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Suit is a suit, Chef. It doesn't matter, we're cooking.

Salvatore Coppola was a contestant on Season 7 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 10th place.

Season 7[]

Episode 1[]

Main article: Episode 701 - 16 Chefs Compete

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Salvatore was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Maria. When he introduced himself, he revealed he was a pizza chef for 20 years, and Ramsay noticed his strong Italian accent. So, he asked him where he was coming from, which he answered Naples, Italy, and how long was he living in the United States, which he answered 21 years. Ramsay was shocked, asked him how was his accent so strong, and he jokingly answered it was for women as they liked it. Then, he presented his Bucatini all amatriciana, but he admitted that he did not make the pasta from scratch. Ramsay was upset that an Italian could not make his own pasta, called the dish embarrassing as it was undercooked, and he lost the round to Maria. On the next round, when Benjamin revealed that he made his pasta from scratch, Ramsay called him out, and he showed an embarrassed face.

The blue team won the challenge 4-3, and they were eventually rewarded with a breakfast in bed prepared by the red team the next morning. When he entered the dorms, Salvatore was very excited, even stating that he felt in another world while comparing them to a nice penthouse. When they were studying the menu for the opening night, the men felt more pressure, stating that there was a lot of shit to remember. The next morning, after receiving his breakfast, he thanked the women, while jokingly asking if they would do this every morning.

During dinner service, Salvatore was on the appetizer station with Benjamin. On the first ticket, Ramsay asked for the capellini, but he revealed that he burnt his initial batch, much to Ramsay's annoyance. Ramsay ordered to start the table again, and he was disappointed in himself as he fucked up his first table of appetizers. Then, Ramsay asked him if the one he was making was for the next table, but he revealed that he burned it once again. Ramsay was furious and assigned him to dress the salads as he could not fuck them up. On the last ticket of appetizers, he questioned Benjamin's position as a chef because the latter could not even cook a risotto, but he was caught himself cooking potatoes in a cold pan. Ramsay told him he could not do that as the potatoes would absorb the olive oil and that it would feel like eating a mouthful of grease. When Ramsay asked for a time, neither him nor Benjamin answered, and a fed-up Ramsay kicked both of them out of the kitchen after calling Jay a "Smurf" summoning him into the kitchen. While getting out, he declared he did not know what happened as he was lost on appetizers, and jokingly wondered if Ramsay kicked him out because he did not like him or Italian people. Back in the dorms, he was padded on the arm by Maria, who told not to feel that bad. The blue team won the service.[1]

Episode 2[]

Main article: Episode 702 - 15 Chefs Compete

The next morning, at 5 am, the chefs were awakened by an alarm clock amplified all over the dorms by Sous Chefs Scott and Andi. During the Egg Relay Challenge, Salvatore was paired with Mikey, and he was not confident in his scrambled eggs until his partner told him he was doing great. At one point, Scott interfered by saying it was still runny, so he put it back in the pan. He and Mikey were the first pair to compete for the blue team, he did not impress Ramsay with either his scrambled or soft-boiled eggs, and they scored only two points. He acknowledged that Scott interfered with their job, but also that he was not the best chef and that he at least was not bragging about it by pretending to be.

The blue team won the challenge 11-10, and they were rewarded with a helicopter tour of Los Angeles, with Salvatore being excited about it as it was his first helicopter ride ever, and lunch with Ramsay on top of a building. During the lunch, he started to talk about his personal love life, revealing that he has been cheated on and that he had slept with close to forty women in his life. He said that he did not find the right one yet but jokingly added to Ramsay that everybody would think he was a man whore, with everybody laughing.

When both teams were lined up, Salvatore was asked to name the desserts by Ramsay, but struggled to answer, while declaring that Ramsay was making him nervous and that he started to mumble because of that. Ramsay was furious as he was not running a kindergarten, and he was kicked out of the kitchen while being ordered to study the menu. So, he went back to the dorms with a menu, and after dinner service has started, he was reintegrated into the kitchen by Jay. However, he declared he could not remember and that he was banging his head, and when he arrived in the kitchen, Ramsay asked him what were the desserts once again. He took a lot of seconds to properly give the first dessert, dismaying Ramsay and himself as he claimed his heart was beating very fast, and could not believe he forgot four desserts. Moments later, he quickly recovered by correctly giving the first three desserts, but incorrectly gave berry pudding as the fourth one, before correcting himself by saying panna cotta, with Ramsay being satisfied.

During dinner service, Salvatore was on the meat station with Jason. He was not seen much, but his first Wellingtons were cooked perfectly, and he was annoyed when Jason was constantly saying he had it when the chicken was still raw. Both teams were named joint-losers, and they were asked to nominate one person each. During deliberation, he was considered by Jason and Mikey, but he did not want to be nominated if he did not have a bad service.

