Paulie Giganti

“

I'm winning everything. I haven't lost a challenge-- A head to head challenge yet.

”

Hometown/Residence	Brooklyn, NY
Occupation	Executive Chef
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	5 out of 5
Blind Taste Test Score	3 out of 4
Challenges Won	7
Services Won	2
Times as BoW/Announcer	2
Times Nominated	5
Placement	4th
Episode Eliminated	Playing Your Cards Right

Paul "Paulie" Giganti, Jr. (August 31, 1980 - April 20, 2017), simply known as Paulie Giganti, was a contestant on Season 16 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 4th place. Unfortunately, he passed away on April 20, 2017.

Season 16

Episode 1

Main article: Episode 1601 - When the Wall Comes Tumbling Down

On the bus ride to Hell's Kitchen, the chefs were expecting to arrive at the restaurant, but it instead pulled up to an army base. After leaving the bus, the chefs lined up in front of their own duffel bags, and as the Drill Sargent was barking out orders, a tank pulled up behind him, and Ramsay came out of it. Then, Ramsay explained that before the chefs could enter Hell’s Kitchen, he wanted to make sure that they all had the discipline to survive, noting that the army was the perfect example to prepare them. After, Ramsay said that if they could survive boot camp, then he will be convinced that they were worthy of competing. After changing into their uniforms, the chefs were put through an obstacle course and jogged over to Ramsay who was in front of a giant wall, which he called the toughest challenge. After the chefs claimed that they were ready, Ramsay was happy to hear it as the wall fell on him, revealing the front of the restaurant, and a large crowd waiting for them. Now that he saw the chef’s commitment and desire to compete, Ramsay announced that it was time for them to cook their signature dishes.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Paulie was the third person from the blue team to have his dish judged, and he went up against Heather. He made biscotti encrusted scallops with polenta cake, it scored a perfect five, and he was ecstatic about that. The blue team eventually lost the challenge 25-28, and they were punished by resetting the dining room and setting up the tables for the following service, and packing up the risers the audience were sitting at. After hearing their punishment, he dismayingly called it an incremental amount of work.

During dinner service, Paulie was on the appetizer station with Pat. After Pat's risotto looked like vomit, he got dismayed as the latter was a culinary instructor, and could not even cook a risotto, before deciding to do the refire himself. While he got the refire accepted, he said that he was stressed out, he felt he had the appetizers under control despite Pat’s micromanagement. Then, his risotto was too salty due to Pat adding salt, and they were forced to start over. After Matt and Genaro got kicked out of the kitchen, he was reassigned to the fish station, but after he served a raw sea bass, Ramsay kicked the rest of the blue team out of the kitchen.

The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Paulie was considered for elimination by Andrew and Devin, and he nominated himself for his subpar performance.

Paulie was not nominated for elimination, and when being dismissed, he believed that he fucked up his reputation with Ramsay over his poor performance, before declaring that it was never happening again.

Episode 2

Main article: Episode 1602 - Crepe Grand Prix

Back at the dorms, Paulie decided to strip naked during the blue team's hot tub session and was soon followed by the rest of his teammates.

During the Crepe Grand Prix Challenge, Paulie was paired up with Matt, and they were seen having three of their attempts accepted. The blue team won the challenge 10-9, and they were rewarded with a trip to Santa Barbara, dined aboard a 74-foot super mega yacht, and a chance to ride jet skis.

During dinner service, Paulie served a Dover sole appetizer tableside with Johnny. After Aaron's pizza was revealed to have improperly rolled dough, he decided to take over the pizzas and got his attempts accepted. After the blue team got kicked out of the kitchen, he said that he hated to lose another service and get thrown out a second time, before deeming it embarrassing.

