Meet the 'Next Level Chef' Cast Vying for Gordon Ramsay's Mentorship
Next Level Chef is returning to Fox for the cooking competition's second season.
The show, which premiered in 2022, is an epic, one-of-a-kind culinary trial that features a unique setting for the contestants taking part.
The Next Level Chef set is in a building which is over three stories high, with each floor containing a vastly different kitchen from the one before it.
From the challenging bottom of the basement to the high-spec top floor, the chefs, overseen by celebrity cooks Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais, must work to create culinary magic no matter the kitchen circumstances.
Ramsay and his co-mentors have scoured the country and hand-picked the best home cooks, social media chefs and professional chefs who have joined the cast and been split into three different teams.
In each episode, the chefs will be assigned to cook in one of the three kitchens that are stacked on top of each other.
With a one-year mentorship and $250,000 on the line, the stakes are high for the competing cooks. Who will make the most impressive next level dish and who will not make the cut?
Ramsay has previously spoken about the concept of Next Level Chef, saying: "At the beginning of my career, I started in the basement, then you work up to this semi-decent kitchen, and then 20 years later, you build this state-of-the-art kitchen, and that's how the idea for this was born.
"They're cooking what they're grabbing and by the time we get to the basement, there are minimal ingredients, but that's where you find out the most about yourself. This is about bringing the best out of individuals."
Newsweek has everything you need to know about the chefs taking part in the second season of Next Level Chef.
Next Level Chef Cast
Team Ramsay
Cassie Yeung
Age: 28
Social media chef
Current city and hometown: South Brunswick, New Jersey
Mark McMillian
Age: 52
Home cook
Current city: Henderson, Nevada
Hometown: Los Angeles
Michelle Calcagni
Age: 30
Home cook
Current city: Washington Township, New Jersey
Hometown: Oradell, New Jersey
Preston Nguyen
Age: 19
Professional chef
Current city: Arlington, Texas
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Tucker Ricchio
Age: 31
Professional chef
Current city: San Francisco
Hometown: San Jose, California
Vincent "Vinny" Alia
Age: 42
Home cook
Current city: Westminster, Massachusetts
Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
Team Arrington
Alex Morizio
Age: 48
Home cook
Current city: Miami
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
April Clayton
Age: 39
Home cook
Current city: Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Hometown: Henderson, Tennessee
Nuri Muhammad
Age: 22
Professional chef
Current city: Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Hometown: Bowie, Maryland
Omallys "Omi" Hopper
Age: 39
Social media chef
Current city: Providence, Rhode Island
Home country: Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Pilar Omega
Age: 38
Professional chef
Current city: Los Angeles
Hometown: Detroit
Shay Spence
Age: 32
Social media chef
Current city: Key West, Florida
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Team Blais
Christopher Spinosa
Age: 29
Professional chef
Current city: West Palm Beach, Florida
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Darryl Taylor
Age: 52
Professional chef
Current city: Atlanta
Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee
Kamahlai Stewart
Age: 41
Home cook
Current city: Pittsburgh
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Matt Groark
Age: 44
Social media chef
Current city: Medford Lakes, New Jersey
Hometown: Erial, New Jersey
Mehreen Karim
Age: 27
Home cook
Current city: Brooklyn, New York
Hometown: Auburn, Alabama
Tineke Younger
Age: 20
Social media chef
Current city: Evans, Georgia
Hometown: Frederick, Maryland
Next Level Chef premieres Sunday, February 12 at 10:30 p.m. ET on Fox, after Super Bowl LVII. Episodes will be available on Hulu the day after their original airing.
