# Top Chef: Portland > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Top_Chef:_Portland > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Top_Chef:_Portland.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Chef%3A_Portland > Source revision: 1352575558 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) ***Top Chef: Portland*** is the eighteenth season of the American reality television series *[Top Chef](/source/Top_Chef)*. It was first announced by [Bravo](/source/Bravo_(American_TV_network)) on September 28, 2020.[1] The season was filmed in [Portland, Oregon](/source/Portland,_Oregon), and surrounding areas, including the [Hood River Fruit Loop](/source/Hood_River,_Oregon), [Columbia River Gorge](/source/Columbia_River_Gorge), [Mount Hood](/source/Mount_Hood), [Tillamook Bay](/source/Tillamook_Bay), [Tualatin Valley](/source/Tualatin_Valley), and [Willamette Valley](/source/Willamette_Valley) wine country.[1] The winner received US$250,000.[2] Numerous production changes were made in response to [COVID-19](/source/COVID-19), and the [pandemic's impact on the food industry](/source/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_the_food_industry) became a recurring theme for challenges and discussions throughout the season. Due to the difficulty of bringing in guest judges and diners for individual episodes while observing pandemic safety protocols, in addition to series mainstays [Tom Colicchio](/source/Tom_Colicchio), [Gail Simmons](/source/Gail_Simmons), and [Padma Lakshmi](/source/Padma_Lakshmi), the season features a rotating judging and dining panel consisting of various *Top Chef* alumni.[3][4] *Top Chef: Portland* premiered on April 1, 2021, and concluded on July 1, 2021.[2] In the season finale, [Gabe Erales](/source/Gabe_Erales) was declared the winner over runners-up [Shota Nakajima](/source/Shota_Nakajima) and [Dawn Burrell](/source/Dawn_Burrell).[5] Nakajima was voted Fan Favorite.[6] ## Production Production ran from early September through late October 2020.[3][7] In response to [COVID-19](/source/COVID-19), a comprehensive health and safety plan was developed by Bravo and Magical Elves Productions in accordance with [CDC](/source/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention) guidelines, state and local orders, and safety policies from [NBCUniversal](/source/NBCUniversal).[1] According to Magical Elves Productions co-CEO Casey Kriley, the company spent six months planning how to film during the pandemic.[8] The cast and production crew, totaling around 150 people, were kept isolated in a [bubble](/source/Bio-secure_bubble), similar to those used for sporting events, at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Portland.[3][9] They were tested for the coronavirus every other day.[9][10] Due to the size of the production crew, the departments were broken up into separate zones that worked at different times.[9] Sanitation protocols were changed.[9] The judges were not allowed to share plates of food; tasting spoons had to be discarded after every taste; and contestants were each given their own individual spice containers, instead of sharing them.[9] Other production changes included curbside pickup and delivery from [Whole Foods Market](/source/Whole_Foods_Market) instead of in-store shopping; the exclusion of challenges involving large dinners, tasting events, and crowds; as well as a bigger kitchen set and judges' table to allow for more [social distancing](/source/Social_distancing).[3][10] According to Colicchio and Simmons, nobody became ill during filming.[10] The producers were committed to their decision to go with Portland, Oregon, as a host for *Top Chef*, despite ongoing civil unrest in the city including protests over the police [murder of George Floyd](/source/Murder_of_George_Floyd) and [killing of Breonna Taylor](/source/Killing_of_Breonna_Taylor).[9] While the show was able to avoid the protests, which were largely concentrated to downtown Portland, the producers did not anticipate the effects of the [2020 Oregon wildfires](/source/2020_Oregon_wildfires), which "[threw] a massive curveball" into the production schedule.[9] At times, the producers were unable to shoot outdoors, or even indoors, due to the smoke caused by the wildfires, forcing them to shift the schedule and filming locations around.[9] ## Contestants Main article: [List of Top Chef contestants](/source/List_of_Top_Chef_contestants) Fifteen chefs competed in *Top Chef: Portland*.