| Season number | 21 |
|---|---|
| Bgcolour |
|
| Num episodes | 14 |
| Network | Bravo |
| First aired | March 20, 2024 |
| Last aired | June 19, 2024 |
| Prev season | World All-Stars |
| Next season | Destination Canada |
| Episode list | List of Top Chef episodes |
| Host | Kristen Kish |
|---|---|
| Judges | Tom Colicchio Gail Simmons |
| Num contestants | 16 |
| Location | Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin |
| Finals venue | The Caribbean |
| Winner | Danny Garcia |
| Runner up | Dan Jacobs Savannah Miller |
| Fan Favorite | Michelle Wallace |
Top Chef: Wisconsin is the twenty-first season of the American reality television series Top Chef.[1] The season was filmed in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, marking the series' first return to the Midwestern United States since Top Chef: Chicago.[1][2][3] The season finale was filmed aboard the MS Eurodam in the Caribbean, with stops in Curaçao and Aruba.[4] Top Chef: Seattle winner Kristen Kish replaces Padma Lakshmi as host, following Lakshmi's departure from the show after the previous season.[1] A new digital aftershow, titled The Dish with Kish, debuted alongside the returning Last Chance Kitchen web series.[4]
This season introduced new rules to the competition.[5][6] Immunity from elimination was no longer awarded for winning Quickfire Challenges.[5] Instead, immunity could only be won through Elimination Challenges, making the winning chef safe in the next episode.[4][6] The contestants were given the opportunity to earn cash prizes at every Quickfire.[6] In addition, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons joined Kish to judge the Quickfire Challenges during the latter half of the season, at which point, the chefs' Quickfire performances were factored into elimination decisions.[7]
Top Chef: Wisconsin premiered on March 20, 2024, and concluded on June 19, 2024.[8][5] In the season finale, Danny Garcia was declared the winner over runners-up Dan Jacobs and Savannah Miller.[9] Michelle Wallace was voted Fan Favorite.[9]
Production
Top Chef: Wisconsin was produced in partnership with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and in collaboration with Travel Wisconsin, Visit Milwaukee, Destination Madison, Destination Door County, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association.[2] Travel Wisconsin coordinated a total of $1.3 million in production incentives from the WEDC, tourism partners, and agricultural marketing organizations.[8]
The show's scouting team was brought out to Wisconsin in November 2022 and visited 56 locations in total.[8] Filming took place over six weeks from August through September 2023.[3][10][11] The Top Chef kitchen was set up inside a former ink printing warehouse located in Oak Creek.[12][13]
Discussions for a Wisconsin-themed season date back to 2019.[14] Chef and restaurateur Paul Bartolotta, who appeared as a guest judge on Top Chef: Las Vegas in 2009, has been credited for continuously advocating for Milwaukee as a potential host city.[3][14] Series showrunner Doneen Arquines stated regional diversity was an important factor in choosing Wisconsin as the next Top Chef location, as the show had not filmed in the Midwest since Season 4.[3][8] Detroit, Michigan and Minneapolis, Minnesota were also considered.[3] Wisconsin had previously been on the short list for Season 19.[8] Houston, Texas was eventually chosen after the 2021 Ryder Cup golf tournament moved to Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin and hotels booked up.[8]
When Padma Lakshmi announced her departure from Top Chef to focus on Taste the Nation, her books, and other creative pursuits, Magical Elves Productions' chief executive Casey Kriley stated Kristen Kish was their clear choice for Lakshmi's replacement.[1][15] The executives at NBCUniversal, which owns Bravo, claimed they never interviewed anyone else for the position.[15]
Contestants
The cast of Top Chef: Wisconsin initially consisted of 15 chefs.[5][16] A sixteenth contestant, Soo Ahn, started in the Last Chance Kitchen and eventually joined the main competition following its fifth episode.[17] Kévin D'Andrea previously competed on the sixth season of the French version of Top Chef.[5]
| Name[16][17] | Hometown | Current Residence[a] |
|---|---|---|
| Soo Ahn | Seoul, South Korea/Tacoma, Washington | Chicago, Illinois |
| Manny Barella | Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico | Denver, Colorado |
| Kaleena Bliss | Seattle, Washington | Chicago, Illinois |
| Kévin D'Andrea | Oloron-Sainte-Marie, France | Austin, Texas |
| Alisha Elenz | Palatine, Illinois | Chicago, Illinois |
| Danny Garcia | Brooklyn, New York | |
| Valentine Howell Jr. | Boston, Massachusetts | Dorchester, Massachusetts |
| Dan Jacobs | Chicago, Illinois | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Savannah Miller | Southern Pines, North Carolina | Durham, North Carolina |
| David Murphy | Houston, Texas | San Francisco, California |
| Kenny Nguyen | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Athens, Georgia |
| Laura Ozyilmaz | Acapulco, Mexico | San Francisco, California |
| Charly Pierre | Cambridge, Massachusetts | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Amanda Turner | Arlington, Texas | Austin, Texas |
| Rasika Venkatesa | Chennai, India | New York, New York |
| Michelle Wallace | St. Louis, Missouri | Houston, Texas |
Contestant progress
| Episode # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quickfire Challenge Results | Laura ★ Kévin ↑ Michelle ↑ Danny ↓ Kenny ↓ Valentine ↓ | Rasika ★ Kévin ↑ Savannah ↑ Alisha ↓ Charly ↓ Kenny ↓ | Charly ★ Laura ↑ Manny ↑ Amanda ↓ Kévin ↓ Michelle ↓ | Michelle ★ Amanda ↑ Kaleena ↑ Dan ↓ Danny ↓ Manny ↓ | Danny ★ Amanda ↑ Kévin ↑ | Danny ★ Dan ↑ Michelle ↑ Amanda ↓ Laura ↓ Manny ↓ | Savannah ★ Soo ↑ Dan ↓ Danny ↓ Manny ↓ Michelle ↓ | Savannah ★ Dan ↑ Michelle ↑ Danny ↓ Laura ↓ Manny ↓ | Manny ★ Savannah ★ Danny ↑ Laura ↑ Dan ↓ Manny ↓ | Dan ★ | |||||
