Ralph Johnson

“

My name is Ralph, I'm special because I have a spark in my ass.

”

Hometown/Residence	Boston, MA
Occupation	Chef de Partie
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	1 out of 1
Challenges Won	2
Services Won	2
Times as BoW/Announcer	1
Times Nominated	2
Placement	11th
Episode Eliminated/Withdrew	11 Chefs Compete

Ralph Johnson was a contestant on Season 12 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 11th place.

Season 12

Episode 1

Main article: Episode 1201 - 20 Chefs Compete

The twenty new chefs rode on a bus on route to Hell's Kitchen and during this time they had the opportunity to get to know each other. Upon arrival, they were greeted by Jean-Philippe who walked the chefs into Hell’s Kitchen as Ralph was excited to start cooking and get screamed at. However, the chefs walked into a service already going on with the food receiving positive comments and Ramsay expressing that the chefs in the kitchen were doing a splendid job. That confused the chefs, and once the service ended, Ramsay approached them and welcomed them. Ramsay explained that he did a soft opening to showcase the chefs what his expectations were, and asked if they could perform a service like the one they saw. Everybody promised they would, and Ramsay revealed that the winner would become a Head Chef at one of his restaurants, but first, they had to survive Hell’s Kitchen in Los Angeles, a place he deemed the capital of entertainment. Shortly after, patrons of the restaurant began putting on a performance. Afterwards, Ramsay announced it was time for the Signature Dish Challenge.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Ralph was the ninth person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay, and went up against Rochelle. Before judging, he said he was special because he he had a spark in his ass, and Ramsay jokingly said he should have that looked by somebody. He made a New England Lobster dinner, which Ramsay praised the dish for the lobster being cooked perfectly, and he won the round over Rochelle. The blue team eventually lost the challenge 4-5, and they were punished by resetting the dining room ahead of the opening service. After hearing that, he sarcastically said he could not wait to begin cleaning the tables before commenting the men were not on the best of starts.

During dinner service, Ralph was on the garnish station with Scott. He was not seen that night, and the blue team were kicked out after multiple mistakes. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 2

Main article: Episode 1202 - 19 Chefs Compete

The next day, at 4:33 AM, the chefs awoke to the sounds of dirt bikes revving in the dorms, and Sous Chef Andi told the chefs to meet Ramsay outside. During the Basics Relay Challenge, Ralph was paired with Gabriel, they were the final pair from the blue team to compete, and their task was to prepare two perfect egg white omelets. As he raced on the tricycle, Anton found humor in him riding it as they were both the same size. As he knew anybody could win due to how close both pairs were, he wished not to screw up. The men chanted Azul to pump him and Gabriel up, and they brought up their first attempt. It was accepted, and the blue team won the challenge 5-4. They were rewarded with a trip to San Francisco, ate lunch with Ramsay at Epic Roasthouse, and went on a VIP trip around San Francisco on Segway’s.

During dinner service, Ralph was on the fish station with Scott. He was not seen that night, and the blue team were kicked out after multiple mistakes. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each. While being dismissed, he apologized to Ramsay for letting him down, but the latter retorted that he was not as sorry as the customers were.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 1203 - 18 Chefs Compete

The next day, at 5:45 AM, the chefs were woken to the sound of pigs squealing and a farmer yelling very loud. During the Potato Challenge, Ralph was one of the first three men seen in the pen during part 1, and was focused on digging up potatoes, not giving a shit if there were alligators or snakes in the ground. The blue team won 100-90, and during part 2, he decided to make a potato salad. He was part of the top five, was the second person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay, and went up against Sandra. He made a potato salad, and while Ramsay felt it was too garlicky, it had a beautiful presentation, and he scored 3 points. The blue team lost the challenge 16-18, and they were punished by cleaning the livestock out in the pen.

During dinner service, Ralph served steak Diane tableside. He was not seen that night, and the blue team were kicked out after multiple mistakes. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate three each. During deliberation, he and Jason considered DeMarco as he deemed the latter a dumb fuck.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 1204 - 17 Chefs Compete

During the Lobster Ravioli Challenge, Ralph was paired up with Richard. They were seen getting three of their attempts accepted. The blue team eventually lost the challenge 9-10, and they were punished by cleaning up the pennies worth $200,000, as well as clean and prep both kitchens for that night’s service. During the punishment, he agreed with Scott that Mike and DeMarco were not helping much, and accused the two of not doing shit for the team. When Mike asked him if he wanted to watch over their station, he bluntly said he should have.

