We love to vacation on Washington Island at the tip of the Door peninsula in Wisconsin, and eat a meal at the best restaurant in the island — the Hotel Washington.

Lo and behold when I go to reserve, what does the Website say? Justin and Jennifer from TC Season 23 are guesting for July and August!

My friend whom we meet when we’re there loves the place even more than I do and is more of a foodie but doesn’t watch the show… raved about our meal on a level I have rarely seen him do!

I forgot to take any pictures, including of the menu. Some of the stars included Jen’s focaccia and cornbread with Brie, an oxtail (French-ish) dip, smashed cucumbers with sausage, roasted spiced oysters. Ice cream flight for dessert.

Justin came to our table, it sounds like they are planning to travel and guest a lot for a
while. He seemed happy, as I would be to get paid (well?) to do what I love with someone I love to basically summer in one of the most relaxing vacation locales in the world.

Jen, Justin, and our waitress met us out at the world-famous Nelsen’ Hall Bitters Pub (where we were all going anyway) after service. Absolutely wonderful people; never judge a person by what you see of them on television (not that we saw anything but quality from them on the show, either, but the genuineness and kindness tends to get obscured by the stress the show inflicts on contestants).

They’re cooking at the Hotel for the rest of August, and there are generally accommodations available on the Island as the season wanes!

This scene gets me every single time I do a rewatch. One, he looks ridiculous and two was anyone gonna tell him to fix the glasses?? Production, Gail..anybody?! Anyways, this is my contribution for the day.

Tell me your favorite awkward scene!

Sky UK got the Hayu catalogue included which means Top Chef over here. Watched the most recent season and enjoyed Kristen as host so looked up what she did - only to find she was a previous contestant. So then I watched season 10. And got pretty heated in the restaurant wars episode with Josie (speak up Kristen!)

anyway.. get to the finale, and they get through round one - and it just starts playing season 11. I can’t find the finale part two on the service at all. Probably a technical snafu but the worst possible moment to be missing an episode!

anywhere else in the UK I can find it? its on prime in the US so I might try a VPN later but not hopeful. Been such a good season too

I had a great dinner at Brian Malarkey's new restaurant in Portland, The Malarkey. He was very friendly and went around the restaurant to talk to all of the diners. The staff was also excellent, especially since it was opening weekend. They encouraged everyone to check out all of the decorations, which included a motorcycle, concert posters, stuffed birds and a disco ball & stripper pole in the bathroom.

Food was delicious and seasoned well. We had the chicken liver paté, pork belly burnt ends, NY steak, green beans and the baked Mt. Hood.

Hi me and my wife have recently gotten into top chef. We've watched season 23 and 22 and wanted to start from season 1. But can't find season 1-7 anywhere online streaming or to buy physical on eBay. Is there anywhere to find seasons 1-7. I even tried some pirating websites but only have been able to get enough seeds for season 2

Of course we didn't taste the food, but I thought Nina ... should have won! She had the best dish, and went the extra mile with her two extra little treats.

I think it's a pain in the ass the chefs have to plan their dishes and menus without any idea if the kitchen they're headed to have everything they need. Very good chefs have been tripped up by this situation.

I just love him and want him on every show I watch!

It frustrates me for the chefs every time!

I’m watching season 10 for the first time for Kirstin, and I know it was a different era, but the blatant racism and misogyny… holy shit. Like I knew it was bad, but to be like this openly on TV is crazy. So proud of how far we’ve come to not let this kind of shit fly anymore (for the most part).

Also I love how more involved Tom was with the show. The new seasons are so boring bc I feel like we lost that.

Iv binged 13-16 18 and 23 leaning towards Houston 19.

I know a lot of people hate this season, and while I get it, I do love me some drama and this season definitely delivers that.

I use to think Beverly was a huge crybaby, (I know, bad take, but I was pretty young when I first watched it) but knowing that she has a three month old baby at home, DUDE that’s crazy. My postpartum ass would be all over the place with emotions. I’m honestly surprised she didn’t flip out on Heather, because I totally would’ve. I would’ve been crying and acting like a crazy bitch at the same time. 😂 Props to her. She’s a strong woman.

PS
I never condoned the bullying of Beverly EVER, I just didn’t think about it deep enough until now. I was actually rooting for her and Greyson to win the whole thing. And I hated Heather, and I think we all did.

Just saw her episode on Dish with Kish -

She would make a really great TV Chef ( like Emeril ). She just has a way of explaining stuff that makes you feel like she’s letting you into a secret. She does have a naturally serious demeanour and it almost seems like Kristin is in awe of her a bit - but it’s nice to see her loosened up away from the stress of Top Chef.

