Gordon Ramsay’s Next Level Chef to debut in the UK

Gordon Ramsay has said he “can’t wait to get started” on a new series of Next Level Chef, which will debut on ITV next year.

The eight-part cooking competition, designed to unearth the next culinary star, has been billed as the “toughest and most epic cooking contest on TV”, according to producers.

The series, which originally aired on American TV network Fox in January, will be broadcast in the UK for the first time in 2023.

The show is set across three kitchens on three different levels, from a top-tier kitchen “utopia” to a basement level with “scraps” – as contestants vie to progress to the next level.

It is set to challenge the contestants’ creativity, agility, flare and expertise and determine how the budding chefs fare under the best of circumstances – as well as what they can create in the worst.

Chef and restaurateur Ramsay said: “Next Level Chef is off the chart next level everything. A culinary competition that is epic on every level.

“From the size of the enormous structure to every challenge, every moment of jeopardy is huge.

“I want to see our chefs, social media stars, home cooks whatever their level, whatever their experience, show me what they can do.

“Whether they’re at the top cooking in the dream kitchen with every gadget and the finest ingredients or in the middle kitchen, good equipment, good ingredients but nothing fancy or, and this is where it gets really interesting, down in the basement kitchen.

“Super basic, minimal ingredients and left-over scraps then show me what you’re really made of.

“Talent and tenacity will absolutely shine through, and someone will walk away with an equally Next Level prize, I can’t wait to get started.”

Ramsay will be joined by two of the most “elite names in food” – who are yet to be named.

The trio of judges will each mentor a group of chefs who will compete against each other to prove themselves in the kitchen, produce high-calibre dishes and avoid elimination.

Only one contestant can be crowned the Next Level Chef, with the winner receiving a life-changing cash prize of £100,000 and a one-year mentorship under all three judges.

Casting is under way in a bid to find the UK’s best chefs from amateurs to social media stars.

In August last year, Ramsay and Fox television network launched production company Studio Ramsay Global – who are now producing Next Level Chef.

The programme was commissioned for ITV by head of entertainment commissioning Katie Rawcliffe, who said: “Next Level Chef is a dynamic, edge of your seat cooking competition in a league of its own.

“We’re so excited to welcome Gordon back to the UK and get started on perhaps the most ambitious TV studio the world has to offer.”