Louis Petrozza was a contestant on Season 4 of Hell's Kitchen. He was the runner-up of that season.
Personality
Petrozza was one of the fan favorites of that season because of his affable personality and strong cooking skills. He formed close bonds with his teammates, especially Bobby, Louross, and Ben. He also got along well with Christina. The only chefs he seemingly had problems with were Matt and Jen, but everybody did.
Season 4
Episode 1
During the Signature Dish Challenge, Petrozza was the ninth contestant to have his dish judged by Ramsay. He served a hen-in-a-pumpkin, which deeply confused Ramsay. When he lifted the pumpkin to take a look at the potatoes, Ramsay asked him how much oil and fat did he use to fry them, and Petrozza declared he used some butter, but when Ramsay squeezed the potatoes and they started dripping in grease, he corrected himself saying he used a lot of butter. Ramsay trashed the potatoes, and looked inside the pumpkin, which shocked him. He asked him how he was supposed to get in there and eat it, with Petrozza saying that it was a tableside dish. So, Ramsay told him to serve a plate himself. After looking at the mess, Ramsay declared he would like to stick his head inside it. When Ramsay tasted it, he found it was dry, with the pumpkin not even seasoned. After getting back in line, he declared that he thought his dish was memorable.
Back in the dorms, after choosing Bobby as the blue team's captain, the men went to sleep, and Petrozza was seen snoring. When the teams were lined up, he failed to tell what the five entrées of the menu were.
During dinner service, Petrozza was assigned at tableside to serve the customers an amuse-bouche flambé. At one point, Ramsay told him to not set the place on fire, calling him a donkey. As the service went on and no food was coming out of the kitchen, he was working slowly to buy his teammates some time. The blue team eventually lost the dinner service, and Louross was named "Best of the Worst".
He was not nominated for elimination.
Episode 2
The next morning, the Sous Chefs woke up all the contestants while holding megaphones, and told them to get outside immediately. Arrived outside, they went through the garbage bags from the previous service to select every food from them, and sort them in big cylinders. When they got back in the kitchen, Ramsay introduced the 6 Ounce Halibut Challenge. During the challenge, Petrozza took control of the filet, mainly cutting the halibut. During the judging, the score was tied at 41, but the blue team eventually won in a tiebreaker.
They were rewarded with a day at the sea, on a 100-foot super yacht where they eat seafood meals with Ramsay, which Petrozza deemed phenomenal. They were also transported there by Rolls-Royce and Bentleys. During the reward, the men shouted "Whose yacht?" and responded "Blue's yacht!" referring to one of Jen's antics before they left.
During prep, the level of confidence in the blue team was high. When the teams were lined up, Ramsay asked Petrozza what were the five appetizers, but he struggled to answer correctly, which led Ramsay to kick him out of the kitchen, and tell him to read the menu and not come back until he knows it by heart. In the dorms, he struggled to study the menu, saying it was 19 years since he was going through a menu other than his. When he came back down stairs, Ramsay got him in the pantry room and asked him to recite the menu, from the desserts up. Unfortunately, he struggled once again to deliver a correct answer, so Ramsay started to lose his patience, and asked him to go back to the dorms and start again. Arrived on the patio, he lit up a cigarette, and contemplated his fate in the competition, saying he was done. But, moments later, Bobby went to the dorms to comfort him and talk him back in the game, making him very emotional. Bobby handed him his apron so he could wipe his eyes, and declared that he felt the need to help Petrozza because of his genuine heart. When he came back to the kitchen, Petrozza successfully recited the menu to Ramsay, and when he finished, they gave each other a high-five, and Ramsay told him to get to his station.
During dinner service, Petrozza was on the meat station. After an argument erupted between Bobby and Jason, he tried to calm both of them down, but Bobby aggressively told him to mind his station. Later, he delivered his first beef entrée, but it was way undercooked, infuriating Ramsay, who made almost all the team touch it. When Ramsay asked him what it was requested, he answered that it was requested medium. Moments later, he struggled to cut his Wellingtons, which led Ramsay to do it for him, and when Ramsay did, he told him that they were beautifully cooked. He really enjoyed that compliment for Ramsay as he was almost 20 years not cooking on the line. Many entrées came out of the blue kitchen because of that. But moments later, he failed to keep up with the right number of beef orders, and Ramsay told him to communicate with Jason so the entire ticket could be brought together. The blue team eventually won the service for having served more entrées to their customers than the red team.
Episode 3
Back to the dorms, Petrozza accused Corey of having evil tendencies, saying she put scars that would not heel in the red team.
The next morning, after a wake up call where each contestant had to grab a chicken and Ramsay making them falsely believe they would have to kill them, he introduced the Chicken Cutting Challenge. During the challenge, Petrozza got a perfect score of 8 pieces out of 8, and was one of two men who did so. However, the blue team eventually lost the challenge 24-44 after Craig butchered almost all of his pieces. Their punishment was to pick peppers at the countryside, with farmers clothes and hat on, under the hot boiling sun.
