Our pick for the winner of Next Level Chef is…

After 10 weeks of grueling competition in a format the likes of which has never been seen in a cooking competition before, it all comes down to this. On Wednesday the winner of the first season of Next Level Chef will be announced and the champion’s life will never be the same.

Because the winner will walk away with not just the $250,000 prize but also the title of Next Level Chef and a year of mentorship from Gordon Ramsay, Richard Blais and Nyesha Arrington. Ask any aspiring chef and they will tell you that the mentorship is worth more than the prize money.

The Final 3 include a trio of chefs that have been frontrunners since Week 1. One has been a favorite to win the whole thing from the beginning while the other two have been continuously improving and getting to that next level.

Who is our pick to win the first season of Next Level Chef?

Reuel was the first pick of the initial draft and was the first member of Team Ramsay. He has been working in the culinary arts for much of his 34 years and it has showed. He is always thinking outside the box and has been a ridiculously strong competitor, to the point where he alienated his fellow team members if it gave him an advantage.

Other then a few hiccups the last few weeks, Reuel has been constant in his style and always creating dishes that impress the judges. His trip to the Elimination Challenge in Week 9 was the wake up call he needed to see that the had some strong competitors.

One of those being Mariah, the 37-year-old private chef from Texas. While she didn’t start out as strong as Reuel, her cooking has gone to another level as the show progressed. Especially once the teams were eliminated.

Once Mariah was on her own she never looked back. She cooked in the Top Level Kitchen every week and created stunning dish after stunning dish. She will be a tough chef to beat if she gets into her zone and can maintain focus.

The final chef is Pyet, a personal and social media chef who has constantly reinvented herself and her food on the show. Despite a few rocky outings, she has managed to get hot at the right time and when she knows what she wants to cook, she it unstoppable.

Pyet’s biggest strength is her ability to channel her Native American heritage into her food and create dishes the judges have never experienced before. It gives her a distinct advantage over her two opponents since she can surprise the judges’ palettes and make he dish stand out.

So who is our pick to win Season 1 of Next Level Chef? Who do we think has what it takes to emerge victorious and become the very first winner of the series? If we were going to put money on the outcome we would have to go with…

Reuel

While both Pyet and Mariah are incredibly strong chefs and deserve to be in the Final, Reuel has shown during the series that he can take it to another level. And after having to earn his spot in the finale last week it showed exactly how much he wants this win. It’s that passion and skill that we feel will give him the victory and edge out Pyet and Mariah.

Could we be wrong? Definitely. As Next Level Chef has shown, anything could and probably will happen that might change the entire game. Reuel could wind up in The Basement and there could prove to be a problem he can’t overcome. Pyet or Mariah could create a dish that takes the judges’ breath away.

But as we said before, our money is on Reuel to take the whole thing.

What do you think Guilty Eaters? Who do you think will walk away the winner of Next Level Chef Season 1? Leave a comment below and let us know or join the conversation on our Twitter and Facebook pages.