Top Chef in the Media

[tv echo]

Here's What 'Top Chef' Is Really Like, According To Judge Gail Simmons
By Megan Schaltegger   Apr 21, 2025
https://www.delish.com/food-news/a64514759/what-top-chef-is-really-like-judge-gail-simmons-interview/ 

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"If we’re talking about an elimination challenge, the show takes about two to three days to shoot each episode. So the first day is a quick-fire challenge in the studio, and then the reveal and the elimination challenge will be that day," she explains. "The chefs usually go and shop for their challenge and then come back and have some sort of prep and cook time in the kitchen."

"They are about 12-hour days, in general," Simmons continues. "About three hours before we start shooting, I start hair and makeup. Sometimes I start on set; sometimes I start on location; sometimes I start in my hotel room. Everything is subject to our location and specific challenges that day."
*  *  *
While the final judge's table cut for the show usually runs about 12 minutes, the actual process is much longer—something Simmons doesn't think "most people realize."

"At the end of the day when we wrap our challenge, we usually get a bit of a break while our entire crew moves back to the stage, resets for Judge's table, and we discuss the dishe and speak to the chefs," she explains. "We debate who should win, who should be eliminated, and then we eliminate someone. That process, in general, takes about three to four hours."
*  *  *
Until the series wraps, the judges and contestants don't interact outside of providing on-screen feedback. "I have no relationship with [them]," Simmons says. "While we're shooting and even until we finish airing the show, I really stay away from them. We don't go anywhere near them in the production process, and they keep us completely separate."

"They have, you know, guardians and supervising producers with them at all times," she adds. "So it's not like we can all just hang out when the cameras are down. We don't really talk to each other. We don't even really look at each other unless we're on camera. I don't want to get to know them. I mean, that's, like, literally the point of the game—that it's fair and objective, right?"
*  *  *
While Simmons says it's impossible to stay in touch with every single former contestant ("There are hundreds of them," she explains), she is in touch with at least two or three from every season. "Sometimes the winners, sometimes not," she says. "I adore so many of them. I'm so, so proud of so many of them, and I see them at events. I go to their restaurants. If I'm traveling, I visit them when I can because eating in our kitchen on Top Chef is not the same as finally visiting them in on their turf.

Edited April 22 by tv echo

[ProudMary]

6 hours ago, tv echo said:

While the final judge's table cut for the show usually runs about 12 minutes, the actual process is much longer—something Simmons doesn't think "most people realize."

We sure haven't been getting a 12 minute Judges' Table this season! That's been one of my biggest disappointments.

[tv echo]

Top Chef Recap: Pizza Pity Party
By Caroline Framke   Apr 24, 2025
https://www.vulture.com/article/top-chef-recap-season-22-episode-7-you-wanna-pizza-me.html 

'Top Chef' Season 22 recap: Canada's history as the birthplace of Hawaiian pizza
Does pineapple belong on pizza? The "Top Chef" competitor discuss
Elisabetta Bianchini    April 25, 2025
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/top-chef-season-22-recap-canadas-history-as-the-birthplace-of-hawaiian-pizza-100013699.html 

[tv echo]

“Top Chef” judges spill what they really think about Season 22 in Canada… [VIDEO]
NBC California Live    April 25, 2025
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/california-live/top-chef-judges-spill-what-they-really-think-about-season-22-in-canada/3687067/ 
 

When Kristen Kish, ‘Top Chef’ Host, Hits the Mute Button
By Leigh-Ann Jackson   April 26, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/arts/television/kristen-kish-top-chef-memoir.html 

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In her new memoir, “Accidentally on Purpose,” Kristen Kish reflects on her childhood as a Korean adoptee in Michigan, coming out as gay in her late 20s, winning Season 10 of “Top Chef” and struggling with anxiety.
*  *  *
Kish, 41, in her book recounts an upbringing filled with meatloaf, casseroles and Sunkist candies. Such down-to-earth predilections have stuck with her despite her upscale culinary career.
*  *  *
In a phone interview last month, the globe-trotting restaurateur shared her favorite travel snacks, how she keeps in touch with her parents and the thing you’ll probably see her doing while she’s cooking. These are edited excerpts.
*  *  *
Black Baseball Caps
I always travel with a backward flat brim and a forward dad hat. I’ll wear one and have another hanging off my backpack. The backward hat’s for walking around. The forward hat’s for airplanes and cars (I can’t lean back with the backward). It’s purely mental stability, like a security blanket.

Mute Button
You know when you’re watching something and all of a sudden you’re like, “Oh my God, the noise is just too much”? I will sit there and mute the TV and keep watching it. It’s not that I need 10 minutes of quiet, I just need a few seconds of relief. I also definitely mute during commercials.
*  *  *
Deep Pockets
A lot of women’s pants have little pockets that go down maybe three inches. I need them to touch my thigh. Because I’m not a purse kind of person, I like to fit my wallet, keys and mints all in my pocket if I can. I have a stylist for any clothes that I wear in public or on television. When fending for myself, I’m going to wear pants that are two times too big, comfortable and with deep pockets. Lululemon dance studio relaxed fit mid-rise cargo pants are so comfortable. Not only do they have deep pockets, they also have cargo and back pockets.

