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Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns had one of the most controversial eliminations in the show’s history. The “Thermometer” scandal that led to chef Matthew Francis Johnson going home left fans at home stunned. So, what happened and where is the young chef now? Here’s what you need to know.

Gordon Ramsay Slammed Young Chef

In the second episode of the Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns season, viewers saw Chef Matthew using a digital meat thermometer. This is something that is against the rules of being on the show. Contestants are not allowed to bring any outside tools or equipment into the competition kitchen.

Ultimately, Matthew got caught and Gordon Ramsay was furious. But, the icing on the cake was that, despite sneaking in a thermometer, Matthew still served Gordon raw chicken and lamb. Due to that and his overall low performance on the show, he got the boot.

YouTube/Hell’s Kitchen

However,...

For the landmark 20th season of “Hell’s Kitchen,” Gordon Ramsay brought together 18 aspiring chefs younger than the age of 24 to compete on his “Young Guns” cycle. His hope was to find a future leader he could mentor throughout their career, with the winner claiming a head chef position at Ramsay’s steakhouse at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Five chef-testants have survived this grueling job interview so far, but only one can walk away with the grand prize. Check out our “Hell’s Kitchen” power rankings heading into Episodes 13 and 14 below.

The 13 eliminated chefs to date are Ava Harren, Matthew Francis Johnson, Jayuan Smith, Alex Lenik, Morgana Vesey, Payton Cooper, Kevin Argueta, Keanu Hogan, Victoria Sonora, Josie Clemens, Sam Garman, Emily Hersh and Antonio Ruiz. Below are our “Hell’s Kitchen 20” Top 5 power rankings for the chef-testants still in contention for the title.

See ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Winners...

The third time on the elimination block was unfortunately not the charm for Victoria Sonora during the August 9 episode of “Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns.” This junior sous-chef from Longmont, Colorado (and lover of all things root vegetables) simply wasn’t “ready” to be Gordon Ramsay‘s newest protege, something she now admits she was aware of at the time of filming. “I knew it and he knew it — I wasn’t ready then, but Damn that was incredible,” Victoria tweeted after her elimination. “Low key just happy to have made it past day one.”

I knew it and he knew it- I wasn’t ready then, but Damn that was incredible. Low key just happy to have made it past day one #HellsKitchen https://t.co/nMNVhSsQMi

— Victoria Sonora (@theVickster) August 10, 2021

See ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Winners Ranked Worst To Best (All Seasons)

After taking her jacket and burning it in the “HK20” hallway,...

The first “Cook For Your Life” challenge on “Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns” proved to be the end of the road for Keanu Hogan during the July 19 episode. Sadly, this 23-year-old private chef from Baltimore, Maryland never recovered after charring her bone-in pork chop. The others who competed in the 45-minute challenge, based on private rankings from all of the contestants, were Josie Clemens, Victoria Sonora, Emily Hersh and Sam Garman.

One by one, renowned chef Gordon Ramsay told Sam, Josie and Emily to head back to the dorms because they did indeed cook for their lives. That left Keanu and Victoria both on the chopping block — Keanu because she burned her protein and Victoria for her lazy plating. In the end, Gordon asked Keanu for her jacket, sparing Victoria from elimination.

See ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Winners Ranked Worst To Best (All Seasons)

“You’re a firecracker,” he told Keanu, who...

For the first time on this season of “Hell’s Kitchen,” someone was eliminated during the middle of dinner service. Kevin Argueta repeatedly messed up on cooking lobster during the July 12 episode, which got him reprimanded by host Gordon Ramsay. When Kevin later turned in overcooked lamb, the entire Blue Team was forced to have an impromptu meeting in the storage room. “I just have to get my head out of my ass,” the 21-year-old Los Angeles native said exasperatingly when Gordon asked him what was wrong.

“Your head out of your ass? Every table you’ve touched you’ve screwed,” Gordon screamed, referring to the lobster debacle. “Apron off, jacket off and f*** off out of here. You’re done!” Kevin then removed his jacket and left “Hell’s Kitchen” forever, meaning he’s no longer in the running to win a head chef position at Chef Ramsay’s...