During dinner service, Petrozza was on the appetizer station with Craig. On the first ticket, he had some communication problems with Craig, but managed to redeem himself when he brought his first appetizers to the pass, which were deemed beautiful by Ramsay. He enjoyed that compliment, and said that it meant as much to him as a win. Hours later, after Ramsay shut down both kitchens and declared both teams losers, he named him "Best of the Worst", saying that his mind was clear and that he was focused on appetizers.
During deliberation, Petrozza agreed with Christina's inclining of putting Corey up for elimination. After that, he considered Craig, but said that if Jason was not there, the team would have performed better. In the end, he decided to nominate Jason, who joined Vanessa from the red team.
Episode 4
When all the contestants got back to the dorms, Ramsay called them on the microphone, ordering to get down so they could clean their kitchens. The next morning, Ramsay introduced the Pasta Making Challenge. During the challenge, Petrozza was tasked to roll the dough inside the machine to make it to the correct thickness. He was so determined to win the challenge, and said he would even get his teammates pumped up. With a few seconds left, he almost broke his arm wanting to finish strong. Unfortunately, his efforts were not enough as the blue team lost the challenge by managing to get only 5.49 lbs of acceptable pasta, compared to the red team's 6.57 lbs. That loss infuriated him, saying that challenge was all about muscles and strength, and that he could not believe that his team lost.
The blue team was punished by prepping all the new menu items ahead of Family Night, in both kitchens, all day long. During the punishment, after some time of prep, Petrozza became exhausted, saying that his team needed a day of rest.
During Family Night dinner service, Petrozza was on the fish station. The only time he was seen was when he sent acceptable crab cakes to the pass, which were deemed very nice by Ramsay. The blue team lost the service, and Bobby was named "Best of the Worst".
He was not nominated for elimination.
Episode 5
Back in the dorms, after Ben and Bobby went to bed, Petrozza entered the bedroom and offered them some cookies.
During the Fine Dining Pizza Challenge, Petrozza has had enough of Matt's questions, so he told him to shut the fuck up and focus on his own things. After the blue team chose Ben's pizza to be judged, he was upset as he was still putting his pizza together, and nobody got the chance to taste it. The blue team lost the challenge to Jen's pizza, and were punished by prepping all the pizzas for that night's dinner service, in both kitchens. When they learned their punishment, he put his hand on Louross' shoulder, but Louross aggressively pushed him back, telling he was pissed. Before the punishment, Ramsay gave the blue team a little pep talk, saying they should bond as a team and getting their problems to the side. During the punishment, he stated that even though Matt was a nice guy and meant well, he was driving him nuts because of all his questions.
During dinner service, Petrozza was on the appetizer station. He landed Bobby the tray containing the quail eggs, as he was asking for them. An hour and a half into service, he helped Louross, who has just sent overcooked steaks and was schooled by Sous Chef Scott, to find some beautifully cooked steaks, without any success. But, he took a risk by slicing the burnt sides of the beef, not convincing Louross he would get away with that. However, he successfully fooled Sous Chef Scott to get the steak out, shocking and relieving Louross. Near the end, he helped Bobby to get desserts out, and the blue team completed their first dinner service, along with the red team. Both teams were named joint-winners, and were asked to nominate one person each.
He was not nominated for elimination.
Episode 6
Back in the dorms, Petrozza noticed that Christina got herself a glass of wine.
The next morning, the contestants were driven to Farmers Market, where Ramsay introduced the Sweet 16 Planning Challenge. During the shopping part, the blue team ignored Matt's suggestions. During the judging, when he saw that the birthday girl and her mother would be the judges, Petrozza started to be worried as it was not a professional's opinion anymore. He brought the second entrée for the blue team, which was a "Sassy Surf n Turf". He described it as a grilled filet mignon. He won the round and, therefore, clinched the victory for the blue team 2-1.
They were rewarded with an activity of go-kart at Malibu Speed Zone, and fine-dining treats tasting with Ramsay at the Simon LA restaurant. During the go-kart race, Petrozza stated he took some good bumps.
During the Sweet 16 dinner service, Petrozza was on the meat station. He was not seen much, except when he made a comment about Matt's struggles on fish, saying he was hanging by a thread. Both teams were named joint-winners, and were asked to nominate one person each.
Petrozza was not nominated for elimination and gleefully said goodbye to Matt, who has just been transferred to the red team.
Episode 7
The next morning, Ramsay made both teams taste some dishes which they did not know were fake. When Petrozza tasted the beef stew, he came the closest to identify the non-existing meat, telling the texture was odd. He also said he really enjoyed the ravioli, saying it was wonderful. After Ramsay revealed the truth, he recalled him almost identifying the wrong thing about the beef stew, but added it was not enough. Then, Ramsay introduced the annual Blind Taste Test.
During the challenge, Petrozza was the first of his team to go, and went up against Rosann. He scored only 1 point out of 3, leading Ben to call him an idiot. The blue team lost the challenge 5-9 and were punished by cleaning up the dorms, from returning the beds to washing the toilet bowls. During the punishment, he noticed how Ramsay was not joking when he said the dorms needed to be cleaned. He found women's hair in the bathroom, saying it was disgusting.
During prep, Petrozza declared he wanted to win that service because if they would not and the red team would, they would look like assholes. During dinner service, he was on the garnish station. At one point, Ramsay schooled him about the disorganization of his station, stating there was a lot of crap on top of each other. He acknowledged his station could have been more organized as it was a mess.
