“ | Shut the fuck up right now, and stop fighting, and focus on the food! | ” |
Michael Langdon was a contestant on Season 11 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 9th place.
Season 11[]
Episode 1/2[]
- Main article: Episode 1101 - 20 Chefs Compete Part 1
- Main article: Episode 1102 - 20 Chefs Compete Part 2
When the chefs arrived in Los Angeles, Ramsay surprisingly told them to meet him in Las Vegas. Arrived there, they were greeted by showgirls, got on a double-decker bus for a tour of the city, and eventually got tricked in believing they would go on a Las Vegas 4D experience. However, they arrived in front of a live audience, where Ramsay was waiting for them.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, Michael was the seventh person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay, and went up against Cyndi. His fish had finesse and was seasoned beautifully, and he won the round over Cyndi. The blue team eventually lost the challenge 4-5, and they were punished with an eight-hour school bus ride from Las Vegas to Hell's Kitchen, in the desert, without air conditioning. During the punishment, he was the only man who did not seem to be annoyed by Sebastian's constant talking. The next day, during prep, the men were really focused and working as a team.[1]
During dinner service, Michael was on the meat station with Barret. At one point, he gave a little pep talk to his team struggling to send out appetizers, which Sebastian responded by calling him "Mikey Wikey". When the blue team moved on to entrées, he called five minutes for his lamb and was excited to work on that as he was working with it every day, even saying that he considered putting it on his next menu back at his everyday job. He communicated well with Jeremy, and told Barret his Wellingtons were still undercooked. Then, he was asked by Jeremy if he was ready to walk, which he answered he was while being very confident that his lamb was perfectly cooked. However, the lamb was still raw, and when Ramsay sent the lamb back, he expressed disappointment and started his attempt over, while still being disappointed in himself. On his second attempt, he still needed more time for his lamb to be ready, much to Barret's dismay as the latter's Wellingtons were perfectly cooked. He was told that he could not make his lamb rest any longer and that he had to walk, much to his annoyance, who sarcastically thanked Barret for sending his lamb too soon. He brought his lamb to the pass, with Ramsay asking him to show some energy, but Ramsay returned with it because there was more bone than meat on the lamb, annoying Dan. Because of that, he was the second person from the blue team to be kicked out of the kitchen, along with Barret, and went back to the dorms with an already kicked out Sebastian.
The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Michael was considered by Jeremy and Barret for struggling with the lamb, but while acknowledging that he fucked up, he said that he was cooking lamb every day and had a lot of experience while considering Sebastian for not being serious since the beginning of the competition, calling him a clown in the process. Sebastian said he liked to have a good time, which he responded that he did to, but was knowing when to be serious and when to play around.
He was not nominated for elimination.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 1103 - 19 Chefs Compete
The next morning, some soldiers from the US army came in Hell's Kitchen, went to the dorms, and gave a very brutal wake-up call to the chefs by screaming and yelling to get up. When the teams were challenged to climb up the wall, Michael managed to get some lobsters into his team's bucket, as well as help Christian to go over the wall. The blue team managed to get 37 lobsters in their bucket, compared to the red team's 31 but did not win anything as that was only the first part of the challenge. While going back to the dorms, he carried Anthony, who sprained his ankle while climbing the wall, along with Jon, and later, he carried him once again while going down in the kitchen, along with Jeremy.
During the Lobster Cleaning Challenge, Michael was paired with Christian. Together, they scored at least two points, but the blue team eventually lost the challenge 8-11. They were punished by taking a delivery of thousands of pounds of halibut and branzino, prepping them for the next service, and eating fish head soup for lunch.
The next day, during prep, Michael was annoyed by Jeremy's slow pace and declared he really needed him to pick it up. He emerged as a leader while acknowledging it was time to fucking move. When Jeremy told him that he was waiting for Sous Chef James to come back so he could finish prepping his mushrooms, he responded by telling he had to do that half an hour before. Then, he started to lose his temper and told Jeremy to shut up and focus, before Ray told them they didn't have time to be arguing and calmed the situation down. With that, he toned down his voice and calmly said to Jeremy that what was important was that the job needed to be done, with Jeremy understanding.
During dinner service, Michael was on the fish station with Christian. He was not seen at all as he did not make any mistakes, and the blue team was eventually kicked out of the kitchen. Both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate two people each for elimination. During deliberation, he considered Jeremy for being extremely slow during prep, while adding that the latter did not show any initiative.
