"Pushed me to rise": Yes, Chef! star Zain Ismail extends gratitude to fellow chefs and judges

Yes, Chef! Season 1 aired its finale on June 30, 2025. The NBC culinary competition featured 12 professional chefs. It included Zain Ismail, Jake Lawler, Emily Brubaker, Lee Frank, Julia Chebotar, Ronny Miranda, Torrece Gregoire, Christopher Morales, Petrina Peart, Peter Richardson, Katsuji Tanabe, and Michelle Francis.

Viewers witnessed three finalists, Chef Zain, Chef Lee Frank, and Chef Emily, competing against each other in the finale. The winner of the culinary show was Chef Emily Brubaker.

Chef Zain took to Instagram to share her thoughts on her time on the NBC reality show. She shared a post on July 2, 2025, congratulating Chef Emily and noting that they were the "two women" to be featured on the show.

She thanked the judges and fellow chefs who helped her throughout the show. She also thanked her parents and wrote on the platform:

"To Martha Stewart and José Andrés, thank you for seeing me. To my fellow chefs, your talent pushed me to rise…& push myself. To my Mother…your prayers traveled with me, every step of the way. And to my Father…your spirit carried me through the hardest moments."

Chef Zain Ismail reflects on her journey in Yes, Chef! Season 1

NBC's Yes, Chef! Season 1 introduced chefs, including Chef Zain, competing in a high-stakes culinary competition. The show ended with Chef Emily Brubaker's win. One of the cheftestants on the show was Chef Zain Ismail.

After the show's finale aired, Chef Zain shared her experience competing in the show. She shared an Instagram post on July 2, 2025, and wrote the caption about her time on the show.

"The finale of Yes, CHEF! was this week… and I'm still taking it all in…FIRST…A huge congratulations to Chef Emily! CHEMILY You did it! Back in Week 5, only 2 women left in the competition, we shook hands and said… "We're both going to the finale." And we did," wrote Chef Zain.

Further, Chef Zain wrote how she was "overwhelmed" with gratitude throughout the journey. She mentioned that she was able to share her story with the "food."

"I'm overwhelmed with gratitude…for this journey…for every challenge…for every chef I stood beside, and for the chance to tell my story through food."

In her post, Chef Zain also thanked the judges, Martha Stewart and José Andrés, for "seeing her." Talking about fellow cheftestants, she thanked them for "pushing" her towards the rise. She thanked her mother for the prayers and her father, who has been with her in the spirit and carried her through her "hardest' moments.

She concluded her post by mentioning how the end of Yes, Chef! was "only the beginning" for her.

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NBC now streams Yes, Chef! Season 1 episodes.

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