Melissa Firpo

Melissa Firpo was a contestant on Season 3 of Hell's Kitchen. She ranked in 7th place.

Season 3[]

Episode 1[]

Main article: Episode 301 - 12 Chefs Compete

The twelve new aspiring chefs were heading down to Hell's Kitchen in SUVs while getting to know each other on the ride. Once they arrived at Hell's Kitchen, Jean-Philippe introduced himself. Before he could go into how he and Ramsay met, the latter appeared and told the former to cut the crap. Afterwards, Ramsay ordered the contestants to cook their signature dishes.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Melissa was the ninth person to have her dish judged by Ramsay. She remarked that everybody always judged her based on her looks, only to be proven wrong afterwards. She made a peppered crusted steak with roasted asparagus. It pleased Ramsay as he finally tasted something delicious as everything on the plate was cooked perfectly.

During prep, Melissa was concerned by the lack of harmony inside the red team. During dinner service, she was at the dessert station. After a ton of arguing between team members, Ramsay had her and Julia on the appetizer station. He urged them to get some food out while asking them to work as a team. The two of them got 17 dishes out to the diners, but her nitpicking at Joanna's station led to another argument. When Joanna's spaghetti came back, she was blamed for ruining them.

The red team lost the service, but Ramsay named Melissa "Best of the Worst" for getting food out and told her to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she knew somebody was losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because of herself and said that it sucked. Julia came up to her and admitted that while she was the least experienced of the women, she was bothered by the lack of communication. She knew Julia was a team player but also knew that going from a waffle house to a Ramsay restaurant was a big jump. Then, Joanna told her that Julia was the weakest chef and felt she was clueless that night. Afterwards, Tiffany did not want to go home and told her to nominate Julia for working at a waffle house.

Melissa nominated Joanna as her first nominee and Tiffany as her second, despite telling the latter she did not want her to go home.^[1]

Episode 2[]

Main article: Episode 302 - 11 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, Melissa agreed with Bonnie that there was more infighting in the red team than cooking during that service.

During the Dover Sole Challenge, Melissa overheard the men counting down how many fish they prepped and knew that the women would not win if they did not have a lot prepared on their end. She was able to get her team off to a good start by having four of her fish approved by Ramsay. The red team won the challenge 9-8 and were rewarded with a fishing trip with Ramsay at the Pacific Ocean and had lunch with him.

During dinner service, Melissa was at the fish station. At one point, she tried to help Joanna out on the garnish station by cooking her spaghetti, but Ramsay kicked her off. Joanna did not like how she was a show-off, and Ramsay told the women to keep their attitude together as they only had three tables left. The red team won the dinner service.^[2]

Episode 3[]

Main article: Episode 303 - 10 Chefs Compete

During the Army and Navy Service Challenge, Melissa was at the omelet station. She was not seen during the service, but the red team won the challenge. They were rewarded with a helicopter ride and had lunch with Ramsay on the USS Midway. After walking by the blue team and making a snide comment about their punishment, Rock told her to shut the fuck up. She felt the main reward was spending time with Ramsay as the latter gave the women some advice during the reward.

During dinner service, Melissa was on the garnish station. She was not shown much, the red team lost the dinner service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she agreed with Joanna being the first nominee. Still, she agreed with Joanna that Jen's pasta incident proved she had no standards. Then, she and Bonnie brought up Julia's name since her inexperience with the fine-dining food made them believe she could not win. However, Julia called her out for that.

She was not nominated for elimination.^[3]

Episode 4[]

Main article: Episode 304 - 8 Chefs Compete

During the Blind Taste Test, Melissa was the second person on the red team to compete and went up against Rock. She could only guess potato correctly, but the red team eventually won 5-3. They were rewarded with a special lunch excursion with Ramsay by eating in the dark. During the reward, she called the experience amazing.

