“ | I don't give a shit if I'm on the black team, the purple team, the pink team, the team with no shirts on... I don't give a damn, I'm here to win Hell's Kitchen! | ” |
Robert Hesse was a contestant on Seasons 5 and 6 of Hell's Kitchen. In Season 5, he ranked in 5th place, and in Season 6, he ranked in 10th place.
Season 5[]
Episode 1[]
- Main article: Episode 501 - 16 Chefs Compete
Thousands of chefs auditioned for Hell's Kitchen in the series' biggest turnout. However, only three hundred arrived at Hell’s Kitchen and met Jean-Philippe and Ramsay. Out of the three hundred, sixteen were selected to compete. Jean-Philippe began calling out the chefs chosen to compete. While not seen, Robert was one of the sixteen called to compete.
During the Signature Dish Challenge, Robert was the fourth person to have his dish judged by Ramsay. When Ramsay unveiled the dish, he asked who made the camel hoof. He said he did and told the viewers he did not care about his weight problem. He called himself an underdog like Rocky. He made a potato and white truffle-wrapped Chilean sea bass. It was cooked nicely, but it had a disgusting sauce. Ramsay said the dish was clumsy like himself. When he went back in line, he said he was not an oaf like Shrek because he could bang it out.
After the challenge, Robert got excited about the grand prize as his friends went to the Borgata. Ramsay asked both teams to decide on a team name for the opening night. He suggested Blues Brothers, and Seth liked the name. Ramsay liked the name when he heard it.
Robert was at the appetizer station with Ben during dinner service. He started loudly repeating the appetizer order in the middle of Ramsay’s call out. After being forced to call it out, Ramsay threatened to send him to a hot boiling bath if he would do it again. His first order of spaghetti came out raw, and Ramsay told him to move his butt. During the power outage, he told Danny to keep his words to himself in the blue kitchen and never argue with Ramsay again. He knew Danny had to learn to shut up. After the power came back on, he and Ben got their appetizers out. When he saw Wil struggling on the garnish station, he went to his aid. The blue team lost the dinner service because of Giovanni's poor performance as a waiter. They were asked to nominate two people for elimination.
Robert was not nominated for elimination. When Ramsay asked for his opinion about the two nominees, he said he would trust Wil more than Seth. While Robert offered to take Wil's place on the chopping block, he chose not to, declaring that Wil nominated himself and that he was respecting Wil's decision. While being dismissed, he was mad that Seth survived over Wil.[1]
Episode 2[]
- Main article: Episode 502 - 15 Chefs Compete
The following day at 5:49 AM, a marching band came into the dorms and played loudly, and the chefs woke up. Robert struggled to run without tripping. Sous Chefs Scott and Gloria ordered the chefs to get downstairs, and they were led outside to find Ramsay. Wanting both teams to learn how to respect their products, Ramsay had them go to their crates and gather all the scallops into their colored buckets. During the Scallop Cleaning Challenge, he tried to be careful, so he did not lose a finger. After seeing Giovanni's strong performance, he was impressed by the former's performance and saw the women's look of dread across the room. He kept it going with five of his scallops accepted. After seeing J's poor performance, he prayed for at least one point from the former.
The blue team won the challenge 36-35. They were rewarded with a helicopter tour of Catalina Island and a submarine ride. Before leaving, Ramsay called Robert over to his office. The helicopter insurance could not allow anyone over 300 pounds. Since he weighed 400 pounds, he had to take a ferry to the island. That disappointed him as he already had problems with society over his weight and felt singled out. However, he was happy about the ferry trip. He was on the ferry during the reward and eventually made it to the island. Unfortunately, by the time he made it, the reward was over. That upset him as he only got a free ferry ride compared to his teammates.
Before dinner service, Ramsay assigned Robert to run the raw bar for the blue team. However, he was not thrilled about serving customers due to his large size. At the start of dinner service, he was seen getting the raw bar ready. Jean-Philippe noticed that he was sweating, and he reminded the former that he was 400 pounds. At one point, he was sending up the raw appetizers to his tables and decided to pour on the charm for the customers. At one table, he explained to the customers what his tattoo was. One table told Jean-Philippe that he was doing great, pleasing the former. The blue team won the service.
At elimination, Robert participated in the emotional standing ovation given to Ji because of her departure, along with his teammates and the red team.[2]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 503 - 14 Chefs Compete
The following morning, the Sous Chefs woke up the contestants at 6 AM with cowbells and told them to get dressed and out the front door to the SUVs. The barely awoke chefs were driven to an unknown place. It turned out it was a meat processing plant, and they took a tour. Robert got disgusted upon seeing the different organs, blood, and cattle bodies all around the plant.
During the Meat & Cow Challenge, Robert was the third person on his team to attempt the second half of the challenge. He finished six incorrect answers. The blue team eventually won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a private jet trip to Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez, California, where they had a wine tasting and a steak dinner with Ramsay. Before leaving, he showed the women his wedding shoes and revealed that he gave up his wedding, which was supposed to happen the following day, to be in Hell’s Kitchen. The women joked with him about doing a bachelor party for him while telling him he looked nice. Lacey called him a sweet person and said she respected him for not giving up a huge opportunity. He said it was the best day of his life during the reward, and he felt like he was on top of the world.
