Temperatures rise as Gordon Ramsay launches the Next Level Chef

Does the cream always rise to the top?

That’s one of the questions being asked by this cooking competition/game show in which chefs have their skills put to the test in a number of challenging environments.

“Every great chef started at the bottom and worked in the toughest kitchens to level up,” says host Gordon Ramsay.

“Any chef can shine in the best of circumstances, but only a next-level chef can make magic in the worst.”

After becoming a massive hit in the States last year, “the toughest and most epic cooking contest on TV” launches on ITV1 tonight.

It is set in an iconic and trailblazing TV studio – three unique kitchen spaces set across three storeys which are almost 50ft high, and all containing mirrors from behind which the cameras film.

From the gloomy basement level ‘scraps only’ surroundings to the middle standard restaurant kitchen and the top-level state-of-the-art utopia, Next Level Chef will test professionals, home cooks and social media stars to see if they have the creativity, agility and expertise to thrive in any environment.

Gordon explains how the idea came about.

“I was reflecting back to the beginning of my career, because I started in the basement,” he says.

“Then you work up into this semi decent kitchen. And then 20 years later, you build this stunning, beautiful state of the art kitchen, and the idea was born.

“How do you flip flop from each kitchen? And how do you combine all that experience into one show, on three different levels?

“I’ve worked in two different kitchens on top of each other before, I’ve never quite done three. So it was a sort of a gang busting idea.”

In his quest to unearth the world’s next culinary sensation, Gordon will be joined by his former protégé, chef Paul Ainsworth.

“It’s so high octane,” Paul says. “And so high energy. It will be a great watch.”

They will be joined by no-nonsense Top Chef alum Nyesha Arrington, who also appeared with Gordon on the American version of NLC.

“Regardless of what level you’re on, the Basement, Middle or Top – its freakin flavour that wins,” she says.

Over the next eight weeks, the three judges will preside over and mentor the chefs, who come from all walks of life.

There’s a young Scottish chef-turned-Winter Paralympian; a dad-of-two and lover of home cooking; a ex-accountant; a self-taught mum who is all about cooking on a shoe-string; an Essex mum-of-two; a quirky model; a young dentist; a self-confessed ‘Nanny McPhee’; a content creator and takeaway chef; a super-talented Bengali home cook; a junior chef and an Italian-trained superyacht chef.

In the first episode, the chefs are split into three groups and sent to a kitchen by luck of the draw.

Those in the top kitchen have 30 seconds to pick their ingredients from a massive table.

The other two kitchens pick from what’s left, with the same 30-second limit.

The dishes the chefs then make from the produce helps the three judges/mentors decide who is on each of their teams.

At the end, only one will win the £100,000 prize, which also comes with an unrivalled year-long mentorship from Gordon, Paul and Nyesha to help make their culinary dreams a reality.