Montana Man Competing on Newest Season of Hell’s Kitchen

I've been a big fan of Hell's Kitchen ever since it made its debut on American television. How can you not like Gordon Ramsey? Sure, he can be a bit rude.....and he's pretty fond of words that have to be bleeped on tv.....and he throws tantrums that are on par with your typical toddler.....but he has a charisma that keeps you coming back for more! All the craziness that came with chef Ramsey and the cast of characters kept me watching Hell's Kitchen for years. I even named my cat Dewberry after one of the contestants from season 1 that chef Ramsey seemed to particularly love poke a little fun at.

I'm bummed that I haven't watched the show much in the last few years though - kids came along and kind of spoiled my nightly routine of being lazy on the couch. But I might have to jump back in the mix for the new season as it features a contestant that's representing Montana. Although currently in San Antonio, Antonio Ruiz is originally from Great Falls. A Montana Right Now article mentions how a bit of Great Falls representation is already present on the first episodes of Hell's Kitchen: "I have a tattoo that I show on the show a lot. That’s the CM Russell logo.... So, I definitely always have Great Falls in my heart. You know Great Falls and the 406 on my back... I love it."

The logo he's referring to is a skull that represents the CM Russell Museum in Great Falls, which you can see on his arm on his Hell's Kitchen profile picture.

They're only two episodes into the new season of Hell's Kitchen and the good news is Antonio's dream is still alive. It sounds like he knows he'll need to be on top of his game to impress chef Ramsey, as the same article mentioned above quotes him as saying: "Being around him, being around his intensity, being around his standards...  anything that's not the best does not fly. It’s not good, it's not good enough. It’s either perfect or it's not."

Antonio is still alive for the chance to win $250,000 and a the head chef job at Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. It would be pretty cool to see bragging rights for winning the show go to a Montana native. He's actually only the second contestant from the state to compete on the show. That actually seems crazy to me - for there to be so few over the course of 20 seasons. The previous contestant, Jessica, left season 4 after suffering a burn injury that wouldn't allow her to compete at 100%. She made it through five episodes of the show.