DENNISVILLE – “People keep asking me what am I going to do next, and I don’t know yet,” says 30-year-old Kyle Timpson, who won season 23 of the TV reality show “Hell’s Kitchen,” hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
The Dennisville native won $250,000 cash and a chance to be a head chef at the Hell’s Kitchen Restaurant at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn., which also served as the setting for the season’s show.
As winner of the series, subtitled, “Hell’s Kitchen: Head Chefs Only,” which premiered on the Fox TV network Sept. 26, 2024, and concluded Feb. 6, 2025, Timpson faces a number of decisions that can turn his life topsy-turvy.
Should he move from his beloved home of five years in Philadelphia, uprooting his life, moving away from friends and family to be a head chef at the Foxwoods Resort Casino?
Can he see himself living in nearby Mystic, Connecticut, where the closeness to water reminds him of his childhood home in Dennisville?
Does he want to use his cash prize to open his own restaurant, knowing that it’s not only extremely hard work, but will also take more money and the need for investors?
Those are only a few decisions facing the young chef as he enjoys his achievement and newfound celebrity status.
“The filming for the show actually took place last May,” Timpson said, “just over a three-week timeframe. The first three days were busy with photo shoots, sizing and picking of wardrobe, paperwork and just getting ready. Then we shot seven days on, with two days off for three weeks, starting early in the morning. It was very long, challenging days, 22 hours, but it also was fun.”
Fun is important to Timpson in preparing his food; he recalls learning to make raviolis from his now-101-year-old great-aunt. “I remember standing on a stool next to her, rolling out ravioli for the family,” he said. “Somehow I knew this is what I wanted to do.”
He has worked as a chef at many restaurants throughout Cape May County, including Beach Plum Farms and the former Island Grill in Cape May, the Grange at Cold Spring, Dr. McGrogan’s Oyster House in Sea Isle City and various other places. He also was a pastry chef at The Reeds in Stone Harbor.
A 2013 graduate of Middle Township and Cape May County Technical high schools, and Atlantic Cape Community College’s culinary program, Timpson also has had cooking stints in Manhattan and Philadelphia, where he worked at Moshulu, Tony’s Beef and the Four Seasons.
He believes he still “has a lot to learn,” so he’s been taking time to talk with others in the industry for guidance as he decides his future direction after winning the show.
“Nowadays, social media is so important, it’s crazy not to think it is,” he said. “The camera eats first, and while I don’t want to be THAT person, taking a picture of my food and putting it out there in social media, the camera does eat first, and how your food looks is important.
“When I worked at the Four Seasons, one of the chefs would ask if the food was sexy, and if it wasn’t, well, sex sells. It’s the oldest thing around, but if your dish looks nice and tastes nice, and it looks sexy, well that’s important.”
Timpson describes his food as “big, bold, flavorful and sexy,” as a reflection of who he is. He’s been lauded as the first openly gay male winner of the show, something he’s proud of.
“It is a big deal,” he said, “because it shows that no matter who you are, you have a chance. I’m flamboyant, sassy, chubby and fabulous, and it’s a good representation to others of what you can achieve. I wanted people to see me in my outfits and think, who is this clown? Now, they can eat their words.”
His flamboyance could be seen during the TV show, when he wore his pink and black zebra outfit, white and black and green and black suits, or his multicolored suit – all taken from his closet at home.
“During those first days, the producers wanted to approve what we were going to wear for our first look, and I had everything laying on the bed,” he said. “I was wearing the pink and black zebra outfit, and they loved it! Everything I wore came from my closet, I didn’t buy a thing.”
Timpson said his interactions with Ramsay and others were positive, as “they want to see you succeed. If you make it through the first week, they give you every opportunity to succeed. Then when you win a challenge, you get a reward, like yachting around the island or go-cart racing with Chef Ramsay. It was a lot of fun.”
It was also challenging, as sometimes the chefs had almost any ingredient they wanted, while at other times they found they had to make do with just a few ingredients because the pantry was locked.
“If you had a piece of chocolate, grape jelly and maybe one other item, I would make it work, and it would be delicious, and it would be sexy,” he said.
Timpson found himself in jeopardy during the show after a night at the fish station, where he and another chef found themselves on the bottom of the rankings. “We deserved to be on the bottom,” he admitted, “but I was so happy that I wasn’t sent home. But from that point on, you couldn’t stop me.”
While the filming took place last May, Timpson had to stay quiet about his victory for 10 months since the last show wasn’t shown on TV until this month. He left his job last July “because he knew what was coming,” and has used this time to figure out what he wants to do next.
“It’s a great opportunity to work at Hell’s Kitchen, the place is amazing. But I’ve got to figure out what I want to do next and where,” he said.
Although he acknowledges that the restaurant industry and being a chef is “not easy, it’s very tough,” he also knows that when the time is right, he wants to open his own restaurant.
“I don’t think it’s the right time now, because I know what goes into making a successful restaurant,” he said. “There’s still things I need to learn, although I know how to run a business, watch costs and all the rest.
“I also know there’s always someone better than you. I can do pastry and culinary, and I know I can make anything. You just have to remember to work clean, organized and neat, and still have fun. I’ve got time to figure it out.”
Contact the reporter, Karen Knight, at kknight@cmcherald.com.
