The mentors — Chef Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington, and Richard Blais — on “Next Level Chef” Season 5 have narrowed it down to the final three chefs for the season. Now those three chefs — Cole Lawson, Connor Caine, and Darian Bryan — will compete in the final challenge in hopes of being named the winner of “Next Level Chef” 2026. Read below for a rundown on what we know so far for the “Next Level Chef” Season 5 finale.
WARNING: If you do NOT want to know anything about the “Next Level Chef” Season 5 finale, STOP READING NOW.
The ‘Next Level Chef’ Finale Schedule
We have reached the final night of the competition. Despite it being the final night of the season, there won’t be any kind of extended or longer episode.
We will have the normal hour-long episode on FOX. At the end of that hour, the Season 5 winner will be crowned. Who will it be? We have our thoughts and made our predictions earlier today!
The final challenge of the season will take place from 8:00-9:02 PM ET/PT on FOX. Fans of the show will be able to stream the finale the next day on Hulu.
The Synopsis
For the “Next Level Chef” Season 5 finale, FOX has released the official synopsis for this episode, which will crown the winner of “Next Level Chef” 2026. Tonight’s episode is called “The Final Level.”
From FOX: “It’s the finale, and the three remaining chefs must create a dish on each level in just 90 minutes. How they divide their time is up to them. In a frenetic and emotional finale, only one chef will be crowned the winner of Next Level Chef in the all-new ‘The Final Level’ episode of NEXT LEVEL CHEF airing Thursday, May 21, 8:00-9:02 PM ET/PT on FOX.”
One Final Night
As stated above, the final challenge of the season will have these chefs needing to create a dish on each level of the platform tonight.
For that challenge, the chefs will be given a total of 90 minutes. However, they can divide that time up however they’d like. So, the Basement might take them longer to cook in because of the lower-quality equipment. It’s however they want to split their time, just as long as they complete all three dishes in the 90 minutes.
This challenge will be all about creating the chef’s ultimate menu. These are going to be three dishes that they need to be proud to serve. They also need to be flawless and cohesive. The chefs need to present a show-stopping multi-course meal while under intense pressure.
As the season has shown us, I am sure the chefs will face some kind of twist or additional challenge as this final challenge takes place. The platform always seems to mess with them, so expect it to bring some twist their way.
The “Next Level Chef” Season 5 finale kicks off tonight at 8/7c on FOX, with streaming available on Hulu the next day.
