Roshni Gurnani

Roshni Gurnani was a contestant on Season 10 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 12th place.

Season 10[]

Episode 1[]

Main article: Episode 1001 - 18 Chefs Compete

The eighteen chefs arrived to Hell's Kitchen via SUVs and police escort, and as they walked in, Sous Chef Scott told the chefs he shaved his head to prove his commitment to Ramsay and showed a picture of him with a full head of hair, before deciding to shave the chefs' heads. After two chefs got their heads shaved, really Sous Chef Scott's friends, the latter was about to shave Danielle's head until Ramsay stopped him and told her to get back in line. He told the chefs to get in the kitchens to cook their signature dishes.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Roshni was the third person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay, went up against Royce, and warned the chefs not to underestimate because of her size. She made a coriander-crusted rack of lamb, Ramsay praised it for her balanced flavors and precise seasoning, and she tied that round with Royce. The red team won the challenge 5-3, and they were rewarded with a steak meal at the patio cooked by Season 3 winner Rock Harper and Season 6 winner Dave Levey.

During dinner service, Roshni was on the fish station with Briana. After comparing the first service to the first day of school, she sent up only three scallops when five were needed, and a dismayed Robyn commented that it was not the start she wanted. Then, she sent up raw scallops, and after Ramsay ordered the women to touch them, Danielle thought they felt squishy while Barbie accused her of not feeling a cock in a long time. Later, she called up for one minute on scallops, leaving Tiffany to comment that scallops were not hard at all. Then, her third attempt was raw again, Barbie called it bull shit, and Ramsay complained that after 45 minutes of service, no appetizers have come out, before kicking her out of the kitchen. Despite begging Ramsay not to do that, the latter sternly warned her to get the fuck out immediately, and as she walked back to the dorms, she was upset about leaving the line. The red team eventually won the service.^[1]

Episode 2[]

Main article: Episode 1002 - 17 Chefs Compete

Before the Scallop Challenge, Ramsay reminded Roshni of her poor performance on scallops the previous night. She was not seen during the scallop gathering, and because the red team had an extra person, she worked by herself. She was seen only having one attempt ready, but Ramsay rejected it for having inconsistent sizing. The red team eventually won the challenge 6-2, and they were rewarded with a trip to Catalina Island with Ramsay on board a yacht, and a zip lining experience. During the reward, she stopped in the middle of the course, much to Dana and Barbie’s humor, but got some help to make it the rest of the way.

During dinner service, Roshni was on the appetizer station with Briana. She was not seen that night, both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two people each. During deliberation, Dana considered her for elimination in an effort to get rid of Barbie, which Robyn, Tiffany, Briana, and Kimmie agreed with, but when she found out, she felt her performance that night did not warrant a nomination and called it unfair.

Roshni was the red team's second nominee for elimination, with Barbie as the first, and they joined Chris and Royce from the blue team. During her plea, she claimed to be a strong chef and was passionate, and told Ramsay the only reason she was nominated was to fill out the two required nominations, although Dana claimed that they could not agree to a consensus. She survived elimination after being sent back in line.^[2]

Episode 3[]

Main article: Episode 1003 - 16 Chefs Compete

During the Immigrants Lunch Service Challenge, Roshni was on the salad station with Tiffany. She was seen getting the salads ready, the red team got their orders finished first after she got her final pizza out, they were sent to help the blue team, and they won the challenge. They were rewarded with a trip to San Diego with a safari trip and got to fly in a private jet.

During dinner service, Roshni was on the garnish station. At one point, she forgot the dumplings for the garnish, which not only did Ramsay called pathetically, but Robyn was not happy about that. Then, she served raw dumplings, and Ramsay had the red team touch them. The red team lost the service and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she expressed hope her name would not come up.

Roshni was not nominated for elimination, but Ramsay decided to call her down to the front for her shocking performance, and she joined Briana and Barbie. During her plea, Ramsay asked if she was in over her head, but she argued that she cooked with her heart and that she loved what she did. She survived elimination.^[3]

Episode 4[]

Main article: Episode 1004 - 15 Chefs Compete

The next day, a group of dogs was let loose in the dorms, and their loud barking woke up the chefs, confusing Barbie. Once up, Sous Chef Scott gave them overalls to put on.

During the Creative Lamb Challenge, Roshni was seen struggling to catch a sheep. She was paired up with Kimmie on the ground lamb, and during the cooking, she agreed to let her teammate make a curry sauce for their dish, even though she felt Ramsay would automatically think of her due to her background. They were the second pair from the red team to have their dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Patrick. She presented their lamb balls on top of coconut curry, and told Ramsay it was Kimmie’s idea to do the curry. Despite Ramsay not being thrilled about being their guinea pig, he did like the taste, pleasing Kimmie, and they won that round over Patrick. The red team eventually lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by washing off the paint from the sheep, eating sheep testicles, and clean up both kitchens along with prepping them for that night’s service.

