Chris Motto (2024)

Chris Motto was a contestant on Season 18 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 4th place.

Season 18[]

Episode 1/2[]

Main article: Episode 1801 - Rookies vs. Veterans

Main article: Episode 1802 - A Fond Farewell

When the sixteen chefs arrived at Hell's Kitchen, they were welcomed by Marino and the Sous Chefs and were given butternut squash risotto for lunch. Motto was the first rookie to explain his credentials, revealed that he has been the Executive Chef at a French-Creo restaurant for five years despite not going to culinary school, and was not intimidated by his competition.

During the Signature Dish Challenge, Motto revealed his barbecue shrimp and grits, went up against T, and he was the first person from the red team to have his dish judged by Ramsay. When Ramsay had him taste T's grits, he claimed that the sauce was bland, but Ramsay disagreed with and felt that it tasted delicious. He presented his shrimp and grits with Louisiana barbecue sauce, and while they were praised for the shrimps being beautiful along with the sauce, T and Ramsay agreed that the grits needed salt, and he scored 3 points. The rookies won the challenge after a tie at 29, and they were rewarded with dinner at Josiah Citrin’s Charcoal, with Ramsay joining them along with Citrin.^[1]

During the Creative Risotto Challenge, Motto was not seen, and he lost the challenge as his dish was not chosen as the top four of the rookies.

During prep, Motto wanted to prove himself even though he was scared. During dinner service, he was on the garnish station. He was not seen much, except for expressing disbelief when Scott was caught cooking shrimp for the tableside. The rookies lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he suggested that they nominate the entire fish station, meaning Jose and Scott, as they had the most problems that night.

He was not nominated for elimination.^[2]

Episode 3[]

Main article: Episode 1803 - Hell's Riders

During the Marine Service Challenge, Motto was on the garnish station with Gizzy. He was not seen much, the rookies won the challenge, and they were rewarded with a trip to Paramount Ranch and got to star in their own Western film.

During dinner service, Motto was on the appetizer station with Chris. At one point, he had full confidence in his skills, despite being reminded by Ramsay that he had to keep his pan on the stove the entire time. Then, his risotto was crunchy due to his earlier mistake of cooking the dish off the element. Despite that, he got his refire accepted, but Ramsay reminded him to stop cooking with the pan off the element. Both teams were named joint-winners.^[3]

Episode 4[]

Main article: Episode 1804 - Hell Freezes Over

Before the Winter Soup Challenge, Motto was paired up with Mia on the sledding, and they were the first pair from the rookies to compete. The two crashed before they could reach the finish line, and they lost the pre-challenge. He was the second rookie to have his dish judged and presented his Southern spiced sweet potato soup. It was praised for having fantastic flavors but criticized for lacking any acidity despite having a complex base, and he scored six points. The rookies won the challenge 51-41, and they were rewarded with an overnight trip to L’Horizon at Palm Springs and ate dinner at Sopa.

During dinner service, Motto was on the meat station with Kanae. After Chris delayed an order, he got irritated as they should have done so earlier, before saying that Chris’ off timings would screw the brigade system. Despite that, he decided to send up his steaks, but Ramsay discovered that they were overcooked, and that dismayed him as he blamed Chris for that mistake. Despite that, the refire was accepted. Both teams were named joint-losers and were asked to name two each.

Motto was not nominated for elimination, he said goodbye to Gizzy, Kanae, and Mia as they were reassigned to the blue team, and he welcomed Bret, Kevin, and Trev as new teammates as Ramsay decided to end the Rookies Vs. Veterans team format and bring back the battle of the sexes.^[4]

Episode 5[]

Main article: Episode 1805 - Fish Out of Water

During the Seven-Way Halibut Cooking Challenge, Motto received pan-seared as his cooking method, he was the sixth person from the red team to have his dish judged and went up against Heather. He made an unknown halibut dish, it was praised for a beautiful presentation, and having a beautiful cook, and he won that round over Heather. The red team lost the challenge 3-5, and they were punished by participating in composting day, which involved mixing all the waste that was accumulated in the 18 seasons of the show and mixing it with manure that would be arriving soon. During the punishment, Bret asked him if their situation reminded him about life on the farm, and he said it did as he was a country boy growing up, and his grandfather would not let him slack off on the punishment, before saying it was because of him working hard that allowed him to get far in his career.

