Bravo’s Top Chef is back with a twist when it returns to season 18 with a massive episode on Thursday, April 1st at 8 / 7c.
This season will receive 15 new cheftestants vying for the coveted title of Top Chef in picturesque Portland, Oregon. These executive chefs and restaurant owners from around the country each bring a unique set of skills and a diverse culinary point of view to the competition.
meet the Top Chef Season 18 cheftestants, whose chief judge Tom Colicchio says “could be one of the best collections of chefs we’ve had on the show in 18 seasons” in the new season trailer, below:
Brittanny Anderson – Richmond, VA
Tell Barua – Columbus, OH
Dawn Burrell – Houston, TX
Gabe Erales – Austin, TX
Nelson German – Oakland, CA
Byron Gomez – Aspen, CO
Sasha Grumman – Houston, TX
Roscoe Hall – Birmingham, AL
Sara Hauman – Portland, OR
Kiki Louya – Detroit, MI
Maria Mazon – Tucson, Arizona
Shota Nakajima – Seattle, WA
Gabriel Pascuzzi – Portland, OR
Jamie Tran – Las Vegas, NV
Chris Viaud – Milford, NH
Hostess Padma Lakshmi, Chief Judge Tom Colicchio and Judge Gail Simmons will be back to help determine who will be crowned this season Top Chef. They will also be accompanied for the first time by an elite rotating jury and a jury composed of Top Chef star winners, finalists and favorites, including Richard Blais, Carrie Baird, Nina Compton, Tiffany Derry, Gregory Gourdet, Melissa King, Kristen Kish, Edward Lee, Kwame Onwuachi, Amar Santana, Dale Talde and Brooke Williamson.
Season 18 of Top Chef will also feature José Andrés, Massimo Bottura, Gabriel Rucker and Alice Waters. Portlandia stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein also stop at Top Chef Kitchen for a Quickfire challenge.
Chefs will be put to the test in a variety of new challenges this season, including the celebration of PDX’s pan-African cuisine, feeding hundreds of frontline workers, a surf and peat elimination challenge honoring the confederate tribes of the indigenous reserve Umatilla and the Oregon Coast in homage to the culinary icon and Oregonian James Beard. They will also visit some of Oregon’s most famous sites, including Hood River Fruit Loop and Tillamook Creamery. This season’s Restaurant Wars will be unlike any other, as teams must run a micro-restaurant concept with a cohesive seven-course tasting menu.
In addition to the coveted title of Top Chef, this season’s winning chef will receive $ 250,000 provided by S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, a highlight on FOOD AND WINE magazine, and an appearance at the annual FOOD AND WINE Classic in Aspen.
Last Chance Kitchen also returns on Thursday, April 8. Presented by Tom Colicchio, Bravo Media’s Emmy-winning companion digital series will follow the eliminated chefs of season 18 as they struggle to try to cook their way back into competition. Presented by BMW North America, the latest edition of the Last Chance Kitchen will be available at the conclusion of each episode of the week of Top Chef on BravoTV.com, on demand or wherever you broadcast Top Chef.
See everything the season 18 of Top Chef will be shown in the full trailer above.
Want more Top Chef? Keep up with the Bravo app.
The Daily Dish is your source for everything from Bravo, from behind-the-scenes scoops to breaking news, exclusive interviews, photos, original videos and, oh, much more. Subscribe to The Daily Dish podcast, join our Facebook group and follow us on Instagram for the latest news from the press. Sign up to become a Bravo Insider and be the first to get exclusive extras.