The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Paulie frustratingly asked how they were losing services, before accusing Genaro of checking out. While Genaro denied that, the rest of the men agreed with him.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 1603 - The Yolks on Them

During the Ostrich Meat Challenge, Paulie was seen during the first part smashing his egg open. He was paired up with Andrew on the oyster, they were the third pair from the blue team to have their dishes judged, and they went up against Gia and Jessica. Before the judging, he deemed Jessica an idiot and accused Gia of not knowing her elbow from her ass. He made an Asian themed oyster over rice noodles and vegetables, it was deemed delicious, and he scored that round for the blue team. The blue team lost the challenge 1-3, and they were punished by taking in deliveries of raw pine nuts, prep them for the following service for pesto, and clean up the goo and eggshells from the dining room. During the punishment, he called Matt a poor team player for refusing to help, and even refused to help out if the latter was on fire.

During dinner service, Paulie was on the fish station. At one point, his scallops were raw, and Ramsay forced him to feel them. Then, he sent up burnt scallops, and despite Ramsay trying to make him look good, he was getting fed up. He admitted that he was out of practice as he was a head chef himself, and after receiving help from Matt, the third attempt was accepted. The blue team won the service.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 1604 - Surf Riding & Turf Fighting

During the Protein Identification Challenge, Paulie went up twice as the blue team was down a member. On his first turn, he was paired up with Johnny, they were the first pair to compete, and they randomly picked shrimp and guinea fowl. After being told by Andrew that there was no crab cake, the two used turkey and shrimp as their first attempt, only to get it half right. However, the two took shrimp off and replaced it with halibut, making the second attempt incorrect. Their third attempt, shrimp and Cornish hen was half right, but they managed to get shrimp and guinea fowl on their fourth attempt. On his second turn, he was paired up with Matt, they were the final pair to compete, and they randomly picked buffalo and monkfish. Their first attempt, swordfish and beef, was incorrect, their second attempt, buffalo and halibut, was deemed half correct, but their third attempt, elk and halibut, was deemed incorrect. Their fourth attempt, buffalo and sea bass, was incorrect, and their fifth attempt, buffalo and tilapia, was half right once again. After three more half correct attempts, they managed to get the correct pairing on their ninth attempt. The blue team won the challenge 9 minutes and 46 seconds to 13 minutes and 41 seconds, and they were rewarded with a trip to San Diego and got to experience surfing at the Wave House.

During dinner service, Paulie was on the dessert station. After Koop's lobster tails were ice-cold, he called it ridiculous as it was their first ticket. When working on the twelve-top table, he believed that they had it until Koop's salmon was deemed raw. The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he reminded Andrew about the raw Wellingtons that got them kicked out after the latter tried to defend Aaron, and even asked him who his nominee was.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 5

Main article: Episode 1605 - Walking the Plank

During the Seven Seas Seafood Challenge, Paulie decided to go up against Aziza as he was pretty sure he had it, and their fish was wahoo. He was the fourth person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and presented his seared wahoo with sesame and black pepper crust. It was praised for the heat from said crust, and he won that round over Aziza. The blue team won the challenge 5-4, and they were rewarded with lunch at Petty Cash with Ramsay and got to go bowling. During the reward, he was seen playing bowling well.

During dinner service, Paulie was on the appetizer station with Aaron. He was not seen much, except for having his appetizers accepted. The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he was accused by Devin for not even tasting the last two spinaches, much to his annoyance, and reluctantly agreed with Andrew on nominating Johnny and Devin.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 6

Main article: Episode 1606 - Let the Catfights Begin

During the Ingredient Crossword Challenge, Paulie spelled out yam, and when Devin struggled to spell out onions, he deemed the latter not the sharpest tool, before accusing Devin of performing Japanese algebra. During the cooking, he came up with crab-stuffed okra for his dish as he wanted to do stuff more technical. He was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged and presented his grilled ribeye with crab-stuffed okra. Ramsay noted that the presentation looked strange, the okra was criticized for being improperly prepared and raw, the purée was deemed slimy, and Ramsay deemed the cut ribeye the worst bastardization he saw that year. So, he scored only one point, and he was pissed as he was not used to being at the bottom. However, Ramsay warned him that while he could get defensive, he was not going to kiss his ass over raw okra, and when he asked if there was anything redeeming about the dish, Ramsay simply said that the plate was that aspect, before telling him to fuck off. The blue team eventually won the challenge 17-16, and they were rewarded with a bumper car experience on ice, and eating a steak dinner. During the reward, he disagreed with Devin's idea that they tone down the yelling in the kitchen.