During dinner service, Motto was on the appetizer station with Jose. He was not seen much, except for calling their service hell after Kevin sent up overcooked salmon, the red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he considered Scotley and Bret for elimination, said he was only giving his honest opinion, and accused the latter of not walking the walk.

He was not nominated for elimination.^[5]

Episode 6[]

Main article: Episode 1806 - Hot Potato

During the Potato Challenge, Motto was the fourth person from the red team to have his dish judged and went up against Mia. He made a private version of Sheppard’s pie, it was criticized for being inedible and rare, and he scored 2 points. The red team eventually won the challenge after a tie at 40, and they were rewarded with a trip to Animal Tracks to meet some animals and ate lunch at Daniel Humm’s Nomad Food truck. During the reward, he said it was a beautiful day to have some bro time.

During the Steak Night dinner service, Motto was on the garnish station. At one point, Trev asked him what the next table was, but he struggled to remember as he was too focused on his garnish. However, Ramsay gave him a quick reminder, but he struggled to recite the order until he called it out properly, and knew that he had to find his voice. The red team eventually won the service.^[6]

Episode 7[]

Main article: Episode 1807 - Last Chef Standing

During the Last Chef Standing Challenge, Motto wanted to cook the shrimp & grits dish in order to redeem himself after his lukewarm attempt during the Signature Dish Challenge. When it became clear what the real challenge was, he admitted that he did not like it, and when Bret tried to communicate with him on the shrimp & grits, he told the latter that he was getting too much into it with that dish. Eventually, he was the final person from the red team left in his kitchen. He was the first person from the red team to have his dish judged by Ramsay, went up against Heather, and presented his shrimp & grits. It was praised for tasting extraordinary, he scored that round over Heather, and felt that he redeemed himself.

The red team eventually lost the challenge 3-4, and they were punished by participating in delivery day and shucking corn and peas. During the punishment, Motto felt disappointed that he worked up a sweat for nothing.

Because Motto was the final person left in the red kitchen during the previous challenge, he was exempted from participating in the Cook For Your Life Challenge.^[7]

Episode 8[]

Main article: Episode 1808 - One Hell of a Party

Before the Tilly Sweet 16 Planning Challenge, a picture of a teenage Motto was shown, looking huskier in the past than he was now. During the cooking, he knew that Tilly knew her food well due to growing up in the food industry. He was paired up with Scotley on the appetizer round, and they went up against Kanae and Roe from the blue team. He made an ahi tuna appetizer, it was praised for the presentation screaming fun, with Tilly loving the sauce, and his dish was added onto the menu. The red team eventually lost the challenge 2-4, and they were punished by baking four-layered personal cakes for Tilly’s guest and setting up a mobile photo booth which included origami styled flowers. During the punishment, he felt the pressure of making sure they get their punishment done perfectly for Tilly.

During the Tilly Sweet 16 dinner service, Motto was on the fish station with Bret. At one point, admitted to loving the adrenaline rush of service, and got his entrée accepted. After Bret served burnt sweet potato fries, he annoyingly told the former not to sell them if they were going to be sent back. After the blue team got kicked out of service, he, along with Jose and Scotley, were called in to complete their remaining tables. The red team won the service, and while clearing down, Ramsay praised him for his best performance yet.^[8]

Episode 9[]

Main article: Episode 1809 - What Happens in Vegas

Back at the dorms, Bret warned Motto that Ariel was a gangster bitch who could cook.

