“ | This has been an amazing journey and I've learned so much to be a better chef, to be a better me. | ” |
Payton Cooper was a contestant on Season 20 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 13th place.
Season 20[]
Episode 1/2[]
- Main article: Episode 2001 - Young Guns: Young Guns Come Out Shooting
- Main article: Episode 2002 - Young Guns: Temping the Meat
The eighteen Young Guns arrive at Las Vegas on a bus heading to Hell's Kitchen, and they drove past the real Hell's Kitchen restaurant. Payton said it was the first time he visited Las Vegas. The bus arrived at Hell's Kitchen, where Marino greeted the chefs. Marino explained that Ramsay created a museum to celebrate the past nineteen seasons in honor of the twentieth season. Giving the tour were Shakala and Sean, who led the chefs into the museum. As the chefs toured the museum, they saw photos of past contestants, hung jackets, the Hell's Kitchen Wall of Fame, and lines said from the past seasons. Then, they see video clips of moments from the show. The last stop was an exhibit of the doors used to reveal the winner of each season. Sean said that the final part of the tour was a documentary film about the show's history. However, the curtain pulled back to reveal an audience waiting for them and Ramsay on a stage behind them. He called it unexpected but smiled. Once on stage, Ramsay explained that the museum was meant to showcase the past, while the eighteen of them were the future. Ramsay added that the desire to become a chef was a dream for many young people, and food has evolved over the years since the show began. So, Ramsay announced that the winner of that season would become his protégé and become the new Head Chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Afterwards, Ramsay announced the Signature Dish Challenge and gave the chefs 45 minutes to cook their dishes.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, Payton revved up his teammates. When it was revealed that Matthew failed to remove the shrimp's poop sack, he found it hilarious how the latter served Ramsay literal poop. He was the seventh person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Victoria. He made a pork chop with parsnip mashed. It was criticized for having a lumpy mashed despite having a rustic presentation. He felt like a dog getting hit by the owner's newspaper after pooping on the floor, and he scored a two. Then he felt like he let his team down. The blue team lost the challenge 28-30, and they were punished by taking in deliveries for ingredients to make stock.[1]
During the Alcohol Challenge, Payton showed Sam the proper way to flambé after the latter could not do so. He lost the challenge as his dish was chosen as part of the blue team's Top Three. After seeing Matthew's raw chicken, he tripped as the men returned to their station, causing Ramsay to ask if he was drinking.
During prep, Payton and Matthew discussed the plan for meat. During the 300th dinner service, he was on the meat station with Matthew. After Matthew served raw lamb, he felt that the former dragging the men down and took command of the meat. When Steve asked him for a time on the refire, he gave no response. Despite that, the refire was accepted. When it came time for the VIP order, he needed seven minutes for his chicken. When Antonio tried to communicate with him, he incorrectly thought they were cooking one chicken instead of two for the VIP. When Ramsay saw the raw chicken in his hand, he was forced to admit his forgetfulness, much to the former's dismay. Ramsay could not believe that he and Matthew could forget the order and had them apologize to Mike Tyson, much to his embarrassment. Chaos emerged as he and Antonio gave out different timings. When the blue team went into the pantry for a meeting, he acknowledged Antonio's leadership, but he did not want to give the latter respect after getting chewed out. After the men returned to the kitchen, he told Ramsay that it would take six minutes for the six-top table. However, the blue team was kicked out when nobody had an idea of timings or what was going on.
The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Antonio considered nominating the meat station Payton and Matthew. He knew he lost it when things went south, but Matthew said things were a mess before then. However, he accused Matthew of not communicating with him all night and thought he was mentally checked out. The men agreed with him and Matthew as their nominees as both were ready to plead their cases.
Payton was the blue team's second nominee for elimination, with Matthew as the first, and Jay joined them. During his plea, Ramsay did not feel his hunger, but the latter argued he had more drive and passion for bouncing back in the following service. He survived elimination, and while being dismissed, he knew he had to step it up and pull it together for a 150%.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 2003 - Young Guns: Come Hell or High Water!
Back at the dorms, Emily told Payton that she teared up by how Ramsay dressed him down but was proud of him regardless.
During the Whole Squid Prep Challenge, Payton was seen getting one attempt accepted. The blue team lost the challenge 14-16. They were punished by taking in seafood deliveries, breaking down 50 pounds of squid and shrimp, and eating calamari sandwiches. During the punishment, he felt they were on a losing streak and could not get a break.
During dinner service, Payton was at the fish station with Kevin. He was not seen that night, but the blue team got kicked out of the kitchen after serving raw chicken. They were named the losers and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he nominated Jay and Antonio based on the latter’s self-nomination. However, when Antonio denied doing that, he lost trust in the former.
