Darian Bryan Wins Next Level Chef Season 5 With Jamaican Cuisine

Jamaican chef Darian Bryan emerged as the Season 5 winner of the American cooking competition Next Level Chef on Thursday night, topping a strong group of rivals on the Fox programme.

Bryan reached the final alongside Connor Caine and Nicole “Cole” Lawson, with the three cooks advancing from an original lineup of 24 contestants. The show’s format brought together eight home cooks, eight chefs known from social media, and eight professional chefs, with competitors chasing prizes that included mentorship from celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

Across the season, Bryan made his Jamaican roots a central part of his cooking. Speaking in an exclusive interview with TV Insider, he said he appreciated the chance for viewers to follow his path. “It’s just a blessing to show that. I’m coming from Jamaica with not much, and to come here and get crowned king on a stage like this — especially, it’s a Gordon Ramsay show, and he’s been my mentor for the last 15 years of watching him — it’s just a grace,” he told TV Insider.

The final three contestants all came from the professional chef group. Bryan said he had recognised Lawson and Caine early in the contest as two of the people most likely to challenge him.

Jamaican food also shaped parts of Bryan’s finale menu. “Pepper lobster slash pepper shrimp, we have all throughout the Caribbean, all through Jamaica. You see all those folks on the side of the road selling pepper shrimp, and also the escovitch is something you see everywhere,” he explained.

Bryan told TV Insider he stayed with Jamaican cooking because it was the food he understood best, adding that he would have found it hard to accept losing after choosing another style.

Next Level Chef is available for streaming on Hulu.