Who is Ariel Contreras from “Hell’s Kitchen”?
Ariel Contreras-Fox was born in Santa Cruz, California USA on 31 October 1981 – her zodiac sign is Scorpio and she holds American nationality. She is a chef and a TV personality, perhaps best known for having competed in the reality TV show “Hell’s Kitchen”.
Early life and education
Ariel was raised alongside her siblings in Santa Cruz by their father who was a factory worker, and their mother who worked at a local bakery. Motivated by her mother, Ariel began cooking shortly after enrolling at a local high school, and started helping her mother around the kitchen.
She did very well at school and was among the best students in her class, so after matriculation in 1999, Ariel enrolled at the California School of Culinary Arts, and while studying there she simultaneously worked at a small restaurant as a chef. Most of the money earned was given to either her parents or to pay for her college tuition, and after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2003, Ariel began working as a chef at restaurants around California.
Career as a TV personality and a chef
She gained recognition when she became a contestant in the sixth season of the reality TV show “Hell’s Kitchen”, which aired from 21 July to 13 October 2009 – the show is very popular as it is hosted by the chef and restaurant owner Gordon Ramsay, who is known for yelling and screaming at his chefs in the show. During the sixth season, Ariel strived as the leader of her own team, showing confidence and ability to be the leader, however, she lost her confidence when it was time for solo competing, and eventually finished in third place in the show.
On 28 September 2018, she became a contestant in the show’s 18th season called “Rookies vs. Veterans”, and again became the leader of her team at the very beginning, making friends with several other contestants such as Bret, Motto, Mia and Kanae. This time Ariel managed to win the show, receiving $250,000 and being offered work as the main chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen Restaurant located in Las Vegas, Nevada, however, Ariel accepted the money but not the job offer.
Shortly after the show ended she started working at the Hardings restaurant as their executive chef, and after several months there she moved to work as a chef at a restaurant at an airport owned by tOTG, a firm which runs expensive restaurants at airports.
Ariel is also a writer, as she and her mother have published the children’s book “Freckle-Faced Foodie: A Journey of a Young Chef”.
Love life and husband
Before she appeared in the 18th season of “Hell’ Kitchen” Ariel was in several relationships, and the one which lasted the longest was with a non-celebrity man whom she dated from 2004 to 2012. According to the rumors, the man was working as a chef as well, and they became engaged but called it off several months before the wedding. Ariel was also in a long-term relationship with her college sweetheart, but they split shortly after graduation.
After the end of the show in 2018, she started dating Alexander Mangual and after around a year of being together, they married in a big ceremony attended by their wide circle of friends and family. For the distribution of invitations, the two used the ZOLA wedding planning website – the wedding was held in September 2019 and not long after that, Ariel gave birth to her and Alexander’s daughter.
The family of three is currently living in Santa Cruz, and there haven’t been any rumors nor controversies surrounding their marriage.
Hobbies and other interests
Ariel is currently mostly focused on raising her daughter, and she usually takes her away from the city to spend time in the nature and be close to animals, as she believes this will make her a better person.
Ariel likes simple things in life and her favorite drink is Coca Cola while one of her favorite sweets is chocolate ice scream.
She is keen on travelling and has been all around the US for both work and pleasure, while she has also visited many European countries including but not limited to Switzerland, Sweden and Norway. Ariel prefers cool weather over warm, as she doesn’t like the feeling of sun on her skin.
In her spare time (usually late at night), she likes to watch movies featuring some of her favorite actors – Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro and Julia Roberts – some of her favorite movies are “Sleepless in Seattle”, “The Green Mile” and “Runaway Bride”.
Age and height
Ariel’s age is 38. She has curly black hair and brown eyes, her height is 5ft 5ins (1.65m) and she weighs around 130lbs (58kgs).
As of August 2020, her net worth has been estimated at over $3 million.