Following Monday’s second episode of “Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns,” Matthew Francis Johnson‘s name will forever be associated with the phrase “meat thermometer scandal.” The 24-year-old food vlogger and hand model from Duluth, Minnesota apparently brought the blue tool from home in order to properly test the temperatures of his proteins, which is against Gordon Ramsay‘s rules. Matthew was already on the chopping block because of his poor showings in the previous challenges, but this scandal sealed his fate.
“I definitely hoped I could last longer, but ‘Hell’s Kitchen‘ is Hell for a reason,” Matthew said in his exit interview after Gordon took his jacket. Referencing the controversy, he added, “Yes, I used a meat thermometer, but I promise I can actually cook real food. I really wanted Chef to see who I am, but I feel like I just never had the chance.”
After dinner service, Matthew found himself in the bottom three alongside Payton Cooper (for messing up on the meat station) and Jayaun Smith (for cooking salmon prematurely). While those two men got a chance to fight for themselves, Gordon didn’t let Matthew say a word.
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“Matthew, at signature dish, you delivered me a dish full of s***,” the host barked. “Then at the alcohol challenge, you served me a raw chicken. And then tonight, you served me raw lamb. Worst of all, your attitude sucks. Therefore, I’m not listening to your bulls***. Give me your jacket.” Matthew removed his white jacket and handed it to Gordon, who in turn gave him back his meat thermometer and ordered, “The next time you decide to cook protein, use this s*** properly.”
Gordon hung up Matthew’s jacket in the hallway and proclaimed in voice-over, “Matthew may be considered a chef on the internet, but unfortunately I have to taste his food and that’s why I have to block him from the competition.”
Earlier in the episode, Matthew was up for elimination in the alcohol challenge against Ava Harren, the 23-year-old bikini model from Anchorage, Alaska. Gordon ended up taking her jacket at that time because her pineapple looked “knackered” and her salmon was raw. Now only 16 chef-testants remain in the running to win the head chef position at the Hell’s Kitchen Steakhouse in the Paris Hotel.
