Vogel, a chef who appeared on 'Hell's Kitchen' in 2014, was reportedly being treated for colitis when she died. Watch video
Jessica Vogel, a New Jersey chef who was a contestant on the Fox competition series “Hell’s Kitchen” with Gordon Ramsay, has died, NorthJersey.com reports.
Vogel, 34, who grew up in Spring Lake and was a resident of Westwood, died on Monday, the report says. Vogel’s fiance, John Michael Keyser, said she was being treating for colitis at a hospital in southern New Jersey when “her heart gave out.”
When Vogel was a contestant on the show’s 12th season in 2014, she was working as a sous chef for a catering company and a bistro. She impressed the notoriously unforgiving Ramsay with her rosemary-crusted venison loin with roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts.
“Venison is one of the most difficult proteins to cook and you absolutely nailed it,” he told Vogel.
Vogel attended Johnson & Wales in Denver for culinary school and had worked for chef Christine Nunn as a pastry chef at Grange in Westwood and at Nunn’s Picnic on the Square in Ridgewood.
Starting in 2016, Vogel served as executive chef at Black Rebel Burger in Hackensack, which closed last year. Vogel’s Facebook page also lists the chef as having worked at the Committed Pig in Manasquan, the Speakeatery in Asbury Park and The Buttered Biscuit in Bradley Beach.
Vogel, who also appeared on the Food Network show “Cutthroat Kitchen” with Alton Brown in 2016, appears to have written about her experience with alcoholism in a now-deleted 2017 Medium post (cached here).
“I’m weeks away from 34 years old and got told I drink too much and have cirrhosis,” she wrote. “Did it stop me from pouring shots of alcohol? Nope. Did my lifestyle of sex, drugs and foie gras come to a born again Christian revelation? F*** that noise. Life is a blaze of glory. I don’t know if you want an adventure tale, but I’m here and ready to tell. My name is Jess and I’ve lived to tell about it. To be continued…”
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