After service, the blue team was declared losers, and each member was asked to nominate one person for elimination. Back in the dorms, Petrozza congratulated Matt for the great compliment he received from Ramsay, and during deliberation, Ben tried to convince him to nominate Louross. But, he categorically refused to, saying he could not nominate him and that he did not came to a decision yet. After that, Bobby tried to make an agreement with him, saying that both of them would nominate each other.
At elimination, Petrozza received one vote from Bobby and when Ramsay asked him who he was nominating, he shocked everybody by nominating himself. He declared he could not pick any of his teammates saying they busted their asses. Ramsay praised his outstanding level of maturity and said that he was the most gracious man on the blue team. He survived elimination and while being dismissed, Ramsay told him he was a gentleman. A tearful Petrozza thanked him, saying it was meaning a lot coming from him, and declared he was already feeling like a winner despite still having a long way to go.
Episode 8
The next morning, the blue team welcomed Jen as a new teammate, which they felt comfortable with. During the judging of the 20 Ingredients Challenge, Petrozza was the first person to go for his team, facing up against Christina. He presented a warm crab salad with an onion soufflé, containing 5 ingredients. Ramsay congratulated him for being brave to make a soufflé and that it turned out perfect. He scored for his team, but they eventually lost the challenge as Louross did not use the right amount of ingredients.
The blue team was punished by taking part of Laundry Day, under the supervision of Jean-Philippe. During the punishment, Petrozza compared Jen's attitude to a volcano, saying it could erupt and negatively influence the rest of the team. The next day, during prep, he was annoyed by the arguing between Jen and Louross, saying that dumbass bickering could not happen during service or they would be in trouble. When he asked them to stop, Jen sarcastically said there was love in the air, but he understood the joke and continued by saying it was incredible how much love was there. When both teams were lined up, Ramsay announced that two of the United States' finest food critics would be attending in the dining room.
During dinner service, Petrozza was on the meat station. 45 minutes in, the blue team had good momentum, but he was too eager to keep it up that he sliced his beef tenderloin three minutes before Louross was ready, despite Jen telling him not to. Ramsay schooled him for that mistake, and asked him if he would serve his cloth containing all the flavor from the meat, which he answered he would not. He responded that he could not contain himself from checking if the meat was cooked right, and acknowledged he should have never done it, but hoped it would not affect the team. Because of his mistake, Louross had to go faster on his order of salmon, needing one more minute, while Ramsay reminded him he was deserving to lose.
Bobby told the team to stop panicking, and Louross sent the salmon order to the pass, along with Petrozza's already sliced steak, and Ramsay accepted and served it. When he asked Ramsay to call back the next ticket, Ramsay called him an idiot while saying it was for the next table. Louross tried to motivate him, and near the end, Louross and him communicated well on the Wellingtons and salmon. He brought his Wellingtons to the pass, Ramsay said they were beautifully cooked and urged the team to keep the momentum up. He said they were remarkable and jokingly said they could be called "Super Blue". After the red team was kicked out of the kitchen, the blue team went to the red kitchen and finished their tickets for them. The blue team won the dinner service by a mile over the red team.
Episode 9
The next morning, when both teams were lined up, Ramsay introduced the Relay Challenge, which would test the chefs' communication and timing. Petrozza was the first person to go for his team, facing against Matt. He poached the chicken during the first 15 seconds and, determined to win very badly, was looking for some pans to put garnishes in for the following person. During the 15 seconds relay, he gave Bobby very clear information, which Bobby was satisfied with. Unfortunately, the blue team eventually lost the challenge 1-2, but he knew exactly that Jen was the only one to blame, because she forgot to put the sauce on two dishes.
The blue team was punished by being the Hell's Kitchen maintenance crew, spending all day taking care of the restaurant, cleaning the red carpets as well. The first thing the team did was scrubbing the Hell's Kitchen sign outside, which Petrozza said was a mess. At one point, Bobby accidentally sprayed some liquid soap in his face. After, all of them got into white suits, and he laughed when Louross was being silly in his suit.
The next morning, both teams lined up in the dining room, where Ramsay announced they would get rid of the menu for the next service, and that both teams would create their own menus. During the creation, Petrozza did not have a lot of inputs as Jen took total control of the menu. When the team presented their menu to Ramsay, he allowed them to change some of the items to make it more attractive, which they did. He said that Jen wanted to be the captain of the team, but drove the team towards an iceberg. During prep, he noticed Jen could be a bitch, but acknowledged that Louross could be more vocal.
During dinner service, Petrozza was on the appetizer station. At one point, Ramsay caught him putting lettuce in his appetizers without washing it and schooled him on that mistake, telling him to keep his station clean. He acknowledged his station was a mess as usual, and Ramsay said P was for Petrozza, but was also for Pig. Near the end, he helped his teammates plating desserts, and managed to complete service. However, the blue team lost, but because he led the team to a strong start on appetizers despite being such a mess during service, he was named "Best of the Worst" and was asked to nominate two of his teammates for elimination. He did not enjoy that position at all, saying it sucked.
