Only five contestants remain in the “Next Level Chef” battle for $250,000 and a one-year mentorship. So far the professional chefs, home cooks and social media stars have competed in 13 challenges with varying results. But who has the best shot at being crowned the Season 2 champ? And who is most likely to go home next? See our “Next Level Chef” Top 5 power rankings below. Disagree? Sound off in the comments!
Joined by two elite names in the food world, chefs Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais, Gordon Ramsay and his co-mentors leave no stone unturned, as they’ve scoured the country and hand-picked the best home cooks, social media chefs and professional chefs who will be on each of their teams. Last year Stephanie “Pyet” Despain, a 30-year old social media chef from Team Arrington, won it all.
SEE Everything to know about Gordan Ramsay’s ‘Next Level Chef 2’: Meet the 18 chef-testants competing
Based on their performances so far this season, here are our Top 5 power rankings (from worst to best):
5. Nuri Muhammad (Team Arrington)
For the first half of the season it looked like this 22-year old professional chef from Bowie, Maryland would go all the way. He had four wins under his belt in the first nine challenges. After that he was in the bottom three for three consecutive weeks, and barely scraped by in the most recent challenge. It seems as though Nuri’s age and lack of experience may be catching up with him as the competition (and stress) heats up.
4. Pilar Moega (Team Arrington)
The 38-year old professional chef from Detroit started off strong, but has appeared frazzled in recent weeks. Although she’s had winning dishes four times this season, her confidence appears to be at an all-time low and she’s resorted to frequent help from the mentors. In the most recent challenge she landed in the Bottom 3 and had to fight her way out of elimination for the second time this season.
3. Christopher Spinosa (Team Blais)
The 29-year old professional chef from Long Island, New York seemed like a dead man walking for the entire first half of the season. In the first six weeks he nearly went home twice, but since then he’s been steady in the kitchen. He’s been deemed “safe” for the last seven challenges in a row, and cooked one of the top dishes just two weeks ago. That being said, being consistently in the middle doesn’t make you a champ.
2. Omi Hopper (Team Arrington)
When this 39-year old social media chef from Puerto Rico is on, she’s ON. Her soulful dishes with flare always tell a story and she’s consistently wowed the judges with punches of flavor. She’s landed among the top of the pack six times, being named the night’s top dish once. Although she’s been put to the test in elimination twice, she always emerges with flying colors. If Team Arrington repeats this season, our money is on Omi.
1. Tucker Ricchio (Team Ramsay)
The 31-year old professional chef from San Jose, California won the first challenge of the season and has barely looked back. She had one small hiccup that landed her in the Week 11 elimination challenge, but nobody really thought she’d be ousted. It was the only time Tucker was at risk of elimination, which is less than any of her competitors. She’s been among the top dishes six weeks and is by far the most consistent chef in the kitchen.
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