Vanessa Gunnell

Hometown	Bozeman, MT
Occupation	Line Cook
Culinary Education	Montana Sate University
Statistics
Challenges Won	3
Services Won	2
Times as BoW/Announcer	0
Times Nominated	1
Placement	11th
Episode Eliminated	11 Chefs Compete

Vanessa Gunnell was a contestant on Season 4 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 11th place.

Vanessa was a very passionate chef. Despite having the best signature dish of the season, she was inconsistent in the kitchen and cracked under pressure. She got along with most of the other chefs, but she eventually decided to withdraw from the competition after burning her hand during service.

Season 4

Episode 1

The contestants flew into Los Angeles to compete at Hell's Kitchen. Vanessa said she was there because it was her destiny to win. Soon, the chefs met up on the bus going to Hell's Kitchen. What they did not know was Ramsay was in the bus with them, in disguise. Eventually, the contestants arrived at Hell's Kitchen, greeted by Jean-Philippe. After some hellos, Jean-Philippe claimed he was good at making an impression of Ramsay, which he did by calling out orders and yelling at them. After he did, Jean-Philippe asked Shayna and Jason to do their impressions themselves. After that, Jean-Philippe called up the disguised Ramsay, who spoke in his natural voice. While the chefs were initially impressed by the acting, they quickly realized that something was up. Ramsay revealed himself, which excited every contestant. Dominic admitted that he did not see it coming. After that, Ramsay instructed the chefs to create their signature dishes as he wanted to see how well they could cook as well as they talked on the bus.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Vanessa was the fourteenth contestant to have her dish judged by Ramsay and presented her pan-seared halibut. It was praised as the best dish by a mile due to its beautiful seasoning and light fragrance. Hearing that pumped her up. After the challenge, Ramsay asked both teams to name a team captain for the opening night. Corey chose her as the women's captain because of her great signature dish. Everyone else unanimously agreed, making her feel she had to lead well or else she could be done.

During prep, Vanessa was not as loud as she should for a captain. That caused Corey to doubt her capabilities as a leader and feared their night turning into a train wreck. During dinner service, she was at the garnish station. After Sharon brought an unacceptable risotto to the pass, she was told to wake up by Ramsay. However, she thought she could not do anything at the moment, despite being the captain. Eventually, when Jen sent unacceptable quail eggs to the pass, she was asked to give her captain's title to Rosann. She acknowledged that she sucked as a captain. At one point, Rosann asked her if she was mad at her when she corrected her on an order, but she told the former she was not. Even though Ramsay compared her performance to having a mouse on service, the red team won the service.

Episode 2

After a night with very little sleep, the contestants were woken up the following morning by the Sous Chefs. They held megaphones and told them to get outside immediately. Arriving outside, Ramsay declared that any restaurant would have hit bankruptcy with all the amount of food wasted on the previous night. Ramsay called over a dump truck and ordered them to take every wasted food and put it in the cylinders to give the chefs a better understanding of what they trashed last night. After a few minutes, Ramsay told them to get back in line up the stairs and declared they should be ashamed as they put thousands of dollars in the trash during the last service. Ramsay warned them to start giving a damn and told them to clean up and change.

During the 6-Ounce Halibut Challenge, Vanessa went unnoticed. The red team lost the challenge after a tie at 41 each. They were punished by prepping the halibut, making all the fish stock, and maximizing every portion for the following dinner service.

During dinner service, Vanessa was on the garnish station. She went unnoticed that night. The red team lost the dinner service, and Corey was named "Best of the Worst". During deliberation, Christina ruled her out when discussing who could be nominated by Corey. Still, she had no idea what Corey's strategy was.

Vanessa was, indeed, not nominated for elimination.

Episode 3

The following day, the contestants were awakened by chickens running around in the dorms. Calling from the P.A., Ramsay told them to get up, grab a chicken, and come down to the dining room. When Ramsay made a joke about killing live animals, Vanessa felt relieved that they did not have to kill live chickens. During the Chicken Cutting Challenge, she accused Corey of disrupting the solidarity of the women. She got all of her cuts accepted. When the blue team had their cuts judged, she hoped the men would screw up because the women needed the win. The red team won the challenge 44-24 and they were rewarded with a lunch at the Saddle Ranch Chop House on the Sunset Strip. During the reward, she said it was nice to run into Season 3 contestant Aaron, as he was a big teddy bear.

During dinner service, Vanessa was at the meat station. She brought her first entrée of meat to the pass, but it turned out raw. Se became very emotional and was ashamed of her performance. Afterwards, Ramsay asked everybody to get to the meat station. Still, she was in a bad mood as she never made a mistake in her fifteen-year experience. When Ramsay kicked both teams out of the kitchen, he accused her of being all over the place. Both teams were named joint losers and Christina was named "Best of the Worst". During deliberation, she was very emotional and ashamed of her performance as it was her livelihood. Christina tried to comfort her, but she still felt ashamed, saying this was the only thing she knew how to do and did not know if she knew how to do it any longer.

