Matt Hearn

“

I love cooking crêpes; I even speak a little French. 'Mow de lawn.' Means 'cut the grass.'

”

Hometown	Los Angeles, CA
Occupation	Sauté Chef
Statistics
Signature Dish Challenge Score	1 out of 5
Blind Taste Test Score	2 out of 4
Challenges Won	6
Services Won	4
Times as BoW/Announcer	1
Times Nominated	2
Placement	9th
Episode Eliminated	Dancing in the Grotto

Matthew "Matt" Hearn was a contestant on Season 16 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 9th place.

Season 16

Episode 1

Main article: Episode 1601 - When the Wall Comes Tumbling Down

On the bus ride to Hell's Kitchen, the chefs were expecting to arrive at the restaurant, but it instead pulled up to an army base. After leaving the bus, the chefs lined up in front of their own duffel bags, and as the Drill Sargent was barking out orders, a tank pulled up behind him, and Ramsay came out of it. Then, Ramsay explained that before the chefs could enter Hell’s Kitchen, he wanted to make sure that they all had the discipline to survive, noting that the army was the perfect example to prepare them. After, Ramsay said that if they could survive boot camp, then he will be convinced that they were worthy of competing. After changing into their uniforms, the chefs were put through an obstacle course and jogged over to Ramsay who was in front of a giant wall, which he called the toughest challenge. After the chefs claimed that they were ready, Ramsay was happy to hear it as the wall fell on him, revealing the front of the restaurant, and a large crowd waiting for them. Now that he saw the chef’s commitment and desire to compete, Ramsay announced that it was time for them to cook their signature dishes.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Matt was the fifth person from the blue team to have his dish judged and went up against Aziza. He made a dove breast Bolognese and revealed that it was his first time making that dish. Not only was Ramsay not impressed about being his guinea pig, but the dish itself was also criticized for fucking up the word Bolognese, and scored only one point. The blue team lost the challenge 25-28, and they were punished by resetting the dining room and setting up the tables for the following service, and packing up the risers the audience were sitting at. During the punishment, he was mocked by Johnny and Andrew for his decision to use pigeon for his signature dish, but that made him pissed as he knew that it was a risky move.

During dinner service, Matt was on the fish station with Genaro. At one point, he and Andrew argued over the scallops as he felt that they were still raw, and when he did send up the scallops, they were raw, and Ramsay demanded to know who was responsible for them, even threatening to kick the two out if they did not answer. He claimed that Andrew was the one that forced him to serve them, and even suggested looking back at the camera footage for proof. However, Ramsay sternly lectured him to fuck the cameras, never send him a scallop unless it was perfectly cooked, and to lay off the attitude, before threatening to shove a Go Pro up his ass if he ever used the cameras as an excuse ever again. Later, he deemed the competition a way to test his skills, but when his sea bass was raw, he claimed that he would have never served raw sea bass, leading to Johnny to call him the biggest douche ever. He and Genaro were soon kicked out of the kitchen after the latter went back to the fish station with no passion.

The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Matt criticized Pat for cooking poor food that night but was considered for elimination by the former and Johnny for his poor performance on fish, and his rude attitude that night. However, he argued that he was talking to Ramsay liked he did in the military and claimed that he would still be around despite people not liking him, but Johnny angrily yelled that he was a disrespectful punk towards Ramsay.

Matt was the blue team's second nominee for elimination, with Pat as the first. During his plea, Ramsay once again asked him who was responsible for the raw scallops, and while he called it a joint mistake by himself and Genaro, Ramsay retorted that there was no such thing as two people cooking the same dish. After, Ramsay asked if he was the weakest chef on the blue team, but he responded that he was not, and that Pat was the weakest as his age should have matched his experience, and that he did his best that night. However, Ramsay criticized that comment and reminded him that he screwed up the fish station. He survived elimination, and when being dismissed, he planned on stepping up his own game and leave the others behind.

Episode 2

Main article: Episode 1602 - Crepe Grand Prix

During the Crepe Grand Prix Challenge, Matt was paired up with Paulie. Out of their three attempts shown, all of them were accepted. The blue team won the challenge 10-9, and they were rewarded with a trip to Santa Barbara, dined aboard a 74-foot super mega yacht, and a chance to ride jet skis.

