Posted on January 26, 2011 by Melinda
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Season 8 of Hell’s Kitchen was a great one.  Mainly because I had the pleasure of getting to know Nona Sivley who took home the prize: Head Chef position at LA Market and spokesperson for Rosemount Wines.  Nona is as nice and as animated as she appears on TV.  I admit when she first contacted me, I got so excited I ran through my house screaming at anyone who would listen.  Okay, maybe I even called up my sisters to tell them.  “You will never believe this!  Nona from Hell’s Kitchen just talked to me!”  It was like I made first contact.  I definitely wasn’t as calm and collected as Steve was when he would chat with Vicki from The Amazing Race, but I was starstruck!  Throughout the season, I calmed down.  Nona was just that sweet and down to earth, and she really is a lovely person.  I even managed to chat with Vinny and Trev here and there without falling all over myself.

Nona became a regular reader of The Reality Junkies and even let me ask her a few questions about her experiences on Hell’s Kitchen.

Nona autographing a chef's jacket

TRJ:
What was your reaction when you found out you were chosen to be on Hell’s Kitchen?

Nona:
I kind of freaked out for a minute. It didn’t seem real. I mean, the auditioning and interviewing was fun and easy, but now it’s really go time!!

TRJ:
What was your favorite experience from the show?

Nona:
Probably seeing Curtis and Jax. I had no contact with them for over a month and seeing them walk through those doors was so overwhelming.

TRJ:
Worst experience?

Nona:
Being kicked out of the kitchen. I’ve never experienced anything like that, and we (Chef Ramsay and myself) were arguing back and forth. It was definitely the most humiliating moment for me.

» Read more..

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Filed under: Exclusive Interviews, Hell's Kitchen
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Posted on January 13, 2011 by stevebeans
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So I’ve been sitting on this interview for a few days because I was one of the lucky ones to get the stomach virus which resulted in about 24 hours of walking back and forth from the couch to the bathroom, except for the times I decided just to fall asleep on the bathroom floor with a roll of toilet paper as a pillow and a towel as a blanket (true story).

At one point during that nightmare it dawned on me that I had this interview I needed to publish, and I couldn’t let people down!  I had to pull myself up, drag my ass to the computer and write this up.  See what I do for the Junkies?

This interview is with the one and only Vicki from The Amazing Race 17, the tattooed sweetheart who surprised a lot of people and made it into the final 4 despite her teammate giving up on her, finishing last twice, and having frequent asthma attacks whenever she had to hustle.   I was one of the people who thought they were going to be out early, but I’m glad I was wrong, as we got to see her true character shine through as a selfless, helpful and kind person.

Btw, because my questions were pretty generic, over the course of the upcoming seasons, I’ll probably be looking to take questions from readers to submit to people, maybe we can get something better than what I came up with!

Also, I blurred out the faces of her friends from pictures.  I didn’t want people thinking she’s really friends with aliens with no faces.

Vicki from The Amazing Race 17

Vicki Showing Off Leg

TRJ:
Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions, first off, tell us about the Vicki experience. What do you do when you’re not racing around the world?

Vicki:
When I am not racing around the work I’m in deep with my career! I am really passionate about being a hairstylist, making people look & feel beautiful. I get to express myself through my work!! Besides my career I’m always keeping myself very active with either being at the gym, aerobics classes, snowboarding, boxing and riding!!

TRJ:
How did you feel when you were first told you were going to run the race? Do you remember what you were doing?

Vicki:
When I was first told I was on the race I was at work and thought it was a joke lol! I thought somebody was honestly playing a prank on me!! Like punked! Lol

TRJ:
How are things going with Nick?

Vicki:
Things are going great with Nick and I. A lot less stressed being off the race!

TRJ:
Do you think the race impacted your relationship? If so, was it positive or negative?

» Read more..

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Filed under: Exclusive Interviews, The Amazing Race 17
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