Palm Beach Gardens chef wins Fox TV's 'Hell's Kitchen' season 22

Mirasol Country Club chef by day, Hell's Kitchen warrior and winner by night!

Ryan O'Sullivan, chef at the Palm Beach Gardens country club, just won Fox TV's "Hell's Kitchen" season 22 and his victory was announced during the show's finale on Thursday, Jan. 25.

Besting 17 other competitors, O'Sullivan won bragging rights, along with $250,000 and ultimate prize of head chef at Hell’s Kitchen Caesars in Las Vegas.

Joining the Mirasol team in 2018 as a seasonal line cook, O'Sullivan quickly moved up the ranks, becoming sous chef in 2020 and chef de cuisine in the club’s fine-dining restaurant, Solstice, in 2021.

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He was selected to be on the show by producers through his social media account and filmed the competition in Los Angeles.

The theme of this season was the American Dream and during the second to last episode he said that coming from Ireland with "pennies in my pocket" he feels he is the epitome of the American dream.

He said he has relatives in Boston and California and had visited the United States when he was younger. It was during one of those trips he recounted "I got a taste and knew that if I came back I could make something of myself."

Though he lives with his wife in Palm Beach Gardens, he is originally from Cork, Ireland.

“When they said the theme was the American Dream, I thought, ‘surely this was written for me,’” said O’Sullivan. "This journey has been incredibly challenging, but the lessons learned, and the experiences gained, will stay with me throughout my culinary career."

Though he received his formal training to become a chef at Munster Technological University in Cork, his love of cooking began at home. Saying that his passion for cooking is "in the blood, the DNA" is pretty accurate too considering his father is also a chef.

Not only a chef, but Ryan said several times on the show that his father's idol in the cooking world was Gordon Ramsay.

He had never cooked a dish for his father, but that changed during the finale when he cooked on air for his father as part of the final dinner service.

Though one of the prizes for winning Hell's Kitchen is head chef at Hell’s Kitchen Caesars in Las Vegas, O'Sullivan said he's not sure he's moving just yet. "It's a massive, massive job to take on." While he's not sure about the position, he stressed that he "wants to stay in Gordon Ramsay's wheelhouse none the less."

Michael Crain, Mirasol’s executive chef and director of culinary operations, said, “When Ryan began at Mirasol, I knew he was destined for big things, as his unwavering passion for culinary excellence was evident from day one. I couldn’t be prouder and happier for him and all that he has accomplished in the United States, and I am excited to see what the future holds for him. He is the epitome of the American Dream!”

Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at [email protected]. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Gardens chef wins Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen