Who won Netflix's Pressure Cooker season 1? Shocking twist turns the table for the losing contestant

Netflix dropped all eight episodes of Pressure Cooker on Friday, January 6, at 03.01 am ET. 36-year-old Robbie Jester from Delaware won the first season of the show by making "homely" dishes in the finale against 26-year-old private chef Mike.

In episode 7, Mike won a food challenge and impressed some critics with his techniques. He was then declared the first finalist and was asked to nominate his own opponent for the battle to win $100,000. Amongst Robbie, Sergei, and Renee, Mike picked Robbie, and other contestants called it an easy move as the latter could be defeated "easily."

Mike's four-course food impressed his old Pressure Cooker peers, who were supposed to vote for the winner but were eliminated from the show. However, the contestants felt that Robbie grew a lot on the show and that he deserved to win.

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Meet Robbie Jester: The winner of Pressure Cooker season 1

Chef Robbie Jester began cooking at the age of 12 at his family restaurant. After graduating from high school, Jester joined the Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated with honors. He later started working at his family restaurant as the Chef de Cuisine, while working at Hotel du Pont and the DuPont Country Club.

He joined Toscana Kitchen and Bar as a sous chef in 2008 and was quickly promoted to executive chef. After working in the restaurant for 5 years, chef Robbie left the restaurant for 16 Mile Taphouse and reinvented the same at the Stone Balloon Ale House restaurant.

He has featured in Delaware Today Magazine and was named one of the “Best Chefs of America” from 2012 to 2014. He has prepared food for the Queen of Sweden and President Joe Biden. He has featured in Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games and Beat Bobby Flay.

Robbie is also a private chef and fans can book him for any event using his personal website.

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What happened on the Pressure Cooker season 1 finale?

In the Pressure Cooker season 1 finale, chef Robbie was seen getting nervous about not being picked up by chef Mike and was extremely happy to find another chance to prove himself. He wanted chef Lana to be his helper in meal prep but later gave her to Mike, who also wanted her help, to thank him.

Robbie later chose Ed to help him. In their given time, Robbie was not satisfied with his langoustine consistency and replaced it with shrimp very quickly. The two finalists were supposed to be judged on technique, creativity, and growth. The four-course meal he offered to the former contestants included:

• Prawn Lejon With Crispy Pork Belly Glazed With Maple Mustard
• Mom’s Pasta Bolognese And Garlic Bread
• Jiggery-Crusted Bison Tenderloin With Grilled Mushrooms, Pomme Frite And Truffle Demi-Glace
• Panna Cotta With Strawberry Rhubarb Gel And Brown Brittle

Robbie's peers were not pleased with his third meal and felt that it needed a lot of salt, which was lost in the soul. However, chef Mike's third course meal was also burnt and it gave an edge to chef Robbie.

All episodes of Pressure Cooker season 1 are now available on Netflix.