During dinner service, Matt was on the dessert station. He was not seen much, but after Andrew forgot to drop the scallops on time, he claimed that the latter could not call himself the best and drop the ball at the same time. After the blue team got kicked out of the kitchen, he vented his anger out of the dorms. The blue team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he considered Genaro and Aaron for elimination.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 3

Main article: Episode 1603 - The Yolks on Them

During the Ostrich Meat Challenge, Matt was not seen during the first part. He was paired up with Devin on the pearl, they were the final pair from the blue team to have their dishes judged, and went up against Aziza and Wendy. He made a grilled ostrich with caramelized carrots and Hawaiian Pico de gaio, and it was criticized by Morin for looking like a party of three that hated each other, much to his irritation. He lost that round to the red team, and the blue team lost the challenge 1-3.

The blue team was punished by taking in deliveries of raw pine nuts, prep them for the following service for pesto, and clean up the goo and eggshells from the dining room. An angry Matt said fuck the competition, felt that the judges did not know what they were talking about, and did not want to hear people degrade him any longer. During the punishment, he decided to stay at the dorms instead of helping the blue team and was found by Aaron. He angrily claimed that he was going to pack up and leave the competition, but when Aaron told him to do the punishment, he refused to do so. That led to annoyed Aaron telling him to go the fuck home if he was too cool for the competition. Later, Sous Chef Aaron summoned him to meet with Ramsay at his office At Ramsay’s office, he felt that the blue team was not getting fair treatment and that he cooked his dishes to what was asked of them. However, Ramsay reminded him that the judges he invited were going to call their decision as they saw fit, and said that if he was not feeling up to competing any longer than he would not stop him from doing so. Then, he said that he did not want to quit, and Ramsay reminded him that he would experience some highs and lows in the competition, before reminding him that it was up to him how to succeed. After leaving, he was grateful that Ramsay saved him from walking out and for taking his life to the next level, before refusing to leave like a dumbass. However, when he apologized to the blue team for his actions, Johnny berated him for leaving them to do most of his work, only for him to remind the latter of his poor dishes.

During dinner service, Matt was on the appetizer station with Koop. After Paulie's second attempt on the scallops were burnt, he decided to help him out as he refused to see another dinner service go down. Thanks to his help, the third attempt was accepted. When Devin was slow on chicken, he reminded the former that they had to complete service together. The blue team won the service.

Episode 4

Main article: Episode 1604 - Surf Riding & Turf Fighting

During the Protein Identification Challenge, Matt was paired up with Paulie, they were the final pair from the blue team to compete, and they randomly picked buffalo and monkfish. Their first attempt, swordfish and beef, was incorrect, their second attempt, buffalo and halibut, was deemed half correct, but their third attempt, elk and halibut, was deemed incorrect. Their fourth attempt, buffalo and sea bass, was incorrect, and their fifth attempt, buffalo and tilapia, was half right once again. After three more half correct attempts, the men urged the two to pick something, and he grabbed the monkfish. It ended up being the correct pairing after nine attempts, and the blue team won the challenge 9 minutes and 46 seconds to 13 minutes and 41 seconds. They were rewarded with a trip to San Diego and got to experience surfing at the Wave House.

During dinner service, Matt was on the garnish station. He was not seen that night, the blue team lost the service, and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he pointed out that Aaron did great that night after Johnny nominated the latter.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 5

Main article: Episode 1605 - Walking the Plank

During the Seven Seas Seafood Challenge, Matt went up against Shaina, he picked the Gulf of Mexico scroll, and their fish was a grouper. He was the third person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay and presented his unknown grouper dish. It was deemed delicious, and he tied that round with Shaina. The blue team won the challenge 5-4, and they were rewarded with lunch at Petty Cash with Ramsay and got to go bowling.