Before dinner service, Robert's teammates decided to honor their service for him and his fiancé, as that night would have been his wedding day. During the Steakhouse double service, Robert was at the meat station with Giovanni for the first seating. When one of their steaks was sent back for being raw, Ramsay called him and Giovanni down to touch it. After the first seating, he was distraught since he felt he had embarrassed himself, his fiancé, and his family that night. During the second seating, during which he was a waiter, he was not seen much. The blue team lost the dinner service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he and Danny agreed with Seth about nominating Giovanni.
He was not nominated for elimination.[3]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 504 - 13 Chefs Compete
Back at the dorms, Robert decided to entertain the other chefs with his Ramsay impersonation. His antics cracked everyone up, and Andrea thought he did a great job impersonating Ramsay.
During the Football Team & Cheerleaders Breakfast Service Challenge, Robert was at the hash brown station with J. At one point, Ramsay pulled him and J over when they poorly served hash browns on their plates. Ramsay yelled they were not serving pigs, though he blamed J for the poor plating. The blue team lost the service, and he blamed Seth for slowing them down on the scrambled eggs. They were punished by cleaning up the dining room, both kitchens, and prepping them for that night’s service. During the punishment, he admitted to Danny that he did not like how Ben argued with him, especially since it made Danny look small by comparison. The two agreed to take the chance of getting Ben out. Later, he told Giovanni about his plan, and the latter agreed with him. When the red team came back from their reward and mocked them, he was determined to beat them that night.
During dinner service, Robert was at the dessert station. He compared Ben's thin lamb to carpaccio on a bone at one point. Both teams were named joint losers, and they were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, he said it was hard as he saw Seth's cloth incident, Ben's thin lamb, and J's lettuce butt incident. Continuing with the butt incident, he said there was no excuse for making a mistake in a professional setting.
Robert was not nominated for elimination. After Seth's elimination, he welcomed Lacey as a new teammate, but he was unhappy. While being dismissed, he was not happy to get rid of dead weight from Seth and gain dead weight from Lacey.[4]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 505 - 12 Chefs Compete
Back at the dorms, Robert tried to play nice, but he knew Lacey was cancerous for the blue team.
Before the Asian Fusion Challenge, Robert said he loved fusion cuisine as he could make a Captain Crunch breaded filet mignon. He was paired up with Danny on the poultry dish. They were the first pair from the blue team to have their dish judged and went up against the pair of Carol and Coi from the red team. They made a pad Thai BBQ chicken, and he said that having Ramsay taste his dish was nerve-wracking. Both Ramsay and Tanya Steele praised it for the seasoning and the southern inspiration. They scored that round over the pair of Carol and Coi. The blue team lost the challenge 1-2, and he dismayingly knew women stuck together. They were punished by making fortune cookies and decorating the entire dining room with origami. During the punishment, he could not understand why Ramsay put Lacey on the blue team and said he hated her.
During dinner service, Robert was at the fish station. At one point, Ramsay asked him to pick up the pace in the blue kitchen, calling him 'Bobby' in the process. However, that infuriated him as Bobby was his abusive father’s name, and he had a horrible childhood. Feeling that Ramsay crossed a line, he went silent on Ramsay and threw out a John Dory in the bin. Ramsay saw that and soon discovered multiple orders that he threw out. He claimed they were not good and did not want to send it to Ramsay. However, he said that without looking Ramsay in the eyes, leading the latter to pull him into the pantry. Once again, he said he did not want to send out any poor food in Ramsay's name, but the latter told him not to use his name as an excuse to throw out food. Ramsay told him to concentrate and wake up. He admitted it took a lot of effort not to lash out at Ramsay and mooned the confessional camera while telling Ramsay to kiss his ass. Then, Ramsay went straight to his face and ordered him to bounce back and stop messing around.
After the service ended, Ramsay asked Robert about his attitude problem during service, but he said he would like to talk about it privately. Both teams were named joint losers and Giovanni was named the "Best of the Worst" for the blue team. As the chefs returned to the dorms, he explained his father issues to the red team and how angry he got when Ramsay called him Bobby. He thought Ramsay would relate to him as he knew the latter also had a terrible father. Then, Ramsay called the dorms and asked him to come down. Once in the office, he explained to Ramsay that his father, named Bobby, was abusive to him and that he had a rough childhood. Now fully understanding his situation, Ramsay apologized for calling him Bobby and promised never to call him that again. During deliberation, he knew it was either himself or J and hoped only for Giovanni to look at the bigger picture.
Robert was not nominated for elimination. Giovanni stated that although he had a bad night of his own, he was able to rebound quicker than J, even by a fraction. Ramsay reluctantly agreed with Giovanni's statement but told Robert to wake up. While being dismissed, he felt he got beat up by a heavyweight that night.[5]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 506 - 11 Chefs Compete
During the Bar Mitzvah Planning Challenge, Robert wanted to do the hamburger dish since he knew what made up a good burger. He was the final person from the blue team to have his dish judged and went up against Carol. He presented the blue team's Kobe beef burger, and Giovanni knew he could make a mean burger. Max deemed it excellent, but before the former could decide, he and Carol tried to present their dishes as the better ones. Still, Ramsay told the two not to manipulate Max's decision. In the end, Max gave the blue team's burger the win, and the blue team won the challenge 2-1. He was proud they won on a burger.
The blue team was rewarded with a trip to Skin Haven spa for a day of relaxation. Robert said he considered himself a man for using a loofa during the reward.
