It’s time for the teams to be created on “Next Level Chef” 2026, as it’s draft night tonight on FOX. The mentors — Chef Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington, and Richard Blais — are ready to pick their chefs on “Next Level Chef” season 5. Then we move into a Taco Party, so find out who gets eliminated on “Next Level Chef” tonight with us during our “Next Level Chef” 2026 live recap below.
The Draft on ‘Next Level Chef’
After the auditions wrapped up last week on “Next Level Chef” 2026 with the home chefs, it’s now time for the real fun to begin. The judges will be drafting their team, and we will move on to the first real challenge of the season.
Gordon, Nyesha, and Richard have all been scouting these chefs, and they are ready to fight to have the winner join their team. Once the teams are in place, we move into a taco party. However, one chef has a disaster happen as the platform rises up. The fight to be named the winner of “Next Level Chef” 2026 continues tonight, so follow along with our Live Recap below!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD: THIS LIVE RECAP WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE, SO DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ SPOILERS.
February 19 Live Recap – Week 4
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The Draft
The 15 chefs have arrived, and the mentors are ready to draft their teams! Richard wants to be a repeat winner, and Nyesha was taking notes all during the auditions. Here we go:
- Team Arrington – Danielle, Connor, Emerson, Machete, and Matt
- Team Ramsay – Gabrielle, Andy, Cole, Amber, and Mareya
- Team Blais – Christian, Tim, Darian, Jared, and Elise
Fiesta Time
To celebrate the new teams, they will be having a fiesta. They will have 30 minutes to create three identical tacos. The chef who creates the best tacos today will keep their entire team safe from elimination and move their team to the Top Level next time around. The two losing teams will each send one member of their team into the dreaded Cookoff, where one of them will be eliminated.
As reigning champions, Team Blais is headed to the Top Level. Machete is a five-time taco champion in Houston, so he is excited for this one. Team Ramsay is all females, so the Gordon Girls are here, as they are in the Middle Kitchen. Team Arrington heads to the Basement Kitchen.
Cooking Time on ‘Next Level Chef’
The platform comes down, and time to get these tacos figured out. The platform has definitely been picked over by the time it gets to the Basement, so Team Arrington is not happy. Matt got the beef tongue, so he is making some crispy beef tongue tacos!
The Basement seems to be happy with their tacos. Up in the Middle Kitchen, Andy is happy with her ribeye. On the Top Level, Elise is using a flank steak, but she marinates it in buttermilk. Richard seems confused, but we shall see.
The platform comes down again, this time with ingredients to make their tortillas. Elise was picked last, and now she is having issues with the tortillas, and she is pissed. Darian is making a homemade jerk sauce for his dish.
We see the time running down as the chefs are finishing up and plating their dishes. The time is up, and time to get them to the platform. Team Arrington is first, and Emerson is way behind. He tries to get it to the platform as it heads up, but he is too late, as it falls out and all over the floor!
For Team Ramsay, Andy is slow and gets her plate pushed on the platform, but it’s barely holding on. Will it stay strong? Everyone else got it on.
Tasting & Results on ‘Next Level Chef’
The judges are in place, and time to taste these tacos:
- Team Arrington – For Matt, they said delicious balance. The protein is cooked nicely, but the tortilla is overcooked. For Machete, the cola batter is sweet and crispy. The sauce is super delicious and well done. Connor’s taco, they said, the goat is delicious and super lean and tender. For Danielle, it is really tasty and balanced.
- Team Ramsay – For Andy, very tasty. For Gabrielle, the fish is cooked beautifully. The fish is large for the tortilla, and needs some seasoning. Cole: They want to dive into this dish. The overall presentation lacks. For Mareya, tacos should be easy to eat, and this is challenging. It’s missing timing on the execution. For Amber, they appreciate the flavor of the prawn. They taste beautiful.
- Team Blais – For Elise, the steak needs a hard sear. The buttermilk marinade didn’t work for the judges. Falling apart. For Tim, the texture inside the tacos is beautiful. For Darian, the lobster is cooked beautifully and very spicy. Jar that salsa, it’s so good. For Christian, it’s fiery, but it’s delicious. A perfect taco. For Jared, they were very good.
Results – The judges discuss all of the tacos, and things get heated, as Richard is going to bat for his team. Nyesha jokes that he doesn’t take criticism well. They finally pick a winner, which goes to Christian, which means Team Blais is safe and in the Top Kitchen again next week on “Next Level Kitchen” season 5.
Cook-Off Elimination Challenge
Team Ramsay and Team Arrington will now face off in the Cook-Off challenge. For this challenge, they have 30 minutes to create a mole entree. The platform is not staying for this round, as it has before. Gordon picked Mareya, and Nyesha picked Emerson.
Emerson has not made a mole, so he is very nervous about this. Mareya seems confident as they start cooking. Mareya is handling the pressure well, but Emerson looks like he’s about to pass out!
Tasting: For Emerson, they wanted a touch more seasoning. Chicken is cooked beautifully. It’s leaning on the sweet side, which they love. For Mareya, the mole is nice. A lot of spice in this one. Pork is overcooked. Tons of depth of flavor for 30 minutes.
Results: Nyesha and Emerson both pick Emerson as the better dish, which means Mareya has been eliminated tonight!
FOXWhat do you think of the results on “Next Level Chef” 2026 tonight?
