Ark Valley News - Mom, son win Hell’s Kitchen Sweepstakes

Mom, son win Hell’s Kitchen Sweepstakes
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: January 18, 2018

A Valley Center mother and her teenage son will be VIP guests as celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay opens a new restaurant in Las Vegas next week.

Samantha Westbrock won a Facebook contest in December. Her name was drawn randomly from more than 35,000 entries.

Westbrock said she is taking her 19-year-old son, David Westbrock, a big Ramsay fan.

"I'm super excited," she said. "I'm more excited that David gets to go. … Every Friday night is a Hell's Kitchen night."

Hell's Kitchen is a reality TV cooking competition. It's in its 17th season.

Ramsay's new restaurant inside Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas is called Hell's Kitchen.

"David watches every Hell's Kitchen," Westbrock said. "He loves to see different things you can make with steak."

Westbrock's win was lucky, but simple. She merely entered her name and birth date in the Hell's Kitchen Sweepstakes on Facebook. She figured she didn't have much of a realistic chance.

Then she got a phone call on Jan. 2, saying she had won. She couldn't say anything about the win until a video announcing the winner was posted on Jan. 9.

The package includes a round-trip plane ticket and a hotel for Westbrock and a guest.

"Emily, our daughter, has an art exhibit at WSU that night and we didn't think we were going to be able to go, but she said, ‘You've got to take David,'" Westbrock said.

In the video announcing the winner, Ramsay called the grand opening an "incredible launch."

"Samantha Westbrock, you are coming as our special guest to this incredible launch," he said. "… Can't wait to see you."

Neither can David.