Standish913.com has been blessed to do an exclusive interview with...
"MELISSA IRONS"!
Let's get into some exclusive questions...
STANDISH: Where did you grow up? Tell me a favorite memory you have...
I grew up in East Saint Louis,Illinois. I'm an only child, so one of my favorite memories has to be playing in the outside tool shed. I had designed menus that I had written on the wood panels, and I would pretend the window was a drive-thru for my pretend customers. I can remember spending hours outside in the summer putting orders together and selling them. My imagination was huge.
STANDISH: When did you feel the most accomplished in Hell's Kitchen?
Winning the punishment pass had to be my most accomplished feeling inside HK. To get that kind of recognition early into the competition was reassuring that I deserved to be there. We had to pick the top 3 dishes to go up in front of Chef Ramsay in a seafood challenge and I was so unsure because my team had put up some really great dishes, you're working with limited time, and you're not familiar with the kitchen, but he chose mine ultimately, that lead to the pass.
STANDISH: Tell us your favorite memory in the dorms?
Simply bonding inside the dorms with my cast was my favorite memory of the dorm life. Even though we all shared 3 showers, so many uncanned conversations were had. From sexualtiy to race. We really got a chance to "let each other in" even though it was a competition. I was usually the 1st person up each morning, and Ryan was typically the last. Ryan would blow dry his hair with this wand, and I would just watch in amazement. I never met a guy so in tune with his hair. We would usually all sit around in the mornings drinking coffee, trying to eat something to cover the nervousness, going over recipes, and trying to enjoy the moment before we were called inside the kitchen.
STANDISH: What was your favorite challenge in Hell's Kitchen & why?
Even though I totally humiliated myself after this challenge, serving brunch to the new American citizens was my favorite. I remember production asking how I felt about this moment during one of my interviews and it made me teary eyed. You always read or see about it in the news, but to be there serving them their 1st meal as an official American was pretty cool!
STANDISH: What’s your favorite cut of meat to work with?
Because of the holiday season, my clients have been requesting tenderloin more, but I usually go for flank if I'm grilling or a great marbled ribeye.
STANDISH: We saw you go through many ups and downs in Hell's Kitchen, what's something that you will carry with you throughout the rest of your cooking career?
HK presented its own set of challenges but the biggest takeaway I received was that I deserve to be there. I'm a self taught chef with a science degree. I started off working as a host in college for extra money when I wasn't cheerleading. To end up in Hell's Kitchen is the goal.
STANDISH: Can you tell us what your worst injury in the kitchen was from?
Does my ego count!?!
Luckily I didn't have any one on one time with the medics, I got away with a few surface burns on my wrist, to blend with my old burns! It could have been way worse.
STANDISH: Who are 3 people you've always wanted to cook for, dead or alive?
Cher, Issa Ray, Janet Jackson
STANDISH: Build me the perfect team in your eyes for a dinner service! (Hell's Kitchen chefs)
Leigh (22)
Claudia (22)
Sammy (22)
Jermaine (22)
Ryan (22)
Dafne (21)
Johnathan (22)
STANDISH: What’s on your music playlist while you cook?
For a while my playlist consisted of a lot of Quiet Storm/R&B/Throwback-Kem, Anita Baker, Alanis Morissette, but lately I've been listening to Glorilla, with a mix of early 2000's. LOL. Music really sets the tone when I'm in the kitchen, I like to play things I don't have to really focus on. I like to get lost in the rhythm of cooking and certain songs can kill the vibe for me.
STANDISH: If you could switch careers and still be just as successful as you are today with cooking, Would you? What field would you go to?
I would love to use my science degree that I'm still paying student loans on, but life had different plans. LOL
I often wonder where my life would be if I hadn't walked away from research after graduating college, and into a kitchen.
I've always had a desire to help others, so it would be nursing or teaching.
STANDISH: What are your social links?
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