Everyone has a story about a meal. The tastes, the smells. That all sticks with you, and I think that’s really cool.
Every dish Dylan Duffy whips up, every meal he makes, every recipe he prepares, includes two vital ingredients: his heart and soul.
“Food is so personal,” said Duffy, who earned an associate degree in Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Culinary Arts program in May 2025. “Everyone has a story about a meal. The tastes, the smells. That all sticks with you, and I think that’s really cool.
“I’m a big fan of putting personal touches in your dishes. Cooking is similar to other art forms. It’s always evolving and allows for such creativity.”
This fall, Duffy is sharing his personal, creative vision of cooking with the world as a contestant on the 25th season of "Hell’s Kitchen," an American reality competition cooking show on FOX.
The series is hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who created and appeared in the British series of the same name.
Duffy is one of 18 contestants, all chefs under the age of 25. Each season of the show, which premiered in May 2005, two teams of chefs compete for a job as head chef at a restaurant while working in the kitchen of a restaurant set up in the television studio.
The 25th season started on September 24. The winner will earn the title of Ramsay’s next protege and a spot on his culinary team.
“It’s funny because as a kid, I had thought about acting,” said Duffy, who grew up in Milwaukee’s Bayview neighborhood and graduated from Ronald Reagan High School. “With this great opportunity, I got to combine television and cooking.”
See TV coverage of Dylan Duffy
Duffy, 22, has been surrounded by food almost his entire life. He watched his parents constantly cook. He avidly watched episodes of the Food Network cooking show “Chopped.” His first job was at Fernwood Greenhouse, where he harvested, weighed and packaged vegetables and fresh fish. At 16, he took a job at Krieg’s Lakeside Bakery. A year later, he moved to the cafe at the Outpost Natural Foods, where he made breakfast food and sandwiches.
After graduating from high school in 2022, Duffy was considering where to attend college. He got into the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He planned to study environmental science.
“Then I figured out I was doing that so I could learn how to grow the food that I wanted to cook,” he said. So why not cook?”
He opted for MATC’s Culinary Arts program.
“MATC was amazing,” Duffy said. “The college was extremely approachable and very accepting. They understood that this was a place of learning and I was there to learn.”
Duffy spent two years learning the foundational skills chefs need to be successful: cutting with knives, searing, cleaning, prepping and running a business.
“You amass this great base and then you get to go out and apply it,” Duffy said. “Every instructor I had was great and added to my knowledge base. They were outstanding.”
Duffy was always a standout student, said Cassidy Rodencal, an MATC Culinary Arts instructor.
“Dylan always demonstrated a true love of learning,” Rodencal recalled. “Even in the moments when Dylan may have already possessed a skill or technique, instead of approaching it with arrogance, he approached it with humility, seeing it instead as a chance to help a peer or further his learning. He exudes a calm confidence in his work and was actively looking for the next opportunity to further himself and his skills.”
While attending classes, Duffy worked full time as a line cook at Lupi & Iris, a high-end Milwaukee restaurant opened by James Beard Award-winning chef Adam Siegel. Siegel received his formative training from chef Paul Bartolotta, an MATC graduate and James Beard award winner.
At the downtown eatery, Duffy grilled meat, cooked pasta and created hot appetizers. He became especially skilled in cooking over a wood fire, making fresh pastas and leading an efficient kitchen.
“You could tell he was working on his culinary skills at school and in a real-world application,” Rodencal said. “That was demonstrated through his organization, poise and confidence under pressure. He came prepared and ready to learn each day.”
He also gained some cheerleaders in Siegel and his wife, Daria Aitken-Siegel.
“Adam and I could not be more proud or excited for our very own, Dylan Duffy,” Aitken-Siegel wrote in an Instagram message. “Just watched his first segment and he was tremendous!!! A real natural in front of the camera. He has grown and matured so much since we have known him. Way to go, Dylan!!”
Going to ‘Hell’s Kitchen’
In early 2026, Zach Adams, a Milwaukee chef and a 2019 MATC Culinary Arts graduate, reached out to Duffy and encouraged him to apply for the “Hell’s Kitchen” series. The two worked together at Lupi & Iris, and Adams had appeared on “Next Level Chef,” another TV cooking competition show.
“I applied and got picked,” Duffy said. “They told us thousands of people applied for a spot.”
The 25th season was filmed at a custom-designed set at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. For three months during filming, Duffy and the other contestants were completely cut off from the world, he said. Cellphones or computers weren’t allowed, which he didn’t mind.
“Everyone was in the same boat,” Duffy said. “We’re all there, we’re all the same age and we’re all competing. People are on edge, but it was really fun. … It was a blast. I would totally do it again.”
On the first episode of the season, Duffy earned a 4 out of 5 on the first dish he made for Ramsey: pan-seared trout with potatoes and roasted cauliflower in a caper brown butter lemon sauce.
Duffy has nothing but respect for Ramsey, who often snarls at his contestants as he pushes them to do their best. “He’s tall,” Duffy said. “He’s a very commanding presence.
“I learned a lot of humility. You only know what you don’t know and there’s always something new to learn,” Duffy added. “I learned how I want to be when I’m in the kitchen. For me, that part was really satisfying.”
Duffy recently joined the team at Il Ponte, Siegel’s new 7,000-square-foot, 155-seat restaurant located on the ground floor of Northwestern Mutual‘s newly reconstructed North Office Building. The eatery opened at the beginning of September.
He also took time in October to visit MATC and share his insights, Rodencal said. “He’s truly a kind guy who wants to see the new generation of students succeed,” she said.
Meanwhile, Duffy said he’ll continue to be a culinary sponge, absorbing what he can.
“It’s all about continuing to learn. You never stop learning,” he said. “I want to work with Adam for a while longer. After that, who knows. I’m just enjoying what I’m doing today and seeing where all this leads.”
Dylan’s Go-To Milwaukee-Area Dining Spots
Here’s where Dylan Duffy likes to eat around Milwaukee:
- Allie Boys, 135 East National Avenue, Milwaukee. “Love the bagel sandwiches.”
- Hawthorne Coffee Roasters, 4177 South Howell Avenue, Milwaukee. “Great coffee.”
- Ca’Lucchenzo, 6030 West North Avenue, Wauwatosa. “Drew and Zach Baker have created such a great place there.”
- 1033 Omakase, 1033 South First Street, Milwaukee. “Huge fan.”
- Saffron, 223 North Water Street, Milwaukee. “I’m a huge fan of Indian food.”
- Oakland Gyros, 2867 North Oakland Avenue, Milwaukee. “I mean, this has to be on the list, right? I love these kinds of spots.”
About MATC: Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 35,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 45 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
