
Top Chef (2006)
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Amar Santana as Self - Contestant
Episodes 29
Stop the Presses
Top chefs arrive in Los Angeles in the opener of Season 13, which will feature the foodies competing in six cities across California. Here, they try to wow food critics and reporters under the Hollywood sign.
Read MorePop Up Pandemonium
The foodies must open distinct pop-up restaurants in various Los Angeles neighborhoods. Appearing: chef and pop-up impresario Ludo Lefebvre.
Read MoreSpines and Vines
The chefs visit Santa Barbara, where they pick up fresh sea urchin for use in a challenge. Later, a surf-and-turf war erupts.
Read MoreIt's a Dry Heat
Palm Springs, Cal., is the destination for culinary competition. Here, the chefs use solar-powered stoves in the desert, then prepare dishes on a famed golf course. Appearing: John Besh and Mary Sue Milliken.
Read MoreBig Gay Wedding
Top dishes for dates are served up by the chefs in Palm Springs, Cal. Later, they cater a wedding for 25 gay couples. Appearing: model Chrissy Teigen and foodie Art Smith.
Read MoreBanannaise
The chefs head to San Diego and cook up high-end fish tacos. Then, they prepare dishes to complement handcrafted microbrews. Appearing: chef Javier Plascenia.
Read MoreBack in the Day
The chefs return to Los Angeles to celebrate the series' 10th anniversary. A restrictive challenge limits them to 10 ingredients, then they walk down memory lane by creating a dish that represents who they were 10 years ago. Appearing: Michael Voltaggio; Antonia Lofaso; Mei Lin Hua; and Nancy Silverton.
Read MoreWhere's the Beef?
The chefs participate in a plating challenge by preparing visually appealing dishes using only snack food. Then, they cook for diners at a black-tie, finger-food event called Beefsteak. Appearing: Colin Hanks; Max Silvestri; Matt Selman; Jacques La Merde; and Neal Fraser.
Read MoreRestaurant Wars, Part 1
The iconic "Restaurant Wars" challenge ensues, with the chefs opening eateries for both lunch and dinner services.
Read MoreRestaurant Wars, Part 2
The "Restaurant Wars" challenge progresses with the chefs serving up dinner, during which everything from concept and food to service and consistency will be appraised.
Read MoreHammer Time
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Wok This Way
A showdown includes woks when the chefs visit San Francisco's Chinatown. Later, they must
Read MoreBack Where It All Started
San Francisco is the setting when the competing foodies cook for chef Traci Des Jardins. Later, they try to wow master chef Hubert Keller, the judges and San Francisco culinary elite with cuisine inspired by the restaurant Fleur de Lys.
Read MoreMagic Hour
The chefs land in Las Vegas and participate in a high-stakes challenge of cards and cuisine. Later, they must conjure culinary magic for illusionist David Copperfield.
Read MoreFinale
The top chef is crowned in the Season 13 finale. Before that, the final two culinarians must prepare the meal of their lives for their mentors and fallen colleagues. Appearing: Emeril Lagasse; Dominique Crenn; Jonathan Benno; Hubert Keller; Charlie Palmer; and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Read MoreLondon Calling
To celebrate the 20th season, "Top Chef" returns for an international showdown in London; sixteen competitors, including previous winners and finalists, face off in the fiercest showdown the culinary series has seen.
Read MoreRice, Rice Baby
In the Quickfire, the chefs are challenged to make an amuse-bouche with unexpected ingredients that must fit on a Ritz cracker; the competition heats up as the chefs head to Alexandra Palace, where they must create rice dishes for 100 guests.
Read MoreCheeky Pints and Pub Bites
In lieu of a Quickfire, Tom and Gail surprise the chefs with an old-fashioned pub crawl around central London; in teams of two, the chefs are tasked with re-creating and elevating a classic pub dish; two chefs will pack their knives.
