Cora Galnis

* First

**Cora Galnis** was a contestant on Hell's Kitchen Season 30: Next Gen, she finished in 11th place.

A Greek American chef from Detroit, Cora comes into the competition with a lot of confidence in her abilities, time will tell whether she can back that confidence up in the kitchen.

## Personality

Cora's a nice enough woman but she has a short temper, mostly shown whenever she's up for nomination.

### Episode 1

Cora had a tall task ahead of her in the Signature Dish Challenge as she had to get the women on track after Fiona's signature dish bombed, luckily for the other women her mousakka was a strong dish and earned a 4/5 maintaining the women's lead and allowing McKenna to eventually secure the win.

Cora was one of the chefs who got especially drunk during the reward and spent a lot of time on the dance floor.

### Episode 2

Cora was clearly regretting how much she had to drink the night before thanks to her hangover, her tacos weren't selected for the Punishment Pass Challenge which was ultimately won by Chelsea and Xander.

Cora was on meat with Saraya that night and both women were suffering from their hangovers, this combined with their poor communication with the other stations got the whole Red Team kicked out but Cora and Saraya got lucky that night as Trent was worse then both of them combined.

### Episode 3

Cora was eager to make up for her mistakes on opening night but never got a chance too thanks to Chelsea's disastrous pairing with Kaylee which was so bad that Cora wondered if the Red Team's youngest member was anything without Ashley, noting that she and the other women had noticed how close they were.

Cora was ultimately proven wrong that night when Chelsea rocked the meat station meanwhile she and Saraya had problems on fish and apps respectively, made worse by the fact that they didn't have their hangovers to hide behind, however Ramsey sparred them from elimination again when he overrided Chelsea's nominations and eliminated Kaylee for her failures on the garnish station.

### Episode 4

Things were still tense between Cora and Saraya when they returned to the dorms, with Cora flat out telling Saraya to fuck off when Saraya tried to present that the incident during elimination never happened.

Like Chelsea, Cora spent a lot of money on her ingredients for the budget challenge but unlike Chelsea she didn't make good use of it as her French Toast was undercooked and she earned a low score, thankfully for her the Red Team still won the challenge.

Her resentment for Saraya almost boiled over into service but Ashley and Chelsea managed to cool things down between them and they got apps out without issue, the Red Team went on to win their first service.

### Episode 5

Cora, alongside Saraya, proved to be the Red Team's biggest downfall in the Jackets challenge, deviating from her given recipe and failing to earn a point, costing the Red Team the win.

Cora was once again up for elimination with Saraya that night but they were joined by the usualy consistently good Chelsea as the young chef's nerves had led to many mistakes on the meat station, Cora was spared however as Saraya got herself disqualified for her appalling comments.

### Episode 6

Cora managed to get back in Ramsey's good graces this challenge as her take on Duck La Orange allowed her to earn a point for the Red Team, the Red Team went on to win the challenge.

Cora was in big trouble come dinner service though she wasn't directly at fault as Fiona was the main problem on the Red Team's meat station, she got kicked out after Fiona's mid-service elimination and even though the Red Team won the service, Cora was still named for elimination, this time by Ramsey himself, fortunately for Cora she was spared again by Grant's elimination but warned that the next time she was up for elimination would be the last.

### Episode 7

Cora was still angry at herself for getting nominated again though Sophie and Lisa did help her pick her spirits back up, in the slot machine challenge Cora produced a deconstructed Lamb Casserole and whilst it was one of the best dishes of the day, the Blue Team still won the challenge and Christina allowed Cora to vent her frustrations at the sous chef during punishment.

Come dinner service Cora had her best dinner service yet, rocking the meat station solo even after the Blue Team were called in to help them finish service, to Cora's shock she was named Best of the Worst and had a hand in Lisa's elimination.

### Episode 8

Cora (along with Ava) where the first two chefs to learn that Episode 8 fell on Chelsea's birthday and congratulated her, Cora went on to face Chelsea in the final Beef Entree round which ended in Cora's defeat as her beef tartare was bland and her wasabi mayonnaise didn't have enough wasabi flavor in it, during the punishment Cora volunteered to cook Chelsea's birthday cake for her, revealing that she was often called upon to do so for her niece and nephew.

Cora had another stellar performance in the service and she rocked the apps station with McKenna, even though the Red Team lost the service she was still happy to serve Chelsea her birthday cake when called upon, after Sophie's elimination that night Cora was traded to the Blue Team in exchange for Xander as Ramsey wanted to see how she performed in the new environment whilst giving Xander a chance to lead the Red Team.