Edited April 26 by tv echo

[tv echo]

‘Top Chef’ Judges Give Their Honest Opinion of ‘The Bear’ | E! News
E! News   May 1, 2025

[tv echo]

Time for Restaurant Wars! Who Went Home on 'Top Chef' Tonight?
Andrea Reiher   May 1, 2025
https://parade.com/news/top-chef-season-22-episode-8-elimination-restaurant-wars 

'Top Chef' stars face 'make or break moment' with Restaurant Wars, but personal loss left judges in tears
Elisabetta Bianchini   May 2, 2025
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/top-chef-stars-face-make-or-break-moment-with-restaurant-wars-but-personal-loss-left-judges-in-tears-100056620.html 

[caitmcg]

The headline on this Variety interview (‘Top Chef’ Judges Unpack the Surprisingly Political ‘Destination Canada’...) only reflects a little bit of the subject matter.

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Ahead of the always-pivotal gauntlet of Restaurant Wars, after which the production will leave its home base of Toronto for other locales across Canada, Simmons, Kish and head judge Tom Colicchio sat down with Variety. The wide-ranging conversation touched on the brewing trade war, why not all great chefs make for great “Top Chef” contestants and how tariffs threaten a restaurant industry already left vulnerable by the pandemic.

 

[caitmcg]

From Eater: What It’s Really Like to Be a Restaurant Wars Diner on ‘Top Chef’

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I love Restaurant Wars because it feels like the show’s fairest test of skill. The episode forces teams of chef contestants to conceptualize and construct a restaurant in 24 hours — then actually serve the dining public. It compels chefs who have been fending for themselves to collaborate, with the potential for clashing egos. Crucially, it is also the challenge that most closely maps onto the contestants’ day-to-day jobs. A Finish-themed challenge is fantasy dreamed up in a sales meeting; Restaurant Wars is the closest thing to real life.

...

Being a Restaurant Wars diner involves a lot of waiting.

...

But while I’d previously — and now, I realize naively — assumed that the judges were offering earnest assessments, after this experience, I realize that they might have been hamming it up as much as Piedimonte during dinner. For television, it’s entirely on the judges to convey the quality of the food for diners who will never eat it — not just through words but also facial reactions. The dial on “praise” has to be turned up to prove to viewers that something was good. There’s likely some level of exaggeration to help tell the story.

...

I recognize now that I was bringing real restaurant expectations to the fake restaurant. In truth, everyone on the production end realizes that Restaurant Wars is its own weird world. “We’re not judging [that collard green dish] against every collard greens I have had in my life,” Colicchio tells me in an interview after shooting has ended. “I’m judging against the other team. It’s all on a scale.” Only when the competition is really close do they get to minutiae.

While watching the episode, I realize that I’d filtered my experience through the distorting lens of reality TV. I assumed a chaotic kitchen, an unclear leader. To an extent that was true, but ultimately, I expected interpersonal drama, because conflict is the Bravo way. Real life is nowhere near as heightened. The food is good, but it’s not necessarily memorable outside of the experience. People are tested by conflict, but they’re not all colluding against each other. If anything, the visit solidifies to me that Restaurant Wars is a true test of skill: It’s an unglamorous experience for all parties involved.

 

[tv echo]

6 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Top Chef’ Restaurant Wars
by Stephanie Wu, Editor-In-Chief    May 5, 2025
https://www.eater.com/24422439/top-chef-restaurant-wars-behind-the-scenes 

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... When it was our turn to enter the restaurant, it truly felt like what I’ve watched on TV — checking in at the host stand, seeing the judges eating but noticing the other tables lacking food, and the slightly frazzled servers trying to figure everything out. We sat down at 5:35 p.m., were told that they were running low on wine, and our first dish came out just after 6. The meal unfolded quickly from there, and my tablemates and I had a blast pretending we were judges and speaking into the centerpiece as if there was a hidden mic inside.
*  *  *
After watching the episode, I felt validated at how much my thoughts lined up with the judges’ opinions — I too thought that the desserts at Phlora + Phauna outshined the savory courses. The judges were much more effusive in their praise, either because they are used to removing some of the typical biases when it comes to judging the contestants’ food, or because a tad more care was given to their dishes.
*  *  *
Given the needs of preparing everything not just for actual diners but also for television production, it’s hard to keep dishes at their intended temperature. This can, however, make it difficult to properly judge some dishes, such as Lana’s trout with pot likker consomme, where the tableside-poured broth was served at an odd room temperature.
*  *  *
Perhaps naturally when trying to feed 100 diners, the chefs doled out pretty small portions. I was surprised that our Pithivier (an enclosed pie) was served cut in half, and thought that perhaps they were running out of food toward the end. When the episode aired, I was surprised to see the judges got the same half-portion. Despite the three-course meal, we needed to hit up a local restaurant for a proper dinner after the fact.