Read MoreSpurred Lines
The chefs are tasked with creating a beloved English classic: the biscuit; the chefs head to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a football-themed team challenge; the teams that succeed are safe while the rest are relegated and must compete again.
Read MoreHoliday Vacation
In this week’s extra-sweet Quickfire, the chefs are tasked with creating a celebratory dish featuring honey and mead in order to win over Padma and guest judge Adam Handling. Then, the chefs escape the city and head to the Kent countryside. The cheftestants create a festive family meal featuring their favorite holiday dishes for judges Padma, Tom and Gail, along with Top Chef Mexico judge Martha Ortiz.
Read MoreTop Chef Is No Picnic
The chefs take a trip to Highclere Castle for the Elimination Challenge, where they must work together to create and serve an elevated picnic basket.
Read MoreStreet Food Fight
Guest judge Judy Joo surprises the chefs by challenging them to create delicious street food-inspired dishes; the chefs must get inspiration from the new "Fast X" movie for the largest and fastest mise en place race.
Read MoreRestaurant Wars
It’s Restaurant Wars, and this season, the perennial favorite is back with a twist! The chefs split into two teams of four and are tasked with creating a restaurant concept and tasting menu. To add to the pressure, they must debut their restaurants at three Michelin-starred Core by Clare Smyth, and the judges will have a full view of the kitchen. Unbeknown to the chefs, Jimi Famurewa, the Chief Restaurant Critic for the Evening Standard, is seated in the dining room and later joins Padma, Tom and Gail at the judges’ table.
Read MoreThali Time
There’s nothing like preserved fish in the morning, which is exactly what the chefs have to cook with for this week's Quickfire Challenge. The chefs enjoy a night off as famed chef Asma Khan treats the cheftestants and Padma to an Indian thali dinner. For the Elimination Challenge, they must use six different flavor profiles to create their own Thali platter to impress a panel of chefs from India and judges Padma, Tom and Gail.
Read MoreBattle of the Wellingtons
Coming into the final stretch before the finale. It’s full steam ahead as the remaining six chefs are tasked with creating a steamed dish for their Quickfire Challenge. In one of the hardest Elimination Challenges yet, the chefs are put in teams of two and must create not one, not two, but three different Wellingtons to serve 20 diners, along with Padma, Tom and Gail. The two chefs from the losing team will pack their knives.
Read MoreGoodbye, London!
As the journey in London comes to a wrap, the final four chefs welcome back the winner of Last Chance Kitchen. For this week’s Quickfire, the chefs are joined by guest judge Sam Bompas, who challenges them to create a dish featuring jellies and molds. For their final Elimination Challenge in England, they’re tasked with creating trompe-l’œil dishes, where the plates must literally fool the eye and taste like something completely different than what they look like. Who will make it to the finals in Paris, and who will bid adieu?
Read MoreChampions in Paris
The final four land in Paris, the culinary capital of the world and home of the 2024 Olympics. In the Quickfire, they compete in the infamous Wall Challenge. Unbeknownst to them, their partners are no strangers to competition and are U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The chefs must work with their mystery partners to create identical plates in hopes of impressing Michelin-starred guest judge Greg Marchand. For their final Elimination Challenge, they must create a Michelin-worthy dish using one of France’s most humble ingredients: the Champignon de Paris. To help determine who will make it to the finale is a star-studded table of diners.
Read MoreFin.
The finalists are on top of the world as they’ve made it to the finale in Paris. The final three will have the opportunity to cook the meal of their lives for Padma, Tom and Gail, along with a table of culinary luminaries. The guests include Marcus Samuelsson, May Chow, Daniela Soto-Innes, Clare Smyth, Simon Rogan, Ángel León, Food & Wine magazine’s Hunter Lewis, Michelin Guide’s International Director Gwendal Poullennec and “Top Chef France” Judge Hélène Darroze. The chefs lay it all on the table in their final challenge, but only one will take home the ultimate title of “Top Chef” World All-Star.
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