‘Next Level Chef’ season 2 episode 2 recap: Who went home in ‘Party Like a Guac Star’? [LIVE BLOG]

Denton Davidson
·8 min read
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Tonight on “Next Level Chef,” heart and soul is at the center of the challenge, as the chefs will be preparing a dish from a country who pride themselves on cooking with love, passion and of course, heat. Mexico! Who will forget to bring the heat and be eliminated in the all-new “Party Like a Guac Star” episode of “Next Level Chef” airing Thursday, Feb. 16 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX? Follow our live blog below for a full recap.

Joined by two elite names in the food world, chefs Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais, Gordon Ramsay and his co-mentors leave no stone unturned, as they’ve scoured the country and hand-picked the best home cooks, social media chefs and professional chefs who will be on each of their teams. The winner will receive a $250,000 prize and a one-year mentorship.

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Here is the remaining roster of contestants (or scroll through the gallery above for more info on each chef):

Team Arrington: Alex Morizio, April Clayton, Nuri Muhammad, Omi Hopper, Pilar Moega, Shay Spence

Team Blais: Christopher Spinosa, Darryl Taylor, Matt Groark, Mehreen Karim, Tineke Younger

Team Ramsay: Cassie Yeung, Mark McMillian, Michelle Calcgni, Preston Nguyen, Tucker Ricchio, Vinny Alia

SEE Everything to know about Gordan Ramsay’s ‘Next Level Chef 2’: Meet the 18 chef-testants competing

8:00 p.m. — Previously on “Next Level Chef”! The epic one-of-a-kind culinary gauntlet returned to its iconic stage. Each chef had 45 minutes to cook a “next level dish” with Team Blais drawing the top floor, Team Ramsay in the middle and Team Arrington in the basement. The top chef from each team won an immunity to pin to save them if they are ever in danger. Those cooks were Nuri, Matt and Tucker. Tucker’s dish was the best overall, saving Team Ramsay from elimination and guaranteeing them the top floor in the next challenge. In the cook-off, April defeated Kamahlai Stewart, sending the 41-year old home cook from Washington, D.C. home. April also secured the middle kitchen for Team Arrington in the next challenge while Team Blais will go from the top floor to the basement. But enough about last week. Let’s get this Guac Party started!

8:06 p.m. — The mentors welcome the contestants back to the set. Gordon explains they’ll be preparing Mexican food tonight, which excites Omi more than anyone. Richard reminds them to bring the heat, because there’s nothing worse than a bland enchilada. Team Blais begins on a sour note when they enter the basement kitchen and realize how bad the conditions are. Nyesha says she wants to see “confidence” from her team tonight while Gordon tells his to “stay out of elimination.” Next, teams scavenge for ingredients with Team Ramsay getting first pick, followed by Team Arrington and then Team Blais.

8:10 p.m. — Each chef now has their ingredients and the teams have 45 minutes to finish this dish. Tineke is a social media chef from Team Blais and she pulled a cow tongue for this challenge. She reveals that she was diagnosed with a learning disability, so cooking became her refuge. This small-town girl has big dreams and won’t let the basement break her. Alex (Team Arrington) is an intensive care unit doctor in South Beach and home chef. His passion for food comes from his Italian upbringing. Cooking relaxes him after a pressure-filled day in the hospital. For this challenge he’s a little perplexed about what to do with his corn husks.

8:20 p.m. — Preston’s (Team Ramsay) grandmother is from Mexico so he’s dedicating this dish to her. She recently passed away, but the 19-year old professional chef is confident he can make her proud with his flank steak. Cassie (Team Ramsay) is a social media chef who danced for the Brooklyn Nets. She has over 600,000 followers, but is a bit concerned for this challenge because she forgot to grab a starch. Can she save her pork belly dish? Meanwhile, down in the basement, Richard is concerned about Darryl, who has prawns and canned olives — not typical Mexican ingredients. On the middle floor, Shay is having trouble with his tortilla dough.

8:30 p.m. — Michelle is a home cook who uses cooking as a therapeutic experience. She says she would be lying if she didn’t say she was “scared s***less” of this competition. Gordon is explaining to her how to cook red snapper and the pressure is getting to her. He tells Michelle if she messes this up, she’s going straight into elimination. Midway through the challenge, all teams get avocados that they’ll have to work into their dishes. Nyesha continues to be impressed with Nuri, who has been the early MVP on her team.

8:32 p.m. — As time winds down everyone is plating their dishes. It’s judgement time! The basement dishes from Team Blais are up first. Mehreen’s tostada “looks beautiful” and “brings the heat.” Darryl’s prawns are “discombobulated.” Matt’s Mexican breakfast needs to be amplified. Christopher’s cornish game hen is “really delicious.” Tineke’s beef tongue dish is “an absolute delight.” Based on those reviews, Darryl is definitely in trouble if Team Blais faces elimination.

8:35 p.m. — Next up are Team Arrington’s middle-floor dishes. Nuri’s Mahi-Mahi plate is “really pretty” and “delicious.” Pilar’s pork steak is dish has “amazing flavor” and tastes “authentic.” Alex’s seared swordfish needs salt and “looks a bit weird.” April’s fish tacos needs more seasoning and char. Omi’s steak dish has a “beautiful salsa” and a “great cook on the steak.” Last up is Shay’s carnitas with a hand-made flour tortilla — it’s “delicious.” Should Team Arrington face elimination, it looks like Alex or April could be on the chopping block.

8:38 p.m. — Last up are Team Ramsay’s top level dishes. Tucker’s chicken is “beautifully cooked” and the plating looks straight out of Mexico City. Cassie’s pork belly tostada (scallion pancake) tastes like a dessert. Vinny’s marinated ribeye is slightly overcooked. Mark’s turkey thigh has “chewy shells” but the flavor is good. Preston’s flank steak has “absolutely delicious” sauce but might be “style over substance.” Michell’s red snapper has soggy skin and the fish is overcooked. The broth was a success. It seems like there were many issues on Team Ramsay.

8:45 p.m. — After the judges deliberate, they reveal the top dish was Tineke’s beef tongue. That means Team Blais will ascend back to the top level in next week’s challenge. Her entire team is also safe from elimination tonight. Gordon sends Cassie into the cook-off. Nyesha throws in Alex. Cassie and Alex now have one chance to redeem themselves with one Mexican staple: corn. They’ll have two beautiful bone-in pork chops and a variety of corn to choose from. Their 30 minutes starts now.

9:00 p.m. — Gordon and Nyesha head backstage. When judging these final dishes, they won’t who cooked them. Meanwhile, Richard will be in the kitchen coaching both of them. Alex is dedicating this challenge to his father, who absolutely loved coming home to see corn on his plate. Alex seems to be thriving under the pressure, but Cassie struggles. However, it will all come down to taste and presentation. Time expires and now it’s up to Gordon and Nyesha to decide which dish is better. Alex has a great sear on his pork chop and has presented corn four ways. The creamed corn is “under-seasoned.” Nyesha says he should have picked one lane for his corn. Cassie has “amazing echoing of flavors” but the garnish is “overkill.” She nailed the pork. These are two good dishes! Nyesha says she would eliminate Alex’s dish. Gordon would eliminate Alex’s dish as well.

9:01 p.m. — The second chef eliminated from “Next Level Chef” season 2 is Alex. He says “this hurts” and he’s a “competitive S.O.B.” Still, he reveals, “This is one of the greatest memories of my lifetime.” In the next episode, Richard’s team will be on the top level, Gordon’s in the middle and Nyesha’s in the basement.

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