During dinner service, Matt served a clam chowder appetizer tableside. He was not seen that night, the blue team lost the service, and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he wanted to look at the previous services as well and claimed that Johnny busted his ass in the past, before considering Aaron as the weakest chef on the blue team.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 6

Main article: Episode 1606 - Let the Catfights Begin

During the Ingredient Crossword Challenge, Matt told Johnny to lay out the letters in a good place, and during his turn, he spelled out crab, much to the dismay of the blue team as they wanted rice instead. He was the third person to have his dish judged by Ramsay and presented his ribeye topped with crab imperial. While it was praised for being delicious, it was criticized for having a clumsy plating on the crab, and he scored 3 points. The blue team won the challenge 17-16, and they were rewarded with a bumper car experience on ice, and eating a steak dinner. During the reward, he commented that they cannot work together despite thinking that they were after a disagreement between Devin and Andrew.

During the Family Night dinner service, Matt was on the meat station. He was not seen much, except for resting his steaks just as Johnny rushed his garnishes. Both teams lost the service, and were asked to nominate two each. During deliberation, he kept enforcing the promise made last night.

He was not nominated for elimination.

Episode 7

Main article: Episode 1607 - Don't Tell My Fiancé

During the Southern Cuisine Challenge, Matt was paired up against Ryan from the red team, and their dish was fried chicken. He was the third person from the blue team to have his dish judged and presented his cornflake crusted Cajun fried chicken with gravy and Collier green. It was criticized for reminding Chris Hastings of a diner, and for being under-seasoned, with Ramsay commenting that he could get bored just by eating it. So, he lost that round to Ryan, he was pissed over Hastings’ comment, called it disrespectful, and accused Hastings of not even having a country accent. The blue team lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by prepping shrimp and grits for the following service which included grinding corn down, cleaning shrimp, and prepping both kitchens.

During dinner service, Matt was on the appetizer station with Johnny. At one point, he wanted to help instead of standing around but was ignored by Johnny. The blue team won the service.

During elimination, Matt and Andrew were transferred over to the red team, being exchanged for Shaina and Wendy.

Episode 8

Main article: Episode 1608 - Dancing with the Chefs

While going back to the dorms, Matt admitted how shocked he was over the switch as he just gained the respect of the blue team, but knew that there was nothing he could do about it now that he was in the red team.

During the International Ballroom Planning Challenge, Matt believed that Andrew and himself worked together well, and believed that too much estrogen in the kitchen was not good. He was paired up with Kimberly on the fish entrée, they were the second pair from the red team to have their dishes judged, and went up against Koop and Shaina. He made a Froi diablo, it was criticized for looking like a mess despite tasting good, and he did not score that round for the red team. The red team won the challenge 2-1, and they were rewarded with a kayak trip at the Santa Barbara Mountains, and a seafood lunch at The Lark.

During prep, Matt suggested that they get rid of their bad mood before service began, but Ryan reminded he that he was about to do something he wanted to do instead of what the red team has done before, and Andrew told him to listen as the women have won more services in the past. During the International Ballroom dinner service, he was on the fish station. While he proclaimed that he was not there to play, and wanted to prove himself to Ramsay and the red team, his scallops were seriously burnt, and Ramsay yelled that even Stevie Wonder could know how bad they were. Despite that, he managed to get his refire accepted. After Johnny failed to sear the fish on time, Ramsay brought the blue team into the red kitchen and had them feel his fish as an example. Later, he got his salmon accepted, and the red team won the service by a mile after completing the blue team's orders.

Episode 9

Main article: Episode 1609 - Spoon Fed

While going back to the dorms, a pissed Matt told Andrew that he believed the blue team led Johnny to failure for the sear incident, but Andrew told him that it was not his fight.

During the Blind Taste Test, Matt was the fourth person from the red team to compete and went up against Paulie. He managed to get sweet potato and pineapple correct, saving Ryan from being splattered. On Heather's turn, he did not get splattered once. The red team lost the challenge after a tie at 13, and they were punished by participating in delivery day, and prep both kitchens for that night’s service. During the punishment, he did not pay attention to the invoice, which led to the red team taking in 102 bags of ice instead of 52, but he refused to take the blame as he was asked to unload the ice.

