Six years ago Ryan Scanlon was a Vineyard teenager working summers at Alchemy restaurant in Edgartown.

Now the 23-year-old chef is appearing on national television as a contestant on Next Level Chef, one of the most watched cooking competitions, hosted by Gordon Ramsay.

In a recent episode, Mr. Scanlon tossed homemade ground veal ravioli in a searing hot pan. His eyes were laser focused on the stove as Mr. Ramsay yelled that there were four minutes left on the clock.

“Yes chef,” Mr. Scanlon replied as hot oil spattered his steady hands.

Program airs Thursday nights on Fox. — Courtesy Ryan Scanlon

The round’s theme was Italian cuisine, and Mr. Scanlon won immunity for what the judges described as an ambitious dish executed with an excellent flavor profile.

Although he couldn’t reveal how far he continues in the competition, Mr. Scanlon said he is extremly proud of what he accomplished on the show.

Mr. Scanlon began his culinary journey at the regional high school, taking a cooking elective while in school.

At Alchemy he first specialized in poultry.

“They called me Chicken Boy, because I did everything in that restaurant that had to do with chicken,” he said in an interview with the Gazette.

Mr. Scanlon worked at Alchemy for four years, learning to chop vegetables uniformly and plate food elegantly. When a pastry chef position opened he began perfecting desserts like yule log cakes and handmade strawberry ice cream. He even served former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama when they stopped by for dinner.

“I think I still have their [order] ticket from the printer machine saved in my old knife roll,” Mr. Scanlon said.

Michelle ordered fish and Barack opted for a filet, he recalled. Afterwards, the former president asked the kitchen staff who cooked his dish and Ryan stepped forward.

“He gave me a handshake and that very Obama [motivational] speech,” Mr. Scanlon said. “You know, ‘young man, I see that you have a lot of skill and passion. Keep doing what you’re doing....’”

Mr. Scanlon said his time at Alchemy was formative and inspired his future plans.

Christopher Stam, the executive chef and owner of Alchemy who also owns Wicked Burger in Edgartown, said when Mr. Scanlon first started it was clear he was new to the kitchen, but his eagerness to learn stood out.

“He was doing [tasks] with a certain level of energy and precision that you don’t really see in somebody with that level of experience,” Mr. Stam said. “It really just came down to his ability to focus and take care of the task at hand.”

Mr. Scanlon credits Mr. Stam for turning him into a chef.

“He was the foundation for me in the culinary world, because I didn’t come from a super foodie household,” Mr. Scanlon said.

As a teenager, Mr. Scanlon said he struggled in school while dealing with dyslexia, a common learning disability that makes it difficult to read and write. He recalled that most days he was sent to the front office for misbehaving and his grades suffered.

“I did not grow up with no silver spoon in my mouth,” Mr. Scanlon said in episode three of Next Level Chef. “I got in trouble a lot and didn’t really know what direction I wanted to go in life and the thing that really saved me was the kitchen.”

Growing up on the Island, Mr. Scanlon lived with his mom and sister. He said his upbringing was much different than people often imagine when they think of the Vineyard. His mom had to work a lot and didn’t have much time to cook.

“I didn’t grow up with this love for food, or this understanding for... how to cook,” he said.

But when he discovered his passion at Alchemy, he knew he wanted to make food his life’s work.

When he graduated from MVRHS in 2019, he went on to attend Boston University’s culinary program. He then moved to Los Angeles where he worked as a sous chef under the mentorship of executive chef Lucas Koehn. While there, he met his girlfriend Angelia Childers and the two moved back to Boston a few years later.

Ms. Childers was pregnant when Mr. Scanlon applied to be on Next Level Chef. He did not expect to hear anything back, but less than 24 hours later he received a message from the show’s casting agent.

They told him filming would start in January, but Mr. Scanlon’s baby was due that month. He was about to send an email declining their offer when he asked Ms. Childers to proofread the note. “She said ‘I don’t want you to have this feeling of what if for the rest of your life,’” he said.

With the blessing, Mr. Scanlon headed to Ireland for the competition just two weeks after his daughter Stasia was born. He said his daughter was his main motivation throughout the show.

“Having my baby [means] it’s more than just my mouth to feed,” Mr. Scanlon said on the show.

Mr. Scanlon is now back at home cooking for his 14-month old daughter and working in the kitchen at Pammy’s, a family-owned Italian restaurant in Cambridge. He is not allowed to say what happens in future episodes of the show, but he told the Gazette that he left it all on the table, and is a better chef because of it.

“From a personal standpoint, I’m extremely proud of what I did on that show,” he said.

Next Level Chef airs on Fox Thursdays from 8 to 9 p.m. Eastern. Viewers can also stream the show on Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Tubi.