During the Family Night dinner service, Paulie was on the fish station. After Devin's grilled cheese was raw, he annoyingly asked how the latter could fuck up on a grilled cheese. On their next ticket, he said that he liked kids despite owning a dog and a cat, and deemed him a kid at heart. However, he sent up a raw burger, Ramsay brought the entire blue team to the back pantry and yelled that while he may not care for waiting, he cared a lot about waiting for raw food. After going back into the kitchen, he was able to get the refire accepted. Then, he sent up his sea bass without telling either Matt or Johnny, it was raw, and Ramsay ordered him not to open his mouth unless he wanted something in there.

Both teams were named joint losers and were asked to nominate two people each. During deliberation, Paulie was considered for elimination by Johnny, and he called Devin delusional when the latter argued against his poor performance.

Paulie was named the blue team's first nominee for elimination, with Devin as the second, and they were joined by Aziza and Wendy. During his plea, he claimed that he brought everything to the table, said that there was no excuse for his poor performance, and when asked by Ramsay if he was a better chef than Devin, he said yes as he worked better with a team than the latter. He survived elimination.

Episode 7

Main article: Episode 1607 - Don't Tell My Fiancé

While going back to the dorms, Paulie believed that being nominated gave him the perspective of becoming the winner of that season, and felt that he needed to become humble and bounce back.

During the Southern Cuisine Challenge, Paulie was paired up against Wendy from the red team, and their dish was catfish. He was the second person from the blue team to have his dish judged and presented his fish and grits. They were praised for a well-cooked fish and having a nice crispy skin, and he tied that round with Wendy. The blue team eventually lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by prepping shrimp and grits for the following service which included grinding corn down, cleaning shrimp, and prepping both kitchens. During the punishment, he was unsympathetic over Koop's situation as everybody cut themselves every day, and deemed the latter mentally fragile for walking off.

During dinner service, Paulie was on the garnish station. After Koop served raw Wellingtons, he accused the former of skating by a few rough services. Later, he told the blue team that the red team just got kicked out, and they won the service.

During elimination, Paulie said goodbye to Andrew and Matt as they were reassigned to the red team, and welcomed Shaina and Wendy as new teammates.

Episode 8

Main article: Episode 1608 - Dancing with the Chefs

Before the International Ballroom Planning Challenge, Paulie was smitten by one of the female dancers. He was paired up with Johnny on the beef entrée, they were the final pair from the blue team to have their dishes judged, and went up against Andrew and Ryan. He made Thai flank steak skewers with peanut and hoisin sauce, and while it was praised for being nice and creative, he lost that round to the red team. The blue team lost the challenge 1-2, and they were punished by prepping a raw bar for the following service.

During the International Ballroom, Paulie was on the appetizer station with Wendy. As the first round began, he was once again smitten by the long-legged dancer, and after, he was confused if the first order called for two or three risottos. Then, Ramsay caught him making five different risottos, each with different colors on them, and he was berated for being disorganized. Despite that, he managed to get the refires accepted. The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he was considered for elimination by everybody, but he called bullshit on that as they got appetizers out strongly. Then, he considered Devin and Wendy for elimination.

Paulie was one of the three nominees for elimination, along with Johnny and Wendy, because the blue team failed to agree on two nominees, and Ramsay called the three down to the front. During his plea, he said that he took responsibility for his mistakes, and claimed that he was the scapegoat for people who did worse that night, but Ramsay told him that he did deserve to be nominated for his dreadful performance. He survived elimination.

