Former ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Contestants Reveal Jaw-Dropping Details on ‘Dark Side of Reality TV’

When it comes to cooking competition series, no one has more cutting comments than Gordon Ramsay on Hell’s Kitchen. For almost two dozen seasons, the British celebrity chef has always been the most fiery part of the kitchen, with some notoriously brutal (and meme-able) verbal takedowns for the contestants.

So for the latest episode of Dark Side of Reality TV, which focuses on the Fox favorite, there’s no there there when it comes to revealing the pressure cooker of an environment the contestants are thrust into. It’s simply part of the process that’s been made plenty clear ever since Ramsay and his sailor tongue first joined the TV world in the U.K. That doesn’t mean the former contestants who appeared on the Vice TV docuseries didn’t have some bombshells to drop about the show, though.

Here’s a look at some of the most surprising reveals from Tuesday’s (October 8) episode.

Season 1 winner Michael Wray claimed production helped feed his pill habit. 

According to Michael Wray, who went on to win Season 1, he came into the competition with a dependence on opioids due to a surgery, and, when his supply ran low, the production team was willing to go to his doctor and get a refill for him to continue. After he won, he declined a job opportunity with Ramsay in the U.K. and continued to struggle with addiction until he was found near death in the desert and was able to sober up.

Memorable Seasons 6 and 17 contestant Van Hurd believed producers were sabotaging them for the sake of drama.

Van Hurd, who was a fan favorite for his honky tonk demeanor, alleged that during a dumpster clean-up challenge, he found storyboards for the show that made him believe a lot of it was staged. He also suspected the production team of tampering with the contestants’ ovens and prep work to ramp up the drama of the day.

Season 15 winner Ariel Malone felt duped by her post-win position. 

After winning her season of Hell’s Kitchen, Ariel Malone believed she was heading off to become the executive chef at BLT Steak in Las Vegas, Nevada, based on what had been told to her throughout the show. However, she claimed she was instead instructed to stay out of the kitchen and serve as something of figurehead, taking pictures with fans.

Season 6 contestant Tek Moore had an interesting theory about the job listings promoted on the show.

Tek Moore, who finished 12th on her season, posited that the reason the restaurant jobs are advertised as part of the prize package, despite experiences like Malone’s, is that the restaurants at hand are new and want to have their names repeated over and over again throughout the season for publicity.

Dark Side of Reality TV, Tuesdays, 9/8c, Vice TV