Monterray Keys

Monterray Keys was a contestant on Season 9 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 12th 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, which Monterray knew that it was the real deal. However, 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. 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, Monterray declared that he wanted to win the $250,000 as it would help his mother, was the seventh person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay, and went up against Natalie. His dish was unknown, but the sea bass was nailed, and he tied the round with Natalie.

The blue team won the challenge 6-5, and they were rewarded with a dinner at the LA Market, in downtown Los Angeles, along with Season 8 winner Nona. Arrived there, they were greeted by Nona, and during the dinner, she gave them advice on how to compete. After she left, the men toasted to their victory. The next day, both teams went to the kitchens to begin prepping for the opening night, and they were given their ankle knives set. When Jason was having breathing troubles, he went to the back hallway to take a look at what was happening, and wondered if he was having a heart attack as it did not look very good. After Jason's departure was announced, he was amazed that the blue team was already one man down despite not even having got out of the gates yet.

During dinner service, Monterray was on the garnish station with Brendan. On the first table of appetizers, he already delivered his garnishes, and he was berated by Ramsay while acknowledging his mistake and apologizing. When they moved on to entrées, he was asked to talk and to bring the garnish thirty seconds before the protein, which he took notice of, but when Jonathon delivered his Wellingtons, he was not ready with the garnish, he apologized and infuriated Ramsay when he gave two minutes as the Wellingtons would get cold. Because of his mistake, the Wellingtons were sent back, he was told to be miles away instead of only two minutes by Ramsay, and he was determined to not lose as his ass was on the line. After some customers walked out unfed, the service was shut down. The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people.

Monterray was the blue team's second nominee for elimination, with Steven being the first, and they were called down with Chino. During his plea, he told that he could do better than Steven, and when Ramsay asked him why Steven particularly, he answered that the latter did not step up to the plate and did what he was supposed to do before Ramsay reminded that he did not himself. He agreed with Ramsay, added that he would keep fighting every day, and survived elimination. While being dismissed, he acknowledged that he had to bring his A+++ game and that he had to keep fighting.^[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 Monterray wondered what was going on while declaring that he wanted to smash the guitar on the floor. The chefs were ordered to get outside and 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, he was paired with Paul, they were the third pair to compete for the blue team, and they scored only two points out of four.

The blue team won the challenge 11-10, and they were rewarded with a day at Palm Springs, which excited Monterray and made him feel good to win and being taken there in a private jet. During the reward, he revealed that he entered the competition for his wife and six children, with that last statement impressing Paul.

During dinner service, Monterray served prime rib tableside. He was not seen much, but at one point, he was asked to slice the prime rib for Krupa's tables as the latter dropped her own prime rib on the floor, and after a lot of mistakes and not being able to send one entrée out, the blue team was kicked out of the kitchen, and lost the service.

Monterray was not nominated for elimination, and despite him and his teammates trying to convince Ramsay not to, the blue team learned that a woman would be joining them the following morning. While being dismissed, he was pissed about the idea of a woman coming to the blue team, and wanted to let the six remaining men show what they had at that moment.^[2]

Episode 3[]

Main article: Episode 903 - 15 Chefs Compete

While going back to the dorms, Monterray declared that he did not come to the competition to be embarrassed, and was still pissed about the idea that they would succeed because of another person.

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, Monterray and the blue team welcomed Natalie as a new teammate, much to his annoyance. During the Mommy & Me Lunch Service Challenge, he was not seen much, but had decent communication with Natalie. After the blue team succeeded to send their last ticket before the red team, they gave a warm welcome to Natalie by celebrating her arrival on the team.

The blue team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a day and lunch at Medieval Times, as well as sword fighting themselves. During the reward, Monterray was enjoying himself, even calling himself a kitchen warrior with his sword and shield. The next day, during prep, he felt that prep went very smoothly as everybody was synchronized and communicating.

During the Family Night dinner service, Monterray was on the appetizer station with Paul. He was not seen at all, and the blue team won the service by a mile.^[3]

Episode 4[]

Main article: Episode 904 - 14 Chefs Compete

The next morning, the chefs were woken up by Sous Chefs Scott and Andi, who brought them special farm outfits to wear and were told to get outside. Arrived there, Ramsay introduced the Chicken Creation Challenge, and during the first part, Monterray struggled to catch a chicken because they were too fast but eventually chose pineapple.

