Nyesha Arrington's net worth: 'Next Level Chef' judge shut restaurant due to rising costs
Ever since Nyesha Arrington first made her big debut as a contestant on 'Top Chef' Season 9, the incredibly talented chef managed to win over everybody. Even though she didn't win the culinary competition, she continued to remain one of the show's most beloved contestants amongst the fans.
Thanks to her popularity coupled with her amazing culinary skills, within no time Nyesha became a regular staple on various culinary shows, and culinary competition shows on the television. She will soon be appearing on FOX's new show 'Next Level Chef' where she will be mentoring five amateur cooks for a shot to win the grand prize of $250,000. All her hard work and hustle helped Nyesha amass a net worth of an estimated $1.5 million. We have to add that Nyesha had a wild, bumpy ride on her way to success, including the closing of two of her restaurants. If you're curious to know about Nyesha's journey and her net worth then, read on.
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What is Nyesha Arrington's net worth?
According to reports, Nyesha's net worth has been estimated to be a cool $1.5 million. This can be attributed to her successful career in the culinary world. From a very early age, Nyesha developed a keen interest in cooking and food. Being born in a diverse and multi-cultural family, exposed the chef to various cuisines. From watching her Korean grandmother work her way around the kitchen, to assisting her Back aunts, Nyesha's palate was truly global.
She graduated from the prestigious Culinary School at the Art Institute of California- Los Angeles in 2001. Working under her mentor and renowned chef Josiah Citrin, and legendary Frech chef Joël Robuchon, further honed her culinary skills. After acquiring some invaluable skills, Nyesha was all set to branch out on her own. So, she partnered up with a couple and opened her first restaurant called Leona in Venice. The restaurant earned rave reviews, but she had to walk away from the venture after two years owing to the tense situation between her restaurant partners following their divorce.
In an interview with Eater, she shared, "It was in Venice, in this three-story building. When I walked in there, my intention was, ‘I’m going to hang up my hat here and live here and work here forever.’ In that same month, I met my boyfriend of almost five years, and he was living like 100 yards from Venice. So I had two years of hustling, freelancing, moving all over the damn city and country, to all my stars aligning. [Our team at Leona] had two years of amazing, magical memories, and then the husband and wife who I was partners with got divorced. It was not easy for me to be there anymore, so I left." "In all honesty and transparency, I was so wide-eyed, young, and stupid. I didn’t have a lawyer look at my stuff. I just was like, ‘I’m just going to kill it, and we can revisit all this [legal] stuff later.’ I keep learning life lessons. I’m resilient, I guess. It’s hard. I’m a firm believer in failing upwards," she added.
But she didn't have to wait for too long for another such dream opportunity to come knocking at her door, as eight months after shutting down Leona, Nyesha opened another restaurant called Native in 2017. She started Native with the goal of serving fresh, locally-sourced seasonal produce to her patrons. Even though the restaurant received many rave reviews, Nyesha had to kiss goodbye to her second restaurant in less than two years later owing to the rising minimum wage and steep operational costs. In an interview with Los Angeles Times, she explained, "Minimum wage has gone up, and our rent is crazy and it’s just hard to turn a profit and consider it a business when it’s so much overhead."
Today, Nyesha owns and operates a full-service Chef consulting & catering business. While traveling around the globe for speaking engagements and dinner collaborations. Although her greatest enthusiasm will always be diving into the creative process and cooking “Food that Hugs the Soul.”
'Next Level Chef' premieres on January 2, 2022, on FOX.