Top 10 WORST Hell's Kitchen Contestants
Emily Bell updates
Written by Alex Crilly-Mckean
What a bunch of donkeys. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Worst Hell's Kitchen Contestants.
For this list, we're looking at the contestants that have appeared over the course of this hit series, and ranking the worst of the worst based on a mix of their attitudes and abilities.
Special thanks to our user pmr9591 for suggesting this idea, check out the voting page at
For this list, we’re looking at the contestants that have appeared over the course of this hit series, and ranking the worst of the worst based on a mix of their attitudes and abilities.
#10: Sabrina Brimhall
As one of the youngest chefs to ever take part in the competition, you’d think someone like Sabrina would’ve wanted to show off her maturity through her professional work ethic. Well, you’d be dead wrong. Her shrieks could often be heard piercing through the kitchen when things didn’t go her way. She also wasn’t above throwing hissy fits, starting arguments, and resorting to rather low blows just to keep her place in the competition. Why Ramsay didn’t throw her out on day one we’ll never know.
#9: Suzanne Schlicht
Suzanne wasn’t the chef with the worst attitude problem ever in Hell’s Kitchen, but she did have a habit of making excuses every time she flopped on a station or when her food was poorly received. The sense of carelessness she brought to every service slowly began to grind on everybody’s nerves as the series went on, including Chef Ramsay’s. Boasting her talent while denying her flaws got old real fast, and when you combine that with her sluggish attitude… let’s just say most viewers were more than happy to see her go.
#8: Elise Wims
Cover your ears folks, because this one never knew when to shut her mouth. With her confidence in her talents often spilling over into arrogance, Elise frequently undermined her entire team, which more often than not resulted in chaos both in and out of the kitchen. Casually insulting her teammates, preaching false modesty, and substantial superiority issues made Elise an absolute nightmare to work with. Her talents may have earned her third place, but her constant verbal assaults crippled her chances of audiences liking her.
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#7: Thomas ‘Tom’ Poley
Tom decided to pursue a career in the culinary arts at kind of a late point in his life, but right from the get-go he seemed unaware of what was expected of him. As a result, he became Chef Ramsay’s frequent punching bag, given that he was always making mistakes, talking back, and generally acting like a child. It’s no surprise that he didn’t last too long, but he sure managed to leave an impact. In the end, we’ll remember Tom as a grumpy little chef who constantly found himself on the receiving end of a Ramsay verbal beatdown.
#6: Robyn Almodovar
As part of what is arguably the most destructive ensemble of female chefs in the competition’s history, Robyn spearheaded a whole slew of back talk and explosive arguments on the Red Team. It eventually got so bad that she found herself going over to the men’s team, but alas the problems followed her there. Easy to anger, outspoken, visceral in her putdowns, Robyn was what many considered a walking time bomb from beginning to end. It’s just a shame that her talents got buried under all that aggression.
#5: Russell Kook II
It’s unlikely we will ever get a sorer loser than this guy. Throughout his respective season, Russell showed immense talent when it came to cooking, but it also became clear that he was… not very nice, to put it mildly. As time went on, we got glimpses of how disrespectful and egotistical Russell really was, even making threats of violence at times. This all came to a head during the finale, where he failed at the final hurdle and ended up coming second. Did he accept defeat humbly? Nope, he blamed his team and wished the worst for their careers. Yikes.
#4: Jen Gavin
There have been many competitors in Hell’s Kitchen who can be considered as a loudmouth, but Jen eclipses them all. Her inability to stop talking back to Chef Ramsay and the rest of the team managed to flare up a good amount of animosity, to the point where Jen was shipped over to the Blue Team. While she certainly had talent in the kitchen, what most remember Jen for is her dishonesty, underhanded tactics, and how she could never let go of a grudge.
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#3: Jason Underwood
This man is sexist, plain and simple. Not bothering to disguise his demeaning views towards women, Jason ticked all the boxes for the average pig-headed individual. He considered men to be superior in almost every way, criticized the ladies and made outdated remarks about their place in the kitchen. All in all, he was a very unpleasant individual. That being said, it did make his repeated failures all the more sweet, especially when he lost to the ladies in challenges. He wasn’t long for the competition, given how weak his character and talents were.
#2: Ranjit ‘Raj’ Brandston
Where do we even begin with this guy? We’re not sure he’s crazy, but he is definitely a little kooky. Who else do you know that practices karate when inebriated? But what’s most surprising about Raj is just how terrible he is at cooking. When he wasn’t stuffing his head inside the freezer, he was wasting food by firing it off too early. He quickly lost the trust of his teammates and earned Ramsay’s ire on multiple occasions, to the point that he was kicked out even when he was supposedly safe from elimination. We can honestly say we have never seen a chef like Raj.
Before we reveal our number one pick, here are a few honorable, or in this case dishonorable, mentions.
- Sara Horowitz
- Benjamin Knack
- Matthew ‘Matt’ Bloch
#1: Lacey D’Angelo
From the moment she stepped into the kitchen, this lady fell apart at the first sign of trouble - to the point where she walked out and left everyone else to do the work. Following that, Lacey entered a downward spiral she could not recover from. At every twist and turn, she showed she was unable to stand up to the challenge. Her disastrous episodes on the meat station also resulted in her getting booted out early, with Chef Ramsay only being able to take so much incompetence before snapping.
