Former Top Chef winner Kristen Kish succeeds Padma Lakshmi as host, and the show is headed to Wisconsin
A former winner of the popular Bravo competition cooking show Top Chef will move into the host’s chair.
Kristen Kish, an accomplished chef and the victor of the show’s 10th season, will become its next host. Kish – who will need some practice saying, “please pack your knives and go,” – succeeds longtime host Padma Lakshmi, who is moving on to pursue other ambitions after 19 seasons.
Kish, 39, will begin her hosting duties with Season 21, which will be set in Wisconsin – a return to the U.S. after Season 20’s World All-Stars. Bravo announced the news about Kish and Wisconsin on Tuesday. Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio will be back too, and Kish will join them at the judges’ table.
In a statement, Kish said:
“Top Chef is where I started my journey – first as a competing chef, then a guest judge and now as host I have the honor of helping to continue to build this brand. I’m thrilled to sit alongside Gail and Tom as we get to know new incredible chefs and see what they cook up. It feels like coming home.”
It’s official – Kristen Kish has been named host of #TopChef. Get your knives ready as Season 21 heads to Wisconsin! pic.twitter.com/FST1J2RPQk
— Bravo Top Chef (@BravoTopChef) July 11, 2023
Kish is a native of South Korea and grew up in Michigan. She became a fan favorite after winning Season 10 in Seattle. That season – which concluded in 2013 – Kish won four elimination challenges and was then eliminated in episode 11. But then she won five straight rounds of Last Chance Kitchen to earn her way back on the show, where she triumphed over Brooke Williamson in the finale. Kish was the first contestant – and still just one of three – to survive Last Chance Kitchen and then go on to win the show.
Choosing Kish was the obvious and smart decision by the showrunners. Not only is Kish a talented chef, and not only does she know Top Chef inside and out – having won it and served as a guest judge – but she’s gotten a lot of reps hosting food-related television shows. She co-hosted 36 Hours on the Travel Channel, was a host on Netflix’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, and was the star of the National Geographic mini-series Restaurants at the End of the World. She has also been a contestant on TruTV’s Fast Foodies.
Since winning Top Chef, Kish has also opened her own restaurant in Austin, Texas, and written a cookbook.
I’m so proud of you @KristenLKish and am over the moon that you’ll be taking over for me on @BravoTopChef!!! I’ll be rooting for you and our whole crew next season. Congratulations!!! pic.twitter.com/PgGMBzqeLi
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) July 11, 2023
A premiere date for Season 21 hasn’t been announced yet, but it will feature Madison and Milwaukee.
It’s the first time Top Chef has prominently based a season in the Midwest — or, to use a sports reference: Big Ten country — since 2008, when Season 4 was set in Chicago.