by Gina Scarpa

On last night’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen, this season’s baddie finally got the boot.  During her time on the show, Suzanne was known for being a dominant force in the red kitchen and, at times, difficult to work with.  Despite her personality, she cooked well enough to make it to final five but didn’t cut it in last night’s dinner service.  She told Chef Ramsay she focused on perfection but he told her that she accomplished nothing and sent her home.  Today, she spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview and dished about her experiences on Hell’s Kitchen.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was your cooking background, prior to trying out for Hell’s Kitchen?
A. Suzanne: I was an apprentice for a restaurant group in Milwaukee.  They have all different kinds of restaurants, French, American, everything.  I was there for five years before coming out to Vegas. 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you decide to audition this season?
A. Suzanne: I have only seen a few episodes and I basically did it on a challenge.  I was talking to some people at work and they asked if I thought I could do it and I said yes.  They told me there was an open casting call the next day so I went.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You were labeled as someone very difficult to work with on Hell’s Kitchen.  Do you think you were misunderstood?
A. Suzanne: I think it was a combination of misinterpretation and personalities.  I went in there very serious.  I think I came off a bit too strong, a bit too intimidating.  That ended up turning into, “Oh, she’s pompous and arrogant.”

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you think that the fact that teams are separated by gender has anything to do with it?
A. Suzanne: That was my statement from the beginning.  Girls are catty bitches and that’s never gonna change.  I don’t know if it’s the need to be liked and accepted all the time, especially by a male figure but the bottom line is: girls don’t generally work well together.  I definitely think I would’ve fared better, had it been co-ed.  There’s just vibes that you can jive with and you feel comfortable with.  It seems to be that male figures in the kitchen tend to relax other females.  If the playing field had been evened out a little, some girls would’ve naturally floated into that subservient role while others would rise to the expectation level of being dominant.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you have a moment that you felt was your best this season?
A. Suzanne: I think I had a few best moments – any time I won a challenge, I felt like the best.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What do you think happened in that dinner service last night that led to your elimination?
A. Suzanne: It started that morning when I woke up and I was kind of drained.  My confidence was down and my physical ability to produce was down.  I ended up working a bit against myself. 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You told Chef Ramsay that you were focusing on perfection in that dinner service but he said you accomplished nothing.  What would be your response to that?
A. Suzanne: Give me 12 hours of good sleep and I’ll get things done.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Does the lack of sleep get to you when you’re on the show?
A. Suzanne: I think the lack of sleep was number one and the lack of communication with the outside world was number two.  You need to be able to purge.  That’s the trick of Hell’s Kitchen – being able to sustain that animosity and energy that builds up in you that you’re unable to purge.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Where are you cooking now?
A. Suzanne: I’m taking a sous chef position with Vdara, which is here in Las Vegas.  It will be a huge project.  I’m so incredibly excited about this opportunity.


Hell’s Kitchen airs Tuesday nights at 8pm ET on FOX.

(Image courtesy of FOX)

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