Melissa Irons

“

I wish I could live to fight another day here in Hell's Kitchen just to show my team that I was a great asset to them, in spite of how they feel.

”

Hometown/Residence	Atlanta, GA
Occupation	Executive Chef
Kitchen Experience	14 Years
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	4 out of 5
Challenges Won	2
Services Won	1
Times as BoW/Announcer	0
Times Nominated	1
Placement	15th

Melissa Irons was a contestant on Season 22 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 15th place.

Season 22

Episode 1/2

Main article: Episode 2201 - The Dream Begins

Main article: Episode 2202 - Tad Overwhelming

The eighteen new chefs arrived at Hell's Kitchen, where Marino awaited them. The chefs entered Hell's Kitchen and noticed the past winners from each season before entering the dining room. To give the chefs some inspiration, Ramsay decided to have them walk through the famous doors and have a taste of what it felt like to win. Afterwards, the chefs got to know each other before the Sous Chefs arrived, explaining how their time in the competition helped their careers. Afterwards, a guitar player appeared and played the national anthem as four other doors appeared behind the curtain, each figure explaining their journey for the American Dream. After Ramsay stepped out, he welcomed the chefs to the twenty-second season, where they were celebrating the American Dream. Ramsay said the three celebrities the chefs saw were proof of the American Dream and that Hell's Kitchen was part of the American Dream. Ramsay said the winner of that season would become his Head Chef at Hell's Kitchen in Caesars Las Vegas with a salary of $250,000. Then, Ramsay told the chefs that their Signature Dish Challenge was about to begin.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Melissa worked on her Southern lamb chops, discovering raw meat. Refusing to serve raw lamb to Ramsay, she put the chops on a pan and did a quick sear to cook them further. She was the first person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and she went up against Jason. Before having her dish judged, she said she began cooking during her undergraduate years and fell in love with cooking to nourish people away from home. She made lamb with sweet potatoes and Swiss chard. While it had a good presentation, Ramsay said he got concerned seeing her flash fry the chops during the cooking. That made her tremble in fear, but thankfully, Ramsay enjoyed the flavors and gave her four points. Afterwards, she felt her American Dream began. The red team won the challenge after a 29-point tie. They were rewarded with a day at a Beverly Hills Mansion. Later that evening, she took Jason aside and encouraged him not to be a jerk around everyone.

Before the Creative Scallops Challenge, Melissa got squicked out by the sight of the box contents. As the challenge began, she said she was not a deep diver and felt squeamish about touching the seafood. During the cooking, she wanted to see how far she could rise past her strong performance in the Signature Dish Challenge, especially when a Punishment Pass was on the line. Her dish was in the top three for the red team, and she was the final person to have her dish judged by Ramsay. She made scallops with corn relish. Ramsay loved the nod to New Orleans but sent her back in line for his final decision. Ultimately, she won and received the Punishment Pass, which she called the American Dream.

During dinner service, Melissa served seafood ceviche in the dining room with Raneisha. She was not seen that night, and both teams were named joint losers. They were asked to nominate two each.

She was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 2203 - Citizens of Hell's Kitchen

During the American Citizen Brunch Service Challenge, Melissa served as a floater. She was not seen during the challenge, and the red team lost the challenge. They were punished by cleaning up all the confetti in the dining room by hand. Ramsay asked her if she wanted to use her Punishment Pass, but she decided to stay with the women. During the punishment, Sous Chef Christina looked around the dining room and found one strand on a booth bench. She claimed it was tape, but Sous Chef Christina saw it for herself and confirmed it was confetti. As Sous Chef Christina scolded her for lying to her, Sandra recalled an old saying her mother told her in Polish about lying. So, as warned, Sous Chef Christina dumped a bag of confetti onto the floor while the women were not amused by her attempt to lie. Still, she argued that she could have used her Pass to spend the day by the pool. Also, she felt everyone else was looking out for themselves, which she would do moving forward.

During dinner service, Melissa was at the garnish station with Atoye. She was not seen all night, and both teams were named joint losers. They were asked to nominate two each.

She was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 2204 - Gimme an H!

When the chefs saw Cheer LA, Melissa revealed that she used to be a cheerleader but kept to herself. During the American Classics Challenge, she challenged Brad as she considered herself more American than the latter. Their dish was a cheeseburger, but she knew she must put her money where her mouth went as a cheeseburger was all American. She was the first person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay, and she hoped that her visually appealing dish would win. She made a Mediterranean-inspired cheeseburger. It looked delicious and tasted fresh, thanks to the eggplant. She tied that round with Brad, but she did not mind as the women were off to a strong start.

