Top Chef Season 20 Dawn Burrell

Dawn Burrell

HOMETOWN: Philadelphia, PA
CURRENT CITY OF RESIDENCE: Houston, Texas, USA
OCCUPATION/PROFESSION: Chef/Partner, Late August
LAST SEASON: Finalist, “Top Chef Portland,” Season 18

A finalist on “Top Chef” Season 18 in Portland, Dawn Burrell is an Olympian turned chef. Her world travels with USA’s Track & Field team ignited her deep love of food. After competing in the 2000 Summer Olympics, Dawn traded in her track spikes for a full-time culinary career and enrolled in Culinary Arts at the Art Institute of Houston. She cut her teeth with a variety of chefs, including Chef Tom Aikens in London and Houston’s Monica Pope, before landing a gig at Tyson Cole's Uchi in Houston. She went on to become the sous chef at Uchi’s award-winning sister restaurant, Uchiko, in Austin. In 2020, she earned her first James Beard nomination for “Best Chef: Texas” as the Executive Chef at Kulture, a modern Southern restaurant. Most recently, she joined Chef Chris Williams’ Lucille’s Hospitality Group as Partner/Executive Chef and is currently working to open her first restaurant in Houston called Late August.