South Philly Review

The internal makeup of Siobhan Allgood matches her external appearance flawlessly. The passionate chef immediately arrests one’s attention with her red mane, but her culinary flair sustains one’s interest and with much tastier results.

Allgood used her skills to land a spot on season seven of “Hell’s Kitchen,” Fox’s reality cooking show that pits chefs against one another and the hypercritical persona of chef Gordon Ramsay.

Although the resident of Broad and Wharton streets was eliminated in the June 29 episode — making her the eighth casualty out of the group of 16 aspiring cooks  vying for the executive chef job at Ramsay’s new restaurant at London’s Savoy Hotel  — Allgood remains grateful of the opportunity.

“The show picks people with a weird edginess to them,” Allgood, who had to send a video to New York to begin her selection process, said. “We were bound to clash, but I am thankful for the ride. I stayed true to myself, and I learned never to settle.”

That attitude has blossomed since her brush with the brazen Brit and her castmates.

“I wasn’t scared of chef Ramsay. He reminded me of my dance instructors, loud but overall just trying to get the best out of me,” Allgood said of the restaurateur, who referred to the budding chef as a “donkey” on her elimination night.

The 27-year-old hails from Rockledge, a borough in Montgomery County, but identifies most with South Philadelphia.

“South Philadelphia has such a family vibe to it; everyone is laid back,” Allgood said during last week’s interview in the Italian Market.
Count her and husband Joel Janka among the relaxed residents.

“We love it here," Allgood said of the couple, who are preparing for their first wedding anniversary in September. “This is such an honest and raw place.”

No definition of “raw” would ever apply to either Allgood’s talent or her dishes. Ballet first appealed to the 2005 La Salle University graduate, who began dancing at age 2. Her skills led to appearances with the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Metropolitan Ballet and the Russian Moscow Ballet.

But it was her grandparents who influenced her desire to cook, as her grandfather owned a Northeast Philadelphia-based butcher shop. Graduating with a degree in psychology and minors in animal science, history and Spanish, she turned her attention to a career in cuisine.

“I don’t dance anymore,” Allgood said. “I have two bad hips.”

She has capable hands, however. Those hands garnered the interest of “Hell’s Kitchen” producers after having had the exact effect on, among others, the proprietors of Prado, a San Diego establishment; the owners of McKenna’s Irish Pub, 795 N. 24th St.; and the higher-ups at the esteemed Table 31, 1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd.

At McKenna’s, Allgood served as executive chef, but she credits her ’09 stint at Table 31 — where she worked with local star chefs Georges Perrier and Chris Scarduzio — for strengthening her attraction to Italian cooking, something in which most South Philadelphians are well-versed. Other loves include Mexican and Asian cuisines.

“Table 31 allowed me to fuse my cooking interests,” Allgood said.

In addition to her former life as a dancer, Allgood also worked as a veterinary technician with Queen Village Animal Hospital, 323 Bainbridge St. That vocation may have prepared her for the often circus-like nature of “Hell’s Kitchen.”

Away from Ramsay’s version of tough love, she can now concentrate on applying the gentle yet passionate love she has for cooking. Since March she has been running “It’s Allgood,” her private chef and consulting business.

“I had the interest before I started at McKenna’s [June ’08]. My consulting works kind of like [Fox reality show] ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ but without the shouting,” she said of another Ramsay project where he attempts to save floundering eateries. “I try to help people to find simple and easy ways to create food without going crazy.”

Her psychology background helps her to gauge clients’ needs and keeps her motivated to strive. She has given cooking demonstrations and catered numerous events, including one Saturday in Brigantine, N.J. for military personnel who have developed post-traumatic stress disorder following time in Iraq and Afghanistan.