He was not nominated for elimination.[2]

Episode 3[]

Main article: Episode 703 - 13 Chefs Compete

The next morning, the chefs went to the dining room, where Ramsay introduced the Marching Band Lunch Service Challenge while revealing they would be serving the marching band of the University of Southern California. During the challenge, Salvatore was at the meat station. He was not seen much, but near the end, he vocally rallied his teammates as he was determined to win.

The blue team lost the challenge, and they were punished by cleaning a section of the Los Angeles River to help the Heal the Bay organization while wearing yellow jumpsuits. When the men got on the bus, which was very small and old, he said that they had what they deserved as it was a punishment. During the punishment, he decided to have some fun when he grabbed a pole and jokingly asked if anybody would like to do the Olympics with him.

During dinner service, Salvatore was assigned as an assistant maître d'. When the first customers entered, he was already taking his first orders, but he was slow to bring them to the kitchen, much to Ramsay's annoyance. When he presented his first ticket, it was rejected because of his bad handwriting, with Ramsay asking if he was writing in Japanese. Because his teammates were waiting for his first ticket, he was pushed by Jean-Philippe to go faster, and he admitted that he did not know how to write in English. So, Jean-Philippe wrote the ticket himself, and Ramsay yelled at him as the customers were there for dinner and not breakfast. When he presented his ticket to Ramsay, he admitted that Jean-Philippe wrote it for him, dismaying Ramsay, but it was accepted anyway. Later, he was seen apologizing to a table for the food being late, while jokingly adding that his teammate was putting extra love to the salmon.

More than two hours into service, Salvatore brought back a dish that the customer asked for medium-well, and Ramsay berated him as that request was not written on the ticket. So, Ramsay ordered him to enter the kitchen with the plate, explain the situation to his teammates, and after he did, he was berated by being ordered to take the plate and fuck off to the dining room. He was upset, told that he could not take it anymore, and started to walk out of Hell's Kitchen by declaring he was breaking apart and that he was done, before Jean-Philippe tried to convince him to stay. He sat on one of the benches in the entrance, Jean-Philippe followed him and told to not take it personally as he knew Ramsay for 16 years and those kinds of situations of humiliation. After that talk, he decided to stay for Jean-Philippe to at least not give up on his team but added that if the blue team would lose, he would nominate himself. Back in the dining room, Jean-Philippe told him to keep a smile on his face. The blue team won the service.[3]

Episode 4[]

Main article: Episode 704 - 12 Chefs Compete Part 1

While everybody else was dismissed, Salvatore was told to stay by Ramsay. He was convinced by the latter that he needed to bounce back after getting yelled at instead of disintegrating, he agreed, was dismissed, and said that he would give his best the following night, despite knowing that he would be yelled at. Before going upstairs, Ramsay asked him if he was wearing an Italian suit, which he responded that it did not matter as a suit was a suit and that they were there to cook. Ramsay appreciated that answer, and he went to the dorms.

Very late in the night, while everybody else was asleep, Salvatore was up, and talking with Scott about his own experience and work ethic. He knew that he was the least experienced person at the moment but did not want to lose, so Scott agreed to help him be successful. Then, he acknowledged that Scott was the only one from that moment that has been honest with him and respected him for that, and Scott convinced him to follow what he was doing as he felt it would be beneficial for him.

The next morning, the chefs went downstairs, where Ramsay introduced the Craps Challenge. Salvatore was the last person to roll the die for the blue team and landed on B. Despite Jay's lack of confidence in him, he chose bacon, which made his teammates and Ramsay proud as they found it was a good choice. During the cooking, he was trying to help anybody, but only Scott accepted his help, but when he asked the latter if he seasoned his fish, he was pushed away by him. The blue team won the challenge, and they were rewarded with an indoor skydiving activity.

During dinner service, Salvatore was at the fish station. When he asked Jason for a time on the pasta, Scott answered instead, and moments later, he sent his snapper to the pass, but it was raw. So, Ramsay ordered him to get it back in the pan, while urging him to stop panicking. He remembered what Scott told him the previous night, and to just focus on his thing while not taking it personally. Later, when he sent his second attempt at the snapper, he was called down by Ramsay to take a look at it, only to say that it was perfectly cooked, much to his relief. Moments later, his first salmon was cooked perfectly, he was congratulated by Jason, and after that, he was almost bumped into by Scott, who was putting his beef back in the convection oven. Later, he impressed Ramsay again with perfectly cooked halibut, went to the chef's table to serve it, and declared that he was happy to communicate in Italian while calling it a nice relief.

