Top Chef has a new host for the first time since its second season when Padma Lakshmi replaced Katie Lee Joel. For Season 21, Top Chef: Wisconsin, it’s Top Chef: Seattle alum Kristen Kish who’ll tell folks to “pack their knives and go.” But who is Kish? Though she might be familiar to superfans of the culinary competition show, here’s a breakdown of all the key details. How Is Kristen Kish Connected to the Top Chef Franchise? Kish was initially introduced to the Top Chef world as a Season 10 competitor in 2012, which she ultimately won. It wasn’t an easy path to victory for her, though, as she was initially eliminated during the “Restaurant Wars” episode. However, she won her way back into the main competition with five consecutive wins in Last Chance Kitchen against other eliminated participants. David Moir/Bravo Kish went head-to-head with Brooke Williamson in...
- 3/20/2024
- TV Insider
When it comes to casting “Top Chef,” talent is the most important element a contestant must possess in order to compete. “Everything else comes second,” said Ron Mare, the Emmy-nominated Senior Vice President of Casting at Magical Elves, which produces Bravo’s long-running culinary competition. But it’s no longer necessarily a skill with knives that the casting team is looking for.
“You have to have that talent level in order to go on a show like this,” he continues, explaining that casting “Top Chef” is far different from the many reality series he’s handled in the past, like, “America’s Next Top Model” and “Project Runway.” As the series has evolved, so have the people cast on the show. While talent remains paramount, there’s more of an emphasis on compelling food stories, with host Padma Lakshmi telling “Entertainment Tonight” that “Top Chef” “shows audiences a very particular side of these chefs.
“You have to have that talent level in order to go on a show like this,” he continues, explaining that casting “Top Chef” is far different from the many reality series he’s handled in the past, like, “America’s Next Top Model” and “Project Runway.” As the series has evolved, so have the people cast on the show. While talent remains paramount, there’s more of an emphasis on compelling food stories, with host Padma Lakshmi telling “Entertainment Tonight” that “Top Chef” “shows audiences a very particular side of these chefs.
- 8/16/2023
- by Stacy Lambe
- Indiewire
During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Top Chef judge Padma Lakshmi admitted that she and the other judges have sometimes identified winners early in the competition.
“There are seasons,” Lakshmi said. “I’m not going to tell you which one, but I’m going to say it was a very recent season. But not this one!”
Casey Kriley and Jo Sharon, Co-CEOs of Magical Elves, the production company behind Top Chef, told Showbiz Cheat Sheet that while they don’t tend to guess who will win, they will often have a top four in mind – and usually end up surprised in the long run.
‘Top Chef’ producers leave the judging to the experts
“When we’re finalizing that cast, everyone has different opinions on who ultimately could take it,” Kriley said. “But we’re constantly surprised every season. Something that’s really important to...
“There are seasons,” Lakshmi said. “I’m not going to tell you which one, but I’m going to say it was a very recent season. But not this one!”
Casey Kriley and Jo Sharon, Co-CEOs of Magical Elves, the production company behind Top Chef, told Showbiz Cheat Sheet that while they don’t tend to guess who will win, they will often have a top four in mind – and usually end up surprised in the long run.
‘Top Chef’ producers leave the judging to the experts
“When we’re finalizing that cast, everyone has different opinions on who ultimately could take it,” Kriley said. “But we’re constantly surprised every season. Something that’s really important to...
- 3/16/2023
- by Gina Ragusa
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
How’s this for fusion cuisine? Season 20 of the four-star cooking competition goes global for a showdown in London featuring 16 alums from 11 worldwide Top Chef editions. Below, host and judge Padma Lakshmi samples this pan-edition for us. The Full English One outing sends the cheftestants to “a beautiful old pub, where they’re asked to make bangers and mash, fish and chips and Scotch eggs,” Lakshmi says, noting that some cooks of diverse cultures had never prepared “that kind of food.” (Credit: David Moir/Bravo) Pinkies Up! Other trips outside of the kitchen include a picnic challenge on the grounds of Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle and a heated serve-off involving high tea. Trompe L’Oeil Challenge “We brought in elements we found interesting from other franchises,” Lakshmi says of this bit from the show’s French version. The eye-trick contest tasks chefs to create a dish that looks like...