| Contestant | Elimination Challenge Results | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Danny | HIGH | IN | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | HIGH | IN | WIN | HIGH | LOW | WIN | WINNER |
| 2 | Dan | IN | IN | HIGH | IN | WIN | HIGH | LOW | WIN | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | LOW | IN | RUNNER-UP |
| Savannah | IN | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | HIGH | LOW | HIGH | WIN | LOW | IN | WIN | LOW | RUNNER-UP | |
| 4 | Laura | IN | IN | IN | IN | LOW | IN | IN | LOW | OUT | WIN | HIGH | OUT | ||
| 5 | Manny | WIN | HIGH | LOW | IN | LOW | IN | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | LOW | OUT | ||
| 6 | Michelle | HIGH | IN | WIN | IN | HIGH | LOW | WIN | HIGH | LOW | HIGH | OUT | |||
| 7 | Soo | HIGH | IN | LOW | HIGH | OUT | |||||||||
| 8 | Amanda | LOW | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | HIGH | OUT | |||||
| 9 | Kaleena | IN | IN | HIGH | OUT | IN | HIGH | OUT | |||||||
| 10 | Kévin | IN | LOW | LOW | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |||||||
| 11 | Rasika | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | OUT | ||||||||
| 12 | Charly | IN | LOW | IN | IN | OUT | |||||||||
| 13 | Alisha | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||||||||||
| 14 | Kenny | LOW | HIGH | OUT | |||||||||||
| 15 | Valentine | IN | OUT | ||||||||||||
| 16 | David | OUT | |||||||||||||
- The chef(s) won immunity for the next Elimination Challenge.
- Following Episode 5 of Last Chance Kitchen, Kaleena rejoined the competition and Soo was introduced as a new competitor.
- Following the final episode of Last Chance Kitchen, Laura rejoined the competition.
- Manny won the first part of the blind taste test in Episode 12 but placed in the bottom for the second part of the challenge.
- Quickfire Challenge
- The chef won the Quickfire Challenge.
- The chef was selected as one of the top entries in the Quickfire Challenge but did not win.
- The chef was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Quickfire Challenge.
- Elimination Challenge
- (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
- ^ Maas, Jennifer (July 11, 2023). "'Top Chef' Winner Kristen Kish to Replace Host Padma Lakshmi in Wisconsin-Set Season 21". Variety. Archived July 11, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
- ^ Foran, Chris (July 11, 2023). "Season 21 of Bravo's 'Top Chef' will be filmed in Wisconsin, with new host Kristen Kish". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived July 18, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ Ryan, Sean (September 4, 2023). "How Paul Bartolotta's custard crawl helped bring 'Top Chef' to Milwaukee". Milwaukee Business Journal. Archived September 6, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Crist, Allison (February 7, 2024). "See Kristen Kish Step in as Host for Top Chef Season 21, Which Includes Interesting Twists". The Daily Dish. Archived February 7, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- ^ DeBianchi, Antonia (February 7, 2024). "Top Chef Gets 'Shaken Up' with New Rules and Kristen Kish as Host — See the Trailer and Meet the Chefs (Exclusive)". People. Archived February 7, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- ^ Boucher, Ashley (February 7, 2024). "Meet the chefs shaking things up on Top Chef season 21". Entertainment Weekly. Archived February 7, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- ^ Ergas, Talia (March 7, 2024). "There Are Major Changes Coming to Top Chef's Competition Format for Season 21". The Daily Dish. Archived March 8, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ Christians, Lindsay (November 8, 2023). "How 'Top Chef' came to Dairyland". The Capital Times. Archived November 8, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ Tinoco, Armando (June 19, 2024). "'Top Chef' Season 21 Crowns Winner On Bravo". Deadline. Archived June 20, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ Reid, Claire (August 15, 2023). "Milwaukee 'Top Chef' sightings begin: Crew spotted filming at Whole Foods on Prospect Ave.". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived August 15, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ Kalk Derby, Samara (March 14, 2024). "This season's 'Top Chef' shows Wisconsin can 'dance with the big boys'". Wisconsin State Journal. Archived March 14, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ Rackl, Lori (March 18, 2024). "The Stars of Bravo's Top Chef on Cast Changes, Farm Stands and Filming in Wisconsin". Midwest Living. Archived March 19, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ Bernhard, Rachel (May 29, 2024). "'Top Chef: Wisconsin' Episode 11 recap: Laying it all on the table in the Top Chef kitchen". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived May 30, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ Hilyard, Hannah (August 14, 2023). 'Top Chef' crews spotted filming at Milwaukee grocery store. WISN-TV. pp. 1:02. Archived August 15, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
- ^ Severson, Kim (August 22, 2023). "How Does Kristen Kish Feel at the Top of 'Top Chef'? It's Complicated.". New York Times. Archived August 22, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
- ^ Raphael, Shannon (February 7, 2024). "Meet the Cheftestants Competing on Top Chef Season 21". The Daily Dish. Archived February 7, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- ^ DeBianchi, Antonia (March 26, 2024). "A Top Chef First: New Contestant Will Join the Competition Late by Cooking on Last Chance Kitchen (Exclusive)". People. Archived March 26, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 26, 2024.