Payton Cooper did the unthinkable during the July 5 episode of “Hell’s Kitchen” when he cooked a bland dish for Megan Ramsay, daughter of host Gordon Ramsay, on her 21st birthday. Megan had taste-tested the Thai noodles with soy peanut sauce earlier in the episode and loved it, which is why she was confused when she was handed a watered-down version during dinner service. After being nominated for elimination (along with Josie Clemens and Sam Garman), Payton fought for his life in front of Gordon, but things didn’t go according to plan.

“Chef, I know that I’ve made some mistakes and I feel absolutely s***** about it, especially for your daughter,” the 21-year-old sous-chef from Kentucky apologized. “I’m sorry I sent her a flavorless dish tonight. But I feel like I’m growing stronger and stronger every day and I know I can do better, Chef. I really do.

After last week’s double elimination, only 16 Young Guns were still in the running to win the 20th season of “Hell’s Kitchen.” The ultimate prize this year? A head chef position at Gordon Ramsay‘s steakhouse at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. During Monday’s all-new hour, the remaining chef-testants were tasked with replicating the very first challenge in “Hk” history from 300 episodes ago — breaking down squid to Gordon’s perfect specifications. Who excelled and who faltered at this fun throwback challenge?

See‘Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns’ cast: Meet the 18 chefs for Season 20

Below, read our minute-by-minute “Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns” recap of Season 20, Episode 3, titled “Come Hell or High Water,” to find out what happened Monday, June 14 at 8:00 p.m. Et/Pt. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite aspiring chefs on Fox’s reality TV show and who...

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,...

“My expectations coming into this competition were pretty high,” noted Ava Harren, the first person eliminated from “Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns.” Following her ouster midway through Monday’s second episode, the 23-year-old bikini model from Anchorage, Alaska sounded off outside the Las Vegas restaurant. “I thought I had a good shot, but my first two challenges sucked,” she confessed. “At the end of the day, Matthew had uncooked chicken and I think maybe he should be standing here.” She was referring to Matthew Francis Johnson, the second person up for elimination by Gordon Ramsay because of his poor performance in the alcohol challenge.

Ava’s dish was a bourbon-marinated grilled pineapple with soy olive oil Worcestershire salmon. Chef Ramsay called the pineapple “knackered,” a word she mistook for “naked.” He then noticed her salmon was raw, which surprised him because salmon is the “the one thing” he thinks of when he thinks of Alaska.

Since no one was eliminated during last week’s “Hell’s Kitchen” premiere, that meant at the start of Monday’s second episode all 18 contestants were still in the running to win the head chef position at Gordon Ramsay‘s steakhouse at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. And it was time for a double elimination. As usual, the nine girls competed in the red kitchen (with Season 10 winner Christina Wilson as their sous-chef) and the nine boys took shelter in the blue kitchen (with Season 7 fan-fave Jason “Jay” Santos as their mentor). So whose jackets did Chef Ramsay end up snatching in this special 300th episode?

See‘Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns’ cast: Meet the 18 chefs for Season 20

Below, read our minute-by-minute “Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns” recap of Season 20, Episode 2, titled “Temping the Meat,” to find out what happened Monday, June 7 at 8:00 p.m. Et/Pt. Then be...

For its landmark 20th season, “Hell’s Kitchen” is traveling back to Las Vegas, but this time around there’s an even bigger twist. All of the contestants are aspiring, up-and-coming chefs who are younger than age 24, which explains why host Gordon Ramsay affectionately calls them “Young Guns.” These 18 all-new chef-testants competed in Sin City prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, with Christina Wilson and Jason “Jay” Santos returning as sous-chefs for the Red Team and Blue Team, respectively. At stake for the winner? A head chef position at Ramsay’s steakhouse at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. So how’d it all play out in Monday’s season 20 premiere?

See‘Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns’ cast: Meet the 18 chefs for Season 20

Below, read our minute-by-minute “Hell’s Kitchen: Young Guns” recap of Season 20, Episode 1, titled “Young Guns Come Out Shooting,” to find out what happened Monday, May 31 at 8:00 p.