The newest plenty of familiar faces and challenges, but it's the first time that amateur chefs will be competing. Fans of Top Chef will recognize the all-star chefs who are cooking with and judging the amateurs, as well as the curated challenges, but the new show works a little differently. Screen Rant got all of the details in an exclusive interview.
After eighteen seasons of Top Chef, fans are well acquainted with the format of the show; the Quickfire challenge is the fast paced round at the beginning of the show, and the elimination challenge is the high stakes round that takes up the rest of the episode. Contestants are given an advantage if they win the Quickfire, but no one is eliminated based on their performance there. It all comes down to the aptly named elimination challenge, where one, or sometimes two chefs, are sent packing.
Screen Rant spoke to executive producers of Top Chef Amateurs Zoe Jackson and Cat Sullivan to get the scoop on how the action with go down on the new show. "We take two amateur chefs and pair them with two Top Chef alumni to cook with in old Top Chef challenges," explained Zoe, "They present their dishes and are judged by Gail Simmons, our host, and two different Top Chef alums." The amateurs and alums will be different in each episode, and the judges will rotate as well. The episodes are also only 30 minutes long, and some of the challenges have been adapted. "We really had to go through the challenges and see what we could get done in a shorter amount of time," said Zoe.
Top Chef Amateurs also has major storytelling changes. Cat commented, "The show definitely is a lot lighter in tone than Top Chef can be sometimes. There's not eliminations." "We get two new amateurs every single time, so we're not following people's character arcs over the course of many, many episodes," Zoe added. The goal of this show is different; it's to give the amateurs the full Top Chef experience, with funny and heartwarming moments along the way. "We wanted people to walk away, whether they won or lost, feeling like they had done something really special," said Zoe. "This is the first time that amateurs and super fans and people who just love the property and the series are getting the chance to show off what they're ionate about," explained Cat, "It's become this really fun extension to the traditional, classic Top Chef."
There are plenty of reasons for fans of Top Chef to check out Top Chef Amateurs; from seeing that people like them would do in Top Chef challenges, to their favorite all-star chefs getting back in the kitchen. The series is an homage to the fans, and to the rich and tasty history of Top Chef.
Top Chef Amateurs airs on Thursday nights on Bravo at 9PM EST.