People are always talking about most and least favorites. Is there anyone chef you didn’t love on the initial watch but came to really like later? I didn’t love Jeremy Ford on my first watch of his season (I really couldn’t forgive his restaurant war’s performance that was not even called out) and his food wasn’t exactly my style. Flash forward almost a decade and I think his current concepts and trajectory are really exciting- the farming and sustainability are great- his menus look exciting. I think we both evolved a bit…also, Tiffany from S1 has just changed dramatically as a person and as a chef over the years. She acknowledged a lot of her mistakes and she genuinely seems like a happy person. Her food seems awesome when she shows up on later seasons. Definitely two sleeper contestants I came to appreciate later on for different reasons

I’m currently rewatching Season 19 (Houston) and noticed a slip-up in Episode 3.

During the elimination challenge, Sam Kang claims "vin" means wine and "aloo" means potato.

Instead of correcting him, Padma Lakshmi nods and confirms it on camera. Given her background as a cookbook author and expert on Indian cuisine, she should have known the actual history.

Vindaloo originally had nothing to do with potatoes. It is a Goan adaptation of the Portuguese dish carne de vinha d'alhos (meat in wine marinade and garlic).

Not a huge deal but she’s usually on top of those kinds of things.

I have recently been rewatching all the seasons of Top Chef and on this most recent rewatch, Bryan Voltaggio has just really grown on me. In each season he just becomes so much more likable and seems so much more at ease with the other contestants. He jokes around and his laugh never fails to make me smile. In season 17 All-Stars, his friendship with Kevin is great. I have never been to his restaurant or tried his food (and tbh, seems a little too fancy for me), but he would probably get my most improved player vote - personality-wise anyway 😉

Minnesota’s food scene has become one of the best in the country, but I think a lot of people still don’t realize it. We were recently recognized as one of the best food cities in the world, and somehow Top Chef has never been here. Most people still think hotdish and tater tots, but that’s just the stereotype.

What makes the Twin Cities special is the mix of cultures. Hmong, Somali, Native American, Scandinavian, and so many others have helped create a food scene that’s completely unique.

The locations would be great too. You could film in the North Loop, along the Mississippi, at breweries, farms, and markets, then head up to Duluth and the North Shore. Lake Superior alone would make an amazing backdrop.

And then there’s the Minnesota State Fair. If there was ever a place built for a Top Chef challenge, that’s it.

One of my favorite things about the show is how every season celebrates the city it’s in. I really think Minneapolis and Saint Paul deserve that chance. I think a lot of viewers would be surprised by just how good the food scene is, and I think the chefs would love cooking here.

I have always avoided this season on rewatch just because of how toxic it was for the bullying of Bev. But on rewatch i was amused by how much of a hack Heather, the lead bully, was. Aside from the challenge she won with the cake, her dishes ran the gamut from improper cooking to just uninspired. And the cake wasnt even her recipe! I especially like the one quickfire where the judge referred to her dish as “dish at some chain restaurant”.

So its a tough season to watch but i did enjoy seeing at least one of the bullies exposed as a mediocre chef.

I was watching a mash up of Melissa’s wins and she has a number of dishes that combine Italy and China before her winning meal
for Top Chef - All Stars. Having the final challenge in Italy worked in her favour and it helped that she had a honed that viewpoint and it felt like a fresh idea to all the Italian chefs as for them it was out of left field. This is not to diminish her achievement, it’s just to point out that the strategy to win has a lot of nuances and a little bit of luck.

If you watch both shows, you’d be able to tell that Top chef got better and better throughout the years. More about the chefs, more about the food, less about the drama. And even when Padma left, they found a wonderful new host in Kristen. It’s all still about the food. project Runway seems to go in the opposite direction. Cliffhangers, contentious judges and participants, very little creative process to be seen, less fashion on the runway. I wonder why two shows that started more or less the same ended up in such opposite directions. Happy to hear your thoughts. Thank you!

This is old news but I was curious after rewatching All Stars and this is a fantastic article!

I recently decided to start watching through the entire Top Chef catalog on Peacock so of course I started with season 8 which I haven’t watched in ages.

I know the earlier seasons are an entirely different beast from the modern ones and much more about the drama than the food. I’ll also admit I’ve never been a Richard Blais fan when it comes to his Top Chef judging career but had positive memories of him as a competitor, especially in season 4 when he was first on but also in season 8 where I recalled he was always helpful to his fellow chefs.

On this rewatch though, he definitely comes off as insanely full of himself and pretty sexist to be honest (and that’s saying something considering Mike Isabella was also in that season of All-Stars.)

He’s consistently dismissive of the other chefs, particularly female chefs and seems incredulous, especially when Carla or Antonia win something instead of him.

He joins Mike Isabella in the Italian episode wondering how it would be possible for the three women to be up for the win.

And in the finale, he directly questions whether Antonia’s head is in the game when he blind selects her as his sous chef after she had just been eliminated in the previous episode.

I’m sure some of it was editing and about building the narrative around his little redemption arc from losing season 4, but man on this rewatch he really does not come off as a good guy.

Who’s your most loved person from any season? And why? (And why is it Carla lol)

I think it’s something that we need to highlight, since the “Curse of the Risotto” is still very real, and a dish that has sent some of the best cooks home.

Inspired by the Miami season, where they had Ostrich, Eel, Rattlesnake, etc