Kyle Timpson, who grew up in Middle Township and graduated from the Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College is competing on Thursday, Jan 30 at 8 pm on the finals of Fox TV's Season 23 of Hell’s Kitchen.

Kyle Timpson Grew Up Wanting to Be a Chef

A South Jersey guy has made it to the final round of Season 23's Hell's Kitchen.

Kyle Timpson, 30, grew up in Dennis Township and went to Middle Township High School and Cape May Tech, where he took pastry classes.

From there, he moved on to the Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing, where they are proud to say they educate more culinary students each year than any other New Jersey culinary school.

Kyle told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he had always known he wanted to be a chef.

“I started cooking super young, like about 6. When the other kids were at home watching cartoons, I was watching the Food Network. That’s all I did.”

Timpson moved to Philadelphia after graduating from ACCC and worked at some of the city's best restaurants, including the Moshulu, the Four Seasons, and Steak Italian Nightlife, a.k.a., SIN.

Kyle says he loves to cook because he loves to eat.

“I love to eat. I really like making people happy. Good company and good food is a good thing... I always like to make people happy whether it’s for food, or something else.”

 

Kyle's Journey on Hell's Kitchen

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay acts as a mentor to a group of chefs on Hell's Kitchen, which showcases Ramsay's culinary perfectionism and infamous short temper.

The 18 contestants have been paired down to three remaining chefs for Thursday night's finals.

The show’s winner gets $250,000 and the head chef job at the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT, where the season was shot.

Of course, Gordan Ramsey also has a Hell's Kitchen restaurant at Caesar's Atlantic City.

Kyle Timpson told the Philadelphia Inquirer he thinks he can beat the odds and win Season 23.

The show “really is like that expression: life is all about what you make it,” Timpson said. Though “some people went to the CIA [Culinary Institute of America] and I went to a community college, it really is all about what you make of it and the opportunities.”

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