Angela Pagan (‘Next Level Chef’) exit interview: Gordon ‘was throwing me off a little bit during elimination’ [WATCH]

Angela Pagan, the 33-year-old professional chef from Atlanta was eliminated in ninth place on Thursday’s episode of “Next Level Chef.” Despite Team Richard Blais cooking in the top kitchen, Angela struggled to find the ingredients for a Next Level Greek dish and grabbed lamb neck for a protein. The chef then found herself up for elimination against Team Nyesha Arrington‘s Christina Miros. Watch her exclusive video interview with Gold Derby above. 

“It becomes overwhelming,” she says of cooking in the top kitchen. “You’re scanning the whole platform. I think it’s easier when there’s less items and you can see more. Everybody just gets nervous up there.”

SEE Chris Tzorin (‘Next Level Chef’) exit interview: ‘I was overconfident’ and that biscuit dough ‘threw me off’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Angela explains why she had to throw her plate onto the platform, despite being well-aware of the time constraints. “Those two minutes go by quicker than what you think,” she says. “You think, ‘I can plate this is one minute.’ No you can’t, if you want it to look nice.”

The professional chef also says she was thrilled to be on Team Blais and actually preferred him as a mentor over Gordon Ramsay. “It was so great to work next to Chef Ramsay,” she clarifies. “But I take direction versus you touching my stuff. Chef Ramsay is very hands-on when he helps you and I don’t do that. It was throwing me off a little bit during elimination how he was just all over my station.”

Angela also clarifies why she may have come off “mean” or “catty,” stating the professional chefs came into the competition with a different mindset. “We’re all trying to dominate the competition,” she explains. “It’s not going to be your friendly social media character and your Betty Crocker home cook. You have chefs at crunch time. Just serious.”

With goals of becoming a TV chef and mogul, Angela is currently promoting her kitchen line, The Chef Angela J. Collection, which you can find by clicking the link provided. Fans can also keep up with her on Instagram.