‘Next Level Chef’ judges Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais dish on Season 4, conspiring against Gordon, and an ‘exciting element of surprise’
Welcome to Reality Derby, our weekly deep dive into all things reality TV, hosted by Gold Derby senior editors Marcus James Dixon and Denton Davidson.
Joining us this week is Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais, two of the judges from Next Level Chef with Gordon Ramsay on Fox. (Our interview begins at the 16:39 mark in the video above.) They preview Season 4 of the cooking competition, reveal how they plan to take down Gordon, and talk about getting their start in fast food.
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“I’m most excited about this new batch of talent,” Arrington tells Reality Derby. “We have some absolute heavy-hitters — some of the brightest social media stars and some of the best chefs in the game. A really exciting element of surprise is that your esteemed judge panel is going to be putting on an apron in an episode and cooking alongside our team.”
The season premiere airs on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/PT and features the first set of auditions with social media chefs. “Our social media chefs are really good at articulating because they’re talking to their communities and their audiences,” says Blais. “They’re usually pretty good at presentation because they have to make a dish that looks good on screen. Sometimes, they’re not that great with timing because they’re used to setting up their ring lights and spending six hours making a dish. They also have more pressure on them because they have millions of followers. There’s this sense of, ‘I can’t embarrass myself in front of my two million TikTokers.”
Pyet Despain from Team Arrington won the title on Season 1, followed by Tucker Ricchio and Gabi Chappel from Team Ramsay on Seasons 2 and 3, respectively. Team Blais has yet to get on the board — and the empty-handed judge is ready to form an alliance with Arrington to take out the top dog. “It would be nice, hint hint, if I could find an ally,” he says — to which Arrington responds, “I’m scared! … I need to start breaking some rules, for sure.”
In addition to winning a $250,000 cash prize, the champion of Next Level Chef receives a one-year mentorship program with the three judges. Arrington confirms they do remain in contact with past contestants. She most recently took Gabi on a farmers market tour through Los Angeles. “What that looks like is setting her up with a foundation — a network of people that she can reach out to. I’ve connected her with a lot of farmer friends. I’ve brought her along to a lot of incredible dinners I’ve done where she’s got to play sous-chef. It’s been really awesome to see her come to life and travel. She’s using that cash prize to fuel her dreams…and to learn from each of us differently.”
The two superstar chefs also share their common roots in fast food: Arrington at Taco Bell and Blais at McDonald’s. “I just did a campaign with McDonald’s a couple months ago,” Blais says. “For me it was full circle. You’d be surprised at the efficiency and teamwork that’s involved. Those are the things that I learned. Teamwork. How to do things cleanly. How to be hospitable. That can start with fast food. The next person that’s handing you that bag in the drive-thru window could be the Next Level Chef.”
Arrington adds, “It teaches you discipline. You’ve got to show up on time. You’ve got to understand what the task is at hand. You have to excel, whether you’re tendering a dollar to make change or whether you’re on the line. It’s all part of a team sport and everyone has to excel for the team to be great. It doesn’t matter if the meal or the plate is $300 or $3, it’s the same mindset.”
This week on Reality Derby, we also dive deep into the sixth episode of Deal or No Deal Island (“Power Grab”), the seventh episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race (“Let’s Get Sea Sickening Ball”), and interview “Boston” Rob Mariano about The Traitors, and The Challenge All Stars contestant Sylvia Elsrode. Watch this week’s show above, and then join the discussion in our forums.
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