During deliberation, Petrozza was told by Jen that she did not do anything wrong and that Louross had a worst performance than her. After, he pulled Louross aside, and Louross told him it would be poison if he would go home over Jen because of her attitude. He considered Louross for being the weakest team member, Jen for her poor attitude, and Bobby for being a strong competitor.
Petrozza named Louross as his first nominee, and Jen as his second. After those two were called down, Ramsay gave him the responsibility of eliminating one of them, asking who should go home. Despite everybody wanting Jen to be gone, he surprised everybody and said Louross should be eliminated. Ramsay agreed with that and Louross was eliminated. After Louross left, he gleefully said goodbye to Jen who was just transferred back to the red team, but welcomed Matt back in the blue team as well, much to his dismay.
Episode 10
Back in the dorms, Petrozza questioned Matt's place in the competition, wondering what was he still doing here and comparing him to a hemorrhoid.
The next morning, the remaining chefs got outside, and drove into the Hell's Kitchen SUVs with blindfolds on, not knowing where they were going. Petrozza wondered what was going on, and arrived at the secret destination, all the chefs were lined up in front of Ramsay, who asked them to take their blindfolds off. He was standing in front of a table with a dome on. Then, Ramsay revealed they were on the roof of what would be the new London West Hollywood, and asked them to lift up their domes, where black jackets were hidden underneath. Then, two men holding briefcases and wearing black suits came in, they opened their cases containing $250,000 in cash, and after, everybody went downstairs to see the construction works of the restaurant, while visualizing what the restaurant would look like.
Back in Hell's Kitchen, Ramsay introduced the Main Protein Challenge, where each chef would create one dish based on a given protein. The chefs were standing in front of one dome each, and when Petrozza lifted his, he got chicken. During the challenge, he got the idea of stuffing his chicken. He was the third person to have his dish judged by Ramsay. He served his prosciutto, duck confit and vegetables stuffed chicken, which impressed Ramsay, who jokingly added he never seen anyone do so much with a breast. However, he lost the challenge to Jen, and was punished by taking part of Delivery Day.
During the punishment, Petrozza was tired and exhausted as every part of his body were aching, after taking many deliveries. Later, he noticed Matt was crazy, and the next day, during prep, he tried to calm down Christina and Matt, who were having an argument.
During dinner service, Petrozza was on the appetizer station with Jen. When he sent his first appetizer, Ramsay noticed the bottom of his plate was very dirty, and asked him to show his hands. Ramsay told him he was such a dirty pig, which he agreed, and to wipe the bottom of the plate. His second attempt was accepted, with Ramsay saying he was such a dirty pig despite producing amazing food. 30 minutes into service, him and Jen have sent half of their appetizers to the customers despite some setbacks. Later, he noticed Matt was fried.
After everybody was kicked out, service was shut down, and Ramsay asked all of them to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Petrozza and his teammates quickly agreed on Matt to be nominated, and when Corey asked him who he would nominate, he said it was a tough decision as he did not want to take somebody's dream away from them.
Petrozza was not nominated for elimination, and after Matt left, he revealed he was happy to see him go and hoping he would be in a different state, while locking the door behind.
Episode 11
On the patio, Petrozza revealed he was happy Matt was gone, and declared that it was anybody's game from that moment. He also gave up on Jen, saying she would be pissed at anything.
The next morning, the final five came down in the red kitchen, where they lined up in front of Ramsay, who made a demonstration on how to cook a lobster spaghetti dish, which would be served as a special at the next dinner service. After, he introduced the Cooking School Challenge, where each contestant had 45 minutes to teach one middle-aged domestic housewife the lobster spaghetti, while not being allowed to touch anything. Petrozza was confident, saying he was a good teacher and that he had good chances of winning the challenge. When the housewives came in the kitchen, Ramsay asked him if he was excited because of how glamorous they were. He responded that Ramsay was trying to distract him, and was lost for words, mumbling sounds with his voice. During the challenge, he was more excited than focused, as he was constantly helping his housewife to put her apron on and tying her hair. He managed to make Ramsay laugh with that situation.
During the judging, Petrozza was the first person to have his dish judged by Ramsay, who praised the seasoning and the perfect cooking of the lobster, and deemed the dish delicious. However, he noted the pasta was overcooked and too thin. He said because his student was way hot, it was difficult for him to concentrate and should have known that the pasta was too thin. He lost the challenge to Christina and was punished by cleaning the restaurant, including emptying the fryers, scrubbing the floors and cleaning the ovens. During the punishment, he struggled with cleaning the jammed ice cream bucket, and was annoyed by Christina's way of rubbing elbows in the opposite kitchen while the rest of them were cleaning, thinking it sucked.
The next day, when the chefs were lined up, Ramsay declared a twelve-top table would be attending for that night's service. Petrozza acknowledged it would be a very busy night because of that. During dinner service, he was on the garnish station. At one point, he brought Jen's John Dory to the pass, but he brought it too early. After Jen was schooled for his mistake, and when she came back in the kitchen, he acknowledged she was having a problem with authority and there would be nothing good that would happen about being disrespectful to Ramsay. When the twelve-top table arrived, he was determined to finish strong, saying it was that time during service where he asked himself what was left inside him. He rallied to complete the table, but when Ramsay asked for the garnish, he did not sent all of what was needed. So, Ramsay schooled him for that mistake, asked him to send a polenta really quick, and told the team he was dreaming. Despite their problems, all three of them started to become vocal and rallied to complete the table, much to Ramsay's relief.
