Delaware chef competing on 'Hell's Kitchen'

Andrew Pearce willingly put himself through "Hell," and, apparently, he enjoyed every minute.

The New Castle resident is one of 18 contestants who will try to win over Gordon Ramsay, the screaming, swearing and food-spitting British celebrity chef, on the 16th season of his popular TV show "Hell's Kitchen." It premieres at 8 p.m. Friday on FOX.  

The winner of the elimination round competition is awarded $250,000 and the head chef position at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar at The Venetian in Las Vegas.

"For a young chef today, it doesn't get any better than that," said Ramsay in a recent promotion for the program where he's shown berating chefs for their raw chicken and ice cold scallops.

"Don't sit there with your mouth open!" barks the chef at one stunned contestant. "I'll put something in it!" 

Pearce, a Delaware native, is the executive chef at Hugo's Frog Bar & Chop House in Philadelphia's SugarHouse Casino. He said he didn't know much about the reality cooking program when casting agents came looking for culinary talent at his former restaurant, The Palm, more than two years ago.

 "Oh my god, you have to talk to our chef. He's hilarious," said his girlfriend's mother, who worked as a bartender at the now-closed Philadelphia restaurant.

Pearce, a graduate of Delcastle Technical High School's culinary arts program and Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh, said he came out of the kitchen and, not too long after, he was invited to meet more staff in New York City.

The 29-year-old's interviews were so impressive, he flew out to Los Angeles for more meetings. In October 2014, the chef found out he would be on "Hell's Kitchen," which began filming shortly after that in California. 

For almost two years, he has kept the show's outcome to himself. This guy can keep a secret.

"It's been a while. It's tough, believe me," said Pearce, who due to contractual obligations can't talk much about the series beyond Friday's premiere episode.

Pearce, whose family lives in Old New Castle and Rambleton Acres, got his cooking start in Delaware. He said he started cooking at Delcastle to relate more to his father who had a catering company. "Me and my father didn't have a great relationship. It kind of helped us to be better friends, and I just ran with it."

One of his first jobs was at the old Prince on Delaware in New Castle. He later moved onto restaurants in Florida and areas of Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

This isn't Pearce's first time on TV. He's done cooking demonstrations for two local TV stations. But it is his first encounter with Ramsay, whom he never really paid much attention to before, though he knew about his hotheaded reputation. 

“Everyone knows about his yelling and his demeanor in the kitchen, but I was ready for it,” said Pearce before adding, “ I don’t know if there is a good way to prepare for that.” Still, Pearce said working in professional kitchens helps “toughen up the skin” especially since he has studied with some “older French chefs, they are the same style, they love to yell.”

During the series, Ramsay, whose restaurants have been awarded 16 Michelin stars, puts chefs through a series of challenges and grueling dinner services. Punishments for poorly cooked food include more than just a signature Ramsay meltdown. In one episode, he makes the losing team drink down milkshakes made with fish guts.

"Honestly, he is very hard on you, but he only wants the best. He has high standards," says Pearce about Ramsay. "I think he's a guy who knows what he wants, and what he expects. And if you don't meet those expectations, he tells you about it. He was very straightforward. He sets the goals and the bar very high. I think that if you work hard, and you get in there and do your best, he respects that. I think overall maybe he's a stern guy, but he's a great chef. It was a great learning process." 

Pearce isn't the only Delaware chef to have faced Ramsay. In 2011, former Wilmington resident Jennifer Behm-Lazzarini was the Season 2 winner of "Master Chef," a reality TV show also starring Ramsay that seeks the best amateur cook in America. Prior to the show, Behm-Lazzarini worked primarily as a real estate agent in Trolley Square. Later, she founded a catering company and now runs a restaurant in Rhode Island with her husband Julio Lazzarini.

Pearce didn't know any of the other contestants when he first began the show, but after they began talking, he said he found out that some of them had mutual acquaintances. One contestant is an executive chef in South Philadelphia. "We knew a lot of the same people," he said.

Pearce said “Hell’s Kitchen” was one of his mother’s favorite TV shows. She died two years ago. They watched the show together during his mother’s illness. “It was our thing,” he said. One reason Pearce said he wanted to do the show was for his mother. "I felt like I had to do it for her."

 The first episode takes place at a U.S. Army training camp and competitors first have to go through a Ramsay-style boot camp, including possibly climbing a 45-foot wall, before being allowed to enter "Hell's Kitchen."

Pearce said he was shocked when he pulled into the military base and saw the challenges. "I'm not exactly the lightest guy. I thought, 'There's no way I'm going to make it into the kitchen.'"

But apparently, he did make it far enough to cook his signature dish, pan-roasted halibut with butter-poached leeks, maitake mushrooms and shellfish broth. 

While he's cooked mostly in high-end steakhouses, Pearce said he wanted to make a seafood dish for Ramsay. "I grew up on East Coast and my family has always been a seafood eating family."

So does Pearce make it to episode two? He can't say. 

"You never knew what was going to happen when you woke up in 'Hell's Kitchen.' Every day was a challenge. It was completely different every day. The things they had you do I don't think you could do at home."

Stay tuned.

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico

IF YOU WATCH:

WHAT: The 16th season of "Hell's Kitchen," starring celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, features Delaware native Andrew Pearce. The chef, who lives in New Castle, is one of the 18 contestants on the reality cooking show.

WHERE: FOX

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday.

INFORMATION: For a peek at the new season of "Hell's Kitchen," watch: youtu.be/DnCN91lWAZ