During the Bar Mitzvah dinner service, Robert was at the garnish station. As Ramsay kept asking Lacey for the beef, he tried to look for the old woman from the Wendy's commercial. When Max played with the Harlem Globetrotters, he said he remembered them from Scooby-Doo. The blue team won the service.[6]
Episode 7[]
- Main article: Episode 507 - 10 Chefs Compete
Before the Leftovers Challenge, Robert and the blue team said goodbye to Giovanni, who had just been transferred to the red team. He was unhappy that Ramsay gave the blue team the weakest woman, Lacey, and the red team the strongest man, Giovanni. During the challenge, he stated he was starting to lose patience with Lacey and could not understand why Ramsay wanted to amuse himself with the latter, as he calls her a fat bitch. He was the third person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Carol. He made a peppered pasta with butternut squash and pan-seared lamb loin. Although it looked too big for a tapa dish, the flavours were spot on. He scored that round, and he told his mother Ramsay praised her original idea.
The blue team lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by prepping both kitchens for that night’s service and polishing the tapa plates. Lacey had no idea where to put the plates during the punishment, despite Robert telling her to take them outside for polishing. Later, he and Lacey got into an argument when he pointed out how she forgot to take the paper out of the tray before putting it into the oven. Still, he said he wanted to mentally Jedi choke Lacey as he had enough. Lacey got annoyed with him yelling at her, but J and Danny reminded her he was trying to help her. Afterwards, he wanted Lacey to go home, while the latter told him to say it to her face instead of mumbling it. Still, he said that Lacey sucked and said she needed to go to a psychiatric ward for therapy.
During dinner service, Robert was at the dessert station. When J revealed he overcooked all the rice, he said the former sucked despite liking him. When J struggled with timings, he was annoyed by the former's problems as J was not recovering. After J's automatic elimination, he was moved to the fish station. He compared the change up to getting hit by a semi-truck and told Lacey what was going on. Despite the blue team finishing service, he knew that their morale was very low due to their struggles at the beginning.
The blue team lost the service, and each team member was asked to nominate one person for elimination. Robert reminded Lacey that her threat to quit during punishment was unacceptable during deliberation. He said he was getting stressed over Lacey's attitude and reminded her that she left them at punishment, similar to how she did with the red team in an earlier punishment. Robert said she did not care about anyone other than herself and only cared when it was convenient for her own goals. In response, Lacey called him an asshole and wanted to nominate him for elimination. He told Lacey he would become a crack whore if she won the competition.
Ramsay asked the blue team who they wanted to see go home and why at elimination. Robert wanted Lacey gone as her earlier threat to quit angered him, as it showed she did not care. After he made his rant, Ramsay asked him if it felt good to get it off his chest. He said it did. Although he received a vote from Lacey, he survived elimination as Ramsay did not call him down to the front. While being dismissed, he called Lacey a cockroach but knew her luck would eventually run out.[7]
Episode 8[]
- Main article: Episode 508 - 9 Chefs Compete
Back at the dorms, Robert told Lacey she should be learning from people with more experience like himself instead of fighting with them as she did with the red team.
Before the Blind Taste Test, Robert was relieved he was not the only idiot in the room after everyone failed to identify the tartares. He was the second person from the blue team to compete and went up against Giovanni. He failed to correctly guess a single ingredient, and Ben was astounded that he missed lobster and truffles. Still, he said he was not blind or deaf as he cooked with all senses. The blue team lost the challenge 7-8, and they were punished by serving lunch to the red team and prepping both kitchens for that night’s dinner service. That dismayed him and Danny as it was the blue team's third time doing it.
During prep, Robert asked Lacey to move some dirty dishes out of the way, but the latter rudely said she will. During dinner service, he was at the appetizer. He said he loved working on hot apps as he considered it his home. However, he made too much spaghetti for one table, and Ramsay reminded him he was not cooking for himself. Ben was sent to help him out, but he wanted to cook by himself. Ben called out timings when it was not his place, much to his annoyance. Because of Ben's help, he was able to send appetizers out to the diners. One hour into service, he continued to push appetizers out of the blue kitchen, even ripping his pants. Despite having his underpants out in the open, he did not mind it as he did not care if he cooked in his boxer shorts. After Lacey was eliminated mid-service, he was relieved that she was finally gone and was reassigned to the fish station after Danny was moved to meat. When the blue team was near the end of service, he said the three kicked ass that night, and they came together. After finishing their final order, he was incredibly proud that they were able to fight back and serve all their tables. The blue team won the service by a mile over the red team.[8]
Episode 9[]
- Main article: Episode 509 - 7 Chefs Compete
Before the Red King Crab Challenge, Robert listed off Kung pow chicken, and chicken livers and hot sauce when Ramsay asked for examples of chicken dishes. When Ramsay revealed they would be cooking red king crab, he wanted some butter and a metal bucket. Ben thought his dish was the best of the blue team during the challenge and had him and Danny taste it. He liked it and was blown away by the vanilla. He made an unknown dish and did not have it judged.
The blue team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a day at the Santa Monica State Beach with Ramsay for lunch and a Segway ride. Robert was happy to go to the beach, and before leaving, he decided to leave his boxer shorts for the red team to clean up as part of their punishment. When the blue team walked past the red team, he told them to clean his dirty underwear, disgusting Andrea. During the reward, he had to ride a bicycle due to the weight limit on the Segways, disappointing him as it was another thing he had to miss out on. During lunch, he enjoyed his lobster.
Before dinner service, both teams were asked to develop their own menus. Robert pushed for Danny's crab dish as the special and suggested carpaccio during the menu designing. When Ben suggested a light shallow poach for the halibut, he imagined two older women ordering that on the menu. When Ben suggested pomme fondants, he reluctantly agreed to put it on the menu despite claiming he would never order that. During prep, he and Ben argued over his speed while prepping. Ben thought he was moving slowly, but he knew their egos were beginning to clash.
