Melinda Meaney

“

I'm not done with Hell's Kitchen yet!

”

Hometown/Residence	Philadelphia, PA
Occupation	Private Chef
Kitchen Experience	5 years
Culinary Education	Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts
Culinary Inspiration	Father
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	0 out of 1
Challenges Won	0
Services Won	0
Times as BoW/Announcer	0
Times Nominated	1
Placement	16th
Episode Eliminated	16 Chefs Compete

Melinda Meaney was a contestant on Season 6 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 16th place.

Season 6

Episode 1

Main article: Episode 601 - 16 Chefs Compete

After receiving some tips from Jean-Philippe and former Hell's Kitchen contestants, Ramsay ordered all the chefs to cook their signature dishes.

Before tasting the signature dishes, Ramsay announced that for the first time, the Signature Dish Challenge would occur as a regular team challenge, with each contestant going head-to-head. Melinda was the fifth person of the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Jim. She served a poached lobster tail with Portabella mushrooms and started to be very flirtatious, but Ramsay could not find the lobster tail. When Ramsay asked her where the lobster tail went, she claimed she had some challenges during the cooking process. So, Ramsay found it pathetic and trashed her dish. She lost the round to Jim, and eventually the challenge 2-3.

The red team was punished by cleaning both kitchens ahead of the opening service the following night. After their punishment, the women came up to the dorms and found their uniforms, knives, and cookbooks, which they had to learn by heart. The next morning, during prep, the women were already going full steam ahead and were confident as they studied the menu the previous night and rested.

During dinner service, Melinda was on the appetizer station with Lovely. Both of them were so inconsistent that they had to redo a capellini pasta dish of the first table eight times. On the eighth attempt, Tennille asked her if the pasta was cooked, which she answered it was, but Ramsay declared it was still undercooked. Then, she mistakenly tossed it in the trash anyway, which upset Ramsay as he meant for her to just put it back on the stove and cook it a little bit more. Then, Ramsay discovered a huge amount of pasta that she wasted since the beginning of service and started to take it all out, horrifying not only himself but the rest of the women. When Ramsay asked her how much pasta she threw away, she was too shocked to answer, keeping her eyes widely open. Ramsay said that she was making him mad, and Tennille called her stupid.

After Ramsay shut down both kitchens, the teams cleared down and Melinda was still having her huge stare. When both teams were lined up, Ramsay warned her that she was running out of time in the competition. The red team was declared losers and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. Back in the dorms, she was immediately targeted by Suzanne for lacking the passion and the knowledge, but she declared she was not done with Hell's Kitchen yet. In the end, the red team deliberated over her, Amanda, and Lovely.

Melinda was the red team's first nominee, with Amanda being the second. She was eliminated for being the worst performer of the night, the main reason why her team lost, and her lack of desire to compete.

Ramsay's comment: "Melinda was completely lost in space, so I sent her back to whatever planet she came from."

Nomination History

Week 1	Nominated

Post Hell's Kitchen

• After her appearance on the show, Melinda returned to her previous career as a private chef.
• As of January 2020, she is now a Yoga Instructor.

Trivia

• Due to Louie's unexpected ejection in the opening night service, she is the second contestant to get eliminated on opening night without ranking last place in her season, following Tiffany (Season 3), and being the first contestant to do so who ranked in 16th place.
• She is the first contestant in 16th place without ranking in last place. She is also the first female contestant ranked in 16th place.
• She is the fourth female to have never won a challenge in their season, following Wendy (Season 1), Sharon (Season 4), and Ji (Season 5).
• She is the fourth female contestant to get eliminated on opening night, following Carolann (Season 1), Polly (Season 2) and Tiffany (Season 3).

Quotes

• "My dish, it's very rich and succulent and luscious and velvety...You can just feel what's happening in your mouth, and satisfaction that comes."
• "I'm not done with Hell's Kitchen yet!"
• (After being eliminated) "I'm really disappointed. I really was looking forward to be spending more time with Chef Ramsay. Chef Gordon Ramsay, I'd love to make you a four-course dinner and you could see exactly what kind of talent I have."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dish

Melinda's Intro Spot

Melinda in Red Jacket

Melinda's Confessional

Amanda and Melinda Nominated

Melinda Eliminated

Melinda's Signature Dish