Craig Walker

* First

**Craig Walker** was a contestant who competed on season 22 of Hell's Kitchen, he ranked in 3rd place.

## Personality

Craig came into the competition lacking confidence and had one of the worst starts in the show's history almost being eliminated in both the first challenge and dinner service. However after surviving these two nominations his confidence and cooking skill grew immensely as the competition drew on. Becoming one of the blue team's strongest links, eventually beginning to outshine early front runners such as Phil, Sandra and Marcus. Unfortunately one mediocre dish in the final challenge cost him his chance to reach the final two.

He got along with all of the chefs that season and formed a close friendship with Joey who mentored him throughout the competition, seeing his potential. However he clashed with Chase at the beginning of the season as they both saw each other as weak links.

## Season 22

### Episode 1/2

During the signature dish challenge, he was part of the final pairing and went against Sandra. During the cooking portion of the challenge he had burned his chicken but with only 2 minutes on the clock he didn't have time to make another one. His Cajun spiced chicken with orzo and garden salad the chicken as cooked to fuck, the orzo was like bullets and the garden salad was over-dressed and wilted. Ramsay asked him how it was possible to fuck up a signature dish so badly. The blue team would lose the challenge.

During the tapas challenge his dish was picked as one of the blue team's bottom 2 along with Mike's dish. He made a Spanish garlic shrimp dish. It was described as looking bleak, but tasted much better than it looked. He would survive the challenge.

During dinner service he was on the appetiser station with Chase. Throughout the night they would both struggle to get their first appetisers accepted. His carbonara would end up broken twice, then twice overcooked. Eventually he and Chase would be kicked out and Darwin would take over on the appetiser station. The blue team lost the service.

He was one of the 3 chefs nominated for elimination along with Emil and Chase. Ramsay said he was running out of patience with him. He gave an incredibly passionate plea stating he was sickened by his past performances; that he didn’t want it to happen again and he had enough determination and fire to ensure it won’t happen again and if he gets a second chance, he'll get back in the kitchen, and kick ass next service.

He survived elimination.

### Episode 3

During the omelette grand prix he managed to get one of his omelettes accepted. The blue team would lose the challenge.

During dinner service he was on the meat station with Marcus. His first New York strip was perfectly cooked and from then on he would turn out perfectly cooked plate after perfectly cooked plate. The blue team would win the service and Ramsay would praise him for a huge improvement on his first service.

### Episode 4

During the soup challenge, his dish would be dropped in favour of Chase's soup after the latter was able to sway the decision. The proved to be the wrong decision as the latter's dish would only score 3 points. However when the former brought his up to be tested after the blue team had already lost, it received much higher praise and would have scored 8 points. The lead Ramsay to ask the blue team why Chase's dish went up over his.

During dinner service he was on the garnish station with Joey. He wouldn't be seen much as he didn't make any mistakes, but the blue team would lose the service.

He was not nominated for elimination.

### Episode 5

During the army breakfast challenge he was on the steak and eggs station with Phil. He was confident for this challenge as breakfast was one of the things his catering company specialised in. He would take a leading part in the challenge showing teammates how to correctly prepare their dishes, especially Marcus who was struggling on the buttermilk waffle station. The blue team would win the challenge.

During dinner service he was on the appetiser station with Stephen. He expressed some concern about running the station again, remembering what a disaster it was the last time he did. Luckily he was able to push all his appetisers out without any issues. Both teams would lose the dinner service.

He was not nominated for elimination.

### Episode 6

During the exotic meat challenge he took part in the battle of the kangaroo dishes and went against Jane. He made pepperberry kangaroo with a couscous salad, it was praised for it's excellent sear on the kangaroo, but Ramsay said he would have chosen a different spice to pepperberry. He would score the point and win the challenge for his team.

During dinner service he was on the fish station. He was seen sending up perfectly cooked scallops during the appetiser section of service. Once both teams had moved onto entrees he mentioned that he was feeling the pressure working a station alone, however he managed to get all of his entrees accepted without any issues and the blue team would win easily.

### Episode 7

During the seafood challenge he took part in the battle of the cod dish and went against Tori. He made a pan seared cod in a chorizo stew was praised for being bursting with flavour, winning him the point. The blue team would lose the challenge.

He was not one of the five chefs chosen to partake in the Cook For Your Life challenge.

### Episode 8

During the ethnic dish challenge he would pair up with Olivia in the battle of Brazilian cuisine. They made a Brazilian fish stew, which made both judges burst out laughing as it looked an absolute mess, Ramsay said it looks like something you'd reheat in a microwave and it was criticised for being gloopy and poorly put together, scoring just 2 points.