During the Chinese Cuisine Challenge, Motto decided to go up against Ariel from the blue team as he wanted to beat the best, and their protein was duck breast. During the cooking, he decided to cook his duck breast three ways, felt that Ariel was not as technical as she thought she was, and declared that he would not quack under pressure. He was the fourth person from the red team to have his dish judged and presented his three-way duck. It was criticized for having raw peppercorn in the dish, with one bite destroying any flavor, he lost that round over Ariel, and he felt that he made a mistake going up against the latter. The red team lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished by baking fortune cookies and stuffing the fortunes inside them. During the punishment, he complained that his back was hurting.

During prep, Motto reminded the men that there were four women in the blue kitchen, and refused to be embarrassed that night. During dinner service, he was on the appetizer station. At one point, he was concerned about the growing animosity between Trev and Scotley and hoped the team would work together. When Trev and Jose were struggling with fish, he annoyingly felt that they were going nowhere. After Ramsay showed the men Ariel's perfectly cooked lamb, he called it a slap in the face. The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he considered Trev and Scotley for elimination.

He was not nominated for elimination.^[9]

Episode 10[]

Main article: Episode 1810 - Poor Trev

While going back to the dorms, Motto agreed with Scotley's elimination and had faith that Jose would bounce back, with the two hugging it out in the dorms.

Before the Blind Taste Test, Motto said that he would start his Italian meal with wine. He was the second person from the red team to compete and went up against Mia. He correctly guessed banana, pickle, and black pepper but incorrectly guessing peanut butter, yet saving Trev from any punishments. During Bret's turn, he only got the spaghetti cannon punishment. The red team eventually lost the challenge 6-10, and they were punished by cleaning up the dining room ahead of a private dinner service for two charities, polish all their silverware, and make fresh gelato by hand. During the punishment, he accused Trev of trying to sabotage them after the latter broke the ice cream maker, while Bret and Jose mocked Trev for his failure in the Blind Taste Test.

Before the Charity Night dinner service, Motto said that he was humbled to cook for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as it was that organization that helped his niece. He was in charge of the pan-seared scallops over polenta, and both he and Mia agreed on eight minutes. He was vocal with Trev and Bret on the scallops, but despite having faith in them, he and Ramsay discovered that Trev’s scallops had inconsistent searing on both sides which the latter later attempted to blame on Bret. Despite the men being forced to do a refire, they managed to get the course out a little later after the blue team did. After, he found a huge portion of scallops and believed Trev to be responsible for it despite the latter blaming Bret yet again. During Jose's course, both he and Trev were cooking veal. When six of Jose's veal came back for being raw, he admitted that Trev and himself cooked them, but Jose believed Trev to be more responsible.

The red team lost the service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Motto and the others were annoyed when Trev attempted to take credit for the Soufflés. He pointed out that the only reason the carbonara course was perfect was that Trev did not cook anything, before reminding the latter about the scallop incident. However, Trev refused to take accountability and instead pushed the incident on Bret and the Veal incident on him, angering all three of his teammates.

Motto was not nominated for elimination but felt upset when Jose was eliminated instead of Trev. While being dismissed, he felt that Trev should have gone home that night and that the latter needed to carry his own weight to move forward.^[10]

Episode 11[]

Main article: Episode 1811 - Devilish Desserts

Back at the dorms, Motto accused Trev about all about being in the glory and not the team.

During the Dessert Challenge, Motto decided to do a spin off bread pudding but felt that Trev was getting overconfident about his dish. He was the first person from the red team to have his dish judged and went up against Kanae. He made a campfire bread pudding, it was praised for being moist inside, having a great concept, and energizing the dish itself, but criticized for having the milk chocolate muddled in the taste, so he scored 7 points. The red team eventually lost the challenge 11-14, and they were punished by taking in deliveries of 600 pounds of ice and properly cutting them into ice cubes for service. During the punishment, he was disappointed that Trev and Bret let him down. While Trev got a perfect ice cube, he reminded him that one cube was how much he got on the previous challenge.

During dinner service, Motto was on both the appetizer station and the garnish station. At one point, he noticed Trev failed to put the crust on the lamb, and when Bret’s halibut looked dirty due to the pan he was cooking on, he dismayingly complained that the men were going nowhere. The red team lost the service, and they were asked to nominate one person for elimination. During deliberation, he struggled to decide between the two as Bret and Trev held up the team that night.