1. Diners aren’t necessarily eating at dinner time.
2. Judges are told not to spend too much time on temperature.
3. Don’t expect a full meal.
4. The judges got a 15-minute break between meals.
5. The chefs came out to mingle with guests after service.
6. You never know what’s going on in the kitchen.

Edited May 6 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Padma's new cooking competition show, America's Culinary Cup, premieres next spring on CBS (on Wednesdays)...

CBS Fall Schedule: All-NCIS Tuesdays, FBI on Move, Boston Blue Cops Familiar Slot; Yellowstone Spinoff at Midseason
By Ryan Schwartz   May 7, 2025
https://tvline.com/news/cbs-fall-schedule-2025-lineup-ncis-tuesdays-blue-bloods-spinoff-1235446044/ 

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WEDNESDAY (SPRING)
8 pm Survivor 50
9:30 pm AMERICA’S CULINARY CUP
10:30 pm Hollywood Squares

2025-26 TV Preview: Every New Comedy, Drama and Unscripted Show
By Vlada Gelman   May 7, 2025
https://tvline.com/lists/fall-new-tv-shows-preview-photos-2025/911-nashville-abc/ 

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America’s Culinary Cup, CBS
...
PREMIERE DATE: Midseason

TIME SLOT: Wednesdays at 9:30/8:30c

WHO: Host Padma Lakshmi

WHAT: A new cooking competition series featuring a cast of the nation’s most decorated chefs as they embark on a one-of-a-kind, high-stakes competition designed to challenge their creativity, endurance, presentation, leadership and more.

Edited May 8 by tv echo

[buttersister]

Super happy to share this from the amazing Shirley  Chung.

Great news!

[tv echo]

‘Top Chef’ Has ‘Honed in’ on What Makes It an Enduring Success, According to Its Judges
IndieWire visited the Canadian set of the show to speak to the judges about some changes they see as improvements to the Emmy-winning reality competition series.
By Marcus Jones   May 9, 2025
https://www.indiewire.com/awards/consider-this/top-chef-destination-canada-judges-interview-set-visit-1235122063/ 

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Regardless of all the elements that factor into the challenge, he [Colicchio] emphatically said, “Who goes home is the person who makes the worst dish, period.”

Simmons dove deeper into the nuances of how the show determines winners. “There’s both elements: You have to be a great cook and you have to be entertaining. You have to be a good storyteller, but really you have to understand how to stay in the game. … Our show is not about strategy and allegiance,” she explained.  “Our show’s always been reflective of the world. We’ve proven that a million times over, every challenge references the reality of working as a professional chef, especially if you look at the seasons we did in the pandemic and how we really address real life chef challenges head on.”

She continued, “Some of the challenges we do with our chefs may seem silly, ‘Why are you cooking on a boat?’ Or whatever. But really, everything takes the skill of being a cook and the idea that you go into your kitchen in the morning and your deliveries aren’t there, and your sous chef calls in sick and you have to cater a dinner for 400 people that night, and that’s how cooking works. It’s sort of a free-for-all, and you have to think on your feet and you have to be spontaneous. You have to understand your foundation, and you need to know good technique, and you need to be confident, and you need to stand by your food, and you need to show your voice, and all those things play into what being a chef is about.” 
*  *  *
Simmons specified that the show is about being both a great cook and a great chef, which are two different things. “It’s about really being a leader. And I think that the show really reflects that because it is about professionals. It’s not an amateur show about wanting to know how to cook. It’s a show about cooks who would be doing this anyway, always because it’s their lifelong calling,” she said. “It really takes skill and professionalism. And ultimately the hardest part about ‘Top Chef’ is that working as a cook in the real world is about teams. It’s about working as a team. So it’s a very hard instinct to fight when you’re a cook, to come here and all of a sudden be self-serving because you’re so used to being a team player. But that also is understanding that balance of when it’s about me and the competition and when it’s about being a leader. And I think that we are able to integrate that into the show so well. And that’s who often rises to the top.”
*  *  *
The show slightly shifting away from its reality roots is a bit reflective of recent changes in the restaurant industry, where a chef’s food is represented as being so much more personal to them. “Just by nature of where our industry has gone, it’s about storytelling and going to the roots that you want to go to, to differentiate yourself in this industry, and that is food you cook,” said Kish. “It’s just honed in more. It’s kept up with the times, the natural evolution. I’d be scared shitless if it was still like Season 1.”

‘Top Chef’s’ Kristen Kish doesn’t hesitate to talk about kitchen sexism in her new memoir
By Laurie Ochoa   May 10, 2025
https://www.latimes.com/food/newsletter/2025-05-10/top-chef-host-kristen-kish-on-kitchen-sexism-tom-coliccho-on 

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So I took notice when Kish, in her new memoir “Accidentally On Purpose,” devoted the better part of a chapter to the disrespect she received in a male-dominated kitchen after she won Season 10 of “Top Chef” in 2013. It was so bad that less than a year after attaining what she’d thought of as her dream job — chef de cuisine at a fine-dining destination restaurant, Boston’s now-closed Menton — she quit.
*  *  *
The irony is that Menton, Boston’s first Relais & Châteaux restaurant, was a woman-owned restaurant. It was one of several businesses overseen by the hospitality company founded by Barbara Lynch, who was forced to close all of her restaurants last year because of a number of factors, including the fallout from a 2023 investigation of workplace abuse by New York Times reporter Julia Moskin.

