Suvechha Sarkar
Season 5 of Fox’s ‘Next Level Chef’ raises the intensity in the culinary battleground as the unique three-kitchen format tests the skills of the home chefs, social media chefs, and professional chefs. The panel that decides the fate of these contestants includes Richard Blais, Nyesha Arrington, and Gordon Ramsay. Following Matt’s emotional elimination from the competition, the pressure in episode 8, titled ‘Mini Gordon,’ reaches new heights. This time, the remaining contestants face the challenge of creating the elevated version of any beloved children’s classic dish.
The Chefs Face the Challenge to Transform Childhood Staples Into Refined Dishes
Once the competitors enter the welcoming zone, they are delighted to see Gordon’s 6-year-old son standing in the judge’s panel instead of the judge himself. It doesn’t take long for Gordon to arrive, and he then sends Oscar back inside before announcing that today the chefs will face a special challenge. Today, they will receive 30 minutes to reimagine and elevate a childhood classic. Nyesha explains that all the ingredients on the platform are drawn from childhood classics, and the competitors must elevate those staples into something unforgettable. For this cook-off, Richard’s team will cook in the Top Kitchen, Gordon’s team in the Middle Kitchen, and Nyesha’s in the Basement. All the teams get ready for the platform drop after their respective mentors arrive at their kitchens.
It is soon revealed that Richard originally has four dads on his team. The platform first reaches the Top Kitchen, where Tim grabs a ball of pasta dough, mistaking it for pizza dough, so he now has to prepare the latter from scratch. As the ingredient grab concludes in the Middle Kitchen and the Basement, the competitors rush to their stations, as they have just 30 minutes to finish their dishes. Nyesha first arrives at Connor’s station to learn that he is planning to make chicken and waffles, but when she moves on to Machete, he struggles to answer. Machete begins to wonder what he can prepare with the components he has grabbed: a bun, grape jelly, donuts, cheese, and fish. Nyesha quickly advises him to make the dish cohesive.
As Nyesha approaches Danielle, she reveals that her kids love her homemade biscuits, made with simple ingredients. Soon after, Machete discloses that he has finally decided to make a Monte Cristo sandwich. The attention then shifts to the Middle Kitchen, where Gordon discovers that Cole is using bourbon in her sauce. She begins to hurry because she needs to reduce the alcohol so as not to get the children drunk. With 7 minutes already gone, Amber reveals she is making ravioli, though it is risky to do so in such a short time. In the Top Kitchen, Richard discovers that Tim is making the pizza dough by himself. In his confessional, the chef notes that although it takes him time to make the pizza dough, he is confident he can make it in time with the equipment available in the Top Kitchen.
High-Risk Dishes Begin to Unravel as Contestants Battle Time and Technique
Tim’s decision to make the pizza dough concerns Richard because it is hard to make pizza in 30 minutes. As the mentor moves on to Christian, the contestant reveals that he has a son, Maxwell, and a daughter, Mari. Jared is making spaghetti with meatballs while reflecting on his memory from a rainy school day when the children complained about not making it to school to taste his same dish. However, the judge reminds Jared that the large meatballs will take longer to cook. In the meantime, the platform arrives for a mid-round drop, and Richard announces that they must prepare a side dish with potatoes for the kids. Machete becomes overjoyed upon receiving the potato because he wanted to make fries with his dish. On the other hand, Amber begins to feel overwhelmed because she has no idea what to do with the potatoes.
Amber admits she doesn’t have enough time to make her ravioli, and now she has to wonder about the other elements in her dish. She ultimately settles on making a crispy potato cake. The focus then shifts to Tim, who reveals that he is a stay-at-home dad who wakes up at 6 am and cooks breakfast for his children. Richard then instructs Darian to put some shrimp in his cheese sauce. During the final 10 minutes, Machete tells Nyesha that, when he was a child, his mother used to take him to a restaurant for a Monte Cristo sandwich, which has inspired his dish. As the last 8 minutes on the clock begin ticking, Gordon discovers that Gabrielle plans to use the waffle iron. It makes the mentor upset because she didn’t ask for the iron before this, and it is concerning because it needs to be quite hot to make her dish.