During the second part, Monterray was paired with Tommy, and they worked on the grilled chicken course. When he took the chicken off the grill as it was done, he dropped half of it on the floor as he was slicing it, much to his frustration. He was mad at himself because he knew they only had one chicken to work with, and that they would never have enough of it to complete their dish. They were the third pair from the blue team to have their dish judged, and because there was not enough chicken on the plate, they automatically lost the round to Jamie, but he took responsibility for his mistake.

The blue team lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by creating a chicken stock from scratch for the next service. During the punishment, Monterray had the idea of going through the menu items one more time, which gave Will the idea of simulating a dinner service.

During dinner service, Monterray was on the fish station. When the blue team moved on to entrées, he revealed that his sea bass fell apart, so Sous Chef Scott taught him how to properly take out the fish of the pan, but when he continued to talk back and tell that there was nothing he could do, Sous Chef Scott was furious and yelled at him for lying, which he did not appreciate. He told that even though he was understanding what Sous Chef Scott was saying to him, he would not let anybody cuss at him, whoever they were. The argument ended when both of them said "fuck you" to the other, he threw a pan in the sink, and when he asked Jonathon for a favor, the latter aggressively told that he could not do everything for everybody and that he should man his station, and that led to an intense argument between both of them, where he told that Jonathon should help people because he was the floater, before Will and Natalie tried to calm them down. His second attempt at the sea bass was accepted, but after a lot of mistakes, the blue team was kicked out of the kitchen, both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate two people each.

Monterray was the blue team's second nominee for elimination, with Chino being the first, and they joined Carrie and Elise from the red team. During his plea, he still thought that he was a good cook but had a bad night, but Ramsay told him that he did not respond to the help that was given to him and that he shut down. However, he disagreed by saying that he did not give up, and when Ramsay insisted that he shut down, he insisted otherwise, stating that he did not care what Ramsay or anyone else said, he did not shut down. Moments later, when Elise told that she was not there to throw people under the bus, he laughed about it because she just did. He survived elimination.^[4]

Episode 5[]

Main article: Episode 905 - 13 Chefs Compete

During the Fire and Water Challenge, Monterray was stumped over what to do with his prawns, with Natalie suggesting that he cook them as they were. He was the second person from the blue team to have his dish judged and went up against Elizabeth. He made prawns with eggs benedict, and while it was praised for the seasoning, it was criticized for being overcooked to the point of being solid. He did not score that round along with Elizabeth, but the blue team eventually won the challenge after a tie at 2 each. They were rewarded with a spa day at Beverly Hills’ Montage.

During dinner service, Monterray was on the meat station. While he felt confident on meat, he sent up a raw Wellington, with Ramsay showing him the raw fat on the beef, and yelled at him not to continue cutting the Wellingtons if they were raw. Later, Tommy did not respond to his callback on orders, was given inconsistent timings, and Ramsay asked him how he can keep reheating the meat when Tommy was struggling. Because of his and Tommy’s struggles, some of the blue diners were growing impatient. After, he discovered that his Wellington was overcooked, and told the team to pull back. That angered Ramsay, and after berating both him and Tommy about their overcooked proteins, he kicked them out of the kitchen. While going back to the dorms, he blamed Tommy for pushing the times back. Both teams were named joint losers and were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, he was considered by both Jonathon and Paul, but he commented that he would go out swinging.

Monterray was the blue team's first nominee for elimination, with Tommy as the second, and they joined Krupa and Elise. During his plea, he said that he was not the weakest chef on the blue team and that he was not done yet. He survived elimination, and while being dismissed, he felt that he was one step closer to becoming the head chef at BLT Steak.^[5]

Episode 6[]

Main article: Episode 906 - 12 Chefs Compete

During the 20 Year Reunion Planning Challenge, Paul to direct Monterray on making chutney for the meat dish as he did not pay attention to the latter's directions. He presented the blue team's meat dish, was the second person from the blue team to have his dish judged, and went up against Krupa. He made a roasted tenderloin with mango pineapple chutney, and while it was questioned for the light presentation, it praised for the taste with the committee feeling that the small portions were worth it. He won that round over Krupa, and Ramsay jokingly told him that he cooked better due to there being women in front of him. The blue team won the challenge 3-0, they were rewarded with a day aboard a superyacht, and he said that he had fireworks going off inside him after hearing that.

