Tonight on Next Level Chef: With only six chefs remaining, there’s a heightened sense of intensity in the kitchen. This week’s challenge entails cooking protein with the bone in, which is no small feat in the essence of time. Later, two chefs fight to the finish in the elimination round, where they are presented with a formation of fish to choose from. The chefs will push themselves to the limit in order to progress to the semi-finals in the all-new “Bad to the Bone” episode of Next Level Chef airing Thursday, May 1 (8 p.m. ET/PT) on Fox.
The Teams
Each week professional chefs, home chefs, and social media chefs have seconds to grab, minutes to cook, and moments to deliver their dishes to mentors Gordon Ramsay, Richard Blais, and Nyesha Arrington. Who will rise to the challenge? And who’s dream will go up in smoke? See the teams (with previously eliminated contestants crossed out) below.
The Challenge
Gordon tells the final six that they’ll cooking an old-fashioned bone-in meal tonight. They’ll have just 30 minutes to cook a perfect protein worthy of advancing to the next round of the competition. Thanks to Megan’s delicious tapas last week, she’ll be cooking on the Top Level with the benefit of a time token advantage. Megan decides to keep the extra 10 seconds for herself rather than penalize one of her competitors. Joining Megan on the Top Level is Austin. Meanwhile, Beatrice and Ryan are on the Middle Level; Brandon and Bobby in the Basement.
With 10 full seconds to herself at the platform, Megan grabs a venison rack. Austin follows and grabs a veal chop, assuming he won’t have enough time to cook what he really wanted — the tomahawk steak. Down a level, Beatrice snags the porterhouse steak while Ryan gets a filet mignon. In the Basement, Brandon isn’t scared of the tomahawk and asks, “What kind of dumbass would send a tomahawk down to the basement?” Meanwhile, Bobby is left with pork ribs — and he’s not excited about it.
Bobby has found himself in a tough spot. He’s never cooked ribs in his life and he’s never used a pressure cooker. Tonight he’s doing both! “This is a challenge that is completely stacked against me,” he says.
Up on the Top Level, Richard calls Megan’s venison rack “a challenging protein,” but the Washington native looks confident as she assures her mentor, “I’m from a family of hunters.”
Megan on Next Level Chef (Photo credit: Lorraine O’Sullivan / FOX)
For the mid-round platform drop, the chef-testants are challenged to fire it up with a flambé. Nobody set the kitchen on fire, so all is well in this meat challenge. As time winds down, each dish makes it onto the platform on time.
Top Dishes
The best dishes of the night came straight out of the Basement: Brandon’s tomahawk steak and Bobby’s pork ribs. They’ll both soar up to the Top Level next week, with Brandon earning the final time token of the season.
Elimination Cook-Off
Two bone-in dishes weren’t up to par: Ryan’s filet and Megan’s venison rack. Beatrice and Austin earned spots in the Middle Level next week. For the elimination cook-off, Ryan and Megan will keep it on the bone by preparing a whole fish in 25 minutes.
After the high-stakes cook-off, Gordon and Richard judge each dish. Ryan’s sea bream lost a bit of its tail during the cook and it’s got the wrong fragrant stuffed inside. There’s too much rosemary, but at least the fish is cooked properly. Megan’s mackerel is “cooked beautifully” and her dish is a “smart combination” of flavors.
