Over two decades, Bravo’s Top Chef has introduced viewers to nearly 300 food luminaries — making and breaking careers with what the culinary community has come to regard as the most prestigious (or at least the most taxing) cooking competition.
THR spent months speaking with dozens of the executives, producers, talent and chefs who’ve worked on the show over its 20-season run, and the result is a definitive oral history of the landmark reality competition. Previously untold anecdotes about that frantic first season and early days of “too much” reality drama and testimonials of its reshaping of food media — “Food Network should be paying Bravo residuals!” — and incalculable impact on American dining tell the story of how Top Chef elevated itself from mere genre TV to become an institution.
“But You Can’T Taste The Food …”
Amid a flurry of mergers and acquisitions, Barry Diller’s Universal Television portfolio is...
THR spent months speaking with dozens of the executives, producers, talent and chefs who’ve worked on the show over its 20-season run, and the result is a definitive oral history of the landmark reality competition. Previously untold anecdotes about that frantic first season and early days of “too much” reality drama and testimonials of its reshaping of food media — “Food Network should be paying Bravo residuals!” — and incalculable impact on American dining tell the story of how Top Chef elevated itself from mere genre TV to become an institution.
“But You Can’T Taste The Food …”
Amid a flurry of mergers and acquisitions, Barry Diller’s Universal Television portfolio is...
- 5/18/2023
- by Mikey O'Connell
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On Thursday, March 8 the winner of “Top Chef” Season 15 will finally be crowned. Host Padma Lakshmi and judges Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and Graham Elliot have narrowed down the crop of chef-testants from 15 down to the Final 2: Adrienne Cheatham and Joseph Flamm. Who do You think will join the “Top Chef” winners list? Hurry — there’s still time to make your predictions before the winner is named next week.
Adrienne and Joseph have so far had vastly different journeys on “Top Chef: Colorado.” Adrienne started out the season from a position of weakness, being in the bottom for four of the first six episodes. Around the halfway mark of Season 15 Adrienne truly came alive, being in the top for three weeks and winning her first challenge in the loved ones episode. Joseph, of course, was eliminated in Episode 9 and sent to Last Chance Kitchen. That’s where he excelled against the other ousted chefs,...
Adrienne and Joseph have so far had vastly different journeys on “Top Chef: Colorado.” Adrienne started out the season from a position of weakness, being in the bottom for four of the first six episodes. Around the halfway mark of Season 15 Adrienne truly came alive, being in the top for three weeks and winning her first challenge in the loved ones episode. Joseph, of course, was eliminated in Episode 9 and sent to Last Chance Kitchen. That’s where he excelled against the other ousted chefs,...
- 3/3/2018
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
Since debuting in 2006, chefs of various experience levels, approaches to cooking and cuisine specialties have competed for the coveted and now revered title of “Top Chef.” Over the years Bravo’s Emmy-winning food series has made household names of hosts Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and Padma Lakshmi as well as taught viewers what an amuse bouche is, that complicated dishes can be cooked in 30 minutes or less and why desserts are most chefs’ Achilles heel. Click through our photo gallery above that highlights all of the past “Top Chef” winners, from Harold Dieterle to the most recent.
See ‘Top Chef’ 15 episode 9 recap: Was Adrienne Cheatham eliminated in sports-themed ‘Bronco Brouhaha’?
Two of the most notable former champions are Richard Blais and Brooke Williamson. Blais claimed the title during the All-Stars cycle back in 2011 while Williamson is the most recent addition to the winners list thanks to 2017’s season in Charleston.
See ‘Top Chef’ 15 episode 9 recap: Was Adrienne Cheatham eliminated in sports-themed ‘Bronco Brouhaha’?
Two of the most notable former champions are Richard Blais and Brooke Williamson. Blais claimed the title during the All-Stars cycle back in 2011 while Williamson is the most recent addition to the winners list thanks to 2017’s season in Charleston.
- 2/8/2018
- by John Benutty and Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
Since debuting in 2006, chefs of various experience levels, approaches to cooking and cuisine specialties have competed for the coveted and now revered title of “Top Chef.” Over the years Bravo’s Emmy-winning food series has made household names of hosts Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and Padma Lakshmi as well as taught viewers what an amuse bouche is, that complicated dishes can be cooked in 30 minutes or less and why desserts are most chefs’ Achilles heel. Click through our gallery above that highlights all of the past “Top Chef” winners, from Harold Dieterle to the most recent.
- 2/8/2018
- by Misty Holland, John Benutty and Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
Like a tasting menu of a dozen courses consisting solely of Big Macs, the first, and likely only, season of Feed the Beast has come to an end, leaving us feeling overstuffed and yet still not very satisfied.
On Feed the Beast Season 1 Episode 10, titled "Fire," everyone on the show finally realizes that they all know each other.
