| “ | Because in the real world, if some called you a cow or a bitch, you would walk up to him and sock him in the face. | ” |
Alicia "LA" Limtiaco was a contestant on Season 5 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 8th place.
Season 5[]
Episode 1[]
- Main article: Episode 501 - 16 Chefs Compete
Thousands of chefs auditioned for Hell's Kitchen in the series' biggest turnout. However, only three hundred arrived at Hell’s Kitchen and met Jean-Philippe and Ramsay. Out of the three hundred, sixteen were selected to compete. Jean-Philippe began calling out the chefs chosen to compete. While not seen, LA was one of the sixteen called to compete.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, LA got goosebumps when Ramsay walked past her during the cooking even though she was a lesbian. She was the ninth person to have her dish judged by Ramsay. She made fish and chips, which Ramsay deemed terrible. After the challenge, Ramsay asked both teams to decide on a team name for the opening night. She suggested smoking reds.
During prep, LA said that Lacey's lack of self-confidence was not winning them over after the latter left in the middle of prep. Even when Lacey returned, she was still disgusted with the former's decision to leave. When the teams were lined up, the women revealed their team name, Team Saffron. It was changed to Spice Racks after Colleen's request. During dinner service, she was at the meat station with Coi. She felt excited and nervous because services were when Ramsay went crazy. After Colleen revealed to have accidentally used sugar instead of salt for the risotto, she was in disbelief over that answer. The red team was declared the winners because of Carol's strong performance as a waitress.[1]
Episode 2[]
- Main article: Episode 502 - 15 Chefs Compete
Back at the dorms, LA told Lacey that if she did not have confidence in her abilities, the women would not show confidence in her. Secretly, she wanted Lacey gone from the team.
The following day at 5:49 AM, a marching band came into the dorms and played loudly, and the chefs woke up. LA could only hear the band waking her up. Sous Chefs Scott and Gloria ordered the chefs to get downstairs, and they were led outside to find Ramsay. Wanting both teams to learn how to respect their products, Ramsay had them go to their crates and gather all the scallops into their colored buckets. Before the Scallop Cleaning Challenge, she was unhappy as she had no experience cleaning scallops. She got all eight scallops accepted, though she thought she could have done more. The red team lost the challenge 35-36, and they were forced to prepare a raw bar for the next dinner service. Before the punishment, she believed that Lacey was giving up.
During prep, LA saw Ji injure her ankle and feared the worse. During dinner service, she was at the dessert station. At one point, she was very impressed with Ji's determination. The red team lost the service, and she thought Colleen was talking out of her butt when she argued with Ramsay over her poor performance. They were asked to nominate two people for elimination.
LA was not nominated for elimination, but she gave Ji an emotional standing ovation during her departure, along with her teammates and the blue team.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 503 - 14 Chefs Compete
LA and Andrea asked Lacey if she deserved to stay back in the dorms.
The following morning, the Sous Chefs woke up the contestants at 6 AM with cowbells and told them to get dressed and out the front door to the SUVs. The barely awoke chefs were driven to an unknown place. It turned out to be a meat processing plant, and the chefs took a tour as Sous Chef Scott showed them where each cut of the beef was on a cow. LA was not seen participating in the Meat & Cow Challenge, and the red team lost the challenge. Their punishment was to carry two large sides of beef and eat cow offal. During the punishment, she said the side had everything but the head, and during the butchering, she said she got blood on her jacket and fat in her hair. During lunch, she said she feared puking, but she puked.
During prep, LA said the red team would not stop after their punishment the previous day. During the Steakhouse double dinner service, LA was a waitress during the first seating. She did not appear much in that seating. She was at the garnish station during the second seating with Paula. She got annoyed when Coi's shrimp came out raw as it was a simple menu, and it should not be hard to mess up a shrimp Caesar salad. When the blue team brought back steaks that were cooked to order, she accused them of sabotaging the red team. The red team won the dinner service, but she secretly admitted that she would have preferred losing since she wanted some dead weight, being Colleen, gone.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 504 - 13 Chefs Compete
During the Football Team & Cheerleaders Breakfast Service Challenge, LA was at the hash brown station with Carol. She was not seen during the service. The red team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a Beverly Hills-style camping experience.
During dinner service, LA was at the meat station with Colleen. She got angry with Colleen as not only was the latter not putting their meat entrées in the convection oven to keep them warm, but Colleen was continually asking questions, which double guessed her cooks. She sent over the Wellingtons, but they did not have their ends properly cut off, which she blamed Colleen for. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, she pointed out that Colleen was starting to push Ramsay to his limits, especially since she had been chewed out in the previous services.
LA was not nominated for elimination. After Seth's elimination, she said goodbye to Lacey as the latter was reassigned to the blue team.[4]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 505 - 12 Chefs Compete
During the Asian Fusion Challenge, LA told Andrea to shut up as her barking was annoying. She was paired up with Paula on the seafood dish. They were the second pair from the red team to have their dish judged and went up against the pair of Ben and Lacey on the blue team. They made an ahi tuna tempura with confit vegetables. While Ben did not see the fusion in the dish, both Ramsay and Tanya Steele praised the tempura for its temperature and cook. They scored that round over Ben and Lacey. The red team won the challenge 2-1, they had their dishes featured on the Epicurious website, and won an Asian-inspired day which included sumo wrestling and sake tasting.
