24-year-old Anaiya Marie, sous chef at Chef Bruce Auden's River Walk landmark Biga on the Banks, poses in chef uniform with arms crossed.
Anaiya Marie will take the stage on Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay’s hit culinary competition series Hell’s Kitchen. Season 24 is themed “Battle of the States.” Credit: Courtesy Photo / Komet Communications

A River Walk restaurant’s sous chef will soon incur the wrath of Gordon Ramsay on his hit culinary competition show Hell’s Kitchen.

Anaiya Marie, a 24-year-old sous chef at Biga on the Banks, will take the stage on Season 24 of the notoriously cutthroat program helmed by the celebrity chef known for hurling insults at contestants when they don’t meet his high standards.

The season debuts at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, on the FOX network.

This isn’t the first time an Alamo City chef has appeared on Hell’s Kitchen. Mary Lou Davis, who currently serves as Ida Claire San Antonio’s executive chef, was the runner-up in the show’s 19th season.

The theme of Season 24 is “Battle of the States,” and it will include a contestant representing every state in the country for the first time in the show’s history. The program will begin with 50 contestants and will quickly get whittled down to 20 who will compete for the top spot.

Though Marie was born in Delaware, she’s firmly entrenched in the San Antonio culinary scene. However, since another contestant claimed Texas, she’s repping Delaware on the show.

However, in an emailed statement, Marie notes that while “she’s proud to stand for her home state, she also carries the spirit of her new hometown with her into the competition.”

While the season has yet to air, it’s already in the can, meaning Marie is able to reflect on her time spent in the high-pressure environment.

“Hell’s Kitchen is a unique experience,” she said in her statement. “I had the most fun while simultaneously losing my mind, all while being around some amazing chefs.”

Despite the pressure-cooker environment, Marie said she had no regrets participating in the experience.

“That’s the fun about cooking, so if I had the chance, I would do it a million times over,” she added.

Marie works under James Beard Award-nominated Chef Bruce Auden, who promoted her to sous chef in 2024. Before moving to San Antonio in 2021, she sharpened her skillset at the Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, a refined Creole eatery named one of the 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now in a July 2025 article by the New York Times.

The winner of Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the States will be offered a Head Chef position at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut and a $250,000 prize. However, viewers will have to tune in to see how far Marie gets in the competition.

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This article appears in Sep 3-17, 2025.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.