The red team lost the challenge 6-7, and they were punished by baking bread for the following service, which included grinding the wheat by hand. Ramsay asked Melissa if she would use her Punishment Pass. After she recalled how her teammates did not have her back in the previous punishment, she told Ramsay yes. She decided to take Jason's place, explaining that she picked the latter because she wanted to see if doing the punishment would humble him. She joined the blue team in their reward: a trip to Santa Barbara with parasailing and dinner at the Hotel Milo.

During dinner service, Melissa was at the meat station with Donya. She was not seen that night, and the red team won the service.

Episode 5

Main article: Episode 2205 - Just Bring the DARN Fish!

During the Protein Identification Challenge, Melissa was paired with Leigh. They were the second pair to compete for the red team. Their dish was crab and ostrich. Leigh realized that the fish they got was crab, and the former got the fish protein while she grabbed beef. However, it was half right, and they swapped the crab for the langoustine per Raneisha's suggestion. Their second attempt got a red light, making Leigh ask why she did not follow her gut. She and Leigh got their third attempt accepted. After the red team finished their turn, she prayed that the men were worse in the challenge. The red team lost the challenge 13:14-6:39, and they were punished by taking in deliveries of Alaskan salmon and prepping them for the following service. During the punishment, she was not in the mood as she had the fastest time in the challenge but lost, thanks to her teammates.

During prep, Melissa did not respond to Donya's question due to her poor attitude. Feeling disheartened that she would have to go into service after losing the challenge, thanks to her teammates, she continued to show her poor attitude. Donya did not like that, as the former did not think she was not worth keeping around if she jumped ship. In contrast, she did not care as it was not a team effort anymore. Still, Donya did not like that she kept pouting and got frustrated with her attitude.

During dinner service, Melissa was at the garnish station with Sammi. As the women struggled to get their first order out, she said it should not be hard to get out of the gates. However, she was done working with the women as she did not want to stress out on people that over-complicated stuff. Later, Sandra did not like how she was a non-presence all night, as she did not correctly answer Leigh's question about an order. Sammi corrected her, and Sous Chef Christina got on her case when she tried to double-fry the fries. Still, she did not care about doing well in services as she already shined in the challenges and felt Ramsay saw that. The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Donya brought up her name as the former did not think Sammi should have run garnish alone and did not think she was confident. She argued that she brought positivity but did not want to bring her team down on a station she was not confident on. Still, Donya felt that she was a Debby downer.

Melissa was the red team's second nominee for elimination, with Sandra as the first. During her plea, she said she had made a name for herself and pushed herself for her team despite being an outsider. Ramsay asked her if she was honest about her claim, and she said she was. After a tough decision, Ramsay eliminated her for isolating herself from her teammates and becoming a non-presence that night. During her exit interview, she believed that the women let her down as she was consistent since the start and that they nominated her out of fear of her abilities.

Ramsay's comment: "Melissa's drive completely disappeared, so I made her disappear from this competition."

Nomination History

Week 1	Safe
Week 2	Safe
Week 3	Win
Week 4	Nominated

Trivia

• She is the seventh contestant to earn a punishment pass, following Bret (Season 18), Syann (Season 19), Steve, Brynn (both from Season 20), Alex, and Alejandro (both from Season 21).
• She is the second chef after Syann (Season 19) that did not make it to black jackets after winning a Punishment Pass.
• At 15th place, she is the lowest-ranking contestant to win an individual challenge during the team phase.

Quotes

• (Upon seeing cheerleaders during a challenge) "Hell's Kitchen! Hell's Kitchen! Let's go!"
• (After being eliminated) "The team definitely let me down. I've been very consistent on pushing no matter what station I was on. I believe they put me up because I was a threat, all my strengths were always consistent. I wish I could live to fight another day here in Hell's Kitchen just to show my team that I was a great asset to them, in spite of how they feel."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Melissa in Red Jacket

Melissa's Confessional

Melissa with the Punishment Pass

Melissa and Sandra Nominated

Melissa Eliminated

Melissa's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

Melissa's Scallops Dish (Episode 2)

Melissa's American Classic Dish (Cheeseburger) (Episode 4)

External Link

• Melissa Irons on Instagram