Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is still right at home on Fox!
His latest cooking competition, “Next Level Chef,” has been renewed for two more seasons on the network. The show focuses on home chefs and trained professionals battling it out in three different levels of kitchens to win the top prize.
Gordon Ramsay’s Cooking Competition ‘Next Level Chef’ Renewed For Two More Seasons At Fox
Deadline reported that Fox decided to renew “Next Level Chef” for two more seasons only hours ahead of the two-hour season finale that aired earlier this week. Season 2 of Ramsay’s latest cooking competition premiered right after this year’s Super Bowl and attracted 16.9 million viewers.
Although shows like “Hell’s Kitchen” feature Ramsay alone in the kitchen, this time, he is working with stars Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais to make sure that all chefs get an expert’s assistance when preparing their meals for the final judging round. The stage is set three stories high, with each floor featuring a different level of difficulty.
The first season was shot in Las Vegas while the second season was shot in the UK. The first two seasons were produced by Studio Ramsay and Fox Alternative Entertainment. For seasons 3 and 4, Studio Ramsay will still produce for the Fox joint venture Studio Ramsay Global, but it BiggerStage will also step in to produce. Seasons 3 and 4 will also be filmed in Ireland. Gordon Ramsay and Matt Cahoon will still serve as the show’s executive producers.
Allison Wallach, President of Unscripted Programming at Fox Entertainment, released a statement saying, “Serving up two more orders of Next Level Chef was an easy decision on the heels of an incredible sophomore season, propelled by its historic post-Super Bowl debut.” She went on to say, “Gordon has orchestrated a series that brilliantly demands skill and creativity in a tri-level pressure cooker, delivering high stakes, high drama, and some of the most innovative cooking I’ve ever seen.”
Ramsay also released a statement regarding the renewal of his show, saying, “I’m so thrilled that we’ll be bringing two more seasons of Next Level Chef to Fox. It’s the culinary gauntlet of cooking competition shows and we’re excited to continue to raise the bar.”
Ramsay Reveals How He Got The Idea To Create ‘Next Level Chef’
In a January 2022 interview with Thrillist, the “Masterchef” judge revealed his inspiration for the show, saying, “I think I gave birth to this show during the pandemic.”
“I had this crazy idea,” he continued. “My career started in the basement. And when I won my third Michelin star, I got to the very, very top—but I still had those cuts of fish and meat that I still have heavily featured on my menu out of respect from starting from the bottom, from a braised oxtail to a mackerel that’s not as glamorous as tuna.”
“So, three kitchens stacked on top of one another, three incredible mentors,” he added. “And then there were the sparks that flew when we put social media cooks together with professional chefs—watching them argy-bargy in the kitchen, it’s brilliant.”
He also compared “Next Level Chef” to its predecessors, saying, “I’m not going to get complacent, but what I am going to do is get creative and take all those elements of ‘Kitchen Nightmares’, ‘Hotel Hell, ’24 Hours to Hell and Back’, and then I sort of look at the food scene in terms of how much more we appreciate good food, and how much money we haven’t got today to cook.”
Gordon Ramsay Is Determined To Keeping Running ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ For Years To Come
The celebrity chef also revealed that he has no plans to shut down “Hell’s Kitchen” for the foreseeable future. “I love Hell’s Kitchen. I run a restaurant, Fox runs the show, and I keep that as real as possible. And we start taping again early next year, and I’d love you to come down and have dinner, because that reservation book is full. Those doors open, guests sit down, and I run a f—ing restaurant,” he explained.
“And I think that’s why it works, because these chefs are competing for an amazing position. They’re getting a great platform. Can you imagine me at age 25 being given an opportunity to cook in a competition to earn a quarter-million dollars?” he asked. “I could barely earn $2,000 a month at their age. My salary didn’t even cover my rent, getting my ass kicked in those top-flight kitchens. So, I think it’s an incredible platform for these kids to bounce from.”
“Can I keep going? I got consumed in this business in my early 40s. And then, how do I claw time back to become super strong and fit? I started taking up triathlons and I did my first Ironman at the age of 43 in Hawaii. And so now at 55, I’m fit as a fiddle. And I can go for another 30 seasons. Trust me,” he teased. “You have not seen the end of me. Do not underestimate the power of an old man.”
Fans can’t wait to see what Gordon Ramsay will cook up next!