### Episode 9

Cora's chicken dish would end up being her second bad challenge dish in a row, as it turned out to be raw, costing her the round against Xander and tying the scores up, the Red Team went on to win the challenge.

Come dinner service Cora seemingly slipped into her old ways as she had a terrible night on apps and refused Ashley's help, eventually getting kicked out with Tai, though this was her fifth nomination Cora was sparred and Tai was eliminated.

### Episode 10

Cora knew that she couldn't risk being up for elimination again though the day started off badly as she bombed on the Blind Taste Test, getting Chelsea covered in gunk in the process, though on the subsequent beauty salon reward Cora did complement Chelsea on her post makeover looks to make up for it.

Cora was on meat with Ashley that night and made sure Chelsea got out of her funk by making sure the younger chef knew what was coming in, though Chelsea was nominated for elimination by Ramsey himself she, alongside Miles and Ava, were sparred from elimination.

### Episode 11

Cora's salmon tartare got decent reviews in the cold food challenge but it was ultimately defeated by Stephan's dish, the challenge was won for the Blue Team by Chelsea who admitted that she had been dealing with confidence issues since the third episode's challenge.

The Cook for Your Life Challenge would be the thing that finally defeated Cora after six nominations as she had problems making her pasta from the word go and had to scrap it for a chicken dish only for the chicken to be raw and the sides burned, finally ending her Hell's Kitchen run.

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

## Trivia

Cora is the only Greek American chef on the cast.

At six nomintions before finally being eliminated, Cora holds the record for the most nominations this season.

## Post Hell's Kitchen

Whilst Cora's stay in Hell's Kitchen was up and down, she was able to parley it into a far more successful career back home, opening a Greek style steakhouse with her brother back home in Detroit which has excellent reviews, Cora initially regretted her time in Hell's Kitchen as she felt it wasn't representative of how she truly was as a cook but eventually warmed up to it.

Cora would later tell a fan on Social Media that the Hell's Kitchen editors had misspelled her surname (Galanis instead of Galnis) and by the time they realized it was too late to go back and edit it as the season was underway before admitting that she didn't even realize until the promos for her season started to air.

## Quotes

“It’s been too long since Hell’s Kitchen had a Greek Contestant! My family’s from the island of Corfu in Greece and I’m bringing that Mediterranean flavor to hell!” (Cora’s first confession cam)

“Right then, I’ll start with you young lady, tell me about yourself.”

“My name’s Cora and I’m a line cook from Detroit.”

“Nice, what made you apply for Hell’s Kitchen?”

“I don’t know, chance to get on TV, showcase my cooking to the world, any number of reasons really but off course the main one is to cook for you.”

“Good answer, let’s see your Signature Dish.”

\*Cora unveils her dish\* “This is my upscale take on a Moussaka, I used lamb shoulder and backstrap to make the mince, used Yukon Gold potatoes and some Parmesan origano in the bechamel sauce.”

“A Greek Dish, and you pronounced it correctly.”

“My family’s from Greece, namely the island of Corfu.”

“Beautiful island, and I can’t wait to try this.” \*Gordon tries the dish\* “It has heart, soul, a strong robust flavour, that’s the kind of dish I would travel to Greece to eat. 4/5, great job!”

“Thank you chef.” (Cora’s signature dish gets tasted by Ramsey)

"So much for Chelsea being some kind of cooking prodigy! Here I was, ready to redeem myself from opening night but she and Kaylee bombed big time on the relay and I'm beginning to wonder if she can stand up on her own without Ashley's help!" (Cora's confession cam after the disaster of a relay challenge)

"I'm still here after two nominations, but any friendship I had with Saraya is out the window after that comment! I was wrong about Chelsea, I'll admit that and I guess I was wrong about Saraya too!" (Cora's confession cam after surviving her second nomination)

"Hey Cora, you have time to talk?"

"Not to you bitch."

"Oh come on, I meant nothing by that comment!"

"Bullshit! And you can fuck off with any fake apology you have for me!"

"Fine, can't wait for you to go hone!"

"Same!" (the friendship between Cora and Saraya is officially over)

“Cora, you must’ve drawn on your Greek Heritage for this challenge.”

“A little bit but I’m trying something different.” \*Cora unveils her dish\* “I decided to do a dessert for this challenge and using $50 of the budget I made a Greek Style French Toast.”

“A French-Greek Fusion Dish?” \*Cora nods at Jazz’s question\* “So here’s my question, you spent half of the budge on bread, milk…….”

“Cinnamon, sugar, Greek Honey, Walnuts, Greek Yogurt and Pistachios.”

“Where exactly where you shopping that was selling that stuff for so much?”

“The only place I could find Greek ingredients was an import shop.”

“Sorry to interject but Jazz you just stole all of my questions.” \*Jazz shakes her head and gives Gordon a joking apologetic look before the chefs dig in\* “Oh dear, if only you were as generous with the food as you were with the budget, Cora, what’s the one problem you can see with that French toast?”

\*Cora leans in for a closer look\* “It’s a little undercooked chef.”

“A little? Young lady that hasn’t even touched the pan, the garnishes save it from being a total disaster but the French Toast is meant to be the hero of the dish, Jazz, how much would you pay for that?"

"I can't see myself paying more than $10." \*Cora winces as it dawns on her\* "And the only reason it's in double digits is because of your garnish."

"I'm sorry but even I can't be that generous because I feel like I could've made the same dish for half the price and properly cook the toast to boot, I'll go as high as $8 and that's it."

"Honestly? I think even Zara's being too high, that's $5 for me."

"Can I go as low as $2? Because that doesn't feel like a lot of effort to me."

"Ouch, Cora I'll spare your ego any further damage and not even score it."

"Thanks chef." \*Cora returns to her team ashamed of herself\* (Cora's dish gets trashed)

"You know that clip from The Simpsons where that kid is going "Stop! Stop! He's already dead!", yeah that was how I felt as my dish got torn apart up there, and I just know that the rest of the Red Team will rip into me if I cost them the challenge!" (Cora's confession cam after her dish gets trashed)

"Never been more glad to see a chef go home, even before all the bullshit Saraya said, I've had my disagreements with Chelsea and Ashley but they didn't deserve any of that bullshit! If I never see Saraya again, I'll be happy!" (Cora's confession cam after Saraya's elimination)

"FUCK!" \*Cora leans against the wall in the corridor between the two kitchens clearly frustrated at herself\* "Why can't I fucking do this?! Why can't I get it together on the line?!"

"Cora, I told you to go to the dorms." \*Cora looks up and sees Ramsey\* "Trust me, you've done enough damage tonight!"

"I know! That's why I',m angry at myself! I know I can cook, I know I can burn on the line but since I got here it's been one fuckup after another!"

"That passion is why I haven't given up on you yet, but I need to get back to service and you need to get back to the dorms."

\*Cora lets out a deep breath\* "Yes chef." \*Cora quickly heads to the dorms\* (Cora's confession cam) "At least on my first night I could hide behind my hangover but ever since then? It's been one bad service after another! What the hell has gotten into me? I know I'm a better cook than this!" (Cora is frustrated after getting kicked out again)

"They say cats have nine lives but this Greek cat just got her lives cut down to five! Maybe now that Ashley and Chelsea are in the Blue Team I can get this together and show Ramsey what I can do in the kitchen but my time's running out, I need to shape up and fast!" (Cora's confession cam after surviving her fourth nomination)

"Cora? Come with me a second."

"Coming." \*Cora follows Christina into the pantry\* "Something on your mind?"

"You." \*Cora gives Christina a confused look\* "You've warn your heart of your sleeve since you got here Cora but it's been especially noticeable since Saraya was booted out, what's on your mind?"

"What do you expect me to say? I know I'm good at my job away from Hell's Kitchen but in Hell's Kitchen? My performances in services have been shocking, for god's sake I've been up for elimination four times!" \*Cora lets out a deep breath\* "Lately? My frustrations just gotten to me, you know?"

"I know, and that's why I want you to vent it at me." \*Cora does a double take\* "Cora have you watched Hell's Kitchen before?"

"Yeah, I binged watched it in preparation for coming on here, including your season."

"Then you know how toxic my Red Team was, trust me, I can take it."

"If you say so," \*Cora lets out a deep breath before venting her frustrations, once she's done Cora lets out several deep breaths\* "That felt good to get off my chest."

"Glad to hear it, Gordon hasn't given up on you and neither should you, now let's get back to the punishment." \*Cora nods before following Christina out of the pantry\* (Cora vents her frustrations)

"For the second night in a row I'm on meat, but I'm on my own and I don't have anyone as strong as Chelsea or Ash to bail me out this time! I'm not going up for elimination again, not if I can help it!" (Cora's confession cam after she starts on the meat station)

"Chef, I'm coming up behind with two New York Strip and one Duck Breast."

"Leave them there Cora." \*Cora nods before putting it down and getting back to the meat station\* "Oh my god." \*Cora braces herself for an earful\* "Cora, that meat is beautifully cooked!"

\*Cora does several double takes\* "Err, can you say that again chef?"

"I said the meat is perfectly cooked! Don't celebrate just yet but don't slip from here either."

