Amanda Colello

Amanda Colello was a contestant on Season 9 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 15th place.

Season 9[]

Episode 1[]

Main article: Episode 901 - 18 Chefs Compete

When the chefs arrived in Los Angeles, they were greeted by James on the bus ride, and then, it pulled over to the Orpheum Theatre, where they would be given a standing ovation by a live audience. Amanda declared she was super excited and nervous about that, but when the curtain was pulled up, they discovered that the room was completely empty, much to their disappointment, before Ramsay revealed himself applauding very slowly. She was disappointed as she expected a big round of applause but was quickly brought down to Earth, and after the latter revealed the grand prize of the season, the chefs were asked to get back to Hell's Kitchen and cook their signature dishes.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Amanda was the second person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Brendan. She presented her eggplant rollatini with creamy polenta, it was praised for being seasoned perfectly, and Ramsay recognized her talent. She was extremely happy about the high praise from him, declared that she was on cloud nine, and tied that round with Brendan. The red team lost the challenge 5-6, and they were punished by cleaning both kitchens for the opening night.

The next day, both teams went to the kitchens to begin prepping for the opening night, and they were given their ankle knives set. During dinner service, Amanda was on the garnish station with Jamie. She was not seen at all, and the red team won the service.^[1]

Episode 2[]

Main article: Episode 902 - 16 Chefs Compete

The next morning, the chefs were woken up by a young guitarist and very loud amplifiers, and they were ordered to get outside. Arrived there, Ramsay introduced the Meat & Grill Challenge, where each pair would have to cook a medium-rare New York strip, a medium rib-eye, a medium-well filet mignon, and a well-done burger. During the challenge, Amanda was paired with Krupa, and they were the first pair to compete for the red team. They gave a perfect performance of four out of four, and she was almost kissed on the lips by Krupa, before being turned down for not having brushed their teeth.

The red team lost the challenge 10-11, and they were punished by cleaning the grills, taking a delivery of a whole cow, and drinking a protein shake made from the meat used during the challenge. During the punishment, Amanda was seen slicing the cow, along with Jennifer, Carrie, and Jamie. Later, the women were prepping their kitchen while reviewing the menu, and when the blue team came back from their reward, they studied it further.

During dinner service, Amanda was on the meat station with Elise. She was not seen at all, the red team won the service, and at elimination, they were asked for a volunteer to be transferred to the blue team the next morning.^[2]

Episode 3[]

Main article: Episode 903 - 15 Chefs Compete

Back in the dorms, Amanda declared that she was tired of the drama and that the red team would go down if neither Carrie nor Elise would switch teams, therefore suggesting that either one of them would be transferred to the blue team. In the end, the red team agreed on Carrie, which made everybody happy.

The next morning, the chefs were woken up by clowns, and when both teams were lined up in the dining room, Sous Chef Scott revealed that they were woken up by clowns because they were cooking like clowns. After taking a delivery of naan bread with the other chefs, Amanda and her teammates said goodbye to Natalie, who was transferred to the blue team instead of Carrie.

During the Mommy & Me Lunch Service Challenge, Amanda was not seen at all, the red team lost the challenge, and they were punished by cleaning the dining room, prepping both kitchens for the Family Night dinner service, and setting up a playground for the children. During the punishment, she was dismayed that she had to deal with a team that could not put their differences aside, and the next day, during prep, the red team was completely silent as they wanted to avoid the drama.

During the Family Night dinner service, Amanda was on the fish station. At one point, a minor fire erupted on her station, she revealed that she dropped some sauce, much to Elise's annoyance, and took a lot of time to turn the fire off. Later, everybody was ready with their entrées, but her sea bass was still raw, and Elise ordered her to put it back in the oven. After she did, Elise continued to push her aggressively, and when Ramsay asked her for a time on the bass, Elise answered for her, much to her annoyance. She told that Elise should leave her alone and let her cook the food, and Ramsay stopped the argument between both of them by reminding her that nothing was happening. Moments later, she was asked what was going by Ramsay, which she answered two bass and a lamb, forgetting the cod. She admitted that she forgot the cod, much to Jennifer's and Ramsay's dismay, the latter called Family Night "Disaster Night", and she was warned by Elise that she would be nominated if she would not get it together. After Ramsay urged her to fight back, she apologized to her teammates for letting them down, and after a lot of mistakes, the red team was asked to go in the dining room to apologize to the customers, before being kicked out of the kitchen. The red team lost the service by a mile, and back in the dorms, she was worried that Ramsay would call her out.

Amanda was Ramsay's third nominee for elimination, with Jennifer being the first, and Carrie being the second. During Carrie's plea, she intervened by saying the latter that not only Elise was targeting her, and during her plea, she acknowledged her crap performance while targeting Carrie as she felt the latter was in denial, knew that she could do better as she already had, but Ramsay reminded that she threw the towel in. Moments later, Carrie complained that she was thrown under the bus by everybody, and she reminded Carrie that if it was true, it was not throwing her under the bus. In the end, she was eliminated for failing to fight back and giving up, and during her exit interview, she revealed how embarrassed she was as her dream was to win.

Ramsay's comment: "Amanda lost the will to cook on the line tonight. I lost the will to keep her here." ^[3]

Nomination History[]

Post Hell's Kitchen[]

• After her appearance on the show, Amanda returned to her previous career as a Personal Chef and became a consultant after being Head Chef of Fiore Steak and Seafood.
• She had participated in some cookery events and charity fundraisers.
• On November 2019, she appeared on Chopped.
• She got married, and she is now known as Amanda Colello-Palmer.

Trivia[]

• She is the only contestant from her season to have never won a challenge.
• She is the fourth contestant and to only ever be nominated specifically by Ramsay, and never by her team, following Ralph (Season 1), Gabe (Season 2), and Vinnie (Season 3).

Quotes[]

• (About Elise) "I'm already getting yelled at by the Chef, why the fuck are you yelling at me? Let me cook the goddamn food!"
• (After being eliminated) "I'm so completely and utterly embarrassed and disappointed with myself. My dream coming into Hell's Kitchen was to win. So to have one of my idols tell me, "You're not worth it," That shit sucks!

Gallery[]

• Chef
• Dish

Amanda's Intro Spot

Amanda's Signature Dish

Amanda in Red Jacket

Amanda's Confessional

Carrie, Amanda, and Jennifer Nominated

Amanda Eliminated

Amanda's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

External links[]

• Amanda Colello on Instagram

References[]