Five chefs from Teams Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais began cooking tonight, but only four made it to the semifinals.
Night eleven of the third season of Next Level Chef continued the individual competition with a challenge involving one of the latest food trends: kombucha.
Based on last week’s cooking results, Gabi Chappel and Christina Miros were in the top-level kitchen for the “Kombucha Kulture” episode. Christina, of course, earned the Time Token last week and she chose to take the extra 10 seconds for her platform grab, rather than take away 10 seconds from one of the other competitors.
Cooking in the middle kitchen solo was Jordan Torrey, which put Izahya Thomas and Zach Laidlaw in the basement.
Then the five remaining chefs got cooking for a chance to boil, bake and fry their way into the semi-finals and the $250,000 grand prize.
Who Went Home on Night 11 of the Eliminations?
Izahya Thomas, 24
Miami, FL
Advancing contestants tonight on Next Level Chef Season 3 Night 11
Christina Miros, 35
Dumont, N.J
Gabi Chappel, 29
Brooklyn, NY
Jordan Torrey, 29
Tampa, FL
Zach Laidlaw, 34
Maui, HI
What was the first challenge this episode, and who won it?
The winning “Kombucha Kulture” episode dish was Gabi’s pan-roasted cod.
Nyesha said, “This is one of those dishes that sings such a beautiful story. It’s touching my soul. This is cooked perfectly. There’s a brightness coming from this herb condiment here and the rice has a nice, pleasant toothsomeness to it. Spot on.”
Richard commented, “I never would have thought to use kombucha as a substitute for vinegar in a chimichurri. As beautiful as it is, it’s smart.”
As a result of having the top dish of the night, Gabi won the Time Token for next week, which is the final token of the season.
“This is what I practiced for,” Gabi said. “This is what I envisioned. This means everything to me and it’s so satisfying. I just feel so good.”
Also making it into the semi-finals were Zach and Christina.
What was the elimination challenge this episode, and who won it?
Then Gordon announced the two chefs going into the elimination challenge were Jordan and Izahya.
Following up on the East Asian kombucha challenge was a wok challenge, with the wok being the only pan the contestants were allowed to use to make their dish.
“I fought to the very end, and I put it all out there,” Izahya said upon being eliminated for his pad Thai dish.
Gordon said, “I have to remind myself that you’ve only been cooking for two years. I think the growth, the confidence and the commitment you’ve shown to this industry and this competition has been extraordinary. You found food on the back of the upset with the injury in football exactly as I did. That’s why you and I are going to stay very close. Here’s what I’d love to do. I’ve got restaurants in Miami, and I’d love for you to come and spend a couple of weeks with me in those restaurants. I know that’s not a mentorship but what it will do is open another door to get you into where you’d like to go.”
Izahya responded to the generous offer, saying, “From the bottom of my heart, I thank you chef. For mentoring me, for pushing me, for guiding in me and believing in me. This has been the experience of a lifetime. I worked so hard to get here just in a matter of two years. I’ve had my ups and downs in this competition, but I’ve responded every time. My whole goal was to inspire people like me chasing that dream to keep going. I am so proud of myself.”
Next Level Chef airs Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.
