Top Chef is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry, with one or more contestants eliminated in each episode. The show is produced by Magical Elves Productions, the company that created Project Runway.
Top Chef: San Francisco, originally broadcast simply as Top Chef, is the first season of the American reality television series Top Chef. It was first filmed in San Francisco, California, before concluding in Las Vegas, Nevada. The season premiered on March 8, 2006, and ended on May 24, 2006. The show featured chefs from around the United States living together in one house and competing in a series of culinary challenges. The prizes for the winner of the competition included a feature in Food & Wine Magazine, a showcase at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, a Kenmore Elite kitchen set, and US$100,000. The series was hosted by Katie Lee Joel, in her only season as host, and judged by chef Tom Colicchio and food writer Gail Simmons. In the season finale, Harold Dieterle was declared the winner over runner-up Tiffani Faison.
Top Chef: Los Angeles is the second season of the American reality television series Top Chef. It was first filmed in Los Angeles, before concluding in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii. The season premiered on October 18, 2006, and ended on January 31, 2007. Padma Lakshmi replaced Katie Lee Joel as the host, with Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons returning as judges. The winning recipe from each week's episode was featured on Bravo's Top Chef website and prepared by Season 1 contestant Lee Anne Wong in a web video called The Wong Way to Cook. Bravo cited negative viewer reaction to the Season 2 chefs' attitudes and overall behavior as the reason why no reunion episode was filmed. In the season finale, Ilan Hall was declared the winner over runner-up Marcel Vigneron. Sam Talbot was voted Fan Favorite.
Gail Simmons is a Canadian food writer and cookbook author. She has served as a permanent judge on Bravo's Emmy-winning series Top Chef since the show's inception in 2006. Simmons was previously the head critic on Top Chef Duels and host of Top Chef: Just Desserts, Bravo's pastry-focused spin-off of the Top Chef franchise. She was also the co-host of The Feed, which aired in 2014 on FYI, A+E's new lifestyle network. In addition to her work on Top Chef, Gail makes frequent television appearances on NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America, among others. She has been featured in such publications as New York magazine, Travel + Leisure, GQ, People, Los Angeles Times, and more.
Top Chef: Miami is the third season of the American reality television series Top Chef. It was first filmed in Miami, Florida, before concluding in Aspen, Colorado. The season was Emmy nominated for Outstanding Reality Competition Series, and garnered the Emmy Award for Best Editing in the category. Season 3 premiered on June 13, 2007 and ended on October 10, 2007. Padma Lakshmi returned with Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, and new judge Ted Allen, who switched off with Simmons throughout the season. Top Chef: San Francisco contestant Lee Anne Wong was brought in as a food consultant and assisted in planning the challenges. Production took place in April and May 2007 in Miami Beach, Florida, with production activity centered at the Fontainebleau Hotel. The winning recipe from each week's episode of Season 3 was featured on Bravo's Top Chef website and prepared by Lee Anne Wong in a web series called The Wong Way to Cook. In the season finale, Hung Huynh was declared the winner over runners-up Dale Levitski and Casey Thompson. Thompson was voted Fan Favorite.
MasterChef Australia is an Australian competitive cooking reality show based on the original British MasterChef. It is produced by Endemol Shine Australia and screens on Network 10. Restaurateur and chef Gary Mehigan, chef George Calombaris and food critic Matt Preston served as the show's main judges until 2019, when they were replaced by Series 4 winner and chef Andy Allen, food critic Melissa Leong, and restaurateur and chef Jock Zonfrillo.
Chopped is an American reality-based cooking television game show series created by Michael Krupat, Dave Noll and Linda Lea. It is hosted by Ted Allen. The series pits four chefs against each other as they compete for a chance to win $10,000. The series debuted in 2009, and episodes air every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on Food Network.
Top Chef: Just Desserts is an American reality competition show, spun off from Top Chef. It premiered on the cable television network Bravo on September 15, 2010. Top Chef: Just Desserts features pastry chefs competing in a series of culinary challenges, focusing on pastries and desserts. The show is produced by Magical Elves Productions, the same company that created Top Chef and Project Runway, and distributed by Bravo and Tiger Aspect USA. It is hosted by Gail Simmons, with head judge Johnny Iuzzini, head pastry chef at Jean-Georges. Other judges include Hubert Keller, owner of restaurant Fleur de Lys and a Top Chef Masters finalist, and Dannielle Kyrillos, "an entertaining expert and editor-at-large of DailyCandy".
Top Chef Canada is a Canadian reality competition television series. The show premiered on April 11, 2011, on Food Network Canada. The first season consisted of 13 episodes, with 16 contestants vying for a grand prize of $100,000 and a GE Monogram kitchen valued at $30,000. Like the original American series, each week the chef contestants compete against each other in culinary challenges. Contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry, with one or more contestants being eliminated each week. The Canadian edition uses the same graphics and music as the American version of the program.
Top Chef: Seattle is the tenth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The season premiered on November 7, 2012. The competition was initially filmed in Seattle, Washington before moving to Juneau, Alaska for three episodes, and then concluding in Los Angeles, California. Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen, the web series introduced in the previous season which puts the eliminated contestants against each other in head-to-head challenges to battle for a chance to re-enter the main competition, also returned. The winner continued to compete in the season finale. In addition, viewers could vote each week for chefs eliminated from the Last Chance Kitchen to move on in the "Save a Chef" competition. The winner of the final vote was "saved", and earned a spot in the final round of the Last Chance Kitchen. In the season finale, Kristen Kish was declared the winner over runner-up Brooke Williamson. Sheldon Simeon was voted Fan Favorite.
