As one of the three finalists on Top Chef Season 22, Chef Bailey Sullivan found her stride after returning from Last Chance Kitchen. Throughout the culinary competition, the Chicago based chef brought her passion for Italian cuisine and creative food pairings to every challenge. Ahead of the finale, Chef Bailey shared what she learned through this experience.
Several Top Chef winners rose to victory after returning from Last Chance Kitchen. That second opportunity is more than just a reset. It is a way for the cheftestants to better understand how they fit into the competition and showcase why they deserve to be there. More than redemption, it is a serving of determination.
In Top Chef Destination Canada, Chef Bailey had that moment. During the first couple of challenges, she seemed to struggle. Everyone knows that she can cook, but the pressure to perform in the moment is far different than being the Executive Chef at Monteverde.
Ahead of her final challenge on Top Chef Season 22, I spoke with Chef Bailey. While she captivated viewers with her vivacious personality and her excitement to make the finale in Milan, her thoughtful responses to my questions made her even more endearing.
Reflecting on her Top Chef experience, Chef Bailey shared, “I came into this Top Chef experience wanting to know more about myself and who I am as a chef outside of the restaurant where I work. I was terrified of being on television. Then, I looked around and there were all these other amazing chefs. I totally psyched myself out.”
Looking back at those first few challenges, Chef Bailey needed to find her confidence. She continued to explain, “I wasn’t thinking about what do I want to do? What is going to make me happy? I was thinking about how will the judges react to this dish or how will it look next to Tristen’s or Shuai’s dish.”
When Chef Bailey was eliminated, it seemed to spark a fire under her. Each win in that secondary other competition helped her gain confidence.
As another Top Chef Last Chance Kitchen alum, this last meal could be her moment like previous winners, Kristen Kish and Joe Flamm. When asked about her particular experience with this Top Chef element, Chef Bailey looked back at it fondly.
Specifically, she said, “being eliminated was the shock that I needed to reassess how I was thinking. We all give up so much to do this experience. One of the first things that I thought about was the team at home. We have an amazing staff that makes the restaurant run and I did not want to let anyone down. I know that everyone is proud of me regardless of how I would have done, but there is a lot on the line.”
For her, Last Chance Kitchen was the moment where she put it all out there. Chef Bailey said, “it game me the power to run with it” and she kept pushing all the way to the finale.
Will Chef Bailey Sullivan join the ranks of other Top Chef winners who returned from Last Chance Kitchen? Watch the Top Chef Season 22 finale, Thursday, June 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Episodes can be streamed the next day on Peacock.