Gordon then turns his attention to Amber and notices that she is still making her pasta. The mentor promptly reminds her that if she is running behind in time, she needs to pivot. When Amber discovers that there are only 6 minutes left, she realizes she has no time to press another pasta sheet and decides to give up her idea to make ravioli. Meanwhile, Jared discovers his meatballs are significantly undercooked and puts them in the fryer. Richard also quickly steps up to help him fry the meatballs when the contestant finds that they are not yet cooked. When Gordon sees Gabrielle struggling with the cold waffle iron with just 2 minutes left, he urges the competitor to pivot. Ultimately, the chefs from all three kitchens successfully finish plating their dishes and placing them on the platform.
Key Flaws in Dishes Send Amber and Tim to the Elimination Round
The judges finally begin tasting the dishes of the Top Kitchen, starting with Christian’s Filipino-inspired smashed breakfast burger. The dish receives great praise from both Nyesha and Gordon for its amazing taste and texture. After tasting Jared’s spaghetti and meatballs, Gordon points out that the outer part of the meatballs is too hard and dry, which could be avoided if the meatballs were a little smaller. Darian’s mac and cheese receives compliments from both Gordon and Nyesha before they taste Tim’s steak and broccoli pizza. While Gordon remarks that the pizza dough is on the verge of overcooking, Nyesha points out that it is dense and needs more fermentation. The mentors then move on to the Middle Kitchen, starting with Gabrielle’s grilled cheese.
Although Richard and Nyesha are happy with its taste, the former remarks that the presentation is a little messy. While Andy’s chicken breast dish receives great praise, it is not the case for Amber’s cherry-glazed pork tenderloin. Nyesha points out that the potato component of the dish is extremely greasy, while Richard struggles to identify what makes the dish iconic for a kid. Lastly, it’s the turn for Cole’s chicken lollipops, which, fortunately, impress the judges. The judges then begin with the Basement dishes, with the first prepared by Machete. His Monte Cristo sandwich luckily succeeds in receiving praise from Gordon. Upon tasting Danielle’s biscuits and canned ham gravy, Gordon and Richard highly praise the dish. Lastly, they try out Connor’s chicken and waffles, which also leaves the judges quite impressed.
The judges then excuse themselves to discuss the carefully prepared dishes by the contestants. After a deep discussion, Gordon finally announces that the top dish of the day is prepared by Connor, which marks Nyesha’s team safe from the elimination. So, it is now the turn for Gordon and Richard to pick a chef to head to the Elimination Round. While Gordon selects Amber, Richard picks Tim, believing that the chef can handle the pressure. Nyesha then announces that, for this round, Tim and Amber have to work with ingredients like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and more, which the children usually avoid. Their challenge is to transform those components into an irresistible dish. Without further ado, Gordon and Richard’s team heads to the kitchen for the Elimination cook-off.
An Unfamiliar Ingredient and Intense Pressure Result in Tim’s Elimination
As Tim arrives in the kitchen, he reveals that it is the same kind of pressure he faces when taking the kids to school and picking them up, putting food on the table within 25 minutes. The ingredient grab begins after Nyesha enters the kitchen to oversee the Elimination round. Both Amber and Tim are left baffled when they find they must take the squab as their protein, even though they have never cooked it before. Once the 25 minutes on the clock begin ticking, Tim decides to fry his protein. On the contrary, Amber shares that she has heard fancy poultry is always cooked medium rare, like ducks, and hence she will treat the squab just like that. As the final 18 minutes tick by, Tim puts his protein in the fryer, then decides to finish it in the oven.
When Tim brings the squab out from the oven in the last 10 minutes, Nyesha points out that it is still cold inside. It prompts him to put the protein inside the oven once again. As 5 more minutes pass by, Amber’s team begins to worry about her squab because it looks undercooked. Fortunately, she manages to give it an incredible sear before eventually finishing plating the dish. As the final few seconds come to an end, Gordon and Richard arrive in the kitchen for the tasting. Upon tasting Amber’s roasted squab, Richard remarks that it is perfectly cooked, but Gordon points out that the sauce needed a little more effort. Next up is Tim’s fried squab, which both Gordon and Richard praise for its crust’s texture and seasoning.
However, Gordon also notes that the dish doesn’t taste like squab but rather like fried chicken. Ultimately, at the time of the decision, both Gordon and Richard choose to eliminate the fried squab, which is revealed to have been cooked by Tim. He receives compliments from both mentors because he handled the protein quite well. Tim also remarks that it was the best experience of his life. In his confessional, he expresses that although he is upset that he is going home, he is really proud of himself. After Tim bids his team goodbye, Gordon remarks that he, Richard, and Nyesha have something very special “brewing” for the competitors in the next challenge. Although it raises the speculation to another level, the mystery will be revealed in the next episode.
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