After service, Christina was named "Best of the Worst". During deliberation, Petrozza talked with her about his performance, where she said she heard Ramsay asking for the garnish many times and that he was dirty.
Despite being considered by Christina, Petrozza was not nominated for elimination. While being dismissed, he acknowledged the competition was getting hardcore.
Episode 12
Back in the dorms, Petrozza talked with Corey and Christina about a plan to get rid of Jen.
The next morning, the remaining chefs lined up in the dining room, where Ramsay introduced the 80 Portions Pregnant Women Challenge, where each chef had one hour to cook 80 portions of one dish to serve to 80 pregnant women and their unborn babies. Petrozza decided to make a Monte Cristo sandwich with ham, turkey, and a spicy sauce. He was worried of keeping the sip toned down to please the masses. When Ramsay announced there was 30 minutes to go, he acknowledged it was not a lot of time. With 10 minutes left, he put his sandwiches in pans, saying it was do or die for him. When the pregnant women arrived, he was charming the customers, acting a little bit like a salesman, and revealing he was a father himself, and moments later, he declared he could see the light at the end of the tunnel when he almost finished serving his plates. His dish was ranked in second place in a very close call, and when he learned only two votes separated him from the win, he was really heartbroken.
Petrozza lost the challenge to Christina and was punished by cleaning the dining room ahead of that night's dinner service, followed by prepping the red kitchen. After a heartbreaking loss, he declared he did not want to clean the dining room. During the punishment, he was still complaining about the two votes that separated him from the win. While they were cleaning the silverware, he tried to be friend with Jen, but she denied him. When Christina came back from her reward, the three punished chefs were still cleaning silverware. She showed them her new clothes before getting to the dorms and change, but none of them were impressed. After she left, he thought Corey and Jen, were boiling, while acknowledging the game was becoming vicious. During prep, when Christina entered the kitchen, her teammates were really unresponsive when she asked what she could do, but eventually, he helped her, even though acknowledging it sucked that she won, it was still teamwork first.
During dinner service, Petrozza was on the meat station. When the team moved on to entrées, he brought his order to the pass at the same time as Corey brought hers. Much later, he sent a nicely cooked order of beef to the pass, and the team started to get back on tracks. However, Ramsay caught him having a very dirty and disorganized station, and he told him to clean his station as he did not want beautifully cooked meat on a messy station. He gave ten seconds for his Wellingtons to be ready and started counting out loud. When he brought his filet mignons to the pass, Ramsay deemed them absolutely beautiful, and told him he did not care any longer if he was working on a messy station, which made him very happy that he was now seeing over the mess. An hour and a half into service, almost all the customers received their entrées. The team rallied to complete service by sending desserts out. The service was completed, but he concluded it would suck because one of them would go home that night.
When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay congratulated all of them for having a great service, by giving each of them a high-five. Petrozza was happy that Ramsay was finally having a sense of humor after cursing and yelling at them, saying it was phenomenal. Ramsay continued by saying the most important was that they bounced back, but brought the chefs down to Earth by asking them to come to a group consensus on which two of them should be nominated for elimination. During deliberation, he declared it sucked they have to send someone home, but he reminded half of them would go up. After, Jen said she was getting her heart out, but he called her a cold bitch saying she was feeling having a heart because she knew her ass would go on the chopping block. After Jen cheated on the vote process and left the conversation, he talked with Corey and Christina about how they could get rid of her. He declared he would not bother being nominated.
Petrozza was not nominated for elimination, and after Jen left, he gave a group hug with Corey and Christina, with Ramsay jokingly saying that even though he was fat, he was not that ugly. After that, Ramsay told him he was the last man standing once again, and he said he did not believe he was still there.
Episode 13
While going back upstairs, Petrozza hugged Corey, and on the patio, the three of them talked about how they were happy Jen was finally gone, with him saying Ramsay made the right decision. After that, he congratulated his two female teammates by giving high-fives, and he was impressed by the fact there was only three chefs left. Then, he went to bed, wishing his teammates good night.
The next morning, the chefs woke up and got ready for the day, when Petrozza said he did not know what was coming up. They lined up in the dining room, where Ramsay congratulated them for being the final three. Then, he announced he would cook lunch for them as a celebration, but before he did, he introduced them to some special guests, which were their loved ones. He was visited by his father and girlfriend. He really enjoyed that special time with his family, saying he was thrown away by their visit and starting crying. The families sat down to one table each where they ate Ramsay's dish. He did not care what he was eating as he wanted to enjoy the moment with his family. After the lunch, the chefs said goodbye to their families, who left, and lined up in front of Ramsay.
