Hell's Kitchen: What Happened to Season 1 Winner Michael Wray & Tatou?

By Wilder Carnes

Updated Jan 11, 2024

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Summary

Hell's Kitchen season 1 winner Michael Wray had a bright future but faced addiction and tragedy after the show.
He declined Gordon Ramsay's offer to mentor him in London due to his drug problem.
Despite facing hardships, Michael is now happily married, in recovery, and raising funds to open a food truck to help others.

A few years before Michael debuted on Hell's Kitchen season 1, he had back surgery for scoliosis, which soon proved disastrous. The metal rods inserted into his back snapped, and Michael ultimately became addicted to painkillers. The chef considered himself a functioning addict and was able to win himself a spot on Gordon's now-famous reality competition series. While he had a tough start, he often led the Hell's Kitchen team. By the end of the season, Michael proved to be the victor while still taking prescription painkillers at an alarming rate. Shortly after his win, things started to go downhill.

Michael Wray Overcame Adversity After Hell's Kitchen

After Hell's Kitchen, Gordon offered to mentor Michael in London. According to interviews with Mashed, Michael declined Gordon's job offer. He said, "It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make. I regret it all the time. I was in Hell's Kitchen with a drug problem. I was deathly afraid of going to London with this giant addiction." Despite the offer, Michael had two significant silver linings on the horizon. At the time, he had some money from his win. Michael quickly became head chef at The Standards restaurant in Los Angeles. Soon after that, he opened his restaurant, now known as Tatou. The hit restaurant proved to be successful. It became such a sensation that the chef prepared to open a new restaurant called HK One. At the same time, Michael and his wife were expecting their first child.

Michael Experienced Tragedy After Hell's Kitchen

Unfortunately, Michael's daughter died during childbirth. He struggled to keep his head above water for the next couple of years. First, he walked away from his hit restaurant, Tatou. Then, Michael and his wife divorced, and he began living out of his truck. He worked odd kitchen jobs here and there to sustain his drug habit but eventually found himself living in an under in Los Angeles. The former winner of Hell's Kitchen wound up moving out into the desert, where he consumed nothing but drugs for days. A erby found the Hell's Kitchen star by the highway and called 911. Michael woke up in the hospital and finally began his road to recovery.

Five years later, Michael is now happily married again and lives in San Diego with his wife. Recently, he began raising funds to open a food truck. He hopes to drive the truck cross-country, serve food, and help those struggling like him. It would be amazing to see Michael return to Hell's Kitchen in another capacity.

Hell's Kitchen seasons are available for streaming on Hulu.