Episode 9

Main article: Episode 1609 - Spoon Fed

Back at the dorms, Paulie told the red team that while they could cry over Johnny’s elimination, he felt that the latter did not do the right thing that night, despite being disappointed that he lost his closest friend.

During the Blind Taste Test, Paulie was the fourth person from the blue team to compete and went up against Matt. He managed to get sweet potatoes, peas, and pineapple correct, saving Koop from getting splattered. During Shaina's turn, he did not get splattered once. The blue team won the challenge after a tie at 13, and they were rewarded with massages at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Before service began, Paulie pulled Ramsay aside to ask him what he needed to work on, but Ramsay told him that he did not have time for that now. During dinner service, he was on the meat station. At one point, he sent up raw lamb but managed to get his refire accepted on time. Later, he told Ramsay that he needed five more minutes, but kept calling out the same amount of time soon after, much to Koop's dismay. However, he wanted to do things right because if he was nominated again, he could be going home. His inconsistent performance continued as he was late on sending up the lamb, and was pushed to send it up despite his repeated claims that it would be sent back. After, Ramsay told him to shut the fuck up, showed the blue team his raw lamb, and irritatingly kicked them out of the kitchen. While heading back to the dorms, Ramsay stopped them in the back hallway, accused them of giving up for the past 30 minutes, and while he claimed that he was trying that night, Ramsay told him to eat the raw lamb, and tell him how good it was, before sarcastically telling him Bon Appetit.

The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Paulie accused Koop of not communicating with him on the times, was reminded by the latter that he kept asking five more minutes countless times, and the two argued over who fucked up the most that night. When he called out Koop over breaking the chair, the latter warned him that he was lucky it was only a chair on the fireplace and not his face. However, he felt that Koop was a piece of shit, and did not trust him as he was slimy, before accusing him of sending up food before his to make himself look good, which led to the two to continue shouting at each other.

Paulie was named the blue team's first nominee for elimination, with Koop as the second. During his plea, he said that he wanted to compete, and wanted to keep on fighting. When Koop said that the blue team would be better off without him, he argued that he was asking Koop for more time, how the latter pushed his food up without his own entrées ready, and revealed the chair breaking incident from earlier, before believing that Koop’s attitude was not suitable for leadership. He survived elimination, but Ramsay warned him that he was on thin ice and that he was watching every move he was making.

Episode 10

Main article: Episode 1610 - Dancing in the Grotto

Before the Creative Sliders Challenge, Paulie welcomed Ryan as a new teammate. He was responsible for the seafood sliders, he was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged, and went up against Matt. He made a salmon and shrimp sliders with cumin and sriracha, they were praised for having the seafood be the star, and he scored that round over Matt. The blue team eventually lost the challenge after a tie at 3, and they were punished by cleaning up trash at the LA River.

During prep, Paulie annoyingly said that he would rather stick toothpicks in his ears than listen to Ryan any longer. During dinner service, he was on the appetizer station with Ryan. After Ryan's crab cakes came out stone cold, he smugly said that she was her only fan. After Wendy served an overcooked New York striploin, he accused her of tanking them, before saying that the steak looked like it was cooked on a Tuesday. Both teams were named joint losers and were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, he asked how he could be considered as a nominee, and Ryan told him that he could have focused more that night. Then, he reminded Ryan about her cold crab cakes earlier that night, but she argued that it was not a good enough reason for her to be nominated, he told her that she was not as good as she thought she was.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 11

Main article: Episode 1611 - Aerial Maneuvers

Back at the dorms, Paulie strongly believed that Kimberly should have been eliminated instead of Matt as he felt the latter was better than the former but declared that it was better for the blue team regardless.

During the Taste It Now Make It Challenge, Paulie wanted to pair up with Ryan as he trusted her as a chef, but he was paired up with Devin, much to his dismay, and he was the taster. During the cooking, he was micromanaging Devin's work, much to the latter's annoyance. They used pork, persimmon, and spinach. During the judging, Ramsay noticed that their pork was pink due to it being raw when sliced. While they got the persimmon correct, they failed on the other two ingredients, but the blue team won the challenge. They were rewarded with trapeze lessons at the Santa Monica Pier.