During dinner service, Robert was on the meat and fish stations. After tasting Ben's salty bisque, he said it was disgusting. He miscalculated one of his halibut orders due to working at both the fish and meat stations, and he needed three more minutes. Even though Ben saw that he was working hard, the former thought he was not up to his or Danny's level. Ramsay was angry that he had forgotten the order, which meant he was dragging the blue kitchen down. He argued that he was working meat and fish that night, which meant he worked twice as hard as everyone else. Still, Ramsay told him not to give up. Then, Ramsay looked at his filets and noticed they were not the same size. He said he did not cut them during prep, but Ben took the blame for poorly cutting them. Ramsay accused Ben of sabotaging him, but the latter said he was not as he gave everything that night. Ramsay was discouraged when he saw Ben's poorly cut portions in the fridge, and he thought the latter was trying to sabotage him. When they got the desserts ready, he and Ben got into an argument about his slow momentum, which caused Ramsay to once again accuse Ben of trying to sabotage him.
The blue team was declared losers after only 39% of their diners rated the food above average, compared to the red team's 54%. Danny was named "Best of the Worst". During deliberation, Ben pleaded his case to Danny on why he should stay, claiming that he was faster than Robert. In contrast, he said he brought it in services and called himself a diamond in the rough. However, Ben did not consider him worthwhile as a teammate and as an individual.
Robert was not nominated by Danny but eventually joined Ben after being nominated by Ramsay. During his plea, he said he put a lot for the customers and thought he was better than any other chef in the room, claiming that the underdog should not be underestimated. He survived elimination. While being dismissed, he said he belonged in Hell's Kitchen as he was proud of what he had made.[9]
Episode 10[]
- Main article: Episode 510 - 6 Chefs Compete
Back at the dorms, Robert claimed he would not have thrown Ben under the bus as he answered Ramsay's question honestly. Still, he said he was not here to make any friends to get himself further in the competition.
Ramsay merged the remaining six chefs into the black jackets the following morning, and Robert received his. He was happy to receive his black jacket. Before the 14 Ingredients Challenge, he said he was ready for the individual portion of the competition. He was the fourth person to have his dish judged by Ramsay and presented his chicken cacciatore with deep-fried capers. It was deemed a little dry but flavorable. Still, he knew it was a brain fart on his part. He lost the challenge to Ben, but the latter chose him to come on the reward. They went to San Francisco with Ramsay for a tour around the city. Although he was excited as he had never gone to San Fransisco before, he felt a little guilty as he knew Danny had the second-best dish in the group and thought the latter deserved the reward more than himself. As everyone congratulated Ben, he saw how angry Danny was based on his face.
During the reward, Robert felt a lot of gratitude for Ben for picking him on the reward. On a trolley ride, he called the experience great. When the trio ate at the chef's table at One Market, he felt he was up there with the rich people. Ramsay told him and Ben to take this moment and run with it for the following service, and they toasted for the day.
During prep, Robert knew Ramsay would expect more from them as the final six and wanted to step up for that night. During dinner service, he was at the fish station. He brought up his scallops, but they were overcooked and rubbery as they were smaller than expected. He compared the scallops to the size of quarters, and Ramsay refused to get any more rubbery scallops. When Andrea struggled on garnish, he knew that garnish must be thirty seconds ahead of the other stations, and they were doomed if Andrea did not know what the tickets were. After, he was caught cooking bacon and John Dory in the same pan, which caused Ramsay to chew him out as it could lead to someone having an allergic reaction. He casually agreed with Ramsay, but that made the latter angrier. He admitted to making a big mistake, but he knew he had it as he was a bull. Later, he and Ben got shocked about the infamous "dickface" moment. When Giovanni stuttered on communication, he and Andrea struggled. He was forced to start over because of the stuttering and then start again when Giovanni called out four minutes. That caused Ramsay to pull all three of them aside as the former called him out for being behind. Ramsay ordered the trio to work together, and he went to help Giovanni out on the Wellingtons. However, he accidentally burned his hand on an uncovered hot pan in the fridge and left to see a medic. That angered him as Giovanni did not tell anyone he had a hot pan in the fridge. When it turned out he sustained a second-degree burn, Ramsay chewed Giovanni out for his careless mistake. Still, Giovanni felt horrible as he burned him by accident. Giovanni tried to apologize when he came back, but he ignored him.
After service was shut down, Ramsay chewed out Robert for his mediocre performance. Paula was named "Best of the Worst". Giovanni apologized to him for his burn during deliberation as he never meant to hurt someone in the kitchen. However, he chewed Giovanni out for leaving a hot pan in the fridge uncovered. As Paula went over her choices, she thought he was teetering tottering that night.
Robert was not nominated for elimination, but Ramsay expressed disappointment in his poor performance. After elimination, everyone was in bed sleeping by 2:14 AM, but a phone call from Ramsay woke up everybody. Ramsay ordered everyone back downstairs, with their jackets on, immediately. Once downstairs, Ramsay stated he was very disappointed in their poor performance and asked how could the final six perform so poorly that night. Afterwards, Ramsay announced that after that night, he was shutting down Hell’s Kitchen, ending the episode in a cliffhanger.[10]
Episode 11[]
- Main article: Episode 511 - 5 Chefs Compete
Continuing from the previous episode, Ramsay announced he was shutting down Hell’s Kitchen, much to the shock and disappointment of the final five. Robert was displeased at Ramsay for snatching away his dream. However, Ramsay revealed that they would be leaving for Atlantic City to visit the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa for a few days. Everyone was shocked and relieved by the news, and he almost fainted from the news. Ramsay said the final five would leave for the hotel tomorrow as he hoped they would see what was at stake. Ramsay urged the chefs to keep their eyes open on their trip because once they returned to Hell's Kitchen, they would be in the final push of the competition.