During prep, LA hoped the blue team got a taste of what they had earlier from Lacey. Before service, Ramsay put her and Paula's tempura dish on the menu as it was one of the best dishes he had ever tasted in Hell’s Kitchen. During dinner service, she was at the appetizer station. She sent her risotto out in the red kitchen, and Ramsay accepted it. LA called it a dad moment, and thirty minutes into dinner service, appetizers from both kitchens were going out fast. Both teams were named joint losers, but Ramsay named her the "Best of the Worst" for the red team for getting her team off to a great start. She was asked to nominate one person for elimination. During deliberation, she knew that her choice would be between Andrea for being behind and Colleen for being terrible in all five services. Andrea told her she would not resent her for nominating her.
LA nominated Andrea for elimination.[5]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 506 - 11 Chefs Compete
Back at the dorms, LA felt terrible about Colleen's elimination as the red team lost their cheerleader. She wondered if she had made the wrong decision, but Andrea reassured her that she had made the right choice and got what she deserved.
During the Bar Mitzvah Planning Challenge, LA saw that Carol had a huge chip on her shoulder and thought she was better than them. She presented the red team's brisket, was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged, and went up against Ben. She presented the red team's braised brisket with cherry BBQ sauce, and Max picked the dish as the best. The red team lost the challenge 1-2. They were punished by decorating the dining room for the following night’s service, based on Francisco the Party Planner instructions. When the red team met Francisco, she called him parade gay compared to herself.
During the Bar Mitzvah dinner service, LA was at the dessert station. When Coi set the burgers up, she found out they were still rare and told her to put them back on the grill. She went to help Coi out as the latter was not communicating with the team, but Coi claimed that they were hot when she pulled them off the grill. The second attempt on the burgers was deemed acceptable, and Max finally received his entrée. Later, she and Coi bickered over how to slice the brisket. When the chefs saw Max play with the Harlem Globetrotters, she thought Max would remember this moment for a long time. The red team lost the service, and Andrea was named the "Best of the Worst." During deliberation, she disagreed with Ramsay's decision as she claimed Andrea messed up on every station in previous services.
LA was Andrea's second nominee for elimination, with Coi as the first. Andrea claimed she nominated her because she was cooking more like a line cook and not as a leader. However, she found that funny as she gave it everything in services and challenges. During her plea, she said she had yet to show Ramsay her best side and called cooking her life. While not being a loud person, LA wanted to show Ramsay what she had. Before Ramsay could make his decision, she joined Coi and Carol in saying that Andrea was the weakest chef on the red team. Although it did not work, she survived elimination. While being dismissed, she promised to go in and show she was a leader.[6]
Episode 7[]
- Main article: Episode 507 - 10 Chefs Compete
Back at the dorms, LA was not happy when Andrea called her weaker than Carol due to her lack of passion showing in the past services, but Paula agreed with the latter. Still, she was not happy about the comment and began to dislike the women.
Before the Leftovers Challenge, LA and the red team welcomed Giovanni as a new teammate. She was the second chef from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Lacey. She made an asparagus and ginger soup. It was criticized for looking and tasting as it came from the bottom of a dishwasher. That dismayed her as she thought it was an easy challenge. She lost that round, but the red team won the challenge 3-2. They were rewarded with a trip to Hollywood Parks to see a horse race with Ramsay. During the reward, she said that hanging out with Ramsay outside of the restaurant was similar to hanging out with her dad.
During dinner service, LA was at the fish station. She was unresponsive when Ramsay asked for the missing John Dory, and Paula thought she was asleep that night. Ramsay accused her of daydreaming and called her a silly cow. That angered her, as nobody would do that without getting punched in the real world. Still, she became more responsive as a result. Later, she was grateful for Giovanni's leadership as it made them a real kitchen. The red team won the service.[7]
Episode 8[]
- Main article: Episode 508 - 9 Chefs Compete
Back at the dorms, LA told Lacey she was lucky that Ramsay did not care about what happened in the dorms and questioned whether the latter was serious about being in the competition and becoming a head chef.
Before the Blind Taste Test, LA volunteered to sit out to even both teams at four members each, shocking her team. Andrea said she volunteered quickly, and the former thought she second-guessed herself. Ramsay was disappointed that she was not competing, but she said she had a poor palate due to smoking. After Giovanni performed poorly, Ramsay asked her if she was happy to have sat out. She said she was not as she felt she could have done better than Giovanni. The red team won the challenge 8-7, and they were rewarded with a photo shoot for TV Guide in the restaurant and received makeovers. She made a snarky comment toward Lacey during the reward, which set the latter off.