[2] The cast consisted entirely of [executive chefs](/source/Executive_chef) and restaurant owners, making it the first season of *Top Chef* to not include any [sous-chefs](/source/Sous-chef) among the competitors.[11] Name[12] Hometown Current Residence[a] Brittanny Anderson Richmond, Virginia Avishar Barua Columbus, Ohio Dawn Burrell Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Houston, Texas Gabe Erales El Paso, Texas Austin, Texas Nelson German New York City, New York Oakland, California Byron Gomez Central Islip, New York Aspen, Colorado Sasha Grumman Newport Beach, California Houston, Texas Roscoe Hall Chicago, Illinois Birmingham, Alabama Sara Hauman Vista, California Portland, Oregon Kiki Louya Detroit, Michigan Maria Mazon Tucson, Arizona/Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico Tucson, Arizona Shota Nakajima Tokyo, Japan/Seattle, Washington Seattle, Washington Gabriel Pascuzzi Portland, Oregon Jamie Tran Stockton, California Las Vegas, Nevada Chris Viaud Randolph, Massachusetts Milford, New Hampshire Dawn Burrell returned to compete in *[Top Chef: World All-Stars](/source/Top_Chef:_World_All-Stars)*.[13] ## Contestant progress Episode # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Quickfire Challenge Winner(s) Kiki Sara Sasha Jamie Avishar Chris Chris Gabriel Shota Dawn Dawn Dawn Jamie Gabe Contestant Elimination Challenge Results 1 Gabe HIGH HIGH IN WIN IN HIGH IN LOW WIN IN WIN LOW IN WINNER 2 Shota HIGH WIN HIGH IN LOW WIN IN HIGH HIGH IN HIGH WIN WIN RUNNER-UP Dawn IN HIGH WIN IN HIGH HIGH HIGH LOW HIGH IN HIGH LOW IN RUNNER-UP 4 Jamie LOW IN HIGH IN OUT WIN HIGH LOW IN LOW OUT 5 Maria IN IN IN IN HIGH LOW LOW WIN HIGH IN OUT 6 Byron IN LOW IN IN WIN LOW IN HIGH LOW OUT 7 Chris IN LOW LOW HIGH IN LOW LOW LOW OUT 8 Sara WIN HIGH IN IN IN WIN HIGH OUT 9 Avishar LOW WIN IN LOW HIGH LOW OUT 10 Gabriel HIGH HIGH IN HIGH LOW OUT Nelson IN IN IN LOW IN OUT 12 Kiki IN IN LOW OUT 13 Brittanny IN LOW OUT 14 Sasha LOW OUT 15 Roscoe OUT - The chef(s) did not receive immunity for winning the Quickfire Challenge. - Following [Episode 5 of *Last Chance Kitchen*](#LCK), Jamie returned to the competition. - Due to the tournament-style format of the Elimination Challenge in [Episode 10](#10), no top or bottom dishes were determined. The winner of each round was declared safe, while the loser of the final round was eliminated. - Since the judges could not decide on a losing dish, all three chefs moved forward to the finale. - (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 Main article: [List of Top Chef episodes](/source/List_of_Top_Chef_episodes) ## *Last Chance Kitchen* Main article: [Top Chef#Last Chance Kitchen](/source/Top_Chef#Last_Chance_Kitchen) No. Title Original air date ## Controversy In December 2020, about a month after filming ended in Portland, Gabe Erales, who would end up winning the competition, was fired from his executive chef position at Comedor in Austin. The day after the finale aired, the *[Austin American-Statesman](/source/Austin_American-Statesman)* reported that Erales "admitted to having a consensual sexual relationship" with a female coworker at Comedor in the summer of 2020. He later reduced the employee's work hours "based on her performance," Erales said, while he "continued to communicate with her in an unprofessional manner." Philip Speer, his former business partner and chef at Comedor, confirmed Erales was terminated due to "repeated violations of the company's ethics policy as it relates to harassment of women." Erales apologized on Instagram for his behavior, while the show declined to comment. Host and fellow producer Padma Lakshmi eventually spoke on the matter and stated, "As someone who has been sexually harassed, this topic is a serious one and merits openness. We filmed Top Chef in October of last year & were not aware of the allegations now coming out about Gabe. This should be investigated & the network should consider its best action." She added "no one has alleged sexual harassment on the record or otherwise to Bravo/Top Chef and we judges didn't have any indication of inappropriate behavior from Gabe during his time on set."[14] ## References **Notes** 1. The contestants' city and state of residence during time of filming. **Footnotes** 1. Rosenfeld, Laura (September 28, 2020). ["Bravo's Top Chef Season 18 Location Revealed"](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/top-chef-season-18-location). *Bravo*. Retrieved September 28, 2020. 