During the Charity Night dinner service, Paulie was seen cooking Wendy's risottos during her course. During Devin's course, he was caught cooking his salmon early, and the blue team took them off the elements. He oversaw the salmon with fingerling potatoes course, he was vocal with the blue team, as he claimed to be a head chef before, and told Wendy to cook up more potatoes. However, Ramsay noticed that Wendy failed to put in the capers for the potatoes, and was more pissed that he plated them without noticing them. While Wendy argued that he grabbed her pan before she put in the capers, he claimed that Wendy could not cook at all. When the blue team was late getting their salmon out, he had everybody help him on plating.

The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Paulie was considered by Devin and Ryan for elimination for being frantic, but he angrily left over that and told the blue team to go fuck themselves. However, he ran back into the dorms to pressure Devin into nominating Ryan instead as she worked by herself and not with the team, but Devin stood by his choice. He angrily left again, and argued that he should not be nominated over that accusation, before going back again, and accusing the blue team of keeping Ryan because she was a strong link. Then, Ryan berated him for his poor attitude in both the kitchen and the dorms, but he arrogantly told Ryan to shut the fuck up, and accused her of being a weak chef that hid behind other chefs, but she reminded him on how he took over the entire kitchen due to his salmon. Then, when he accused Ryan of caring more about herself than the team, she brushed it off and told him to send himself home. After, he said that Wendy and Ryan were his nominees, before leaving and calling the blue team pieces of shit.

Paulie was named the blue team's first nominee, with Wendy as the second. During his plea, Ramsay sarcastically welcomed him back to the front, but he argued that he had no idea why he was nominated as he did a lot for his team that night while accusing them of shouting at him when he took over and that Ryan did not help with anybody on their courses. However, Ryan argued that his claim was not true and that she helped her team out, but he remained defiant, and that he got no help when he needed it. He survived elimination, and while being dismissed, he felt that there was no trust in the blue team and that it was every man for itself, before declaring that he was going to focus on his own stuff and watch his teammate’s burn.

Episode 12

Main article: Episode 1612 - Fusion Confusion

Back at the dorms, Paulie called his teammates a bunch of scumbags, and later that night, he went to bed early but overheard Ryan talking with Kimberly on how many fires were being lit off in the blue team, and that she was trying not to light one. However, he deemed Ryan a two-face schemer, but Andrew caught him up and awake when he went into the bedroom.

During the Fusion Cuisine Challenge, Paulie went up against Andrew, and their countries were Mexican and Indian, much to his dismay. During the cooking, he wanted to see Ryan tank on her dish as he had no respect for her. He was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged and presented his Mexican inspired roti with Pico de Gao, roasted corn, and avocado. It was criticized for a messy presentation, and for tasting more Indian than a true fusion dish, which got him pissed that he looked ridiculous with a weird combination of flavors, and he and Andrew did not score that round. The blue team won the challenge after a tie at one, and they were rewarded with a $2000 shopping spree at Surface for kitchen supplies, and a seven-course lunch at Providence. During the reward, he told Ryan that he did not have an ego problem in the kitchen, but she said that he did as he liked to talk a lot, before hoping that they could start over. However, he was seen not enjoying the reward.

During dinner service, Paulie was on the fish station. At the start of service, he deemed Ryan smug, that he was not afraid of her, before wanting to see how things played out and was bemused by her struggling on the refire. On entrées, he did not communicate with Devin as he felt the latter was dragging them, and when the latter's veal chops came out raw, he annoyingly pulled off his sea bass from the pass as it died. After Ramsay found out, he berated Devin and him for their lack of communication, and when he asked Ramsay to check on the fish, Ramsay angrily told him to man up if he knew it was not acceptable. After he announced that it would take two minutes for his refire, and Ramsay forced the blue team to start over. Later that night, he revealed that he only had two sea bass portions left out of the twelve he started with, and Ramsay ordered him to tell Marino his problem as he was fed up whipping his ass. When he claimed that he lost two sea bass due to Devin’s raw veal chops, the latter told him to man the fuck up as he was responsible for that, and an annoyed Marino asked him what he was supposed to tell the customers. After, a reluctant Ramsay allowed him to borrow two extra sea bass portions from the red kitchen.

