USC dining hall chef competing on Hell’s Kitchen

It is widely acknowledged that USC is home to many celebrities. From film stars to best-selling novelists to Olympic athletes, USC faculty and students are no strangers to fame. Now, the same can be said of the USC hospitality staff.

Josh Trovato of the Parkside residential dining hall is a contestant on the newest season of Hell’s Kitchen.

Hell’s Kitchen is a cooking competition hosted by Gordon Ramsay, a notorious British celebrity chef. Ramsay eliminates a contestant each week, and the winning chef receives a head chef position at a well-known restaurant. The show is now in its 14th season.

Originally from New Jersey, Trovato studied at Johnson and Wales University in North Carolina, graduating cum laude in 2010. At Johnson and Wales, Trovato founded a hockey team and was dedicated to his schoolwork. After graduation, he moved to New York City, where he landed a job with Danny Boome, a chef with his own reality show on the Food Network. He credits Boome for giving him a glimpse into how food and television could be combined. Working his way up the ladder, Trovato got a position as head chef at Tree Bistro and eventually a restaurant management job in Times Square. Still, he found himself wanting more from life.

“I began questioning myself, wondering if what I was doing was enough, and it wasn’t,” Trovato said. “So I decided to get into acting.”

After landing small roles in films such as The Wolf of Wall Street and The Amazing Spider Man 2, Trovato found a new passion for being in front of the camera, but was still enthusiastic about food, too. “Being able to combine them was my new goal,” Trovato said.

He found an advertisement for Hell’s Kitchen casting on Craigslist, and after many rounds of auditioning, Trovato was thrilled to be chosen as a contestant on the show.

“You have to have a certain entertainment value to get on the show,” Trovato said. “You have to be watchable. If no one wants to watch you, you’re not going to get on the show.”

After first moving to L.A. for filming, Trovato decided to stay permanently. He was enamored with the people, the weather and the natural beauty of California.

“I said I would never do another winter,” Trovato said. “California is my destiny. I think God brought me here.”

He credits Hell’s Kitchen with bringing him to L.A. and said it was the best experience of his life thus far.

Trovato said that even though the show has not aired yet, it has changed his life for the better.

“It led me to California. I feel at home here. It put me on path for the rest of my life,” Trovato says.

Even though he cannot disclose how far he has made it on the show, it is clear that it has had a tremendous impact on his life. He believes that the show has allowed him to succeed to a point he could never have imagined reaching at age 26.

Working with Ramsay was a dream come true for Trovato.

“He is probably the coolest guy in the world,” Trovato says. “He has such a presence. He has an aura. You really want to impress him.”

Though he doesn’t want to disclose too much, Trovato did say that his interactions with the chef would be fun to watch. He said that a true friendship with Ramsay came out of doing the show, and that he learned so much just by being around Ramsay.

Luckily for USC students who eat at Parkside, Trovato brings what he learned from Ramsay to work each day.

“I try to teach the guys at Parkside the stuff I learned from him. That’s pretty cool, to say you’ve eaten food inspired and taught by Gordon Ramsay. Not many people can say that,” Trovato said.

Trovato enjoys sharing what he has learned about cooking, management and the food industry with students. USC management, his employees and the students have all been very encouraging and are excited to see him on TV, according to Trovato. Since he had to keep the show a secret for a long time, Trovato said he is relieved to share his excitement with his coworkers and the students. “They make me even more pumped for it to air. I am so glad we can enjoy it together,” Trovato said.

USC also threw a viewing party at URBNMRKT for the show’s season premiere on March 3.

“USC has been so amazing to me … from the job, to the premiere party, everything they’ve done for me,” Trovato said. “I can’t thank them enough. USC is a great place to be, whether a worker or a student.”

Hell’s Kitchen airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on FOX.