For 17 seasons, the cooking competition show Top Chef has featured exciting locations, grueling challenges, and exquisite dishes. Starting from the second season, the show allows the viewers to vote for their favorite competing chef; the winner of this vote is awarded a $10,000 prize.
Many chefs have earned this title through their cooking skills and their personalities, and have used their prize money for their restaurants or charities that they support. While many people dream about owning their own restaurants, these beloved Top Chef contestants have establishments up and running for fans to come and enjoy the dishes they fell in love with.
Casey Thompson (Folktable)
The Fan Favorite winner of Top Chef: Miami, Casey Thompson won fans over with her Southern charm and her American-French style of cooking. Originally from Dallas, Thompson made the move to Napa Valley in California after her time on the show. Her current endeavor, Folktable, focuses on a seasonal menu and local ingredients. Some current dishes include spring vegetable soup, smoked salmon on a toasted croissant, and a rendition of spicy fried chicken. Thompson also plans to open a new restaurant Georgette, which is currently on hold due to the pandemic.
Chris Crary (1 Kitchen)
The Fan Favorite of Top Chef: Texas, Chris Crary stirred up a little bit of controversy by using social media to his advantage in order to claim the prize. Despite this, he has gone on to earn significant recognition in the foodie mecca of Los Angeles. His farm-to-table eatery, 1 Kitchen, is located at the 1 Hotel in West Hollywood and grows a good portion of its ingredients onsite. The menu has dishes such as fish tacos, sushi rolls, and superfood smoothies.
Kelsey Barnard Clark (KBC)
Hailing from a small town in Alabama, Kelsey Barnard Clark was the second person to win both the Fan Favorite title and the entire competition when she participated in Top Chef: Kentucky. She wowed both the judges and the audience with her Southern-based dishes, and she continues to offer this at her establishment KBC.
The menu features the Southern flair that made Clark well known, such as barbecue and fried chicken sandwiches, sides of grits and sweet potato fries, and a featured biscuit bar during brunch.
Isaac Toups (Toups’ Meatery)
A Louisiana native, Issac Toups took the spot for Fan Favorite in Top Chef: California by showing his big personality and presenting an array of dishes that ring true with his Cajun roots. Toups now runs the restaurant Toups’ Meatery, located in New Orleans. This eatery features food that captures the flavor that is symbolic of the area, such as fried chicken livers, BBQ rabbit, and Couvillion; there are even sides of cornbread and dirty rice.
Tiffany Derry (Roots Chicken Shak)
A lively chef born and bred in Texas, Tiffany Derry won the hearts of viewers with her bright smile, her positive attitude, and her traditional Southern cooking style. This boosted her into the Fan Favorite spot for the Top Chef: D.C. season. These days, fans can enjoy Derry’s food at her dining spot Roots Chicken Shak in the Austin area. While there are items like sweet tea and banana pudding available, the big draw is Derry’s famous duck-fat fried chicken.
Kevin Gillespie (Gunshow)
One of the top three finalists in Top Chef: Las Vegas, Kevin Gillespie became the Fan Favorite with his sense of humor, his red beard, and his consistent challenge wins. He recently had fans concerned with some health issues in 2018 but has bounced back since then.
Gillespie owns the establishment called Gunshow in Atlanta, which features the actual chefs serving their food directly to the guests themselves. The menu features items like oysters with watermelon vinegar, pastrami duck breast, and rhubarb-lavender puff pastry.
Nina Compton (Bywater American Bistro)
Another Fan Favorite from New Orleans, Nina Compton appeared as a hometown hero in Top Chef: New Orleans. She was a leader in the competition from the very beginning; in fact, she was so popular that there was some outrage when she came in second place instead of winning that season. Her casual dining spot, Bywater American Bistro, puts out dishes that show Compton’s Caribbean roots. Diners can get roasted octopus, jerk chicken with dumplings, and curried rabbit with coconut rice.
Stephanie Izard (Girl & The Goat)
A hometown contestant in Top Chef: Chicago, Stephanie Izard was the first person to win both the Fan Favorite vote and the competition overall. With consistently excellent dishes, she is also the first female chef to win on the show. Izard now owns several establishments, including the flagship location Girl & The Goat in Chicago. With a focus on farm-grown ingredients and global inspiration, the food here includes delicacies such as chickpea fritters, goat empanadas, and mango sticky rice for dessert.
Sheldon Simeon (Tinroof)
Sheldon Simeon is a unique Fan Favorite because he has won the title twice; first on Top Chef: Seattle and then on Top Chef: Charleston. He gained a lot of this popularity with his cheerful outlook and Filipino-influenced cuisine. Located in Maui, Simeon currently runs the casual dining spot Tinroof, which centers on the feeling of home cooking. Here, fans can grab a kau kau tin (a large container of meat and rice), a side of kimchi, or some fat chow funn noodles.
Fabio Viviani (Osteria)
Originally from Florence, Fabio Viviani became one of the most recognizable faces from the show after winning Fan Favorite in Top Chef: New York. Viewers loved his Italian charm, his foreign good looks, and his successful Italian dishes. Viviani has gone on to establish several restaurants, one of the most popular being Osteria in the suburbs of Chicago. For lovers of Italian food, this place is one to go to, with dishes like beef carpaccio, squid ink pasta, and limoncello cake.