Next Level Chef returns to FOX on Sunday, February 12, with a whole new season featuring 18 candidates. Tineke Younger, one of the contestants, got her start in the culinary profession during her sophomore year of high school. The 21-year-old is a social media/TikTok chef who is vying for the $250,000 top prize.
Gordon Ramsey, Nyesha Arrington, and Richard Blais will serve as mentor chefs for Next Level Chef 2023. According to the concept of the program, each mentor will take six competitors under his or her wing. Tineke is a member of Richard’s squad.
Tineke recounts how she became interested in cooking.
Tineke Younger was born in Frederick, Maryland, and now resides in Evans, Georgia. Her first encounter with the culinary profession occurred during her sophomore year when she attended the Frederick County Public Schools Career and Technology Center. Tineke was dealing with terrible grades at the time and was looking for a passion to keep her motivated. Her visit to the center to seek a beauty school, however, did not provide her with the impetus she needed until she smelled food.
In an interview with The Frederick News-Post, the young chef stated:
“I despised it completely. ‘This isn’t for me,’ I thought, and on my way out, I smelled the meal down the hall.”
She asked about the culinary program and subsequently returned to the same institution to pursue her newfound interest. Tineke elaborated:
“Everything was different. I was receiving Ds and Fs. I even got a D in PE. I wasn’t putting in the effort. I was uninterested in school. My grades improved after I discovered that I was truly competent at cooking and that it was something I enjoyed doing.”
She went on to say:
“Because I wasn’t the greatest child, my conduct improved as well. I got in trouble and was taken to the principal’s office. But my conduct changed for the better when I discovered my passion.”
Tineke opted to modify her TikTok profile in 2021 while taking culinary training at the Frederick Community College Monroe Center: Hospitality, Culinary & Tourism Institute and working at a restaurant.
She stated:
“I figured it would simply be fun, so I filmed it and released it [on TikTok] the following day. There were 14 million views, and I had 300,000 followers. It went viral on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. It was really ridiculous. Celebrities were contacting me.”
One of her postings, in which she created a fried chicken sandwich, had over 25 million views. When her following surpassed 27,000, the makers of the FOX program Next Level Chef contacted her. She quickly became a competitor and a member of Richard Blais’ squad.
When will Next Level Chef Season 2 be released?
Next Level Chef season 2 will premiere on FOX on Sunday, February 12, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. ET. The next season will begin immediately after the Super Bowl 2023. Tineke is joined by Christopher Spinosa (29), Darryl Taylor (52), Kamahlai Stewart (41), Matt Groark (44), and Mehreen Karim on Team Richard (27).
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Cassie Yeung (28), Mark McMillian (52), Michelle Calcagni (30), Preston Nguyen (19), Tucker Ricchio (31), and Vincent “Vinny” Alia make up Team Gordon (42). Alex Morizio (48), April Clayton (39), Nuri Muhammad (22), Omallys “Omi” Hopper (39), Pilar Omega (38), and Shay Spence make up Team Nyesha (32). Pyet DeSpain, the season one winner of Next Level Chef, may compete in the second season. Every Sunday at 8:00 p.m. ET, a new episode of the FOX program will debut.