Both teams were named joint-winners, but Salvatore was singled out by Ramsay, who said that he could cook and that he should stop downgrading himself to a simple pizza chef. He was named "Best of the Best" for the blue team and was asked to nominate one of his teammates for elimination. Back in the dorms, he and Scott were alone and talking, and he acknowledged that despite the latter was his friend and helping him a lot, his mistakes were big and he was nervous. While he was happy to have a great service, he was also sad that he had to nominate one of his teammates, and added that Scott was his only friend in the competition at the moment, convinced him that he was good, but also added that it was a competition despite having somebody to help you and that it was not easy.

Salvatore named Scott as his nominee for elimination, and said goodbye to the latter, who was transferred to the red team while welcoming Autumn as a new teammate.[4]

Episode 5[]

Main article: Episode 705 - 12 Chefs Compete Part 2

The next morning, the chefs were woken up by Sous Chefs Scott and Andi, who gave them butchering outfits to wear for the Pork Creation Challenge. During the first part, Salvatore was the last person from the blue team to grab his pig, and when he did, he jokingly said that he did not want to hurt them as they were still babies. During the second part, he was paired with Jay, and they were the last pair from the blue team to have their dish judged. He did not serve the dish, which was a Latin-rubbed loin chop with pinto beans, but he and Jay won the round over Maria and Scott.

The blue team won the challenge 2-1, and they were rewarded with a spa day at the Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa, in Corona, while wearing brown bathrobes. During the reward, Salvatore went to the grotto with Jay, Ed, and Benjamin, they were all painted in a substance crusted with seaweed by four women, sat down, rubbed themselves, and took a shower together.

When the blue team came back from their reward, everybody sat on the patio, and Salvatore was compared to an Italian Dr. Phil by Fran as people liked to talk to him, and was making people reveal things about themselves that anybody would have thought in a million years. Then, he pushed Holli to tell if she ever made porn when she revealed she had a very large porn collection, but she answered that while she did, it was never aired anywhere. After, when Siobhan revealed that she used to make fetish porn and S&M, he jokingly added that he liked S&M, which made everybody laugh.

During the Barbecue themed dinner service, Salvatore was a waiter during the first seating, and on the garnish station during the second. When the first customers entered, he was already joking with some, and one of them even found him cute. Later, he told some customers that it was his second time as a waiter, remembered that his first night was a bad experience, but when he sent his first ticket, it was the same story as Ramsay did not understand what was written on the ticket. Then, Ramsay asked him if he went to school, which he answered that he did not, and that answer surprised Ramsay because he did not expect it. Ramsay asked him why he did not go to school, and he answered that it was because he had to work to help his family which was struggling financially. Ramsay thanked him for his honesty and allowed him to take his time. When the second seating started, he did not bring his corn in time with Jay's appetizers and did not answer when Ramsay asked for it, much to Jay's annoyance. Jason, Jay, and Benjamin tried to communicate with him, but he did not give any answers to anybody by saying there were too many people talking to him at the same time. Ramsay was angry, pulled him aside, and ordered him to open up, which he agreed. The blue team eventually won the service.[5]

Episode 6[]

Main article: Episode 706 - 11 Chefs Compete

The next morning, everybody went to the dining room, where Ramsay introduced the Mother Sauce Challenge, and Salvatore worked with the tomato sauce. He was the first person from the blue team to have his dish judged, went up against Fran, and presented a fettuccine with eggplant and red peppers, which was praised having ingredients working together, but was criticized because the pasta was undercooked. So, he lost the round to Fran, much to his embarrassment.

The blue team won the challenge after a tiebreaker at 2, and they were rewarded with a day at the British pub Ye Olde King's Head, in Santa Monica, being taken there in a double-decker bus, and a gift of brand new cookware. During the reward, they played a little game of darts, but Salvatore's dart did not stick to the board and fell to the ground.

During the Family Night dinner service, Salvatore was on the appetizer station with Autumn. On the first ticket, he was already lost and wondering if there were one or two risottos on order. Sous Chef Scott told him exactly what was on order, and because there were two risottos ordered, he put more rice in his pan, dismaying Ramsay. He was asked if he did it because he discovered there were two risottos ordered, which he answered not, but Ramsay was dismayed by that answer as it was a lie, called the whole team down to explain the situation, and he apologized for lying. Then, Ramsay told him that he lost his trust, ordered Benjamin to keep an eye on him as he was a liability, and because of his lie, the blue team had to start the table over. Later, he sent three orders of chicken for Jason, but when the fourth piece of chicken was missing for being raw, he helped Jason by telling him to put it back in the oven, which the latter did.

The blue team won the service by a mile, and at elimination, Salvatore and his teammates said goodbye to Benjamin, who was transferred to the red team.[6]

Episode 7[]

Main article: Episode 707 - 10 Chefs Compete

The next morning, the chefs went to the dining room, where Ramsay introduced the 50th Wedding Anniversary Planning Challenge, where they would update three dishes served at Sal and Marcy's wedding reception 50 years ago. During the challenge, Salvatore was paired with Autumn on the chicken Kiev dish, and he proposed an idea of chicken meatballs to Jay. The latter agreed but reminded him that he had to make it awesome, despite Autumn not being convinced. With two minutes left, he and Autumn discovered that one of their meatballs was undercooked, but he decided to plate it anyway, much to Autumn's concern.

