Michael DeMarco

 

“

I gave myself the nickname "Culinary Jesus" because I'm perfect and awesome and I have many followers in the kitchen.

”

Hometown	Scranton, PA
Occupation	Line Cook
Culinary Education	Johnson & Wales University
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	0 out of 1
Challenges Won	1
Services Won	0
Times as BoW/Announcer	0
Times Nominated	5
Placement	16th
Episode Eliminated	16 Chefs Compete

Michael DeMarco was a contestant on Season 12 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 16th place.

Season 12

Episode 1

Main article: Episode 1201 - 20 Chefs Compete

The twenty new chefs rode on a bus on route to Hell's Kitchen and during this time they had the opportunity to get to know each other. DeMarco called himself the culinary Jesus due to being perfect and awesome while having followers in the kitchen. Upon arrival, they were greeted by Jean-Philippe who walked the chefs into Hell’s Kitchen, but they walked into a service already going on with the food receiving positive comments and Ramsay expressing that the chefs in the kitchen were doing a splendid job. That confused the chefs as he asked why there were chefs in the blue kitchen, and once the service ended, Ramsay approached them and welcomed them. Ramsay explained that he did a soft opening to showcase the chefs what his expectations were, and asked if they could perform a service like the one they saw. Everybody promised they would, and Ramsay revealed that the winner would become a Head Chef at one of his restaurants, but first, they had to survive Hell’s Kitchen in Los Angeles, a place he deemed the capital of entertainment. Shortly after, patrons of the restaurant began putting on a performance. Afterwards, Ramsay announced it was time for the Signature Dish Challenge.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, DeMarco was the eighth person from the blue to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Beth. He made ricotta gnocchi, Ramsay deemed it doughy and undercooked, and he lost that round to Beth. The blue team lost the challenge 4-5, and they were punished by resetting the dining room ahead of the opening service. During the punishment, he annoyingly took notice of Mike standing around and doing nothing.

During dinner service, DeMarco was on the fish station with Gabriel. At one point, he sent up an overcooked lobster tail that Anton deemed nasty. Later, Gabriel told him to leave the lobster tail in the butter as he refused to send out raw food. Unfortunately, he sent up an overcooked lobster tail that Ramsay compared to an elastic band, to Anton’s dismay, only for him to blame Gabriel for that mistake. Eventually, the blue team got kicked out of the kitchen after multiple mistakes. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, Anton recalled the number of lobster tails being overcooked, but he blamed Gabriel for holding him back that night. However, Gabriel retorted that his lobster tails had more problems, and the former nominated him.

DeMarco was named the blue team's second nominee, with Gaurav being the first, and they joined Sandra and Nicole from the red team. During his plea, he blamed Gabriel for not having a system together, but Ramsay reminded him they had a fucked-up system that night. He survived elimination, and while being dismissed, he realized it was not a joke anymore and that he had to take the gloves out.

Episode 2

Main article: Episode 1202 - 19 Chefs Compete

While going back to the dorms, DeMarco called his nomination the worst moment of his life. The next day, at 4:33 AM, the chefs awoke to the sounds of dirt bikes revving in the dorms, and Sous Chef Andi told the chefs to meet Ramsay outside.

During the Basics Relay Challenge, Demarco was paired with Richard, they were the first pair from the blue team to compete, and their task was to peel and de-vein twelve shrimp. He peeled while Richard de-veined, and they managed to get all of their shrimp accepted. However, Richard struggled to get his tricycle moving until DeMarco gave him a push. The blue team won the challenge 5-4 and were rewarded with a trip to San Francisco, ate lunch with Ramsay at Epic Roasthouse for lunch, and went on a VIP trip around San Francisco on Segways. During the reward, he called the restaurant unbelievable, especially with the Bay Bridge in the background.

During dinner service, DeMarco was on the appetizer station with Jason. At one point, he placed his tuna on a cold pan when it was supposed to be searing, and Anton deemed him pathetic as a three-year-old knew that. After, Ramsay threatened him with elimination if he could not sear a tuna properly. However, he believed he knew how to sear tuna, but claimed there was an incredible amount of pressure in Hell’s Kitchen as he served a decent serving to Ramsay’s approval, even though he asked the former if the pan was searing. Eventually, the blue team got kicked out of the kitchen after multiple mistakes. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, Anton immediately deemed him as one of the men’s weakest links, but while he argued he did not serve pink chicken that night, the former reminded him how simple searing a tuna should have been. However, he argued that appetizers did not crash and burn over his tuna.

DeMarco was named the blue team's first nominee, with Gabriel being the second, and they joined Beth and Simone from the red team. During his plea, Ramsay asked him if he was in over his head, but the latter disagreed as he knew he could deliver. He survived elimination.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 1203 - 18 Chefs Compete

The next day, at 5:45 AM, the chefs were woken to the sound of pigs squealing and a farmer yelling very loud. During the Potato Challenge, DeMarco was not seen during part 1, but the blue team won 100-90. During part 2, his dish was not chosen for the top five. The blue team lost the challenge 16-18, and they were punished by cleaning the livestock out in the pen.

