Mindy Livengood

Hometown/Residence	Liberty Township, OH
Occupation	Caterer
Kitchen Experience	-
Culinary Education	-
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	4 out of 5
Challenges Won	2
Services Won	2
Times as BoW/Announcer	0
Times Nominated	2
Placement	12th
Episode Eliminated	Wok This Way

Mindy Livengood was a contestant on Season 21 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 12th place.

Season 21

Episode 1/2

Main article: Episode 2101 - Let the Battle Begin

Main article: Episode 2102 - Just Wingin' It

The eighteen new chefs arrived at Los Angeles in two separate limos heading to Hell's Kitchen. The limos arrived at Hell's Kitchen, where Marino was waiting for them. Marino greeted the chefs and introduced them to their Sous Chefs Christina and Jason. They explained that there would be obstacles, but you could not let them get in your way. Later, Ramsay was on a monster truck and crashed into a car, shocking the contestants. Ramsay used it as an example of not letting anything get in your way. Ramsay explained like how the limos got them where they wanted to go, he wanted a chef to take him where he wanted to go. Ramsay questioned whether to hire a chef in their 20s or a chef in their 40s and announced that this season would be a battle of the ages. Ramsay told the contestants to separate between a group of 20s and a group of 40s. Ramsay announced the Signature Dish Challenge and gave the chefs 45 minutes to cook their dishes.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Sous Chef Jason asked what Mindy was making. She revealed she was making tortellini soup, which Jason deemed ambitious. She was the eighth person from the blue team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Alyssa. She presented a spinach tortellini soup. Ramsay criticized it for not looking too appetizing, but it had bold flavor and was delicious, and he gave her four points. She thought that Ramsay was hotter in person and felt like she peed her pants. The blue team lost the challenge after a tiebreaker at 31, and they were punished with delivery day and cleaning both kitchens. During the punishment, she wasn't too happy that they lost since she struggled in life when she had no money and fed her daughter but not herself. She felt she put everything on the line to be in Hell's Kitchen and did not want to lose again.

During the Creative Chicken Wing Challenge, Mindy made an unknown dish, and she lost the challenge as she was not called as part of the top three.

During dinner service, Mindy was at the garnish station. She was not seen much that night and the blue team lost the service. They were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she nominated Billy for elimination.

She was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 2103 - Clawing Your Way to the Top

The following day, Ramsay asked each team member to skateboard on a half pipe. Mindy volunteered and was joined by Vlad from the red team. Before they could skateboard, Ramsay said he was kidding and sent them back to their teams. Still, she said she would have done it even if she needed medical help afterwards. During the Whole Lobster Prep Challenge, she was the fifth person from the blue team to have her attempt judged, and she scored a point. The blue team lost the challenge 5-6, and she knew the blue team would do another punishment. They were punished by making seafood stock out of fish guts and separating the rice. During the punishment, she told Alex that it was too late for him to use his Punishment Pass.

Before service, Mindy did not want to lose and send someone home again. During dinner service, she was at the fish station with Alex. She was not seen that night, and the blue team lost the service. They were asked to nominate two people for elimination.

Mindy was not nominated for elimination. After elimination, Ramsay called both teams downstairs and announced that the battle of the sexes would begin the following day. She, Nicole, and Tara were reassigned to the red team.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 2104 - Slipping Down to Hell

Back at the dorms, Mindy admitted that none of the forty-year-old women had been on the line in a while due to working as managers.

During the Creative Sliders Challenge, Mindy cooked the chicken sliders with Alyssa, but her dish was not chosen for judging. When David Myers came in to guest judge the challenge, she called him hot. The red team lost the challenge 14-16, and they were punished by prepping potatoes for fries needed for the following service.

The following morning, Mindy got confused over Nicole's safe word being the same as her dog's name, as she thought the former was talking about sex. Cheyenne explained that Nicole had a rescue dog named Sandwich, which was the same word as the latter’s safe word. Later, she revealed that she originally planned on getting botox before competing due to losing 150 pounds and had her face sagging as a result. She revealed that someone made a Pinterest board called Fat Mindy to shame her and did not want her daughter to go through that. Her story touched Tara, which meant she was finding confidence on the line. Then, she hoped one day to have Ramsay single her out as an emerging leader.

During dinner service, Mindy was at the fish station with Dafne. She knew she must prove to the women she deserved to compete and got a lesson from Ramsay on flipping scallops and sending them off the pan. Afterwards, Ramsay liked the color of the scallops. The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate three people for elimination. During deliberation, she immediately said she hustled that night.

Mindy was the red team's third nominee for elimination, with Nicole as the first and Alyssa as the second. During her plea, she admitted to losing her voice, but she knew she could hustle and prove to Ramsay she was not the weakest chef. However, Ramsay asked her when she would start making herself proud. She survived elimination. While being dismissed, she believed it would be her final time to plead her case before the finale.

Episode 5

Main article: Episode 2105 - Breakfast 911

While returning to the dorms, Mindy was not happy that the women nominated her for elimination, nor was she happy about losing every service and challenge. She teared up as she refused to leave and let anyone down.

During the Emergency Workers Breakfast Service Challenge, Mindy said the challenge was important as she worked as a breakfast chef, and she wanted to win. She was at the steak station with Cheyenne. She told Ileana to turn down the heat as the latter was burning pancakes. The red team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a Hollywood Hills party at a local mansion with a Korean Mexican fusion cooked by Kogi. Ramsay asked her and Tara if they were desperate to get out of the restaurant that day, and they said they were after three straight losses.