The following morning, the final five left Hell’s Kitchen and drove down to the airport, where a private jet was waiting for them. Robert said he was living the dreams of many blue-collared workers in his community during the flight. Later that night, they arrived in Atlantic City, and the jet turned to show them the hotel. They made their way to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, where they met Michael Facenda, the Director of Marketing. The greeters smote him while Andrea looked for the half-naked men among the group. The following day, the chefs were given a tour of the hotel by Facenda. After looking at some of the restaurants in the hotel, he called it a fine dining food court in a mall. Then, Facenda reminded them of the grand prize one of them would win, even showing the construction site of what their restaurant would be. That sparked inspiration in all of them, and some began to envision their restaurants on the spot. For the rest of the day, the chefs relaxed at the hotel.
Later that evening, the chefs went to the SeaBlue restaurant for dinner. They met VP Food and Beverage Nicholas Kurban and Executive Chef Ron Ross and spoke with them. A few minutes into dinner, Robert excused himself from the table and left, which Andrea noticed. The other chefs did not know that he was not feeling well and had chest pain. The local paramedic came to check on him, and she recommended he leave for the hospital. The other chefs expressed concern for his well-being. Later that night, he called Ben and informed him he was at the hospital, saying he had chest pains and the medic was not sure if it was a heart attack. He said he would be staying at the hospital overnight, and Ben relayed the news to the other chefs. That disheartened Paula as she wanted him to continue the competition as the four chefs wished him well.
A couple of days later, the four chefs met with Ramsay, who noticed how refreshed they were from their trip. However, Ramsay was aware of what happened at the Borgata and revealed Robert was back at Hell’s Kitchen, much to their relief. Ramsay was pleased to see him again and asked him how he was doing. Unfortunately, he revealed he was diagnosed with pericarditis, a condition that would eventually lead to heart disease, and based on the doctor’s orders, he would not be able to come back to the competition. Everybody was heartbroken by the news, and Ramsay called it a shame he could not continue. Andrea was sad to hear the news because she knew he had put his heart and soul into the competition. He said goodbye to the other chefs, hugging each of them. Ben was sad to lose a friend like him, but the former wished him well. Before leaving, Ramsay told him he had been a fantastic competitor and had the potential to win the competition. After that, he gave Ramsay his jacket and left as the remaining chefs gave him a standing ovation. He received a retrospective montage of his run during his exit interview.
Ramsay did not comment on his departure. At the end of the episode, he received the portrait burning sequence.[11]
Nomination History[]
Week 1 | Safe |
---|---|
Week 2 | Win |
Week 3 | Safe |
Week 4 | Safe |
Week 5 | Safe |
Week 6 | Win |
Week 7 | Nominated |
Week 8 | Win |
Week 9 | Nominated |
Week 10 | Safe |
Week 11 | Hospitalized |
Season 6[]
Episode 1[]
- Main article: Episode 601 - 16 Chefs Compete
Robert was invited as a special guest for the opening night, along with his wife. When he arrived, service already began and he went to the hot plate to greet Ramsay, who told to have a seat with his wife and enjoy themselves. What he didn't know at the time was that Ramsay invited him so that he could be offered a second chance to return. After service, Ramsay went to speak with him at his table and told him it was good to see him. After Ramsay recalled that he lost the opportunity during the previous season because of his health, he was invited by him to come back in Hell's Kitchen for another chance to win the competition. He was blown away by the offer and accepted it, with Ramsay stating he deserved it because he was a bloody talented cook. While saying goodbye to his wife, he declared his plan was to win Hell's Kitchen.
When both teams were lined up, Robert joined the blue team. He did not wear a jacket, but instead wore his dinner clothes, due to both a lack of time to change and the indecision over which team to place him in. Ramsay introduced him to the other chefs and welcomed him, stating he came back for a second chance after leaving for medical reasons the previous season. Then, Ramsay declared the blue team winners for serving some entrées out, compared to the red team's zero.
At elimination, after Melinda's elimination, Robert was sent to the red team as Ramsay made a decision to strengthen the teams. After he joined the red team, Ramsay reminded him that even though he was a hero in the previous season, he would be treated like everybody else that season.[12]
Episode 2[]
- Main article: Episode 602 - 15 Chefs Compete
While being dismissed, Robert was very excited to be brought back in the competition, declaring he would lead his team to victory or die trying. Then, he gave some tips to the women on how to properly cook the food, with Lovely even comparing him to an angel coming down from Heaven. He also acknowledged the red team was seeing him as the one who would save the day, and declared that statement was true.
The next morning, both teams got down in the blue kitchen, where Ramsay introduced the Shrimp Cleaning Challenge. When Tennille got her shrimps judged, Robert questioned her judgment by referring to the fact that she was wearing glasses, so she could see what she was doing. He was the last person from the red team to have his shrimps judged by Ramsay, and he was confident, but his performance was disappointing as only 4 of his shrimps were accepted, and Ramsay declared he was expecting more of him.
