From the hollers to ‘Hell’s Kitchen’: Morehead chef a contestant on Gordon Ramsay’s show

Before she ended up on the latest season of “Hell’s Kitchen,” Brittani Ratcliff found a little slice of heaven as a child in her grandmother’s kitchen.

Growing up in the small Carter County town of Willard, the current executive sous chef and catering chef with Aramark at Morehead State University comes from a long line of farmers. She learned to raise livestock, as well as grow, harvest and can her own vegetables, since she was around 5 years old. One of the first dishes she ever learned how to cook when she assisted her grandmother Bonnie Ratcliff was chicken and dumplings at age 14.

“It’s my go-to for pretty much everything,” Ratcliff, now 32, said.

Even as she was attending college at the University of Kentucky with plans to go to medical school, she couldn’t escape her calling. When she and her roommates were living on ramen noodles, she had an “a-ha moment” as she researched Asian cuisine to elevate the college staple by adding eggs, chicken and green onions.

“It made me really happy to see my roommates enjoy my food,” she said. “Just the passion for cooking ... I couldn’t stay away from it.”

Ratcliff dropped out of UK and attended Sullivan University to earn an associate’s degree in culinary arts. Her first job was as a line cook for the grand opening of the first Saul Good restaurant in Lexington before spending four years as a catering chef at The Galt House in Louisville.

She has spent the last seven years working for Aramark at Morehead State University in her current role, creating menus for and catering for events large and small for the university and surrounding county. “I don’t have a whole team of people behind me,” she said of her current job. “Whether it’s an event for 10 people or an event for 400 people, this is my menu.”

Throughout her schooling and career, in times of achievement and struggle, Ratcliff didn’t stop watching cooking shows, especially celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s “Hell’s Kitchen.”

“I’ve been a mega-fan since the first season,” she said. “I’ve watched every season two or three times.”

However, even though Ratcliff was working in a field that was her passion, she admits she didn’t have the same creative spark and drive that she used to when it came to her cooking. She was in a rut. It was about this time that she heard the show was accepting applications for contestants for its season 19 run in Las Vegas.

“I thought, this was a sign for me,” she said. “I needed to push myself to do something bigger than what I thought I would do.”

Ratcliff’s time on season 19 of “Hell’s Kitchen,” which debuted on Jan. 7, is one she described as “pleasant intense,” which is almost an apt description for the show’s star chef.

“I think his (Ramsay’s) personality is 100 percent at all times. He’s just passionate about the kitchen and cooking. He’s passionate about life in general and you can tell,” she said. “He is everything I expected, plus a little bit more.”

In addition to being able to show off her cooking style, which she calls “Appalachian French fusion,” and building relationships with her castmates that feel more like family, Ratcliff left with a renewed passion for cooking. She is working on obtaining a farm and getting back to her roots, showcasing her cooking skills, showing people how to grow and preserve their own vegetables, and putting smiles on people’s faces with food.

“Since I’ve been back, it’s been one idea after the other,” she said. “I found out more of who I was and the direction I want to go with my career and my life.”

“Hell’s Kitchen”

“Hell’s Kitchen” airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays on FOX.

This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 12:40 PM.