Because while the Hell's Kitchen of Marvel's Netflix shows is way larger (and more dangerous) than its real life counterpart, the Bronx of Feed the Beast is apparently home to only about a dozen people who all know each other but don't know they know each other. (Confused yet?)
Watch Feed the Beast Season 1 Episode 10 Online
First, Marisa tells Dion that Detective Giordano, the dirty cop who tried to coerce him into killing the Tooth Fairy, is her father. Or should I say, was, as the Tooth Fairy got to him first.
On Feed the Beast Season 1 Episode 10, titled "Fire," everyone on the show finally realizes that they all know each other.
Because while the Hell's Kitchen of Marvel's Netflix shows is way larger (and more dangerous) than its real life counterpart, the Bronx of Feed the Beast is apparently home to only about a dozen people who all know each other but don't know they know each other. (Confused yet?)
Watch Feed the Beast Season 1 Episode 10 Online
First, Marisa tells Dion that Detective Giordano, the dirty cop who tried to coerce him into killing the Tooth Fairy, is her father. Or should I say, was, as the Tooth Fairy got to him first.
- 8/3/2016
- by Lee Jutton
- TVfanatic
The newest season of Top Chef Masters started last week, and Top Chef New Orleans, the show's 11th season is slated to run this fall. We've got Top Chef on the brain, and our thoughts traveled, as they always do, to hierarchy.
Let's be brutally honest -- some Top Chef winners were just better than others -- both in the dishes they made under intense pressure on-camera, and in their ability to just act like a human being toward the people around them. We know that emotional tenderness doesn't always belong in a restaurant kitchen, but there's a difference between acting like a tough competitor and acting like a garbage-y person. It should also be said that anyone who can manage to cook something edible under those conditions without setting the whole kitchen on fire out of either carelessness or rage has earned quite a bit of our respect. Even...
Let's be brutally honest -- some Top Chef winners were just better than others -- both in the dishes they made under intense pressure on-camera, and in their ability to just act like a human being toward the people around them. We know that emotional tenderness doesn't always belong in a restaurant kitchen, but there's a difference between acting like a tough competitor and acting like a garbage-y person. It should also be said that anyone who can manage to cook something edible under those conditions without setting the whole kitchen on fire out of either carelessness or rage has earned quite a bit of our respect. Even...
- 7/29/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
I’ve always shown a propensity for watching scripted television shows. Mostly, I believe that has a lot to do with the fact that I’m a storyteller and, in being one, that means that I am interested in how other people tell stories. I want to see how characters are developed, how backstories are revealed (or not), and how disparate threads come together into a cohesive plot. Messy stories certainly happen and, sometimes, they just get made worse. A story that falls apart can be just as informative as one that doesn’t.
I keep hoping that even though it’s very cheap to produce, that reality TV will finally shrivel up and just go away already. It isn’t fun to watch and it’s becoming even more contived than it already was. Readers of this column know that I have absolutely no issues admitting to the fact that I like escapist entertainment.
I keep hoping that even though it’s very cheap to produce, that reality TV will finally shrivel up and just go away already. It isn’t fun to watch and it’s becoming even more contived than it already was. Readers of this column know that I have absolutely no issues admitting to the fact that I like escapist entertainment.
- 3/17/2013
- by dragonwomant
- Boomtron
After seven seasons, "Top Chef" tries to revamp it up with an All-Stars edition. 18 faces from previous seasons are brought back to the kitchen to fight each other and win the title of the ultimate Top Chef. The first look of who these great talents are has been released by TV Guide.
From season 1, there are Tiffani Faison and Steven Asprinio, the former of which almost won the competition against winner Harold Dieterle. Second season's personality Marcel Vigneron will join his former peer Elia Aboumrad. From season 3, Casey Thompson and Dale Levitski would put their friendship to rest for a battle in the kitchen against Texan Tre Wilcox.
Richard Blais from season 4 is reunited with Antonia Lofaso, Spike Mendelsohn and Dale Talde while fan favorite Fabio Viviani from season 5 is taking a second chance along with Jamie Lauren and Carla Hall. Representing 6th season are Jennifer Carroll and Mike Isabella...
From season 1, there are Tiffani Faison and Steven Asprinio, the former of which almost won the competition against winner Harold Dieterle. Second season's personality Marcel Vigneron will join his former peer Elia Aboumrad. From season 3, Casey Thompson and Dale Levitski would put their friendship to rest for a battle in the kitchen against Texan Tre Wilcox.
Richard Blais from season 4 is reunited with Antonia Lofaso, Spike Mendelsohn and Dale Talde while fan favorite Fabio Viviani from season 5 is taking a second chance along with Jamie Lauren and Carla Hall. Representing 6th season are Jennifer Carroll and Mike Isabella...
