From the heat of Hell's Kitchen to the cool breeze of Napa Valley, season four's winner, Christina Machamer has made quite a life for herself!

Fox’s cooking competition series, Hell’s Kitchen just began its 19th season which means there are eighteen previous (and glorious) seasons of winners, loser, and spectacular Gordon Ramsay insults. Shot in a Downtown Los Angeles warehouse converted into a kitchen, restaurant and dormitories, the previous seasons all saw chef contestants duke it out challenge after challenge in their quest to win the grand prize: a quarter of a million dollars and a coveted position as executive chef at one of Gordon’s many restaurants. Nominated for six Primetime Emmys, the show has consistently delivered Gordon Ramsay’s signature style season after season.

Season 4 was no different. Reams of insults, terrible dinner services, brutal punishments laid upon losing teams... The season had it all. It also had a very unlikely winner. Christina Machamer was nominated for elimination a whopping five times and universally viewed as childish by her fellow competitors. Born and raised in St. Louis, Christina began working in kitchens at age 16. She dabbled with college and the idea of law school but eventually returned to the kitchen and enrolled in culinary school. She attended an open audition for Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan and got a call back because casting found her hilarious. 

Hilarious though she may have been, Christina was the least experienced chef on season 4. And while her inexperience in the kitchen did come through here and there, she went on to break the then-standing record of most challenge wins with a total of nine, and to win the entire season. After her win, she was given the option of accepting her $250,000 prize all at once or earning it via a salary while working in Ramsay’s newest restaurant, London West Hollywood. Unfortunately, she was not offered the executive chef position, but rather, the senior sous chef slot. Christina took the job offer and spent 10 months cooking under executive chef Andy Cook.

After leaving London West Hollywood, Christina moved on to Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro. Post Bouchon Bistro, she went back to school to become a sommelier. She relocated to Napa Valley and became a certified Sommelier. assisted in the planning and development of the demonstration kitchen, and culinary programming at B Cellars Vineyards & Winery and has since consulted with many luxury Napa brands to build their culinary and hospitality branches. Currently she has a personal chef business, Chef C Mac. She’s also returned to her roots a time or two, making a couple of appearances on later Hell’s Kitchen seasons.

In season 11 she returned as part of a brigade of past winners sent to challenge that season’s final five, and in season 16 she attended a challenge reward dinner in which she advised the women on how best to deal with the heat of Hell’s Kitchen. And according to her Instagram, she can still cook a perfect scallop.

Next: Hell's Kitchen: Gordon Ramsay's 10 Most Brutal Insults, Ranked

Hell's Kitchen airs Tuesdays at 8pm EST on Fox.

Source: Reality TV Revisited, Chef C Mac, Christina's Instagram