Hell's Kitchen (partially found footage of unidentified contestants from Fox cooking show; 2007-2014)

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Hellskitchenjr1.jpg

"J.R." to the right of Josh Wahler during the Signature Dish Challenge.

Status: Partially Found

Hell's Kitchen is a long-running Fox cooking competition show. Airing since 2005, the show features 12-20 chefs attempting to earn a head chef role at a coveted restaurant by enduring the immensely stressful and explosive working conditions imposed by Gordon Ramsay. Season 3 ran from 4th June to 13th August 2007 and featured twelve contestants, with Rahman "Rock" Harper winning the competition. However, eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a thirteenth contestant who disappeared from the show during Ramsay's judgement of the signature dishes. Additionally, photographs of unidentified contestants in Seasons 8 and 12 have also circulated across the internet.

Background

The Signature Dish Challenge was to be the contestants' first obstacle in their path of obtaining the head chef position at a Green Valley Ranch Resort and Spa restaurant in Henderson, Nevada.[1][2] A staple of Hell's Kitchen, it allows the contestants the opportunity to give a good first impression upon meeting Ramsay, as well as receive a reality check on the standards Ramsay and other top chefs demand.[1] During Ramsay's judgements, especially when Vincent "Vinnie" Fama's dish was trialled, viewers spotted an unidentified white male contestant with short brown hair wearing a brown shirt, white t-shirt, and grey trousers, among the twelve hopefuls.[3][4][5][6] He can be seen standing to the right of Josh Wahler, albeit only when watching the 16x9 version of Episode 1.[3][5][6] In the 4x3 version, his appearance is cut off. Following the Signature Dish challenge, this contestant was never seen again and thus was presumably eliminated prior to the first dinner service.[3][6][5] Had he competed at dinner service, it would have given the men's team a numbers advantage.[3][6]

At the end of Episode 3, contestant Joanna Dunn was eliminated.[2][6][5][3] As her coat was being hung, viewers can see another that was once given to "J.R.", the unknown thirteenth contestant.[3][5][6] These discoveries led to speculation among the hardcore Hell's Kitchen fanbase regarding the identity and fate of J.R..[3][6][5] Most discussion centred upon how J.R. was seemingly scrubbed out by the show beyond a few Episode 1 cameos.[3][6][5][4] In all promotional materials, Season 3 was consistently advertised as featuring twelve contestants.[6][2][5][3] Most striking of all, a promotional photo featuring Ramsay and the cast completely omitted J.R., implying the circumstances surrounding his elimination were more serious compared to any other chef featured in the show.[3][6][5]

Investigation and Joanna's Revelations

Whereas the backstory of most Hell's Kitchen contestants are documented on websites like the Hell's Kitchen Wiki, hardly anything is known about J.R. outside what can be viewed during his cameos.[6][4][5][3] There is no information surrounding his background and what chef position he acquired prior to Season 3, nor anything regarding his life post-show.[6][4][3] In 2020, YouTuber Blue Knight contacted three contestants from Season 3 requesting information about J.R..[6] However, none remembered who he was, and Rock's attempt to contact Ramsay for further information came to nothing.[6]

However, in a two-part 17th October 2018 Facebook livestream, Joanna confirmed J.R. was actually disqualified from proceedings.[7][8][5] While part 1 has since been deleted, r/hellskitchen posts summarise that during the auditioning stage, Joanna had informed J.R. about a personal story surrounding an abusive relationship.[8][5] After exiting said relationship, a mentor of hers encouraged her to apply for Hell's Kitchen, which she ultimately did.[8][5] According to Joanna, as filming was to commence, J.R. had manipulated the story and used it to spread rumours she had committed infidelity with her current boss.[8][6][5][7] By leaking personal information and spreading slanderous rumours, J.R. is believed to have violated the show's non-disclosure agreement (NDA) policy.[8][6] Thus, he was eliminated during the Signature Dish challenge, and considering the legal ramifications involved was mostly wiped from the show's records.[8][6][5]

Joanna added that J.R.'s smear campaign reached her boss.[7][8][5] This caused further problems, as the boss found the situation too uncomfortable for him to keep employing Joanna upon her return to Atlanta.[7][8][5] Eventually, Joanna and her boss were able to resolve matters, and she was later rehired.[7][8] Additionally, unconfirmed rumours also accuse J.R. of leaking information about the upcoming season online, a further breach of the NDA policy.[6] Alas, outside of hearsay, there is currently no substantial evidence to support this claim.

