Andrew Bonito was a contestant on Season 1 of Hell's Kitchen. He was on the blue team. He ranked in 6th place.
Personality
Andrew was the main antagonist of that season. He had a very big ego, and a big mouth. This led him to be the most hated chef of that season, and also the most nominated. He had a running feud with teammate Mary Ellen.
Season 1
Episode 1
Andrew was the first contestant to have his Signature Dish judged by Ramsay. He served what he called "Andrew's Absolute Penne", but Ramsay called it "Absolute Dogshit" after spitting it out. Then, he was asked by Ramsay to taste his dish, and when he acknowledged that there was too much salt in it, Ramsay called him a smartass and told him his 10 years of experience were a waste. After the challenge, he was placed on the blue team, along with Mary Ellen, Wendy, Ralph, Michael, and Jessica.
During dinner service, Andrew was on the dessert station. After asking Ramsay if the dessert he made was acceptable, Ramsay went to his face and told him that if he had a question to come to the pass and ask it instead of waiting Ramsay would come down to him. After one of his team's tables went to the kitchen to speak with Ramsay, and many tables left, Ramsay shut down both kitchens. The blue team won the dinner service, but Ramsay told that they did not win, and that they were just safe.
Episode 2
After a brutal wake up call the next morning, all the contestants were told to get down to the dining room, where Ramsay explained the next challenge, which was the Cleaning Squid Challenge. Andrew cleaned nothing to Ramsay's standards, but was in denial stating that, as far as he was concerned, his squid was perfect. Because the blue team lost the challenge 5-6, they were punished by cleaning all the squids for the next dinner service.
During dinner service, as the second part of their punishment, the blue team cooked without air conditioning. Andrew was on the meat station with Mary Ellen. When she brought undercooked Wellingtons to the pass, he started arguing with her and telling her what to do, but she was more annoyed by his attitude, asking him to stop and yell at her later. Hours later into service, when Mary Ellen finally redeemed herself with some acceptable Wellingtons, he was playing the politician with Sous Chef Scott by trying to make himself look good and give all the credits of her success onto him, which really annoyed her. After Jean-Philippe was physically assaulted, Ramsay shut down both kitchens, and declared the blue team winners after serving some main courses.
Episode 3
Before the 5 Course Meal Challenge, Andrew and his team said goodbye to Michael, who has just been transferred to the red team. He was annoyed by Ralph's sudden leadership. He served a grilled rib-eye with mushroom sauce and white peaches as a meat entrée. After Ramsay questioned the choice of mixing white peaches with a rib-eye and tasted it, he said that it did not work and found it disgusting. He scored no point for his team, and later revealed that this idea was Ralph's. The blue team lost the challenge after a tie-breaker at 3, and they were punished by cleaning the dorms.
During dinner service, Andrew was on the appetizer station with Wendy. When his crab risotto made it to the critics table, it received poor reviews. When another one came back to the kitchen because the customer who ate it became ill and started to throw up, Ramsay asked him to taste it. But, he acknowledged it was too salty even before tasting it. This led Ramsay to school him on his behavior after he talked back to him. After very few main courses left either kitchen, Ramsay closed them both. The blue team was declared losers because of the critics comment cards, and Ralph was named "Best of the Worst".
Andrew was Ralph's second nominee for elimination, with Wendy being the first. He survived elimination.
Episode 4
After Andrew survived elimination, he had a talk with Ralph when they got back to the dorms. He was told by Ralph that he had to check his big mouth and ego if he wanted to go far in the competition.
During the Perfect Table Challenge, the blue team managed to make only one mistake, compared to the red team's four. They were rewarded with a day of relaxation and spa treatment in the dorms.
During dinner service, Andrew was on the garnish station. With the help of Ralph, he remembered what garnish was coming with what dish, as every detail was written by Ralph on white tape. Ramsay also gave him tips by saying that he should repeat the orders in his head. He also acknowledged that he had to keep his mouth shut if he wanted the blue team to succeed. However, on the first order of entrées, he brought the wrong garnish, he could not keep up with the orders, and Ramsay started to lose his temper because of that. Later, he failed to serve the endives, and when Ramsay asked where they were, he did not answer. So, because of him, the blue team had to start the table again. The blue team was not able to finish their tickets before the red team, and were declared the losers. Jessica was named "Best of the Worst".
Andrew was Jessica's first nominee for elimination, with Mary Ellen being the second. He survived elimination.
Episode 5
Following his second nomination in a row, when he got back in his room, Andrew was seeking some alone time, thinking about what happened, and trying to convince himself that he was still doing something right. Then, a piece of paper that was taped on top of his bed was revealed, which was written "Shut your mouth" on it.
