Mistie Knight, one half of the magic duo Kyle and Mistie, is a contestant on the latest season of Gordon Ramsay’s Next Level Chef, a reality show where professional chefs, home cooks, and culinary social media influencers compete in a series of food-related challenges. The fourth season premiered on February 13, with Mistie introduced as one of the influencer chefs in the competition.
Mistie’s foray into cooking came about in 2020, during the pandemic lockdown. “Kyle and I turned to social media as our ‘new stage’ and started making videos online,” she told THE EYE. “Cooking was always something really close to my heart, but I had never had a chance to truly learn how to cook because we were always on the road.” The result was videos of Mistie making accessible recipes as she learned to cook. “It’s not me trying to be perfect,” she said. “It’s just me showing this process with all the mistakes and then bits of comedy and magic thrown in.”
The videos were a hit—Kyle and Mistie now have 9 million followers across social media platforms, which brought her to the attention of Next Level’s casting directors.
“I was unsure that the show would be a good fit for me, because I’m definitely not a chef,” she said, adding that her recipes were more focused on being quick and easy than culinary delicacies. Mistie is a magician first—with Kyle she has performed across the globe for over 20 years, performing in 85 countries and headlining on Disney Cruise Lines. They also currently consult for David Blaine and serve as a booking agent for other magic acts.
After several interviews with Next Level, however, she was ready to rise to this new culinary challenge: She flew to Dublin a year ago to film the show, and while she can’t share details on how she did, she did disclose that Ramsay at one point called her magic, and that the crew shot footage of her performing in Vegas. She also said she snuck in some magic tricks during cooking competitions and in interviews done during filming.
Next Level Chef airs on Fox on Thursdays, with episodes available on Hulu.
Photos courtesy of Fox