During dinner service, Mindy was at the garnish station. She was not seen that night, and the red team won the service.

Episode 6

Main article: Episode 2106 - Til Chef Do Us Part

Before the Trenton and Macee Wedding Planning Challenge, a wedding photo of Mindy and her husband was seen. She cooked the steak entrée with Cheyenne, they were the fourth pair from the red team to have their dish judged, and they went up against Alex. She made a New York Striploin with balsamic cabernet reduction. Trenton felt it had a country club, and she lost that round to Alex. The red team lost the challenge 2-4, and they were punished by making a six-tiered Bailey's Irish cream cake for the wedding. During the punishment, she admitted to not being a baker, but she knew how to make icing before.

Before the service began, Mindy found the wedding cool as she had not been to a wedding in a while. During the Trenton and Macee Wedding Service, she was at the meat station with Sommer. After Sommer served raw chicken, Dafne wondered why she was not doing anything to help the former. Later, she walked up cold steaks, and Ramsay forced her to put them back in the oven. That led Ramsay to call her one of the three women who let him down due to her cold steaks. Then, she sent up her refire, but the steak was overcooked, leading Ramsay to kick the red team out of service. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, Cheyenne deemed her and Sommer's performance bad.

She was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 7

Main article: Episode 2107 - Wok This Way

Back at the dorms, Mindy and Tara talked about the twenty-year-olds on their team and how some of them had big egos. Tara was happy to talk with her and said that it would suck for the other if either of them went home. She said she and Tara bonded through the losses and chuckled over their teammates' bickering.

During the Dome Challenge, Mindy grabbed snapper, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, and garlic for her dish. She pushed Cheyenne away for the sweet potato as she wanted to win, but she told Sous Chef Christina she was cooking out of her ass. Still, she had an idea for a snapper soup. She was the final person from the red team to have her dish judged, and she went up against Alejandro. She made a poached snapper soup with sweet potatoes, mushrooms, roasted garlic, and fried carrot slivers. The broth was praised for being an elevated vegetable broth. After a tough decision, Stephanie Izard gave her the winning point. The women won 4-2, and Izard deemed her dish the best of the day. That made her proud as she dreamed of winning a challenge for her team.

The red team was rewarded with a rooftop dance party and brand-new HexClad sets. Mindy was happy as she had wanted a brand-new set for a long time. During the reward, she wondered what Alejandro was listening to.

During dinner service, Mindy was at the appetizer station with Dafne. She began to shut down on communication at appetizers in the red kitchen, but the rest of the women pushed her back up. Still, Cheyenne felt that she had no confidence during service as Dafne began to guide her on cooking the carbonara. Dafne felt she should lead on her own by now, and Sous Chef Christina told her she gave her too much for a single portion. Ramsay found no communication from her, and Sommer felt the two older women were not performing well at services. Still, she refused to give up and prove to the younger women she belonged at Hell's Kitchen. She and Tara fixed their mistakes, and the appetizers left the red kitchen.

Although both teams were named joint winners, Ramsay still asked them to nominate two each. During deliberation, Sommer nominated Ileana and Mindy, the latter for shutting down multiple times on different stations. Dafne agreed with Sommer as she expected more from her. Even though she knew she had a few bumpy nights, she did not know what else she could do to convince the women otherwise.

Mindy was the red team's first nominee for elimination, with Ileana as the second. They joined Abe and Sakari from the blue team. During her plea, she admitted to making mistakes despite waking up as a gritty person. Ramsay eliminated her for having bumpy services and not being communicative that night at appetizers. Still, Ramsay told her he respected her for changing careers as she made the right decision. During her exit interview, she said it was hard to go, but she knew her daughter would be proud of her for coming to Hell's Kitchen.

Ramsay's comment: "Mindy had the guts to get her this far, but I have to go with my gut and cut her loose."

Nomination History

Week 1	Safe
	Safe
Week 2	Safe
Week 3	Nominated
Week 4	Win
Week 5	Safe
Week 6	Nominated

Trivia

• She is the fifth contestant to be eliminated after a joint victory, following Shayna (Season 4), Zach (Season 11), Sterling (Season 13), and Josie (Season 20).
• She is the fifteenth female contestant to switch teams and not make it into the black jackets, following Melissa (Season 3), Lacey (Season 5), Melissa (Season 8), Natalie (Season 9), Roshni (Season 10), Nedra (Season 11), Sandra (Season 12), Dannie (Season 15), Shaina, Wendy (both from Season 16), Gizzy, Kanae (both from Season 18), Victoria, Emily (both from Season 20), and Nicole (also from Season 21).

Quotes

• “I may have peed a little I… I don’t… that’s my age, maybe… I don’t know.”
• (After winning the challenge for her team) "Oh my god, this just happened to me. I had the best dish of the day, I won this challenge for my team. This is the thing I dream of."
• (After being eliminated) "It's hard leaving here, but knowing that my kid is proud of me and that I did something not a lot of people get to do is just--it's mind-blowing. I'm just so happy I had this opportunity."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Mindy in Blue Jacket

Mindy's Confessional (Blue Jacket)

Mindy in Red Jacket

Mindy's Confessional (Red Jacket)

Nicole, Mindy, and Alyssa Nominated

Mindy, Ileana, Abe, and Sakari Nominated

Mindy Eliminated

Mindy's Signature Dish

Mindy's Trenton and Macee's Wedding Beef Entrée

Mindy's Dome-Work Dish (Snapper)

External links

• Mindy Livengood on Instagram