| Season number | 12 |
|---|---|
| Bgcolour |
|
| Num episodes | 15 |
| Network | Bravo |
| First aired | October 15, 2014 |
| Last aired | February 11, 2015 |
| Prev season | New Orleans |
| Next season | California |
| Episode list | List of Top Chef episodes |
| Host | Padma Lakshmi |
|---|---|
| Judges | Tom Colicchio Gail Simmons Hugh Acheson Richard Blais |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Finals venue | San Miguel de Allende, Mexico |
| Num contestants | 16 |
| Winner | Mei Lin |
| Runner up | Gregory Gourdet |
Top Chef: Boston is the twelfth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The season was formally announced on August 20, 2014, and premiered on October 15, 2014.[1][2] Filming for Season 12 took place from May through June 2014 in locations around Boston, Massachusetts, concluding with a finale in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and the surrounding area.[2] Top Chef: Chicago finalist and Top Chef: All-Stars winner Richard Blais debuted as a recurring judge, joining Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Hugh Acheson, and host Padma Lakshmi on the judging panel.[1] Last Chance Kitchen also returned for its fourth season, beginning with a two-part redemption mid-season and continuing until the first part of the finale.[3] In the season finale, Mei Lin was declared the winner over runner-up Gregory Gourdet.[4] Unlike previous seasons, no Fan Favorite vote was held.
Production
According to reports by Deadline Hollywood, members of Boston's local Teamsters Union allegedly harassed and intimidated Lakshmi and other Top Chef staff during the production's June film shoot at the Steel & Rye restaurant in Milton, Massachusetts.[5] The Teamsters Local 25, upset that Bravo hired non-union personnel to drive cast and crew around Milton, protested the filming, threatening staff using racist, sexist, and homophobic language, and slashing the tires of several crew-owned vehicles.[5] While the network insisted the incident was isolated, sources for The Boston Globe reported that the threats did prompt Bravo to change the locations of some tapings.[6] Teamsters Local 25 later released a statement denying the allegations.[7] Four Teamsters were then indicted on charges of conspiracy to extort, attempted extortion, and aiding and abetting.[8] The trial began on August 1, 2017.[9] On August 15, 2017, a jury acquitted the four Teamsters of all charges.[10]
Contestants
Sixteen chefs competed in Top Chef: Boston.[1][11]
| Name | Hometown | Current Residence[a] | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Adams | Tyler, Texas | Portland, Oregon | 29 |
| Stacy Cogswell | Boston, Massachusetts | 33 | |
| Joy Crump | Coatesville, Pennsylvania | Fredericksburg, Virginia | 46 |
| Ron Eyester | Long Island, New York | Atlanta, Georgia | 40 |
| Gregory Gourdet | Queens, New York | Portland, Oregon | 39 |
| Aaron Grissom | Tacoma, Washington | North Hollywood, California | 27 |
| Adam Harvey | New York, New York | 29 | |
| Rebecca LaMalfa | Chico, California | Chicago, Illinois | 32 |
| Mei Lin | Dearborn, Michigan | Los Angeles, California | 28 |
| Melissa King | Los Angeles, California | San Francisco, California | 30 |
| George Pagonis | Washington, D.C. | 31 | |
| Michael Patlazhan | Brooklyn, New York | 31 | |
| Keriann Von Raesfeld | San Jose, California | 28 | |
| James Rigato | Howell, Michigan | White Lake, Michigan | 29 |
| Katsuji Tanabe | Mexico City, Mexico | Los Angeles, California | 33 |
| Katie Weinner | Rosemount, Minnesota | Salt Lake City, Utah | 35 |
Katsuji Tanabe returned to compete in Top Chef: Charleston.[12] Tanabe also appeared as a contestant on the first season of Top Chef México, the Mexican version of Top Chef from NBC Universo.[13] Gregory Gourdet and Melissa King returned for Top Chef: All-Stars L.A.[14]
Contestant progress
| Episode # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quickfire Challenge Winner(s) | Aaron Adam Doug Keriann | James | Gregory | Katsuji | Gregory | Katie | Gregory | George | Melissa | Mei | Doug | Gregory | |||||
| Contestant | Elimination Challenge Results | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Mei | WIN | HIGH | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | HIGH | LOW | WIN | WIN | HIGH | HIGH | IN | IN | WINNER | |
