Boris Poleschuk was a contestant on Season 8 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 9th place.
Personality
Boris was a nice person as he tried to help Raj, but despite that, he was shown to be quite foolish at times, as he mocked Ramsay during service. He was a terrible performer, but was a good team player, had a big heart and a lot of passion.
Season 8
Episode 1
After James introduced himself, all the chefs put blindfolds on, and were taken to the prize restaurant, the LA Market, in Los Angeles. Then, they returned to Hell's Kitchen, and were asked to cook their signature dishes.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, when he tasted Antonia's gumbo, Boris came close to throw up. He was the seventh person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay, and went up against Melissa. It was unknown what he made, but Ramsay liked it, and he won the round over Melissa. The blue team won the challenge after a tiebreaker at 3, and they were rewarded with massages, champagne, and caviar up in the dorms.
During dinner service, Boris was on the pizza station. He got the blue team off to a great start by sending perfect pizzas to the customers. When he overheard Ramsay chew out Melissa for a raw pizza, he decided to mimic Ramsay's rant. However, Ramsay heard him, pulled him over to the red kitchen to feel the raw pizza, and got lectured on taking the piss out of his rants, while being threatened with elimination if he would do it again. He promised not to mimic Ramsay again, admitted that it was not a smart move from his part, and Ramsay told him to focus. Later, Raj came to help on his station, but despite giving him clear instructions on rolling the pizza dough, Raj decided to do his own thing and cut the cheese. That got him frustrated, and he accused Raj of trying to sabotage him, while calling him fucking nuts. Both teams were named joint-losers, with Ramsay chewing him out for mimicking one of his rants, and they were asked to nominate two people each.
He was not nominated for elimination.
Episode 2
During the Sushi Challenge, Boris was paired with Vinny. Together, they managed to have 8 of their 9 pieces accepted, and the blue team won the challenge 16-15. They were rewarded with a trip to Cellar 360 in San Francisco with Ramsay, where they got to taste wine and enjoy a dinner at the Water Bar restaurant. He also got to keep his Morimoto knife that was used in the challenge.
During dinner service, Boris was on the dessert station. At one point, he interfered with Trev's job on the fish station and cooked scallops, but they came out raw. When the blue team was ejected from service, he, along with the rest of the blue team, ganged up on Raj for his poor performance, and he called Raj a waste of life. The blue team lost the service.
Boris was the blue team's second nominee for elimination, with Raj being the first, and they were eventually joined by Vinny. He survived elimination.
Episode 3
During the Paramedic Service Challenge, Boris was on the omelet station. When he sent up his omelet, Sous Chef Scott told Ramsay that it was burnt on the bottom, and Ramsay refused to serve it, forcing the blue team to start over. The blue team lost the challenge, and they were punished by polishing 250 stemware glasses for the next service, and clean up both kitchens. During the punishment, he and Russell pulled Raj aside to the back store when Raj was arguing with Trev, and managed to calm him down. Then, he said he did not want any of his teammates fighting as they needed everyone to work together, but still called Raj fucking nuts.
During prep, Boris urged Raj to communicate with everybody. During dinner service, he was on the meat station. When Raj's second attempt on the salmon came out raw, he frustratingly said that Raj could not even change his underwear properly. Later, he was slicing his Wellingtons, but they came out raw, much to Ramsay's dismay. Then, he saw Raj eating the rejected fish and begged him to stop. When Raj revealed that he ran out of Dover Sole, he called the situation embarrassing. The blue team eventually won the service as they had a 54% approval rating from their customers, compared to the red team's 50%.
At elimination, Boris and the blue team expressed relief when Raj was eliminated, and all the men thanked Ramsay for it.
Episode 4
Back in the dorms, the blue team celebrated Raj's elimination with champagne glasses.
During the Ravioli Challenge, Boris was the fifth person from the blue team to compete, and went up against Sabrina. He made a feta spinach ravioli, which was deemed delicious, and he won the round over Sabrina. The blue team won the challenge 4-3, and they were rewarded with a helicopter trip to Palos Verdes to an oceanside resort, Terranea Resort, where they played golf and ate dinner.
During the Italian Night dinner service, Boris was on the dessert station. At one point, he was seen washing dishes instead of helping his teammates, and Ramsay chewed him out for that, before being ejected from the kitchen and forced to clean the dishes in the back store, while Ramsay told him that LA Market was not looking for a head chef in pans. After Louis was kicked out, he joined the rest of the blue team, who were kicked out as well. Both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate two people each for elimination.
Boris was the blue team's second nominee for elimination, with Louis being the first, and they joined Melissa and Sabrina from the red team. During his plea, he said that he was the most experienced chef on the blue team. He survived elimination after Ramsay sent him back in line.
Episode 5
While going back to the dorms, Boris said that he respected Ramsay’s decision, and knew that Ramsay was waiting for him to step up, even promising not to let Ramsay down. When Vinny reminded him on his claim that he was the best chef on the blue team, he accepted Vinny's challenge to take charge of their next service, as it could be leading them to victory.
During the Prom Planning Challenge, Boris tried to take charge of the blue team's menu, but got annoyed when his teammates were talking over him. While they were cooking, he tried to offer his help, but was ignored. When Ramsay asked if they were all happy with their dishes, he stated that he was not as he did not have any input on the dishes, and got into an argument with Russell, until Trev calmed the situation down. The blue team lost the challenge 0-3, and they were punished by decorating the dining room ahead of the next service, under the supervision of the prom committee.
During the Prom dinner service, Boris was on the fish station. When he was cooking the first table of crab cakes, he was caught cooking ten instead of the two ordered, and was reminded by Ramsay that they were cooking for one table at a time. When he sent his crab cakes, they were cold in the center, but he managed to bounce back. When the blue team moved on to entrées, he proved to be slow on the halibut, and did not give a time to his team, until Ramsay asked for one. Fortunately, he was able to send his halibut to the pass, and it was accepted. The blue team eventually won the service.
