The Heat Is On: Netflix Drops Trailer for Global Cooking Contest ‘Next Gen Chef’
Netflix has revealed the first trailer for Next Gen Chef, a new global cooking competition series that launches on September 17, 2025. The show, filmed at the Culinary Institute of America, is being pitched as one of Netflix’s most ambitious reality series yet.
Across eight episodes, each running 45 minutes, 21 chefs under the age of 30 will go head-to-head in intense culinary challenges. The goal is to discover a young chef who has the talent and leadership to shape the future of fine dining.
The series is produced by Alfred Street Industries, UltraBoom Media, Fulwell Entertainment, and the Culinary Institute of America itself. LeBron James and Maverick Carter are among the executive producers. Netflix says the show is designed to be both inspiring and fiercely competitive.
Inside the world's most prestigious culinary school, America's hottest chefs under 30 compete in rigorous tests to be crowned the leading chef of the next generation.
— Netflix (@netflix) September 2, 2025
Next Gen Chef premieres September 17. pic.twitter.com/kkQHGDmfDg
Olivia Culpo, restaurateur and former Miss Universe, hosts the show. “Being able to help showcase the next wave of chefs is such a privilege,” Culpo said in the trailer. She is joined by two permanent judges: Carlton McCoy, a Master Sommelier and CEO of Lawrence Wine Estates, and Kelsey Barnard Clark, who won Top Chef and was nominated for a James Beard Award.
Along with them, the season features guest appearances by some of the biggest names in the food world. Among them are Cat Cora, the first female Iron Chef, Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi, celebrity chef Kwame Onwuachi, French legend Daniel Boulud, and Thomas Keller of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. The lineup also includes the late Anne Burrell, whose episode will air as a tribute.
The 21 contestants come from kitchens across the United States and abroad, ranging from private chefs to cooks working in Michelin-starred restaurants. The roster includes chefs as young as 20, as well as rising leaders already running their own restaurants. Each brings a unique cooking style, from traditional fine dining to experimental approaches.
The winner of Next Gen Chef will not only earn recognition but also step into the spotlight as a new voice in the culinary world.
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