Bravo’s “Top Chef” returns Thursday night at 10:00 pm, with Top Chef All Stars LA, turning up the heat on returning cheftestants as they compete for $250,000, the highest cash prize in series history.
From our vantage point, there’s “Top Chef” and then there’s everyone else where food competition shows are concerned. Are there other shows that continue to shine, absolutely, but to us, “Top Chef” is the Chateau Lafite Rothschild of the genre. It only gets better with age.
Top Chef All Stars LA, Season 17 of “Top Chef” wends itself west to Los Angeles, where Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons welcome back 15 of the show’s best competitors from the first 16 seasons. From the City of Angels, the lucky finalists will jet off to Italy for the dramatic finale.
It’s been nine years since Richard Blais beat now-disgraced chef Mike Isabella in the first “Top Chef: All Stars”. With Top Chef All Stars LA, the show is giving viewers a renewed chance to reconnect with old favorites or root against ones who previously got under our skin.
Speaking of getting under our skin, two of this season’s least-popular chefs, Jen Carroll and Angelo Sosa, are making encore appearances on Top Chef All Stars LA. Did either win a Quickfire Challenge during their first All Stars go-round? Nope. Did either even sniff the final four? That’d be no again. So why are they back? Polaroids maybe? (And yes, Polaroids are still a thing!)
With the Lakshmi/Colicchio/Simmons triumvirate holding down the fort, they’ll be joined by the likes of legendary chef Jonathan Waxman, renowned pastry chef Sherry Yard, author and former New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl, and “Top Chef” winners Stephanie Izard and Brooke Williamson in holding the cheftestants’ feet to the proverbial fire.
Restaurant Wars, a “Top Chef” mainstay, returns in a two-part installment on All Stars LA, promising the usual angst, tension and high-wire act that signifies the highly-anticipated (for viewers) and dreaded (for chefs) episodes.
As we eagerly await Thursday’s premiere of Top Chef All Stars LA, let’s take a look at the 15 All Stars who’ll be cooking for the $250,000 cash prize:
LEE ANNE WONG: Chef Wong is to “Top Chef” what Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, et al are to “Saturday Night Live”, an original from the show’s first season. Not only did Lee Anne finish fourth during the inaugural season, but she moved behind the camera for the next four seasons in her role as a culinary producer for the show. She reappeared briefly on “Top Chef: Colorado” before illness forced her to withdraw from the competition.
BRIAN MALARKEY: As part of “Top Chef: Miami”, Malarkey parlayed two Quickfire Challenges and an Elimination Challenge win into a spot in the final four. A successful Southern California restaurateur, the goofball chef can be seen, often, as a judge of a variety of Food Network shows, most frequently on “Guy’s Grocery Games”.
LISA FERNANDES: Known for her Asian cooking, Fernandes advanced to the final of “Top Chef: Chicago”, where she and Richard Blais were edged out for the title by Stephanie Izard. Chef Lisa has settled in Brooklyn, New York, where you’ll find her at the helm of her first restaurant, Sweet Chili.
ANGELO SOSA: All Stars LA will be Angelo’s third attempt at hearing Padma say the magic words “Angelo, you are Top Chef”, having fallen short in the “Top Chef: D.C.” finale and then being sent home much earlier when he competed on “Top Chef: All Stars”. An obvious glutton for punishment, Sosa went on to become Bobby Flay’s whipping boy, getting walloped by him on “Iron Chef America” and then losing to him twice on “Beat Bobby Flay”. Definition of insanity anyone?!
STEPHANIE CMAR: Sent home from “Top Chef: New Orleans” when another chef’s immunity saved him from elimination at her expense, Cmar is a Boston-based private chef who returns to the show looking to build upon her seventh-place finish as she seeks redemption.
BRYAN VOLTAGGIO: Chef Bryan is a two-time “Top Chef” bridesmaid. Along with fellow “Top Chef” All Stars LA cheftestant Kevin Gillespie, Voltaggio was runner-up to his brother Michael on “Top Chef: Las Vegas”. Bryan also fell just short of winning on “Top Chef” spinoff “Top Chef Masters”.
KEVIN GILLESPIE: One of our all-time favorites, one could argue that Kevin was the creme-de-la-creme of “Top Chef: Las Vegas” despite finishing second with Bryan Voltaggio. Gillespie won a season-high five Elimination Challenges to go with four Quickfire Challenges AND earned Fan Favorite honors during his impressive stint on the show. The Atlanta-based chef has to be considered a favorite to win “Top Chef” All Stars LA.
JENNIFER CARROLL: Jen, Jen, Jen. If it’s said that you can never go home again, how is it that Chef Jen keeps getting invitations to compete on “Top Chef”? Carroll has appeared on “Top Chef: Las Vegas”, “Top Chef All Stars”, “Top Chef Duels”, and “Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen”, with All Stars LA representing her fifth visit to the Top Chef kitchen. May we suggest a “Top Chef” Emeritus role for Chef Jen, allowing her to finally exit stage left. We know, if she wins All Stars LA, this piece won’t age well.
GREGORY GOURDET: Another favorite of ours, Gourdet was a superstar on “Top Chef: Boston”. The Portland-based chef won five Elimination Challenges, including four in a row, and four Quickfire Challenges before finishing as runner-up to eventual winner Mei Lin. With a new restaurant and his first cookbook on the horizon, Gregory’s star continues to rise.
MELISSA KING: Chef King joined Gregory Gourdet in Mexico as part of the “Top Chef: Boston” final four. The San Francisco-based chef was named “one of the best female chefs in San Francisco” and was Whole Foods’ first food ambassador.
KAREN AKUNOWICZ: A “Top Chef: California” fan favorite, Chef Karen looks to improve upon her seventh-place finish. Akunowicz won a James Beard Award as Best Chef: Northeast while running the kitchen at popular Boston eatery Myers+Chang before leaving to open her own restaurant called Fox & the Knife.
JAMIE LYNCH: In one of the most shocking “Top Chef” eliminations ever, Chef Lynch saved Emily Hahn when he gave up immunity that he’d won. Even more shocking was his own subsequent elimination, resulting in him packing his own knives and leaving despite having won two straight Quickfire Challenges.
JOE SASTO: Remembered as the pasta guy and known for his Snidely Whiplash mustache, Chef Joe had an impressive run on “Top Chef: Colorado” where he won four Elimination Challenges on his way to a third-place finish. Eschewing a role as a restaurant chef, Sasto has been traveling and doing pop-ups in recent years.
NINI NGUYEN: Chef Nguyen made an early departure from “Top Chef: Kentucky” despite winning Elimination Challenges in weeks two and three. Unfortunately, weeks four and five brought the fabled Restaurant Wars and Nini’s Front of House role led to her packing her knives and going.
ERIC ADJEPONG: Another “Top Chef: Kentucky” cheftestant, Adjepong fared very well, winning three Elimination Challenges on his way to a place in the Finale, where he finished third. The likable chef stayed true to his culinary voice in often presenting the judges with his Ghanian cuisine.
Who do you think will win “Top Chef” All Stars LA? Hop on comments below to weigh in or answer our Twitter poll.
It’s back! @BravoTopChef All Stars LA premiere is tonight - these chefs are looking for redemption but who will be the first cheftestant to pack their knives and go?
— FoodSided (@FoodSided) March 19, 2020
Time to vote - #TopChef
Top Chef All Stars LA airs on Bravo, Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET.