Next Gen Chef: Where is Abby Kirn now?

Abby Kirn lit up Season 1 of Next Gen Chef on Netflix, not just with her food, but with her gutsy energy. The show mixes dreamer home cooks with sharp line cooks, tossing them into challenges that test brains, speed, and creativity under pressure. Abby stood out because she actually asked for the hard stuff, like whipping up desserts inspired by French legend Paul Bocuse.

She delivered some seriously bold plates; think polenta cake with fennel curd or a plantain arepa loaded with chicken, charred apple, and apple slaw. But the clock wasn’t always her friend, and messy timing in team rounds eventually sent her home.

Getting cut from Next Gen Chef didn’t stop her, though; it kind of jump-started her. Since then, Abby’s been everywhere: fine dining kitchens, farms, and her own food ventures. Now she runs multiple projects in New York and California, all while pushing sustainable cooking and community-focused ideas. She may not have won the show, but she definitely won the after-game.

Next Gen Chef: Abby Kirn’s current career status

After Next Gen Chef, Abby Kirn didn’t just cook; she leveled up. She jumped into the Culinary Institute of America’s Accelerated Program in 2020, got voted Sous Chef, and even started a career program to connect students with big-name pros. Between running kitchens and testing recipes for award-winning chefs, she built the kind of résumé most people only dream about.

That hustle landed her a spot at Thomas Keller’s legendary French Laundry in California, where she trained newbies, scheduled kitchens like a pro, and helped modernize recipes. By 2022, she was on the launch team for Al Coro in New York City; the place went on to snag two Michelin stars right after opening. Not long after, Abby co-founded Village, a New York project that blends fine dining skills with community vibes and menus built to connect people, not just feed them.

But Abby’s story isn’t just city kitchens, as it’s also dirt, sunshine, and animals. Back home in Sonoma, she runs the Kirn Family Ranch, a mix of farm and tiny-animal sanctuary. The star product is her Lush Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is supposedly so good it’s stocked at fancy spots like Shou Sugi Ban House in the Hamptons and the Lacoste flagship in NYC. And she’s a certified olive oil sommelier, teaching chefs how to taste, pair, and respect the process. Her parents and siblings pitch in too, making the ranch a true family-run dream.

Abby Kirn’s recent projects and media appearances

Kirn maintains public visibility through various media projects and partnerships. In August 2025, she collaborated with Merry People for a neighborhood tour showcasing Brooklyn's hidden culinary gems, including stops at Poppy's and Brooklyn Granary & Mill.

She runs popular social media content focused on butter and related topics, building an engaged online following interested in culinary education and techniques. In April 2025, Next Gen Chef's Abby popped up on Food Network’s Chopped Love Tournament with her partner, Carlos, a tag team that showed off both their cooking chops and their chemistry. Fast-forward to now, and she’s juggling restaurants, ranch life, and side projects while sticking to her mission of making food feel like home, a place where everyone feels seen and fed.

Her path proves you don’t need a trophy to win big. That early Next Gen Chef exit was just a plot twist. Abby turned it into fuel for a career built on creativity, grit, and a whole lot of flavor, showing that chefs can thrive way beyond the four walls of a kitchen.

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You can watch Next Gen Chef Season 1 anytime on Netflix.

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