He was not nominated for elimination.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 1104 - 17 Chefs Compete
Back in the dorms, Michael asked Jeremy what Ramsay said to him in private, but Jeremy answered it was not his shit before finally telling it to the whole team.
The next morning, all the chefs went outside for the next challenge and saw Ramsay, dressed in a running suit, and a lot of runners waiting in front of a start/finish line. He introduced the HK3K Service Challenge, and during prep, Michael, along with Barret, checked on Dan when the latter arrived at his first checkpoint during the race. During the challenge, he was not seen much, but the blue team eventually lost the challenge, and they were punished by cleaning the HK3K course, including erasing the paint, breaking down the checkpoints, picking the trash, and finally, prepping both kitchens ahead of the next service.
Before the punishment, Michael requested Ramsay to call the tickets slower so everybody could hear them properly, which Ramsay agreed to do during the next service. The next day, during prep, he took the leadership role of the blue team. Later, he was angry at Dan leaving his stuff on his station, but Dan talked back by saying that he was breaking his balls. Then, he declared he needed to keep a close eye on Dan, and landed him a metal container by asking what was inside, which Dan answered incorrectly. After Dan corrected himself, he padded him on the shoulder while saying he should not fuck the team, much to Dan's annoyance. A little argument erupted between the two of them, where he reminded Dan that they had a service to pull off, but Dan responded that he could suck his dick, leading Ray to calm the situation down.
During dinner service, Michael was on the garnish station. Before tickets entered, he told his teammates to have fun while being fast. When Ramsay called the first ticket, he did it very slowly, which he answered it was perfect, much to Ramsay's dismay. When Ray's risotto was accepted, he was happy and said his teammates were doing a great job. Later, when he sent his lamb garnish to the pass, Dan was still not ready with his lamb, much to his dismay, and he acknowledged he had to fire another garnish. After, Dan's lamb was rejected once again, and he declared he had to restart his garnish for the sixtieth time, much to his dismay. He urged Dan to hurry up as he did not want to do his garnish once again, and expressed disappointment in Dan for failing at the one task he had. Then, he asked Dan for a real time on his lamb, but completely lost his patience when Dan asked Zach for a time, and went to the convection oven himself, while wondering why he was asking Zach as the latter could not know more than him. At the convection oven, he angrily ordered Dan to go back to his station, and declared that if Dan would put one finger on him, he would beat him all over the fucking room, while concluding that he did not care if he would go to jail. Then, he got back to his station, but on his way, he bumped into Dan, which the latter did not appreciate before Ramsay pulled both of them in the pantry room. In there, Ramsay asked what was going on between both of them, and he angrily told Dan that he had to talk, but when Dan requested him to stop yelling, he ignored and insulted him by telling to talk or go the fuck home. Ramsay ordered both of them to talk to each other, and they got out of the pantry room calmer than when they entered. However, he did not understand well what Dan said about being ready on garnish, but when Dan corrected himself by saying he was ready with the garnish, he told Dan to speak English. When Dan finally gave a time, he appreciated, smiled, and asked Dan to do the same, but Dan said that sarcasm was not appreciated at the moment. Then, he told that he was not appreciating the fact that Dan could not cook food, asked Dan to not even talk and just cook, which Dan mimicked he was, and finally, he and Ray gave each other an air kiss. Finally, he added that he would get fired if he had to take one hour for a ticket.
The blue team eventually won the service for finally showing some progress. While going back to the dorms, Michael called Dan a fucking amateur, while declaring he had to take him out of the team if they would like to be successful.[4]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 1105 - 16 Chefs Compete Part 1
After winning their first service, back in the dorms, the men celebrated with champagne glasses, while Michael declared that the monkey was finally off their back.
During the Protein Identification Challenge, Michael was paired with Jon, and they were the first and last pair to compete for the blue team. On their first turn, they landed on the turkey meatballs, but he declared it was not as easy as it looked because of the tomato sauce. After picking lamb, venison, veal, pork, buffalo, rabbit, goat, and kangaroo, they finally chose turkey on their ninth attempt. On their second turn, they landed on swordfish & chips, and after guessing cod and sturgeon, they correctly guessed swordfish on their third attempt.
The blue team lost the challenge 10:33-6:37, and they were punished by taking deliveries of wheat flour, grinding it, and making bread from scratch. During the punishment, Michael said that even though he made bread before, he never did it that way and that he never made anything that hard in his life.