- 3/9/2023
- TV Insider
Top Chef Season 20 is set to bring together 16 culinary legends from around the globe in a battle to become the ultimate all-star. The contestants, hailing from Bravo’s Top Chef and 10 international editions, will showcase their skills at iconic locations across London before the finale takes place in Paris. This will mark the first time the entire season of Top Chef will be filmed overseas, and fans can expect to see a few familiar faces return to the competition.
Bravo TV recently released a teaser trailer for Top Chef Season 20, which confirmed that four former all-star contestants are returning for another chance to win the top prize.
Buddha Lo, Victoire Gouloubi, Luciana Berry, Dawn Burrell, and Amar Santana | David Moir/Bravo Buddha Lo – ‘Top Chef’ Season 19
Top Chef fans will undoubtedly remember Buddha Lo, who won it all in season 19. Lo is currently the executive chef at Marky’s Caviar & Huso in Brooklyn,...
Bravo TV recently released a teaser trailer for Top Chef Season 20, which confirmed that four former all-star contestants are returning for another chance to win the top prize.
Buddha Lo, Victoire Gouloubi, Luciana Berry, Dawn Burrell, and Amar Santana | David Moir/Bravo Buddha Lo – ‘Top Chef’ Season 19
Top Chef fans will undoubtedly remember Buddha Lo, who won it all in season 19. Lo is currently the executive chef at Marky’s Caviar & Huso in Brooklyn,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Perry Carpenter
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Bravo’s Top Chef is back for a milestone season featuring some of the show’s most impressive winners and finalists of all time. Top Chef Season 20 will feature 16 international all-stars battling it out for the ultimate World All-Star title.
16 ‘Top Chef’ contestants come together for all-stars edition ‘Top Chef’ Season 20 | David Moir/Bravo
Sixteen of Top Chef’s greatest competitors from around the world will come together for a fierce showdown in the show’s 20th season. The contestant lineup features winners and finalists from 11 different Top Chef versions. They are:
Samuel Albert: winner, Top Chef France Season 10 Luciana Berry: winner, Top Chef Brazil Season 2 Sara Bradley: finalist, Bravo’s Top Chef Season 16: KentuckyDawn Burrell: finalist, Bravo’s Top Chef Season 18: Portland Ali Ghzawi: winner, Top Chef Middle East & North Africa Season 3: Lebanon Tom Goetter: finalist, Top Chef Germany Season 1Nicole Gomes: winner,...
16 ‘Top Chef’ contestants come together for all-stars edition ‘Top Chef’ Season 20 | David Moir/Bravo
Sixteen of Top Chef’s greatest competitors from around the world will come together for a fierce showdown in the show’s 20th season. The contestant lineup features winners and finalists from 11 different Top Chef versions. They are:
Samuel Albert: winner, Top Chef France Season 10 Luciana Berry: winner, Top Chef Brazil Season 2 Sara Bradley: finalist, Bravo’s Top Chef Season 16: KentuckyDawn Burrell: finalist, Bravo’s Top Chef Season 18: Portland Ali Ghzawi: winner, Top Chef Middle East & North Africa Season 3: Lebanon Tom Goetter: finalist, Top Chef Germany Season 1Nicole Gomes: winner,...
- 1/26/2023
- by Megan Elliott
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Vulture Watch What is in store next, for the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan? Is the Modern Family TV show cancelled or renewed for a 10th season on ABC? The television vulture is watching for the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is the place to track the status of Modern Family, season 10. Bookmark it, or subscribe for the latest updates. Remember, the television vulture is watching your shows. Are you? What's This TV Show About? A mockumentary-style sitcom airing on the ABC television network, Modern Family stars Ed O’Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, Jeremy Maguire, and Brigitte the French bulldog. The sitcom revolves around three Los Angeles families who are related through Jay Pritchett (O’Neill) and his adult children: Claire...
- 5/11/2018
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
[caption id="attachment_47763" align="aligncenter" width="590"] (ABC/David Moir)/caption]
Danger Will Robinson! The killer robots are coming! The second season of ABC's BattleBots TV series premieres Thursday, June 23, at 8:00pm Et/Pt. Chris Rose supplies the play-by-play. Kenny Florian provides color commentary.
Espn’s Samantha Ponder is hosting season two of Battlebots. Alison Haislip reports from the sidelines. Judging the battles are Fon Davis, Jessica Chobot, and a special guest judge for each round of the competition. Marvel's Agents of Shield's Clark Gregg is the first guest judge. Faruq Tauheed serves as ring announcer.
Read More…...
