Hell's Kitchen winner Ryan O'Sullivan: 'I thought it was fixed'
Ryan O'Sullivan with Gordon Ramsay: Cork chef was the first Irish winner of Hell's Kitchen
Why are we so obsessed with reality TV chefs?
I’m putting the question to winner Ryan O’Sullivan who seems like he might have some insider’s knowledge.
“With TV chefs, they’re playing characters,” he muses. “Everybody had a part to play but we didn’t know the characters were playing until they actually aired the show.”
Reflecting on the most successful TV chefs, I realise the 31-year-old Corkman is onto something.
In death, Anthony Bourdain was immortalised as the darling of the culinary underbelly — flawed but relatable.
Under hypnosis, Heston Blumenthal concocted some offbeat pairings like bacon and eggs ice cream.
Sustainable, self-reliant Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall once served pate from a woman’s placenta to 20 of her relatives.
And then there is Gordon Ramsay, the fast and furious foul-mouthed TV villain who, according to his protégés on has a very soft spot for Corkman, Ryan O’Sullivan.
After five minutes chatting with O’Sullivan, I can see why.
“A lot of people said that he had a thing for me, was softer. I never saw that, especially watching it back.”
Both men were brought up on a diet of traditional cheffing. Their values, style, and approaches were very much aligned.
“It’s the breeding of chef that I am. It was very similar to his; old French style. I feel like me and him kind of had the same upbringing. Mine was not as tough as his, but we’re both old-school chefs.”
A worthy recipient of 17 Michelin stars throughout his career, Ramsay is the enfant terrible of contemporary cooking yet his manner and feedback to O’Sullivan was overwhelmingly positive.
“A couple of episodes in, he was like ‘your plating is a dream. Your techniques are so old school, but you’re so young’.”
Viewers loved O’Sullivan and any suggestions that Ramsay favoured him were purely in jest.
“I didn’t think he was soft on me. I just stayed out of trouble. I wasn’t doing anything stupid. I didn’t give him a reason to be up my arse.”
The Gurranabraher man continually impressed Chef Ramsey, eventually becoming ’s first-ever Irish winner. He felt the only part he could play was himself.
“I wasn’t in there acting the maggot like some of the rest of them. I wasn’t acting up for the cameras.”
However, as any good producer knows, the best recipe for TV contains a heavy serving of drama and we can’t not talk about kitchen drama without mentioning The Bear.
The American drama television series centres on chef Carmy who comes from the world of haute cuisine to manage a sandwich shop with a kitchen full of cooks disgruntled by the disruption.
“I totally love . I don’t suffer from anxiety, nor have I ever but watching that show does something to me, even though I’m not in the kitchen.”
Ever teetering on the edge of boiling point, The Bear shows how a kitchen can only really work when there’s synergy within its players. Early on, O’Sullivan recognised the need for an ally and ended up making a friend for life.
“The dynamics of being on a reality show and working in the kitchen are totally different. Believe it or not, it’s completely raw and uncut. We were never told to say anything.
“Johnny looked like such a cool dude; the beard, the tattoos. The second we got into the cab, we just started chatting. Then we were put in the same room together so we just formed a natural bond.
“We conjured a plan off camera to do whatever we could to make sure that the two of us were in the final. I had his back. He had my back. He’s a gent, a great dad, and a true, genuine human being.”
Having learned how to cook with his dad who at one point ran Paddy the Farmers, O’Sullivan’s love of his craft is evident in the way he speaks about food.
Sustainability is a key tenet to his work and he thanks his dad for teaching him sometimes keeping it simple is best.
“I’ll have that memory for as long as I live because that’s when I realised that you can live off the land, eat sustainably, and that’s where my love of food came in.”
At times while filming Hell’s Kitchen, he’d forget himself and get wrapped up in the cooking but he was quickly brought back down to earth with a twist from the production team.
“It’s a crazy place to be. You always have to be on your guard, but at the same time as well, you have to remember that’s reality TV. They can throw a spanner in the works.”
Just before he got the coveted black jacket, O’Sullivan found himself in the final three with his bestie Johnathan Benvenuti and Sammi Tarantino. Suffice to say he was not happy with the outcome.
“I had made fresh raviolis, made the dough, made the pasta, made the filling, cooked it all in 40 minutes. That had never been done. It was down to me and her [Sammi]. She did lamb chops and mushy peas.”
Not exactly the most mindblowing dish. Being eliminated over such an uninventive dish, O’Sullivan was at breaking point.
“He sent her through first, and in my mind I was like: ‘How the fuck am I going home over lamb chops and mushy peas? Are you having a fucking laugh?’ I was like: ‘If I go home over this, I’m going to give him a headbutt on the way out the door’. I thought ‘this is definitely fixed’.”
Surprise, surprise Ramsay was playing up to the cameras and O’Sullivan was provisionally sent home but it was somewhat of a ruse.
“He sent me home, but then all of a sudden, he gave me the sixth black jacket, which apparently has only ever been done once in the 22 seasons. I went on to win it. It’s almost like Rocky.”
With so much at stake, the emotions must have been running high.
“I was caught crying on TV, which I said I wouldn’t do. I just thought if I’m not supposed to win, I’m not supposed to win. But at least don’t do me that. At least let me go out with a bit of pride.”
With the unique wit of a Corkman running through his veins, O’Sullivan won the hearts of the audience at Cork on a Fork recently where he cooked up a storm in Emmet Place.
“Cork on a Fork was an absolutely incredible experience. Everyone behind the scenes was so bright and bubbly.”
O’Sullivan’s wife who lives with him in Florida was unable to make his appearance but the family was representing.
“The place was full, it was rocking, everyone was laughing. I think there were 70 tickets sold, and I think about 60 of them were my friends and family.”
It was a golden opportunity to collaborate with his old stomping ground The River Lee Hotel, somewhat of a full circle moment for the young chef.
“We saved the best for last. My old boss, Paul pulled out all the stops. It was a dream to come back home and cook in Cork, especially at the restaurant I worked at before I went to America.”
I’m 99% sure O’Sullivan’s favourite dish is ravioli but I’m proven wrong. You can take the man out of Cork but his stomach will always have a yearning for the traditional Leeside delicacies.
“Believe it or not, it’s bodice. it’s an old Cork dish. It’s ribs, salted for about a week, and then slowly boiled with turnips, cabbage, onions, and sweet potatoes. It just falls off the bone.”
As evocative as it is tasty, cooking bodice is a multi-sensory experience for O’Sullivan.
“It’s such a comfort food. My nan used to do it, my mam and dad used to do it. It’s a dish that reminds me of my childhood, of my roots and where we come from and what food means.”
The winner of Hell’s Kitchen gets to work at one of Ramsay’s restaurants and walks away with a cool quarter of a million dollars, but Ryan’s initial placement at the Las Vegas restaurant wasn’t to his liking. He had no qualms about asking Gordon for another placement.
“I thought I’d have way more responsibility but it was more of a PR role.”
For the month of September, he worked at Gordon’s restaurant in London. He’s cheffing at the Fort Lauderdale Boat festival at the end of this month and is off to the World Food championships in Indianapolis in November.
“It’s crazy, I have all these things lined up but it’s an absolutely fantastic problem to have. I can’t wait to get stuck in because the hard work starts now.
“All I want to do is my best, make my family proud, make a few bob along the way, and have a bit of craic.”
Spoken like a true Corkman.
