Darwin Stillman

* First

**Darwin Stillman** was a contest who competed in season 22 of Hell's Kitchen, he ranked in 7th place.

## Personality

Darwin had a mild and likeable personality in spite of his large size and somewhat menacing appearance, coming across as a gentle giant. In the kitchen he started as one of the blue team's strongest links, often leading his team to challenge victories and coming to the rescue of stations that were tanking. However he went on a downward spiral towards the end of his run on the show as his number of service mistakes increased. It came full circle at the charity night service when he failed both on the line and as a leader leading to his elimination.

He got on with the vast majority of the chefs that season and formed friendships with Craig, Joey, Sandra and a very close friendship with Marcus, which one chef would openly poke fun of at certain points.

## Season 22

### Episode 1/2

During the signature dish challenge he was part of the fourth pairing and went against Tori. Before presenting his signature dish Ramsay pointed out his long, tied back hair which went half way down his back. He jokingly asked if he there was any hair in the food, to which Darwin assured there wasn't. He made filet of wagyu beef with braised red cabbage and celery root puree, it would have scored 5 points, however the puree was far too watery, so the dish scored 3. The blue team would lose the challenge.

What he made during the tapas challenge is unknown as it wasn't selected for either the top 3 or bottom 2. During dinner service he was on the meat station with Emil, early on in service he was asked to take over on the appetiser station after Craig and Chase had been kicked out. He would single handily complete the station for the blue team. He wouldn't be seen much after that as he didn't make any mistakes. The blue team would lose the service.

He was not nominated for elimination.

### Episode 3

During the omelette grand pix challenge, he managed to get 1 of his omelettes accepted, the blue team would lose the challenge. During the punishment he was frequently seen in a puking fit after having to eat balut eggs, especially while Emil described what was in them.

During dinner service he was on the fish station with Chase. He was seen pushing out perfectly cooked scallops at the beginning of the service, he wouldn't be seen after that and the blue team would win the service.

### Episode 4

During the soup challenge, he expressed confidence with this challenge as he revealed that soup was one of his specialties during his days as a Lead Line Cook. He made a spicy Thai coconut soup. It was deemed so good that it blew the judges minds and scored a perfect 9 points. He would proclaim that his nickname was the "Sensei of soup". The blue team would still lose the challenge.

During dinner service he was on the appetiser station with Marcus. The two of them got the blue kitchen off to a strong start pushing out perfectly cooked appetisers at a brisk pace. Sadly the blue team would fall apart during the entrees and would lose the service.

He was not nominated for elimination.

### Episode 5

During the army breakfast challenge, he was on the breakfast sandwich station with Emil. At one point they were seen with Craig telling them the time to cook the bacon, the blue team would win the challenge.

During dinner service he was on the fish station with Joey. He wasn't seen during the night as he didn't make any mistakes, both teams would lose the service. During the post-mortem he told Emil that when he yelled at his team when they were trying to help him, it was just unprofessional.

He was not nominated for elimination.

### Episode 6

During the exotic meat challenge, he took part in the battle of venison and went against Sandra. He made venison ribeye with celeriac and ribes rubrum. It was nicely cooked, but criticised for the ribes rubrum being very sweet and overpowering, giving Sandra the point. The blue team would win the challenge.

During dinner service he was on the appetiser station with Phil. At one point he sent up a carbonara with overcooked pasta, which Ramsay said was like mush. Luckily he bounced back from this and didn't make any more mistakes for the rest of the service. The blue team would win the service.

### Episode 7

During the fish challenge, he took part in the battle of swordfish and went against Marcus. He made a pan seared swordfish in hollandaise sauce was perfectly cooked, but criticised as the sauce didn't work with the fish, giving Marcus the point. The blue team would lose the challenge.

He was one of the five chefs selected to take part in the cook for your life challenge along with Phil, Stephen, Jane and Tori. He made a New York strip and poached lobster dish, it was praised for the perfect sear on the steak and the lobster being beautifully cooked and was named the dish to beat. It would beat Stephen's dish in the first round and he would survive the challenge. He received a warm welcome from his teammates and he went and hugged Marcus.

### Episode 8

During the ethnic dish challenge he took part in the battle of European cuisine and went against Sandra. He Greek-styled grilled prawns, it was praised for being a stunning dish and cooked beautifully, scoring 8 points. The blue team would win the challenge.

During dinner service he was on the fish station. He got off to a strong start, sending up perfectly cooked scallops. However he fell apart once the teams had moved on to entrees, his first halibut was like sushi and on the second attempt it was cooked to fuck. Throughout the rest of the night he continued to struggle, sending up 2 more completely raw pieces of halibut. This would lead to the blue team being kicked out of the kitchen, ultimately losing the service.