After that, Ramsay introduced the Taste It Now Make It Challenge, where each chef had 45 minutes to recreate the dish they have just eaten. When the countdown began, Petrozza went to the pantry room to look for some ingredients. He chose the filet of buffalo as his cut of meat, but changed his mind and went with the venison striploin. He also selected pancetta, carrots, onions, cabbage, and parsley for his vegetables, did not make any purée whatsoever, and for the sauce, he made a red wine reduction. He plated and served his dish in time. During the judging, Ramsay tasted his dish, and after revealing the correct protein was venison and some tense deliberation, he lost the challenge to Christina for not having a purée. He was furious at himself, asking why did he left the purée aside.
Petrozza, along with Corey, was punished by hand craving huge ice blocks by himself as the ice bags ran out, and polishing all the glasses from the restaurant under the supervision of Jean-Philippe. While he was breaking his ice block, he and Corey joked about how they were looking like cavemen, even imitating cavemen. When they moved on to the glass polishing, he said his shoulder was sore because of the way he was wiping the glasses, and then, Jean-Philippe came over and spotted some dirty spots that were still on the glasses, so he said he would do all of them one more time, much to his dismay.
During prep, Petrozza said there was no second place in Hell's Kitchen, only a first place. When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay declared that all of them would be running the hot plate during that service one at a time. After that, everybody got on their station, but Ramsay pulled him in the blue kitchen for an assertive test. Ramsay called him a gentle warm big-hearted lump, before simulating an undercooked Wellington mistake. After declaring he was a quiet man in life, he got very aggressive during that simulation, impressing Ramsay. When it was Corey's turn at that test, he heard a plate breaking, making him envious stating he also wanted to break a plate.
During dinner service, Petrozza was on the appetizer station. He completed four tables of appetizers in the first half-hour, and became the first chef to run the hot plate during that service. Under him, the kitchen ran very smoothly with a lot of appetizers being sent out. Then, Sous Chef Scott sent his first quality control test with a risotto without peas in it. Unfortunately, he failed to spot the mistake, and Ramsay told him, before he told Sous Chef Scott about it and asked him to start the risotto over. Ramsay told him to wake up, and he continued to send appetizers out. But, Christina brought an order of scallops which were too dark, and he asked her to redo them, and when she checked her salmon, it was overcooked and declared she needed three more minutes. The second salmon Christina brought to the pass was raw, which he was not happy about. He asked for the salmon, furious about waiting for the stuff and the fact that it was making him look bad, and when Christina brought it, she forgot the prawns. Ramsay noticed it and asked him to ask her where were they. Christina became confused, thinking she sent them. He was annoyed by her screwing up, but when she finally sent her prawns, he served them, and Ramsay congratulated him for being able to run the kitchen, and not the other way around. During Corey's turn, he acknowledged she was all business. For the last minutes of the service, Ramsay took the control of the kitchen back, and the team rallied to finish the tickets before moving on to desserts. The team completed service and the morale was very high.
When the chefs were lined up, Ramsay reminded Petrozza that he was careless on the hot plate without being bad, and asked each chef to nominate one person for elimination. On the patio, he acknowledged it was a lot of pressure put against them and said that Ramsay would base his decision on what they would say. He also said that all three of them had grew really close during the competition, and that his decision would be extremely difficult.
Petrozza named Christina as his nominee for elimination and received no votes. He was the first person who Ramsay announced made it to the finals, and moments later, he was joined by Christina, making both of them the finalists of Hell's Kitchen. After Corey left, Ramsay congratulated him and Christina, and both of them hugged each other. Then, Ramsay announced their final test would begin at the moment, and two screens fell from the ceiling, with the episode ending in a cliffhanger.
Episode 14
That episode began exactly at the point where the previous one left off. Two giant screens came down from the ceiling, and Petrozza was given the blue side of the restaurant. Ramsay tasked him and Christina to create their dream restaurant and their own menus. He was very emotional, saying it was a dream come true. Ramsay added that their restaurants would go head-to-head, concluded by saying they would meet the designer of the restaurant the following morning, and they went back to the dorms. On the patio, he got to work on his menu, but he declared it was hard for him despite having made menus all his life, and said to Christina that he would go to bed, before both of them congratulated each other. The next morning, he acknowledged it was time for him to design his menu, so he went on the patio to do it, but was still having a tough time.
36 hours before the final service, Petrozza was still not having a clue of what he would cook, and in the dining room, he acknowledged the stakes were high and that he had to focus in order to win. Then, he got a meeting with John Janavs, the architect of Hell's Kitchen, where he did not know what he would like to do, and Janavs was not convinced. But, he eventually got some ideas, and even proposed to put a lot of flower arrangements all over his dining room. Janavs was interested by the idea, and declared he got a lot of work to do. After that, he got a meeting with Jean-Philippe for the uniforms of their staff. He introduced some options by inviting some waiters wearing different outfits, and he was satisfied by those suggestion, even wanting to mix some of them into one new uniform. Then, he got in the blue kitchen to work on his menu, working with Sous Chef Scott. Finally, he had a clear idea of what he would put on his menu, with Sous Chef Scott loving his ideas. In the end, he was confident about his menu, saying it would rock.
