What dish got this young Arlington chef booted from Gordon Ramsay’s TV cooking show?
While it is bittersweet being eliminated from a Gordon Ramsay cooking show, Preston Nguyen said it was a life-changing experience to cook alongside a celebrity chef he has admired for years.
The 20-year-old Arlington chef was the latest contestant sent home from Ramsay’s “Next Level Chef” Thursday night. But Nguyen is taking it in stride and is just thankful for the opportunity to learn and cook.
“It was a great experience, I was able to learn a lot from Gordon and the other two mentors,” Nguyen said. “I made a lot of friends there who I still talk to every day.”
Ramsay’s reality television cooking show sorts 18 competitors into three teams who are each assigned a level on the three-story kitchen set. The top-level kitchen is equipped with state-of-the-art cookware, while the second has standard tools and the kitchen on the bottom, or “dungeon” as Nguyen puts it, holds low-quality utensils.
Nguyen landed on Ramsay’s team and cooked a variety of dishes through his eight episodes on the second season of the FOX show. Some of Nguyen’s favorite dishes from the season include his banh mi sandwich from episode three and Chinese pork belly with lamb neck in episode four.
However, his favorite dish was also one that won his team the alcohol challenge: a rack of lamb made with moonshine and gnocchi made out of instant mashed potatoes. Ramsay helped with the moonshine flambe, while Nguyen learned the gnocchi trick from his dad.
“It felt very rewarding being able to pair up what my parents have taught me, as well as what Gordon taught me and put it all into one dish,” Nguyen said.
Dish that got the Arlington chef booted from ‘Next Level Chef’
With 11 chefs left in the kitchen, the competition went into a free-for-all. Not like the team contests in earlier episodes.
Thursday’s theme was “Going Global,” with every chef having to cook a country-specific dish. Nguyen pulled the Morocco box and had 40 minutes to create a dish, despite not being familiar with the country’s cuisine.
Nguyen whipped up a chicken tagine with couscous. But Ramsay and crew deemed his effort to not be Moroccan enough, failing to taste the typical spices and flavors of North Africa. The young chef was off to the elimination round against two others. The challenge: their take on the classic French dish, duck a l’orange.
A pan-seared duck breast with fried potatoes and orange sauce was Nguyen’s offering. Unfortunately, the judges said his effort didn’t feel like a complete dish. A vote eliminated Nguyen from the competition.
“Obviously, I wish I could have made it farther,” Nguyen said. “But at the same time, I’m still very young, this is my first competition on live TV and [I think] I did pretty well.”
After the vote all of his fellow competitors and Ramsay rushed to embrace the young chef. Nguyen’s family and friends were shocked but encouraged by his “Next Level” journey. Despite just missing the top 10, Nguyen wasn’t leaving this experience feeling sad.
“It was a dream come true,” he said.
FROM WORLD COOKING CHAMP TO REALITY TV COMPETITOR
Nguyen’s journey to “Next Level Chef” came on the heels of his World Food Championships victory.
About two weeks after Nguyen won the WFC last May, an agent from Ramsay’s television production company — Studio Ramsay — reached out to him about the show. The agent cited Nguyen’s recent win as one of the reasons why the show came calling.
Nguyen, 19-years-old at the time, was already a big fan of the show — having watched its first season — so he jumped at the opportunity. Soon he was one of 18 chefs competing in the multi-level kitchen for the $250,000 prize.
“Next Level Chef” filmed from September to October 2022, meaning that Nguyen had to keep a lid on how he did on the show, despite prying questions from family and friends.
Nguyen was at the Texas Rangers opening day game at Globe Life Field on Thursday, where he was met by fans who recognized him from the show. They were quick to share their admiration for him and how they always look forward to watching him on Thursday nights.
“I’m like, ‘Oh man, y’all are not going to like tonight’s episode’,” Nguyen joked. “I [feel] a little guilty, but at the same time I feel good about it.”
Big plans ahead for the young chef
With a whole season of culinary knowledge under his belt, Nguyen can’t wait to compete again.
Whether it’s on television or not, Nguyen said he’s eager to get back in the high-intensity kitchen and compete, which includes another World Food Championships run this fall.
Nguyen is spending the next few months traveling from Dallas and Las Vegas, to New York and London, for culinary events and internships. The young chef has a lot of learning and growing to do, and Nguyen can’t wait to take a stab at it.
His biggest take away from being on the show is what Ramsay told him about slowing down in the kitchen and thinking through each dish. Not many can say they were taught by a world-renowned chef at 19-years-old, but Nguyen can.
“[Ramsay’s] TV persona is just that, a TV persona,” Nguyen said. “He’s a very nice guy that really cares for the future of everybody, especially in the industry.”