During the Steak Night dinner service, Ralph was on the appetizer station with Mike. After the men received their first ticket, Ramsay told him to nail that order since it was for a VIP table. He felt confident, focused, and wanted to show Ramsay what he had, but when he announced his wait for crab cakes, Ramsay said they were not on order. While Jason sarcastically congratulated him for misremembering the order, he admitted his mistake before Anton thought crab cakes were actually on order. Then, he called for a minute on his ravioli, but Mike poured them all in a pot too soon, angering him as he told Mike to wait for his order. However, Mike told him to get the fuck out of the way and let him help. Ramsay asked why Mike was doing nothing, and while the latter replied nobody wanted his help, Ramsay told him to help and told him to let Mike do something. He said that Mike had terrible service since the first day, and was not going to let him lead. On their next order, Ramsay told him that it had crab cakes on them. While he sent up his ravioli to the pass, it was not sent up due to Richard's cold crab cakes. On the refire, just when he was about to walk up with ravioli, Ramsay asked if it was the same ravioli from earlier, but he replied that they were fresh. Then, Ramsay revealed that the ravioli was watery and had no seasoning, that prompted him to send him and Richard to the dining room to eat their mistakes and told Jean-Philippe to give the two chardonnays for drinks. Then, Jean-Philippe told Richard and him that while he knew they wanted to return to the kitchen, they could not unless they finish eating. Later, Richard wanted to go back to the kitchen, but he said they had to finish their drinks first.

The blue team lost the service after receiving help from the red team, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, DeMarco blamed meat and appetizers, but Ralph argued he was not going to put out bad risottos. While Jason told him that it was slow on appetizers, he felt he banged out everything despite being alone, and felt Mike gave up.

Ralph was not nominated for elimination, but when Mike felt they got rolling after Ramsay convinced him to help, he said it was not true as the latter instead stirred risottos and did only one ravioli.

Episode 5

Main article: Episode 1205 - 16 Chefs Compete

During the Creative Memory Challenge, Ralph was paired up with Scott, and they were seen matching polenta. During the cooking, Scott suggested using a hollandaise on swordfish, but while he agreed to that, he himself has never done it and hoped the former knows what he was doing. They were the final pair from the blue team to have their dish judged by Ramsay, and they went up against the pair of Joy and Bev. They made a swordfish with basmati rice and hollandaise sauce, but while Ramsay praised the dish for a beautifully cooked protein and being moist, he said hollandaise sauce was never accepted on fish. They lost that round, and he bitterly said he learned never to put hollandaise sauce on top of fish.

The blue team lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by harvesting fresh honey, making 100 pounds of honey taffy, and drinking sardine shakes for lunch. During the punishment, Ralph feared about puking at the taste, but he finished his last gulp after urging from his team.

During the Wedding brunch service, Ralph was on the crouqe monsieur station with DeMarco. At one point, Ramsay noticed that his pan was not hot enough, leaving greasy portion on bread on the pan, and Scott deemed that a rookie mistake. Ramsay told him he did not want the couple to worry about their cholesterol level, and he had no excuse. Then, DeMarco told him that one of their eggs needed more time to cook, but he claimed that it was how it should be. However, Ramsay deemed the egg raw, but blamed DeMarco for sending it up.

The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, DeMarco brought up the raw egg incident towards Ralph, but he wanted one from his station and one from the crouqe monsieur station before nominating Gabriel and DeMarco. Despite Gabriel arguing that he should not go up, he was looking at the overall picture as DeMarco was not spectacular and Gabriel had some fuck ups.

Ralph was not nominated for elimination, even after DeMarco brought up the raw egg incident.

Episode 6

Main article: Episode 1206 - 15 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, Ralph playfully told Rochelle he was living the dream. The next day, Ramsay asked both teams to name a leader for the following service. Anton was named the blue team's leader.

During prep, Ralph micromanaged Gabriel on the appetizer prep, but the latter felt he was pissed due to his small size. During dinner service, he was on the appetizer station with Gabriel. He was not seen much, except for getting directed by Anton. The blue team won the service.

Episode 7

Main article: Episode 1207 - 14 Chefs Compete

During the Gourmet Pizza Challenge, Ralph worked alone as the blue team had an odd number of chefs. During the cooking, he explained that because of his Irish heritage, he never had a gourmet pizza before. When Richard tried to help, he said he had no idea how to cook a pizza, and Richard called him a moron. His pizza was chosen for judging, he was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged, and went up against Rochelle. He made a soperasal flatbread pizza with burrata and arugula, it looked funny due to cutting off the crust, and he scored 3 points. The blue team won the challenge 15-12, and they were rewarded with a trip to the rooftop of the Andaz Hotel in Sunstet Strip, and received yoga lessons.