Prior to the challenge, Andrew was named the weakest link on the blue team by Ralph, which infuriated him, thinking it was crap.
During the Pasta Making Challenge, Andrew was holding the pasta on his arms. He was seen encouraging his teammates with his mouth because he could not use his arms. The blue team lost the challenge, managing to get only 2,41 lbs of pasta acceptable, compared to the red team's 2,45. They were punished by making all the remaining pasta for the pasta themed dinner service.
During dinner service, the blue team served during the first seating, and cooked during the second. During the first seating, as a waiter, he gave an inconsistent performance, and was given a negative critic by a very unhappy customer at the end. Before the second seating, he had a heated argument with Ralph because he was accused of not listening to people and not accepting help from anybody. During the second seating, he struggled because of the large number of lasagna orders. He also took a while to answer when Ramsay asked where the short ribs were. After he brought what Ramsay called "dog's dinners" to the hot plate, Ramsay decided to shut down the kitchen, with 17 tickets to go, as the time limit of two hours was over. The blue team was declared winners because of their good service in the dining room, and their food of better quality than the red team's.
Episode 6
During the Blind Taste Test, Andrew correctly identified chicken, but failed to identify radish, scoring 1 point of a possible 4 for his team. The blue team eventually lost the challenge 1-4, and had to wash the entire restaurant's dishes. He was not happy as he would have enjoyed Ramsay's company rather than what he called this crap.
The night before the next dinner service, Ramsay announced that both teams would create their own menus. Andrew was annoyed by Ralph's way of taking total control of the menu. At one point, when he gave his idea of a braised salmon, Ralph shut the idea down for a poached halibut.
Before service, as the second part of the punishment, the blue team's baby chickens were in the pantry room that was locked. Ramsay gave the combination once to get them, and when Andrew asked Jessica to give him tape so the door would not lock again, Sous Chef Scott busted him and gave him a piece of his mind, before taking the baby chickens and place them back in the pantry room.
During dinner service, Andrew was on the appetizer station. When he got back to the pantry room, he ran into a dishwasher. After apologizing, he returned in the kitchen with some broth. He got the kitchen off to a good start with his salad appetizers. Later, his food was cooked to perfection, but was served on cold plates. So, he had to start over, and Jessica lent him a hand on his halibut dishes. Because of that, he managed to get them out of the kitchen. But moments later, they came back, and Jean-Philippe explained to him and Ralph that the fish were overcooked on all the plates. Moments later, when he told Ramsay he needed six minutes for the halibut to be done, Ramsay gave him four, which infuriated him saying it was not chemically possible to cook the fish that fast. Ramsay shut down both kitchens because too many orders came back. His team was declared losers as some of their halibut dishes came back. He told the halibut was Ralph's idea, and Jessica was named "Best of the Worst".
Andrew was Jessica's only nominee for elimination, but was eventually joined by Ralph. He was eliminated for failing to stand up for himself and refusing to admit his mistakes.
Ramsay's comment: "Andrew's gone tonight because he's out of his depth. I discovered a fake; he can't cook!"
Episode 10/11
When Andrew came back for the last dinner service of the season, he was Ralph's first pick, followed by Wendy and Dewberry. During prep, he was peeling an artichoke, and cut his thumb really bad. He showed his injury to Wendy who was disgusted, saw a medic, and was rushed to the hospital. All that time, he claimed he did not want to let his team down and had to return as fast as possible. He would return to the kitchen a few minutes before the doors open, and on his arrival, he was hugged by Wendy and made a high-five with Ralph, much to the latter's relief.
During dinner service, at some point, Andrew came to the back store to talk Dewberry back in the service, while the latter almost gave up. He successfully recovered Dewberry's station while he was away, and successfully helped Ralph to finish the service for him. However, Ralph ended up losing the finals to Michael.
Nomination history
| Week 1 | Win |
|---|---|
| Week 2 | Win |
| Week 3 | Nominated |
| Week 4 | Nominated |
| Week 5 | Win |
| Week 6 | Nominated |
Trivia
- He is the last contestant of that season to be eliminated before the black jackets were given.
- He is the first contestant ever to be nominated three times, and the first to have survived elimination twice in a row.
- After his appearance on the show, he returned to college to complete a Masters in Hospitality, and is now Director of Operations at Hu Kitchen.
Quotes
- "Shut your fucking mouth."
- "It's not chemically possible to cook the halibut in four minutes, bottom line. Science doesn't allow it!"