Fox’s cooking competition series, Hell’s Kitchen, has consistently cooked up some downright delicious drama over the years. While we, obviously, can’t get enough of Gordon Ramsay’s seriously inventive insults, there is something else that makes this show as addictive as sugar: the interpersonal dramas unfolding between the chef-testants. They go after each other like family members at an intervention, and it’s wildly entertaining. So when the last scallop has been seared and the last risotto dumped in the trash, we’re more often than not left wondering: Where are they now? Today we’re taking a look at Dana Cohen from seasons 10 & 17.
Dana Cohen joined the ranks of Hell’s Kitchen fame when she first appeared on season 10. She was consistent in the kitchen and strong outside the kitchen, stating, “Chef Ramsay’s big on Scallops and cooking them perfectly, but I’m not scared of him.” Though she mostly rose above the drama on her team, she definitely clashed with Barbie, one of the series’ more memorable contestants. In the end, she didn’t have the leadership skills and was sent home in third place. Flash forward seven seasons and Dana returned for the All Star season – right alongside Barbie. But it was Elise Wims who Dana wound up clashing with most. Elise coined Dana and Michelle the Dachelle alliance and did her most to take them down. Unfortunately for Dana, she crashed and burned in a dinner service and was sent home in eighth place.
While remembered for being generally level-headed, and named the “Scallop Queen” by Ramsay himself, Dana was too often in the mix when it came to team dramas. She never did win a season, so what became of her? Immediately following season 10, Dana became a fitness instructor and opened a healthy foods spot, Pulse Cafe. She also offered private chef services and contributed to a local paper as a food columnist. Following season 17, Dana became the Corporate Marketing Chef at Unilever Food Solutions. She is still providing private chef services and can be booked for private parties and children’s birthday events through her website: Chef Dana. She’s also still a contributing columnist for the Community Life Newspaper in Westwood, N.J.
Dana Cohen also found happiness in her personal life. She married Eric Mayer in 2017. They are still together and seem quite happy. She, like many of her Hell’s Kitchen fellow alums, returned to reality TV. She appeared on Chopped in December of 2020. She also continues to prove she is the one true Scallop Queen with her Instagram tutorials.
Sources: Fandom, Dana Cohen, Reality TV Revisited