During prep, DeMarco accidentally sliced his finger while slicing potatoes on the mandolin, and Anton informed the men to their shock. Sous Chef James told him he was taking him to urgent care, while Mike claimed he would have wrapped his fingers together even if the slice was at his knuckles, before believing that some people cannot handle it.

In the middle of service, DeMarco came back from the urgent care, but while the men celebrated his return, Ramsay chewed them out for looking like idiots. After, he joined Scott on meat. At one point, he realized he forgot to leave the bone on his chicken and had to do a refire. Scott was forced to tell Ramsay the bad news, leaving the latter angrily confused over their situation and refused to send out an incomplete table, before ordering a refire. After, Scott felt he could not get it together as it was taking too long for a simple chicken. Eventually, the blue team was kicked out after multiple mistakes. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate three each. During deliberation, both Jason and Ralph considered him as the latter deemed him a dumb fuck, and he, Anton, and Scott had to go in between Jason and Mike before their argument got physical.

DeMarco was named the blue team's second nominee for elimination, with Mike as the first, and Chris as the third. He and Mike were called up to the front with Simone from the red team, ordered to hand over his jacket, and Ramsay gave him ten seconds each to plead his case. During his plea, he just wanted to cook and lead despite not having a lot of confidence. He survived elimination, but before heading back in line, Ramsay tossed him back his jacket.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 1204 - 17 Chefs Compete

Back at the dorms, DeMarco said he was better than Mike and he would hang himself if he were eliminated over the latter, declaring Mike had to go with his Jersey attitude and dumb tattoos. He added that if you were at elimination twice, your confidence decreases, but Jason told him to not say he was not confident and asked him to scream his confidence at them. He did so, but when Richard had Jason demonstrate, the latter screamed louder.

During the Lobster Ravioli Challenge, DeMarco was in a three-man team with Mike and Gabriel. At one point, he said that the rest of their team were putting out acceptable dishes at a fast pace, but felt Mike was just standing there and doing nothing there, before calling him useless. Later, he tried to reroll already prepared ravioli to Mike’s annoyance. They were seen sending up only one attempt, but it was rejected as Ramsay said that the pasta was way too thick.

The blue team lost the challenge 9-10, with Ramsay, in particular, calling Gabriel, DeMarco, and Mike "Dumber and Dumber and Dumber". They were punished by cleaning up the pennies worth $200,000, as well as clean and prep both kitchens for that night’s service. During the punishment, on a break, Scott said that he and Mike were not helping much, which Jason and Ralph agreed to as the former said they had to trim the fat off, and the latter accused him and Mike of not doing shit for the team. When Mike said it was not his fault that one ravioli was overcooked, he sarcastically said that Mike was never at fault, causing an argument between them. While cleaning up the pennies, Anton asked him and Mike what was missing from them. He replied that they needed to communicate more, but said Mike did not want to work with anyone, causing the latter to tell him to suck his cock.

During prep, Jason told DeMarco to step up, and he knew it could be his last chance as unless the men win and he himself performs well, he could be going home, and had to prove to his team he could cook. During the Steak Night dinner service, he was on the fish station with Jason. After Ralph sent up a ravioli with no lobster in it, Ramsay brought the dish back to the men and asked them what was missing, but while most of them said lobster, he accidentally said crab. After the men continued to perform poorly, he said that their service was sinking like the Titanic. In the back hallway, he saw the women working together, comparing them to both a machine and the Russian military.

The blue team lost the service after receiving help from the red team, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, DeMarco called the men's service a fucking abomination and was disgusted that a station ran by two men failed to deliver. When Scott asked where the hang-ups began, he blamed meat and appetizers. When Anton reminded him about having three bad services in a row, he angrily realized he was being pushed out as the others refused to accept their mistakes and called them out on that.

DeMarco was the blue team's second nominee, with Mike as the first. During his plea, felt he was ready that night, was not the weakest link of that night, and cared compared to Mike. He survived elimination, and while being dismissed, he refused to quit no matter what.

Episode 5

Main article: Episode 1205 - 16 Chefs Compete

During the Creative Memory Challenge, DeMarco was paired up with Chris, but at one point, he tried to find match on the same side, instead of the other, much to the women's humor. They were able to match couscous, but as the men tried to match up their sides with the proteins, he wondered what the men would do will all those potatoes. During the cooking, he suggested using a pom ampour sauce, but Chris turned down that idea even though he wanted to help. They cooked the pork chop, they were the second pair from the blue team to have their dish judged by Ramsay, and went up against the pair of Kashia and Jessica. They made a pork chop with cranberry and fig polenta stuffed roulade and purée, it was praised for pulling something very complicated off, even though he was disappointed that Chris got most of the praise, and they scored that round. The blue team eventually lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by harvesting fresh honey, making 100 pounds of honey taffy, and drinking sardine shakes. During the punishment, he was tired of losing and was not thrilled at the idea that he was going to get stung by bees. DeMarco's suit was too small, and as the men tried to tighten it, he felt like an idiot.