The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate one person for elimination. During deliberation, Paulie said that he could not see any reason why he should be nominated as he believed he did nothing wrong and wondered who to pick between Devin and Ryan. However, Devin reminded him about the refires for his overcooked sea bass, but he argued against that. Despite that, the blue team begrudgingly agreed that he fucked up the less that night, and he told Devin that he would rather have him than Ryan around as she made more mistakes that night.

Paulie was not nominated for elimination, and during his plea, said that he had the determination and passion of the competition while taking in criticism After, Ramsay called his name, but while he thought he was eliminated, Ramsay told him to say goodbye to Devin as the latter was eliminated. While being dismissed, he claimed that Ramsay scared the shit out of him, before believing that Devin should have gone home and told him to learn how to cook.

Episode 13

Main article: Episode 1613 - Black Jacket Lounge

Back at the dorms, Paulie had no idea of what would happen but decided not to speculate and remain concerned about his own performance. Then, Andrew told him that he was glad he was still around, and he said that they had to stick together as they were the only remaining male chefs left in the competition, before feeling that the females would try and push them out. The next day, he got to spend some time with his parents.

During the first Black Jackets Challenge, Paulie grabbed lobster, bacon, potatoes, and two unknown ingredients. He was the second person to have his dish judged by Ramsay, he deemed it the playoffs as everybody had a chance for a black jacket, and presented his grilled lobster with potatoes and bacon lardons. It was praised for a beautifully cooked lobster and having finesse, but criticized for a lack of salt. He lost the challenge to Heather and Heidi and had to compete in the second challenge.

During the second Black Jackets Challenge, Paulie knew that with the same six ingredients, it was time to be creative and show their personality on a plate. After hearing about Kimberly's decision to mix three ingredients for her purée, he mocked her decision to make baby food out of them. He was the final person to have his dish judged by Ramsay and presented his pan-seared salmon with white bean purée and oven-roasted cauliflower. Ramsay praised the fish for looking beautiful, and while the mushrooms were criticized for still having a bit of crunch to them, the eggplant was praised for tasting delicious, much to his pleasure as he could never know what Ramsay’s critics could be, even recalling that he got chewed out for breathing with his mouth open at one point. He won the challenge, was awarded the fourth black jacket, and he knew that he felt he would win one, before heading up the black jackets lounge to meet up with the other three.

At the lounge, Paulie was hoping for Andrew to win, and during the judging phase, he unknowingly voted for Kimberly's dish despite the fact he did not stand her. While being dismissed, Ramsay reminded him that he was the last man standing in the competition, and he bumped into the oven on his way out. He stated in his confessional that hated that Kimberly was in the black jackets over Andrew, before regretting that he did not choose the New York striploin over the filet.

Episode 14

Main article: Episode 1614 - Playing Your Cards Right

Back at the dorms, a pissed Paulie stated that he hated Kimberly, calling her a bitch in the process, said that she did not deserve to be there, and was upset that he was responsible for Andrew’s elimination. Despite Heidi reminding him that he could not be upset in a competition where there could be only one winner and suggested that he let it go, he was still upset that he let Andrew down.