In her book, Kish does not question any of the accounts of employees who shared their stories with Moskin and others in the press about their boss (the incidents detailed appear to have happened after Kish left the company in 2014). Still, she views Lynch as a supportive mentor who gave her credit for dishes she created and was the one to suggest her as a contestant to “Top Chef’s” producers. Instead, Kish blames her issues in Menton’s kitchen on the ungenerous attitudes of her male colleagues (while emphasizing that she has “worked with many wonderful men over the years”) and on a corporate decision to give her the top job at Menton without the power to make menu changes and subjecting her to a “training period.”

“Barbara, along with the company’s director of operations and its wine director — both of whom were women — were pulling for me to have the job” after “Top Chef,” she wrote in the book. “But there were also two men in the upper echelon of the organization who were not in agreement and didn’t buy that I was ready for it.”

The experience was the opposite of what Kish had experienced at another of Lynch’s restaurants, the 10-seat Stir, where the menu changed nightly with the seasons and the chefs cooked as they talked and joked with customers across the counter — great training for her “Top Chef” run.

Yet at Menton, without the full support of the company, “the team, mostly men,” Kish writes, felt free to be “recalcitrant at best and more often perniciously undermining. ... Sometimes I was disregarded or ignored. ... Later, on my rare days off or when I was traveling ... they were changing dishes without my knowledge. ... It was a sort of psychological warfare for which I wasn’t prepared. Not a single cell in my body wanted to engage in this kind of ... conflict.”
*  *  * 
Of course, Kish’s story has a happy ending. Leaving Menton could have ended her career as a chef since she was getting so many offers to appear on television (“Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend,” “Fast Foodies” and “Restaurants at the End of the World”), something she is very good at. But she now oversees the restaurant Arlo Grey by Kristen Kish in Austin, while balancing life with her wife, Bianca Dusic, and hosting duties on Bravo’s “Top Chef.”

Edited May 10 by tv echo

[caitmcg]

7 hours ago, tv echo said:

Top Chef’ Has ‘Honed in’ on What Makes It an Enduring Success, According to Its Judges

Make that Homed in. 🙄

[kirklandia]

Honed in on is perfectly acceptable usage. Slightly different meaning than home in.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/home-in-or-hone-in

 

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, kirklandia said:

Honed in on is perfectly acceptable usage. Slightly different meaning than home in.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/home-in-or-hone-in

 

This copy editor would have changed it. Yeah, "hone in" is common, but as the MW link says, "'home in' does a better job of hitting the mark." YMMV.

[dleighg]

I gave them (probably unearned) the benefit of the doubt that the word "hone" was used as a nod toward sharpening knives. Slightly punny.

[tv echo]

I Was a Diner on Top Chef’s Iconic Restaurant Wars Episode. Here’s What It Was Like
Eva Morreale    May 13, 2025
https://www.fodors.com/news/restaurants/what-its-like-to-be-a-guest-diner-on-top-chefs-restaurant-wars 

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Media was split in two–half of us ate at Phlora and Phauna, a veggie-driven concept, while the others were seated at Nonna Pipón, pitched to us as a “grandma chic” family-style experience that balanced Latin and Italian flavors.
*  *  *
As a viewer of the series, filming a Top Chef episode feels especially enthralling because of the obvious–finally getting to eat the actual food being served. Tops for me at Nonna Pipón included the arancini, a bold but successful blend of aggressive flavors (chorizo and tuna), and the braised beef cheek with polenta and shaved ricotta salata, a delicious and unexpected addition that I will be attempting at home. Sadly, we didn’t get to try both restaurants, but even after comparing notes after the fact, it seemed Phlora and Phauna took home the win.
*  *  *
The episode’s edit aligned pretty much with how our dining experience played out. Phlora and Phauna did win. The newbie servers seemed stressed and confused. Our side’s FOH, Shuai, fluttered around the dining room anxiously. Our concerns and critiques about our dishes were flaws that the judges ended up picking apart, too. See a chunky romesco sauce and sad, too-crunchy churros. None of us were mic’d, but a stealth faux flower pot in the middle of our table played surrogate. Weirdly, even amongst the chaos, it was easy to relax and enjoy the meal as I would at any other restaurant. Maybe it was my Pollyanna attitude about the entire, in reality, bizarre situation, or maybe the illusion (and food) were just that good.

When I popped up on the episode, peevishly asking, “How many orders of this are we getting?”—prompting a narrative arc about serving sizes for Nonna Pipón’s family style concept–I squealed with equal parts delight and horror (I was shot on my bad side).
*  *  *
For starters, judges are just as aware of and baffled by the tropes of Restaurant Wars: “Why keep doing risotto? You don’t have to do it!” exclaims former contestant and current host, Kristen Kish, in a makeshift green room stationed somewhere behind Nonna Pipón for media interviews.

