Dave Levey emerged as the victor on Hell's Kitchen season 6, and there's curiosity surrounding what happened to the winner after that season. As the winner, Dave earned the customary $250,000, along with an intended head chef position at the posh Araxi Restaurant & Bar, which is situated in the beautiful town of Whistler, British Columbia. There's curiosity about Dave's life after the show, which was filmed in 2009.

In Hell's Kitchen season 6, Dave stood out immediately as a charismatic, confident, and multi-talented chef. After fracturing his wrist while completing a truck-cleaning punishment, it seemed unlikely that he'd go on, much less stand out in such a competitive group. Dave impressed everyone by performing well with just one fully functional hand. Thanks to his grit and perseverance, Ramsay nicknamed him the "one-armed bandit." Ultimately, Dave defeated his final opponent, Kevin, and came out on top.

Dave Levey's Araxi Is A Success After Hell's Kitchen

But Dave Isn't Working There Anymore

Immediately after his 2009 victory, Dave traveled to Whistler to accept his head chef position. With the well-known ski town preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics, much was needed to get Araxi ready for the anticipated big crowds. When Dave arrived, he was surprised to learn that the position was something other than the head chef job. He was offered a line cook position instead. Due to this news, Dave left his role at Araxi soon after the Olympics ended.

Dave Went Off The Grid After Hell's Kitchen

He Prefers Life Out Of The Public Eye

Originally hailing from Chester, New Jersey, Dave returned to his home state after leaving Whistler. Although his social media presence is either hidden or nonexistent, there were rumblings that he worked as a baker at Mara's Café & Bakery in Denville, New Jersey. It's unclear if he is still an employee in 2024.

Aside from the Hell's Kitchen alum's culinary career, Dave has also spoken publicly about his experiences while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2005. In 2014, he was arrested as part of a drug bust. Soon after, his innocence was confirmed, and he was released.

Fans Discussed Dave's Journey On The Series With Chef Ramsay

While Dave's lying low, fans have weighed in on his Hell's Kitchen experience. In a thread started by Changschooltmu, most commenters were impressed by how Dave stuck it out after injuring his arm. However, they didn't necessarily believe that he deserved to win his Hell's Kitchen series. Sometimes, life asks a lot of people and when Dave was forced to push himself to do his best, he didn't falter. That says a lot about him. Nonetheless, one viewer wrote:

I would have been cool with either winning, and they are two of my favorites from what may be my favorite season.

That said, everything you wrote is why Kevin seemed more driven and motivated as an entrepreneur, so I think it was a foregone conclusion that he would be hungrier to build the restaurant empire he seems to have done.

Dave is great, but also content with his small mom and pop bakery breakfast t. Nothing wrong with that. Just two different career goals and trajectories.

While Dave got respect, he was perceived as too laid-back to handle such a high-pressure job. This might not be an inaccurate viewpoint in light of the fact that he no longer works at Araxi. Clearly, he preferred to make other choices, or perhaps leaving wasn't his decision. For whatever reason, he moved on.

Dave's decision to eschew public life also shows that he craves normalcy rather than fame. It would be easy for him to maintain an online presence and let Hell's Kitchen fans know what he's up to. He doesn't want to and that's fine. Maybe he found himself after winning his season - the lifestyle he had on the show and at Araxi may not have made him happy.

Another fan remarked on Dave's win, echoing the viewpoint that maybe the wrong victor was selected.

Kevin was probably the real winner anyways, as much as i love Dave. Kevin runs his own restaurants while Dave won a line cook position which he left and got arrested for possession of drugs i believe, now he’s not doing too much as far as i know

There's some logic to this. Kevin did have real experience, showing genuine ion for the day in and day out task of running eateries. He was a self-starter who made the most of his dreams by opening his own restaurants. However, the commenter above went low by commenting on Dave's drug arrest.

When Dave was arrested, it was pretty serious. One of the drugs he was in possession of was heroin. There's an opiate epidemic in the USA and elsewhere. It's a major problem. While living with addiction may have changed Dave, sapping his strength, he deserves comion. No one wants to have that issue. Sometimes, it just happens. .

As far as Araxi Restaurant & Bar goes, it continues to thrive. Executive Chef James Walt currently runs a destination restaurant, the kitchen at Araxi. According to the official Araxi website, Chef Walt focuses on seasonal menus with locally sourced ingredients. In 2016, Araxi published its second cookbook, which Chef Walt curated: Araxi: Roots to Shoots, Farm Fresh Recipes.

The restaurant remained open most of the time throughout the pandemic, and staff strictly adhered to social distancing guidance from healthcare authorities. Dave parted ways with Araxi Restaurant in 2010, one year after his Hell's Kitchen win. Fortunately, the former reality star and the restaurant have continued to do well.

Hell's Kitchen is streaming on Hulu.

Sources: Araxi, Araxi/Instagram, Changschooltmu/Reddit