During the King of the Hill Challenge, Paulie buzzed in for green beans, pecans after some hesitation, and white wine. During the cooking, he asked where the cayenne pepper was but was ignored. He was the second person to have his dish judged and presented his pecan-crusted chicken breast over a potato purée with white wine and bacon sautéed greens beans. It was praised for being seasoned beautifully, and when Ramsay noticed that he was surprised about the critique, he said that he was learning from everything he and the past judges told him. After, Ramsay and Jenn Louis agreed that his dish was better than Kimberly’s, and he took over the leader chair. He was able to beat out Heidi and Ryan, and while he believed that he had it in the bag as he only had Heather to beat out, he was dethroned by the latter and lost the challenge to her. However, he felt that he should have won that challenge, and refused to believe that Heather beat him. He was punished by participating in recycling day which involved separating all the trash from the dumpsters, and he was not happy to hear that as he wanted to go to Las Vegas. During the punishment, he called it the most disgusting thing he had ever done, before comparing himself to a sewer rat.

During dinner service, Paulie was on the fish station. He sent up both raw scallops and raw lobster tails, and he went on a short tangent on how they were not coming properly. When he did not respond to an order, Ramsay reminded him that he was wearing a black jacket. He was the third person to work as Ramsay's Sous Chef, and while he said that he was already used to checking up on things as he was an Executive Chef, he called out an incorrect entrée order until Ramsay told him, and his poor leadership caused everybody to get confused on what was going out until Ramsay called it out. then, he started plating Heather's scallops until Ramsay pointed out that they were overcooked and mushy, and got chewed out for dithering on the standards. Before Ryan went up as the fourth Sous Chef, she showed him what was happening on the garnish station. When Kimberly wanted to quit due to the tickets being flipped, he urged her not to. Then, he sent up the sea bass garnish that contained raw pancetta, and a fed-up Ramsay kicked the black jackets out of the kitchen.

The final five were asked to nominate two people for elimination, and during deliberation, Heidi brought up Paulie’s name due to his poor performance on fish, but when he argued that he did not have one fish sent back that night, Ryan called him delusional and deemed him a crybaby. Then, he accused the women of nominating him based on the fact he was the only male chef remaining, but Heidi reminded him that it was only her opinion and that the other women had their own opinions. After, he considered Heather and Kimberly, the former for sending up raw fish, but was considered by those two for elimination along with Ryan, who reminded him of the raw pancetta that got them kicked out of service. However, he arrogantly believed that the women were claiming that they did nothing wrong that night, called them shifty bitches, and felt that the decision was based on nepotism due to the fact he was the only male chef left. However, Heidi angrily reminded him that it was not based on that decision, and told him not to act like he had a perfect service, but he argued that nobody else did either. But, when Heidi accused him of feeling that he was being nominated over gender division and not his poor performance, he argued that everybody fucked up that night despite fucking up the most himself.

Paulie was named the second nominee for elimination, with Kimberly as the first. During his plea, he said that he was a strong cook in the kitchen and that he was not the weakest chef in the kitchen, before claiming that he was the unanimous decision based on being the last man left, even though Heather called it a cop-out excuse. After Kimberly was eliminated, Ramsay asked him if he was relieved, but he said that he was not as he was not his best performance that night. Ramsay agreed with him that it was one of his worst performances in the competition, and while he was praised for being a fighter and bouncing back despite being on the ropes several times, Ramsay felt that he did not bounce back that night, and therefore was eliminated. He received a retrospective montage during his exit interview. Ramsay did not comment on his elimination, and he did not receive the coat hanging and burning picture sequence until the next episode.

Episode 16

Main article: Episode 1616 - Leaving It on the Line

Paulie was one of the eight chefs that returned for the final dinner service. He was Ryan's second pick, after Heidi, and was followed by Koop and Wendy. Back at the dorms, he felt that Ryan was not listening to his input.

During prep, Ryan tried to get an uncooperative Paulie to focus as the latter felt that no matter the results, he was not getting anything out of it, before asking why he was wasting his time. During dinner service, he was on the appetizer station. At one point, he did not answer Ryan’s time request on the meatballs, before she frustratingly reminded him that he was working for her that night. Then, Ryan and Ramsay discovered that his meatballs were ice cold, and the two had him feel them as Ramsay accused him of sabotaging Ryan. He argued that he was not and was doing his best to help Ryan, but Ramsay sternly reminded him that ice-cold meatballs were not helping her. Despite Ryan finding some good meatballs to use, he still had a sour attitude as he was not getting anything out of that night, but decided not to let the ship sink and got his second batch accepted. Later, he was seen telling Wendy that her salmon was raw. Ryan eventually won the finals over Heather.