Tom Colicchio, consummate chef, goes on a tangent about how chefs ought to be executing Restaurant Wars, telling me that you know how many orders are going to be fired, just start firing and organizing them before your expo calls them out.
*  *  *
Another refreshing take came from judge and Toronto native Gail Simmons, who, alongside Kish and Colicchio, laid down the law for this season’s episode. No “globally-inspired cuisine” or restaurants named Pangea due to their mish-mosh of concepts. “[This time we] told them the type of concepts they weren’t allowed to do because there were certain patterns of concepts that chefs fall back on and they’re always opening this same type of restaurant.”

This led to better, more focused dishes, and an exciting and well-produced episode of television overall. She, too, is very familiar with the ol’ Restaurant Wars bingo, even remarking how it always comes down to FOH and The Exec Chef at Judges Table. Simmons also revealed that while grueling, Restaurant Wars is supposed to act as a way to “reinvigorate” the Cheftestants, getting them over the finish line and excited about the competition again at the midway point of the season.

Edited May 13 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Top Chef Recap: Les Quatre Saisons
By Caroline Framke  May 15, 2025
https://www.vulture.com/article/top-chef-recap-season-22-episode-10-from-dep-till-dawn.html 

'Top Chef' Season 22 Episode 10 Elimination Results: Who Was Sent Home This Week?
Andrea Reiher    May 15, 2025
https://parade.com/news/top-chef-season-22-episode-10-elimination-results-who-was-sent-home-this-week 

[tv echo]

'Top Chef' judges call out 'ridiculous' Quickfire Challenge that was maybe misplaced in the competition
Elisabetta Bianchini   May 16, 2025
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/top-chef-judges-call-out-ridiculous-quickfire-challenge-that-was-maybe-misplaced-in-the-competition-155510454.html 

Quote

While Top Chef contestants have impressive culinary skill and sophisticated palates, sometimes on the show they're put into outrageous cooking situations, which was very much the case in this week's Quickfire Challenge. In the dépanneur challenge, the chefs had to make a dish only using items from the Top Chef dépanneur, cooking exclusively with the electrical cooking equipment in the Top Chef pantry, and disposable utensils.

The challenge was inspired by Top Chef guest, comedian Punkie Johnson, who started cooking in her dressing room on set. But the judges were very aware of how "ridiculous" the challenge was.

"The thing I appreciated the most is that all the chefs leaned into the fun, what else are you supposed to do in a scenario like this? Make something that's edible, have a good time," Kristen Kish told Yahoo Canada on the set of Top Chef in Toronto last year. "And really, for the most part, it wasn't the best showing of all the food they made, sure, and I would hope it wouldn't be, ... but they all embraced it, and they all made something. ... Nothing was not edible."

"I'm not going to pretend that it wasn't ridiculous. ... But here's the thing, ... as a chef, we're used to eating late night, convenient style. So it might not be the food that we cook, but it's certainly something that we know what it tastes like. It's not like it was something off in a faraway land."
*  *  *
"This was a challenge we should have done earlier in the season," Colicchio said. "Especially at this point ... where we're factoring in Quickfire and Elimination challenges.

"This was a tough one for me. .. I think the challenges should be challenging, but we should always find an avenue where we're going to get a really good [food]. ... Some of these shows where it's like, you've got pasta ... and jelly beans, what does that do? No one would ever do that. ... But I think the biggest problem is they couldn't use a knife."

Edited May 19 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Top Chef Recap: The Meat Sweats
By Roxana Hadadi   May 22, 2025
https://www.vulture.com/article/top-chef-recap-season-22-episode-11-calgary-yahoo.html 

'Top Chef’ Eliminations: Who Got Eliminated on 5/22/2025
By Robin Reynolds   May 22, 2025
https://entertainmentnow.com/bravo/top-chef-2025-contestants-eliminated-tonight/ 

[Msample]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/top-chef-season-22-interview-tom-colicchio-gail-simmons-1236211714/

[ALittleShelfish]

4 hours ago, Msample said:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/top-chef-season-22-interview-tom-colicchio-gail-simmons-1236211714/

Thanks for sharing this - I know it's an older story but it was still a really interesting read for me!

[Msample]

It was nice to read they don’t require them to bunk together anymore.

[dleighg]

from that article:

 

Quote

COLICCHIO I’ve been trying for 10 seasons now to have the first episode to be a real mise en place challenge. You’d have 10 hours to make stuff for your own personal pantry — preserved lemons, roasted tomatoes, stocks, things like that. Then you’d get to use them throughout the season. And then if you lose, there’s a pantry raid and the winner of that challenge can actually take stuff out of your pantry. 

There was something sort of like that on a recent Food Network show I watched (Last Bite Hotel). They brought stuff from home, and when someone left there the others got their stuff one way or another.