| 2 | Gregory | HIGH | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN | LOW | LOW | HIGH | LOW | HIGH | LOW | LOW | HIGH | WIN | RUNNER-UP | |
| 3 | Doug | HIGH | IN | IN | IN | WIN | HIGH | WIN | WIN | HIGH | OUT | WIN | OUT | ||||
| 4 | Melissa | IN | LOW | HIGH | IN | LOW | LOW | HIGH | LOW | HIGH | LOW | WIN | WIN | OUT | |||
| 5 | George | OUT | HIGH | IN | LOW | LOW | OUT | ||||||||||
| 6 | Katsuji | LOW | HIGH | LOW | WIN | WIN | WIN | LOW | IN | OUT | |||||||
| 7 | Adam | IN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | OUT | ||||||||
| 8 | Katie | LOW | HIGH | HIGH | IN | WIN | IN | LOW | OUT | ||||||||
| 9 | Keriann | IN | LOW | LOW | IN | WIN | IN | OUT | |||||||||
| 10 | Stacy | IN | LOW | IN | IN | LOW | OUT | ||||||||||
| 11 | Aaron | IN | LOW | IN | WIN | OUT | |||||||||||
| 12 | James | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||||||||||||
| Rebecca | IN | WIN | IN | OUT | |||||||||||||
| 14 | Ron | IN | LOW | OUT | |||||||||||||
| 15 | Joy | IN | OUT | ||||||||||||||
| 16 | Michael | OUT | |||||||||||||||
- The chef(s) did not receive immunity for winning the Quickfire Challenge.
- George lost the Sudden Death Quickfire Challenge and was eliminated.
- Katie lost the Sudden Death Quickfire Challenge against George. As a result, George was reinstated into the competition.
- There were no eliminations in Episode 11.
- Doug won Last Chance Kitchen and returned to the competition.
- (WINNER) The chef won the season and was crowned "Top Chef".
- (RUNNER-UP) The chef was a runner-up for the season.
- (WIN) The chef won the Elimination Challenge.
- (HIGH) The chef was selected as one of the top entries in the Elimination Challenge, but did not win.
- (IN) The chef was not selected as one of the top or bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge and was safe.
- (LOW) The chef was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge, but was not eliminated.
- (OUT) The chef lost the Elimination Challenge.
Episodes
<onlyinclude></onlyinclude>
Last Chance Kitchen
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|
References
- Notes
- ^ The contestants' city and state of residence during time of filming.
- Footnotes
- ^ The Dish (August 20, 2014). "First Look at Top Chef Season 12!". Bravo. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ Goldstein, Meredith (August 20, 2014). "'Top Chef' Boston season revealed". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Top Chef Season 12 Cast Info". Bravo. August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Top Chef Winner Revealed: Did Mei Lin or Gregory Gourdet Win?". Us Weekly. February 12, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ^ Robb, David (August 20, 2014). "'Top Chef' Host Padma Lakshmi And Crew Flambéed By Boston Teamsters". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ Shanahan, Mark & Goldstein, Meredith (August 21, 2014). "Source confirms 'Top Chef' harassment by local Teamsters". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ Scalese, Roberto (August 21, 2014). "UPDATED: What the Hell Went on Between Boston's Teamsters and the 'Top Chef' Crew?". Boston.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ Stout, Matt; Planas, Antonio; Sweet, Laurel (October 1, 2015). "Feds hammer Teamsters in 'Top Chef' extortion rap". Boston Herald. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
- ^ Robb, David (August 1, 2017). "'Top Chef' Teamsters Trial: Producer Details Taunts & Slurs But Says Show Contestant Was 'Escalating Situation'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ Robb, David (August 15, 2017). "'Top Chef' Trial: Boston Teamsters Acquitted In Extortion Case". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
- ^ "Cast & Info - Top Chef Season 12". Bravo. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
- ^ Spence, Shay (October 20, 2016). "Top Chef Is Bringing Back 8 Fan Favorite Contestants — See Who Made the Cut". People. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ^ Chavez, Stephen (February 5, 2016). "Local Chef Katsuji Tanabe of Mexikosher Competes in Upcoming "Top Chef Mexico" on NBC Universo". LatinoFoodie. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ Huff, Lauren (December 12, 2019). "Unpack your knives: Top Chef announces all-star lineup for season 17". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 12, 2019.