Shivangi Sinha
Chefs from across the country, each bringing their unique skill sets and culinary styles, compete on Netflix’s ‘Next Gen Chef.’ The competition is intense, and the $500,000 prize raises the stakes even higher. In season 1, Karla Perez entered the kitchen with her eyes set firmly on the title. Though she had a calm and reserved personality, her true strength showed through her culinary expertise and creative execution. Week after week, she demonstrated that she wasn’t just there to participate and that she had what it takes to stand among the best.
Karla Perez Struggled to Win the Pin of Excellence in the Competition
In the first round of the competition, Karla Perez was placed in a team tasked with creating dishes inspired by the legendary Julia Child. Right from the start, she felt a disconnect with her team leader, Peter McTiernan, whose dominant style of leadership left her feeling overshadowed. Tensions rose when she got into a squabble with him over using the pizza oven, which dampened her mood during the challenge. To make matters more complicated, the rice she used was not the correct paella variety, which caused it to turn sticky and gave her difficulty in pulling everything together. Still, when she presented her final dish, which was a squid ink paella topped with grilled octopus, the judges were impressed with her creativity and flavors, though they pointed out that the rice was not the best choice.
Karla, however, felt a huge sense of relief when she became the last of the 12 contestants chosen to move forward in the competition. In the challenges that followed, she struggled to gain momentum. She did not win a Pin of Excellence in the two subsequent competitions and faced more hurdles when her team was assigned to run the brewery at the CIA campus. Although she worked hard on her beetroot salad, her performance did not shine as brightly as some of her peers. Ultimately, when the judges announced that the three contestants without Pins would face elimination in an omelet cook-off, Karla found herself in a tough spot. Competing against Sidney Rubenstein and Nikki Patterson-Nash, she put forth her best effort, but the other two secured their places and Karla was eliminated.
Karla Perez Holds a Respectable Position at Dan Barber’s Restaurant
Karla Perez built her foundation with a broad academic background before committing fully to the kitchen. She completed a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media Studies at the University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo, from 2000 to 2009, and later transitioned. She earned an Associate’s degree in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts–Miami in 2011. Her professional kitchen career began in institutional and hospitality settings. From September 2011 to May 2013, she worked as a cook for Five Star Senior Living in Hollywood, Florida, gaining experience in large-volume meal production and strict dietary requirements. She moved on to Fontainebleau Miami Beach as a banquet cook from May 2013 to October 2014, where she refined timing, plating, and service for large events.
Pivoting toward personalized cuisine, she served as a full-time personal chef from October 2014 to August 2016. She continued offering private-catering and contract personal-chef services from June 2016 through March 2019, expanding her repertoire in bespoke menus and event catering. Karla returned to restaurant leadership in October 2019 as Executive Chef at Juniper On The Water, a role she held through November 2022. There she ran kitchen administration, menu development, ordering, inventory, and food- and labor-cost management. During the August 2021 to Nov 2022 window, she also took on the role of Sous Chef at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, supervising teams, handling purchasing and inventory, and contributing to large-scale F&B operations across the property.
In November 2022, Karla accepted the Executive Chef position at La Industria Bakery & Café in Miami, Florida, where she focused on scratch cooking, food presentation, portion control, and elevating bakery/café menus. She led the kitchen there until January 2024. She is now working as a Chef De Partie at Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, New York. It works on a farm-to-table philosophy and has given Karla the opportunity to learn about sustainable and immersive dining experiences.
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Karla Perez Loves Traveling and Exploring New Cuisines With Her Partner
Outside the kitchen, Karla Perez leads a life full of flavor and adventure with her partner, Edwin. The two share a passion for exploring new restaurants and culinary experiences, often seeking out memorable dining destinations like Elcielo in Washington, D.C., and Smyth in Chicago, Illinois. Their shared love of food makes dining out an experience as much as a pastime, as they draw inspiration from each dish and chef they encounter. Karla is also a fan of live music, and in 2024, she attended Lollapalooza, fully immersing herself in the festival energy.
Travel plays a big part in her personal life as well, and the couple frequently takes trips across the country to discover new cities and food scenes. In July 2025, they ventured to Mexico and had the time of their lives. Karla seems to be a person who has a warm circle of people around her and who revels in the simple things, like a day at the beach. This is what makes her stand out as her own person and someone who brings something new to the table.
