The winner of Next Level Chef has said that being mentored by Gordon Ramsay is her “ultimate goal”.
Jade Greenhalgh was crowned winner of Gordon Ramsay’s ITV cookery contest last night, after she impressed the judges with her unique skills and grounded attitude.
On his winner, Ramsay said: “Jade is the absolute character that Next Level Chef personifies: humble, focused, earnest. Earnest is something that you don’t see a lot in today’s world, especially in cooking as it’s all flamboyant."
The self-taught cook and blogger, 34, from Lancashire, is known for her popular Instagram page @jadesbites, where she shares a variety of ‘achievable’ and ‘easy’ recipes with her 81,000 followers.
Jade’s relatability was the reason she decided to apply for the show, and to show that anyone “can do anything if they are passionate enough”. The amateur chef had previously applied for a job and was rejected on the grounds that she did not have professional qualifications in catering, which spurred her on to apply for the contest.
She said: “About six months before I applied to take part in Next Level Chef, I applied for a job basically making sandwiches and frying chips for children in a children’s farm. Because I didn’t have a hospitality or catering qualification, I wasn’t even considered for the role.
“I just thought, apply for this show and prove to people you can do what you want to do without having qualifications. People can be self-taught, if you’ve got that passion, anyone can do it!”
Alongside being crowned winner of the series, Jade received £100,000 prize money, which she is hoping to use to buy a house and pay for IVF. Being mentored by Gordon Ramsay and chefs Nyesha Arrington and Paul Ainsworth while on the show, the cook will now continue to be mentored by the trio for a full year.
On the mentorship, Jade said: “It all starts next month. It's a money can't buy opportunity. I'm not professionally trained so to have the chance to work with these three amazing chefs who are at the top of their game and learn from their experiences is an amazing opportunity.
“It’s my ultimate goal.”
Speaking about the three chefs, Jade said they each brought something different to the table. Nyesha was a “powerhouse” and her energy and support in the kitchen encouraged the contestants to believe in themselves.
On Paul, Jade said he brought his “intelligence” and “knowledge” to the contestants, describing him as “kind-hearted”.
Jade had been on Gordon’s team from the beginning, describing him as “so helpful”.
She said: “At first, I felt it wasn’t real. Then after I got over the shock of being in the same room as him, it just felt really comfortable.
“He was such a supportive figure. He really took on the mentorship role, he was so helpful.”