LA said she figured out that going in with a few nerves was a perfect balance during prep. During dinner service, she was at the garnish station. After Carol sliced into raw Wellingtons, the former told to slow down on the garnishes. That frustrated her as she had pans waiting and said that meat was not hard. While Carol knew she was making her frustrated, the former did not have any other choice. Then, she served cold and bland mashed potatoes, causing Ramsay to order her to wake up. Giovanni saw that she was getting a lot of heat from Ramsay and commented that she did not have a good day. After the blue team completed service, Ramsay called her out for giving him cold mashed potatoes before shutting down the red kitchen.
The red team lost the service, and Ramsay told LA that the only thing she forgot was her alarm clock and sleeping blanket. They were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Andrea and Paula considered her for elimination. But, she accused Paula of being biased in her decision and knew the latter would not pick Andrea. Giovanni nominated her, but she nominated Carol and Andrea.
LA was the red team's first nominee for elimination, with Carol being the second. Andrea joined them because the former received votes from her and Carol. During Andrea's plea, the former told her that she did not take initiative, unlike Carol. During her plea, she said she could cook and felt she was nominated for her communication skills, which she did not feel was right. She was eliminated for showing no passion in the previous services and serving cold garnishes. During her exit interview, she disagreed with Ramsay's decision as she could cook and refused to show emotions as she considered them weak.
Ramsay's comment: "LA was a real workhorse in the kitchen. I kicked her out of Hell's Kitchen because she lacked two crucial skills to be a great chef — leadership and creativity." [8]
Episode 14/15[]
- Main article: Episode 514 - 2 Chefs Compete
- Main article: Episode 515 - Winner Announced
LA was one of the six chefs who returned for the finale. When she came back into the kitchen, Ramsay reminded her of how she was looking asleep during the eighth service. She was picked second by Paula, following Andrea and before Lacey.[9]
Back in the dorms, LA was concerned about Lacey's performance, and even urged her to at least perform with a little bit of effort. During prep, she was still concerned about Lacey and secretly hoped that she would walk out in the middle of service.
During dinner service, LA was on the appetizer station. She was not seen much during the first half, but expressed surprise when Andrea was performing more poorly than Lacey. Later, she was called over by Paula to help Lacey on the garnish station. Paula eventually lost the finals to Danny.[10]
Nomination History[]
| Week 1 | Win |
|---|---|
| Week 2 | Safe |
| Week 3 | Win |
| Week 4 | Safe |
| Week 5 | BoW |
| Week 6 | Nominated |
| Week 7 | Win |
| Week 8 | Nominated |
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After her appearance on the show, LA worked at the Monte Carlo and Planet Hollywood resorts before moving to the MGM Grand Hotel Resort as a Master Cook.
- She is currently an Executive Room Chef at Luxor Hotel & Casino, having joined in 2018.
- She is currently cooking at the World Famous Rosie's Den about 50 miles from Kingman, AZ, as of 2021.
Trivia[]
- She and Coi are the youngest of the season, at age 22.
- She is the fourth openly gay contestant of Hell’s Kitchen, following Dewberry, Jessica (both from Season 1), and Wil (also from Season 5).
- She is the third contestant from the state of Nevada, following Sharon and Louross (both from Season 4).
- She and Giovanni are the first pair of contestants to both be named "Best of the Worst" and be eliminated on two different nights.
- She is the fourth contestant to be named "Best of the Worst" without making it to the black jackets, following Chris (Season 1), Melissa (Season 3), and Louross (Season 4).
- She has had two different jackets. Her first jacket in the first episode says her first name, Alicia, instead of her nickname LA, which was seen on the other jacket afterward.
- She is tied with Fran (Season 7) with the lowest placing contestant to receive the title of "Best of the Worst" at 8th place.
- However, when it comes to being the sole person to nominate someone, the lowest placing contestant is Salvatore (Season 7) at 10th.
Quotes[]
- "I'm going to be dead honest. I was kind of hoping that we would lose tonight so we can get rid of some dead weight."
- (About Francisco) "I'm gay. That dude is parade gay. (laughs) Wow."
- "He called me a cow... for the first time."
- "In the real world, you wouldn't have someone yelling at you like that. You wouldn't have someone calling you a cow or bitch; you wouldn't. Because in the real world, if some called you a cow or a bitch, you would walk up to him and sock him in the face."
- (After being eliminated) "I definitely think Chef Ramsay made the wrong decision. Anything I did was to the best of my ability. I'm big on not showing emotions in the kitchen. Emotions are weakness, and I will never be weak, never."
Gallery[]
External links[]
LA Limtiaco on Instagram
References[]
| Hell's Kitchen Season 5 |
|---|
| Staff |
| Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • Scott Leibfried (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Gloria Felix (Red Team Sous Chef) • Jean-Philippe Susilovic (Maître d'hôtel) |
| Contestants |
| Coi Burruss • Ji-Hyun Cha • Colleen Cleek • Lacey D'Angelo • Paula DaSilva • Giovanni Filippone • Andrea Heinly • Robert Hesse • Wil Kocol • Seth Levine • LA Limtiaco • J Maxwell • Charlie McKay • Carol Scott • Danny Veltri • Ben Walanka |