Television thrives on the unexpected, but nobody saw Meg Sheley’s exit coming during the fourth season of Next Level Chef. One minute she was a frontrunner on Team Ramsay, and the next, she was gone. No dramatic elimination. No burnt scallops. Just an empty station and a lot of confused fans.
If you’ve spent any time on food TikTok or Instagram, you probably recognized her before she even stepped into Gordon Ramsay’s three-story kitchen. She’s the face behind those viral "lasagna soup" videos and a wellness-focused recipe developer who basically lives in her Minneapolis kitchen. But the jump from a peaceful home studio to the high-intensity chaos of a televised competition is a massive leap. Honestly, it’s a leap that physically broke her.
Why Meg Sheley Left Next Level Chef Season 4
The show is basically a pressure cooker. Chefs have seconds to grab ingredients off a moving platform and only 20 or 30 minutes to turn them into a five-star dish while Gordon Ramsay literally breathes down their neck. For most, that’s just stress. For Meg, it was a medical trigger.
She has been open about her journey with an autoimmune disease for years. On her blog, Megan Sheley Wellness, she often talks about how food can be healing or damaging depending on how you treat your body. During the filming of Season 4, the combination of sleep deprivation, intense stress, and the sheer physical demand of the show triggered a massive flare-up.
It wasn't just a "bad day." She was so debilitated that she couldn't even leave her hotel room.
In a raw interview with the Star Tribune after her departure aired in March 2025, she admitted that her body just gave out. She didn't want to quit. In fact, she was performing well. She’d already survived the initial social media chef auditions and was becoming a favorite on Team Ramsay. But when your body decides to shut down, the competition doesn't really matter anymore.
The Gordon Ramsay Connection
People always ask if Gordon is actually as mean as he looks on Hell's Kitchen. According to Meg, he’s the opposite on this show. Since Next Level Chef is a mentorship program, he actually wants his team to win.
One of the highlights of her short-lived run was working with him on a gator meat dish. It’s not something a Minnesota girl typically cooks at home, but having Ramsay advise her on the fly was, as she put it, a career peak.
💡 You might also like: Why The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House Is More Than Just Another Isekai
"He’s mellowed," she’s noted in interviews, mentioning that he has six kids now and acts more like a teacher than a drill sergeant. That mentorship is what makes the exit even harder to swallow—she was actually learning.
Life After the Platform
So, what is she doing now that the cameras are off? Surprisingly, she isn't rushing to open a restaurant.
Meg is leaning back into what she does best: digital content and wellness. She’s made it clear that the "peaceful" side of cooking—playing music, taking her time, and focusing on "bio-individuality"—is where she belongs. She’s still the "simp" for Trader Joe’s we all know, and her website is still pumping out those thick, undercooked chocolate chip cookies she swears by.
What most people get wrong about her exit:
- It wasn't a choice: Many viewers thought she "quit" because she couldn't handle the heat. It was a medical withdrawal, which is a huge distinction in the world of reality TV.
- She didn't hate the experience: Despite the flare-up, she’s called it the most "empowering" thing she’s ever done.
- She’s not "just" a blogger: While she was in the social media category, her technical skills on the show proved she could hang with the pros.
The Future of Meg Sheley
There’s already a lot of chatter among fans about a "Redemption Season." Given how she left—performing well but forced out by health—she’s the perfect candidate for a second chance. Whether her health would allow for that kind of stress again is the big question.
For now, she’s back in Minneapolis, recovering and doing her thing. She’s proven that you don't need to win a $250,000 prize to have a massive impact on how people cook. Sometimes, knowing when to step away for your own well-being is the most "next level" move you can make.
If you're looking to cook like Meg without the 20-minute time limit, her focus on "clean food and a dirty mouth" continues through her newsletter and social channels. You can find her most famous recipes, like the 35-million-view lasagna soup, on her official site. It’s probably a lot more relaxing than watching a platform move past your head at 10 miles per hour.
Practical Next Steps for Fans:
- Follow her health journey: She frequently shares tips on managing autoimmune flares through diet and lifestyle on her Instagram.
- Try the "Viral Lasagna Soup": It’s the dish that arguably got her on the show in the first place.
- Watch the rest of Season 4: Even without Meg, the season was a wild ride, eventually won by pro chef Austin Beckett.