The red team lost the challenge 44-45, and they were punished by cleaning shrimps and segmenting lemons, removing every seed from all of them, all day long, for a shrimp cocktail during the next dinner service. The next day, during prep, Robert emerged as a leader on the red team, giving specific instructions on how to prep some type of food, which the women really appreciated as they were trusting him.
During dinner service, Robert was on the appetizer station with Suzanne. Before tickets came in the kitchen, he rallied the women and told them to communicate well. He was confident making his first risotto as it was his second appearance on the show, but Ramsay told him he put rice over burnt shallots. He blamed that mistake on the fact he was a little bit anxious, and acknowledged he had to turn the oven on before cooking. Ramsay pulled him to the side and asked him why he made that mistake, but he did not give any excuses. Then, he got back to his station, and a minor fire erupted in one of his pans, discouraging Ramsay, who told him he was doing terrible at the moment despite having done well on the previous season, and Suzanne gave him some encouragement. After a lot of struggle in both kitchens, Ramsay ordered both teams to send shrimp cocktails to the dining room, and shut down both kitchens.
When both teams were lined up, Ramsay named both teams losers, and asked them to nominate two people each. During deliberation, Robert reminded Tennille she served raw shrimp to a pregnant woman, after she denied her poor performance in the dining room. Later, an argument erupted between Van and Jim from the blue team, and he calmed down Van after he left his team's discussion.
Robert was not nominated for elimination and tried to calm Joseph down, who was having his infamous outburst, by saying that Ramsay was trying to get the best out of him and that he should look past it.[13]
Episode 3[]
- Main article: Episode 603 - 14 Chefs Compete
After Joseph's departure and Tony's elimination, Robert was transferred to the blue team, where he belonged, as they were two men down. Back in the dorms, he gave his farewells to the women, hugging each of them, while declaring he did not care about what team he was because his goal was to win Hell's Kitchen.
The chefs went to bed, trying to get some sleep, but very early in the night, alarm bells started to go, Sous Chef Scott, holding a flashlight, told everybody to get out of the restaurant immediately as an emergency was called. Then, fire trucks arrived at Hell's Kitchen and the chefs got outside. But, Ramsay was standing with the firefighters, revealing that it was a fire drill. He introduced the Firefighter Pasta Meal Service Challenge, and all the chefs got back in the dorms to change.
During the challenge, Robert was annoyed by Andy's way of not using all the available ovens for baking the garlic bread. He told Andy to use all five of the ovens, disbelieved that he had to be told that as it was common sense. When the garlic bread finally made it to the dining room, he motivated his teammates before Ramsay called out the next order. Near the end, when both teams were rallying to complete their tickets, he helped the blue team catching up with the red team, but it was not enough as they finished before the blue team. He was upset as everybody was winning except him.
The blue team lost the challenge, and they were punished by cleaning the fire trucks left by the firefighters, as well as their equipment, and they would continue by cleaning the dining room inside. Arrived outside, Robert, along with Kevin, was dedicated to clean and polish the fire hoses. During the second part of the punishment, Dave and Kevin left for the hospital because of injuries, and he knew that it was not good for the team.
During dinner service, Robert was on the fish station. On the first ticket, he communicated well with Van, waiting for his call to drop the scallops, and comparing Van to a straight up thug and a pitbull on a chain. Later, Ramsay asked him for the scallops, but he was running and almost fell to the ground. Ramsay was worried and told him that running was not a good idea because of his weight. Then, he asked Andy to drop the scallops, but was annoyed by the latter's way of dropping too many scallops for the size of the pan he was using, telling him to use his common sense. After, he sent his scallops to the pass, but they were not acceptable, so Ramsay pulled him aside, schooled him on that mistake, but he confronted Ramsay and the two of them had a heated argument, where Ramsay called him a fucking idiot. After that, he acknowledged the mistake of bringing a gimp, referring to Andy, on his station as all he did was bringing him down. He started over, and was called a douchebag by Andy.
On the blue team's last ticket, Kevin was ready to send his chicken to the pass, but Robert was not ready with his salmon. He gave 12 minutes for the salmon to be cooked, much to Andy and Kevin's dismay. Moments later, he almost fell for the second time scrambling all over the kitchen. He angrily threw scallops in the bin, and when he was finally ready with his salmon, the red team had already finished their last ticket and were clearing down, angering Kevin. Despite his problems, the blue team won the service for having an 83% above average rating from the customers, compared to the red team's 81%.[14]
Episode 4[]
- Main article: Episode 604 - 13 Chefs Compete
During the Sausage Strings Challenge, Robert was paired with Jim. They gave the worst overall performance as they failed to produce an acceptable sausage link, as their meat was constantly breaking the casings. The blue team lost the challenge 4-6, and Ramsay called him and Jim out for their insufficient teamwork. They were punished by cleaning up the dorms which included the bathrooms, carpet, and kitchen.
Back in the dorms, Robert overheard Kevin's comment against him, and warned Kevin to watch his fucking mouth, but that led to an argument between the two of them, which finished by him angrily throwing his jacket away. In the confessional, he said that he has been told all his life how worthless he was and it really pissed him off to hear that from Kevin. During the punishment, he told Kevin that he blamed Jim for costing them the challenge as he was letting the sausages burst, and stated that he wanted to win a challenge and not be a loser, but Sous Chef Scott asked why he was saying that at this moment and not during the challenge. He stated that he almost died last season for the competition and that he always gave it 110%, all while breaking his broom in the process.