During prep, Matt felt that he was pumped that night, and felt that cooking made him hulk out, before believing that getting a massage would only fuck him up. During dinner service, he was on the meat station. At one point, he got confused about lamb orders as he thought he heard one order and asked Andrew to check on the ticket. When Andrew revealed that there were two lambs on order, he said that he only had one lamb being fired at the moment, and when Ramsay asked him why it was, he said that he heard one lamb on the order. That caused Ramsay to ask him if he forgot the order, but when he argued that he did not as he heard one lamb, Ramsay reminded him that he was the only one that called out the orders, before accusing him of giving up. Later, he communicated with both Heidi and Andrew on times as he felt Ramsay always placed him the hardest stations but believed that it would not break him, only make him stronger, which paid off as the red team was pushing entrées. The red team won the service.

After Koop's elimination, Ramsay told the red team that he would need a volunteer to move over to the blue team to even up the numbers the next day.

Episode 10

Main article: Episode 1610 - Dancing in the Grotto

Back at the dorms, Matt voted for Heidi to go into the blue team the next day. The next day, he said goodbye to Ryan as she was transferred to the blue team.

During the Creative Sliders Challenge, Matt wanted to do seafood as it was his thing, before declaring that he did not give a fuck what his teammates thought of him. When he saw that he had to grab balls from an inflatable bounce house, he pointed out that this was not a five-year-old birthday party, he was seen going first and picked onion. During the cooking, he decided to revolutionize his slider to stand out from the rest. He was the first person from the red team to have his dish judged and went up against Paulie. He made a shrimp roll with chipotle aioli, and it was criticized for not being what they were looking for, but he argued that it was a slider and not a roll dish like Christina said that it was, and Ramsay snarkily asked him if he would make a lobster patty if he asked him for a lobster roll. Then, he argued that he was doing something different and that his team knew what he was doing without speaking up about it. After, the dish itself was criticized for being too spicy and had wilted greens, but he arrogantly brushed off their criticisms as they ran burger joints. He lost that round to Paulie, but he arrogantly brushed it off.

The red team won the challenge after a tie at 3, and they were rewarded with a day at the Playboy mansion. During the reward, Matt recalled his first Playboy when he was ten years old, and called it his bucket list. In the grotto, he decided to flirt with the Playboy bunnies by dancing.

During prep, Matt called Andrew crazy for calling Heather duller than her knife. During dinner service, he was on the fish station. At one point, he knew that there was nowhere to hide as the numbers were dwindling. However, most of the red team was on appetizers, he was pissed as there were already two people there, and that Kimberly was not helping him out with fish. Then, Ramsay discovered that he sent up an overcooked lobster tail that was curled up, but he grabbed it and went back to his station in the middle of his lecture, only for a pissed Ramsay to drag him back and warn him that he was running out of patience. When he was working on the refire, Heather told him to drop his ego, but he retorted to watch how she dressed her salads, only for Andrew to yell at them to stop arguing. When Ramsay brought them into the pantry room, he asked them what was going on, and while he claimed that he was not receiving help from his teammates, the red team argued that he should have asked for help, and Ramsay told them to work it out there instead of in front of the chef's table. As he and Heather continued to argue about their situation, Andrew tried to calm them down, and Kimberly suggested that they start over. Now forced to start over, Heather offered to help him out, but he rudely refused it as he wanted to do his own thing. Later, when he said that his fish was ready, Kimberly announced that she needed three more minutes on garnishes, much to his annoyance as his fish would turn out overcooked because of that.

Both teams were named joint losers and were asked to nominate two people each. During deliberation, Matt reminded his teammates how he was left alone on fish when there were four on appetizers and that nobody offered to help him, but Kimberly and Heather reminded him that there was no communication from him, and told him to stop blaming everybody else for his mistakes. Then, he challenged the red team to nominate him as he did not care, but an annoyed Kimberly compared him to a twelve-year-old in a 26-year-old body for refusing to acknowledge his mistakes, and when the two argued, Heather broke it up. When Andrew told him to vote on his nominees, he continued to bring up how Kimberly did not help him out despite being close to him, and that led to another argument between the two.

