(Season 12, Boston, 2014-15; Season 17, All-Stars L.A, 2020)
Although King is from SoCal, she entered the competition as a San Francisco chef (Campton Place, Luce, Ritz-Carlton) so we count her — and her win — for Northern California. Make that wins. She has chalked up more individual victories (three Quickfires and six Elimination challenges) than anyone else in “Top Chef” history. She's been incredibly busy since then. First, she put her sheltering-in-place time during the pandemic to good use: She made and sold the sauces the Season 17 judges swooned over, and she taught virtual cooking classes. Since then she has supported LGBTQ and AAPI causes through appearances, projects and fundraisers; served as a Whole Foods chef ambassador; cooked for the 2022 Met Gala; and hosted National Geographic's “Tasting Wild” docuseries on Hulu. Check out her King Sauces lineup at www.chefmelissaking.com.
Chef Tanya Holland is also the head of the James Beard Foundation awards committee.
(Season 15, Denver, 2017)
You never know where this pioneering Oakland chef will pop up. Famed for her creative takes on soul food, Holland has been pursuing culinary and equity projects as a restaurateur, entrepreneur, author, TV guest and podcast host since her appearance on “Top Chef.” She has added “Tanya Holland's California Soul” (2022) to her acclaimed cookbooks, “New Soul Cooking” and “Brown Sugar Kitchen.” In 2023, she prepared a threecourse feast at the Culinary Institute of America at Copia in Napa to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the documentary, “A Fine Line.” Most recently, she became a senior adviser to the Stanford Food Institute where, Holland says, “we address sustainability and DEI issues in the food system, amongst other industry issues.” She also was a keynote speaker at the university's Women's Summit that launched Women's History Month. Holland remains active as a board member for the James Beard Foundation. Find out more about her initiatives and projects at www.tanyaholland.com.
Michelin award-winning Rogelio Garcia is back in Napa Valley as the executive chef at Auro in Calistoga.
(Season 15, Denver, 2017)
Garcia, a chef with Michelin cred (Cyrus, Spruce, Luce) who started his career as a dishwasher in Napa, is back in Napa Valley at Auro, a restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort in Calistoga that was honored with a Michelin star last summer — just eight months after opening. And in January, he was named a James Beard semifinalist in the category of Best Chef: California. At Auro, Garcia and his team offer a $205 tasting menu along with such events as wine dinners and a New Year's Eve Champagne Countdown. This September, the Cameron and Co. publishing house is scheduled to release his first cookbook, “Convivir: Modern Mexican Cooking in California's Wine Country,” with 100 recipes that meld Mexican flavors and California ingredients.