During dinner service he was on the meat station with Phil. Before service Ramsay pulled him into the pantry for a meeting, where he told him not to let what happened in the challenge affect him. Saying it was a minor blip and reminding him of how much he's grown in the competition from his starting point. At one point his perfectly cooked New York strip went to die thanks to Darwin's raw halibut. He wouldn't be seen the rest of the night and the blue team would lose the service.

He was not nominated for elimination.

### Episode 9

During the creative burger challenge, he took part in the battle of the seafood burger and went against Rupinder. For the five minute advantage the two would play skee-ball. The latter would win easily scoring 90 points to his 30. He made a creole shrimp burger with avocado salsa Verde was criticised for the salsa overpowering the shrimp which was supposed to be the star of the show. He would lose the round and the blue team would lose the challenge.

During dinner service he was on the appetiser station with Phil. On the first ticket his perfectly cooked appetisers went to die thanks to Stephen's scallops being overcooked on one side and raw on the other. He wouldn't be seen much after that and both kitchens would be named joint winners.

He was not nominated for elimination

### Episode 10

During the blind taste test, he was part of the final pairing and went against Rupinder. Both of them successfully identified all four ingredients their first turn which were chicken, shallots, zucchini and potatoes. They would both go for another round under sudden death rules. The dead heat continued as they both identified salmon, American cheese and prosciutto. The final ingredient was lychees. He guessed it correctly while Rupinder missed it. With that he became the first chef to get a perfect score twice in the blind taste test, Ramsay and the other chefs commended him for his phenomenal pallete.

During dinner service he was on the meat station. He wasn't seen at all that night as he didn't make any mistakes and the blue team won the service.

### Episode 11

During the King of the Hill challenge he made a Greek Chicken Roulade dish. Ramsay said it was definitely head and shoulders above his signature dish, but was nowhere near enough to earn him a place in the seat. The challenge would eventually be won by Joey.

During the charity night dinner service he was in charge of the fava bean risotto course with Rupinder. They both agreed on six minutes for the risotto. However Craig told the team to start the risotto without warning Ramsay, causing the latter to tell Rupinder's team to tell them what was happening and resulting in the red team's risotto being dropped behind the blue's. Rupinder was angry with him for his poor communication and putting her team behind. He was then seen rushing around the kitchen barking out orders, leading Ramsay to step in and tell him to calm down. He then yelled at Darwin for his risotto being completely burned on the bottom. This caused Chef Jason to pull him aside and tell him that shouting and yelling is completely useless if he's not giving the team helpful advice. The blue team would lose the service.

He was the blue team's second nominee with Darwin being the first. During his plea he stated he's had more than a few setbacks on his journey, but time and time again he's bounced back from them. He had a rough start in the kitchen, but he got better and better, he also had a rough start as a leader but he will get better and better at that too.

He survived elimination.

### Episode 12

During the first black challenge he received received pork, brown rice, carrot and lima beans from the slot machine. He said he definitely feels he drew the short straw with this challenge. His seared pork chop with carrots and lima beans on a bed of brown rice, the dish was described as very plain and lacking on real flavour, therefore he did not earn a black jacket this round.

For the second vegetarian themed round he made spinach and ricotta souffle, Ramsay criticised the dish for looking unappetizing and the souffle being not quite fully risen, however the dish tasted much better than it looked. However this dish would once again not be enough to earn him a black jacket.

For the final childhood themed round as a child with his father and his older sister, the latter would reveal that when he was 5 they were homeless and were moving around from shelter to shelter, at one of them the cook let him and his sister help in the kitchen and that's where his love of cooking stemmed from. He made his seared sea bass with bacon glaze, red chicory and runner beans. It was a dish a chef at one of the shelters made. Ramsay praised the dish for the perfect sear on the fish and making the bacon work so well, he also described it as the the best dish he had made. The dish would ultimately earn him the final black jacket.

### Episode 13

During the cook from the heart challenge he made he made a pork chop au poivre with a red wine-shallot sauce. When asked why the dish was special to him he said it harkens back to the dish he made during the black jacket challenge. When he, his dad and his sister were in a homeless shelter, the chef that came there for the week showed his dad how to make a few of his recipes. This was another one of them, the dish represents the struggles he'd been through during his life and his career as well as his time on Hell's Kitchen. The dish was described as delicious by Puck, Ramsay said the dish he made during the final black jacket was his best dish, until now as this one had overtaken it and it really shows the progress he's made from his signature dish describing it as an amazing transformation. Marcus would ultimately win the challenge.

