Chef Bradley Wildridge knows all about the heat of a kitchen. The owner of Bayou on the Bay, a Cajun-fusion pop-up, stands over a searing griddle for a living.
But facing down the soul-crushing ire of chef Gordon Ramsay is the kind of heat that can reduce even the toughest chef-testants on his long-running Hell’s Kitchen cooking competition to smoking mounds of ash – and humiliation.
“Yeah, he made me cry a few times,” said Wildridge, one of 20 chefs competing on Season 24 of the reality cooking competition. The current season, “Battle of the States,” premiered Sept. 25 on Fox and Hulu.
Plot twist: The California-based Wildridge is representing his home state of Louisiana in the state-versus-state cookoff.
With jambalaya in his veins and roux in his soul, it made perfect sense for the Southern-raised cook to play to his strengths. When producers suggested it, he bit faster than a swamp gator.
And two episodes in, he’s still afloat.
‘Here’s where I really go down’
On Thursday, Wildridge hosted an Episode 2 watch party at Old Caz Brewing in Rohnert Park, sharing behind-the-scenes stories, including getting thrown under the bus by teammates during a grueling challenge and the expletive-filled rant that followed.
Dressed in a T-shirt and the blue bandana he wore during the competition, Wildridge bounced between his mobile kitchen and the big-screen TVs with the same dizzying energy as the show itself. At one point, he stepped outside to whip up a scallop dish he’d made on the show.
“I’d vote for that,” yelled a fan eating the scallops, as Wildridge headed back inside.
“I haven’t even seen this yet,” he told a group of vocal friends and supporters, who whooped and clapped each time the 33-year-old appeared on screen. From time to time, he couldn’t help but let a few episode spoilers slip.
“Here is where I really go down,” he said as a series of epic risotto failures nearly sent him home during the Hell’s Kitchen dinner service. “But I make it,” he added in a stage whisper.
The 15-month lapse between shooting Hell’s Kitchen last June and its debut this fall has made it tough to keep what transpired a secret, Wildridge said. Not even his mom knows what happened.
“I learned to practice patience,” he added.
While filming for three weeks at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, Wildridge said contestants weren’t allowed to have phones or contact family – including his wife, Mandy. Cookbooks were also banned.
“It’s all based on what your knowledge of cooking is at the end of the day, and really, the best chef wins,” he said.
Quick Q & A with Bradley Wildridge
Q. What’s Gordon Ramsay like in real life?
A. He’s really down to earth, and it was shocking not to see him in the Hell’s Kitchen persona. But when the pressure is on, he’s like most other chefs. When he says “Get down to business,” he means it.
Q. How did you get along with the other chefs?
A. I have zero doubt that our season will go down as the most closely knit cast in history. We’re all great friends.
Q. What were your takeaways?
A. Really learning to calm myself down in the moment and focus on what’s at hand. I’m also more comfortable being in the public eye. I can’t wait to get myself out there and show the world what I’ve got.