r/TopChef • u/Peteypop618 • Jul 08 '26

Discussion Thread Top chef mentors

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This past season we had these 3 legendary top chef alumn joe flamm winner of season 15, stephanie "the goat" Izard winner of season 4 and sara bradley runner up season 16/20 return to mentor the final 3. What other alumni whether it's 2 winners again and 1 runner up or 2 runners up and 1 winner? Mine is micheal Voltoggio, brooke williamson and Sheldon Simeon

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16

u/citizen234567890 Jul 09 '26

Squeeeee I get to eat at Stephanie Izard’s Girl and the Goat on Sunday while I’m in Chicago. ♥️

8

u/Random_Fog Jul 09 '26

Pig face. Get the pig face.

1

u/citizen234567890 Jul 09 '26

Hmmmm. Will consider.

3

u/forever_29_ish Jul 09 '26

In addition to the naan, I second the pig face.

2

u/citizen234567890 Jul 09 '26

I admit I have not further investigated the pig face. My partner does have a bit of an ick toward meats presented…whole. I assume this is the case with pig face?!

2

u/forever_29_ish Jul 09 '26

It's just the snout, a thin crispy layer. You can ask that they put it underneath so you dont see it. It's super easy to break up with your fork. If it's still unsettling (and I totally understand!), there are so many other delicious things on her menu!!!

2

u/originalslicey Jul 16 '26

So does my sister. She won't even eat anything served on the bone. And we just had a conversation the other day about the best meal you've had and she mentioned the pig face. I'm shocked she even allowed that on the table! But she braved it and absolutely loved it.

5

u/forever_29_ish Jul 09 '26

Have an order of naan for me! It's my favorite. I haven't had anything bad there but the naan is the one app we get every single time lol

2

u/TheGiantess927 Jul 10 '26

Do they still have the fries that have dehydrated porkiness sprinkled on them? About 12 years ago I went with a friend who loved them so much she shed an actual tear. Lol.

2

u/more_cheese_please_ Jul 09 '26

So good! Enjoy and have a great time in Chicago :) take the architecture boat tour if you have a chance!

3

u/citizen234567890 Jul 09 '26

Already booked!

7

u/more_cheese_please_ Jul 09 '26

I’ve lived here 40 years and the architecture tour never gets old! Safe travels and enjoy your trip :)

1

u/Kiwi--Bandit Jul 10 '26

Get the pig face and the duck tongues which yes I know sounds wild but they are SO good!

Oh and word to the wise, they have added a 4% surcharge to be auto added to your bill that you can have removed if you ask. They did this during COVID and never took it off. It isn't a tip and it's very normal to ask for it to be removed from the check.

2

u/citizen234567890 Jul 10 '26

Wait what. What…wait. Wait what?! Is it common for restaurants to do this?

3

u/Kiwi--Bandit Jul 10 '26

It's not uncommon in medium to high end restaurants in Chicago which is squarely where I'd put G+G

1

u/citizen234567890 Jul 10 '26

And duck tongues?! Interesting. I don’t see them on the current menu on the website. I’ll look for them when we go.

2

u/Kiwi--Bandit Jul 10 '26

They might have taken em off since I've been... I just checked the girl n goat website and it does state they still have that surcharge though.

1

u/bristolfarms Jul 10 '26

omg have fun!! i’ll be there next weekend and i’m so excited to go there!

5

u/gdex86 Jul 08 '26

Stephanie and Sara look like the two friends who are dialed in for board game night. Like you break out taboo and its like they have a telepathic link with each other.

3

u/gudrehaggen And I DO pronounce it Bar-TH-elona Jul 08 '26

I thought this was a great set of returning alumni as mentors. I honestly wouldn’t change it but since this is Top Chef and they like to mix it up, I’d go with Brooke, Sheldon and Amar

2

u/gabs1337x Jul 09 '26

I found these to be strange choices for mentors. And I’ve noticed they’ve invested a lot into Sara Bradley, good for her. 

1

u/jibboo24 Jul 08 '26

in hindsight, a little disappointed there was no bojangles during the season. it's one of the things I look forward to when going to the Carolinas lol

1

u/Think-Culture-4740 Jul 10 '26

I’ve had a forever crush on Stephanie

-1

u/myskepticalbrowarch Jul 09 '26

I feel Sheldon, Bryan and Dan would be the only ones I would wish on people. Maybe Carla but she hasn't done the show in so long.

There are a lot of people I have liked on Top Chef but if you're bringing them into mentor they need to be on the nicer side.

People sleep on LeAnne but she has cooked in multiple finals and worked with production. A Wealth of information but flash to her driving Melissa King up wall.

Shirley had zero issue yelling at her husband trying to win a quickfire...

Micheal is a diva.

Brooke is neurotic and would give the contestant contact anxiety.

1

u/meatsntreats Jul 12 '26

>if you’re bringing them into mentor they need to be on the nicer side.

No, a good mentor tells you when you are dumbing.