[dleighg]

9 hours ago, Msample said:

It was nice to read they don’t require them to bunk together anymore.

it sounds like they may even be staying in separate hotel rooms: (or maybe that's what you meant)

Quote

And if you look at the edit, we spent a lot less time on reality now. [The chefs] don’t even live together anymore.

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Trailer for the next episode.  Moved to the Calgary thread. 

Edited May 25 by CrazyInAlabama

[tv echo]

'Top Chef' Season 22 Episode 12 Elimination Results: Who Was Sent Home This Week?
On 'Top Chef: Destination Canada,' the Top 5 became the Top 4 in Calgary, with one chef missing out on going to the finale in Milan, Italy.
Andrea Reiher   May 29, 2025
https://parade.com/news/top-chef-season-22-episode-12-elimination-results-who-was-sent-home-this-week 

Top Chef Recap: The Last Cut is the Deepest
By Caroline Framke   May 29, 2025
https://www.vulture.com/article/top-chef-recap-season-22-episode-12-foraged-in-fire.html 

'Top Chef': Big loss for Canadians just before the competition moves to Italy for the final
The chefs reached the last Canadian competition in the "Destination Canada" season of the show
Elisabetta Bianchini   May 30, 2025
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/top-chef-big-loss-for-canadians-just-before-the-competition-moves-to-italy-for-the-final-110420838.html 

Edited May 31 by tv echo

[tv echo]

The Top Chef Season 22 Finale Will Feature Olympic & Paralympic Athletes in a New Location
By Brad Witter   May 22, 2025
https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/top-chef-season-22-finale-location-air-date-prize-details 

Quote

The supersized, two-part Top Chef Season 22 finale premieres on Thursday, June 5 on Bravo and concludes on June 12.
*  *  *
Top Chef Season 22, Episode 13: "Viva Milano!" airs Thursday, June 5 from 9-10:15 p.m. ET/PT

Benvenuto a Milano! For the chefs' last Quickfire Challenge of the season, they're tasked with creating a classic Milanese dish and the most feared dish by many Top Chef contenders: risotto. Then the chefs compete in a three-part, head-to-head culinary battle while receiving some help from Olympic athletes Elana Meyers Taylor, Red Gerard, and Paralympic athletes Oksana Masters and Declan Farmer. Kristen, Tom, and Gail are joined at judges' table by Milanese chef Andrea Aprea and Top Chef: World All-Stars alum Ali Ghzawi. With four chefs remaining and only three spots in the finale, the stakes have never been higher.

Top Chef Season 22, Episode 14: "Finito" airs Thursday, June 12 from 9-10:15 p.m. ET/PT

For their last challenge of the season, the final three chefs must create the best progressive four-course meal of their lives. With the help of their sous chefs, the finalists must pull out all the stops to impress an esteemed table of diners, including chef Carlo Cracco and Top Chef alums Richard Blais and Gregory Gourdet. At the judges' table, Kristen, Tom, and Gail are joined by Hunter Lewis, Editor-In-Chief of Food & Wine magazine, and award-winning chef Clare Smyth to determine who will be named the next "Top Chef" and take home the largest prize package in show history.

Edited May 30 by tv echo

[ProudMary]

3 hours ago, tv echo said:

Kristen, Tom, and Gail are joined at judges' table by Milanese chef Andrea Aprea and Top Chef: World All-Stars alum Ali Ghzawi.

Ali! 🥳 I loved him so much during World All-Stars, and Amar was just talking about him on this week's The Dish With Kish. i can't wait to see him again.

[tv echo]

'Top Chef' Season 22 Finale Part 1 Elimination Results: Who Was Sent Home This Week?
On 'Top Chef: Destination Canada,' the Top 4 headed to Milan, Italy, where one chef was eliminated before the final meal.
Andrea Reiher   June 5, 2025
https://parade.com/news/top-chef-season-22-finale-part-1-elimination-results-who-was-sent-home-this-week 

[tv echo]

'Top Chef' tearful elimination in Milan determines the chefs moving on to the Season 22 finale
Elisabetta Bianchini   June 6, 2025 
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/top-chef-tearful-elimination-in-milan-determines-the-chefs-moving-on-to-the-season-22-finale-140153500.html 

[tv echo]

Kristen Kish dishes on Season 22 of ‘Top Chef,’ Emmys, and the show’s global impact: ‘It’s all driven by the fans’
Denton Davidson   June 6, 2025
https://www.goldderby.com/article/2025/kristen-kish-top-chef-interview/ 

Quote

Gold Derby: How was it filming Top Chef Season 22 in Canada?
Kristen Kish: I love filming up north. It's not a drastic departure from the U.S., but I got to use my passport. I love Canada — it doesn't feel that much different. Maybe a little more "Canadian nice," but other than that, it was very familiar.
*  *  *
How has being a former contestant shaped your approach to hosting?
It impacts how I communicate with the chefs, but each contestant experiences competition differently — some are excited, others nervous, or insecure. While I can relate to the enormity of the experience and the pressure, my background allows me to approach the chefs with a bit more compassion. I’ve stood where they are, waiting to hear whether my dish succeeded or failed.

