Next Level Chef (American TV series)

Next Level Chef is an American culinary reality competition television series that premiered January 2, 2022, on Fox, with judges Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington, and Richard Blais. The third season began in January 2024, with a confirmed renewal for a fourth season.

Format
Chefs compete in a series of cooking challenges, divided into three teams under the guidance and judgment of Ramsay, Arrington, and Blais. In each episode, chefs are assigned to cook in one of three kitchens stacked on top of each other. The top level is equipped with a wide range of modern tools and devices, the middle level is a standard commercial kitchen, and the bottom level contains a limited collection of lower-quality equipment.

In the first season, the chefs are divided into three groups, and each group is randomly assigned a mentor and kitchen. Based on their evaluation of the chefs' dishes, the mentors take turns choosing one chef at a time for their respective teams. The teams are randomly assigned to the kitchens in subsequent episodes. In the second season, the mentors pick their chefs prior to the first challenge, and kitchen assignments for the teams are based on the results from the challenges throughout the episodes. The third season begins with 24 chefs, divided evenly among three types (professional, home, social media). In each of the first three episodes, the eight chefs of a particular type compete through three rounds, one per kitchen, and one chef is eliminated after each round. The five surviving chefs become eligible to be chosen by the mentors for their teams.

Before each challenge, a platform stocked with ingredients is lowered through the structure from top to bottom. As it reaches each level, the chefs cooking there have 30 seconds to collect whatever items they think they will need, including no more than one protein each. They are then given 45 minutes to prepare, cook, and plate their dishes, incorporating any surprise ingredient(s) that may be delivered to them on the platform without warning during that time.

During the team competition episodes, the chef whose dish is judged the best overall wins immunity from elimination for his/her entire team. The mentors of the other two teams each choose one of their own members for a 30-minute head-to-head challenge on the top level. The ingredient platform remains available throughout this time, and the mentor of the winning team supervises the two chefs' cooking while their teammates observe and offer advice. Based on their opinions of the dishes, the other two mentors select one chef to be eliminated from the competition; if they disagree, the winning team's mentor casts the tiebreaking vote.

Changes introduced in later episodes/seasons include:


 * Denial of immunity to any team at the end of a challenge.
 * Elimination challenges involving three or more chefs, in which only the one with the best dish is safe.
 * Disbandment of the teams, forcing the chefs to compete directly against one another.
 * Reduction in cooking time from 45 minutes to 40 in the main challenge.
 * Kitchen assignments for each episode based on the chefs' performance in the previous one(s); all chefs assigned to the bottom level after a main challenge must compete to avoid elimination.
 * A total of 90 minutes to cook three dishes in the finale, one per level.
 * (Season 2 and later) During the first episode, each mentor gives an "immunity pin" to the chef who cooked the best dish on their team. A chef may turn in this pin if they are chosen for a head-to-head challenge later in the season, forcing their mentor to nominate another chef in their place.

The winner will receive $250,000 and a one-year mentorship under all three mentors.

Production
On May 17, 2021, it was announced that Fox had ordered the series, with Gordon Ramsay as a mentor, who also serves as an executive producer. Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais also serve as mentors for the series, the latter replacing Gino D'Acampo. On October 19, 2021, it was announced that the series would premiere on January 2, 2022.

On March 2, 2022, it was announced that Fox renewed the series for a second season, prior to the airing of the first season's finale on the same day. On May 16, 2022, it was announced that the second season would premiere on February 12, 2023 as the Super Bowl LVII lead-out program. On May 11, 2023, it was announced that the show was given a two-season order for a third and fourth season. On November 21, 2023, it was announced that the third season would premiere on January 28, 2024, following the NFC Championship football game. The shows currently air on Thursday nights, with a Sunday rebroadcast that can be burned off in case of a Fox Sports overrun.

The first two seasons of the show were filmed on a set constructed in Las Vegas. The set, built within an industrial tent, consists of three kitchens that are stacked on top of each other. Many aspects of the set, including the burners, ranges, and generators, are all run on gas. Starting with the third season, the show filmed at Ashford Studios in County Wicklow, Ireland.

International versions
A British version of the show was commissioned by ITV in June 2022. It later premiered on January 11, 2023. Gordon Ramsay and Nyesha Arrington from the American version served as mentors, along with Paul Ainsworth. The show was won by social media chef Jade Greenhalgh. On March 28, 2023, the show was reportedly canceled after one season.

A French version of the show was commissioned by Kitchen Factory Productions in October 2022.