‘Top Chef’ Returns March 9 with Season 23 on Bravo
The iconic reality competition ‘Top Chef’ returns for another delectable season March 9 on Bravo. Here’s a preview and how to watch new episodes live with Sling.
In a network known for table flips and taglines, Top Chef has always played a different game. It isn’t about feuds or confessionals designed to go viral. It’s about craft, skill, and the quiet thrill of watching someone make the dish of their life with the clock ticking down.
That’s why, more than 20 years in, Top Chef feels like a rare thing on TV: a competition that somehow gets better with age.
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Season after season, the series introduces us to chefs who go on to define modern dining. It elevates regional cuisines, sparks national conversations, and launches careers people are still talking about years later. This is a show that changes lives — not as a tagline, but as a fact.
A huge part of that longevity comes from its steady hands at the table. Tom Colicchio has anchored the series from the start, bringing an unmistakable presence that’s direct but fair, demanding but deeply respectful. He never talks down, never grandstands, and somehow makes high standards feel humane.
When Padma Lakshmi stepped away, longtime fans held their breath. She was iconic, and her shoes were ridiculously enormous. Enter Kristen Kish: a former Top Chef winner who famously fought her way back from Last Chance Kitchen to take the title. Kristen didn’t just fill the role, she owned it. Confident, thoughtful, and chef-first in her approach, she’s proven once again that Top Chef knows how to evolve without losing its soul.
And then there’s Gail Simmons, the steady heartbeat of the judging table. Even-keeled, deeply knowledgeable, and genuinely empathetic, Gail continues to ground the competition with insight that’s as sharp as it is kind.
As Top Chef heads into its new season, the bar is (somehow!) higher yet again. Here’s a preview and how to watch new episodes live with Sling. To watch new episodes live and all previous seasons on-demand, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Blue with Bravo.
Meet the Cast: The Judges
Tom Colicchio
A founding pillar of the series, Tom remains the voice of culinary integrity. His critiques are precise, his expectations unwavering, and his respect for the chefs unmistakable. When Tom speaks, kitchens listen.
Kristen Kish
From champion to host, Kristen brings firsthand understanding of what it takes to survive Top Chef. Having won her season after battling through Last Chance Kitchen, she embodies resilience, mad skills, and quiet authority. She’s a chef who’s been there, done that. And it shows.
Gail Simmons
The show’s emotional compass, Gail balances expertise with empathy. She understands food as culture, memory, and craft, and her feedback consistently reflects the human side of competition.
Meet the Chefs: A New Generation
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As always, the heart of Top Chef lies with the contestants. This season introduces a fresh lineup of chefs bringing bold perspectives, regional influences, and deeply personal styles into the kitchen. These are professionals who’ve spent years sharpening their knives and now have a national stage to show what they can do.
Just when it seems impossible for the talent level to rise again, it does. That’s the magic trick Top Chef keeps pulling off.
This season’s competition brings together 15 chefs from across the country, each representing a distinct regional voice and culinary point of view:
- Sieger Bayer (Chicago, IL)
- Jassi Bindra (Houston, TX)
- Sherry Cardoso (Brooklyn, NY)
- Brittany Cochran (Charlotte, NC)
- Oscar Diaz (Durham, NC)
- Brandon Dearden (Hamilton, MT)
- Jonathan Dearden (Alexandria, VA)
- Duyen Ha (Los Angeles, CA)
- Jennifer Lee Jackson (Suttons Bay / Detroit, MI)
- Anthony Jones (Alexandria, VA)
- Day Anaïs Joseph (Atlanta, GA)
- Laurence Louie (Quincy, MA)
- Rhoda Magbitang (Kailua-Kona, HI)
- Justin Tootla (Suttons Bay / Detroit, MI)
- Nana Araba Wilmot (Cherry Hill, NJ)
How to Watch
Top Chef premieres Monday, March 9 at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
To watch live on TV, use the link below to get Sling Blue with Bravo and tune in each week as this legendary competition unfolds.
Pack Your Knives and Go
While other reality shows chase chaos, Top Chef keeps chasing excellence. It respects
its audience, honors its chefs, and never forgets that food (done right!) tells a story worth
listening to.
No gimmicks. No gossip. Two decades in, this series is still something we can’t wait to watch.