During breakfast service, Michael was on the eggs Benedict station. After the first ticket was called, he and Jon gave a little pep talk to the team by saying they should not rush, and moments later, he gave Ray a bigger pan when the latter asked for one. Near the end, he was determined to do whatever it would take to win, and his eggs Benedict were accepted. The blue team won the service as they served all their tickets before the red team, and celebrated by hugging each other.[5]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 1106 - 16 Chefs Compete Part 2
Later that day, during prep, Michael was asked a lot of questions by Dan, leading him to be worried about the latter's food knowledge.
During dinner service, Michael was on the appetizer station. He was not seen much, except when he called Barret an asshole for taking a lot of time to bring the first ticket in the kitchen, and when he was annoyed by Ray and Dan's communication struggles on fish, saying they should get it together. When those two started arguing while cooking, he said that he could not take it anymore, and later, he was seen carrying Anthony's perfectly cooked Wellingtons to the pass. After a lot of mistakes, the blue team was kicked out of the kitchen, both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate two people each.
He was not nominated for elimination.[6]
Episode 7[]
- Main article: Episode 1107 - 15 Chefs Compete
Back in the dorms, Michael targeted Dan by saying that he would rather have somebody positive than negative on the blue team.
The next day, both teams went to the dining room, where Ramsay introduced the Chinese Dish Creation Challenge, along with the Samurai statue that was placed there. When the countdown began, everybody ran to the plate of fortune cookies that was in front of the statue, but when they arrived, it started moving, making everybody flinch and laugh. Then, Sous Chef James brought the blue team's basket of giant fortune cookies that would be carried with chopsticks, and during the first part, Michael was not seen much. During the second part, he worked on the soup course, he was the fifth person from the blue team to have his dish judged, his sweet and sour halibut soup was praised for the presentation, and he tied the round with Ja'Nel. The blue team won the challenge 4-3, and they were rewarded with a paintball activity. During the reward, he and his teammates decided to target Dan.
During dinner service, Michael was on the garnish station. He was not seen much, but after Barret served an acceptable halibut to the chef's table, he acknowledged that the blue team could not fuck up anymore, but was dismayed because they had to depend on Dan. After the latter delivered perfect lamb, he told him that he was doing an awesome job, and later, he urged Barret, who was behind on the halibut, to send the table because he was eager to finish the service. Eventually, the blue team served all of their tables, and the service was completed, but both teams were named joint-losers and were asked to nominate their two weakest chefs each.
He was not nominated for elimination.[7]
Episode 8[]
- Main article: Episode 1108 - 14 Chefs Compete
The next morning, both teams went to the dining room, and they were taken outside by Ramsay, who introduced the Farm Animal Challenge. During the first part of the challenge, Michael was the third person from the blue team who entered the pen, and he chose a goat and couscous combination. During the second part, he revealed that he would cook grilled goat ribs with herbed couscous, that he never cooked goat before, and believed that he was the only man on the blue team who had a shot at doing it right. Also, he wanted to take the lead by checking everybody else's dish to make sure they were perfect and by giving suggestions, much to Zach's annoyance.
Michael was the last person from the blue team to have his dish judged and served his goat rib over a bed of couscous with fresh herbs, which he admitted to having taken a risk as the ribs were taking more time to cook. The presentation was deemed great, but John Shook declared that it would be something he would feed to his dog because it was very chewy, which Ramsay agreed with, and he lost the round to Ja'Nel. Moments later, it was revealed that Dan's goat dish was better than his. The blue team lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by putting together a petting zoo and making sure that the animals would be comfortable, for the next service.
During prep, Michael targeted Dan by saying that he would be eliminated after one bad service. During the Family Night dinner service, he was at the dessert station. He helped his teammates to send their entrées out to the dining room all night long, and at one point, he called Dan a train wreck for serving a burned pizza, while feeling that he needed to step in and help him out. When he did, Dan rejected his help, he promised Ramsay that they would get it together, and moments later, he was determined to win as the blue team only lost and failed since the beginning, before motivating his teammates to keep the momentum. After a lot of mistakes, the blue team received help from the red team, and the service was completed.
The blue team lost the service by a mile, and they were asked to nominate their two weakest chefs. While going back to the dorms, Michael was angry about working with people that could not do their jobs properly, and during deliberation, he yelled at his teammates for being amateurs, not communicating, and added that he was embarrassed, before considering Ray for the cold burger incident.
He was not nominated for elimination.[8]
Episode 9[]
- Main article: Episode 1109 - 13 Chefs Compete
Back in the dorms, Michael noticed that Barret was feeling down after surviving elimination, and gave him two choices between crumbling to the ground or using the fire.
