"Behavior manifested itself": Yes, Chef! executive producer Kevin Lee shares how the judges evaluate more than flavor

In Yes, Chef!, evaluating a dish goes beyond taste. According to executive producer Kevin Lee, the process is intentionally structured to observe how each chef’s personal tendencies influence their food and performance.

“I think part of the recipe there is the behavior manifested itself in the final product of the food,” Lee explained to NBC Insider.

Judges Martha Stewart and José Andrés assess not only taste the dish but also observe how each chef handles the kitchen environment.

The series was developed to track how chefs respond to stress, collaborate with teammates, and navigate behavioral patterns under pressure.

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How behavior influences judging on Yes, Chef!

Challenges designed to reveal behavior

Lee noted that the challenges were crafted to examine more than technical skill.

“This was a unique cooking show in the sense that the challenges had to work as culinary challenges,” he explained.

He emphasized that the show centers on chefs who are navigating personality issues within the kitchen setting. Challenges were designed with strategic elements that aligned with known traits among the contestants.

In one example from episode 1, chefs were placed in teams and asked to create a menu collaboratively. Team captains had the option to take over the menu and disregard their teammates' input.

“We knew that micromanaging team captains would be very tempted to do that,” Lee said.

The structure of this task allowed for behavior to be observed through real-time decisions. Chef Katsuji Tanabe chose to override his team’s menu.

That decision demonstrated a key behavioral trait that was relevant to the episode’s focus.

“When they made that choice, they revealed to themselves, to José and Martha, and to the other chefs whether or not they were micromanagers,” Lee stated.

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Evaluation beyond the plate

According to Lee, the show’s framework provided the judges with opportunities to assess whether chefs recognized and addressed their behavioral patterns.

The episodes featured situations that revisited specific tendencies, enabling judges Stewart and Andrés to track patterns over time. This allowed them to determine whether a chef’s approach changed or remained consistent.

The Yes, Chef! executive producer described the intent behind the structure:

“Ultimately, these behavioral issue and strategic decision points in the challenges were designed to teach a lesson to the chefs that needed to learn that lesson.”

The Yes, Chef! challenges served as both culinary tests and exercises in self-awareness, integrated to measure progress in both areas.

The series did not separate food quality from personal behavior. Each component of the challenge was designed to create conditions where both could be evaluated.

This approach provided judges with additional context for their decisions, as each plate represented both a technical product and the result of behavior under pressure.

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Role of the judges in decision-making

Yes, Chef! judges Martha Stewart and José Andrés considered multiple factors when evaluating contestants.

While culinary execution was essential, behavior exhibited during the challenge informed their understanding of how the dish came together.

Lee indicated that the judges observed how strategic decisions, leadership roles, and team dynamics affected the outcome.

The format was not based on rewarding personality changes. Instead, it allowed for behavior to be acknowledged in the context of the competition.

The tasks were designed to reflect real-life scenarios in kitchen environments, and the judges’ role included recognizing how each chef responded to those conditions.

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Watch Yes, Chef! Mondays at 10 PM ET on NBC and streaming the next day on Peacock.