During dinner service, Roshni was on the meat station with Kimmie. At one point, she sent up her Wellingtons, but they were raw, making her feel like shit as she was better than that, and Ramsay ordered her to show that she was awake. Then, she delayed sending up her refires for having uneven pieces, and as her disorganized performance continued by continually putting it in and out of the oven, Robyn told her to make up her damn mind and asked if she thought there were fairies in the oven to magically make the meat come out perfectly. When she finally sent up her Wellingtons, they were raw and stone-cold, and a pissed Ramsay kicked her out of the kitchen despite her saying she had more ready. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, Kimmie and Barbie considered her for elimination, but while she knew she screwed up on her Wellingtons, she refused to be nominated for the third time in a row.

Roshni was the red team's first nominee for elimination, with Danielle as the second, and they joined Don and Brian from the blue team. During her plea, Ramsay reminded her that out of four dinner services, this was her third time up for elimination and asked if she was honestly over her head. She disagreed and was a team player with passion. After Don's elimination, Ramsay asked for her jacket, but instead of eliminating her, he moved her into the blue team hoping that an environment change could change her performance. While being dismissed, she said that no matter the jacket, she was not going to stop fighting.^[4]

Episode 5[]

Main article: Episode 1005 - 14 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, Danielle called Roshni over for an ashtray, but she refused to as she was on the blue team now. Even though she admitted that it was not her decision to be reassigned, she said no matter the color of her jacket, she would give it a 110% from now on as the blue team welcomed her.

During the Mexican Cuisine Challenge, Roshni cooked the tostada, was the final person from the blue team to have her dish judged and went up against Dana. She made a grilled tostada with a chili crab filling, and while it was praised for having the nice balance of the heat and spice together and flavor, she lost that round to Dana. The blue team lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by prepping for Mexican Night, which included making both the salsa and the tortilla by hand, and eating tripe for lunch. Back at the dorms, Patrick welcomed her to losing.

During prep, Clemenza wanted to hold back on the shouting and swearing for Roshni. During the Mexican Night dinner service, she was on the garnish station. Throughout the night, members of the blue team were kicked out of service, until only her and Brian were left in the kitchen. She felt how screwed they were, and Ramsay warned the two that on his children’s lives, they would be history if they fucked up the order again. Deciding to push it out, she and Brian finally got the first order of entrées out and get a groove going. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two people each for elimination.

She was not nominated for elimination.^[5]

Episode 6/7[]

Main article: Episode 1006 - 13 Chefs Compete Part 1

Main article: Episode 1007 - 13 Chefs Compete Part 2

During the Fashion Night Planning Challenge, Roshni suggested they use swordfish as an entrée, recalling how David Meister liked that protein. She was paired up with Patrick on the poultry entrée, they were the second pair from the blue team to have their dish judged, and went up against the pair of Tiffany and Barbie. Patrick presented their Moroccan spice influenced squab, and even though Meister felt the sauce looked too much like a blob, the dish was praised for having an interesting taste and having kale but criticized for having no kick to the flavor. That led to her to comment that she may never look at a plate the same again. She and Patrick scored that round over the pair of Tiffany and Barbie, and the blue team won the challenge 2-1.

The blue team was rewarded with a $1,000 shopping spree at the M. Fredric boutique along with a wine tasting excursion at the Rosenthal Estate. As the blue team went back to the dorms, Roshni cried in tears of joy as the blue team really needed that victory. During the reward, she felt like royalty due to wearing $800 worth of clothing. When the blue team came back from their reward, despite being three feet, she decided to walk on the runway as she felt both an Indian princess and on multiple clouds.

Before service began, Roshni, along with Guy, confirmed that nothing was to be cooked until the first catwalk when Clemenza started cooking scallops before service began.^[6] During the Fashion Night dinner service, she was on the appetizer station with Justin. She, along with Justin and Clemenza got their first order of appetizers out the kitchen and felt it was all clockwork. After Guy served overcooked scallops, she felt they were done for. When one of Clemenza's swordfishes were overcooked, she was dismayed as the former was screwing up that night. When the blue team was cleaning up, Ramsay discovered a tray of eleven wasted swordfish, dismaying both her and Brian. The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she was the final person to vote on the second nominee, but she struggled with a decision, not helping the men’s impatience as Brian asked her to be decisive.

Roshni was not nominated for elimination, and when she announced the nominees, she said that it was a near tie between Brian and Guy as the second nominee, but it was ultimately the latter who had the most votes. When Ramsay asked her who she thought should go home, she said Clemenza.^[6]

Episode 8[]

Main article: Episode 1008 - 12 Chefs Compete

During the Dome Challenge, Roshni grabbed turkey breast, herbs, and celery root for her dish. She was the third person from the blue team to have her dish judged, and went up against Kimmie. She made a herb stuffed turkey roulade with celery slaw, it was deemed dry, and she scored 3 stars. The blue team lost the challenge 29-30, and they were punished by cleaning up the dorms and prepping for that night’s dinner service. When the red team annoyingly told them to clean the bathrooms due to it being disgusting, she got annoyed and told them to shut up.