What’s the hardest part of hosting?
Telling someone to "pack your knives." It's hard, especially when the chef knows they’ve made a mistake before deliberation even starts. That feeling of knowing you didn’t perform your best is tough — it’s not great to send someone home. But, even if a chef doesn’t win, there’s hope for success afterward. You just don’t know what opportunities await them.
*  *  *
What happens if a dish contains ingredients you dislike, such as smoked salmon or lamb—how do you judge those?
Personal taste doesn’t matter. Judging is based on technique: Is the dish seasoned properly? Is it cooked well? Are the proportions correct? Even if a dish contains something I don’t particularly enjoy, I eat it—and I can still appreciate the skill and execution behind it.
*  *  *
Do you have a favorite dish from your time as host?
Oh, yeah. César [Murillo]’s pickle tart from the "Pickle Me This" episode was outstanding. A close second would be Massimo [Piedimonte]’s winning dish from that challenge — it was incredible. Tristen [Epps] also made a mackerel dish with a burnt pickle situation, jus lié — it was amazing. All three of those dishes were absolutely outstanding.
*  *  *
What did you enjoy the most about this season of Top Chef?
This group of chefs is incredible. It's anyone's game. Each one had such strong, unique points of view in food. From César’s wacky concoctions to Tristen’s hot streak and Bailey [Sullivan]’s comforting Italian dishes. They were so consistent. It’s been an incredible season so far.

Why has Top Chef had such a lasting impact in the culinary world?
The show has integrity — it magnifies the beauty of the food industry without focusing on interpersonal drama. It challenges chefs in meaningful ways but mirrors real-life culinary situations. Then there’s the "Top Chef effect," where fans seek out chefs’ restaurants, and dining scenes transform practically overnight. It’s all driven by the fans and the community around the show.

Edited June 7 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Kristen Kish Looks Back on Her Time as a Top Chef Contestant Versus Being One of its Judges
Parade   Jun 4, 2025

[jpgr]

3 hours ago, tv echo said:

Kristen Kish Looks Back on Her Time as a Top Chef Contestant Versus Being One of its Judges
Parade   Jun 4, 2025

I just love her more and more!

[tv echo]

Who Won 'Top Chef' Season 22? Finale Part II Results
Who won 'Top Chef: Destination Canada' tonight between Tristen Epps, Bailey Sullivan and Shuai Wang?
Andrea Reiher   June 12, 2025
https://parade.com/news/who-won-top-chef-season-22-finale-part-ii-results

'Top Chef' Season 22 finale: Kristen Kish brought to tears as chefs present their final dishes in Italy
This chef was crowned the winner in Milan, Italy
Elisabetta Bianchini   June 13, 2025 
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/top-chef-season-22-finale-kristen-kish-brought-to-tears-as-chefs-present-their-final-dishes-in-italy-100016166.html

Top Chef’s Newest Champion Is Changing the Definition of New American Cuisine
By Hunter Lewis   June 12, 2025
https://www.foodandwine.com/top-chef-season-22-winner-11753977 

Edited June 13 by tv echo

[DEL901]

Kristin Kish is going on Traitors 4:  https://ew.com/the-traitors-season-4-cast-contestants-revealed-11754024

[caitmcg]

6 hours ago, tv echo said:

Top Chef’s Newest Champion Is Changing the Definition of New American Cuisine
By Hunter Lewis   June 12, 2025
https://www.foodandwine.com/top-chef-season-22-winner-11753977 

From the article:

Quote

For the judges at the table, including me, it was clear by the end of the meal that no matter how good Sullivan’s and Wang’s dishes were, and no matter how evident their talent, Epps was cooking and competing at a different level. His third course, an exceptional riff on oxtail Milanese, likely sealed his win. To make it Epps braised the oxtails, picked the tender meat from the bone, sauced it, and formed it into the shape of the traditional circular Milanese cut of ossobucco. He served the delicate, sticky oxtails over curry-spiced Carolina rice grits, conjuring flavors of West Africa, the Caribbean, and the American South while also paying homage to Milan. 

In my eight years of guest judging on Top Chef, I’ve tasted many exceptional dishes, including Melissa King’s plum sauce-lacquered quail and Buddha Lo’s blue lobster with squash and curry bisque. However, I can’t remember another dish that combined such skillful mastery of technique as Epps’, which layered flavor, texture, and storytelling. With the cameras and lights trained on him, he transformed humble oxtail and rice, symbolic foods of struggle and uplift, into a regal dish. 

 

[tv echo]

20 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Kristin Kish is going on Traitors 4:  https://ew.com/the-traitors-season-4-cast-contestants-revealed-11754024

Here's the video cast reveal - with Kristen Kish looking kinda tough and mysterious...

