Viewers of Martha Stewart’s ‘Yes, Chef!’ Already Have Strong Opinions About This Contestant

The lightning rod of the season has already emerged on NBC’s Yes, Chef! a new cooking competition series cohosted by Martha Stewart and José Andrés that premiered Monday (April 29) night.

The series premiered with 12 new contestants, many of whom had already appeared on a previous show.

Each of the contestants were nominated to appear on the show by some of their real-life friends and colleagues, who offered individual critiques. With Petrina Peart, she’s a perfectionist who points to her background in the Air Force; Chris Morales is said to be so fame-hungry that he has his Instagram handle as his license plate; Top Chef alum Katsuji Tanabe is described as a bully who created a “Cirque de Soleil” of drama, according to his business partner; T has a short fuse, as demonstrated by her Hell’s Kitchen run; Michelle is chaotic and wasn’t afraid to put her own 5-year-old in her place; Jake needs to get out of his own way; and Peter is talented but emotionally over-the-top.

Katsuji — who said of himself, “I’m only good at cooking. Everything else, I kind of suck, but cooking, I am the best chef here today” — is the one who caught the attention of audiences on social media.

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For the “Captain Control Freaks” challenge he — along with Michelle Francis and Zain Ismail — was chosen to lead the creation of a new four-course menu (thanks to his previous creation being one of the cohosts’ favorites) and then resist the urge to micromanage. He was teamed with Lee Frank, a self-described executive chef who isn’t used to taking orders, Peter, and Ronny Miranda. When Lee tried to speak up about the menu, Katsuji put his foot down.

“This cannot be a democracy,” he said in a confessional. “This has to be a dictatorship.” That certainly supported the suggestion that his arrogance is what has long plagued his culinary career.

In the end, Katsuji’s fish dish was cold, and his blue team did not win the challenge (instead, it was Michelle who won Most Valuable Chef). She was then given the chance to choose another chef to cook with her in a head-to-head — with the winner getting the chance to choose the eliminee of the episode.

Katsuji wanted to be chosen for the honor, as did Petrina, who wanted the opportunity to make up for letting her insecurities affect her performance. Michelle chose Katsuji since he cooked his own menu and ignored other opportunities.

“Clearly, I am the one to beat in this competition,” he said after being selected.

Luckily for Katsuji, the cohosts chose his dish as the winner, and he got to choose who to send him. At first, he tried to say it was Michelle’s choice, but he ultimately chose Petrina as the lowest-scoring chef, and she was sent home. She wished she had the opportunity to defend herself in the kitchen against Michelle if she was the true target all along.

On X (formerly Twitter), viewers had a lot of feedback for Katsuji after the premiere.

“Do not remember Katsuji being this annoying on #TOPCHEF,” one viewer wrote, referring to Katsuji’s turn on Season 12. “Can they just get rid of  katsuji? I can already tell he’s gonna get on my nerves,” wrote another.

“katsuji is gonna be a problem isnt he?” wrote one user. “i suffered through katsuji on top chef. he just about made that show unwatchable. i know his whole thing is “im unlikable!” and he loves to provoke people- but come on dude. martha i hope you dont put up with that mess!” they later added.

However, one Yes, Chef! viewer predicted Katsuji’s lightning rod status might just keep him around in the competition for drama’s sake: “You know they won’t get rid of Katsuji this early,” they wrote.

We’ll have to continue watching to find out!

Yes, Chef!, Mondays, 10/9c, NBC