The new season of “Next Level Chef” made its grand return to TV Sunday night, and this new batch of chefs are in it to win it! But if you can’t take the heat, you should probably stay out of the kitchen, and luckily for one chef, that phrase doesn’t apply to him, because he’s bringing the South Florida heat into the competition.
Gordon Ramsay: “Welcome to the world’s toughest culinary competition.”
The “Next Level Chef” is back for Season 3.
Nyesha Arrington: “Imagine the National Football League combine of cooking!”
And the competition is heating up.
Nyesha Arrington: This is a cooking competition. You might want to start cooking.”
Contestant: “I want my mom.”
This season starts off slightly different than last season. It begins with three audition episodes, where 24 contestants will face off to be drafted into teams mentored by Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais.
Gordon Ramsay: “This draft, Richard and Nyesha are going to be looking for the best cooks. I’m looking for the sponges.”
Enter local social media chef Izahya Thomas, or as he likes to go by, Zay Dolla.
Izahya Thomas: “I’m ready to show the competition. Hey, Zay Dolla got what it takes to be the Next Level Chef. I would have never imagined I would have been on Next Level Chef Season 3. It’s still crazy to me. I was watching the show and said, ‘Man, this is such a cool idea.'”
Izahya says he got into cooking after a sporting injury caused him to gain a few extra pounds.
Izahya Thomas: “So I started building a healthier relationship with food, working out, and then I started getting results. Then I started posting my recipes, just showing the world this is what I’m doing, this is how I’m losing weight.”
Since then, the social media chef has gained over 20,000 followers on Instagram, and with all eyes on him, he began preparing to be a contestant for “Next Level Chef.”
Voiceover on video: “You have 30 seconds to grab anything you need off the platform to create a next-level taco.”
Izahya Thomas: “Let’s do it.”
Izahya Thomas: “I started acting like I was on the show. I was just grabbing a bunch of different ingredients, and when I posted that video online, it had reached over 2 million views. Fox has seen it!”
Mission accomplished. Now Izahya is competing for a chance to bring in $250,000 back to the 305.
Izahya Thomas: “It’s a great feeling putting Miami on the map.”
Gordon Ramsay: “In true social media fashion. let’s do a selfie.”
You can catch the next episode of “Next Level Chef” on Thursday at 8 p.m., right here on 7.
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