Top Chef TV Show Turns Up the Heat in Portland

A Lifestyle story: The television show, Top Chef is back with its 18th season and this year features Portland, Oregon. The episodes air on Thursday nights on Bravo.

During the season, chefs are put to the test in a variety of challenges, including celebrating PDX’s Pan-African cuisine, feeding hundreds of frontline workers, a surf and turf elimination challenge honoring the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Portlandia stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein also stop by the Top Chef Kitchen for a Quickfire Challenge.

Crabbing on the Oregon Coast features a tribute to the culinary icon and Oregonian, James Beard.

Contestants also visit some of Oregon’s most famous locations, including the Hood River Fruit Loop and Tillamook Creamery. This season’s Restaurant Wars will be unlike any other as the teams must execute a micro-restaurant concept with a cohesive seven-course tasting menu.

These executive chefs and restaurant owners from all across the country each bring a unique set of skills and a diverse culinary point-of-view to the competition. In addition to the coveted title of Top Chef, this season’s winning chef will receive $250,000 furnished by S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, a feature in FOOD & WINE magazine, and an appearance at the annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen.

Host Padma Lakshmi is back to help determine who will be crowned this season’s Top Chef.

Meet the Top Chef Season 18 cheftestants, who head judge Tom Colicchio says “could be one of the best collections of chefs we’ve had on the show in 18 seasons” in the trailer for the new season, below:

Brittanny Anderson – Richmond, VA

Avishar Barua – Columbus, OH

Dawn Burrell – Houston, TX

Gabe Erales – Austin, TX

Nelson German – Oakland, CA

Byron Gomez – Aspen, CO

Sasha Grumman – Houston, TX

Roscoe Hall – Birmingham, AL

Sara Hauman – Portland, OR

Kiki Louya – Detroit, MI

Maria Mazon – Tucson, Arizona

Shota Nakajima – Seattle, WA

Gabriel Pascuzzi – Portland, OR

Jamie Tran – Las Vegas, NV

Chris Viaud – Milford, NH

They will also be joined for the first time ever by an elite rotating judging and dining panel made up of Top Chef all-star winners, finalists, and favorites, including Richard Blais, Carrie Baird, Nina Compton, Tiffany Derry, Gregory Gourdet, Melissa King, Kristen Kish, Edward Lee, Kwame Onwuachi, Amar Santana, Dale Talde, and Brooke Williamson.

In addition to the coveted title of Top Chef, this season’s winning chef will receive $250,000 furnished by S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, a feature in FOOD & WINE magazine, and an appearance at the annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen.

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.