He was not nominated for elimination.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 2004 - Young Guns: Young Guns Going Big
Back at the dorms, Payton deemed the blue team's losing streak the worst part of his career. The next day, he wanted to win for the men after losing four in a row.
During the Paris Hotel Brunch Service Challenge, Payton was on the meat station with Alex. At one point, Ramsay looked to the men for the steaks but was not happy when they were constantly feeling them. When they were sent up, Ramsay sliced them and showed the men that it was well done compared to Megan’s medium-rare. He felt like an idiot as he could have done them instead of Alex and said that was why chefs drank. The blue team lost the challenge, and they were punished by preparing 600 boxes worth of pastries for different Caesar’s locations. During the punishment, he brought back the first batch of eclairs from the oven and showed how flat they were. He felt it would be a long night ahead of them.
During dinner service, Payton was on the meat station with Sam. After Antonio served raw scallops, Ramsay asked the men for their opinion, and he and Sam said it was raw. Then, he said that if Alex messed up on his third service, then he was gone. Both teams were named joint losers and were asked to nominate two each.
Payton was not nominated for elimination. After Alex was eliminated, Ramsay reassigned him and Sam into the red team, exchanging for Victoria, Emily, and Megan.[4]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 2005 - Young Guns: Stirring the Pot
Before the Emoji Jacket Challenge, Payton was shocked that Ramsay used emojis in the text to talk about the previous night. During the challenge, Keanu and Kiya struggled on his dish as they initially thought it was a Philly cheesesteak. He went with that and made a mushroom sauce. He was the fourth person from the red team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Antonio. He lost that round due to the mushroom component. The red team won the challenge 4-2, and they were rewarded with a ride on the High Roller and lunch at Chayo. As the red team went back upstairs, he called winning a fantastic feeling as he felt the holy lights were shining on him and Sam.
During prep, Payton was confident about the garnish in the red kitchen, but Josie said it was time for him and Sam to prove themselves. During dinner service, he was on the garnish station. Sam reminded him that he was taking charge, but he felt confident as garnish was not complicated. However, Morgana was unsure about him as she compared him to a lost puppy dog as he acted too cocky. When the entrées went up, Ramsay saw that he served the wrong garnishes for the order, serving New York striploin fries when the Wellingtons and halibut needed carrots and turnips. Brynn told him to ask if he was unsure of something while Keanu was not happy with his poor performance as she yelled out the correct garnishes. Despite that, he deemed it a learning experience as the red teams served their first order. He thought he learned from his mistake on the following order, only to send out the wrong garnishes again. That time, Ramsay had everyone up to the front and told him that he brought up Wellington garnish. When an embarrassed Ramsay asked how that happened, Brynn accused him of not knowing the menu. However, he argued that he did know the menu, leading Brynn to retract her statement by saying he did not know about garnish. Regardless, Ramsay told the red team that this was elementary, and he felt the red team and Brynn did not want him around. Still, he tried to prove himself and got the proper garnishes up to the pass. Eventually, the red team was kicked out after multiple mistakes.
The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate three people for elimination. During deliberation, Morgana said that Payton’s mistake on garnish sunk them. While he tried to brush off the fact he sent up the wrong garnishes, Sam said it proved he did not know the menu. Still, he said he had a different system with the blue team than with the red team. However, that comment caused Sam to believe he was over his head and felt his team switch argument was invalid. Still, he did not feel support from the red team. When Morgana left in tears, he thought that girls took things too personally.
Payton was the red team's first nominee for elimination, with Morgana as the second and Keanu as the third. During his plea, he felt the red team did not have his back and said that Brynn was the most vocal. However, Brynn argued against that and had no idea what he was talking about. Continuing with his plea, he said he was improving on his voice. He survived elimination, but Ramsay told him to wake up. Also, Ramsay told him that he dodged a bullet and warned him to get it together. While being dismissed, he knew the red team was pissed at him due to his plea and knew it was his last chance.[5]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 2006 - Young Guns: A Ramsay Birthday in Hell!
While going back to the dorms, Brynn got heated after Payton threw her under the bus that night and confronted him about it on the patio. He defended his plea by arguing that he had to defend himself on the chopping block, but Brynn accused him of trying to make her look bad. He argued against that but secretly wanted Brynn gone as he got annoyed with her emotional outbursts.
Before the Megan 21st Planning Challenge, a picture of Payton with pink hair was shown. During the cooking, Brynn decided to take an open mind for him as she figured Ramsay saw something nobody else did, only to get sprayed by his citrus juice. He cooked one of the three entrées for the red team. He was the fifth person from the red team to have his dish judged and went up against Megan. He made a pan-seared salmon with prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and mixed herbed rice, but it was criticized for having too much rosemary. He lost that round to Megan. The red team lost the challenge after a three-point tie. They were punished by decorating the dining room for the party under the instructions of a strict party planner. During the punishment, he knew a punishment was not new to him and Sam.