The next morning, both teams went to the dining room, where Ramsay introduced the Steak Creation Challenge, and during the challenge, he showed interest in Anthony's idea of using bananas by nodding his head. He was the third person from the blue team to have his dish judged, served his truffle crusted New York strip, but it was not cooked medium-rare, and neither him nor Amanda scored a point. On the last round, he hoped that Ray would score a point as he had more experience than everybody, and was disappointed when the latter's rib-eye was overcooked.
The blue team lost the challenge 3-4, and they were punished by taking a delivery of a giant cut of beef and prepping it for the next service. During the prep break, Michael was targeted by Zach for screwing up the blue team for the second consecutive challenge, he acknowledged that it might be the thing he needed to hear, that he needed to regain the trust of his teammates or he would be history, and during prep, he was ready to redeem himself.
During the Steak Night dinner service, Michael was on the meat station with Ray. When the blue team moved on to entrées, he acknowledged that he and Ray needed a perfect batting average or they would be in trouble, but the New York strip was raw, and because of that, both of them decided to switch leadership commitment. When Ray told him to not rush the steaks, he was annoyed and told that Ray should let him cook, and when he announced that they would need three and a half minutes, Ramsay handed Ray the tray of the table in his hands, and they had to start the order over. On their second attempt at the New York strip, he acknowledged that he and Ray had to get it right, it was accepted, and the blue team won the service.[9]
Episode 10[]
- Main article: Episode 1110 - 12 Chefs Compete
During the Quinceañera Planning Challenge, Jon told Michael to make sure he has his meat ready as the didn't have enough time left. He cooked the steak dish, was the final person from the blue team to have his dish judged, and went up against Amanda. After saying his flavors were spot on, he presented his steak dish, but Ramsay immediately saw blood on his plate and asked if it was raw. He said it wasn't, but it was criticized for being raw and undercooked, much to his frustration before giving up on cooking steak again. He lost that round to Amanda, and the blue team lost the challenge 2-3. They were punished with decorating the dining room for the Quinceañera under Josette’s instructions. During the punishment, Josette criticized his bow work on the chairs, and he felt the former was getting on his last nerves.
During the Quinceañera dinner service, Michael was at the dessert station. At one point, he knew Anthony and Jon gave the men a great start, but also knew services were more about how they finished. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each.
He was not nominated for elimination.[10]
Episode 11[]
- Main article: Episode 1111 - 10 Chefs Compete
Continuing from the previous episode, Ramsay asked the blue team how they would rank Zach's performance, and Michael said a 3. Back at the dorms, he tried to spark a conversation with Zach, but the latter ignored him.
During the Presentation Challenge, Michael cooked with quail, but it did not make past the first round as it did not look appetizing. The blue team lost the challenge 257-269, and they were punished by cleaning the dorms.
Later that evening, Ramsay called the dorms and asked Michael to bring everybody down to his office. During the Private dinner service, he claimed that a lunch lady could perform better than Ray, before apologizing to said lunch ladies. He led the mushroom risotto course and was not seen much as he did not commit any mistakes. Both teams were named joint losers and they were asked to nominate one each.
He was not nominated for elimination.[11]
Episode 12[]
- Main article: Episode 1112 - 9 Chefs Compete
While going back to the dorms, Michael was sad to see Ray go as he felt the latter was a great competitor, but at the same time, he felt less was more.
The next day, at 4:50 AM, the chefs were sound asleep as Sous Chefs Andi and James came into the dorms and woke them up with air horns and pots. As the chefs went down, Michael had no idea what Ramsay had in store. It was then Ramsay announced that both teams would create their own menus for that night’s service. When the blue team came up with ideas, he had a seasonal chicken dish with a sweet potato purée idea. During prep, Zach wanted to work on the Brussel sprouts with him, and the former asked him questions.
During dinner service, Michael was on the fish station. When Anthony struggled on the filet sauce, he decided to jump in and helped by giving the former a pan. Later, Ramsay told him that the red team was ready for their part of the table that had two different menus, but while he believed his halibut would be crispy and cooked to perfection, they were raw, and Zach asked him if he was doing a new age of sushi-style. While he got flustered by that mistake, he promised to get the refire ready, but that time, it came out overcooked, dry, stringy, and mushy. Even worse, Ramsay told him that he did not even do the refire properly as he put a fresh piece in a separate pan and reheated a piece that he did not send out, accusing him of not having the balls to do a fresh refire. After, Ramsay called Jean-Phillipe and had the latter escort him to the bar for a five-minute time out, surprising Zach as he would do that to his eight-year-old. During his time out, he said he could not remember the last time he had one and felt everybody in the dining room staring at him as it fucking sucked. Eventually, he returned to the kitchen after his time out.