The Traitors US | Season 4 Cast Reveal | Peacock Original
Peacock   Jun 13, 2025

[tv echo]

Top Chef: Buddha Lo Recaps the ‘Meal of Your Life’ in Season Finale from Milan
By Buddha Lo   June 12, 2025
https://people.com/top-chef-buddha-lo-recaps-the-meal-of-your-life-in-season-finale-from-milan-11753750 

[Rai]

I am embarrassingly excited about Kristin being on Traitors. Although after watching that Parade video interview where they asked her if she'd ever consider other reality shows, say, maybe, a NON-food one, I immediately thought, "TRAITORS!" and I love being validated.

(Also, Monet X Change? YESSSSSS.)

[Vermicious Knid]

Shuai cooks for NPR

[jpgr]

Bailey talks about competing on Top Chef:

https://www.wttw.com/playlist/2025/06/13/top-chef-bailey-sullivan

 

[dleighg]

Lana got a spread in today's NY Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/dining/juneteenth.html?unlocked_article_code=1.P08.sckB.QUiafX3dV0HZ&smid=url-share

[tv echo]

‘Top Chef’ Legend Hospitalized, Undergoes Surgery
By Anna Rumer   June 20, 2025
https://popculture.com/celebrity/news/top-chef-legend-hospitalized-undergoes-surgery/ 

Quote

Top Chef‘s Tom Colicchio is recovering after undergoing shoulder surgery.

The award-winning chef and restaurateur took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a post-op photo of himself, lying in a hospital bed and wearing a shoulder sling.

“Good news is I’m in the best shape I have been in since my twenties, bad news s—t breaks down,” he wrote candidly in the caption, revealing that he had undergone an operation to relieve his “swimmer’s shoulder,” a broad name for several shoulder conditions including rotator cuff tendinitis, shoulder labrum injuries and shoulder impingement syndrome.

Colicchio continued, “One hour post op, feeling ok until the nerve block subsides.”

‘Mindhunter’ Rumors, ‘100 Foot Wave’ Season 3, and Gail Simmons on the ‘Top Chef’ Finale | The Watch
Ringer TV   Jun 19, 2025

Quote

... before Andy is joined by ‘Top Chef’ host Gail Simmons to talk about the finale of ‘Top Chef: Destination Canada’ and give some behind-the-scenes insights on this season (48:38).

Edited Friday at 12:42 PM by tv echo

[mlp]

5 hours ago, tv echo said:

Top Chef‘s Tom Colicchio is recovering after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Ew.  That's a tough surgery and the rehab afterwards is even worse.  Poor guy.  I hope he does well.

[tv echo]

Top Chef Winner Tristen Epps Says He’s Usually ‘Out For Blood’ but the Series Changed His ‘Competitive’ Personality (Exclusive)
By Sabrina Weiss and Emily Rella   June 20, 2025 
https://people.com/tristen-epps-spoke-about-top-chef-win-at-food-and-wine-classic-in-aspen-11758640 

Quote

The season 22 winner spoke to PEOPLE at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen on Friday, June 20, two weeks after the epic season finale aired.
*  *  *
Shockingly, despite the big prize at the end of the competition, Epps explained that he surprised himself with his lack of cutthroat competitiveness.

“How much you end up getting along with people was a really big surprise,” he said. “I'm competitive, I'm out for blood, I’m, really, really wanting to take people down. But in this case, every time someone did bad, I felt bad, and every time someone did good, I felt great. And you just kind of wanted everyone to win, and I wasn't expecting it to feel like that.”
*  *  *
Epps already has plans to turn the Top Chef title and prize money into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Houston down the line. But for now, Epps explained that he plans to “see what I can do to give back to people that look like me or people of different cultures who might be underserved in their community or underserved in their cuisine.”

‘Top Chef’ Winner Tristen Epps Says This Seasoning Is the ‘Lifeblood of Marinating Meat in the Caribbean’
By Merlyn Miller   June 21, 2025
https://www.foodandwine.com/what-is-green-seasoning-11758569 

Quote

As Epps began preparing his duck confit to create his own rendition of Trinidadian pelau, he tossed the shredded, tender meat with green seasoning, emphasizing that this ingredient is the “lifeblood of marinating meat in the Caribbean.”

Green seasoning is a blend of aromatics used throughout Caribbean cooking, although many regions and individuals may have their own variations of the exact recipe for preparing it. ....
*  *  *
For Epps, green seasoning includes “cilantro, parsley, or culantro, green onions, onion, garlic, ginger, thyme, pepper, and vinegar… and a good amount of salt.” It’s important to note that he’s referring to fresh thyme and a scotch bonnet pepper, and the Top Chef winner clarifies that he uses a neutral white vinegar for this aromatic mixture.

If it’s not clear from this list of ingredients, green seasoning is a bold, herby powerhouse of flavor. Epps explains that “We use that to marinate everything. Chicken, fish, oxtail, beef,” and his mother Patricia chimes in, emphasizing that “It just flavors any meat if you let it marinate.” However, green seasoning isn’t limited to just meat marinades; Epps adds that “We will also add it to rice…. It’s essentially sofrito.”

Edited 3 hours ago by tv echo