Vanessa was Christina's nominee for elimination, and joined Jason from the blue team. During her plea, she cried in shame and apologized that she disappointed Ramsay. An unmoved Ramsay told her that talking to her in service was comparable to a refrigeration unit as she was stone cold. Ultimately, Ramsay gave her one more chance and she survived elimination. Still, Ramsay told her that if that cooking was her life, she should wake up fast as time was not her friend. While being dismissed, she knew she had a lot to prove as she had to take the second chance hard.

Episode 4

On her way back to the dorms, Vanessa was still ashamed and feeling the failure, being very emotional, and was comforted by her team. She declared she cannot fail again as that was all she knew what to do. A few moments later, Ramsay called all the contestants in the microphone, and ordered them to get downstairs to clean their kitchens.

The red team won the Pasta Making Challenge, as they managed to get 6.57 lbs of acceptable pasta, compared to the blue team's 5.48 lbs. They were rewarded with a day at an amusement park, in Santa Monica Beach, and they were transported there in Hummer limousines. While leaving, Vanessa declared she was excited to drive in a Hummer limousine as she never did before, even in a regular limousine.

During Family Night dinner service, Vanessa was on the appetizer station. When the first ticket was called out, she was determined to have a good service, saying that she did not have to fail again after her disastrous performance during the previous service. So, she quickly took vocal control of the red kitchen. The first chowder she sent to the pass was deemed beautiful by Ramsay, who then stated they had the momentum and they must not lose it. She managed to get half of her appetizers in 45 minutes, but when the team moved on to entrée, Shayna erupted a fire on the appetizer station, which Vanessa tried to take off. But in the process, some oil dropped on her hand, and she sustained a second-degree burn. She asked Ramsay for some ice, and ran to the back store to see a medic, who applied some healing cream over her hand. But because she was still in great pain, she went to the hospital, transported by SUV.

Vanessa came back after service, told the other chefs she would see a medical surgeon next Monday, and Christina told her the news that her team won the dinner service. At elimination, she was welcomed back by Ramsay.

Episode 5

Back in the dorms, Vanessa was asked by Bobby what was going on with her hand, and she revealed she had to see a plastic surgeon, worried that it might take her chances of winning the competition away. The next morning, all the chefs were getting ready for the next challenge, but she, because of her injury, could not do anything on her own, frustrating her. So, Shayna helped her combing her hair, understanding her frustration as she did not want to let the team down, and she said she was feeling like a jackass.

When both teams were lined up in the dining room, Ramsay asked Vanessa how she was feeling with her burn, which she answered she was fine. After that, he introduced the Fine Dining Pizza Challenge, and during the challenge, she said as long as she was in the kitchen, she would try to do something. When the team agreed to choose Jen's pizza to be judged, Vanessa was disappointed, becoming emotional. Jen's pizza won over Ben's and clinched the victory for the red team, and they were rewarded with a lunch at the restaurant Square One, home to the $90 burger, in Santa Barbara, with Ramsay, and were transported there by a helicopter. During the helicopter ride, she told the view of California was amazing.

The next day, during prep for dinner service, Vanessa struggled a lot because of her injury, feeling useless, and went to Ramsay's office to talk about the problem with him. She told him her injury was painful and the fact she was not able to work the way she was used to anymore was killing her. So, Ramsay gave her the decision to leave or to stay in the competition. After some deliberation, where she said she was not a quitter or weak, she decided to withdraw from the competition as she did not want to be there if she was not able to be at 100%. Ramsay said it was a shame, but respected her decision, before asking her to pack her stuff and leave Hell's Kitchen, and wishing her luck. Before she left, she said goodbye to her team, hugging them, and packed her bags, before leaving by the front door. She received the coat hanging and burning picture sequence at the end of the episode.

Ramsay's comment: "It's unfortunate that Vanessa's burn took her out of the competition. We'll never, ever know if she really had what it takes to win Hell's Kitchen."

Nomination History

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

Post Hell's Kitchen

• After her appearance on the show, Vanessa returned working at the restaurant she was working before entering the show, and her hand healed, but also scarred.
• She stepped away from the kitchen for a while and became a Detention Sergeant at Gallatin County's Sherriff's office, she's currently a Coroner at the County Office.

Trivia

• She is the first contestant from the state of Montana.
• She is the first female contestant ever to withdraw from the competition, and the first contestant to withdraw because of an injury.
• She is the second contestant and first female contestant to withdraw from the competition before dinner service. She is also the second contestant to rank 11th place as a result of withdrew from the competition, following Larry (Season 2).

Quotes

• "I sucked as a captain, and it was pretty bad."
• (After quitting) "I made my choice. My team is better off without me than with me. I don't consider myself a failure. Hell's Kitchen is an immersion in fire, and it's too much for me."

Gallery

Vanessa's Intro Spot

Vanessa's Signature Dish

Vanessa in Red Jacket

Vanessa's Confessional

Jason and Vanessa Nominated

Vanessa treated for her burn

Vanessa coming back from the Hospital

Vanessa decides to withdraw

External links

• Vanessa Gunnell on Twitter