Top Chef: California
Template:Infobox television season/custom Top Chef: California is the thirteenth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The season was announced by Bravo on April 14, 2015.[1] Similar to Top Chef: Texas, filming took place in several locations across California, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Oakland, and the greater Palm Springs area, concluding with a finale in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1][2] Top Chef: California had a two-night premiere on December 2–3, 2015.[3] Host Padma Lakshmi and head judge Tom Colicchio returned, alongside judges Gail Simmons, Emeril Lagasse, and Richard Blais, among others.[3] The companion web series, Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen, also returned, premiering immediately following the second part of the season premiere on December 3, 2015.[4][5] In the season finale, Jeremy Ford was declared the Top Chef, defeating Amar Santana.[6] Isaac Toups received the Fan Favorite Award.[7]
Contestants
17 chefs were selected to compete in Top Chef: California, including one returning contestant, Grayson Schmitz, who originally competed in Top Chef: Texas.
Contestant progress
No. | Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
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No. | Quickfire Winner(s) |
Amar Frances Renee |
— | Grayson | Wesley | Jason | Chad | Jeremy | Karen | — | Isaac | Marjorie1 | Jeremy1 | Jeremy4 | — | |
1 | Jeremy | WIN | IN | HIGH | WIN | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | LOW | LOW | LOW | WIN | IN4 | WINNER | |
2 | Amar | HIGH | HIGH | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | IN | HIGH | LOW | WIN | IN | OUT3 | WIN5 | RUNNER-UP | |
3 | Isaac | IN | HIGH | IN | IN | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | WIN | IN | IN | LOW | OUT | ||
Marjorie | IN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | LOW | HIGH | LOW | HIGH | LOW | OUT | |||
5 | Carl | HIGH | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | IN | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | OUT | |||
6 | Kwame | IN | IN | WIN | IN | WIN | HIGH | LOW | IN | LOW | HIGH | OUT | ||||
7 | Karen | IN | IN | HIGH | HIGH | LOW | WIN | IN | IN | HIGH | OUT | |||||
8 | Phillip | IN | LOW | IN | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | WIN | OUT | ||||||
9 | Chad | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | OUT | |||||||
10 | Jason | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | LOW | OUT | ||||||||
11 | Wesley | IN | IN | LOW | IN | HIGH | OUT | |||||||||
12 | Angelina | LOW | HIGH | LOW | LOW | IN | OUT2 | |||||||||
13 | Giselle | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||||||||||
14 | Grayson | LOW | LOW | IN | OUT | |||||||||||
15 | Frances | IN | LOW | OUT | ||||||||||||
16 | Renee | IN | OUT | |||||||||||||
17 | Garret | OUT |
^Note 1 : The chef(s) did not receive immunity.
^Note 2 : Angelina lost the Sudden Death Quickfire Challenge against Wesley and was eliminated.
^Note 3 : Amar lost the Sudden Death Quickfire Challenge against Carl and was eliminated.
^Note 4 : As the winner of the Quickfire Challenge, Jeremy automatically advanced to the finale; therefore, he did not have to compete in the Elimination Challenge.
^Note 5 : Amar won Last Chance Kitchen and returned to the competition.
- (WINNER) The chef won the season and was crowned "Top Chef".
- (RUNNER-UP) The chef was a runner-up for the season.
- (WIN) The chef won the Elimination Challenge.
- (HIGH) The chef was selected as one of the top entries in the Elimination Challenge, but did not win.
- (IN) The chef was not selected as one of the top or bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge and was safe.
- (LOW) The chef was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge, but was not eliminated.
- (OUT) The chef lost the Elimination Challenge and was out of the competition.
Episodes
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
189 | 1 | "Stop the Presses" | December 2, 2015 |
190 | 2 | "Pop Up Pandemonium" | December 3, 2015 |
191 | 3 | "Spines and Vines" | December 10, 2015 |
192 | 4 | "It's a Dry Heat" | December 17, 2015 |
193 | 5 | "Big Gay Wedding" | January 7, 2016 |
194 | 6 | "Banannaise" | January 14, 2016 |
195 | 7 | "Back in the Day" | January 21, 2016 |
196 | 8 | "Where's the Beef?" | January 28, 2016 |
197 | 9 | "Restaurant Wars, Part 1" | February 4, 2016 |
198 | 10 | "Restaurant Wars, Part 2" | February 11, 2016 |
199 | 11 | "Hammer Time" | February 18, 2016 |
200 | 12 | "Wok This Way" | February 25, 2016 |
201 | 13 | "Where It All Started" | March 3, 2016 |
202 | 14 | "Magic Hour" | March 10, 2016 |
203 | 15 | "Finale" | March 17, 2016 |
Last Chance Kitchen
The Last Chance Kitchen is a web series featuring challenges in which the ousted chefs compete for a chance to re-enter the main competition. Each week, two or more chefs compete against each other in the Top Chef kitchen, with the results judged solely by Tom Colicchio. The winner(s) of each week moves on to face the next eliminated Top Chef contestant(s), while the loser is eliminated from the competition for good. The champion of the Last Chance Kitchen returns to compete in the season finale.
