Six months after the last season of Top Chef concluded with controversial winner Gabe Erales, Bravo has released the first look of season 19. Introducing fresh faces, challenges and judges, the newest round of Top Chef is traveling back to Texas. The reality cooking competition, which has been airing for 16 years and hosted by Padma Lakshmi since 2007, first featured the Lone Star State 10 years—and 10 seasons—ago. Won by Chef Paul Qui, Top Chef: Texas showcased the state as (almost) a whole, with challenges occurring in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.
Top Chef has grown tremendously since its early days; what first started as 12 episodes in California and Nevada evolved into every season highlighting a new region in the United States. Top Chef season 18, for example, took place in Portland, Oregon, and season 16 focused on Kentucky. With so much traveling, the show was at first put in jeopardy (like the rest of reality television) upon the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020. Luckily, new policies enacted have made it so that the Top Chef franchise can continue to flourish. Top Chef Masters, for example, features professional chefs battling in weekly challenges, while Top Chef Duels takes two previous Top Chef/Top Chef Masters contestants to compete against one another. Marcus Samuelsson, the winner of Top Chef Masters season 2, even hosts Top Chef Family Style.
In a sneak peek uploaded to Bravo's YouTube channel, Top Chef: Houston is introduced with a brand-new cast ready to battle for the title. The 15 chefs entering the kitchen are Ashleigh Shanti, Buddha Lo, Damarr Brown, Evelyn Garcia, Jackson Kalb, Jae Jung, Jo Chan, Leia Gaccione, Luke Kolpin, Monique Feybesse, Nick Wallace, Robert Hernandez, Sam Kang, Sarah Welch and Stephanie Miller . Only Garcia is from Houston, according to People. Lakshmi returns to host, as well as Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons as judges. The other members of the judging panel, in a new twist, will be made up of previous Top Chef winners and fan-favorites. Returning chefs include Kelsey Barnard Clark, Tiffany Derry, Joe Flamm, Gregory Gourdet, Hung Huynh, Stephanie Izard, Melissa King and Kristen Kish.
That's not all, though. In addition to previous contestants, culinary icons will join the panel. As reported by People, the list of extra guests includes chefs Daniel Boulud, Wylie Dufresne, Carlotta Flores, Bricia Lopez, Eric Ripert, Samuelsson and Alexander Smalls. Houston chefs are also featured, including MasterChef season 3 winner Christine Ha. Other names include Ope Amosu, Aaron Bludorn, Robert Del Grande, Christine Ha, Trong Nguyen, Monica Pope, Chris Shepherd, Kiran Verma and Chris Williams. New challenges include cooking for former NASA astronauts and highlighting Nigerian cuisine, while the iconic Restaurant Wars and Last Chance Kitchen challenges return.
Despite the world dealing with its third year of COVID-19, the new format Top Chef producers have created is working well; by separating as many groups as possible while rotating a panel of people, judges can safely critique the chefs and their dishes. With only two chefs from Texas this season (Chan is from Austin), the pressure is higher than ever to deliver on Top Chef. Houston, as the sixth-largest city in the country, has an impressively giant culinary scene. With a hot and spicy season ahead, fans can check out the trailer for more. For those looking for new content even before Top Chef season 19 begins airing, viewers can check out Bravo's newest spin-off Top Chef Amateurs.
Top Chef premieres March 3 at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.