At elimination, Motto admitted how embarrassing their service was. He was not nominated for elimination, and while being dismissed, he snarkily said bon voyage to Trev.^[11]

Episode 12[]

Main article: Episode 1812 - Break on Through

Before the Black Jackets Challenge, Motto welcomed Mia as a new teammate. During the first challenge, he hoped that there was not a snake in the walls, and grabbed salmon, mushrooms, broccoli, rice, and mascarpone cheese for his dish. During the cooking, Sous Chef Christina noticed the weird combination of ingredients he had, with him noting that it was either go big or go the f*ck home. He was the third person to have his dish judged by Ramsay and presented his citrus glazed salmon with crispy skin and brown sugar mascarpone gremolata. It was praised for a stunning presentation, with Ramsay deeming the removal of the skin as a smart idea, and a beautifully cooked salmon, with the only criticism being that the rice was under seasoned. He lost the challenge to Ariel and Mia and was forced to compete in the second challenge.

During the second Black Jackets Challenge, Motto spun for the first vegetable and landed on eggplant. During the cooking, he felt that there was no reason to over-complicate the dish. He was the second person to have his dish judged and presented his country-styled quail stuffed with bay leaf. While Ramsay deemed it a little awkward due to the raw cauliflower, the quail was delicious. He won the fourth person to receive a black jacket, which he solidified the fact that he belonged in Hell’s Kitchen, and warned the rest of the chefs to watch out for him as he joined Ariel, Mia, and Bret at the Black Jackets Lounge. Later, he welcomed Heather as the final black jacket chef, and while celebrating, he said that he was stoked to be the country boy hanging with the big boys.^[12]

Episode 13[]

Main article: Episode 1813 - An Episode of Firsts

The next day, the final five received breakfast, and Motto was impressed by the spread of food Ramsay provided them. During the Taste It Now Make It Challenge, he decided not to look at the demo plate for another look like the other chefs, and he wanted to make the dish by memory alone. He used prosciutto, shallots, and red wine vinegar in order to recreate Ramsay's dish. He was eliminated from the challenge as he did not use the Canadian bacon to go with the prosciutto, and he lost the challenge to both Ariel and Mia. He was punished by participating in dorm cleaning day.

During dinner service, Motto was on the meat station with Bret. At the start of service, Heather asked him for help on her scallops, and he did not mind as he was helping Bret on meat. However, he sent up the scallops as they were already done despite Ariel not being ready on appetizers due to Heather's poor communication. After Bret served a raw New York striploin, he was annoyed that the former was not letting him help him out and being vocal but managed to get the refire accepted. Then, Heather asked him for help on the salmon refire, and as he wanted to complete a dinner service no matter what, he got the refire accepted, and the Los Angeles Rams table was finished. On the next order, Mia told him four halibut was needed on the next order, but Heather interjected that six salmon and two halibuts were needed, with Bret interjecting another order. That confused him as he was not getting a firm answer, and as the communication breakdown continued, Ramsay interjected and told the chefs the correct order, before reminding the chefs to stick to one four-top at a time. After, he got refocused and got the halibut accepted.

After service, Ramsay asked the final five to name two people for elimination. During deliberation, Motto was considered for elimination by Mia, but he considered the former and Heather for elimination.

Motto was not nominated for elimination, but when Ramsay asked him who should go home that night, he said Heather should go home based on her struggles on fish.^[13]

Episode 14[]

Main article: Episode 1814 - What's Your Motto?

Later that night, the chefs received pancakes that had their faces on them, with Motto saying that he looked better as a pancake.