- 9/23/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
The first ever "Top Chef" winner, Harold Dieterle, tied the knot with longtime girlfriend and fellow foodie Meredith Lynn Davies over the Labor Day weekend, according to People. The couple wed at a church in downtown Atlanta, where Davies is originally from. Among the 175 guests on hand to celebrate the couple's nuptials were fellow "Top Chef" alums and season one competitors Leanne Anne Wong and Stephen Asprinio. Head judge Tom Colicchio was also invited but could not attend because he is currently shooting the show's next season, which is...
- 9/6/2010
- by Hector Cruz, Glen Ellyn TV Examiner
- Glen Ellyn TV Examiner
Congratulations - or should we say bon appétit? - to 2006 Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle, who tied the knot with fellow foodie and longtime girlfriend Meredith Lynn Davies Saturday. In traditional Southern style, the pair married in Davies's hometown, Atlanta, at a downtown church. They then celebrated their nuptials at a reception held at the Capital City Country Club, where Davies donned a Pnina Tornai gown, and Dieterle wore a Paul Stuart white dinner jacket. And the wedding ceremony was a Top Chef affair: Fellow season one competitors Lee Anne Wong and Stephen Asprinio were among the 175 guests to attend.
- 9/5/2010
- by Alison Schwartz and Liza Hamm
- PEOPLE.com
It was a match made in food and wine heaven. The 2006 Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle will marry Meredith Lynn Davies on Sept. 4, at the Capital City Country Club in Atlanta. The pair met thanks to one of Dieterle's prizes for winning the cooking competition, which included a trip to the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colo. There he met Davies, an Atlanta native, at an after-party for the event. The couple will spend their honeymoon in Italy - including stops in Rome, Positano and Sicily. From there it will be back to work. Dieterle, who owns the New York City restaurant Perilla,...
- 8/27/2010
- by Sara Hammel
- PEOPLE.com
A month before the next Top Chef is crowned, we take a break from everything tonight as we welcome past Top Chef favorites with the hosting of Top Chef: All Stars Dinner at 10pm. Season five fan favorite Fabio Viviani take the reins as host of the get-together with a challenge as past chef-testants rehash their favorite moments on the series.
The Top Chef returnees include a mixture of both favorite sand winners, such as Harold Dieterle, Marcel Vigneron, Ilan Hall, Dale Levitski, Casey Thompson, Hung Huynh, Richard Blais, Carla Hall, and Stefan Richter. Marcel and Fabio will go head to head, so will Carla and Casey, but in a different fashion, as the two confront each other fro the first time since the controversial season five finale.
The Top Chef returnees include a mixture of both favorite sand winners, such as Harold Dieterle, Marcel Vigneron, Ilan Hall, Dale Levitski, Casey Thompson, Hung Huynh, Richard Blais, Carla Hall, and Stefan Richter. Marcel and Fabio will go head to head, so will Carla and Casey, but in a different fashion, as the two confront each other fro the first time since the controversial season five finale.
- 11/3/2009
- by editor@buddytv.com
- buddytv.com
It's hard to believe at times that we're nearly almost done with the sixth season of Bravo's addictive culinary competition series Top Chef. What better time then to take a look back than just before we anoint another new Top Chef to join the ranks of the blessed few? Tomorrow night, Bravo will take a break from the current competition for the Top Chef Reunion Dinner, which will offer audiences a chance to see cast members from previous seasons of Top Chef come together for an evening of conversation, competition, and confrontation. And, yes, those three things play an equal weight in the unfolding of the evening, which is hosted by Top Chef: New York competitor Fabio Viviani at Social Hollywood. Joining Fabio for the reunion are such noteworthy former competitors as Harold Dieterle, Tiffany Faison, Marcel Vigneron, Ilan Hall, Dale Levitski, Casey Thompson, Hung Huynh, Richard Blais, Lisa Fernandes,...
- 11/3/2009
- by Jace
- Televisionary
Top Chef</i>" style="margin:0 5px 5px" />A new Top Chef was crowned in New Orleans, and the Season 5 winner was a bit of a surprise (at least for a lot us). The cheftestants, with former runner-ups as their sous-chefs, were asked to make their best three-course meal — with the obligatory twist of a request for hors d'oeuvres thrown in the at the eleventh hour. Carla made the mistake of listening to Casey's sous-vide steak and blue cheese soufflé ideas, which flopped. And though our money was on Stefan and his creamy gator soup, his dessert really didn't sit well with the judges. It was Hosea's consistency and earthy flavored venison dish that trumped the other meals, earning him the title and $100,000.
"I was inspired by the ingredients. I cooked a meal that I would want to eat," Hosea said on Bravotv.com. "It was a combination of ingredients, cooking techniques,...
"I was inspired by the ingredients. I cooked a meal that I would want to eat," Hosea said on Bravotv.com. "It was a combination of ingredients, cooking techniques,...
- 2/26/2009
- by Gina DiNunno
- TVGuide - Breaking News
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