"Yes chef!" \*Cora keeps her cool but isn't even trying to hide the massive grin on her face\* (Cora rocks the meat station)

"Red Team, the bad news is? You lost." \*the red team hang their heads low\* "The good news is that one of you has finally come out of her shell! I can't believe I'm about to say this but Cora? You are the best of the worst!"

\*Cora is beaming with pride as she hears that\* "Thank you chef!" (Cora gets named Best of the Worst)

"Right, guys, let's cut to the chase! Sophie, Lisa, I don't know how to even describe how badly you did tonight but I can't think of anyone who did worse."

"Hold on a second Cora, I know we fucked up but we helped you out this morning." \*Cora turns to Lisa\* "I think you owe us for that! Put someone else up, not us!"

"How stupid do you think I am Lisa?" \*Lisa is taken aback by Cora's blunt response\* "I've been nominated four times, the next time I'm up for elimination I'm done, I just had the best service I've ever had in Hell's Kitchen and I'd be flushing that goodwill down the toilet if I don't nominate the right people!"

"You're right and I didn't mean to insult your intelligence." \*Cora shakes her head\* "I'm just trying to save my own backside!"

"So am i!" (Cora shoots down the idea of nominating anyone else)

"Guys, there's another part to this punishment you need to know about, as it's Chelsea's birthday today Gordon wants one of you to bake her a birthday cake, any volunteers?" \*Cora puts her hand up\* "You were rather quick Cora."

"I have a niece and nephew, my family always relies on me to bake a birthday cake for them and not to brag but I've gotten pretty good at it over the years."

"In that case we'll leave it in your capable hands, Chelsea doesn't appear to have any allergies or intolerances so go crazy, the rest of you? Get to work, Cora will join when the cake's in the oven."

"Yes chef." (Cora gets the cake assignment)

"I know I did a team swap recently, but I think another one is in order." \*the chefs exchange uncertain looks\* "Cora, Xander, step forward." \*Cora and Xander step up\* "Cora, I don't know what's happened to you over the past two services but you've gone from someone who I was ready to cut to a rapidly improving chef, why did it take you so long?"

"I'm not sure chef, but I'm not complaining either." \*Cora brushes some hair over her shoulder\* "Even since you moved Chelsea and Ashley to the Blue Team I've felt my confidence in challenges and services skyrocket."

"I'm glad to see it, but I'm wondering if you can do the same on the Blue Team." \*Cora nods as she gets the idea\* "You are on the Blue Team, Xander, I want to see you emerge as a leader on the Red Team, got it?"

"Yes chef." (Xander and Cora swap teams)

(Cora's confession cam) "If there's one guy I've dreaded going up against in challenges, it's Xander! That guy's produced more killer dishes than I care to count and I've been hit or miss, mostly miss! Hopefully I can score an upset win with my chicken dish!"

"Cora, please describe your dish."

"This is a pan roasted chicken breast glazed with miso, served on a bed of spicy rice and a chorizo salsa."

"Miso, chorizo, and spicy rice, what direction are you going with this dish?"

"I guess a bit of Spanish/Japanese fusion? I was more concerned with making a flavorful dish than what cuisine I was........." \*Ramsey cuts into the chicken and shows that it's raw\* "OH SHIT!"

"Young lady, that is beyond inedible! Did you even cook it?"

"I did! I started it in the pan and finished it in the oven." \*Cora lets out a frustrated sigh\* "With ten minutes to go, I spent way too much time prepping the rice."

"It's a shame because the dish looks beautiful but I'm refusing to taste it because the chicken is raw, Xander? You win the challenge by default."

"Yes chef."

"Sorry chef." (Cora serves raw chicken)

"Cora, this is getting ridiculous! You were making a comeback on the Red Team but now you've regressed, you had a terrible night on apps!"

"I know chef."

"This is the fifth time you've been up for elimination, I told you that you were running out of chances last time." \*Cora lowers her head\* "Cora, step forward\* \*Cora steps forward\* "How much further can you go? Honestly!"

"I think I can go a lot farther chef."

"Here's the thing, I agree." \*Cora breathes a massive sigh of relief\* "HOWEVER, you are on your last chance, if you are up for elimination again I'll put you out of your misery, am I clear?"

"Yes chef."

"Fuck off back in line." \*Cora quickly heads back to the Blue Team\* (Cora survives elimination again)

"Look, I know Chelsea is mad at me for how badly I did on the Blind Taste Test this morning and I don't blame her! But if she doesn't get it together on apps we'll be in big trouble and if I have to jump over on apps to help Chelsea, I will!" (Cora's confession cam after Chelsea struggles on apps due to her nerves)

"Come on! Why won't this damn pasta roll properly?!"