Nomination history

Week 1	Safe
Week 2	Safe
Week 3	Win
Week 4	Safe
Week 5	Safe
Week 6	Nominated
Week 7	Win
Week 8	Nominated
Week 9	Nominated
Week 10	Safe
Week 11	Nominated
Week 12	Safe
Week 13	Safe
Week 14	Nominated

Post Hell's Kitchen

• After his appearance on the show, he returned to his position as Executive Chef at the restaurant he owned, Birra.
• Sadly, Paulie died in April 2017.

Trivia

• He is the first male contestant ever to score a perfect five on the new format of the Signature Dish Challenge. He is also the first contestant who did so without making it to the finale.
• He is the first male contestant to enter the black jacket lounge.
• He participated in the fourth elimination where two contestants were eliminated instead of one, along with Kimberly.
• He is the third contestant to be the only male of the season who made it to the black jackets, following Jon (Season 11), and Jared (Season 15), as well as the last one to date.
• He holds the record of getting kicked out of the kitchen the most in one season, with eight services in total.
• He, Ryan, and Heather (all also from Season 16) won the most challenges in their season with eight.
• He is the only member of that season's black jacket team to have never worn a red jacket at some point.

Quotes

• (After Andrew's elimination) "I fucking hate Kim. Andrew deserves to be here way more than her. But it's not his fault he's not here. If I would've just said the strip instead of the filet, he would still be here."
• (After being eliminated) "I definitely think I've learned a lot. Chef Ramsay's got a strange method of teaching, but, you know, I'm a little hard-headed, so sometimes you need a kick in the ass. But I think that's 'cause he saw potential. It definitely made me better and hungrier to do well, and it's gonna spur me on even harder. Definitely had a lot of fun. It was just meeting some good people. This competition's something I'll never forget. This dream is over, but it's not how many times you get knocked down. It's how many times you get up. You gotta come back and you gotta come hard."
• ”It’s gonna come back, it’s gonna come right back! Thanks guys you just screwed me! You’ve just sent me home guys, you’ve just sent me home because you screwed me on the time! I asked for 2 minutes!” I asked for 2 minutes and you guys couldn’t give me 2 minutes! I asked for 2 minutes, that’s what I asked for 2 minutes!“ Gordon: “Shut the fuck up!”
• “Was there anything redeeming about it at all?” Gordon: “Yeah, that plate that you served it on!”

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Paulie's Intro Spot

Paulie in Blue Jacket

Paulie's Confessional (Blue Jacket)

Aziza, Wendy, Paulie, and Devin Nominated

Paulie, Wendy, and Johnny Nominated

Paulie in Blind Taste Test

Koop and Paulie Nominated

Paulie and Wendy Nominated

Paulie in Black Jacket

Paulie's Confessional (Black Jacket)

Kimberly and Paulie Nominated

Paulie Eliminated

Paulie as Returning Chef

Paulie's Confessional (Returning Chef)

Paulie's Signature Dish

Paulie's Ostrich Meat Dish (Oyster Cut) (Episode 3)

Paulie and Aziza's Seven Seas Seafood Dishes (Wahoo) (Episode 5)

Paulie's Ingredient Crossword Dish (Episode 6)

Paulie's Southern Dish (Catfish) (Episode 7)

Paulie's International Ballroom Beef Entrée (Episode 8)

Paulie's Slider Creation Dish (Episode 10)

Paulie's Fusion Dish (Episode 12)

Paulie's Black Jacket Dish (Round 1) (Episode 13)

Paulie's Black Jacket Dish (Round 2) (Episode 13)

Paulie's King of The Hill Dish (Episode 14)

External links

• Paul "Paulie" Giganti on Instagram