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Q: Tell me about Jean-Philippe in "Hell's Kitchen." Is he an actor or actually a maître d'?

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

Jean-Philippe Susilovic is a professional maître d'hotel, and was so years before "Hell's Kitchen" premiered. The showbiz portion of his life happened by accident, though his career has been entwined with Ramsay's since the very beginning.

Susilovic, a Belgian of Croatian descent, was apprenticing as a maître d' at the Michelin-starred La Palme d'Or restaurant in Cannes, France, when he first met Ramsay. Susilovic was 17 at the time, and Ramsay, 25, was visiting that most luxurious city to look for ideas before opening his first restaurant, Aubergine.

Soon, Susilovic was working for Ramsay at Aubergine in London. He later moved on to run another of Ramsay's London-based eateries, Petrus, and was working there when Ramsay and Granada Entertainment approached him about appearing on the original, British version of "Hell's Kitchen." He agreed, and the next year he went to the U.S. with Ramsay to work on the U.S. version.

As a superfan (because only a "Hell's Kitchen" superfan would ask this question), you probably noticed that there was a three-season break in Jean-Philippe's time on the show. This is, in fact, proof that his devotion to his profession trumps his love of showbiz — he left the show to help launch a new location of Petrus in London and then to launch another Ramsay restaurant in South Africa. After that, he started his very own restaurant in his native Belgium.

That being said, Ramsay and Granada Entertainment came calling again, and he returned to "Hell's Kitchen" for seasons 11 and 12 before departing once more.

 

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