The Word Nona Johnson Used To Describe Working With Gordon Ramsay - Exclusive
Nona Johnson, née Sivley, beat out some seriously stiff competition in Season 8 of "Hell's Kitchen." After tons of ups and downs, the chef managed to snag the grand prize and walked away from the show as the winner (via Reality TV Revisited). After testing her mettle on reality television, this former sous chef from Atlanta, Georgia went on to helm California's L.A. Market as the head chef and eventually left to help her mentor open his first restaurant. After a whirlwind of a time out West, Johnson found her way back to Georgia where she currently runs her own catering business, Sizzling Peach.
The chef found her way thanks to a ton of life lessons she gleaned while competing on "Hell's Kitchen." Whether she tackled new challenges she never expected to face or dealt with harsh critics, Johnson's experiences helped guide her career. The television experience also placed the budding chef opposite Gordon Ramsay when it came to critiques. While many television viewers see a hot-headed version of the celebrity chef, Johnson had an unexpected word to describe Ramsay that she shared with Mashed in an exclusive interview.
A different side of Gordon Ramsay
"He's really, really funny," Johnson said in an exclusive interview. "Like really funny. And I know that, as a viewer watching, I'm laughing because the things he says are funny, but he's genuinely really funny and he cracks jokes and really one of the hardest things was not laughing when he would shout out in anger and frustration."
One of Ramsay's best moments came about when the chef went on a tirade, scolding Johnson's team for their restaurant service. "It was a really bad night," Johnson continued. "It was a really, really bad night for the guys. I think it was the guys and after the service, I don't even know if service was finished or not. And the TV audience never saw this, but he was shouting at everyone saying how terrible the service went and blah, blah, blah, all of these things. And he said, 'You guys are trying to f*** me up the a** sideways from Sunday.' And we all just stood there like, 'Yes, Chef that's right. That's what we're doing. Yep.' Because we didn't know what to do. You just went, 'Mm-hmm. Yes, Chef.' But yeah, we talked about that one later."
Stay up to date with Nona Johnson through Twitter. If you're in the Atlanta area and need catering services, be sure and give Nona Johnson a call at The Local Peach.