Matt was named the red team's first nominee for elimination, with Kimberly as the second, and they joined Wendy and Shaina from the blue team. During his plea, Ramsay called his performance fragmented for arguing in front of the chef's table, which embarrassed the red team, but while he admitted he had a bad night, he believed that he was a good team player and communicated well. However, Heidi told Ramsay that he had an attitude that made him hard to work with, but he said that it was hard to work with incompetence. After Shaina's elimination, he was eliminated for his poor attitude, and refusal to admit to his mistakes. Before leaving, Ramsay told him that while he pointed fingers at everybody when things went bad, the only person that needed to be pointed at was himself. During his exit interview, he was pissed that he got eliminated over what he believed to be his only poor service when everybody else fucked up that night, felt that he got nothing but disrespect during his time in the competition, and threatened to beat up Ramsay if the latter talked down to him in the streets.

Ramsay's comment: "Both kitchens performed horrendously tonight. I'm hoping that by eliminating Matt and Shaina, both teams will finally have a chance at success."

Nomination history

Week 1	Nominated
Week 2	Safe
Week 3	Win
Week 4	Safe
Week 5	Safe
Week 6	Safe
Week 7	Win
Week 8	Win
Week 9	Win
Week 10	Nominated

Post Hell's Kitchen

• After his appearance on the show, Matt became a chef at Happy Hour Bar & Tapas before moving to 1933 in Bakersfield.
• He got into an explosive verbal altercation with Hassan (Season 15) on Facebook and have been noted to show racial insults towards him via Facebook messaging.

Trivia

• He is the ninth contestant to have a military background before coming to Hell's Kitchen, following Bobby (Season 4), Joseph (Season 6), Guy (Season 10), Dan, Ray (both from Season 11), Mike (Season 12), Randy (Season 14), and Frank (Season 15).
• He is the eighth male contestant who switched teams without making it to the black jackets, following Robert (Season 6), Scott (Season 7), Anton (Season 12), Frank, Sterling (both from Season 13), Hassan, and Chad (both from Season 15)
• He participated in the third elimination where two chefs were eliminated instead of one, along with Shaina.
• He did not come back for the final dinner service of the season as supposed to as he threatened the production staff, so Koop took his place.
• He is the last chef to date who did not return for the final dinner service, for one reason or another, when they otherwise should have.
• He is the second contestant who threatened to beat up Chef Ramsay after his elimination, following Joseph (Season 6).
• He and Steven (Season 9) are the only two Sauté Chefs to compete on the show.

Quotes

• "I kept telling him no, you can look at the cameras in here."
• "I don't care if they're mad, they can be mad! Fucking take your tampon out!"
• "He compared my food to a diner, and let me tell you what.. that shit was disrespectful."
• "I work in five-star restaurants. I'm gonna switch it up and do something creative and new, and it's a way to revolutionize the slider. No one else is gonna do that, they don't have enough balls, but I do."
• "What the fuck did they know? That's why they're running burger joints."
• "Okay, put me up... PUT ME UP, I don't give a fuck."
• "I'm a hard worker, I got good verbal skills, good communication, I do everything I can for the team."
• "You know, it's hard for me to work with incompetency."
• (After being eliminated) "Chef Ramsay is an asshole. Like I had one bad night service, and everything else I do flawlessly, and then I go home when everybody else fucks up every fucking night? The whole time I've been here has been nothing but disrespect. If I was on the street right now, and he came up to me with that same shit, I'd fuck him up, point-blank."

Gallery

• Chef
• Dishes

Matt's Intro Spot

Matt in Blue Jacket

Matt's Confessional (Blue Jacket)

Pat and Matt Nominated

Andrew and Matt Join the Red Team

Matt in Red Jacket

Matt in Blind Taste Test

Matt's Confessional (Red Jacket)

Matt, Kimberly, Shaina, and Wendy Nominated

Matt Eliminated

Matt's Signature Dish (Episode 1)

Matt's Ostrich Meat Dish (Pearl Cut) (Episode 3)

Matt and Shaina's Seven Seas Seafood Dishes (Grouper) (Episode 5)

Matt's Ingredient Crossword Dish (Episode 6)

Matt's Southern Dish (Fried Chicken) (Episode 7)

Matt's International Ballroom Seafood Entrée (Episode 8)

Matt's Slider Creation Dish (Episode 10)

External links

• Matt Hearn on Instagram
• Matt Hearn on Twitter