Availability

On 9th June 2020, Blue Knight uploaded a video titled "The Mystery of Hell's Kitchen's Disqualified Contestant JR (Season 3)", which delved deeper into this mystery.[6] Aside from summarising the Joanna smear scandal and the season leak allegations, Blue Knight also conducted a deep viewing analysis of Episode 1.[5] His analysis revealed a few other J.R. cameos: The first occurred as Ramsay viewed all the contestant portraits, revealing an official photograph of J.R. had been taken.[3] J.R. can also be briefly seen entering Hell's Kitchen to be greeted by Jean-Philippe Susilovic.[5] Blue Knight also discovered further glimpses of the disqualified contestant throughout the Signature Dish unveilings.[3][5] Interestingly, some brief camera shots show an empty space between Josh and Rock, suggesting J.R. was removed from the show before Ramsay's judgements had finished.[3][5] If this was indeed the case, J.R. received the fastest elimination of any Hell's Kitchen contestant.[5][3]

However, the biggest revelation was some lost media connected to J.R.'s brief appearance. During a shot where contestant Melissa Firpo grabs some spoons required for her dish, a glimpse of J.R.'s arm and torso can be seen. He also appeared to have been holding a piece of cooking equipment. This, as well as the fact there were thirteen dish bowls in front of Ramsay, confirms J.R. produced a signature dish. There is no information surrounding what he cooked, nor whether Ramsay tasted it prior to J.R.'s disqualification. Nevertheless, it does confirm clips of J.R. cooking do exist. However, considering the extent Fox went in expunging his name from the show, it is extremely unlikely this additional footage will ever be publicly released.

Interestingly, J.R. was not the only contestant to be almost completely expunged from Hell's Kitchen's records.[9][10] In Season 8, which was televised from 22nd September to 15th December 2010, an unidentified female chef is seen in a group promotional photograph.[11][9] However, an updated photograph shows she was replaced by Antonia Boregman for unknown reasons.[9] A popular theory suggests that the woman was not actually a contestant, but merely a stand-in for Antonia after the latter was hospitalised following a migraine in Episode 1.[9][11] This may explain why the images are so alike, in that Antonia's head was merely photoshopped onto the woman's body.[9] Similarly, a portrait photograph from Season 12, which was broadcast from 13th March to 24th July 2014, shows an unidentified male contestant not mentioned in any episodes.[12][13][10] Aside from these photographs, nothing is known about these chefs, and it is unclear whether any footage of them was captured for the show.

Gallery

Video

The Mystery of Hell's Kitchen's Disqualified Contestant JR (Season 3).

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 WatchMojo summarising the Signature Dish Challenge. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Reality TV Revisited summarising Season 3. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 r/hellskitchen post providing one of the earliest discussions of the J.R. mystery. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 r/hellskitchen discussing a screenshot of J.R. during the Signature Dish Challenge. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 r/hellskitchen discussing the J.R. revelations made by Joanna, and analysis of his cameos in Episode 1. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 Hell's Kitchen Wiki blog discussing the mystery and noting the lack of information surrounding J.R.. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Part 2 of Joanna's livestream discussing J.R.. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 r/hellskitchen discussing Joanna's livestreams. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 r/hellskitchen discussing the unidentified Season 8 contestant. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 r/hellskitchen discussing the mystery Season 12 contestant. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Reality TV Revisited summarising Season 8. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  12. ↑ Reality TV Revisted summarising Season 12. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
  13. ↑ Reality Rewind previewing Season 12 and noting the portrait of an unknown contestant. Retrieved 15th Apr '23
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