During dinner service, Melissa was at the appetizer station. At one point, she told Julia that she needed two more minutes on her appetizers. However, Bonnie found out that Julia's scallops were overcooked. Despite being told about the problem, she ignored Julia and Bonnie's pleas and still called for times. When Ramsay noticed the communication problem, Julia explained to him what happened. While Ramsay praised Julia for her honesty, he criticized her poor teamwork skills and threatened to kick her out if she did not improve. She chewed out Julia since Ramsay expected more from her due to her skills. Later, she butted into Bonnie's work and discovered that her chicken was still raw. When Bonnie struggled on meat, she and Julia checked on the Wellingtons. They turned out to be raw and medium, causing more frustration for Bonnie as she was not helping due to her lack of communication. Both teams lost the dinner service, and Ramsay called her performance pathetic. Jen was named "Best of the Worst" for the red team. During deliberation, she felt bad for Jen as it was a hard position the latter was in.

Melissa was Jen's nominee for elimination, but she survived elimination after Ramsay called Bonnie down instead of her.^[4]

Episode 5[]

Main article: Episode 305 - 7 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, Bonnie confronted the woman for ignoring her after she was nominated and felt she was the elephant in the room before feeling she should have gone home that night. Melissa reminded her that they were in a competition and felt the latter was a failure to happen.

During the Wedding Planning Challenge, Melissa suggested that the women use duck as their main dish instead of lamb. Even though Jen was concerned about the cooking time, the women went with her decision as she felt she was put in the leadership position. During the cooking, she told the women to ask her for direction as Ramsay wanted that. Still, Julia snarkily said that helped them before. Julia decided to sear the duck breast, but Melissa butted in and told her to do something else while insulting Bonnie by telling Julia not to listen to her. Then, Julia took the duck breast out of the oven to rest, but she placed it back in the oven to stay warm. That caused more bickering, and an open-eared Rock hoped that the argument between Hell’s Bitches would be their downfall. Near the end of the cooking, she and Julia found out that the duck breast was overcooked. Still, she refused to take responsibility for it, leading to an argument. When Ramsay asked both teams if they were happy, the women said they were not, as Julia blamed her for her dictatorship role. She argued that she was not trying to do everything simultaneously. Still, Ramsay reminded her that he never put her in charge as the challenge was supposed to be a team effort. When she found out that the wedding couple would be tasting their dishes with Ramsay, she was horrified and tried to convince Ramsay that they shouldn't serve their dishes. Still, Ramsay ignored her. She presented the red team's appetizer and went up against Brad. She presented their puff pastry with brie cheese and strawberry but lost out to Brad as it was deemed too much like a dessert. During the meat round, she told Jen not to serve their dish as it was just a plain duck breast, but Ramsay told her he was getting pissed off by her attitude and ordered the women to send up their meat dish.

The red team lost 1-2. They were punished by decorating the dining room for the Wedding service under Francisco the Party Planner. Back at the dorms, Bonnie was pissed at the embarrassment they faced over Melissa's actions. Julia knew the latter made the wrong decision to put the duck breast back in the oven. Bonnie wanted to mutiny over her and vented her problems just as she came in. Julia asked her what she thought of that challenge as she talked too much, and Bonnie told her not to take the reins as she did earlier. However, she deflected Bonnie's criticisms, which made Julia feel she was disrespecting them. However, she rudely told Julia to grow some balls next time, making Bonnie coming close to strangling her. She challenged the women to prove they could be better leaders than herself. During the punishment, she tried to make a plan, but Julia felt they did not need one as long as they worked. She kept micromanaging the women, annoying them as Julia wished she shut up. Later, the women worked on the centrepieces. Still, her continual micromanaging annoyed the women, even though she thought she would help them get her better. However, She got annoyed by her attitude, wanted to strangle her with chiffon, and asked what happened to her as she was not the same person that started. Melissa argued that she was only trying to help. Still, Julia said she was doing more talking than helping, and Bonnie finally snapped at her.