During dinner service, Roshni was on the meat station. On their first order of entrées, she was confident about her meat but sent up both raw Wellingtons and overcooked steaks, irritating Clemenza and Ramsay as it was their first table, and the latter threatened to kick her out before asking her if she was done. She claimed she was not, but knew she was screwed as Ramsay called her an idiot. Now forced to start over, Clemenza decided to help her out before she brought down the kitchen. Despite being ready to fight back like the VIP guests, the blue team got kicked out of the kitchen after multiple mistakes. The blue team lost the service, with Ramsay calling her out on her undercooked Wellingtons, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Brian and Clemenza considered her for elimination as she bombed on meat in an epic way, but she argued that only one table was sent back.

Roshni was not nominated for elimination, but was called down with Patrick after Ramsay decided to overrule the initial nominee choices, Brian and Clemenza. During her plea, felt she has improved since joining the blue team, even using the Mexican Night dinner service as an example when it was just her and Brian left, before calling herself loyal, honest, and a team player. However, most of the safe men, minus Royce, believed she should go home, she got pissed, reminded Clemenza, Justin, and Brian how she was one of the two chefs left when most of them got ejected from the service and called them out for choosing her to go home over Patrick. Unfortunately for her, she was eliminated for her poor performance on meat, being on her fourth nomination overall, and having inconsistent performances. Before leaving, Ramsay praised her for her heart and urged her not to give up. During her exit interview, she was disappointed that she was no longer in Hell’s Kitchen, said she never got involved in the drama, and felt she did not have enough time to prove herself.

Ramsay's comment: "Roshni is a small lady with a big heart. Unfortunately, her performance tonight matched her stature." ^[7]

Nomination History[]

Post Hell's Kitchen[]

• After her appearance on the show, Roshni competed on the episode "Pride on the Plate" of Chopped, where she emerged as the winner.
• She was a Chef instructor at the Art Institute of Houston.
• She was an Executive Chef at 5-star Granduca Hotel before becoming a private chef, wedding caterer, and traveling Chef consultant.
• She competed on Beat Bobby Flay, losing to him in a battle of goat kebabs and also competed on a season 15 episode of Cutthroat Kitchen.
• Currently, she is a baker at Bagel Shop Bakery in Houston, Texas.

Trivia[]

• She is the tenth Asian-American contestant to compete, following Wendy (Season 1), Aaron (Season 3), Louross (Season 4), Ji (Season 5), Raj, Gail (both from Season 8), Chino, Gina, and Krupa (all from Season 9), and the second Indian contestant of Hell's Kitchen, following Krupa (Season 9).
• She is the first contestant who has a Canadian background.^[8]
• She is the seventh contestant, and fifth female contestant, who switched teams without making it to the black jackets, following Melissa (Season 3), Lacey (Season 5), Robert (Season 6), Scott (Season 7), Melissa (Season 8), and Natalie (Season 9).
• She is the eleventh contestant to be eliminated after Ramsay overruled initial nominations, following Gabe (Season 2), Vinnie (Season 3), Sharon (Season 4), Colleen (Season 5), Jim, Van (both from Season 6), Mikey (Season 7), Curtis (Season 8), Gina, and Jamie (both from Season 9).

Quotes[]

• (About herself and cooking) "People definitely underestimate me because of my size, but good things come in small packages. So, watch out."
• (About getting stuck on the zip line) "This is not funny!"
• (To Clemenza, Brian, and Justin) "Two days? I finished the service when you guys got kicked out. You're gonna tell me I deserve to go home? You guys all got kicked out of that kitchen. Myself and Brian finished that service."
• (After being eliminated) "I'm extremely disappointed. I'm not in Hell's Kitchen anymore. It's a competition, and I'm definitely not the weakest. I never got involved in the drama. I never got involved in all the bullshit. I was here for a purpose. I just don't think I got enough time to prove it."

Gallery[]

• Chef
• Dishes

Roshni's Intro Spot

Roshni in Red Jacket

Roshni's Confessional (Red Jacket)

Roshni, Barbie, Chris, and Royce Nominated

Briana, Roshni, and Barbie Nominated

Danielle, Roshni, Brian, and Don Nominated

Roshni joins the Blue Team

Roshni in Blue Jacket

Roshni's Confessional (Blue Jacket)

Roshni and Patrick Nominated

Roshni Eliminated

Roshni's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

Roshni-Kimmie and Patrick's Creative Lamb Dish (Ground Lamb) (Episode 4)

Dana and Roshni's Mexican Dishes (Tostada) (Episode 5)

Roshni's Dome Dish (Turkey) (Episode 8)

External links[]

• Roshni Gurnani on Instagram

References[]