Anybody know of any events this winter or spring featuring Top Chef contestants? I know Buddha just did one in October at Ten Minutes by Tractor Winery.

Can I just tell y'all, that my favorite part in each episode is Kristen and Padma trying to usher guest judges away from danger as quickly as possible when starting the clock for the quickfires? 😆

I am so surprised to hear they are shifting down dinner service. To be honest it wasn’t that busy but it was steady. And most of the staff was really great! We stayed after to chat with the bartender and everyone had fun things to say. Here are some pictures of the meal.

1- Canoe Potatoes
So good! I saved a couple for the end of my meal, the sauce tasted like hummus but wasn’t hummus. Potatos were actually crispy!

2- Mama Wongs Cucumbers
Signature dish refreshing and spicy

3. Ahi Aguachile - It was on the specials menu. One of our companions was gluten-free so we mostly stuck to that. (Orders 1 & 2 were also gluten free)

4. Wagyu Ramen - It was so good, broth was flavorful, I would go back for this simple tasty dish.

5. Mocktail with cucumber, mint very refreshing and tasty

7. Picture hanging on the wall. There were other photos I need to get from my friend that I didn’t take pictures of.

Overall, the meal was seriously one of the best meals, so delicious. We weren’t in love with our server, but the person who ended up delivering all of our food was so knowledgeable and informative. We ended up really enjoying our experience. It was disappointing to see it not as busy as it should’ve been, especially to find out now that they are closing dinner service, but I am just considering myself so lucky that I got to go before they ended dinner service and if I ever make it back to Hawaii, I will definitely go to her brunch!

Has anyone else been?!

2006: I was 20 years old. I was always mildly interested in cooking shows, but didn’t really care about reality TV. Top Chef Season 1 changed ALL that. Good food, bad personality. Didn’t matter. It highlighted who had talent as a chef and it highlighted people being extra (extra usually being boisterous, drunk, inappropriate, but also when people were humble and giving).
2026: All the chefs are hugs and kisses and everyone seems to be a great human being and its all about food.

I get not wanting to tarnish a potentially up and coming chef’s future career, but if they are an awful person and the camera catches it (repeatedly), the editing is just a collection of footage. None of it was fake.
Season 1: Tiffani had a pi$$ poor personality and lied. Her sous chefs (rightfully and probably accidentally) screwed her in finals by getting WASTED the night before and treated people like idiots then cried victim at reunion. In later years she seems to have grown, but i don’t know her personally so..
Season 2: Attempting to shave Marcel’s head
Season 9: Beverly bullying. Sarah sucks.

From what i’ve seen, most of us are not blind. They tried to paint Marcel a villain but he was unfairly punked in Season 2.

I don’t want “The Real Housewives of Top Chef”, but i think some serious non-bullying clauses gotten written into contracts. Nobody bullies now.
Ilan literally called Marcel a virgin.
I mean i dunno if i’m cool with that, but a glorified chef can still be a $hitty human you shouldn’t want to work with.

I like that earlier seasons exposed you can be a good chef, but you have to be a good person too.

To get into character and understand Italian cuisine and its emotional appeal, I need to watch Italian cooking shows. Could you please tell me where I can watch 'Top Chef Italia' with subtitles? :0

Does anyone else have a crush on Richard?? 🤣
specifically in Season 8

I’ve watched TOO much of this show. Is it just me, or are most of the chefs cooking with nostalgia- cultural or personal? As an adopted kid with no context, I find it weird that cooking HAS to be so subjective

Was Nick just a whiner or did all that stuff really happened to him? Was the knife that Carlos borrowed and gave back dirty really that big of a deal? In an episode 14 do you think Carlos turned the oven up to burn his quinoa? Poor Nina (and Shirley) plugged along this whole season and I can’t believe that whiny Nick won!

Won.

I’m watching season 12 right now, and it’s a good bunch of chefs towards the end. Maybe not my fave but quite good.

I am wondering who you think is the best final five, or set of chefs towards the move to or beginning of the finale?

I was a huge fan of Rhoda throughout the most recent season of Top Chef, so CanoeHouse at Mauna Lani was the restaurant I was most looking forward to trying on our trip. Unfortunately, the experience left me disappointed in both the food and, unexpectedly, the impression I came away with of Rhoda’s involvement in the restaurant.

The first odd interaction actually happened at check-in at Mauna Lani. We mentioned to the front desk attendant that we were Top Chef fans and were excited to eat at Rhoda’s restaurant. He said it was exciting that she won, but then told us that she isn’t at the resort very often and, when she is, tends to keep her head down and focus on working the line rather than talking to guests. We both thought it was an odd comment and found it deflationary given our expressed excitement.

The restaurant itself is in a beautiful location, although parts of the interior feel dated. We ordered the Shokupan Pull-Apart Bread ($18), Iberico Pork ($75), Short Rib Massaman Curry ($75), and Garlic Fried Rice ($32).

Unfortunately, the food was underwhelming, especially given the prices. The bread tasted good but was dense and stodgy. The Iberico pork was very good, although the dish felt incomplete for $75, coming with nothing beyond pickles. The short rib Massaman curry bordered on inedible. The meat was tough, and the curry was so overwhelmingly heavy on cinnamon that it tasted as though someone had accidentally dumped the entire spice container into it. The garlic fried rice was fine, if a bit oily, but had a furikake-like flavor that I didn't enjoy and hadn't expected from the menu description.

One positive: our waiter was genuinely good. We were dining with a pregnant woman, and he was thoughtful about making sure the dishes were appropriate for her. The service was attentive and considerate throughout, which made what happened next all the more surprising.