Later that night, the men gathered at the patio as Gabriel knew they were all there to make a life for themselves, and Anton wanted to know why they were all there. DeMarco said he wanted to prove to people he could do it, revealing that his father left him when he was six months old and that the latter did not want anything to do with him. The men praised him for his honesty, and the latter told the viewers that he really wanted to win.

During the Wedding brunch service, DeMarco was on the Croque monsieur station with Ralph. At one point, he was grateful that it was an easy wedding menu because he did not want to mess it up, and then, he told Ralph that one of their eggs needed more time to cook, but the latter claimed that it was how it should be. However, Ramsay deemed the egg raw, but blamed him for sending it up even though he knew it was Ralph’s fault. The blue team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he brought up the raw egg incident towards Ralph, but the latter wanted one from his station and one from the Croque monsieur station before nominating him and Gabriel. Despite Gabriel arguing that he should not go up, Ralph was looking at the overall picture as he was not spectacular, but he suggested that Gabriel and Richard go up instead for holding the men up, even saying that he was able to cook perfect scrambled eggs when he was eight-years-old. However, Anton and Jason did not want excuses as they were judging by overall, which he did not like and yelled at the men for their thought process.

DeMarco was named the blue team's first nominee for elimination, with Gabriel as the second, and they were joined by Richard. During his plea, he said he was accountable for his actions and admitted to sending up Ralph’s raw egg to the pass, but Ramsay was not happy that he was prepared to send up somebody’s shit to the window, reminding him that he was already in enough shit with him as it was. He was eliminated as it was his fifth nomination in a row, and Ramsay said he officially ran out of chances because he could not see him back in the front again. During his exit interview, he felt the men had it in for him since the start, and that they took away his dream of being a head chef, but added on that he was not going to stop being a chef as he had a lot to prove.

Ramsay's comment: "DeMarco, Demented, Demoted, Denied."

Nomination History

Week 1	Nominated
Week 2	Nominated
Week 3	Nominated
Week 4	Nominated
Week 5	Nominated

Post Hell's Kitchen

• After his appearance on the show, DeMarco returned to his role as Executive Chef at Churchill's Pub Savannah.
• He currently works for Sysco.

Trivia

• He holds the record for the longest tenure of any contestant who was nominated every service they took part in, with five, and being the only contestant of the season to be nominated in all of the dinner service during his tenure.
• He is the seventh contestant to be nominated four times in a row, following Virginia (Season 2), Fran, Autumn (both from Season 7), Trev (Season 8), Elise (Season 9), and Robyn (Season 10).
• He is the fifth contestant to have survived a fourth consecutive nomination, following Virginia (Season 2), Autumn (Season 7), Trev (Season 8), and Elise (Season 9). He is also the first contestant in this bunch who did not make it to the black jackets.
• He holds the record for the most consecutive nominations in the show's history, with five. He is tied with Josh (Season 14).
• He and Gabriel are the fourth and fifth contestants respectively whose show names were their surname, following Dewberry (Season 1), Petrozza (Season 4), and Curtis (Season 8).
• He is the only contestant in the history of Hell's Kitchen to be nominated in every episode he appeared in, at least 5 episodes.
• At 16th place, he is the lowest ranking contestant to be nominated 5 times.
• He holds the record for the longest tenure without winning a dinner service, with five services. This record is tied with Tek (Season 6) and Payton (Season 20).

Quotes

• "I gave myself the nickname "Culinary Jesus" because I'm perfect and awesome and I have many followers in the kitchen."
• "I'm better than that guy (Mike). I could fucking guarantee that. If I had to go home and he (Mike) didn't, I'd fucking hang myself."
• (About Mike) "Mike has to go. You know, with the Jersey hair, and his earrings, and his (bossy) attitude, and his stupid dumbass (Hell's Kitchen logo on the back of his neck) tattoo. HE SUCKS!"
• "When you're on elimination twice, your confidence goes (thumbs down and farting)."
• (Talked back to Mike) "MIKE SUCKS!!!"
• (After blue team gets multiple types of potatoes to cook with) "What are we gonna do with all these fucking potatoes?"
• (After being eliminated) "The blue team had it in for me from the beginning. No matter what I did, it wasn't good enough. My team took away the chance for me to be head chef and it kills me. But this isn't the end. I know I can cook and I have a lot to prove to a lot of people."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

DeMarco's Intro Spot

DeMarco in Blue Jacket

DeMarco's Confessional

Nicole, Sandra, DeMarco, and Gaurav Nominated

Simone, Beth, DeMarco, and Gabriel Nominated

Simone, Mike, and DeMarco Nominated

DeMarco and Mike Nominated

DeMarco, Richard, and Gabriel Nominated

DeMarco Eliminated

DeMarco's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

DeMarco and Chris's Creative Memory Ingredient Dish (Pork Chop) (Episode 5)

External links

• Michael DeMarco on Instagram