Yes, Chef!: Winner prediction 

Yes, Chef! season 1, episode 7 premiered on NBC on June 9, 2025. By the end of the episode, Chef Julia Chebotar was eliminated from the competition. Meanwhile, Zain Ismail, Emily Brubaker, Lee Frank, Petrina Peart, and Jake Lawler advanced to the next round.

The remaining five contestants will be competing to make it to the finale and win the coveted title, taking home the prize money in the process. Although Chef Ismail was the standout performer in the recent episode, when looking at the season as a whole, Chef Lawler had the overall better performance than most contestants.

Chef Lawler delivered standout performances in episodes 3 and 4, finishing at the top both times. In episode 5, he remained composed under pressure, and in episode 6, his pork loin dish earned high praise from the judges. While episode 7 might not have turned out in his favour, given his past performances, the chief has the potential to make it to the finale and win.

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Yes, Chef! contestant Jake Lawler's recent performance explored

Yes, Chef! season 1 premiered on April 28, 2025. The show had a unique approach to casting for the season, bringing in only chefs nominated by their colleagues, who they felt had attitude problems and were hard to work with.

Chef Jake Lawler was one such contestant, joining the show not only to address his attitude issues but also to showcase his culinary talent in hopes of winning. He delivered an impressive performance throughout the season and is now among the top five contestants.

In episode 3, Chef Lawler demonstrated his technical skill, leading his team, Blue, to victory. He was assigned to compete in the Level 1 “steaming” challenge for six diners, where he prepared a vibrant dish of Savoy cabbage stuffed with cauliflower and shrimp purée. Lawler's dish stood out in comparison to his rival team's creation, which was called out for lacking theatrical presentation.

The judges, Martha Stewart and José Andrés, were impressed by Lawler's dish and praised it for his attention to detail, eventually declaring him the winner of the round.

In episode 4, the Yes, Chef! star took on the role of the Red team captain and helped his squad navigate through two high-stakes concession-style challenges. Lawler impressed Judge Stewart with his well-maintained composure through the episode, even though he was visibly nervous about handling chefs like Chef Emily Brubaker.

Besides managing his team and deciding who should be sent for which round, his culinary skills earned him the episode’s winning dish.

Chef Lawler's great performance continued into episode 5, which featured the first solo competition of the season. In the episode, the chefs had to prepare a family-style dish for their fellow Yes, Chef! contestants.

Lawler stunned everyone with his pan-seared duck breast and received four out of seven gold stars for his dish, which was notably the highest score of the night. He received the Most Valuable Chef title for the episode and also got the power to choose who would enter the elimination round.

While the Yes, Chef! star wasn't able to end episode 6 at the top of the ranks, he showcased an unremarkable performance with his sweet and spicy glazed pork loin dish.

Episode 7 wasn't too good on Chef Lawler, and he found himself in the bottom two, competing in the elimination round against Chef Julia Chebotar. Lawler won the cookoff, though the judges noted it was by a small margin.

Considering his overall performance in the season, Chef Lawler has the best chances to win the show among the five remaining contestants.

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Yes, Chef! season 1 episode premieres every Monday on NBC.