During dinner service, Robert was on the appetizer station with Jim. His first attempt on appetizers was accepted, and he got them all served. When Andy was struggling on the meat, he screamed at him to get his lamb out, but Ramsay pulled him aside and lectured him that all the diners could hear him scream, and told him to tone it down. Despite that, the blue team won the service, and back in the dorms, he and the rest of the blue team mocked Suzanne for her play by play request.[15]
Episode 5[]
- Main article: Episode 605 - 12 Chefs Compete
During the Welcome Home Planning Challenge, Robert was called to Ramsay's office, along with Suzanne from the red team, to learn about the sergeant's wife's ideas for the menu, getting excited about the idea of soul food. During the challenge, he told the blue team all of Sergeant James' likes, which gave his teammates multiple ideas for their dishes, and Kevin praised his leadership. He went up against Suzanne, and presented the blue team's dish, which was a Cajun rubbed bone-in New York Strip with twice baked potato and a grilled lobster tail. The dish was deemed delicious and he clinched the victory for the blue team 2-1. Then, he proudly stated that big daddy was back. They were rewarded with a day of flying in dogfights, doing maneuvers and air stunts for a thrill of a lifetime.
During the Welcome Home dinner service, Robert was on the garnish station. He was not seen much, but when his team was sent over to help the red team serve their entrées, he stated that those bitches were crying. The blue team won the service by a mile over the red team.[16]
Episode 6[]
- Main article: Episode 606 - 11 Chefs Compete
Back in the dorms, Robert told the blue team that the women had no chance of winning if they would keep up their winning streak, as he felt the red team lacked teamwork and bonding while calling it pathetic.
The next morning, when Robert found out that their next challenge would be a 700 Calories 3 Course Meal Challenge, he got concerned as he was taking 700 calorie bites and loved to cook with butter, cream, and fat. He was not seen much, but the blue team lost the challenge 1-3. They were punished by gathering the red team's ingredients from a supermarket on a Conference Bike, and prep both kitchens for that night's service. During the punishment, he started to get short of breath and dizzy from the bike ride. He went to go see the medic and was immediately sent to the hospital. Because of this, he was not able to participate in that night's dinner service.
At elimination, the blue team tried to nominate Robert because of him not being there during service, but Ramsay reminded them that it would be unfair to nominate him for that reason. However, Ramsay added that if he would not come back for the next service, he would be automatically eliminated.[17]
Episode 7[]
- Main article: Episode 607 - 10 Chefs Compete
During prep, Robert returned from the hospital, but his presence was not well received by his teammates as they bonded while being at Las Vegas, and ignored him while doing prep. When he realized he was isolated from the rest of his team, he did not care and went back upstairs and made himself a cheeseburger. When both teams were lined up, Ramsay asked him about his condition, and he explained that he did not have a heart attack, but was warned by the doctor to watch his limits.
During dinner service, Robert was on the meat station. He was heavily disorganized, and sent up inconsistent chops to the window, resulting in Ramsay yelling at him. Later on, he sent up a raw rabbit leg and after being called a baby, Ramsay shut down the blue kitchen.
The blue team lost the service, and Robert was criticized by Ramsay because of his poor performance. Dave was named "Best of the Worst". During deliberation, while he acknowledged that he had a poor service, he felt that some people like Andy did not deserve to be around. However, that led to an argument between the two of them, after Andy called him a lazy motherfucker and he called Andy a cocksucker.
Robert was Dave's first nominee for elimination, with Van being the second. When Andy was called down as well, he expressed relief and thanked God for that. During his plea, he had another argument with Andy as he accused him of being under the radar a lot, with a threat to quit as a chef if Andy was to win Hell’s Kitchen. In the end, he was eliminated for failing to live up to his great run on the previous season and serving raw rabbit despite having more services in Hell's Kitchen than anybody else. Before leaving, he told Ramsay that his journey was not over yet, and Ramsay said that he could not wait to see him again while thanking him for coming back. While leaving, he guaranteed Andy that his time would come very soon. He received a retrospective montage of his run during his exit interview.
Ramsay's comment: "Robert's closing plea was quite entertaining. But I'm not looking for a performer, I'm looking for a head chef, and Robert's not that guy." [18]
Episode 15[]
- Main article: Episode 615 - Winner Announced
Robert came back for the last dinner service of the season, because Tennille and Andy did not. He was Dave's second pick, after Ariel and before Suzanne. During prep, while he praised Dave for keeping his menu simple, he noticed Kevin's dishes and said that they all could be on the cover of a gourmet magazine.
During dinner service, Robert was on the appetizer station. When Dave pushed him to get the first order out, he wanted to bring the pain for his last night in Hell’s Kitchen. While he slowly sent his risotto to the pass, Dave was happy with it, and called him his ace in the hole. Because of his strong performance, Dave succeeded in pushing appetizers to the dining room at a good pace. Later, he told Dave that they were running out of mushrooms, and put less into the next orders of risottos. When Ramsay saw that, he tried to explain that Dave told him not to put too many mushrooms in them, but Dave retorted that he said not to go crazy on the mushrooms and that he would have never sent them out. However, he felt that Dave crossed the line for throwing him under the bus, and decided to screw him by purposely dropping a re-fire. Later that night, Dave told him to help Ariel as she was struggling on two stations. Dave eventually won the finals over Kevin.[19]
Nomination History[]
Week 1 | Re-entered |
---|---|
Week 2 | Safe |
Week 3 | Win |
Week 4 | Win |
Week 5 | Win |
Week 6 | Hospitalized |
Week 7 | Nominated |
Post Hell's Kitchen[]
- After his first appearance on the show, Robert married, lost 55 pounds, and underwent gastric bypass surgery. He also upgraded to the Executive Chef position before returning to Hell's Kitchen the following season, a year later.