Episode 6
Before the next challenge, the blue team said goodbye to Trev, who was transferred to the red team, while saying hello to Melissa as a new teammate.
During the Salad Challenge, Boris was the first person from the blue team to compete, and went up against Gail. He made a grilled fennel heirloom tomato and avocado salad with key lime dressing and coriander, but Ramsay got annoyed with his sweaty face, and motioned him to wipe himself. His salad was criticized for having a heavy dressing and looking soggy. He lost the round to Gail, but the blue team won the challenge after a tiebreaker at 2. They were rewarded with a day at Malibu, for lunch at The Getty Villa.
During dinner service, Boris was on the garnish station. On the first ticket of appetizers, he sent rubbery shrimp, and Ramsay threw them at the wall. When the blue team moved on to entrées, he was reminded by Vinny about his lamb garnishes, but he was late to communicate. When he sent his mashed potatoes to the pass, they tasted bland, and then, his parchment paper caught on fire, and a distraught Ramsay sent it to the sink, while asking why he was even fucking bothering. On the final ticket, he sent soggy chicken garnish, and a frustrated Ramsay kicked him out of the kitchen. Both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate one person each for elimination.
Boris was the blue team's nominee, and joined Sabrina from the red team, and they were eventually joined by Nona and Melissa. He survived elimination.
Episode 7
Back to the dorms, Boris felt very disappointed about his poor performance, and knew that he would have to make a major comeback to stay.
During the Roulette Challenge, Boris landed on M, and chose miso. Despite his teammates' concern, he managed to nail the miso broth for their striped sea bass dish. Also, he presented the blue team's pan-seared striped bass with braised kale, asparagus, and fried yams in a miso broth. However, the blue team lost the challenge to the red team, and they were punished by taking a delivery of 1,000 potatoes, and prepping them for French fries, which would be used for the special Family Night dinner service. During the punishment, he was the only person not to complain about cleaning the potatoes, due to his Russian background.
During prep, Boris knew that he was the weak link of the blue team as his teammates treated him like that, and needed to bounce back. During the Family Night dinner service, he was on the meat station. When he found out that the blue team was serving Ramsay's family, he knew that they had to get their orders perfect, and got annoyed when Vinny sent an old risotto that would be going to Ramsay's wife. Later, he was about to slice his perfectly cooked meat on a dirty board until Ramsay stopped him, he got lectured about it, and was called a dirty pig. Both teams were named joint-winners as they received a 90% approval rating from the customers, but they were still asked to nominate two people each.
Boris was the blue team's first nominee for elimination, with Rob being the second. He survived elimination as Ramsay did not call him down.
Episode 8
During the Budget Challenge, Boris went up against Jillian and Gail on the pork round, and made a marinated pork tenderloin with stirfry. While it was praised for its color, the pork was dry, and he only received an average of $26. The blue team lost the challenge $101-$110, and they were punished by deep cleaning the dining room, and fumigating both kitchens for the next service.
During prep, Boris did not like Russell's style of leadership as he was not acting like a leader, but more like a dick, and was getting tired of his attitude. During the 100th Hell's Kitchen dinner service, he was on the appetizer station. On the first order, he gave eight minutes on his capellini to be ready, but his teammates told him five minutes instead. Rob decided to help him, which allowed him to get his capellini accepted. Then, Ramsay noticed that he did not have a risotto on, even though that took longer to cook than a capellini, and Ramsay warned him that he would go ballistic. As he struggled to focus, Rob decided to help him once again, and he was able to push more appetizers to the dining room. Later, he was seen giving Rock and Christina their entrées. The blue team was eventually kicked out of the kitchen, they lost the service, and were asked to nominate two people.
Boris was the blue team's first nominee for elimination, and was called down with Rob and Vinny. He was eliminated for his string of poor performances, but before he left, Ramsay praised his big heart and passion. Ramsay gave no comment on Boris' elimination, and he did not receive the coat hanging and burning picture sequence.
Episode 15
When he returned for the final dinner service, Boris was Nona's last pick, following Gail, Melissa, and Trev, and the last pick overall.
During prep, Boris received a lot of help from Nona as she felt he was mentally slow. During dinner service, he was on the fish station. On his first attempt at the halibut, it was raw and Nona reminded him that it had to be in the oven for five minutes instead of four, like he did. His second attempt came out raw again, which led Nona to remind him about the cooking time again, and Trev to warn him that if it would happen again, he would be coming over. His third attempt came out raw again, leading Trev to come and help him. However, he did not appreciate Trev's help, which led to an argument, before Nona calmed it down by telling both of them to shut the fuck up. When he sent his fourth attempt, it was finally accepted. Nona eventually won the finals over Russell.
Nomination history
| Week 1 | Safe |
|---|---|
| Week 2 | Nominated |
| Week 3 | Win |
| Week 4 | Nominated |
| Week 5 | Win |
| Week 6 | Nominated |
| Week 7 | Nominated |
| Week 8 | Nominated |
Trivia
- He is the first Russian contestant of the show's history.
- After his appearance on the show, he became an Executive Chef at The Loft Steakhouse in Brooklyn, New York, which has excellent reviews.
Quotes
- (To Raj) "COME ON, MAN! That guy can't change his underwear the right way!"
- (Mocking Ramsay) "IT'S RAWWWW!!! IT'S FUCKING RAW!!!"
- "Shouldn't have done that, and I meant no disrespect. What can I say? I'm losing my mind."
- (About Raj) "My partner was sent here to sabatoge. That guy is fucking nuts!"
- (To Raj) "ROLL THE FUCKIN' PIZZA DOUGH WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"