GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A former NFL offensive lineman from Grand Rapids is trading the football field for the kitchen — and now he's getting national attention for his cooking skills.
Jared Veldheer is competing on FOX's "Next Level Chef," hosted by Gordon Ramsay. You can watch him in action on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX 17.
Veldheer spent years protecting quarterbacks before finding a new passion in the kitchen.
"Played the left tackle position for most of my career, and that was kind of like the meat and potatoes of the professional life for me," Veldheer said.
After retiring from football, Veldheer took on a role that might surprise fans — working as a chef at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School in Grand Rapids.
"When I finished playing football, I had the opportunity to work as the lunch lady for St Paul, the Apostle School. And that was awesome," Veldheer said.
Now, Veldheer is taking his culinary skills to a national stage on "Next Level Chef."
"Just sharing kitchen space with Gordon Ramsay and the (two) other mentors on the show, as well as the other chefs on there, it was phenomenal. I learned a ton, and it was one of the most fun, unique experiences I think I've ever had in my life," Veldheer said.
The show features teams of cooks competing across three different levels of a platform. Ingredients pass through each stage, with chefs grabbing what they need. Those on top get all the options — those on the bottom get whatever is left over.
"Everybody on that show can cook. Everybody knows what they're doing, but when you have 30 minutes to create a composed dish, a small mistake can completely break that," Veldheer said.
In one episode, Veldheer nearly made a critical mistake while trying to get his final dish onto the platform for judging. His NFL-sized wingspan came in handy in that moment.
When asked what was going through his mind while trying to get the plate up at the last second, Veldheer reflected on the close call.
"Yeah, I was definitely wondering why I was waiting so long. Could have made it a little more comfortable and got it up there quicker. It was a nice little reminder from the jump that when that platform's there, that plate needs to go on. Don't waste time, because it's not waiting for you," Veldheer said.
Veldheer said the high pressure of the competition reminded him of his days in the NFL.
"There's so much uncertainty, it's going to be high octane, there's going to be chaos, but you had to execute and do your job through all of that," Veldheer said. "Then the absolute best part was being able to wake up the next day and feel like I, you know, still had, you know, my health, like I wasn't hit by a car."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
