Top Chef is shaking up the format for its 14th season, splitting the contestants between all-stars from former seasons and a fresh batch of rookies. (Don’t worry, the newbies are all James Beard–award nominated, Food & Wine faves, badasses, here to win, etc.) The contestants will be battling it out in Charleston, South Carolina, where there will be appearances from old alums like Michael Voltaggio, and they’ll probably meet Southern chefs like Sean Brock. But we need to talk about the all-stars list, which might lean a little heavily on season ten, but otherwise, is excellently curated. There’s hot diabetic chef Sam from season two! Chicken feet Casey! The one(s) who lost to Kristen Kish!
Here’s the full list of all-stars:
Sam Talbot (Season 2: Los Angeles) - Brooklyn, New York
Casey Thompson (Season 3: Miami & Season 8: All-Stars) - Napa Valley, California
Amanda Baumgarten (Season 7: Washington, D.C.) - Chicago, Illinois
Brooke Williamson (Season 10: Seattle) - Los Angeles, California
Sheldon Simeon (Season 10: Seattle) - Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
John Tesar (Season 10: Seattle) - Dallas, Texas
Shirley Chung (Season 11: New Orleans) - Orange County, California
Katsuji Tanabe (Season 12: Boston) - Los Angeles, California
And here are the hatchlings that have yet to become fully formed people in our reality-TV brains:
Annie Pettry – Louisville, Kentucky
BJ Smith – Portland, Oregon
Emily Hahn – Charleston, South Carolina
Gerald Sombright – Marco Island, Florida
Jamie Lynch – Charlotte, North Carolina
Jim Smith – Montgomery, Alabama
Silvia Barban – Brooklyn, New York
Sylva Senat – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The judging panel stays solid with Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, and Gail Simmons joined by Top Chef Masters and Masterchef judge Graham Elliot. And as with the past few seasons, there will be another installment of Last Chance Kitchen online. Season 14 premieres December 1.
