Cork chef Ryan conquers Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen
Chef Ryan O'Sullivan pictured with Gordon Ramsay
CHEF Gordon Ramsay’s renowned cooking competition, , concluded its latest season with Cork man Ryan O’Sullivan crowned as Top Chef.
Having finished filming for the show in January of 2021, Ryan had a long wait before he could share the news and bask in its glory.
The 30-year-old chef, originally from Gurranabraher and later residing in Douglas, was among three hopefuls in the finale that battled for the position of Head Chef at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, as well as a $250,000 grand prize.
Ryan, who graduated from Culinary Studies at MTU told : "Since the announcement, it's just been phenomenal. I’m on air. It's hard to explain because it's not really a feeling that you'll experience more than once in your life.
"Everybody has that voice in the back of their head that says you can do better, so it was very validating for me to know that I didn’t come out here just to be a number, it wasn’t a waste. I came out here to do something with myself, and finally, all my hard work is coming to fruition," he added.
Ryan explained that once the filming of had concluded, he had to wait before claiming his prize and assuming his role at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
"It was nuts, I mean, to keep the secret for two years, it was much harder than actually working for him [Gordon Ramsay].
Since his concealed win, Ryan has been working full-time as a chef in Florida but is looking forward to the opportunities that are to come his way now that the news has been shared worldwide.
When asked how he plans to spend his winnings, he said: “It sounds kind of mad, but I just want to look at it. This is what hard work and dedication gets you. People say easy come easy go, but there was nothing easy about the way that I obtained this".
"I do think, it’s time I bought a house, so maybe I’ll use it to put down a down payment or take the Mrs on a lovely holiday with my family, all of us together. It will definitely be shared.”
When detailing his start in the industry, Ryan expressed his gratitude for those that supported him throughout his education at MTU, specifically John Hartnett and the late Seamus Forde, who was “the toughest” chef he had ever worked with and described him as “a great lecturer and leader”.
Ryan also spoke about his concerns for depleting numbers in culinary studies, with this to say to anyone considering the profession for their future.
Whilst on the show, Ryan and his co-star and runner up Johnathan Benvenuti formed a strong friendship that could be felt through the screen.
"I do plan on coming home in the next couple of weeks, hopefully before the end of February, maybe do some pop ups with me and Johnny. Obviously, it's a bond now that can never be broken, and me and him, we'd love to come and do a tour of Ireland, hit the big cities and do pop up restaurants with celebrity chefs alike".
“I'm just a regular Joe Soap from Cork, you know, I’m just out here doing my thing and I'm always going to be humble about it. I want to use this platform to raise awareness for hospitality and tourism, and to encourage people to check on your friends and to make sure that you tell people you love them.”
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