After that, Jean-Philippe called Petrozza, along with Christina, to see Ramsay in his office immediately. Arrived in his office, both of them declared they were nervous, but Ramsay declared he was more nervous than them, even wondering if he had the right finalists. After some deliberation, he declared he knew he did, and both finalists were relieved. Then, Ramsay asked both of them to pack their bags as they would go to New York City on-the-spot. The excited finalists quickly came to the dorms and packed their bags, before leaving in the Hell's Kitchen SUVs. Meanwhile, the constructions in their restaurants began. They arrived at the runway where Ramsay waited for them, and jokingly told him that he was looking clean for once, before entering a private jet. He was excited as her never been in a private jet in his life, and during the ride, Ramsay recalled his hen-in-a-pumpkin signature dish on the first episode, as well as when he almost quit during the second episode before he was saved by Bobby. Ramsay also called him the dirtiest and messiest contestant in the history of the show, and recalled how messy his station was during the second black jacket service. Finally, he was impressed when Ramsay told Christina she won nine challenge, acknowledging she was good, but he was still determined to give all he had inside him. Then, all three of them arrived in New York City, where they rode in a limousine to Times Squares, where Ramsay introduced the finalists to a surprise, which was one of the Times Squares screens which could be read "NYC welcomes Christina and Petrozza Hell's Kitchen finalists" on it. He did not believe it was happening to him, and Ramsay got them another surprise by inviting both of them to Dubai, so they could spend five days there and come eat to his restaurant. Their next stop was the London West Hollywood of New York City, where they walked in the kitchen and met Ramsay's executive chef Josh Emett, before Ramsay gave the finalists their chefs jackets. When he was given his jacket, he could see himself working under Ramsay. Finally, Ramsay concluded by introducing the final challenge.
The finalists were given 45 minutes to cook their new signature dish. Petrozza made a filet mignon with a caramelized onion risotto in a red wine balsamic glaze, declaring he wanted to be the best and a star as cooking was the only thing he knew, and added his signature dish was unbeatable. During the judging, his dish was judged by five of Ramsay's executive chef. The first chef did not like his hair brushed onions, but gave him the point anyway. When the fourth judge said his risotto was not fitting well with his filet mignon, he questioned his judgement by saying he could change the way a risotto is being made. Despite that, he eventually won the challenge 3-2, and was awarded the first pick during the selection of the brigades. He was happy about it because that meant Christina would have to pick last. Finally, Ramsay introduced the finalists to Whoopi Goldberg, who was a big fan of the show and wished them good luck, before the finalists headed back to Hell's Kitchen.
Arrived in Hell's Kitchen, Petrozza was extremely satisfied with the progress that was made on his restaurant, and when he realized Christina was not satisfied with hers, he thought it was good for him. Both finalists went to their room to try and get some needed rest, but he wondered if he would be able to sleep that night. The next morning, he and Christina understood how much that day was important as it was his last day in Hell's Kitchen. He declared he had work all his life to get there. Then, the phone rang, and Ramsay ordered both of them to get down in the kitchen right away. Arrived in the red kitchen, Ramsay introduced both of them to their brigade, which included Bobby, Ben, Corey, Matt, Louross, and Jen. Because he won the challenge, his first selection was Bobby, declaring he was a rock star and that he could not pass that service without him. He followed by picking Ben, declaring he was talented and strong, and for the last pick, he was left between Jen or Matt, knowing those two were the most hated chefs of that season. But, before his decision was announced, the episode ended in a cliffhanger.
Episode 15
The episode began at the same place where the previous one left off. When Petrozza had to pick either Matt or Jen, he stated that Matt was a lunatic and that Jen could be a bitch. Eventually, he picked Jen as his last selection. After the selection was complete, he brought his team to the dorms, so he could brief them on his menu.
On the patio, Petrozza was feeling extremely great about his team, but when he declared that his prep list was not done yet and that he was overwhelmed, Jen was furious and suggested that he should make his list to put on the fridge door. During prep, he learned that his booths were not there yet, so he jokingly suggested Bobby could land a hand. He declared he was trusting Janavs but did not want to be scrambling at the last minute either. When he came back in the blue kitchen, he asked Jen if she was all right, but she did not answer and was giving attitude to everybody. When he asked her if she needed help, she declared he must not trust her to work on the line, leading him to say that she was being a bitch and doing the thing they were all knowing her for. Then, he told Jen to stay with him and focus, while adding that he would kick out her if she would give attitude during service.
One hour before service, Ramsay tasted the sample dishes from Petrozza's menu, which included a lobster strudel appetizer, his signature filet mignon with onion risotto entrée, and a vanilla soufflé with a whiskey crème anglaise dessert. Ramsay noticed his strudel was overcooked, the risotto of his filet mignon was too stiff, but he praised the soufflé, saying he was very brave to do that. He took Ramsay's advices and ran with it, saying he was a phenomenal chef. He added that there was some corrections to make, but that they would fix them. Ramsay commented his menu as being highly imaginative, which could be dangerous, but added that he would pull it off, it would be very successful.
30 minutes before service, Petrozza's booths finally arrived, and Ramsay said his dining room was rustic and nice, and that he was comfortable sitting at a table. He declared to Ramsay that his favorite part was the flowers, and Ramsay finished by saying he loved the fireplace as well. He declared that because of Ramsay's high standards, getting compliments on his restaurant by him was meaning everything. Minutes before opening, Ramsay declared to both finalists that for one of them, their next service would be in his restaurant in Los Angeles. In the blue kitchen, he asked his brigade if they were ready, which Ben answered that night was about him. He also declared that service was the most important of his life by 250,000, referring to his new salary if he would win. Finally, he said to his team that they all have to perform the service of their lives, before shaking Jen's hand and wishing her good luck.
During dinner service, Petrozza called his first ticket out with his team calling back immediately. He understood it was do or die for him as the following three hours would decide the fate of his life. Bobby gave three minutes for his strudel to be ready, and when he asked Bobby for the appetizers, they were still cold, and he told they would not be able to keep up if they would go down like that. So, he asked Bobby and Jen to put them back in the pan, acknowledging it would be his fault if he would let mistakes go by him. Because of that, he insisted his team to check everything they were doing. Ramsay commented that he was happy to see his quality control and seeing he was not accepting Bobby's strudels. On Bobby's second attempt, the appetizers were better, and he thanked him for that and served them. His quality control paid off as his customers were satisfied with their appetizers. Minutes later, he served appetizers to more than half of his customers. When he called the following ticket, Jen revealed they were out of cheese for the salad, discouraging him and saying it was a nightmare. Jen revealed she got enough for only four orders, but five were needed. Moments later, Bobby revealed he was also running out of strudels, discouraging Ramsay and him, who said that situation was tearing him apart. Ramsay ordered him to make a decision quickly, so he asked Bobby what could he bring, which he answered he could bring a risotto. He accepted that solution, acknowledging they had to bounce back. With that decision, food was getting out of the kitchen once again, and were well received by the customers. When food came back in the red kitchen, he saw that, thought it was good for him and wished Christina's food would keep coming back.
Much later, in Petrozza's dining room, the customers were waiting because he was taking too much time plating his dishes. Ramsay told him to hurry up and ask for help from his brigade, but he said he was reluctant to do it as he did not want to take them off their stations. But moments later, he understood Ramsay was right and asked for help from Ben and Jen, who helped him plate his food. With his brigade's help, he was finally getting his food out again, and the customers were extremely satisfied to receive their entrées. When he asked Jen for one last onion ring to send the table, she started to give him attitude by saying she knew already, annoying him, who said he could not make the table wait only for one onion ring from Jen. When she brought her onion ring to the pass, it was still undercooked, and he asked her for a crispy onion ring. He was so blown away by that mistake, saying she was only frying onion rings and that it should not have been that complicated. Jen continued to give himv attitude, and Ramsay told him to not let one of those bitches take his dream away from him. Then, he stated he could have done a better job than her with only one arm. Ramsay pulled him aside to say he need to control Jen as she was sabotaging her service, so he regrouped her and told to just cook the food, which Ramsay thanked him for. After that, she angrily sent her second attempt at the onion rings. Two hours into dinner service, Petrozza served 10 of his 13 tables, and eventually started to call out desserts, which the customers really enjoyed. When they were done, everybody was congratulating each other, even the two finalists.
After service, Ramsay congratulated both teams for a good service and everybody gave a big round of applause. Petrozza hugged his team before going back to the dorms with Christina. Back in the dorms, he declared he wanted to win very badly. When Ramsay got ready with his decision, both finalists went to his office. On their way, he declared he did not want to lose to Christina as she was only a kid, despite acknowledging she was a talented kid. Arrived in Ramsay's office, he stood in front of a door, knowing it would only open if he was the winner. The finalists wished each other good luck, put their hands on the handles, and waited nervously for Ramsay's countdown to end. When Ramsay ended his countdown, he turned his handle, but his door did not open.
Petrozza became the fourth runner-up of Hell's Kitchen, and took his defeat graciously by congratulating Christina and acknowledging it was a great experience where he met a lot of great people.
Nomination history
| Week 1 | Safe |
|---|---|
| Week 2 | Win |
| Week 3 | BoW |
| Week 4 | Safe |
| Week 5 | Safe |
| Week 6 | Safe |
| Week 7 | Nominated |
| Week 8 | Win |
| Week 9 | BoW |
| Week 10 | Safe |
| Week 11 | Safe |
| Week 12 | Safe |
| Week 13 | Safe |
| Finale | Runner-Up |
Trivia
- At age 47, he is the oldest contestant ever who made it to the black jackets, as well as the oldest who participated in the finals.
- He participated in the second different-gender finals of Hell's Kitchen.
- He is the fourth runner-up, and second male runner-up of Hell's Kitchen.
- He is the third contestant who nominated themselves for elimination, after Rachel did it on Season 2, and Jen on Season 3. He is also the first male contestant who did.
- After his appearance on the show, he returned to cooking and is now an Executive Chef at the Acorn Pub & Eatery within the Oak Mountain Ski Resort, in Speculator, New York.
Quotes
- "People ask me what my speciality is, but I don't have a speciality, I can cook anything."
- (After the Signature Dish Challenge:) "Chef Ramsay said he was looking for something memorable, and I believe that my dish was memorable."
- "I wanted to get the fucking food out!"
- "I'm gonna nominate myself, chef."
- "I already feel like a winner, I already feel like a winner."
- "You're trying to distract me, Chef!... ABAHBAABABAH!"