During dinner service he was given the task of floating around stations. On the final appetiser order Sandra sent up a carbonara that was scrambled, which caused him to step in and help her on the last ticket. During entrees Marcus would have his worst service yet struggling immensely on the fish station. He would again have to step in to help him with the entrees, the black jackets would lose the service to the Sous Chefs.

He was not nominated for elimination.

### Episode 14

During the steak challenge he made a cast-iron New York strip with confit potatoes, asparagus and glazed chalots in a red win jus. Guest judge Shook described it as both rustic and delicious, while the other guest judge Dotolo said the best was definitely saved for last. The dish scored 9 points in total, with Dotolo saying it was so close to a 10. When it came to the social media scores his dish scored 8 out of 10, ultimately winning the challenge. He would choose Joey to join him on the reward. During the reward Joey reminded him that it was still a competition and he wanted to win.

During dinner service he was on the appetiser station. He got the black jackets off to a strong start with his appetisers. He was first to run the pass. He spotted Sandra's undercooked chicken and ordered her to get back in the pan. For the first sabotage Chef Jason replaced a beef wellington with a venison wellington. He spotted it and told Jason to get him a beef wellington not a venison one, he was shown saying that nothing is getting past him tonight. For the second sabotage, Jason swapped green bean garnish with asparagus, which Craig once again spotted. Ramsay said he was impressing the hell out of him and urged him to keep it up. For the final sabotage Maitre d Marino, writing a ticket with a missing entree for a four-top table, Craig once again spotted it and aggressively ordered Marino to "get his ass over here" then ordered him to rewrite the ticket, leaving Chef Ramsay stunned.

He would be chosen as the third chef through to the finals, Ramsay stated that he's surprised everyone as there's never been a bigger turnaround from such a disastrous start.

### Episode 15

Before heading to Lake Tahoe for the final challenge and service, the three finalists were given a tour of Los Angeles which included Grand Central Market, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, The Broad and The Hollywood Sign. They would then join Chef Ramsay for a dinner at a luxury villa.

For the final challenge his cold appetiser dish was a caprese salad with a red wine vinaigrette. The dish was described by guest judge Rachel Ray as tasty, but a little on the simple side especially for this stage of the competition, therefore the dish scored a 7.

For the hot appetiser he made grilled tiger shrimp on a seared polenta cake with thyme and a spicy tomato sauce. Guest judge David Chang praised the dish for its texture contrast and how the sauce takes the dish to the next level, scoring it a perfect 10.

For the fish entree he made pan seared salmon with salsa Verde and collard greens. Guest judge Giana De Laurentiis said the salmon was cooked perfectly however the greens were slightly wilted so the dish scored 8 points.

For the chicken entree he made pan-seared chicken supreme with corn and bacon succotash. Guest judge Bobby Flay praised the dish for having an aggressive seasoning, giving him his second perfect 10.

For the red meat entree he made braised short rib with fingerling potatoes and roast cauliflower. Guest judge Wolfgang Puck criticised the dish for the short rib being overcooked, Craig was shown beating himself up saying his chances of getting to the final two may have just gone out the window, the dish scored just 6 points. He would finish in third place with a final total of 41, eliminating him during the finals.

### Episode 16

After his elimination he would be part of the eight returning chefs. He would be Joey's first pick and was assigned the appetiser station. At one point he served a pot of runny mashed potatoes, he said if he's the reason Joey loses after everything he did for him, he won't be able to forgive himself. Thankfully he would bounce back from this and Joey would ultimately be crowned the winner of Season 22.

## Nomination History

 Week 3
 Week 4
 Week 5
 Week 6
 Week 7
 Week 8
 Week 9
 Week 10
 Week 11
 Week 12
 Week 13
 Week 14
 Week 15

## Trivia

He is the first contestant to reach the finals after surviving back to back nominations in the first two episodes.

He is the first contestant to get a perfect score of 4/4 twice in the blind taste test.

## Post Hell's Kitchen

After his appearance on the show he was offered a Lead Line Cook position at the White Wolf Tavern which Joey opened after being crowned the winner. However he declined as he felt in spite of his success on the show the restaurant industry wasn't for him.

He instead returned to his private catering company cooking for private parties, weddings and special events, he also provides pop up dining services.

## Quotes

*(When his soup would have won the challenge):* "The judges love my soup and it would have won had it been chosen, so I have the moral victory."

*(After eating balut eggs):* "We need to start winning challenges otherwise we may end up eating shit again

*(When his girlfriend and sister arrived):* "Delilah and Sophie have always been my biggest fans and they're a great source of support."

*(During the finalists tour of Las Vegas):* "Who'd have thought a private caterer from the tiny village of Birch Run would be sharing dinner with Chef Ramsay as a finalist."