When will Next Gen Chef air? Release date, what to expect, and more

Next Gen Chef, the Netflix culinary competition show, will premiere on September 17, 2025, on Wednesday. Olivia Culpo will join the show as the host. Next Gen Chef is a competitive cooking show with a very unique format.

The show will feature America's 21 young chefs under the age of 30. These chefs will be competing with each other at the Culinary Institute of America. Carlton McCoy and Kelsey Barnard Clark will be joining the show as the judges.

The master sommelier, Carlton McCoy, has previously hosted CNN's travel series Nomad with Carlton McCoy.

Kelsey Barnard Clark won season 16 of Top Chef, while Olivia Culpo has been a part of Hell's Kitchen as a judge. She was earlier featured in TLC's reality TV series The Culpo Sisters.

More about Next Gen Chef

 

 

 

 

 

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Next Gen Chef will have an eight-part format. It will be produced by Project Runway producers, Alfred Street Industries, Ultraboom Media, Director Eric Osterholm, and Funwell Entertainment. From Funwell Entertainment, LeBron James is considered to be a part of the show as the executive producer.

He will be joined by Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, and Philip Byrom as the other executive producers for Funwell Entertainment.

From Alfred Street Industries, Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Nan Strait, Dan Volpe, Pip Wells, and Tina Nicotera will be joining as the executive producers.

Whereas from the Ultraboom media, Eric Osterholm, Michael Simkin, and Carrer Kaylor will be the executive producers. Dr. Tim Tyan from The Culinary Institute of America will also be one of the Executive Producers of the show. 

As Next Gen Chef has a unique format, it features a number of guest judges. The list includes food writer Francis Lam, Milk Bar CEO Christina Tosi, Chef Cat Cora, Paul Carmichael, Susan Feniger, Dale Talde, Kwame Onwuachi, Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz, Harold Dieterle, Emma Bengtsson, and Dr. Tim Ryan.

More about the judges and the host

Olivia Culpo, who is joining the show as the host, won Miss Universe in 2012. She has also won the Miss Rhode Island and Miss USA titles. After this, she has been consistently working on building her career as a model, influencer, and actress.

She has entered the food industry with her initiation as the owner of Union & Main. She has earlier appeared in several films and TV shows like I Feel Pretty and Reprisal. 

At the age of 28, Carlton McCoy has earned the title of Master Sommelier. He began his career in the food industry after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America.

He has also worked with well-known chefs like Thomas Keller. Further, he went on to initiate his TV career with CNN's documentary drama reality TV series Nomad with Carlton McCoy.

In the series, he featured global food culture. Carlton McCoy is one of the well-known personalities in the hospitality industry.

Kelsey Barnard Clark, winner of season 16 of Top Chef. Having expertise in French cuisine, Kelsey Barnard Clark is one of the semi-finalists for the James Beard Award for Best Chef.

She is also a Culinary Institute of America alumna. After working at the Mechelin started restaurants in New York, she came back to Alabama to initiate her own restaurant business.

She started her restaurant, KBC (Kelsey Barnard Clark), in 2012. Further, she went on to open the KBC Catering and KBC Bakery, and Market.

Stay tuned for more updates.