What to know about ‘Top Chef’ Season 21, shot in Wisconsin, before premiere
In July, Bravo announced its Emmy, James Beard and Critics’ Choice Awardwinning series, “Top Chef” would film Season 21 in Wisconsin.
The show spent about six weeks in the state last summer, shooting at locations in and around Milwaukee and Madison as the “cheftestants” competed for a chance to be named Top Chef.
New host Kristen Kish, the Season 10 winner, and judges Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio were spotted, along with the cast and crew, around the two cities.
Now we’re getting close to the premiere. Here’s what to know about “Top Chef” Season 21.
When does Season 21 start?
The premiere will be at 8 p.m. March 20. Each episode will be a “super-sized” 75 minutes.
Viewers can watch live on Bravo or stream the next day on Peacock, BravoTV.com or the Bravo app.
New this season, there’ll be a digital after-show, “The Dish with Kish,” on BravoTV.com. The premiere will be at 9:15 p.m. March 20. Kish will be joined by a “Top Chef” alum to break down each episode.
The cheftestants compete for $250,000, a feature in Food & Wine magazine and an appearance at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado.
Who are the cheftestants competing?
Fifteen cheftestants from across the country compete for the title, including Milwaukee’s Dan Jacobs, who co-owns DanDan at 360 E. Erie St. and EsterEv, which is opening a new space soon at 2165 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Jacobs will be the only Wisconsinbased contestant. Before opening DanDan with Dan Van Rite in 2016, Jacobs worked at Milwaukee restaurants such as Roots, Wolf Peach and Odd Duck.
The other contestants on “Top Chef” Season 21 are:
● Kaleena Bliss, an executive chef from Chicago
● Kevin D’Andrea, a chef and bakery owner from Austin, Texas
● Alisha Elenz, a private chef from Chicago
● Danny Garcia, an executive chef from Brooklyn, New York
● Valentine Howell Jr., an executive chef from Dorchester, Massachusetts
● Manny Barella Lopez, a culinary director from Denver
● Savannah Miller, a chef de cuisine from Durham, North Carolina
● David Murphy, a chef and restaurant co-owner from San Francisco
● Kenny Nguyen, a chef and restaurant owner from Athens, Georgia
● Laura Ozyilmaz, a chef and restaurant owner from San Francisco
● Charly Pierre, a chef and restaurant owner from New Orleans
● Amanda Turner, a chef de cuisine from Austin, Texas
● Rasika Venkatesa, a chef de cuisine from New York City
● Michelle Wallace, a chef, restaurant owner and pitmaster from Houston
What’s new in Season 21?
Besides the 75-minute episodes being new, this season the cheftestants have a shot at winning cash prizes at every Quickfire Challenge. Plus, immunity will be up for grabs at the Elimination Challenges, making the winner safe in the next episode, according to Bravo.
Bravo says the season will honor Wisconsin traditions, local staples and fresh produce.
Challenges throughout the season will highlight Wisconsin traditions and culinary staples, including a cheese festival competition, a Door County fish boil, the creation of a supper-club menu and showcasing the versatility of Wisconsin-grown cranberries and Door County cherries. Even the Milwaukee Brewers’ Famous Racing Sausages will get in on the action.
While most of the challenges were filmed in Wisconsin, the season finale will take place aboard a Holland America cruise ship, where finalists must create a four-course meal for the judges.
Who else can we expect to see?
Throughout the competition, “Top Chef” winners, finalists and favorites will be part of the show, including Sara Bradley, Joe Flamm, Jeremy Ford, Gregory Gourdet, Stephanie Izard, Carla Hall, Ed Lee, Mei Lin, Buddha Lo, Kwame Onwuachi, Shota Najikama, Amar Santana, Justin Sutherland and Bryan Voltaggio.
A rotating group of judges and panelists also will appear throughout the season, including an appearance from Milwaukee’s Dane Baldwin, chef and coowner of The Diplomat; restaurateur Paul Bartolotta; Adam Siegel, executive chef and owner of Lupi & Iris; Madison’s Tory Miller, executive chef and co-owner of L’Etoile; Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger, chefs and owners of Madison’s Fairchild restaurant; Joe and Shaina Papach, co-owners of Madison’s Harvey House; Elena Terry, executive chef and founder of Wisconsin Dells’ Wild Bearies; Wisconsin native and comedian Charlie Berens; and former Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun.
Other panelists include Dominique Crenn, Curtis Duffy, Clea Duvall, Emeril Lagasse, Hunter Lewis, Bricia Lopez, Carrie Nahabedian, Justin Pichetrungsi, Sofia Roe, Sean Sherman, Helmi Smeulders, Art Smith, Brittany Snow, Christina Tosi, Erick Williams and David Zilber.
Rachel Bernhard and Hannah Kirby contributed to this story.