Next Level Baker Season 1 Premiere Recap: Baking Spirits Bright

Season 1 of Fox’s ‘Next Level Baker’ captivates the holiday spirit with the high-stakes baking competition. It welcomes 12 new faces, who must overcome challenges under the watchful eyes of the judges/mentors, including the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, the acclaimed ‘Top Chef’ alumna Carla Hall, and Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes. The contestants include professional bakers, social media bakers, and home bakers. All of them have their eyes set on the prize of $25,000, as well as a prize package from the renowned brand, HexClad.

The Competition Begins With a Lucky Draw and Chocolate Challenge

The season begins with Gordon welcoming the contestants, accompanied by Carla and Candace. Among the professional bakers are Maricsa Trejo, Chad Visger, Winston Murdock, and Aubrey Smith Shaffner. The team of social media bakers consists of Nikita Jackson, AKA Nikki, Chloe Sexton, Justin Ellen, and Zoha Malik. Last but not least are the seasoned home bakers: Stefanie Embree, Deirdra Lambright, Michael Mararian, and Jeff Chudakoff. The judges then explain that over the next three weeks, each contestant must face hurdles, the intensity of which will be determined by the kitchen they are assigned to. The Top Kitchen is equipped with the best equipment and the best ingredients. While the Middle Kitchen has decent tools, the Basement Kitchen contains the bottom-of-the-chain components and utensils.

Gordon then reveals that the winner will not only walk away with a HexClad prize package and $25,000, but also claim the first-ever title of Next Level Baker. He announces that tonight, the competitors must prepare a family holiday favorite in 60 minutes, using one of the most versatile ingredients: chocolate. The mentor proceeds to point to three boxes placed in front of them and reveals that each team of bakers has to choose one of the boxes. That is because they contain the level of the kitchen where the group will be starting the competition. First up are the home bakers, and Jeff selects the smallest box for the team. The next turn is for the social media bakers, and Chloe, among them, picks the middle-sized box since she feels the big one is scary. Lastly, Maricsa and Aubrey take the biggest box to the professional bakers.

It is soon revealed that the professionals have received the Middle Kitchen, while social media stars get the Top Kitchen. Unfortunately, the home chefs are left with the Basement. Gordon informs everyone that, after the first challenge, one baker from each team will be eliminated. Without wasting much time, each competitor heads to their respective kitchens. While the ones in the Basement Kitchen are dreading what they are about to face, that is not the case for the other two kitchens. Soon after, Carla arrives at the Top Kitchen, Candace in the Middle, and Gordon in the Basement. Gordon reminds the home bakers that they should keep in mind that some of the foods that come out of this kitchen are Michelin-star worthy.

Mentors Race Between Stations, Offering the Bakers Crucial Guidance

The ingredient platform finally arrives first in the Top Kitchen, and each contestant receives 30 seconds to select the component of their choice. As the time comes to an end, Nikki realizes that she is at a blank because she wasn’t able to get enough. As soon as the platform reaches the Middle Kitchen, Maricsa becomes confident when she finds the Mexican chocolate. It is because she is originally Mexican American, which makes her feel that it’s a blessing. The home bakers are disappointed to find that only ingredients like chocolate syrup and cocoa powder have been left for them to use. The 60 minutes on the clock begin ticking as soon as the ingredient grab comes to an end. Zoha soon divulges that she is from Pakistan. Although she admits that content creation with a baby can be challenging, she misses her son, Mikayl, every day due to the time spent apart.

When Carla learns about Zoha’s preparation, the judge cautions her to ensure the cake is cooled completely before adding the cream. The mentor then discovers that Nikki needs evaporated milk for her dish, but is worried since she didn’t grab it. So, Carla advises her to utilize whatever she has to keep the game going. Upon hearing about Justin’s preparation, she instructs him to add acid to balance out the flavors. Meanwhile, in the Middle Kitchen, Maricsa opens up to Candace that she is making brownies because it reminds her of her mother. The contestant’s early memories of baking go back to doing it with her mother. Maricsa wants to win because she wants to celebrate with her parents, since they are her superheroes.

In the Basement, Michael expresses his feelings, speaking about how he began baking for his wife, Elizabeth, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. When she passed away, he continued on the culinary path. Hence, he wants to win the prize because he will donate it to charities just like hers. Within moments, the bakers receive a surprise visit from Santa on the platform, and each of them gets to pick a single ingredient, which they must use in their dish. Thankfully, Nikki receives the evaporated milk in the sock, which helps her salvage the situation. With the surprise being over, the focus shifts to Zoha, who realizes that her cake may be undercooked. As five more minutes pass, Carla learns from Zoha that she is going to make the cake again. The mentor reminds her that she has previously done it swiftly and can do it again.