During Megan's 21st dinner service, Payton was at the meat station with Sam. They served a rare steak on the first ticket, and then the refire had raw white fat on the meat. On Megan's order, he was confident about the Pad Thai as he cooked noodles before and knew how important it was to be perfect for Megan. While the dish was sent out, Megan found her noodles bland compared to earlier that day, and her friend agreed. Seeing this, Marino took Megan's dish back to the red kitchen. Infuriated by that, Ramsay called the red team down and had them taste the Pad Thai. All of them said it was bland and Ramsay demanded to know who seasoned them. Unfortunately, nobody spoke up until he said he cooked the dish. Keanu accused his brain of being noodles. Marino rubbed more salt in the wound by revealing that the blue team's Pad Thai was flavorable. Josie told him to get his thumb out of his butt, and he got his refire accepted. Then, he was one of the five chefs responsible for the raw lamb as he seasoned it. That led Ramsay to kick the red team out of the kitchen.
The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate three people for elimination. During deliberation, Brynn reminded Payton that he was on meat with Sam and asked if he knew about rest time. He said he did, but Josie reminded everyone that she was the one who walked the raw lamb after taking it out of the oven. Then, Brynn asked about the bland noodles, but he had no answer. That frustrated Keanu as he was responsible for cooking the dish for Megan. He was named one of the three nominees alongside Sam and Josie. When Brynn got emotional, he got annoyed by that.
Payton was named the red team's second nominee for elimination, with Sam as the first and Josie as the third. During his plea, he admitted to his mistakes that night, especially for serving Megan bland noodles, but he felt he grew stronger every day. He was eliminated for serving bland noodles to Megan and running out of chances due to his irregular performances. Still, Ramsay acknowledged and praised his fight, but also reminded him of how he had so many chances. During his exit interview, he was disappointed in his performance that night but called it an amazing journey.
Ramsay's comment: "Payton struggled on the blue team and the red team. One thing's for sure, I don't want him on my team."[6]
Nomination History[]
Week 1 | Safe |
---|---|
Nominated | |
Week 2 | Safe |
Week 3 | Safe |
Week 4 | Nominated |
Week 5 | Nominated |
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After his appearance on the show, Payton worked at Middle Fork and The Kentucky Castle.
- He previously worked as a personal chef and had plans to open a food truck.
- In July 2023, he is named Executive Chef at Par6 Social in Lexington, Kentucky.
Trivia[]
- He is the third contestant and first male contestant from the state of Kentucky, following Natalie (Season 9) and Brittani (Season 19).
- At 21-years-old, he is one of the five youngest chefs of the season alongside Brynn, Morgana, Steve, and Victoria. He is also one of the seven youngest contestants to compete in Hell's Kitchen.
- He is the thirteenth male contestant who switched teams without making it to the black jackets, following Robert (Season 6), Scott (Season 7), Anton (Season 12), Frank, Sterling (both from Season 13), Hassan, Chad (both from Season 15), Matt, Andrew (both from Season 16), Josh (Season 17), Kevin, and Trev (both from Season 18).
- He holds the record for the longest tenure without winning a dinner service, with five services. This record is tied with Tek (Season 6) and DeMarco (Season 12).
Quotes[]
- (About Matthew after he served Shrimp without deveining it) "You're literally serving Chef Ramsay shit, hahahaha! That's fuckin' hilarious!"
- (About Matthew after serving raw lamb) "And Matt's grinning his ass off. I can't even look at him. At that point, I wanted to take control."
- (After miscounted of Mike Tyson's order) "I'm embarrassing myself, overall. I'm embarrassed in front of Mike Tyson. I'm embarrassed from chef Ramsay. Not a great feeling when meeting Mike Tyson for the first time."
- (About Alex) "Alex has fucked two services in a row. If he's fucked up a third strike, he's out."
- (About Brynn) "I'm sick of Brynn. Hissy fit here we go."
- (After being eliminated) "Disappointed in myself, I know I could have done better. But I gave his daughter a shit entrée on her 21st birthday. This has been an amazing journey and I've learned so much to be a better chef, to be a better me."
Gallery[]
External links[]
Payton Cooper on Instagram
References[]
|
Hell's Kitchen: Young Guns |
---|
Staff |
Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • Jay Santos (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Christina Wilson (Red Team Sous Chef) • Marino Monferrato (Maître d'hôtel) |
Contestants |
Kevin Argueta • Josie Clemens • Payton Cooper • Sam Garman • Trenton Garvey • Brynn Gibson • Megan Gill • Steve Glenn • Ava Harren • Emily Hersh • Keanu Hogan • Matthew Francis Johnson • Alex Lenik • Antonio Ruiz • Jay Smith • Victoria Sonora • Morgana Vesey • Kiya Wilhelm |