Jordan Torrey reveals his biggest mistake on Next Level Chef, interview

While he might have made a burning impression on Gordon Ramsay before the season even started, Jordan Torrey was one of the most talked about chefs on Next Level Chef Season 3. From surviving multiple elimination rounds to earning praise in other challenges, Jordan was always ready to put his best effort forward.

After being eliminated right before the finale, Jordan graciously spoke with FoodSided about his experience, what he gained from being on Next Level Chef, and how he hopes to leverage this experience in his culinary career. While many people have watched him bring his signature style and point of view to social media channels, Jordan is ready to jump into any opportunity that comes his way.

Looking back on the Next Level Chef Season 3, Jordan is a different cook than when he began. He shared that although he might have studied and prepared for the FOX culinary competition, nothing that he did was as difficult as filming the show.

Specifically, Jordan explained that he looked at previous seasons and came up with a game plan. But, the differences in cooking times and the uncertainty of the platform caused some of that preparation to be less helpful than he expected.

Looking at each challenge, Jordan shared, “it was the actual technical skills and cooking with ingredients that you never cooked with, and curating dishes that you never made before” which was a big struggle. Even though he was willing to take risks, it was a whirlwind experience.

With each challenge building on the previous one, Jordan appreciated that he had to learn from his mistakes. But, his biggest struggle is one that any cook can appreciate, organization. Mise en place needed to be a bigger priority to fuel his success.

Jordan shared, “the biggest mistakes that I consistently made on the show was my lack of organization. That concept can sometimes even bled over into my regular life, when I’m organizing my thoughts. If I was more organized in my workstation, I would have made it easier on myself."

“When you are scrambling, the adrenaline is pumping, and you have Gordon Ramsay looking over you, it is easy to forget a couple of ingredients or be a little late with getting food in a pan. There are so many elements that come into play and being unorganized was probably my biggest mistake.”

Even though he had a few stumbles along the way, Jordan achieved fourth place in Next Level Chef Season 3. That accomplishment is better than some professional chefs that were in the FOX culinary competition.

Given that he survived several elimination cooks, Jordan not only gained confidence, but became more comfortable in that environment. He mentioned that during the first cook against Alex, he was afraid to go home. Although it did not appear that he was timid, the moment changed him.

When going against Von, he was determined not to go down without a fight. Even if he had his goodbye speech prepped, he refused to phone in that cook. Winning that battle allowed him to push that fear of being eliminated aside and focus on cooking the best dish that he could.

Throughout Next Level Chef Season 3, all the chefs reference the difficulty of mastering the platform. While some chefs might have “blacked out” in the moment or preferred the sparsity of the basement grab, Jordan had his own thoughts.

“The middle kitchen would probably be my favorite. The top kitchen is hard because you cannot fully scan the platform with all the ingredients. The bottom kitchen is not great because you get stuck with an ingredient like pig ears. In the middle kitchen, you have the best of both worlds.”

Although Jordan was able to find success with pig ears in the Greek challenge, that moment is an example where he had to push himself. Even if he might not be continually cooking with non-traditional ingredients, he has found an appreciation for all types of flavors, cuisines, and culinary points of view.

Now that the season has aired, Jordan can look back with pride and feel accomplished with his performance. He recalled fondly how “during the first cook, Gordon said that my dish deserved to be on the cover of a magazine.” That praise is not scripted for television.

From his bahn mi smash burger to his near picture perfect paella, the highs outweighed the lows in the competition. The title might not be a credit on his bio, but he gained a lot from the Next Level Chef experience.

What is next for Jordan Torrey? The future is bright for the social media star. In addition to his channels, he hopes that more television or culinary programming will come his way. Hopefully going forward, he will keep the flames to a minimum and not burn any more digits in the kitchen.

Want to catch up on Next Level Chef Season 3? Episodes can be streamed on Hulu and the Season 3 finale can be watched on Thursday, May 9 on FOX.