It has been 20 years since Top Chef first graced our TV screens, and to celebrate the Bravo reality competition show’s milestone anniversary, we’re dishing out some fun facts.
In 2020, Padma Lakshmi — who hosted the show for seasons 2 through 20 — opened up about the unseen realities of eating so many dishes for a TV show, revealing the exact amount of calories she consumed and weight she gained each season.
“When filming Top Chef, I consume about 5,000 to 8,000 calories a day,” she wrote in a personal essay. “We start with anywhere from 15 to 18 contestants, and I have to take a bite or two from each of their plates to adequately judge each dish. Every day.”
Lakshmi, 55, continued: “It adds up. I typically gain anywhere from 10 to 17 pounds every season. Once I get home, what’s taken me six weeks to gain takes me 12 weeks to take off.”
For more interesting facts about Top Chef from the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now, keep scrolling:
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1. Top Chef premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006, with its inaugural season set in San Francisco.
2. There have been dozens of Top Chef spinoffs since its premiere, including versions in cities across the world and editions like Top Chef Junior and Top Chef Masters.
3. Contestants actually have to make two of each dish: one for the judges and one for photos.
4. In 2008, Top Chef was the third most product placement–packed show on TV, featuring over 9,000 product plugs in just six months.
5. Occasionally when the four judges couldn’t make a decision, camera operator T-Bone would be the deciding vote.
6. Cliff Crooks is the only chef to ever be disqualified after he pinned down a fellow contestant and attempted to forcibly shave his head in season 2.
7. Season 1 of Top Chef was hosted by Katie Lee Biegel, and Lakshmi took over as host for seasons 2 through 20.
8. Kristen Kish took over as host starting with 2024’s season 21.
9. Tom Colicchio has been the head judge on every season of Top Chef since its inception.
10. Lakshmi once revealed that while filming Top Chef, she consumed 5,000 to 8,000 calories a day.
11. Lakshmi has also said she gained about 10 to 17 pounds each season.
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12. In 2012, culinary producer Shannon Wilkinson revealed that contestants spend up to $5,000 on groceries. (We can’t even imagine what the bills cost now!)
13. Crew members on the show take leftover food back to their hotels and have fancy dinner parties.
14. Frequent guest judge and assistant chef Eric Ripert said the worst dish he’s ever had on the show was season 2’s chocolate ganache with chicken liver.
15. Contestants aren’t allowed to speak with judges.
16. Season 5’s Stefan Richter broke the no-contact rule when he gave Lakshmi leftover roses from his plate, which a producer immediately confiscated.
17. Only five contestants have ever voluntarily left the show before their elimination.
18. When chefs are eliminated, they are kept isolated until filming ends to ensure no spoilers are leaked.
19. Season 21 winner Danny Garcia walked home with $303,000 — the most of any Top Chef champion.
20. Cooking is staggered so that food is always served hot.
21. Season 9 winner Paul Qui has the most overall wins in a single season, with 11 out of 17 total challenges going in his favor.
22. Contestants don’t have to clean up their messes; production does.
23. Twelve contestants have gone on to become judges.
24. Each contestant has a personal handler to shadow them and ensure the competition is fair and objective.
25. The show spawned a real-life online cooking school: Top Chef University.
Top Chef: Carolinas, featuring 15 new chefs, premieres on Bravo Monday, March 9, at 9 p.m. ET.
