Ashley Delrosario, who goes by Chef Ash, is among the culinary competitors vying for $250,000 and the title. The latest season premieres at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
“I’m always one to take the leap, take the jump, just do something crazy. We only live once,” Delrosario says. “You never know if you don’t try.”
In the show, celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay, Richard Blais and Nyesha Arrington mentor teams through a culinary gauntlet where time is limited and ingredients must be grabbed in haste.
Delrosario admits she did not watch the show before signing on to compete. Producers found her Instagram and pitched her a spot. This year’s competitors come from a variety of backgrounds including pros like Delrosario, social media-famous chefs and home cooks.
“One of the best things that came out of this experience with ‘Next Level Chef’ is the other chefs," she says. "We became friends and it feels like we’re family now."
Delrosario grew up in her grandfather's and father’s restaurants in Washington. She came to Arizona to attend Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale, but over the years found herself in an office job with a charcuterie board business percolating on the side.
Amid the pandemic, Delrosario quit her day job and started focusing on her private chef business full-time, promoting it via social media. She hasn’t looked back since and has grown a roster of clients including several Major League Baseball players.

The Fox culinary competition "Next Level Chef" features celebrity chefs Nyesha Arrington, Gordon Ramsay and Richard Blais.
Fox
While she wasn't familiar with "Next Level Chef," Delrosario is no stranger to TV cooking competitions. She appeared on Food Network’s “Supermarket Stakeout” in 2022. Still, the single-episode experience did not prepare her for the serial, chaotic Fox show, she says.
“It was the most intense thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she says.
Competitors are placed on one of three kitchen floors. Each has varying quality of cooking equipment. The chefs have limited time to create dishes from ingredients they must select in 30 seconds from a platform that drops from the ceiling.
“When you’re grabbing ingredients, it was like you blacked out. You don’t know what you’re grabbing,” she says.
That wasn’t the only challenge. Delrosario says she also got a bit starstruck by one of the celebrity chefs.
“I mean, Gordon frickin’ Ramsay. He’s the most famous chef in the world,” she says, with a giddy laugh. “His presence is magnetic. It was just insane that I was in the same room as him.”
To celebrate the premiere, Delrosario is hosting a watch party at the downtown Phoenix cafe CC’s on Central on Thursday night. Chef and co-owner Devan Cunningham, who competed on the Food Network show “Ciao House” last year, will cook for the occasion. The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m., is open to the public and is free to attend, with food and drinks available for purchase.
Delrosario, who viewers will see on the show in a bright yellow bandana, is excited to share what she’s been doing.
“It’s an adrenaline rush just to watch the show,” she says. “You’re going to just see how far I go."