The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate one person for elimination. During deliberation, Jon and Zach asked Michael what happened to him, but while he admitted to having a bad service, he argued he had better services before recalling Zach’s meat drag and Anthony shitting the bed on the cold sauce. Then, he considered Zach based on the latter’s decline, only to receive votes from Zach and Jon.
At elimination, because the votes were 2-2 between Michael and Zach, Ramsay called the two down to the front even though he felt Zach was weaker due to his inconsistency. During his plea, Ramsay reminded him that they could not afford to make mistakes at this stage now and asked what happened. Trying not to make excuses, he claimed he got confused about timings, but Ramsay felt that was an excuse and asked why he was better than Zach. He claimed that he had more fine dining experience and made sacrifices for the past 14 years of his life, even not bringing his own son out of the hospital to the shock of the red team. After, he added that if being nominated was his wake-up call, then he will take it as he was not ready to go home. He was eliminated for his poor performance on fish, and during his exit interview, he said that despite one bad service, the blue team saw him enough as a threat to send him home, and respected Ramsay’s decision. Ramsay gave no comment on his elimination, and he did not receive the coat hanging and portrait burning sequence until the episode recap during the following episode.[12]
Episode 21/22[]
- Main article: Episode 1121 - 2 Chefs Compete
- Main article: Episode 1122 - Winner Chosen
Michael was one of the 10 chefs that returned for the final dinner service. He was Mary's fourth pick, after Jon, Anthony, and Nedra, and was followed by Dan.[13]
During dinner service, Michael was on the garnish station. When Nedra did not respond to Mary, he and Jon told her to pay attention, and when the former’s dish was rejected for lacking salt, he asked what the fuck Nedra was doing as she was supposed to be a Rockstar on appetizers. Later, he set Jon straight after he got confused by Mary's orders. On entrées, Mary told him to add more scallions to his garnishes. Mary eventually lost the finale to Ja'Nel.[14]
Nomination History[]
Week 1 | Safe |
---|---|
Week 2 | Safe |
Week 3 | Win |
Week 4 | Win |
Week 5 | Safe |
Week 6 | Safe |
Week 7 | Safe |
Week 8 | Win |
Week 9 | Safe |
Week 10 | Safe |
Week 11 | Nominated |
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After his appearance on the show, Michael became an Executive Chef at Glenmaura National Golf Club.
- In 2017, he was Executive Chef at Tomato Bar & Bistro before becoming Executive Chef at Summit Alter House.
Trivia[]
- He is the seventh contestant, and third non-black jacket contestant to be eliminated on the first time being nominated, following Jimmy (Season 1), Garrett, Keith (both from Season 2), Giovanni (Season 5), Elizabeth (Season 9), and Kimmie (Season 10).
- He is the seventh contestant and to only ever be nominated specifically by Ramsay, and never by his team, following Ralph (Season 1), Gabe (Season 2), Vinnie (Season 3), Amanda, Elizabeth (both from Season 9), and Justin (Season 10).
Quotes[]
- (About Dan) "If he lays one fucking finger on me, I'm gonna beat him all over the fucking room! I don't care if I fucking go to jail tonight!"
- (About Dan and Ray) "I can't take much more of this. Shut the fuck up right now, and stop fighting, and focus on the food!"
- (After being eliminated) "I had one bad service. My team saw me as a threat. That's why they got me out of there. I tried to put up a good fight, but Chef Ramsay saw otherwise. So, uh, you know, I have to respect his decision."
Gallery[]
External links[]
Michael Langdon on Instagram
References[]
Hell's Kitchen Season 11 |
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Staff |
Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • James Avery (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Andi Van Willigan-Cutspec (Red Team Sous Chef) • Jean-Philippe Susilovic (Maître d'hôtel) |
Contestants |
Gina Aloise • Ray Alongi • Jacqueline Baldassari • Barret Beyer • Danielle Boorn • Amanda Giblin • Nedra Harris • Susan Heaton • Michael Langdon • Jessica Lewis • Jeremy Madden • Mary Poehnelt • Anthony Rodriguez • Christian Rosati • Sebastian Royo • Dan Ryan • Jon Scallion • Cyndi Stanimirov • Ja'Nel Witt • Zach Womack |