At one point, we asked our waiter whether Rhoda was working that evening and mentioned that we were fans of hers from Top Chef. He said she wasn't there and, without any further prompting from us, essentially repeated what the front desk attendant had said. According to him, Rhoda rarely comes to the restaurant anymore, typically visits for a few days, works the line and spends time on her computer ordering, and then leaves. He even mentioned having asked her recently whether she was happy with the current setup, which seemed like a very odd thing to volunteer.

To be clear, we never met Rhoda, and I have no firsthand knowledge of how she manages the restaurant or what her responsibilities look like behind the scenes. I also don't think a chef needs to personally greet every guest. But it was striking to hear essentially the same characterization from two different employees when all we'd done was mention that we were fans and ask whether she was there.

I came away from Top Chef as a big Rhoda fan. I was excited to experience her food in person. In the end, we had an expensive and, in one case, nearly inedible meal, alongside two unsolicited accounts that left me wondering how involved she actually is in the restaurant's day-to-day operations.

Maybe we caught CanoeHouse on an off night, and I hope that's all it was. The setting is beautiful, and the service really was thoughtful. But between the food and the strange conversations about Rhoda's presence, it was a disappointing end to what I'd expected to be one of the highlights of our trip.

Has anyone else been to CanoeHouse recently? I'm curious whether this was an isolated experience or whether others have had similar impressions.

I’m doing my annual rewatch and just finished Restaurant Wars in the Kentucky season (16). I noticed Tom and Padma both mention “this is the most difficult restaurant wars we’ve done” which seemed weird to me because the only thing out of the ordinary was they did 3 teams instead of 2. Even Karen, who was partaking in the meals, called out “lunch and dinner together?”. Which I thought “yes! so much harder!”

So I was curious if anyone had a thought about why this one seemed so much harder to the judges. My only 2 guesses were- the teams wouldn’t have been as “close” to each other since restaurant wars happened earlier in the season or there was a lot of frustration towards the wait staff.

Congrats to the City of Milwaukee

Hi r/TopChef, We are hosting an AMA with Celebrity Chef Judy Joo, former Top Chef judge, to celebrate the release of her cookbook, MUKJA: Let's Eat over on r/KDRAMA on the 5th of November at 5pm KST. The post is live and ready for you to submit any questions you have for her or sign up for reminders of the event.

I’m still shocked Nick won. It really felt like it was Nina’s. They even made a comment about overhearing his shouting outburst during service. That alone should have broken the tie. I will forever be confused why it went the way that it did. 🤦‍♂️

Nick should have been eliminated a few times before the finale anyway but maybe that’s just me.

I don’t think anyone could’ve replaced Padma. Kristen is so cool and keeps things so elevated and fresh. I don’t think there would have been a better choice for a new face.

Word on the street is that they will be selling single day tickets for the Art Coast Food & Wine Festival as soon as this weekend! You wouldn't need to buy the whole weekend pass in order to meet Kristen Saturday in Saugatuck, MI! Let me know if you're going - I'd love to meet up with other KK fans :D Or other food & wine fans haha! Also, the leave are JUST starting to change over here so it is going to be a beautiful time to visit!

I’m a huge top chef fan but started at season 5! Watched all of them and decided to finally watch the first 5 ive missed.

Honestly its hard to watch with the bullying of Marcel and im not even at the infamous shave thing (that I know because of here and all star maybe?) The way they gang up on him constantly, especially Ilan and Betty, im disgusted (and Sam now in the 7 deadly sins which Im watching at this moment 😅)

I always read the Marcel was a douche but the way I see it, I would be worse to them if it was me in the corner. ‘What did I ever do to you?’ His first response to a bitchy Betty, glad he said it

My question is, now in 2026, rewatching it, do you feel comfortable with that season? (Also dont spoil the end I have a good feeling on who won based of the drama I read and who showed up on all star)

As I’m rewatching this season, I forgot about Eddie “Money”. 🤑He reappears as sous chef a few more times later in the season and could not put my finger on why he looked so familiar. 🤔
During the finale I finally figured it out ..🎯🎯

I have only watched a few seasons of top chef but i think season 9 was the worst!

I am curious if any of the bullies had been fired from their jobs due to how they were on the show?

I mean sarah worked for Tony and Lyndsy worked for Michelle, i can't imagine they would be impressed, or is that how they are in their kitchens, wonder if that did damage to their resturants.

I can't stand heather but hearing she was getting death threats is horrible but also hearing her not regret how she treated Bev was just rude.

Ok big scary title but let me explain.

Im watching season 3 right now, and twice, TWICE women are shamed and scolded out for not "standing up to" Howie. One Sara even got sent home for it.

This is a big, loud, physical man is a bully. But nooo its both Saras' fault for not saying, no Howie we're doing this.

Now. If you grew up Femme presenting, whether you were aware or not, were conditioned to placate men. We compromise, we step back, we let them have their way. Because its safer. And then people in charge, men in charge, say "well why didnt you fight?" Bc we've been told a man could kill us.

And lets not pretend that almost every woman in a professional kitchen hasnt been threatened, made to feel uncomfortable, even abused, by the men in the kitchen.

I love Tom Colichio but I wish someone had explained it to him this season. I think Howie would have gone home much earlier.

Doing a rewatch of Season 22 and Tatiana Hong is telling her story and running through her family and casually mentions her brother ( she’d adopted) while this pops across the screen- her brother is actor Reid Scott ( Dan Egan in VEEP!)

I know there are several "Best Season" threads, but I'm curious what seasons you think had the best cooking. I just rewatched Season 15, which was a really touching season with great contestant:judge chemistry, but I feel like the chefs were often critiqued for not doing their best cooking throughout the season.

What seasons have the highest caliber of cooking acumen, in your opinion?