Danger Will Robinson! The killer robots are coming! The second season of ABC's BattleBots TV series premieres Thursday, June 23, at 8:00pm Et/Pt. Chris Rose supplies the play-by-play. Kenny Florian provides color commentary.
Espn’s Samantha Ponder is hosting season two of Battlebots. Alison Haislip reports from the sidelines. Judging the battles are Fon Davis, Jessica Chobot, and a special guest judge for each round of the competition. Marvel's Agents of Shield's Clark Gregg is the first guest judge. Faruq Tauheed serves as ring announcer.
Read More…...
- 4/20/2016
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Today the first wave of titles playing at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival were announced and while the majority of the titles are new to me the names in front of the camera most certainly are not as you'll see the likes of Michael Fassbender, Nicole Kidman, Saoirse Ronan, Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Jack Black, James Marsden, Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Jemaine Clement, Sarah Silverman, Toni Collette, Vincent Cassell and many, many more among the titles featured. I have collected several photos from many of the films playing the festival, which will take place from January 22 - February 1 in Utah next year. Today's selection includes the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition and Next program. I'll be adding a few more pictures soon enough, but for now, have a look and see what stands out.
- 12/3/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Episode 7 of Top Chef: Seattle certainly had some ups and downs, though it didn’t end up nearly as rough as the episode that only had downs a couple of weeks ago. Next week, Top Chef meets Roller Derby, and to help celebrate all the general Top Chef goodness, I have a great giveaway for you.
In the quickfire, the cheftestants basically got handed something of a nonsensical challenge. I’m all for the quickfires, even if they don’t make that much sense, but sometimes they’re just foolish. This time, they found themselves in a kitchen filled with products wrapped in aluminum foil. They could take anything they wanted, but once they unwrapped it, they had to use it. Worse, they had to cook in the foil, so no pots or such.
Though somewhat fun, especially as people unwrapped things to find very different ingredients than they...
In the quickfire, the cheftestants basically got handed something of a nonsensical challenge. I’m all for the quickfires, even if they don’t make that much sense, but sometimes they’re just foolish. This time, they found themselves in a kitchen filled with products wrapped in aluminum foil. They could take anything they wanted, but once they unwrapped it, they had to use it. Worse, they had to cook in the foil, so no pots or such.
Though somewhat fun, especially as people unwrapped things to find very different ingredients than they...
- 12/21/2012
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Last week was a little strange for the cheftestants, and while everyone else thought cooking Thanksgiving was as normal as could be, our teams trying to prove themselves the best chefs around seemed to roll their eyes a bit.
As the seasons have rolled on for Top Chef, and the contestants seem more and more overqualified (if you ask me), the reality television mark that is “who is the crazy contestant?” has popped up more and more on the show. An absolute staple of most reality shows (that aren’t defined by having all crazy participants), Top Chef managed to avoid the nagging doubts that plague viewers of other reality shows for many seasons, but now people are starting to wonder. At least, that’s the way I hear it.
Keep your finger on the pulse of just about any other reality competition, and it isn’t long before you...
As the seasons have rolled on for Top Chef, and the contestants seem more and more overqualified (if you ask me), the reality television mark that is “who is the crazy contestant?” has popped up more and more on the show. An absolute staple of most reality shows (that aren’t defined by having all crazy participants), Top Chef managed to avoid the nagging doubts that plague viewers of other reality shows for many seasons, but now people are starting to wonder. At least, that’s the way I hear it.
Keep your finger on the pulse of just about any other reality competition, and it isn’t long before you...
- 11/27/2012
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
As I’m sure you know, it’s that time again. The time when cheftestants throw their hats in the ring and battle over quickfires, restaurant wars, ridiculous time constraints, and the drama of trying to outdo each other.
Top Chef, the Bravo staple that is committed to driving viewers with DVRs crazy by changing the name of the show every season, is already two episodes deep, and the third is coming your way tonight. As is the case every year, while the chefs are making a mad dash to prove themselves before they get sent home so early that no one will remember them, viewers are racing to figure out who is worth rooting for (because they have a chance of sticking around), and who is the token crazy person the producers are going to make sure stays long enough to boost the drama ratings.
The preview for tonight...
Top Chef, the Bravo staple that is committed to driving viewers with DVRs crazy by changing the name of the show every season, is already two episodes deep, and the third is coming your way tonight. As is the case every year, while the chefs are making a mad dash to prove themselves before they get sent home so early that no one will remember them, viewers are racing to figure out who is worth rooting for (because they have a chance of sticking around), and who is the token crazy person the producers are going to make sure stays long enough to boost the drama ratings.