He was the blue team's second nominee, with Olivia being the first. During his plea he said that it was his first real off night and he takes full responsibility for what happened, and he's been an asset to the team up until this point and come next service he will once again be an asset.

He survived elimination.

### Episode 9

During the creative burger challenge, he took part in the battle of the chicken burger and went against Marcus. He made a Caribbean jerk chicken burger was praised for being bursting with flavour and having just the right level of spice, it would win him the point. The blue team would lose the challenge.

During dinner service he was on the meat station. His first rack of lamb and short rib were cooked beautifully. He would go on to have one of his strongest services yet sending up plate after plate of perfectly cooked meat dishes. On the final ticket Ramsay called the rest of the chefs to the pass to look at his meat temperature, all of which were perfect. Ramsay described it as a masterclass. The blue team would win the service easily.

### Episode 10

During the blind taste test, he only managed to identify one ingredient correctly, the blue team would still win the challenge.

During dinner service he was on the garnish station. He expressed confidence in his leadership skills even though it was his first time working the station. It got off to a shaky start when he misheard Craig's time on his first filet mignon and ran the garnish to the pass before he was ready. Leading Ramsay to ask him what the fuck he was doing as the filet was still 3 minutes away. Ramsay urged him to get a grip and listen to his team. At the end of service he would send up a pan of burnt vegetable, luckily the blue team won the service.

Even though he would not be nominated, Ramsay reminded him he was lucky that the blue team won tonight.

### Episode 11

During the King of the Hill challenge, his dish was fifth to be judged. He made braised scallops in a coconut cream rice, Ramsay said the scallops were nicely cooked, but like his signature dish, this one was not quite nailed as the coconut was overpowering. He failed to dethrone Marcus, though Joey would be the eventual winner.

During the charity night dinner service he was assigned the fourth course of kobe beef tenderloin along with Marcus. Before his turn to lead, he struggled throughout the service sending up a burnt risotto and two completely raw salmons. When it was his turn to lead it got off the a poor start as he quietly read the ticket out, not getting a response from his team and continued to quietly plead for an answer from his team, which he wouldn't get. When it came to plating, there were only ten steaks in the window when there were meant to be twelve and he went completely silent, Ramsay asked him what the fuck he was doing. The blue team would lose the service.

He would be the blue team's first nominee with Craig being the second. During his plea he stated that while he had a rough night tonight he's been a consistently strong link in the kitchen and he knows he can lead he just wants another chance to prove it. Ramsay told him that he started the competition strong, but as it's worn on his confidence seems to have been fizzling out.

In the end he would be eliminated for failing to rise as a leader, but Ramsay praised him for his energy, passion and talent, he also advised him to speak up before he goes down. He then told him to walk out the door with his head held high and continue on his journey. During his exit speech he said Hell's Kitchen was the hardest thing he's ever done in his life, but has learned so much from his journey and while he knows now that there are some areas that need ironing out, he feels he has the making of a great head chef just like Ramsay said he does and will continuing following his dreams in the culinary world, during his exit speech he was given a montage of his time on the show.

### Episode 15/16

He was one of the eight chefs that returned for the final service. He was Joey's third pick and was assigned the fish station. At one point he was shown working well together with Marcus, who was working meat. Joey would be named the winner.

## Nomination History

 Week 3
 Week 4
 Week 5
 Week 6
 Week 7
 Week 8
 Week 9
 Week 10
 Week 11

## Post Hell's Kitchen

After his appearance on the show Darwin became the Executive Chef at The Hideout which has near-perfect reviews.

He competed on Chopped, but was eliminated in the final round.

## Quotes

*(After seeing Craig's signature dish):* "We'd better hope Craig's dish doesn't go up last or we are well and truly fucked."

*(During the soup challenge):* "I'm confident I can knock this challenge out of the park as soup was my specialty during my Lead Line Cook days."

*(After getting a perfect score in the soup challenge):* "My nickname back then was the "Sensei of Soup" and I've more than lived up to that today."

*(About using hollandaise with his fish dish):* "I feel that hollandaise as an ingredient was a trap and I fell for it hook, line and sinker."

*(After being eliminated):* "Hell's Kitchen is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but at the same time I've learned so much about myself. And while I realise I still have a few areas that need ironing out I do have the making of an amazing head chef just like Chef Ramsay said and now I'm just going to keep on following my dreams in the culinary world."