- After his second appearance on the show, he lost 455 pounds after suffering from 3 heart attacks.
- He worked as Assistant Executive Chef at The Brews Brothers restaurant before moving to other restaurants within the group.
- Finally, in 2017, he was hired by Noto's Old World Italian Dining to grow new concepts for that brand and its Grand Rapids area restaurant and banquet center.
- He planned to open The Urban Melt in early 2020 and opened his food truck Fo' Cheezy in July 2019.
- He also competed on Beat Bobby Flay in the episode "Fry Me a River" but lost in the first round.
Trivia[]
- He is the only contestant to be hospitalized in two different seasons.
Season 5[]
- He is the fourth contestant who withdrew from the competition for health reasons, following Larry (Season 2), Aaron (Season 3), and Ji (also from Season 5). He was also the only one to this date who had been nominated for elimination at least once; until Drew (Season 19), who withdrew for health reasons and was also nominated for elimination at least once.
- He is the first black jacket contestant to withdraw and the only black jacket contestant to withdraw for health reasons.
- Because of his illness, he did not come back for the last dinner service of the season as supposed to. Therefore, Lacey took his place, making him the first black jacket contestant ever who didn't return.
Season 6[]
- He is the first contestant ever to compete in two different seasons and the first to return after leaving due to health reasons in the previous season. This would become common in Seasons 17 and 18. Ironically, his returning season was Season 6, which introduced Ariel to the viewers who ranked in third place in this season but would go on to become the winner of Season 18.
- In order to hide Robert's reintroduction from the audience until later in episode 1, the intro was omitted. It wasn't introduced until the second episode, with the opening narration immediately transitioning to an impatient JP. In contrast, it would normally cross-fade to the theme song.
- He is the only contestant who joined the competition without being part of the season's initial line-up of contestants. Because of this, he has the unusual fact that he was never in the competition at the same time as Louie and never had a simultaneous dinner service with Melinda, despite being in the same season as both of them.
- He is the first male contestant since Season 1 who began his run with the red team.
- He holds the record for the least amount of services with his original team before being transferred to the other with one. He was switched to the blue team in light of Joseph's exit leaving two empty spots in the blue team instead of the expected one
- He is the first male contestant who switched teams without making it to the black jackets.
- He is the first contestant to date who performed in a Special Events Challenge and service in two different seasons. He is also the first and the only contestant to date who won the challenge and service in two different seasons.
- He is the first contestant who came back after a medical exit and the first contestant to compete in two different seasons.
- He is the first contestant who received fewer nominations during their second run on the show.
- He is the first contestant ever who received a retrospective montage of his run in two different seasons and the first male contestant who received one without making it to the black jackets.
- At 10th place, he is the lowest ranking contestant to receive retrospective montage after elimination.
- He is the only Returning Chef to return after a Medical Exit and place lower their second time.
- He is the only contestant to miss an elimination of a teammate despite not being eliminated.
- He is the first contestant to participate in the final service without doing so in his original season.
Quotes[]
- (After Ramsay told him to yell out the order) "Yeah, give me the reins, man. Let me drive this bitch."
- "Well, what the hell did I win? A free fucking ferry ride? Shit!"
- (After Ramsay told him that he can't go the reward by helicopter because of his weight) "I get a lot of crap from society because of my size. I felt like this is another situation because of my weight, that I was being singled out."
- "You ain't a man 'til you use the loofa, straight up!"
- (About the Asian Fusion challenge) "Personally, I love fusion; that's how I get down. I'll make a gourmet meal out of Cap'n Crunch and freakin' filet mignon. I don't give a shit."
- "Where's the beef, where's the beef! I'm like looking for the old lady from the Wendy's commercials, man."
- "Dude! Does it look like I eat fucking pea tendrils?"
- (To Lacey) "I swear to god, if you win this, I will hang up my coat and become a crack whore, dude."
- (To Lacey) "You need to stop right now and listen to what we're trying to tell you!"
- (About Lacey) "I'm so sick of Lacey, I'm about to use a Jedi mind trick and just choke the shit out of that bitch mentally."
- "Where are you going, blue team. RIGHT THERE AT THE BEACH, BO-YEEEEEES!"
- (To J) "J, you're my friend, and I like you a lot, but today you fucking suck, man."
- "J just lost his shit man."
- "I'm not trying to make him proud of me anymore, chef Ramsay; kiss my ass!"
- (About Lacey) "Can't handle the heat, get out the kit-CHEN!!"
- (After his pants was ripped) "All I heard was RIIIIP! OHHHH, I feel a little breeze on the back of my ass!"
- (After Lacey's elimination) "There's a small violin, just for Lacey... (fart noise) she sucks. Adiós, biyatch!"
- (After withdrawing) "I knew I was coming in as the underdog. I knew I had to fight and just grab my way to the top. I have no regrets. I'm proud of every day that I've been here. I'm proud that I got to associate myself with one of the best chefs in the world. I'm leaving Hell's Kitchen, so I have my health for my family, for my career. I feel like I've won."
- "I'm like fuck you, man. I'm not here to make friends. I'm pissed. There's a fire in me that's burning so hot, man, that pisses me off, man.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Robert Hesse on Instagram
- Robert Hesse on Twitter
References[]
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