The worst episodes of Top Chef
Ranked by viewer rating, lows first. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
The foodies dock in Juneau, Alaska, and must prove their culinary worth with a local delicacy, king crab. Then, they're tasked with giving their own spin to salmon-and-sourdough dishes. Sean Brock is the guest judge.
- 02
Seventeen chefs converge in Los Angeles for a shot at culinary stardom; first, the chefs face off in a quick-fire challenge, then they make dishes for a group of food critics and reporters to survive the first elimination round.
- 03
The Fastest 2 Minutes in Cooking
"Top Chef" heads to the state of Kentucky for season 16. This season, 15 new talented chefs from cities big and small across the U.S. will compete for the sought-after title amid the unique culinary scenes in Louisville, Lexington and Lake Cumberland, before heading abroad for an epic finale showdown in Macau, China.
- 04
A very pregnant Gail Simmons asks the chefs to feed her cravings in a special Quickfire delivery. Then it's time to celebrate two iconic Kentucky mainstays: local cuisine and bourbon. The Chefs head to Makers Mark, the oldest distillery in America to put their spins on a meal full of Kentucky classics including burgoo, Benedictine, mutton, hoe cakes and dumplings. This is a true battle for Kentucky as the chefs navigate their first team challenge – and one chef makes a potentially fatal shopping error. Can they recover or will they be scraping the bottom of the barrel to make it through? Food and travel editor, Nilou Motamed joins the judges this season, and Maker's Mark's in-house Chef, Newman Miller, sits on the panel as a guest judge.
- 05
The chefs take a turn at fried chicken; chef Art Smith judges a secret herbs-and-spices blind taste test ahead of the Quickfire fry-off; after the finger-licking goodness, the chefs turn their attention to boxer Muhammad Ali, aka the Louisville Lip.
- 06
The final five chefs travel to the Chinese territory of Macau; Graham Elliot, who has a restaurant in Macau, introduces the chefs to a market full of fascinating ingredients and challenges; the chefs throw a party celebrating the Chinese New Year.
- 07
It's Restaurant Wars and this season Padma takes all the limitations off the table as the chefs can make as much food as they want and shop wherever they choose; two chefs are given 48 hours to pick their teams and crate the restaurants.
- 08
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.
- 09
Actor Michael Cera joins Kristen in the kitchen for the Quickfire Challenge, where the chefs' trivia skills are put to the test; for the Elimination Challenge, the chefs must put their own spin on some of Canada's most iconic confections.
- 10
In the first episode of the series we meet the 12 contestants. For the quickfire challenge they are tested in Fleur de Lys (a San Fransisco restaurant). For the elimination challenge each chef must make their specialty.
- 11
For this episode the contestants have to impress Elizabeth Falkner the owner of Citizen Cake. For the elimination challenge the turn up the heat with a "Sexy Dessert" contest for a fetish party for Mistress S.
- 12
For the quickfire challenge the contestants have to cook with octopus. For the elimination round the contestants are put into two teams: Red and Blue. They have to cook monk fish specialties for the kids at the Boys and Girls Club of America.
- 13
For the quickfire challenge the contestants are brought to a convenience store to buy ingredients for their dish. For the elimination round the contestants must create a delicious entree that can be reheated in a microwave for women at a local Junior League.
- 14
For the quickfire challenge, the contestants are brought into an isolated room with many random exotic foods. They have to guess what they are with a blindfold on. For the elimination challenge the contestants are put into pairs and have to make fusion dishes with Latin and one other type of cuisine.
- 15
The chefs open pop-up restaurants that reflect their respective neighborhoods; guest judge Ludo Lefebvre joins the others for Mexican, Persian, Korean, and vegan cuisine and picks the dish that best reflects Los Angeles' mosaic of cultures.
- 16
In Santa Barbara, Calif., the chefs pick up fresh sea urchin to use in their first sudden-death, quick-fire challenge; in the elimination challenge, the chefs serve up surf and turf to a table of celebrated chefs and judges.
- 17
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.
- 18
In Palm Springs, model Chrissy Teigen entices the contestants to make their best "date" dishes; the chefs cater a wedding for 25 gay couples in an elimination challenge.
- 19
The chefs continue their California road trip and head south to San Diego where they cook-up the best high-end fish taco for renowned Mexican Chef Javier Plascencia. Things get extra spicy when another Sudden Death Quickfire threatens to send one of the chefs packing. Then Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, Richard Blais and Emeril Lagasse offer a toast with a twist to the remaining chefs with their own hand-crafted microbrews. For the Elimination Challenge at Blais' Juniper and Ivy, the chefs must serve up a mouthwatering dish to complement their ale.
- 20
The Chefs arrive back in Los Angeles to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Top Chef. First they compete in a Quickfire limiting them to 10 ingredients they all must share. In the Elimination Challenge, the Chefs must transport themselves back in time and create a dish that tells the story of who they were 10 years ago. Top Chef alums Michael Voltaggio, Antonia Lofaso and Mei Lin Hua join Nancy Silverton and the rest of the judges to decide which Chef should be eliminated from the competition.
- 21
The chefs strive to create the most visually appealing ``food porn'' using only snack food; the chefs cook for a black-tie event called Beefsteak during which the diners eat with their hands; diners include Colin Hanks, Max Silvestri and Matt Selman.
- 22
The iconic Restaurant Wars is back and bigger than ever. For the first time in Top Chef history, the chefs are opening their restaurants for both lunch and dinner services. No one is safe as each chef must run front of house or act as the executive chef in one of the services. The pressure is on as two services means twice the drama.
- 23
After a busy day prepping and conducting a full lunch service, the Chefs must clean up and do it all over again for dinner. Never before have the Chefs taken on such a huge challenge, and the judges are looking at everything from concept and food, to service and consistency, so no one is safe in the most daunting Restaurant War to date.
- 24
The chefs land in the Bay Area and prepare fresh dishes for rapper MC Hammer. Later, they cook from important and influential international food eras. Foodie Jonathan Waxman makes an appearance.
- 25
A showdown includes woks when the chefs visit San Francisco's Chinatown. Later, they must create a fast-casual restaurant concept. Foodies Martin Yan and Adam Fleischman make appearances.
Shows like Top Chef
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
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