Next Level Chef will return with a new season on Sunday, after the Super Bowl. The candidates in the most recent season will be separated into teams led by one of three mentors who will help them to victory. Tucker Ricchio, a professional chef who works at Truffle Shuffle and is a Le Cordon Bleu graduate, is one of the contenders expected to feature on the Fox program. Next Level Chef season 2 will air on Fox on Sunday, February 12 at 10:30 p.m. ET after the Super Bowl.
Meet chef Tucker Ricchio ahead of her season 2 debut on Next Level Chef.
Tucker Ricchio, one of the chefs slated to feature in Next Level Chef season 2, has been cooking since she was a toddler, assisting her grandma in the kitchen. The chef’s specialty includes NY Strip steak with Mango Salsa, Italian portobello sando with pesto and balsamic redux, and American wagyu cheeseburger with cacio e pepe fries, and she often offers virtual cooking sessions online to assist others in learning how to cook. Ricchio’s specialties fall widely under the categories of New American and Italian cuisine.
Following graduation, the Next Level Chef competitor worked at high-end restaurants in the Bay Area, notably under Chef Suzette Gresham, who helped her progress from a butcher to a sous chef during the former’s stint at Acquerello, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant. Tucker Ricchio posted a video on YouTube on her experience as a chef in which she said that when in culinary school, she discovered that most women do not get into Michelin-starred restaurants because it is a “boys club.”
She went on to say:
“My obstinate side was like, no way, that’s not going to happen, so I worked very hard and made my way up into Michelin-starred kitchens.”
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Ricchio also said that it required a lot of “blood, sweat, and tears” to get into the “boys club.” When asked what “food is love” implies throughout the video, she responded that it signifies growing up surrounded by food and family. The Next Level Chef contestant noted that both her mom and grandmother were excellent chefs. Tucker comes from a “large” immigrant Italian family where eating was always a priority. Reflecting on the implications, she added:
“So I enjoy bringing it to my courses because we’ve turned into a huge Truffle Shuffle family, and I love sharing my food and love with my family.”
Furthermore, while comparing her restaurant experience to her present job, Richhio said that chefs don’t get to interact with customers since they work at “the back of the house” in a restaurant. She gets to view her visitors and create meals with them in mind at Truffle Shuffle. The competitor also said that one of her favorite aspects of the virtual lessons is seeing others show her their dogs. Because the chef is unable to bring her pet to class, she enjoys seeing others do so.
The Next Level Chef season 2 candidate spoke up about her training and motivation, saying that Julia Child has taught her the most valuable lessons in all of her “culinary escapades” so far. Richhio also feels that in the kitchen, one must have a “what the h***” mentality.
