At Just N Life, we recently sat down with two standout chefs from NBC’s new cooking competition Yes, Chef!—Chef Christopher Morales and Chef Petrina Peart. The show brings together twelve chefs nominated by peers, friends, or colleagues not just for their culinary talent but also for their reputations in the kitchen: stubbornness, egotism, perfectionism, control, or self-doubt. The $250,000 prize is on the line—but so is personal growth.
While it might sound like another show glorifying toxic kitchen culture, Yes, Chef! aims to do the opposite. Through team-based challenges and introspective moments, it pushes chefs to confront their flaws and reconsider what leadership, humility, and collaboration look like in a professional kitchen.
Chef Christopher Morales on Perfectionism, Sobriety, and Growth
Chef Christopher, based out of Melbourne, Florida, started working in restaurants at sixteen. By twenty, he was already running his first kitchen. When asked about being nominated by his former sous chef, Morales told us:
“It made things real, because they’re always like, ‘Yes, Chef. Not a problem, Chef.’ But in the grand scheme of things, you know—they’re human. They have feelings too. Some of the ways I treated them probably weren’t the best. I expect perfection, and I’m very hard on my chefs. At the level that we cook at, I expect perfection… it was an eye-opener.”
As Morales shared, being nominated forced him to confront his leadership style, exactly what the show is designed to bring to the surface. “Being an executive chef at twenty years old… being the captain… it wasn’t great for my ego,” he admitted.
Originally planning to attend culinary school, Morales instead took the opportunity to lead a kitchen at a young age and never looked back. Now six years sober, he spoke candidly about how ego and alcoholism often go hand in hand in the restaurant world. Competing on a show that demands both excellence and vulnerability, Morales knows the stakes.
“The biggest thing I want to inspire through this show is growth, and that growth can be as a chef or as a person.”
An advocate for sobriety in the restaurant industry, Morales understands how difficult it can be to change in an environment that has historically celebrated self-destruction. But with the right people and the right support, growth is possible.
“People aren’t perfect. People have imperfections and shortcomings… but it’s acknowledging those shortcomings that makes you a better person.”
Chef Petrina Peart on Overthinking, Vulnerability, and Moving Forward
Chef Petrina, based in Cheyenne, Wyoming, began her culinary journey while in the Air Force, cooking for herself and her friends. Through potlucks, she discovered a love for nurturing others through food. A self-described perfectionist who struggles with doubt, she admits she didn’t want to believe what her brother said in his nomination video—until she saw it all unfold on screen.
“My brother has seen the personal side of me, but he’s also seen how I work in the kitchen—how I overthink, how I change and redo. He has some insight, so he was able to speak to a few of my vulnerabilities and weaknesses. I was watching and listening… and even in the presence of José and Martha, I was like, ‘That can’t be true, that’s not right.’ But little did I know the episode would just kind of play out exactly like he said… everything happened in the kitchen.”
The moment she references happened during the show’s first challenge, when she decided to change her dish at the last minute—a gazpacho passed through a fine mesh strainer, which turned out too watery, landing her at the bottom.
Instead of passing the blame, Chef Petrina did what the show is all about: she owned it. But she didn’t get a second chance. Due to the format of the competition, Chef Michelle Francis was given the power to choose her oppenent in the elimination challenge. She picked Chef Katsuji Tanabe—and lost. That gave Chef Katsuji the power to eliminate any chef except Chef Michelle. He selected Petrina as the judges had determined her dish in the first challenge was the weakest.
Despite the early exit, Chef Petrina says she’s open to competing again:
“I used to just hide behind my food. I started realizing how impersonal that is. That’s why I’ve been challenging myself to get more in front of the camera and also work on whatever things I feel are weaknesses for me.”
She didn’t want her overthinking to define her time on the show, but as she freely admits, it did. And yet, she sees that moment not as failure, but as a starting point.
“I didn’t get to stay long and work on it, but I still got a scenario where—okay, you failed. Does that make me a bad chef? No. It just means I have something to work on. I kind of have to do that publicly now, and that’s okay. If anything I’m going through helps someone else by seeing me go through it, then that’s good enough for me.”
After sitting down with Chef Christopher and Chef Petrina, we were reminded that for these chefs, growth in the kitchen isn’t just about technique—it’s about huminty, accountability, and learning to lead with care. Yes, Chef! doesn’t promise perfection. But it does offer something just as rare, the space to change. And that, maybe more than any prize, is what makes it worth watching.
Catch Yes, Chef! on Mondays at 10 p.m./9 p.m. CT on NBC or stream the next day on Peacock.
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