During the Italian Night dinner service, Ralph was on the meat station. At one point, he sent up a raw ribeye, and Jason told him to put it in for another 15 seconds, believing that he could not cook for shit. Then, he sent up raw lamb with one piece sliced very thinly, which caused Ramsay to ask how he managed that, and Richard asked him if he wanted Ramsay to lose his mind. However, he got the refires accepted. The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he claimed he had nothing sent back that night, but Gabriel asked if he was serious as he messed up on meat that night. However, he argued that it was his first time on meat.

Ralph was not nominated for elimination, but Ramsay decided to call him down to the front as his performance that night was dreadful, and he joined Chris and Scott. During his plea, he felt he did not screw up yet, but when Ramsay asked him why cooking lamb was so difficult, he felt it was a careless mistake. However, Ramsay sarcastically thought he did not make mistakes. He survived elimination, and while being dismissed, he knew it was game time and refused to let his team hold him back.

Episode 8

Main article: Episode 1208 - 13 Chefs Compete

While going back to the dorms, Ralph felt he was a strong cook since day one and had no clue why Ramsay nominated him, especially since the latter praised him for a phenomenal service in the previous night. However, Richard told him to shut the fuck up and leave it alone, believing that he needed to relax fast.

During the 160th Sorority Anniversary Planning Challenge, Gabriel told Ralph to keep the potatoes candied and not add any cheese, but he did not think the former was all that despite coming from the south, and had Anton taste his mushroom gravy. While Anton agreed that it tasted gritty, they had to follow Gabriel’s direction. He presented the men's beef entrée, he was the final person from the blue team to have his dish judged, and went up against Joy. He presented their grilled ribeye with candied yams and smoked collard greens, but while it was deemed delicious and full of flavor, he lost that round to Joy. The blue team lost the challenge 1-2, and they were punished by decorating the dining room for the 160th Anniversary service. During the punishment, he was pissed, bluntly told the committee that they picked the wrong dishes, and he felt they were rude to them, so he rudely gave them their meal.

During the 160th Sorority Anniversary dinner service, Ralph was on the appetizer station with Gabriel. He was not seen that night, and the blue team won the service.

Episode 9

Main article: Episode 1209 - 12 Chefs Compete

During the Dome Challenge, Ralph picked New York striploin, couscous, beets, and pistachios. However, he was too slow on the starch dome and grabbed couscous, revealing he did not want to argue with anybody as he was talented. He was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged, and went up against Kashia. He made a Moroccan style New York striploin with couscous, pistachios, and beets, but while Michael Cimarusti felt that the steak was cooked beautifully, he criticized the pistachio for being the dominant flavor of the entire dish. He lost that round to Kashia, and the blue team lost the challenge 3-4. They were punished by doing the waiting staffs chores. During the punishment, he was dismayed by the list of what was to be done.

Later that day, Ramsay announced that he would be performing individual evaluation reports. Ralph was the tenth chef to have his evaluation, and Ramsay felt that he was better than what he has seen previously, leaving him to admit that he had no idea why he has not ripped it out. Since he was not deemed by the blue team as the weakest chef, he did not have to participate in the Cook For Your Life Challenge.

Episode 10

Main article: Episode 1210 - 11 Chefs Compete

Later that night, Gabriel's loud snoring kept Ralph up, and he complained that he was not getting any sleep as time passed on. The next day, he was curious about the big bang Ramsay said last night, but was not feeling good due to the lack of sleep, and wanted one relaxing day in Hell’s Kitchen. The chefs were brought down to Ramsay's gastropub so the former could show them around, along with showing them the menu for Gastropub Night that night.

During prep, Ralph felt sick and did not know if he could perform well that night. He blamed Gabriel for snoring too loudly as that kept him up for the past few nights, and complained that his vision was starting to blur, causing a concerned Sous Chef James to send him to the medic. Jason hoped he would not suffer the same fate he had back in Season 9, but the medic felt that he should not perform that night. As he went back upstairs to lie down, Anton blamed Gabriel for keeping him up. Before service began, Gabriel was told to check on him, with the former feeling bad about keeping him up all night. Despite still being tired, he decided to go through service as he was strong, he never missed a workday in three years, and wanted to stick through service despite having a fever. Once downstairs, Ramsay jokingly asked him if his fever was due to spending too much time with Rochelle, but he said he was fine, even going with Ramsay’s joke by explaining how he used to wear high heels because his sisters dressed him up. Ramsay appreciated the weird information.