During prep, Melissa asked Rock for the potato dish recipe, but her overcomplicated questions frustrated him. She felt that Rock was telling her two different things, but the latter said he would let loose a darker side if she was on the blue team. With only an hour until service began, Ramsay found out that she cooked Rock's potatoes incorrectly, and they were all black. Rock brought his pan for reference and complained that she was killing him. While she tried to argue that Rock told her differently, he called her crazy as he showed her the same way he did them. Ramsay retorted that her potatoes came out black because of oxidization and said he had no time for her excuses as they had little time before the wedding reception. Her second batch of potatoes turned out black, and as the wedding guests arrived, Ramsay chewed her out because she was not listening to him. Unfortunately for her, she ran out of time as Jean-Philippe introduced the newly married couple.

During the Wedding dinner service, Melissa was on the garnish station. At one point, she stalled them with her ribeye garnish. Even though she said she needed four minutes, she still sent it up, much to her teammate’s confusion. Ramsay asked her what she was trying to do and told her that she shut off completely. Melissa argued against that, but Ramsay ordered her to wake up. Later, Ramsay asked for the sabayon, but she realized that she accidentally put it in the dishwater, and it spilled into it. She went over to the blue kitchen to get some more, but Brad said he needed them for the men. Ramsay caught her, and after pulling her back into the red kitchen, he ordered her to make some more and accused her of trying to sabotage the men. However, she argued that she was only trying to make Ramsay happy and would never undermine someone.

The red team lost the dinner service, and Jen was named "Best of the Worst." During deliberation, Melissa felt she was being treated unfairly, but Jen reminded her that she was rude to everyone. Melissa thought she did not deserve to leave as she helped the women get through the first three dinner services.

Melissa was Jen's first nominee for elimination, with Bonnie being the second. She claimed she had tried to carry the women during her plea and did not want to be a dictator. After much consideration, Ramsay called up her name and told her to take off her jacket. But then, Ramsay shocked everyone by announcing that she was now on the blue team, much to their dismay. Ramsay told her that a new environment might fix her downward spiral but warned her that she was on her last chance. While being dismissed, she felt it was a fresh start being on the blue team as that meant she did not have to carry anybody and was ready to kick the red team's ass. When Ramsay was about to hang up Melissa's red jacket at the end of the episode, he stopped midway and retracted.^[5]

Episode 6[]

Main article: Episode 306 - 7 Chefs Compete (Again)

Back at the dorms, Josh welcomed Melissa, and she said she had no problem being on the blue team after the horrendous teamwork from the red team. She promised her new team that she would never sabotage them, but Rock still believed that she would be going home soon, and all Ramsay did was prolong her agony. Later, she was coldly shut out by the red team, with Bonnie calling her a bitch.

Before the Lobster Challenge, Ramsay asked Melissa if she was bonding with the blue team, and she answered yes. Thanks to Josh's advice, she had some help on her dish, and she felt the blue team knew what they were doing. She was the first person from the blue team to have her dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Bonnie. She made an herbed citrus salad with poached lobster. Ramsay liked the citrus taste but was disappointed because the lobster was not cooked properly. She lost that round to Bonnie, and the blue team lost the challenge 1-2. They were punished by participating in Recycling Day, which meant going through the garbage and sorting out the recyclables. After seeing Rock's angry outburst, she asked Brad and Josh if he always got that mad, but neither said they did not.

During prep, Brad made sure Melissa was focused as this was her first service on the blue team, and she wanted to make a good impression. Before service began, Ramsay warned her that this was her last chance to make a comeback and told her not to clam up. During dinner service, she was at the fish station. As service began, Rock told her to lean on the blue team if needed. Her scallops were too thin, and Josh compared them to paper. Ramsay called her a gremlin as everything she touched was screwed and reminded her that this was not the opening night. After Brad served an overcooked risotto, he blamed her for overcooking the rice in the first place. Later, she brought up her monkfish, but it was overcooked. Ramsay was angrier that she did not notice it when everyone else knew it was overcooked and said it looked like regurgitated dog poop. Rock saw how nervous she was and said that pressure burst pipes. Things got even worse when she revealed that she only had one more monkfish left, which meant none of the six on order would be sent out. A desperate Ramsay had Rock move from the garnish station over to the fish station, hoping that he could save the blue team’s disastrous service, forcing her on the garnish station. However, she refused to give up as she made it too far, as Ramsay was unwilling to do the same. Then, she said they were running out of mashed potatoes in the blue kitchen, and no one knew where to find more. After a six-top table was sent back for being overcooked, Ramsay sarcastically thanked her for the overcooked monkfish and shut down the kitchens.

