‘Next Level Chef’ winner Gabi Chappel: ‘It was the most out-of-body experience I’ve ever had’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Gabi Chappel, the 29-year-old social media chef from Brooklyn, New York was named the winner of “Next Level Chef” season three on Thursday night. She took home the title, a check for $250,000 and a one-year mentorship from judges Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais. The Team Ramsay finalist defeated Team Arrington’s Christina Miros and Team Blais’ Zachary Laidlaw in the three-course finale. Watch her exclusive video interview with Gold Derby above. 

“It was the most out-of-body experience that I’ve ever had,” she says. “It felt like the whole thing was just a dream. I’m also one of those people who really love to think moments through. Of course, I played this scenario over in my head of him announcing my name, but when it really happened it was just one of those moments I’ll never forget, but simultaneously, it was such a rush that I can hardly remember any of it.”

SEE ‘Next Level Chef’ Season 3 cast: Meet the 15 chef-testants competing (in order of elimination)

Under the continued mentorship of Gordon, Gabi will be featured in her own BITE original called “Gabi’s Next Course.” It follows what happens next for the young chef as she dives headfirst into her culinary adventure and dishes up some new recipes. You can see the first episode by clicking here.

In the premiere episode, Gabi heads to the Urban Hawker in Midtown Manhattan to explore a diverse array of Southeast Asian street food, speak with the vendors of Jakarta Munch and Hainan Jones, and see what she can learn about Singaporean, Malaysian, and Indonesian cuisine. Armed with her newfound inspiration, Gabi heads to the test kitchen to cook a Crispy Tofu Rice Bowl w/ Pickled Veggies & Spicy Peanut Sauce.