During the Gastropub Night dinner service, Ralph was on the fish station. When Anton's mistake forced the men to flip a ticket, he was angry as he had no fish fried yet, even when Anton kept yelling at him for the fish. He said he needed three minutes on the fish, but Gabriel pushed Anton to bring the chicken. He called Anton a disaster while he himself was feeling sick despite trying to pull through, only to send up raw fish. Ramsay yelled that because the men were so fragmented, he got raw fish, and Anton did not know how sick he was if he could not serve perfect fish. Later, he got annoyed when Gabriel kept changing times on the men. Eventually, the red team came to help him, but when Melanie asked him about the raw fish, he called her a bitch. When they got their refire up on the pass, his fish was deemed raw and mushy, and a fed-up Ramsay kicked the men out of service.

The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Jason asked who would go up as Ralph knew they all fucked up, while Anton felt he, Scott, and Gabriel were the weak links for the men. He considered Scott and Gabriel despite the latter’s objections, and he argued about the off timings and miscommunication, which Jason agreed with.

Despite not being named a nominee by the blue team, Ralph was named the blue team's second nominee by Gabriel, with Scott as the first. Even after Jason tried to clear it up, Ramsay decided to have him, Scott, and Gabriel down to the front. During his plea, he knew it was a disaster, before knowing he himself had a lot more to give. However, Ramsay asked him how he could screw up fish and chips, he argued that there was no communication, leaving Ramsay to sarcastically comment that he should have talked to the fish. He was eliminated for his struggles on fish and chips, and during his exit interview, he was mad that he was ratted out, how Gabriel choked that night, and believed Ramsay made the wrong decision.

Ramsay's comment: "Ralph has a lot of heart. But when it comes to cooking, he comes up a little short."

Episode 20

Main article: Episode 1220 - Winner Chosen

Ralph was one of the ten chefs that returned for the final dinner service. He was Scott's second pick, after Chris, and was followed by Rochelle, Kashia, and Jessica.

During dinner service, Ralph was on the appetizer station with Rochelle. He was not seen that night, and Scott won the finals over Jason.

Nomination History

Week 1	Safe
Week 2	Safe
Week 3	Safe
Week 4	Safe
Week 5	Safe
Week 6	Win
Week 7	Nominated
Week 8	Win
Week 9	Safe
Week 10	Nominated

Post Hell's Kitchen

• After his appearance on the show, Ralph was Sous Chef at Aragosta at the Fairmont Battery Wharf.
• He is currently Executive Chef at Straw Hat Restaurant.
• He has left the United States and now lives in Anguilla.

Trivia

• He, Janai (Season 13), and Steve (Season 20) are the only Chef de Parties to compete on the show.
• He is the first contestant whose name was called for nomination as a purposeful mistake by a teammate. He is also the first one who got eliminated after that process.
• He is the eighth contestant 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), Justin (Season 10), and Michael (Season 11).

Quotes

• "My name is Ralph, I'm special because I have a spark in my ass."
• (About DeMarco) "Right from the get-go, DeMarco's done shit. I mean, you can see a good chef and a shitty chef from a mile away."
• "You know what I learned today, don't put fucking hollandaise sauce on a fish."
• (About Gabriel's snoring) "Gabriel, I mean, he's the biggest snorer I've ever heard in my life. I'm not getting any sleep right now, it's insane. He's cutting so much wood, and I'm talking acres and acres of wood, like unreal."
• (When expecting an outburst from Chef Ramsay) "I'm just gonna sit here and look like I'm stirring it."
• (After being eliminated) "Where I come from, you don't rat people out. You take it on the chin, and you go forward. Gabriel choked tonight, and it'll catch up to him. His time will come. I'm definitely not the worst chef in that kitchen. Chef Ramsay, you just made the wrong decision tonight. I feel bad, 'cause, you know, I could've showed you a lot more."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Ralph's Intro Spot

Ralph in Blue Jacket

Ralph's Confessional

Chris, Ralph, and Scott Nominated

Gabriel, Ralph, and Scott Nominated

Ralph Eliminated

Ralph as Returning Chef

Ralph's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

Ralph's Potato Dish (Episode 3)

Scott (S12) and Ralph (S12)'s Creative Memory Ingredient Dish (Episode 5)

Ralph's Pizza (Episode 7)

Ralph's Dome Dish (New York Striploin) (Episode 9)