Top Chef's Season 20 Heads to London with an Interesting Twist
Bravo's Top Chef's Season 20 location marks a first as cheftestants from around the world will compete in the World All-Stars season.
Get ready to pack your knives and go... to London! Bravo's Top Chef has some big plans for Season 20 and we have all the details. Top Chef will begin production this month in London and it marks the first time that the flagship edition will shoot an entire season abroad. The Emmy, James Beard, and Critics’ Choice Award-winning series heads to one of the most influential cities in the world, with the epic 20th season set to premiere in 2023. But wait, there's more!
On top of all that, the very special 20th World All-Stars season will include the greatest competitors from Top Chef iterations around the globe, including winners and finalists. They will face off in the fiercest battle the culinary competition has ever seen. With 29 international versions, Top Chef World All-Stars will bring together 16 of the most talented, creative and decorated chefs who have competed in their respective countries’ versions of the series as they vie for the ultimate Top Chef title.
Of course, host Padma Lakshmi, head judge Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons will be on hand to witness all the action.
“We’ve always wanted to do a season of Top Chef with winners, finalists, and frontrunners, but to take that concept for the 20th season one step further with cheftestants from localized versions across the world has been a dream come true,” Ryan Flynn, Senior Vice President, Current Production, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said in a statement. “And what better place to host World All-Stars than London, a global stomping ground and renowned food city, offering our cheftestants access to the UK’s exceptional ingredients and international flavors.”
As the press release notes, "A culinary melting pot, London’s cuisine has been influenced by countries all over the world. From traditional pub food to modern Indian cuisines, the chefs will be cooking with the best ingredients the UK has to offer from its sought-after seafood, high-quality meat and produce. The stakes will be bigger than ever as the cheftestants cook their way through globally inspired quickfire and elimination challenges. Throughout the competition, Padma, Tom and Gail will be joined by distinguished judges from the international versions, as well as esteemed global culinary experts."
“I’m pleased that Top Chef has chosen London for its first ever season outside of the US. We’re rightly proud of our exceptional food and drink produced here in the UK. From Scottish salmon and Welsh lamb to Northern Irish beef and English sparkling wine, our food and drink is recognized at home and abroad for its great taste and high quality," Victoria Prentis, Food Minister, UK Government, said in a statement. "As the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, the passion, traditions, and expertise of our food and drink industry make the UK a fantastic choice for the culinary competition series.”
Top Chef is a global phenomenon with over 100 winners crowned across the world, international versions, licensed by NBCUniversal Formats globally, include France (13 seasons), Canada (10 seasons), Middle East (seven seasons), and Brazil (four seasons), to name a few. The original U.S. series launched in 2006 and has been sold to over 175 territories worldwide.
Most recently, it was announced that Top Chef is nominated for six 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Competition Program, Outstanding Host, Casting, Directing, and Picture Editing, and Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen is nominated for Outstanding Short Form Non-fiction or Reality Series.
Season 19 of Top Chef wrapped up in June. You can relive the moment the winner was crowned, below.
