Hell's Kitchen Season 5 Where are They Now? Who Won Season 5 of Hell's Kitchen?

Hell's Kitchen Season 5

Season 5 of Hell's Kitchen, filmed in November 2007, aired on Fox from January 29 to May 14, 2009. Gordon Ramsay returned as head chef, with sous chefs Scott Leibfried and Gloria Felix, and maître d' Jean-Philippe Susilovic. This season had several unique eliminations: one chef was sent home without being nominated, two left due to health issues, and two were eliminated during service. It also saw the first instance of a chef being eliminated despite being on the winning team, a trend that continued in later seasons.

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Hell's Kitchen Season 5 Where Are They Now?

Here's where the contestants from Hell's Kitchen Season 5 are now:

Alicia "LA" Limtiaco

Alicia "LA" Limtiaco, a line cook from Las Vegas, was eliminated in episode 8 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5. After the show, she worked at Monte Carlo, Planet Hollywood, and Luxor, and is now the Executive Room Chef at Terrible Herbst.

Andrea Heinly

Andrea Heinly, a line cook from Reading, Pennsylvania, was praised by Gordon Ramsay after being eliminated in episode 13 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5. She worked at Stokesay Castle and The Peanut Bar Restaurant and is now a private chef.

Ben Walanka

Andrea Heinly, a line cook from Reading, Pennsylvania, was praised by Gordon Ramsay after being eliminated in episode 13 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5. She worked at Stokesay Castle and The Peanut Bar Restaurant and is now a private chef.

Carol Scott

Carol Scott, a sous chef from Knoxville, Tennessee, was eliminated in episode 9 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5. She worked at Bravo Italian Cucina, started a personal chef service, opened Blue Slip Bistro, and is now the Executive Chef at Kitchen 919.

Charlie McKay

Charlie McKay, a prep chef from Las Vegas, was eliminated in episode 3 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5. After opening Nitrogen Bar, Grill and Sushi in 2018, he sadly passed away in 2024 in a motorcycle accident.

Coi Burruss

Coi Burruss, a cafe chef from Austin, Texas, was eliminated in episode 6 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5. She now owns Leila Ts Catering with her sister, started an ASMR YouTube channel, and runs a macaroon company called Smack-a-ron.

Colleen Cleek

Colleen Cleek, a culinary instructor from Papillion, Nebraska, was eliminated in episode 5 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5. She returned to her cookery school, The Classy Gourmet, and has appeared on local cooking shows.

Danny Veltri

Danny Veltri, an executive chef from Edgewater, Florida, won Hell's Kitchen Season 5. After the show, he worked briefly at Borgata Hotel, started Back From Hell Catering, helped open Gnarly Surf Bar & Grill, and was executive chef at Vince Carter’s Restaurant. He was arrested for DUI in 2012.

Giovanni Filippone

Giovanni Filippone, an executive chef from Destin, Florida, was eliminated in episode 10 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5. He returned to work at Tuscany Italian Bistro, became executive chef at Vue on 30a, and is now executive chef and managing partner at Mama Clemenza’s European Breakfast.

Jason "J" Maxwell

Jason, a food court chef from Clifton Park, New York, was eliminated in episode 7 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5. After the show, he worked at Morrison Community Living in various roles, founded a charity for autism employment, and is now a Food and Beverage Project Development Manager at Compass Group.

Ji-Hyun Cha

Ji-Hyun Cha, a private caterer from Palisades Park, New Jersey, left Hell's Kitchen in episode 2 after slipping on oil and injuring her ankle. After the show, she worked at Moon Jar, then at US Foods, started ChefJi LLC for consultancy, and does cookery demos, including for Panasonic.

Lacey D'Angelo

Lacey D'Angelo, a corporate buffet cook from Charlotte, North Carolina, was automatically eliminated in episode 8 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5 for inability to cook meat. Afterward, she pursued a career as a cake baker and became a representative for Jamberry nails.

Paula da Silva

Paula da Silva, an executive sous chef from Coconut Creek, Florida, was the runner-up in Hell's Kitchen Season 5. After the show, she worked at various restaurants, launched Paula DaSilva Culinary, and became Director of Food and Beverage after being an Executive Chef at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Robert Hesse

Robert Hesse, a sous chef from Quogue, New York, left Hell's Kitchen due to a hand burn in episode 10 and a heart condition in episode 11. After the show, he lost 450 pounds, started a food truck, and now runs charity No Kid 86'd, besides being Executive Chef at 717 South Restaurant.

Seth Levine

Seth Levine, a private party chef from New York, was eliminated in episode 4 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5 for poor performance. Afterward, he opened restaurants and snack stores, contributed to FOOD Magazine, and now owns Hotel Chantelle, The Penthouse Profundo Day Club, and Ravel Hotel as Executive Chef.

Wil Kocol

Wil Kocol, a quality control chef from Elgin, Illinois, was eliminated in episode 1 of Hell's Kitchen Season 5 for lacking motivation. After the show, he worked as a sous chef at Redstone American Grill and later became kitchen manager at Yard House in 2013.

Who Won Season 5 of Hell's Kitchen?

Daniel "Danny" Veltri competed on Season 5 of Hell's Kitchen and won. His prize was supposed to be a head chef position at Fornelletto in Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel, with a $250,000 salary. However, it was a sous chef position instead of head chef.

Hell's Kitchen Season 5 Overview

Where to Watch Hell's Kitchen Season 5?

You can watch Hell's Kitchen Season 5 streaming online on Peacock. The season, hosted by Gordon Ramsay and featuring 16 contestants, originally aired from January 29 to May 14, 2009, on Fox. To catch all 15 episodes, head to Peacock's streaming platform where you can enjoy the culinary drama and competition of this iconic reality TV series.