A Tense Tasting Round Led to the Elimination of Michael, Justin, and Winston

In the Middle Kitchen, Winston is worried about what to do with the truffle he received from Santa, but he feels confident that he can figure something out since he loves it. He is originally a Jamaican and shares that he becomes nostalgic whenever he smells a plastic Christmas tree. Amid the rush, Chad points out an open oven, and Maricsa realizes it is hers. As the last five minutes pass, the competitors rush to complete their dishes and place them on the platform. It is finally time for the tasting of the preparations. The judges begin with the Basement, starting with Stefanie’s cookie cake, which they praise greatly. While tasting Michael’s dish, Candace points out that she would’ve loved the rosemary to be candied.

The judges note that Jeff’s chocolate tart is undercooked, and Carla remarks that Deirdra’s trifle could benefit from a bit of salt, as it’s too sweet. For the middle kitchen, the mentors find Chad’s pecan pie to be delicious, but sadly, that’s not the case for Maricsa, as they observe that it tastes slightly underdone. Next up is Aubrey’s fudge brownie, which receives the comment of “very peanuty.” During Winston’s turn, they point out that the truffle flavor is too overpowering. Once they move on to Zoha’s black forest swiss roll from the Top Kitchen, she receives praise, considering how well she pivoted the second time. Next up is Justin’s dark chocolate mousse, but the judges find it to be very rich and visually unappealing.

While they find Chloe’s tart to be beautifully prepared, that’s not the case for Nikki’s German cake, because it needed more salt to reduce the sweetness. Ultimately, after a long deliberation, Gordon announces that the contestants going home tonight are Michael, Justin, and Winston. While the bakers who have earned their place at the Top Kitchen are Chad, Stefanie, and Zoha, the bakers moving on to the Middle Kitchen include Nikki, Deirdra, and Chloe. The ones landing in the Basement are Jeff, Aubrey, and Maricsa. Wasting no time, Gordon informs them about their next challenge, which involves baking with alcohol. They will have 75 minutes tonight to complete it, and one of the remaining contestants will be eliminated from the competition after this baking is done.

Contestants Confront Their Fears With Unfamiliar Liquors and Reduced Choices

Once every baker makes their way to the respective kitchens, Candace arrives in the Basement to preside over the contestants there. While Carla takes her place in the Middle Kitchen, Gordon reaches the Top. The ingredient grab soon begins, and Zoha discloses in her confessional that she doesn’t drink alcohol. Since she doesn’t know how it tastes, she has to make it work in some way. The platform eventually moves to the Basement, but unfortunately, Maricsa only finds beer as the remaining alcohol. This makes her concerned since she doesn’t drink beer, making it the worst-case scenario for her. Once the time starts on the clock, she begins panicking, but she doesn’t want to end up at the bottom again. In the meantime, Carla approaches Chloe, and after understanding her preparation, the judge advises her to use cold butter.

The spotlight next turns to Nikki, who shares the story of how she went viral after preparing a wedding cake for her daughter. In the Top Kitchen, Gordon finds Zoha’s idea of the dish to be brilliant. However, when he approaches Chad’s station, the judge discovers that he is using cooking apples. Gordon cautions Chad that these apples are generally utilized for purée and tells him to be careful. Shortly after, Stefanie opens up in her confessional about being a self-taught mother. She continues that her family encouraged her to start a home baking business, which led to her receiving orders. Her family even sold their house to finance her business. Meanwhile, Maricsa is growing concerned since her baked items may not become fluffy if they don’t have enough time in the oven.

A Wave of Last-Minute Disasters Sends Maricsa Back Home

With just 20 minutes remaining, Chad realizes that his apples have disintegrated. Since he has no other options left, he decides to alter that aspect of his dish. Sadly, Maricsa also faces a predicament as she notices her pastry going flat in the last few moments. The time comes to an end not long after, and her heart continues to sink. The tasting eventually begins with the Top Kitchen. All the judges agree that Stefanie and Zoha’s dishes are phenomenal. However, they are disappointed with Chad’s preparation since they find the pears in the dessert to be undercooked. Next up is Nikki from the Middle Kitchen, but unfortunately, the mentors point out that she used too much alcohol. On the contrary, they are impressed with Chloe and Deirdra’s creations. Moving on to the Basement, the judges first taste Maricsa’s pastry, but they remark that it is undercooked.

On the other hand, Jeff and Aubrey receive high praise for their dishes. Gordon acknowledges that this will be a tough decision, and the judges excuse themselves for their intensive discussion. A short while later, they finally return, and Candace announces that the competitors who stood out and will move on to the Top Kitchen are Stefanie, Chloe, and Aubrey. The bakers who are safe for now and will next compete in the middle kitchen are Zoha, Deirdra, and Jeff. The elimination now comes down to Maricsa, Chad, and Nikki. Gordon ultimately reveals the person to be eliminated is Maricsa. In her exit interview, she mentions that she is excited to be back with her family during this festive season. As she bids everyone goodbye, Gordon tells all the bakers to rest properly because things will become a lot harder moving forward.