9, 2020). "Episode 1914 - Snuggling with the Enemy". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 14.
  15. (December 10, 2020). "Episode 1915 - What Happens in Vegas...". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 15.
  16. (December 17, 2020). "Episode 1916 - Hitting the Jackpot". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 19. Episode 16.
  17. (November 10, 2022). "Episode 2106 - Til Chef Do Us Part". Hell's Kitchen (U.S. TV series). Season 21. Episode 6.
Hell's Kitchen Season 19
Staff
Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • Jay Santos (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Christina Wilson (Red Team Sous Chef) • Marino Monferrato (Maître d'hôtel)
Contestants
Cody CandelarioMary Lou DavisFabiola FuentesNikki HannaDeclan HorganAmber LancasterLauren LawlessPeter MartinezKenneth McDuffieJosh OakleyAdam PawlakMarc QuinonesBrittani RatcliffEliott SanchezJordan SavellKori SuttonDrew TingleySyann Williams
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