Episodes
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Winning Out of Losing" | December 3, 2015 | |
Challenge: The first two eliminated chefs had to create a winning dish using the ingredients from their opponent's losing dish.
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2 | "Fresh Veggie Challenge" | December 10, 2015 | |
Challenge: The chefs had to create a standout dish using one vegetable in its entirety and prepare it in three different ways. At least one of their preparations had to showcase Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix. The amount of food waste the chefs produced from their dishes was also factored into judging.
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3 | "Surprise Ingredients!" | December 17, 2015 | |
Challenge: The chefs were forced to step outside their comfort zones by incorporating exotic ingredients into their dishes. Each contestant had to select two ingredients, which were packaged into mystery boxes, from a display; the chefs only learned about the identity of their ingredients once their designated cooking time started. Garret received tomatillos and crisp broad beans, while Grayson received coconut and Ginkgo nuts.
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4 | "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions" | January 7, 2016 | |
Challenge: The chefs were given 20 seconds to look at a display of various ingredients and conceptualize two different dishes that could be cooked in 20 minutes. Colicchio then selected which of their two ideas each contestant would have to create.
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5 | "A Delicious Burger" | January 14, 2016 | |
Challenge: The chefs had 15 minutes to craft their best burgers.
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6 | "Boring Ingredients, Awesome Dish" | January 21, 2016 | |
Challenge: The chefs had 30 minutes to create a tasty dish out of boring and bland ingredients.
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7 | "Beef!" | January 28, 2016 | |
Challenge: The chefs had 25 minutes to make a hearty beef dish. However, they were only allowed to use their knives for butchering and other prep work during the first five minutes of their allotted cooking time.
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8 | "Only One Chef Can Call the Shots" | February 11, 2016 | |
Challenge: The incoming contestant, Phillip, was told to set the terms of the challenge, including the main ingredient and time allotment. In the end, both chefs had to create a dish with sweetbreads in 20 minutes.
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9 | "Teppanyaki Time!" | February 18, 2016 | |
Challenge: The chefs had 10 minutes to prepare their ingredients and another 10 minutes to put on an entertaining show at a teppanyaki table.
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10 | "Breakfast, Baby!" | February 25, 2016 | |
Challenge: The chefs had 15 minutes to create a standout breakfast dish.
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11 | "San Francisco Staple" | March 3, 2016 | |
Challenge: The chefs had 30 minutes to create a dish featuring sourdough. The top two contestants moved on to compete in the Last Chance Kitchen finale.
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12 | "Fishy Finale" | March 3, 2016 | |
Challenge: For their final Last Chance Kitchen challenge, the chefs had 12 minutes to cook any fish dish.
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References
- ^ a b "'Top Chef' Season 13 Is Heading To..." The Daily Dish. April 14, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ Vena, Jocelyn (February 12, 2016). "Top Chef Will Roll the Dice in Las Vegas for a Two-Part Season Finale". The Daily Dish. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
- ^ a b Bryant, Jacob (October 19, 2015). "'Top Chef' Sets Season 13 Premiere Date, Celebrity Guests". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ Vena, Jocelyn (October 19, 2015). "Top Chef Season 13 Kicks Off in December with Cameos from Chrissy Teigen and MC Hammer". The Daily Dish. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ "Bravo Media's "Top Chef" Returns to Its Roots in California with a Two-Night Season Premiere Event on Wednesday, December 2 and Thursday, December 3". The Futon Critic. October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ "Jeremy Ford on Top Chef Win: "You Can Clearly Tell From My Expression It Was a Complete Surprise"". Miami New Times. March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ^ "UPDATE: Isaac Toups wins Top Chef fan favorite". KATC. March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2017.