During the 20 Year Reunion dinner service, Monterray was on the appetizer station with Jonathon. At the start, he and Natalie communicated on appetizers, and the blue team was pushing out food at a strong pace. On entrées, he decided to help Natalie on garnish, but put some broccolini into a cold pan, with Ramsay lecturing him that it would come out greasy and mushy. Then, he accidentally put the broccolini into the trash, much to his embarrassment, and Ramsay ordered him to use his brain. After Paul's poor performance on fish, Ramsay replaced the former with him and Jonathon, but he got annoyed when the latter did not help out. After, his snapper came out raw, and afterwards, a pissed off Ramsay berated him for walking away when Ramsay wanted the blue team to see their mistake. That served to be the final straw for Ramsay and kicked the blue team out of the kitchen.

The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, a pissed Jonathon told Monterray that it was his time to go home, but he argued that the former hid at desserts when Ramsay asked them to take over fish and did not even cook anything.

Monterray was the blue team's first nominee for elimination, with Paul as the second, and they were joined by Jonathon. During his plea, he argued that he had more experience than Jonathon. He was eliminated for his string of poor performances, and failing to keep the fish station afloat after Paul’s poor performance, but Ramsay praised him for his effort. When he left, the blue team gave him a standing ovation, but during his exit interview, he argued that Jonathon should have gone home for not accomplishing anything since the competition began, and if standing in the corner was the key to winning Hell’s Kitchen, then he should have done that from the start.

Ramsay's comment: "It was high school reunion night in Hell's Kitchen. Unfortunately, for Monterray, he flunked the test." ^[6]

Nomination History[]

Post Hell's Kitchen[]

• After his appearance on the show, Monterray became the head chef at a place called "The Brick" which is a well-reviewed restaurant in Miami.
• He is now a Private Chef and Owner of Keys To Catering.

Trivia[]

• He is the second contestant, and the first male, to get nominated on opening night after scoring a point during the Signature Dish Challenge, following Sabrina (Season 8).
• He is the first and only contestant to confront and talk back to Sous Chef Scott.
• Of all male contestants, he has the best reward/punishment ratio out of those who participated in at least one of both, at 83% (5 rewards, 1 punishment).

Quotes[]

• (After Ramsay asks the red team for a volunteer to switch teams) "With all due respect, I would like to just roll with the six I have."
• "I understand what he's telling me, and I'm listening to him, but you ain't going to keep fucking cussing at me. I don't give a fuck who you are, Chef Ramsay, Chef Scott, Chef Andi, nobody gonna keep talking to me like that."
• (To Sous Chef Scott) "Well fuck you too, then!"
• (After Elise said she didn't come to throw people under the bus) "Too late!"
• (About Jonathon) "You ain't in no position to say that anybody can't cook, or do anything the fuck right. Not when I ain't never seen you do anything."
• (After being eliminated) "I truly think that Jonny should have been eliminated because he hasn't done anything since he got here. If I'd have known to stay in the background not cooking anything was the key to stay in Hell's Kitchen, I'd have been did that from the start."

Gallery[]

• Chef
• Dishes

Monterray's Intro Spot

Monterray in Blue Jacket

Monterray's Confessional

Steven, Chino, and Monterray Nominated

Carrie, Elise, Monterray, and Chino Nominated

Krupa, Elise, Tommy, and Monterray Nominated

Monterray, Jonathon, and Paul Nominated

Monterray Eliminated

Monterray's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

Tommy and Monterray's Chicken Dish (Grilled) (Episode 4)

Monterray's Fire and Water Dish (Prawns) (Episode 5)

External links[]

• Monterray Keys on Instagram

References[]