JWU Featured in Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen Season 24, Episode 9

PRESS RELEASE

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — November 21, 2025 - Johnson & Wales University was featured in the latest episode of the hit television show Hell’s Kitchen, in an episode celebrating 50 years of excellence in culinary education at the university.  

Season 24, episode 9 aired November 9, 2025, on the FOX network. JWU was featured as the central theme of the episode, with Chef TJ Delle Donne, the assistant dean of the College of Food Innovation & Technology (CFIT), serving as judge for the morning challenge alongside CFIT student Hollis Tuffile, a Culinary Arts major slated to graduate in May. The winning dishes from the head-to-head morning challenge were featured on a tasting menu at the celebration dinner.  

“The episode was a celebration of 50 years of food education at Johnson & Wales, and I am so honored to represent the university as a judge,” said Delle Donne. “When I first stepped onto the set and saw it all decked out in blue and gold for the university, I was blown away – I had chills. To put on that show for us was humbling and it just made me feel great to be a part of not only the show but to be a Johnson & Wales employee. The reverence that they shared about JWU, it made me feel good about what we do here." 

"Participating as a guest judge on Hell's Kitchen while a student at Johnson and Wales was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Tuffile. “After filming the episode, talking one-on-one with Gordon Ramsay and receiving his advice was an incredible experience I never expected to have this soon." 

During the episode, Gordon Ramsay highlighted four of JWU’s most well-known alumni: Emeril Lagasse, Michelle Bernstein, Graham Elliot, and Rock Harper, who won season three of Hell’s Kitchen, showcasing the university’s prestigious legacy of food education.  

Three of the 20 contestants competing on season 24 of Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the States attended JWU: Antonio Wormley, representing the state of New Hampshire; Anaiya Lane, who represented Delaware; and Chris Faison, representing New Jersey. All three credited JWU with getting them started on their culinary careers.  

“The training, mentorship, and discipline I gained at JWU helped shape not only my career but also the way I lead, teach, and inspire others today,” said Faison, who currently serves as the director of culinary arts at New England Culinary Arts Training. “Knowing I get to carry that legacy forward and contribute to the narrative of 50 years of excellence in JWU's culinary program is a tremendous honor.” 

Lane, a 2020 graduate of JWU’s Charlotte, NC campus, said she was “ecstatic” when she learned that her alma mater would be featured. 

“The very school that taught me everything that would eventually lead me to Hell’s Kitchen, was being featured on MY season. It felt like an honor, a chance to show the world everything JWU had taught me,” she said. “To me, Wildcat Pride is carrying the JWU spirit throughout everything I do, never forgetting all the opportunities offered to me throughout my time there that made me, me. I wouldn’t be half the chef I am today without JWU and Wildcat Pride.”  

About the College of Food Innovation & Technology 

For more than 50 years, JWU has been a trailblazer in food education, becoming the first in the country to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Culinary Arts, followed by the first Bachelor of Science degree in Baking and Pastry Arts in 1997. In 2020, the College of Culinary Arts was renamed to the College of Food Innovation & Technology, reflecting the breadth and depth of programming offered, and the commitment to sustainability. Dean Jason Evans joined the college to execute the new vision.   

“Very few organizations in the country have the intellectual and physical assets to prepare students for all of these roles, but CFIT does,” Evans said of CFIT. “Undoubtedly, the need for problem solvers in the food system is greater now than ever. CFIT can offer its prospective students, partners and donors a unique opportunity to make the world better.” 

About JWU 

Founded in 1914, Johnson & Wales University is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution with more than 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students at its campuses in Providence, Rhode Island and Charlotte, North Carolina, and through JWU Online. An innovative educational leader, the university offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs in arts and sciences, business and hospitality, dietetics and nutrition, food innovation and technology, and health and wellness. It also offers undergraduate programs in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts. JWU’s unique model provides students with the personalized attention, academic expertise and industry connections that inspire professional success and personal growth. The time students spend at JWU is nothing short of transformative, as demonstrated by career outcomes, expected earnings and economic mobility rankings. The university’s impact is global, with alumni in 130 countries pursuing careers worldwide.

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