| Season number | 16 |
|---|---|
| Bgcolour |
|
| Num episodes | 15 |
| Network | Bravo |
| First aired | December 6, 2018 |
| Last aired | March 14, 2019 |
| Prev season | Colorado |
| Next season | All-Stars L.A. |
| Episode list | List of Top Chef episodes |
| Host | Padma Lakshmi |
|---|---|
| Judges | Tom Colicchio Graham Elliot Nilou Motamed |
| Location | Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee |
| Finals venue | Macau |
| Num contestants | 18 |
| Winner | Kelsey Barnard Clark |
| Runner up | Sara Bradley |
| Fan Favorite | Kelsey Barnard Clark |
Top Chef: Kentucky is the sixteenth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. Initial details about the season and its cast were revealed on October 18, 2018.[1] The competition was filmed at various locations in Kentucky, including Louisville, Lexington, and Lake Cumberland, with an additional episode set in Nashville, Tennessee.[2] The season finale took place in Macau.[3] Padma Lakshmi returned as host, with Tom Colicchio, Graham Elliot, and Nilou Motamed forming the judging panel.[1] Due to being on maternity leave for the majority of filming, Top Chef regular Gail Simmons did not appear as one of the main judges for the season.[1][4] Top Chef: Kentucky premiered on December 6, 2018, and concluded on March 14, 2019.[1] In the season finale, Kelsey Barnard Clark was declared the winner over runner-up Sara Bradley.[5] Barnard Clark was also voted Fan Favorite.[6]
Contestants
Fifteen chefs competed in Top Chef: Kentucky.[1] In addition, like the previous season, three returning competitors competed in the Last Chance Kitchen to earn the chance to join the competition: Top Chef: Colorado contestants Carrie Baird and Brother Luck, and Top Chef: Charleston contestant Jim Smith.[7] Following the sixth episode of Last Chance Kitchen, Luck was selected to join the main cast.
New contestants
| Name[3] | Current Residence[a] |
|---|---|
| Eric Adjepong | Washington, D.C. |
| Sara Bradley | Paducah, Kentucky |
| Kelsey Barnard Clark | Dothan, Alabama |
| Edmund "Eddie" Konrad | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Pablo Lamon | Miami Beach, Florida |
| Natalie Maronski | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Michelle Minori | San Francisco, California |
| Nini Nguyen | Brooklyn, New York |
| Brandon Rosen | San Mateo, California |
| Kevin Scharpf | Dubuque, Iowa |
| Caitlin Steininger | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Justin Sutherland | St. Paul, Minnesota |
| David Viana | Asbury Park, New Jersey |
| Adrienne Wright | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Brian Young | Boston, Massachusetts |
Eric Adjepong and Nini Nguyen returned to compete in Top Chef: All-Stars L.A.[8] Sara Bradley returned for Top Chef: World All-Stars.[9]
Returning contestants
| Name[7] | Current Residence[a] | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Carrie Baird | Denver, Colorado | Season 15 |
| Brother Luck | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Season 15 |
| Jim Smith | Montgomery, Alabama | Season 14 |
Contestant progress
| Episode # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quickfire Challenge Winner(s) | Justin Pablo Sara | David | David | Michelle | Justin | Adrienne | Eddie | Sara | Justin | Michelle | Michelle | ||||||
| Contestant | Elimination Challenge Results | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Kelsey | IN | IN | HIGH | LOW | HIGH | IN | WIN | LOW | IN | LOW | IN | WIN | LOW | WINNER | ||
| 2 | Sara | IN | HIGH | IN | LOW | LOW | LOW | HIGH | HIGH | LOW | HIGH | WIN | LOW | WIN | RUNNER-UP | ||
| 3 | Eric | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | WIN | IN | HIGH | IN | WIN | WIN | IN | LOW | LOW | OUT | ||
| 4 | Michelle | IN | IN | IN | LOW | IN | IN | LOW | WIN | OUT | IN | HIGH | OUT | ||||
| 5 | Adrienne | LOW | HIGH | IN | HIGH | IN | HIGH | LOW | IN | HIGH | LOW | LOW | OUT | ||||
| 6 | Justin | IN | IN | IN | LOW | IN | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | LOW | OUT | |||||
| 7 | Eddie | IN | IN | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | LOW | LOW | IN | OUT | ||||||
| 8 | David | HIGH | HIGH | IN | LOW | IN | IN | LOW | OUT | ||||||||
| 9 | Brian | IN | IN | LOW | WIN | LOW | LOW | OUT | |||||||||
| 10 | Brandon | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | IN | OUT | ||||||||||
| 11 | Brother | OUT | |||||||||||||||
| 12 | Nini | IN | WIN | WIN | OUT | ||||||||||||
| Pablo | HIGH | LOW | LOW | OUT | |||||||||||||
| 14 | Kevin | LOW | HIGH | OUT | |||||||||||||
| 15 | Natalie | WIN | OUT | ||||||||||||||
| 16 | Caitlin | OUT | |||||||||||||||
- The chef(s) did not receive immunity for winning the Quickfire Challenge.
- Following Episode 6 of Last Chance Kitchen, Brother was introduced as a regular competitor.
- Despite Justin making one of the judge's favourite dishes, he did not plate a sufficient number of dishes and was thus ineligible to win.
- As a reward for winning the Quickfire Challenge, Eddie did not have to compete in the Elimination Challenge.
- Michelle 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 the 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
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Last Chance Kitchen
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|
References
- Notes
- ^ The contestants' city and state of residence during time of filming.
- Footnotes
- ^ Fecteau, Jessica (October 18, 2018). "The Trailer for the New Season of Top Chef Is Here! Get an Exclusive Sneak Peek". People. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- ^ Fecteau, Jessica (February 14, 2018). "Bravo Reveals the Filming Location for the Next Season of Top Chef". People. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ Gomez, Patrick (October 18, 2018). "Top Chef heads to Kentucky! A sneak peek at season 16". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- ^ Campbell-Schmitt, Adam (October 18, 2018). "Here's Your First Look at 'Top Chef' Season 16 in Kentucky". Food & Wine. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ Loosemore, Bailey (March 14, 2019). "'Top Chef' Kentucky season finale recap: And the winner is...". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ Ussery, Peggy (March 14, 2019). "Dothan chef Kelsey Barnard Clark wins 'Top Chef'". Dothan Eagle. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ Gomez, Patrick (November 28, 2018). "Top Chef favorites are headed back to the Last Chance Kitchen — and possibly season 16". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- ^ Huff, Lauren (December 12, 2019). "Unpack your knives: Top Chef announces all-star lineup for season 17". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- ^ Leasca, Stacey (January 25, 2023). "'Top Chef' Is Back, These Are the All-Stars Competing This Year". Food & Wine. Archived January 25, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 25, 2023.