"Twenty minutes to go!"

"Oh fuck me!" \*Cora rushes off to the pantry\* (Cora's confession cam) "Hey pop quiz guys, have you ever tried to make fresh pasta with a filling, a sauce and garnish done in twenty minutes and have it properly cooked? No? NEITHER HAVE I! And I'm not about to try here in Hell's Kitchen, not whilst I'm competing against a girl who's done nothing but put out amazing Italian food since she got here! I have to scrap my pasta and the sauce but the garnishes are still good, I just need something new to pair them with, preferably something I can cook in twenty minutes!" (regular dialogue) "Chicken? Yeah, sure, that'll do!" \*Cora rushes back to her station with the chicken in hand as Christina approaches her\* "Christina, please don't take this the wrong way but you're the last person I want to see right now!"

"I could've guessed that from the way you bolted to the pantry when Gordan called for twenty minutes." \*Cora nods as she starts prepping her chicken\* "What's wrong?"

"I had to scrap my original idea, my pasta wasn't rolling out properly no matter what I did and I had to scrap that idea." \*Cora lets out a deep breath\* "I'm going to throw this chicken into the oven at full blast and then quickly cook the garnish that I was gonna cook for my pasta dish, I don't know if this will be up to standard but I'm not serving Ramsey an empty plate!"

"Take a deep breath and compose yourself." \*Cora does so\* "You've had a stressful cook, that much is obvious, but the fact that you didn't give up will earn you some brownie points with Gordan, that said? Get that chicken in the oven ASAP."

"Yes chef." \*Cora quickly throws the chicken in the oven\* (Cora has problems with her dish)

"Cora, bring up your dish please." \*Cora does so\* "When I called twenty minutes you bolted to the pantry, what happened?"

"More like what DIDN'T happen! I had trouble with the pasta for my dish throughout that cook, I had to scrap everything and I instead cooked a chicken dish with the garnish I would've used with the pasta dish, I don't know if it's going to be up to standard but I didn't want to serve you an empty plate either!"

"What did you cook instead?"

\*Cora unveils her dish\* "This is a roast chicken breast with seasonable Italian herbs and veg."

"That's not your prettiest dish but it's all in the taste." \*Cora nods before Ramsey cuts into the chicken and stops\* "Oh dear, you have a huge problem."

"Don't tell me that thing's raw?!" \*Cora's worse fears are confirmed and she screams in frustration into her hands\* "Damn it! God fucking damn it! Off course it's raw! Off course it's fucking raw!"

"Cora, I'm sorry but I'm not going to eat that." \*Cora nods as her tears start to well up\* "And I'm afraid the dish doesn't work as a whole, on top of the raw chicken the garnishes are burned."

"Because clearly, the food gods don't hate me enough already." \*Cora sighs in frustration\* "I'm so sorry chef, I had an awesome idea in my head from the word go but nothing went right for me in that cook."

"You didn't give up and that's what matters, the fact that you persisted means that you'll have a bright future in this industry." \*Cora nods as she looks up at Ramsey\* "Place go back in line."

"Yes chef." (Cora's fate is sealed)

"Let's get one thing out of the way, Chelsea, Ashley, McKenna, you are all absolutely safe! But I'm not going to prolong this, I want the cook who produced the worse dish to step forward and accept their defeat with some dignity."

\*Miles and Ava hesitate but Cora steps forward with her eyes closed\* "I know I cooked the worse dish tonight, no need to drag it out any longer."

"Cora, please step forward." \*Cora steps forward\* "Young lady you have a drive and passion that is almost unmatched, but that was not your best dish tonight and you know it."

"Yes chef."

"Do you have anything to say to your competitors before you go?"

"Yeah, I do." \*Cora turns to the others\* "Chelsea, as far as I'm concerned? Sky's the limit for you babe, never stop cooking no matter what, you got it?"

"I won't, thanks Cora."

"And Ash? I don't think I've met an Italian cook who looks as good and cooks as good as you, keep at it, you've got an amazing future."

"Thanks Cora."

"As for the rest of you? Never give up, no matter what? I never gave up and it got me this far didn't it?" \*Cora turns to Ramsey and sighs\* "Strangely enough? I'm gonna miss cooking here!"

"You've done your fanily proud Cora, but I'm gon na need your jacket." \*Cora nods before removing her jacket and leaving\* (Cora is eliminated)

"That challenge was just a god damn train wreck for for from start to finish! And in the end I couldn't even serve anything edible to show for my efforts, this has been one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life but I'd do it all over again if I could, but until that day comes? I'm gonna go home, pick myself up and rebound from this!" (Cora's elimination statement)