‘Hell’s Kitchen’s’ Egypt Davis on 3rd-place finish and why the Blue Team ‘never really warmed up to me’
Welcome to Reality Derby, our weekly deep dive into all things reality TV, hosted by Gold Derby senior editors Marcus James Dixon and Denton Davidson.
Joining us this week is Egypt Davis, a 31-year-old executive chef from Chicago who was eliminated from Hell’s Kitchen: Head Chefs Only in third place. (Our interview begins at the 0:54 mark in the video above.) Egypt talks about his disappointing exit from Gordon Ramsay‘s cooking show, why he clashed with the Blue Team, and where he hopes his culinary journey will lead him next.
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In last week’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen, Egypt faced off against Kyle Timpson and Hannah Flora for a spot in the finale. After each contestant created a five-course meal judged by celebrity chefs, Egypt finished in last place by just a single point. “I can be upset by the result, but I can’t be upset at the person who came before me,” Egypt says. “Hannah and Kyle taking those spots was a huge blow to my heart…but they are two powerhouse, beast chefs and they went hard. I have to respect that.”
SEE ‘Hell’s Kitchen’: Whit Thomas on internet trolls and embracing her role as a reality TV villain
One personal highlight that still makes Egypt blush was having his food judged (and raved about) by celebrity chef (and Top Chef winner) Stephanie Izard. “I started crushing on Stephanie Izard back when I was in high school,” Egypt laughs. “I did a report on her in school and I fell in love so hard. Even sitting here thinking about it is making me nervous. Aside from her being absolutely gorgeous, she is a powerhouse chef. She has pioneered her own way through the industry and I follow her career closely. Aside from crushing on her, I actually do idolize her as one of the leading people in the industry.”
Egypt also recalls clashing with the Blue Team and explains why he got off to a rocky start in the competition. “I was under the impression — us all being head chefs — that we were all around the same age and brought up in the industry at the same time, with [similar] mentors — loud! But knowing that when they yell at us, it’s never personal. It’s not because they hate us. A chef has to be loud in the kitchen and have a commanding voice because the kitchen itself is loud.”
Egypt’s powerful voice and big personality rubbed many of his teammates the wrong way — and they informed him they came from “quiet kitchens.” Egypt exclaims, “I don’t even know what a quiet kitchen is!” Despite working through their personality differences, Egypt admits, “I don’t think they ever really warmed up to me. It only looked [like that] because the Blue Team was getting eliminated like flies.”
We also chat with Jinkx Monsoon and dive into the sixth episode of The Traitors (“A Dysfunctional Family”), the fourth episode of Deal or No Deal Island (“Throw and Tell”), and the fifth episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race (“RDR Live!”), and we preview the new coach lineup on The Voice Season 27. Watch this week’s Reality Derby show above, and then be sure to join the discussion in our forums.
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