During the Tableside Challenge, Motto made New Orleans barbecued shrimp. While cooking his dish during round 1, he said that once cooked in a cook-off years ago, but accidentally dropped his entire table, causing his table to grow nervous as Ted Hopson told him not to burn him. During round 2, he was late getting his dish out, and while he rushed to plate his dish, he was able to do so before time ran out. After serving the last two rounds, he knew he grew stronger with every round. He lost the challenge to Ariel and was punished by going on bar duty, which included washing, pealing, and zesting multiple fruits for sangrias in that night's service, although he admitted he was getting used to the punishments now. During the punishment, he almost had a tray of lime collapse on him, Sous Chef Jocky reminded him how he went through several punishments, and that caused him to recall how the animal farm reward was the last one he did, before tallying up nine different punishments he had to do and calling the fortune cooking punishment the worst of them all.

During dinner service, Motto was on the garnish station. After Bret sent up an overly garlicky risotto, the former claimed that he started on it. He was the fourth and final person to run the pass, Ramsay reminded him to not let the kitchen run him, and he was ready to step it up. Marino gave him an incorrect ticket that had salmon tartare on it, but he was able to catch it mid-read. For his next test, Ramsay swapped out the pork chop with a veal chop, but after he sliced it, he felt that the protein was not cooked properly until Ramsay told him what really happened. That led him to admit how difficult it was to run the pass and understood how Ramsay could juggle all of that but admitted that the latter has taught him a lot in the competition. After, he told Sous Chef Christina to heat up a scallop for a little longer, and service eventually ended.

After service, Ramsay asked the final four to name one person that did not deserve to be in the finals. During deliberation, Motto had no idea who to nominate and said that with only four people left, it was difficult to decide on who to nominate. After much thought, he revealed that while he was not the weakest chef in the competition, that he proved himself a lot, and took a lot of the punishments, he revealed that he was going to nominate himself for elimination. That shocked everybody, with Bret calling it a curveball, and after Ariel asked him if he was sure about that, he believed that one of the three should take the position at Las Vegas, explaining that he did not want to leave his friends and family back home and that he was needed back at Baton Rouge to start a family, raise the culinary standard of his city, before admitting that it has always been in the back of his head throughout the competition. Then, he added that he has always been the backbone of his restaurant, and wanted to continue mentoring his chefs with everything he learned during the competition, with a very touched and tearful Ariel respecting his choice as she called it an amazing thing to witness before hugging him.

At elimination, Motto announced that he was putting himself for elimination. That shocked Ramsay, and after asking him why he would do that, he explained that while it has been an incredible journey, he did not want to give up on Baton Rouge just yet, and hoped to use what he learned to elevate the culinary industry. While still surprised about his decision, Ramsay respected his decision to leave, but before leaving, he praised him for being the most sincere contestant in the show's history, even offering him a job opportunity should he feel he completed his goal at Baton Rouge. He took the offer, was allowed to keep his jacket, and during his exit interview, he received a retrospective montage. Ramsay gave no comment on his departure, and he did not receive the portrait burning sequence.^[14]

Episode 15/16[]

Main article: Episode 1815 - A Rollercoaster Ride

Main article: Episode 1816 - The Grand Finale

During the recap on Episode 16, he received the portrait burning sequence for the first time since his departure.

Despite quitting during elimination, Motto was one of the eight chefs who returned for the final dinner service. He was Ariel's third pick, after Kanae and Bret, and was followed by Scotley. After being picked, he deemed it one last chance to shine.^[15]

During prep, Motto wanted to finish strong that night. During dinner service, he was on the garnish station. He was not seen much, except for expressing dismay when Kanae burned the dumplings as that was not how things were supposed to go. Ariel eventually won the finals over Mia.^[16]

Nomination history[]

Post Hell's Kitchen[]

• After his appearance on the show, Motto returned to his role as Executive Chef at Mansurs On The Boulevard in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which has excellent reviews.
• He has raised money for a number of local charities with cookery events.
• On February 13, 2024, he competed on Chopped Season 57 Episode 3. He was eliminated in the appetizer round.