Salvatore and Autumn were the second pair from the blue team to have their dish judged, and went up against Holli and Fran. He did not present their dish, which was two inside out chicken meatballs, but he took responsibility for the idea. He called it a disaster when Ramsay refused to taste it because it was raw, and they lost the round to Holli and Fran.

The blue team lost the challenge 1-2, and they were punished by decorating the dining room for the next service and building a three-story cake. On the patio, Salvatore was accused of losing the challenge for the team by Jay, but he did not want to take full responsibility for the loss by saying they were still a team. During the punishment, he was annoyed when Nilka walked on the dance floor which was still in construction, so he aggressively told her to get her ass out of there.

During the 50th Wedding Anniversary dinner service, Salvatore was on the garnish station. He knew that it was a do-or-die situation for him and that he had to send perfect food every time while knowing that if he would not, he would be history. But, he had communication issues with Jason, and gave Jay a time of between one and four minutes, much to the latter's dismay. Jay asked him twice if he could slice his duck because he did not answer the first time, and when Ramsay asked for the duck garnish, he was confused, before Sous Chef Scott reminded him that he had to bring the parsnip purée. After, he brought his asparagus to the pass but did not do enough for three orders of duck, much to Ramsay's dismay, and he admitted that he was confused and did not want to do anything because he knew Ramsay would yell at him. Later, he did not bring the chicken garnish because he did not hear that order, and then, a fire erupted in one of his pans, infuriating Ramsay because all the meat was ready but the garnish was not. He was urged to communicate and succeeded to send his garnish in time, completing the entrées for the blue team. After both teams went into the dining room to give a standing ovation to Sal and Marcy, he was asked to rate his performance on a scale of 1-10. He answered four or five, which Ramsay responded that he was very generous as he was three over. The blue team won the service.

Despite the fact that he was on the winning team, Salvatore was eliminated for having only one good service in seven and lacking the experience to go any further in the competition. During his exit interview, he was upset about leaving but acknowledged that he messed up a lot of consecutive times, and thought that Ramsay made the right decision.

Ramsay's comment: "Salvatore had a big heart. Too bad he couldn't cook with it." [7]

Nomination History[]

Week 1 Win
Week 2 Safe
Week 3 Win
Week 4 BoB
Week 5 Win
Week 6 Win
Week 7 Eliminated

Post Hell's Kitchen[]

  • After his appearance on the show, Salvatore went to work at Blue Inc, in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by fellow teammate Jay (also from Season 7), before it closed in 2014.

Trivia[]

  • He is the second contestant who used pre-made food for his signature dish, following Rock (Season 3).
  • He is part of a four-way tie for the most consecutive dinner service wins, with five, and is tied with Ed, Jason, and Jay.
  • He is the second contestant, and the first male, to be eliminated despite being on the winning team, following Carol (Season 5).
  • He is the first contestant who received a "Best of the Best" nomination without making it to the black jackets.
  • He is the fourth contestant to be eliminated without being nominated, following Sharon (Season 4), Carol (Season 5), Jim (Season 6), and Mikey (Season 7).
  • He is the first contestant to be eliminated from the winning team without any nominations.
  • At 10th place, he is the lowest-ranked contestant in the show's history to be named "Best of the Best" as well as the lowest-ranked contestant to be the only person to nominate.

Quotes[]

  • "Thanks ladies! Is this every morning thing?"
  • "I'm not the best person in the house, but at least I don't brag about it like being "Hey, I'm this, I'm that"!"
  • "Chef, they're gonna think that I'm a man whore!"
  • "Anybody want to do the Olympics with me?"
  • "My teammate put extra love to salmon."
  • "Suit is a suit, Chef. It doesn't matter, we're cooking."
  • (After being eliminated) "You mess up, you pay the consequence. So, yeah. I'm mad that I left, but at the same time, you know, I mess it up two, three time in a row, so I deserve to go home. And it was right decision. Grazie tutti. Ciao!"

Gallery[]

External links[]

References[]

Hell's Kitchen Season 7
Staff
Gordon Ramsay (Head Chef) • Scott Leibfried (Blue Team Sous Chef) • Andi Van Willigan-Cutspec (Red Team Sous Chef) • Jean-Philippe Susilovic (Maître d'hôtel)
Contestants
Siobhan AllgoodEd BattagliaJamie BisoulisSalvatore CoppolaJason EllisAndrew ForsterScott HawleyNilka HendricksFran KlierBenjamin KnackAutumn LewisJay SantosStacey SlichtaMikey TerminiMaria TorrisiHolli Ugalde
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