We are getting down to the wire on Next Level Chef Season 3.
People are dropping like flies as dishes get harder to prepare and the pressure increases to make it to the finish line.
This is the stuff of nightmares, and Izayah lands a dish that could end his time on Next Level Chef.
With only six contestants remaining, the struggle to the top is harder than ever.
They can no longer count on lesser chefs fumbling the ingredients or that a good chef will make an error, sending them out of the game for good.
Next Level Chef ups the ante again in the “Picture Perfect” episode, where each contestant must create a dish from a photo, matching it exactly.
The picture-perfect challenge is often seen on Masterchef (and Masterchef Junior — those poor kids), so if you watch those series, you’ll be familiar with the premise.
Instead of rushing the platform for ingredients, the chefs here are rushing it for a photo that looks good to them and a box of ingredients to support it.
You might think that takes the pressure off a little bit.
That’s not quite true, as Izayah quickly learns upon grabbing the box for a picture-perfect chicken mole.
Looking at a photo only, chicken mole probably looks relatively easy.
What’s missing from the gorgeous photo is the fact that a mole sauce traditionally takes about eight hours to get right. The photo above is the look on Izayah’s face when he hears that surprising tidbit of information.
If knowing the investment needed to make a good mole doesn’t make you happy that you can visit restaurants to partake of it, nothing will.
Unfortunately for Izayah, he’d never encountered chicken mole before.
Chef Ramsay’s various reactions to Izayah’s lot in the competition are funny to us but not so funny to Izayah, who probably feels the weight of the world on his mole-inexperienced shoulders.
Never making a dish is one thing, but having never tasted it is another.
Most often, chefs on Next Level Chef get to create their own dishes and use their personal flair to make a dish stand out.
That’s not the case with the picture-perfect challenge.
A dish must taste as good as it looks, and never working with a mole sauce puts Izayah square in the judges’ sights.
Does Izayah have the talent required to make a dish he’s never experienced? Can he pull off the impossible in a fraction of the time?
You’ll have to watch Next Level Chef tonight to find out, but in the meantime, you can get a sneak peek at Izayah’s mole journey.
Who are you rooting for to win Next Level Chef?
Have you ever made mole sauce?
Can it even be done in under an hour?
Be sure to tune in to Next Level Chef on FOX tonight at 8/7c and tomorrow on Hulu.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
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