The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. Melissa knew she did the worst during deliberation, but she did not want to go home as it was her first night on the blue team.

At elimination, Ramsay did not wait for the blue team to tell their nominees. He called Melissa down, eliminating her for her worsening performances, not improving since her transfer to the blue team, and running out of chances. During her exit interview, she admitted to being the worst chef in the blue team that night and knew Ramsay sent her home for wasting her second chance.

Ramsay's comment: "That was really difficult today because Brad and Josh were absolutely horrible. With Melissa, she's very assertive, and she sounds like a leader, but unfortunately, she doesn't cook like a leader." ^[6]

Episode 10/11[]

Main article: Episode 310 - 2 Chefs Compete

Main article: Episode 311 - Winner Announced

Melissa was one of the six chefs who returned for the final dinner service. When she came into the kitchen, Ramsay recalled her poor performance during the fourth dinner service. She was Bonnie's second pick for her team after Jen and was soon followed by Julia.^[7] When Bonnie was briefing the menu for the team, she promised the former they would do their best. However, she expressed concern when she admitted that she had never cooked most of her menu items herself before.

During prep, Melissa sent over the prawns to Bonnie in the red kitchen, but they were overcooked. Bonnie told her not to brown them too much and hoped she did not supervise her a lot. The second batch was overcooked as well. The overcooked batched was accidentally used for the demo dish, and Bonnie blamed her for that. During dinner service, she was at the fish station. When moving onto entrées, she told Bonnie that they had only four orders of her fettuccine pasta left. That angered Bonnie because she never told her before service began and was forced to tell Jean-Philippe they would change the dish to a normal pasta dish. Later, she warned Bonnie there was only one order of prawns left. Bonnie eventually lost the finals to Rock.^[8]

Nomination History[]

Post Hell's Kitchen[]

• After her appearance on the show, she went to work in a culinary school in New York and still works there today.
• She also has a son and a daughter.

Trivia[]

• She and Josh are the first two contestants who Ramsay did not call down at elimination after being nominated.
• She is the first contestant to be eliminated without nomination during the team phase of the competition. She is also the first contestant to do so during a traditional elimination.
• She is the first contestant to be eliminated without giving her plea.
• She is the first contestant to be named the first "Best of the Worst" of the season without making it to the black jackets.
• She is the first female contestant named "Best of the Worst" without making it to the black jackets.
• She is the first contestant who switched teams by reassignment and the first who did without making it to the black jackets.
• She is the first contestant to be eliminated after their first service on a new team.

Quotes[]

• "People always judge me by my looks. As soon as I get in the kitchen and I do my thing, there's never any questioning usually after that."
• "I'm very upset, but I'm not the type of girl that's gonna cry. When I go down, the team goes down."
• "Yes chef, no chef."
• (After being eliminated) "I was the worst person in the blue kitchen tonight. I'm upset that I had to leave. I didn't want to leave. I think Chef Ramsay sent me home tonight because he expected me to perform, and he said he'd give me one chance, and I didn't."

Gallery[]

• Chef
• Dishes

Melissa's Intro Spot

Melissa in Red Jacket

Melissa's Confessional (Red Jacket)

Melissa in Blind Taste Test

Melissa and Bonnie Nominated

Melissa joins the Blue Team

Melissa's in Blue Jacket

Melissa's Confessional (Blue Jacket)

Melissa Eliminated

Melissa (S3) as Returning Chef

Melissa's Signature Dish

Melissa's Lobster Dish (Episode 6)

External links[]

References[]