1. Honkus, Mary (February 8, 2021). ["Bravo's Top Chef Returns for Season 18 in Portland, Oregon — Watch the Trailer"](https://people.com/food/bravo-top-chef-returns-season-18-portland-oregon-watch-trailer/). *[People](/source/People_(magazine))*. Retrieved February 8, 2021. 1. Turnquist, Kristi (September 28, 2020). ["'Top Chef' is back, and the new season is based in Portland"](https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2020/09/top-chef-is-back-and-the-new-season-is-based-in-portland.html). *[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)*. Retrieved September 28, 2020. 1. Rosenfeld, Laura (September 28, 2020). ["Bravo's Top Chef Will Feature a Major Twist When It Returns for Season 18"](https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/top-chef-season-18-cast-includes-alums-judges-diners?cid=soc_tw_bravo_Dish). *Bravo*. Retrieved September 28, 2020. 1. Maas, Jennifer (July 1, 2021). ["'Top Chef' Season 18 Finale: And the Winner Is..."](https://www.thewrap.com/top-chef-winner-season-18-gabe-erales-first-mexican-top-chef-finale-shota-dawn/). *[TheWrap](/source/TheWrap)*. Retrieved July 2, 2021. 1. Carlin, Shannon (July 9, 2021). ["Top Chef Favorite Shota Nakajima Is Ready to Compete Again"](https://www.vulture.com/article/top-chef-portland-shota-nakajima-interview.html). *[Vulture](/source/Vulture_magazine)*. Retrieved July 9, 2021. 1. Turnquist, Kristi (December 4, 2020). ["Oregon TV and film production continues, with 'Top Chef Amateurs' and more projects observing safety protocols"](https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2020/12/oregon-tv-and-film-production-continues-with-top-chef-amateurs-and-more-projects-observing-safety-protocols.html). *[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)*. Retrieved December 5, 2020. 1. Mandell, Andrea (April 1, 2021). ["'Top Chef' returns: How Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio shot a Portland season amid the pandemic"](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/04/01/top-chef-returns-how-season-18-shot-pandemic/7049266002/). *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)*. Retrieved April 1, 2021. 1. Aurthur, Kate (February 8, 2021). ["Inside the Unprecedented Effort to Film 'Top Chef' Through COVID, Protests and Wildfires (EXCLUSIVE)"](https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/top-chef-portland-covid-protests-and-wildfires-1234902158/). *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))*. Retrieved February 9, 2021. 1. ["Judges' table: Restaurant recovery, home chefs and the future of food"](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/11/19/judges-table-restaurant-recovery-home-chefs-and-the-future-of-food.html). *[CNBC](/source/CNBC)*. November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020. 1. Lambe, Stacy (April 1, 2021). ["Padma, Tom and Gail Reflect on 15 Years of 'Top Chef' (Exclusive)"](https://www.etonline.com/padma-tom-and-gail-reflect-on-15-years-of-top-chef-163224). *[Entertainment Tonight](/source/Entertainment_Tonight)*. Retrieved April 1, 2021. 1. Jones, Marcus (February 8, 2021). ["Meet the Top Chef: Portland contestants and all-star judges in first trailer"](https://ew.com/tv/top-chef-portland-new-trailer-meet-the-contestantss/). *[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)*. Retrieved February 8, 2021. 1. Leasca, Stacey (January 25, 2023). ["'Top Chef' Is Back, These Are the All-Stars Competing This Year"](https://www.foodandwine.com/top-chef-all-stars-season-20-premiere-date-7098988). *[Food & Wine](/source/Food_%26_Wine)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230125174157/https://www.foodandwine.com/top-chef-all-stars-season-20-premiere-date-7098988) January 25, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 25, 2023. 1. Aquilina, Tyler (July 24, 2021). ["Top Chef winner Gabe Erales apologizes in wake of sexual misconduct allegations"](https://ew.com/tv/top-chef-winner-gabe-erales-apologizes-sexual-misconduct-allegations/). *[EW](/source/EW_(magazine))*. Retrieved August 24, 2021. ## External links - [Official website](http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Top Chef: Portland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Chef%3A_Portland) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Chef%3A_Portland?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.