Next Level Chef (American TV series) season 5
Season of television series
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The fifth season of the American competitive reality television series Next Level Chef premiered on January 29, 2026, and concluded on May 21, 2026. Gordon Ramsay returned as host and mentor, and Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais returned as mentors.
Starring
Hosted byGordon Ramsay
No. of contestants24 (before auditions) & 15 (after auditions)
WinnerDarian Bryan
| Next Level Chef | |
|---|---|
| Season 5 | |
Promotional poster for season 5, featuring (L to R) mentor Arrington, host Ramsay, and mentor Blais | |
| Starring | |
| Hosted by | Gordon Ramsay |
| No. of contestants | 24 (before auditions) & 15 (after auditions) |
| Winner | Darian Bryan |
| Runners-up |
|
| No. of episodes | 15 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Original release | January 29 – May 21, 2026 |
| Season chronology | |
The season was won by professional chef Darian Bryan, with professional chefs Connor Caine and Cole Lawson being named runners-up.
Production
On February 27, 2025, it was announced that Next Level Chef was renewed for a fifth and sixth season.[1]
Chefs
Note: The list below only includes chefs that made it onto the show after qualifying via an audition.
| Contestant[2] | Age[2] | Status[2] | Hometown/Home country[2] | Result[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mareya Ibrahim-Jones | 56 | Social media chef | Capistrano Beach, California | Eliminated February 19 |
| Elise Jesse | 36 | Home cook | Cincinnati, Ohio | Eliminated February 26 |
| Emerson Batolome | 46 | Home cook | San Diego, California | Eliminated March 5 |
| Matt Starcher | 54 | Social media chef | Chesapeake, Virginia | Eliminated March 12 |
| Tim Laielli | 35 | Social media chef | Dripping Springs, Texas | Eliminated March 19 |
| Amber Kellehan | 30 | Home cook | Joshua Tree, California | Eliminated April 2 |
| Machete Gonzalez | 34 | Professional chef | Houston, Texas | Eliminated April 9 |
| Jared Veldheer | 38 | Home cook | Grand Rapids, Michigan | Eliminated April 16 |
| Danielle Kartes | 43 | Home cook | Puyallup, Washington | Eliminated April 23 |
| Christian Alquiza | 35 | Social media chef | Austin, Texas | Eliminated April 30 |
| Andy Allo | 37 | Social media chef | Malibu, California | Eliminated May 7 |
| Gabrielle Coniglio | 34 | Professional chef | Palm Beach, Florida | Eliminated May 14 |
| Cole Lawson | 31 | Professional chef | Los Angeles, California | Runners-up May 21 |
| Connor Caine | 30 | Professional chef | Manhattan Beach, California | |
| Darian Bryan | 34 | Professional chef | Buffalo, New York | Winner May 21 |
Elimination table
| Place | Contestant | Episodes | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[3] | 2[4] | 3[5] | 4[6] | 5[7] | 6[8] | 7[9] | 8[10] | 9[11] | 10[12] | 11[13] | 12[14] | 13[15] | 14 | 15 | 16 | ||||
| 1 | Darian | Adv | Blais | Win | Safe | Safe | Win | Safe | Risk | Safe | Safe | Win | Safe | Win\ | Win | Winner | |||
| 2 | Cole | Adv | Ram | Safe | Win | Win† | Safe | Safe | Safe | Win | Risk | Win\ | Win | Risk | Win | Runner-up | |||
| Connor | Adv | Arr | Safe | Safe | Safe | Risk | Win† | Win† | Safe | Safe | Safe | Win\ | Safe | Risk | Runner-up | ||||
| 4 | Gabrielle | Adv | Ram | Safe | Win | Win | Safe | Safe | Safe | Win† | Win | Safe | Risk | Safe | Elim | ||||
| 5 | Andy | Adv | Ram | Safe | Win†* | Win | Safe | Safe | Safe | Win | Win | Risk | Safe | Elim | |||||
| 6 | Christian | Adv | Blais | Win† | Safe | Risk | Win | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Risk | Elim | ||||||
| 7 | Danielle | Adv | Arr | Safe | Safe | Safe | Risk | Win | Win | Safe | Risk | Elim | |||||||
| 8 | Jared | Adv | Blais | Win | Safe | Safe | Win | Safe | Safe | Risk | Elim | ||||||||
| 9 | Machete | Adv | Arr | Safe | Safe | Safe | Risk | Win | Win | Elim | |||||||||
| 10 | Amber | Adv | Ram | Safe | Win | Win | Safe | Risk | Elim | ||||||||||
| 11 | Tim | Adv | Blais | Win | Safe | Safe | Win | Elim | |||||||||||
| 12 | Matt | Adv | Arr | Safe | Safe | Safe | Elim | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Emerson | Adv | Arr | Risk | Risk | Elim | |||||||||||||
| 14 | Elise | Adv | Blais | Win | Elim | ||||||||||||||
| 15 | Mareya | Adv | Ram | Elim | |||||||||||||||
| T-16 | Diana | Elim | |||||||||||||||||
| Earl | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||
| Michael | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||
| T-19 | Landon | Elim | |||||||||||||||||
| Miriam | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||
| Henna | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||
| T-22 | Hunter | Elim | |||||||||||||||||
| Kevin | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||
| Belinda | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||
†The contestant cooked the best dish overall and won safety for their team or themselves.
*The contestant cooked the best dish on their team and was selected by their mentor to win an immunity pin.
\The contestant cooked the best dish overall and won the Time Token.
The contestant advanced to the team draft.
The contestant was on the winning team or had the winning dish.
The contestant was not on the winning team nor had the winning dish, but was not chosen for the head-to-head cook-off.
The contestant was safe due to using their immunity pin and did not compete in the head-to-head cook-off.
The contestant was at risk of elimination and won the head-to-head cook-off.
The contestant was eliminated from the competition.
The contestant was eliminated during the auditions.
The contestant withdrew from the competition.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title [16][17] | Original release date [16][17] | Prod. code [16] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | 1 | "Auditions - Pro Chefs" | January 29, 2026 | NLC-501 | N/A |
| 58 | 2 | "Auditions - Social Media Chefs" | February 5, 2026 | NLC-502 | N/A |
| 59 | 3 | "Auditions - Home Chefs" | February 12, 2026 | NLC-503 | N/A |
| 60 | 4 | "The Draft/Taco Party" | February 19, 2026 | NLC-504 | N/A |
| 61 | 5 | "Sea Monsters" | February 26, 2026 | NLC-505 | N/A |
| 62 | 6 | "Bowl in One" | March 5, 2026 | NLC-506 | N/A |
| 63 | 7 | "Service, Please!" | March 12, 2026 | NLC-507 | N/A |
| 64 | 8 | "Mini Gordon" | March 19, 2026 | NLC-508 | N/A |
| 65 | 9 | "Ale's Well That Ends Well" | April 2, 2026 | NLC-509 | N/A |
| 66 | 10 | "Cowboy Cooking" | April 9, 2026 | NLC-510 | N/A |
| 67 | 11 | "The In-Season Tournament" | April 16, 2026 | NLC-511 | N/A |
| 68 | 12 | "Use Your Noodle" | April 23, 2026 | NLC-512 | N/A |
| 69 | 13 | "A Toast to America's 250th" | April 30, 2026 | NLC-513 | N/A |
| 70 | 14 | "The Ultimate Goal" | May 7, 2026 | NLC-514 | N/A |
| 71 | 15 | "Building a Legacy" | May 14, 2026 | NLC-515 | N/A |
| 72 | 16 | "The Final Level" | May 21, 2026 | NLC-516 | N/A |