Top Chef: New Orleans is the eleventh season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The season was announced on May 10, 2013. Filming took place from early May through late July, beginning in New Orleans, Louisiana and concluding in Maui. The season premiered on October 2, 2013. State and local tourism offices in Louisiana sponsored the season, paying a total of $375,000. The state contribution came from a recovery fund established by BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In addition to the return of the Last Chance Kitchen, Bravo launched a new web series called Padma's Picks. Debuting on August 14, 2013, the competition, presided over by host Padma Lakshmi, featured ten New Orleans chefs competing for the chance to join the official lineup of contestants and represent the city.
Top Chef Duels is an American reality competition series that premiered on August 6, 2014, on Bravo. The culinary show is one of the several spin-off series of the popular cooking competition show Top Chef aired on the same network. Announced in January 2014 as Top Chef Extreme, the series features eighteen contestants who have previously competed in Top Chef and Top Chef Masters. During each episode, two of the contestants face each other in various culinary tasks. The winner is picked at the end of an episode to compete in the championship finale. The series is hosted by Curtis Stone. Besides hosting, Stone is also a judge together with Gail Simmons, while Wolfgang Puck, Hugh Acheson and other celebrity guest judges make numerous appearances throughout the series.
Top Chef: California is the thirteenth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The season was announced by Bravo on April 14, 2015. Similar to Top Chef: Texas, filming took place in several locations across California, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Oakland, and the greater Palm Springs area, concluding with a finale in Las Vegas, Nevada. Top Chef: California had a two-night premiere on December 2–3, 2015. Host Padma Lakshmi and head judge Tom Colicchio returned, alongside judges Gail Simmons, Emeril Lagasse, and Richard Blais, among others. The companion web series, Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen, also returned, premiering immediately following the second part of the season premiere on December 3, 2015. In the season finale, Jeremy Ford was declared the winner over runner-up Amar Santana. Isaac Toups was voted Fan Favorite.
Top Chef: Charleston is the fourteenth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The season was announced by Bravo on October 13, 2016, which premiered on December 1, 2016, and concluded on March 2, 2017. Filming initially took place in Charleston, South Carolina, beginning in May 2016, while the season's final episodes were filmed in areas across Mexico, including Guadalajara and the Yucatán Peninsula. Top Chef: Charleston featured eight new contestants competing against eight returning contestants from previous seasons. MasterChef and Top Chef Masters alumnus Graham Elliot debuted as a recurring judge, alongside returning judges Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons. In the season finale, Top Chef: Seattle runner-up Brooke Williamson was declared the winner over Top Chef: New Orleans finalist Shirley Chung. Top Chef: Seattle finalist Sheldon Simeon was voted Fan Favorite, his second Fan Favorite win.
Top Chef: Kentucky is the sixteenth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. Initial details about the season and its cast were revealed on October 18, 2018. The competition was filmed at various locations in Kentucky, including Louisville, Lexington, and Lake Cumberland. The season finale took place in Macau. Padma Lakshmi returned as host, with Tom Colicchio, Graham Elliot, and Nilou Motamed forming the judging panel. Due to being on maternity leave for the majority of filming, Top Chef regular Gail Simmons did not appear as one of the main judges for the season. Top Chef: Kentucky premiered on December 6, 2018, and concluded on March 14, 2019. In the season finale, Kelsey Barnard Clark was declared the winner over runner-up Sara Bradley. Barnard Clark was also voted Fan Favorite.
Top Chef: Portland is the eighteenth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. It was first announced by Bravo on September 28, 2020. The season was filmed in Portland, Oregon, and surrounding areas, including the Hood River Fruit Loop, Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood, Tillamook Bay, Tualatin Valley, and Willamette Valley wine country. The winner received US$250,000.
Top Chef Family Style is an American reality television series and a spin-off of Bravo's Top Chef series. The show features young chefs teaming up with adult family members to compete in culinary challenges for a US$100,000 prize. The series was ordered in May 2021 by streaming service Peacock. It is hosted by Meghan Trainor with Marcus Samuelsson serving as head judge. The series premiered on September 9, 2021, and concluded on December 2, 2021. In the season finale, niece and uncle Delilah and Daniel "Danny" Flores were declared the winners, with daughter and mother Anika and Anupama "Anu" Kumar placing as runners-up. In 2022, the second episode "Truffles, Caviar & Prawns -- Oh My!" received the James Beard Foundation Award for Reality or Competition Visual Media.
Top Chef: Houston is the nineteenth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. It was first announced by Bravo and NBCUniversal on September 21, 2021. The competition was filmed in Houston, Texas, which was not featured during the series' previous Texas-themed season, and Galveston Island. The season finale took place in Tucson, Arizona. The winner received US$250,000.
Top Chef: World All-Stars is the twentieth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. Initial details about the season were released by Bravo and NBCUniversal on August 1, 2022, with filming beginning the same month. The majority of the competition was shot in London, with the season finale set in Paris, marking the first time the show had been filmed entirely abroad. The cast included past contestants from several international editions of Top Chef. Throughout the season, Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons were joined by judges from the international editions, in addition to global culinary experts. This is the last season to feature Lakshmi as host. The winner received US$250,000.
Top Chef: Wisconsin is the twenty-first season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The season was filmed in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, marking the series' first return to the Midwestern United States since Top Chef: Chicago. The season finale was filmed aboard the MS Eurodam in the Caribbean, with a stop in Curaçao. Top Chef: Seattle winner Kristen Kish replaces Padma Lakshmi as host, following Lakshmi's departure from the show after the previous season. A new digital aftershow, titled The Dish with Kish, debuted alongside the returning Last Chance Kitchen web series.