Trivia[]

• He is the first contestant to finish in 4th place who was never nominated for elimination.
• He is the eighth contestant whose show name was his surname, following Dewberry (Season 1), Petrozza (Season 4), Curtis (Season 8), DeMarco, Gabriel (both from Season 12), Santos (Season 13), and Ryan (Season 16). He is also the fourth black jacket contestant with this detail.
• In episode 12, he reveals that he has 12 toes. The editors of the show humorously confirmed this by writing under his name, "Really has 12 toes."
• He is the sixteenth contestant, the fourth male contestant, the second one who finished in fourth place, and the second one after quitting to keep his jacket after elimination, following Ji (Season 5), Ariel (Season 6), Jillian (Season 8), Elise (Season 9), Dana (Season 10), Jon (Season 11), Melanie (Season 12), Sterling (Season 13), Ashley (Season 15), Heidi (Season 16), Elise, Jennifer, Robyn, Milly, and Nick (all from Season 17).
• He is the seventh contestant, and first black jacket contestant, who nominated himself for elimination, following Rachel (Season 2), Jen (Season 3), Petrozza (Season 4), Wil (Season 5), Chris (Season 10), and Jessica (Season 16).
• He is the fifth contestant to voluntarily withdraw from the competition at elimination, following Ji (Season 5), Joseph (Season 6), Simone (Season 12), and Aaron (Season 13). He was the first black jacket contestant with this detail.
• He is the third black jacket contestant to withdraw from the competition, following Robert (Season 5) and Joy (Season 12) and the first to do so at elimination.
• He holds the second-longest streak of consecutive challenge punishments in the show's history, with seven punishments, and is tied with Petrozza (Season 4), Melanie (Season 12), and Sade (Season 13). Meghan (Season 14) holds the record with nine.
• He is the first contestant to withdraw right before the finale.
• He is the first and only contestant to this date to come back for the final dinner service after withdrawing from the competition.
• He is the only member of that season's black jacket team to have never worn a blue jacket at some point.
• He is the third contestant to have an episode named after himself, following Josh (Season 17) and Trev (also from Season 18), on Episode 14 of Season 18, "What's your Motto?". He is also the first to have it named after himself for positive reasons (Josh was eliminated in his episode for a hopeless performance and Trev was the only one to get a zero on the Blind Taste Test, took a trashing from the red team, and nearly got eliminated in his episode) and the first contestant to withdraw on the same episode named after himself.
• He is the third contestant from Louisiana, following Anthony (Season 11) and Beth (Season 12).

Quotes[]

• (About Scott cooking tableside in kitchen) "Scott cooking tableside in the kitchen... whew, man!"
• (While cooking duck and going head to head against Ariel) "I'm not going to quack under pressure."
• (To Trevor's opinion of the carbonara appetizer station) "You know why it went out well? Because you didn't f*cking cook anything!"
• (After Trevor's elimination) "Bye, Trev.Bon voyage. Good luck wherever the f*ck you end up. Don't make it to Baton Rouge."
• "I look better on a pancake than I do in person."
• (To Mia during punishment) "Orange you glad you're not doing this with Bret?"
• (While sweeping floor) "We're gonna sweep the floor with them."
• (To Ramsay on why he chose to withdraw) "Chef, this has been an incredible journey. You're offering this great platform in Vegas, and there's not a "give up" bone in my body. And I don't want to give up on Baton Rouge. I want to go back and share this wealth of knowledge that you've given me to elevate that town's culinary scene, because it's not gonna do it on its own. And I feel like that's the place I need to be."
• (After withdrawing) "I'm walking out of here with my head held high, not feeling disappointed. This has been an incredible ride. What brought me into this competition was the opportunity to prove myself. I've had some rough starts. Had some shaky moments. But I've stayed true to myself the entire time I've been outhere. I was adjusting and fixing as I went along. And I think I've stood pretty well, you know. A big city in the spotlight may come in the future. But right now, I just need to elevate Baton Rouge. I want to go back there and just push the f*ck out of that envelope."
• (Ramsay, about Motto) "That, is a Chef's Chef."

Gallery[]

External links[]

• Chris Motto on Instagram

References[]