Next Level Chef Season 4 Episode 2 Recap: Home Chef Auditions

The heat reached the next level with Fox’s ‘Next Level Chef’ season 4 episode 2. After focusing on social media chefs, this episode placed its spotlight on eight passionate home chefs. Although they might not have had any professional training, these culinary enthusiasts were more than ready to prove their worth. With them actually managing to do so before the three celebrity chefs – Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington, and Richard Blais – the contest was all the more exciting. However, the road to being on one of their teams moving forward was not easy. What set the drive for this episode was Gordon mentioning how all the contestants were smiling, not knowing they were soon about to lose that.

The Dreaded Basement Kitchen Fired up the Cutthroat Competition

The first challenge of the night was in the basement kitchen once again. The home chefs were given just 20 minutes to create a dish that stood out using only ingredients that can often be found in a pantry, with Nyesha being with them every step of the way. From the beginning, Gordon and Richard, who were watching on a screen, showed skepticism about attorney Nick Caiazzo’s choice to use canned cheese. They questioned if it would improve his dish or bring it down. Meanwhile, Ruma Kashoro found himself lost since he was not able to figure out a dish from the ingredients he had chosen. When Nyesha saw him struggling, she advised him to keep his head on and focus on the end goal. On the other hand, Arnav impressed everyone with not only his brilliant choice of ingredients despite having just 30 seconds to grab them but also his skills.

With the ticking time-building pressure, Cathy Cann ran into trouble with a can opener. Then, when she tried to use a knife to open the can she needed, it only ended up slipping and cutting her thumb. The on-set paramedics needed to be called in to stop her bleeding and patch up the wound. However, when just four minutes were left, Ruma was still completely unaware of what he wanted his dish to be. As the time came for all three judges to review the creations, they couldn’t help but praise Natalia Gutierrez’s Crab and Corn Pasta. They were also quite impressed with Megan Keno’s Canned Chicken served in a sort of Ragu and Arnav Kamulkar’s Shrimp Pasta with Mango Chutney. Ultimately, Ruma and former Navy fighter pilot Jimmy Parreira ended up being in the bottom 2, and Ruma was eliminated because he not only failed to apply proper culinary techniques, but his dish also simply didn’t make sense to the judges.

Middle Kitchen Brought Top Contenders in the Judges’ Spotlight

For the second challenge in the middle kitchen, the participants were tasked with preparing a dish worthy of a special occasion, which they would prepare for a loved one. This time around, it was Gordon with them in the industrial kitchen. With just 20 minutes on hand, even a little mistake was unaffordable. Early on, Gordon pointed out that Jimmy had overlooked the risotto rice from the ingredients and stated that it could have complimented his dish a lot better. Meanwhile, Nyeha playfully pressed Richard to reveal his first team pick, but he refused to reveal his choice and kept his cards close to him.

On the other hand, Megan earned high praise from Gordon due to her ingredient selection. When she mentioned to him that she had a cookbook for cast iron dishes, the chef revealed he had a copy. Leading to a heartfelt moment, he told her that if she made it to the team, he would want her to sign his book. When only 8 minutes were left, the fire due to Megan’s whiskey for the dish caught everyone’s attention and took considerable time to simmer down. With the 20 minutes approaching an end, Arnav was overwhelmed and admitted that he felt like a frog in a boiling pot.

Above all this, Jimmy struggled to complete his handmade pasta, which ultimately turned his cooking station into chaos. With only 60 seconds left, his stress peaked, and in his rush to plate his dish, he accidentally dropped some beans. The judges loved Natalia’s bright Turkey Breast Milanese and Arnav’s Pork Cutlet with Maple Syrup and Apples during the tasting. So, of course, they were the first to advance to the top kitchen alongside Maryam Ishtiaq. The next two were Megan and Cathy, leaving Jimmy and Nick behind. Ultimately, after careful consideration, the judges decided they wanted to let go of Nick since his Seabass, which was done with Caper Sauce, lacked the crunchiness in the skin and simply didn’t taste great.

The Skill Sets Displayed in the Final Round Impressed the Judges Even More

The last challenge of the night proved to be very critical since the contestants had to cook a next-level dish to ensure they would get a chance to secure a spot on one of the judge’s teams. With everything on the line, they just had 20 minutes to prove their mettle under immense pressure, especially with Richard being there with them. From the beginning, Jimmy looked lost, unsure of what to tackle first regarding his dish and the ingredients available. On the other hand, Arnav grabbed a lobster and disclosed that he had only cooked it once in his life, and it was way back in the fifth grade. Adding to this, Richard joked that 19 years was close to the fifth grade, so he would most likely remember how to cook it.

Unexpectedly, Cathy suddenly ran into serious trouble with her pork. Watching from the screen, Nyesha and Gordon exclaimed in unison as even they could see that it was still raw. She panicked as she thought she would not have enough time to even complete her dish with just two minutes left, but she still gave it a try. After all, she was also struggling to reduce her sauce and didn’t know how she would plate everything together to present to the judges for their decision. Yet, in the end, she did have a dish in front of her. During the tasting, Arnav’s Butter-poached Lobster Tail with Saffron handmade Pasta left the judges stunned. Gordon even asked him how old he was again, shocked to see how far ahead his skills were.

In the end, Arnav, Meghan, Natalia, and Maryam secured their spots in the draft, leaving Cathy and Jimmy at the bottom two. Ultimately, the judges decided to eliminate Jimmy since his mashed potatoes were quite lumpy, ruining the overall texture of his dish. As the episode wrapped up, Gordon declared that this season’s home chefs were some of the best he had seen in the show’s history. With this, the second episode came to an end, marking serious excitement among the audience as to how the audition of the professional chefs would turn out.