The preview for tonight...
- 11/21/2012
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Juno Temple lives up to the title in Dirty Girl
(All photos by: David Moir/The Weinstein Company)
Before going into the nuts and bolts of Abe Sylvia's gay-meets-skank coming of age road trip story titled Dirty Girl, I would like to call to your attention the wonder of Juno Temple. Some of you may recognize her. Some of you may not. She is one of those actresses who you would probably refer to as "That actress in That movie" -- and by that, I am talking about her role in Atonement. She plays that one girl who gets raped in the woods by that one guy and then ends up marrying him. Remember?
In any event, Miss Temple has also been seen in under-the-radar cinematic fare such as Killer Joe with Emile Hirsch and a notable role in Gregg Araki's sexually charged film Kaboom. She also landed...
(All photos by: David Moir/The Weinstein Company)
Before going into the nuts and bolts of Abe Sylvia's gay-meets-skank coming of age road trip story titled Dirty Girl, I would like to call to your attention the wonder of Juno Temple. Some of you may recognize her. Some of you may not. She is one of those actresses who you would probably refer to as "That actress in That movie" -- and by that, I am talking about her role in Atonement. She plays that one girl who gets raped in the woods by that one guy and then ends up marrying him. Remember?
In any event, Miss Temple has also been seen in under-the-radar cinematic fare such as Killer Joe with Emile Hirsch and a notable role in Gregg Araki's sexually charged film Kaboom. She also landed...
- 10/7/2011
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- The Backlot
Abe Sylvia and Juno Temple as Danielle in Abe Sylvia's film Dirty Girl Photo by: David Moir/ The Weinstein Company
For lack of a better term, Dirty Girl is a coming-of-age story about a girl named Danielle (Juno Temple) and a boy named Clarke (newcomer Jeremy Dozier) growing up in 1980s Oklahoma. Written and Directed by Abe Sylvia, it is at once hilarious, bawdy, nostalgic, heartbreaking, and will send you home bopping your head to the best tunes from Melissa Manchester. I met with Abe Sylvia to talk about his new work, and found him to be as charming and lively as the characters he carefully crafts in his new film Dirty Girl.
What were you like as a teenager? Were you at all like Clarke?
I’m similar in that I grew up in Oklahoma; I ate my feelings like Clarke did. I certainly felt alienated from the other kids,...
For lack of a better term, Dirty Girl is a coming-of-age story about a girl named Danielle (Juno Temple) and a boy named Clarke (newcomer Jeremy Dozier) growing up in 1980s Oklahoma. Written and Directed by Abe Sylvia, it is at once hilarious, bawdy, nostalgic, heartbreaking, and will send you home bopping your head to the best tunes from Melissa Manchester. I met with Abe Sylvia to talk about his new work, and found him to be as charming and lively as the characters he carefully crafts in his new film Dirty Girl.
What were you like as a teenager? Were you at all like Clarke?
I’m similar in that I grew up in Oklahoma; I ate my feelings like Clarke did. I certainly felt alienated from the other kids,...
- 10/4/2011
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent
Chicago – Fox’s new supernatural drama “Past Life” is a laughable waste of time, a show that feels like an inferior version of a dozen other programs, coming off as a weak variation on “Medium,” “The Ghost Whisperer,” and countless other procedurals. A blend of manipulative melodrama, visions of the other side, and a weakly mystery, the show comes off like “CSI: The Lovely Bones” and, yes, it’s as awful as that sounds.
Television Rating: 1.0/5.0
The key problem with “Past Life” (and it’s only one of many) is that the similarly vision-driven “Medium” thrives largely because of the stellar work by Patricia Arquette and the focus on her family as much as her visions. In other words, you need strong characters to mix with the supernatural mumbo-jumbo and the leads on “Past Life” are impossible to care about and lacking in the charisma needed to make a show like this work.
Television Rating: 1.0/5.0
The key problem with “Past Life” (and it’s only one of many) is that the similarly vision-driven “Medium” thrives largely because of the stellar work by Patricia Arquette and the focus on her family as much as her visions. In other words, you need strong characters to mix with the supernatural mumbo-jumbo and the leads on “Past Life” are impossible to care about and lacking in the charisma needed to make a show like this work.
- 2/9/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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