What Is Every Top Chef Winner Doing Now?

Buddha Lo won Top Chef Season 20, the all-star season that took place almost entirely in London.

In October 2023, he and his wife welcomed twin girls, according to his Instagram page. Since then, he's been regularly sharing updates about his daughters on social media, including a very special "bring your kids to work day" in which he got to enjoy his Top Chef World All-Stars menu at Huso NYC, where he serves as executive chef, with his wife and babies in tow. 

Buddha Lo first captured a win on Top Chef Season 19.

After his Season 19 victory, Buddha immediately returned to the competition for Top Chef World All-Stars and took home the top prize then as well, becoming the series' first two-time winner.

Top Chef's first Mexican American winner, Gabe Erales, went on to open an Austin restaurant Bacalar in September 2023. 

"Obviously, this project has been a long time coming, And I think it's really the first of its kind in the U.S. There's really not many restaurants that have taken such a laser focus on the cuisine of the [Yucatan] peninsula in Mexico," the Season 18 winner shared in an interview with BravoTV.com in October 2023.

Gabe is also in the midst of opening another restaurant in the Washington D.C. area that is "more of a Tex-Mex driven concept." He added, "So definitely have my hands full with that." 

He also works with his Niños de Maiz foundation, which, per his website, seeks "to empower Hispanics for career growth through elite culinary education."

After placing fourth on Season 12, Melissa King returned to the cooking competition for Top Chef: All-Stars L.A., where she took home both the top prize and the Fan Favorite prize.

She donated her all of her Fan Favorite winnings to Asian Americans For Equality, Asian Youth Center, The Trevor Project, and National Black Justice Coalition, according to her website. She actively participates in speaking panels supporting women’s empowerment, sustainability, food education, and entrepreneurship. 

Melissa's other post-win television credits include being a guest judge on Top Chef and The Julia Child Challenge, as well as hosting Tasting Wild. She currently lives in San Fransisco where she is the owner of a spice and sauce line called King Sauce, has an apparel line, and teaches virtual cooking classes. 

Kelsey Barnard Clark won the show in Season 16.

She then returned home to Dothan, Alabama, where she is the owner and executive chef of KBC, a restaurant, bakery, and catering business, Mashed reports. She lives in Alabama with her husband, their two children, and her dream oven, which she purchased with her Top Chef winnings, she told BravoTV.com.

She also spends her time teaching virtual classes, taking her chef talents on the road, and appearing and cooking at events as often as possible, per her website. She has a book coming out this fall and a new restaurant concept in the works. 

Kelsey was nominated for a James Beard Award in January 2024. "There are hardly times where words leave me & tears flow. Winning Top Chef was number one. Being nominated for a James Beard Award is now two," she wrote in her January 24 Instagram post. "This is a tough career y’all — it’s hard on the body and even harder on the brain."

Joe Flamm won Season 15 of Top Chef.

After winning, he decided to leave his post as executive chef at Chicago's Spiaggia and open his own restaurant, a Croatian-Italian spot called Rose Mary. He and his wife Hillary welcomed their son Luka William Flamm on December 4, 2018.

In December 2023, Eater teased a mysterious upcoming project that he had in the works. 

Brooke Williamson won Top Chef in Season 14.

Prior to winning, she and her business partner Nick Roberts had opened a grab-and-go marketplace called Playa Provisions in 2014, which they continue to oversee today.

She was crowned the first winner of Food Network’s Tournament of Champions and is one of the three titans on Bobby’s Triple Threat. Brooke has also had appearances as a judge on Top Chef Duels, Knife Fight, Guy's Grocery Games, and BBQ Brawl. 

According to her website, Brooke actively participates in local and national food events and festivals, including Coachella, The Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, and more. She dedicates her time to her son, Hudson, and her philanthropic efforts, working with organizations like No Kid Hungry.

Jeremy Ford was declared the winner of Top Chef Season 13.

Following that 2015 win, he returned to his position as Chef de Cuisine at Matador Room in Miami.

Jeremy then opened his own Miami restaurant, Stubborn Seed in 2017. It earned a Michelin star in 2022, according to FSR Magazine. His Instagram page reports a Vegas restaurant dubbed Stubborn is in the works.

In addition, Jeremy owns Beauty and the Butcher in Coral Gables, Florida. He appeared on 21 episodes of Fast Foodies between 2021 and 2022, his IMDb page reports. 

Mei Lin took the top prize on Top Chef in Season 12.

After winning in 2014, she worked as a personal chef for Oprah Winfrey, and contributed a few recipes to the media mogul's cookbook, Eater reported in 2017. She also won an episode of Knife Fight in 2014.

In January 2019, the Season 12 winner opened Nightshade in L.A., "which was the culmination of her personal culinary history and was met with rave reviews," according to her website. The restaurant has since closed. She currently owns Daybird, a fast-casual Szechuan hot chicken restaurant in Los Angles. 

Nicholas Elmi, who goes by Nick, won the New Orleans season of Top Chef.

Shortly after winning, Nick became the chef and owner of both the Laurel restaurant and the In the Valley bar in Philadelphia, according to the Lavia Gaia website. It was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as one of the “Best New Restaurants” in America that year. 

His first cookbook, Laurel: Modern American Flavors in Philadelphia — co-written by Adam Erace — was published in 2019. He opened The Landing Kitchen, an all day cafe and kitchen in the Philly suburb of Bala Cynwyd, in 2021, and its sister restaurant, Lark, a few months later.

He currently serves as the Chef Chair for Philadelphia’s Taste of the Nation, an annual event benefiting No Kid Hungry.

Current Top Chef host and judge Kristen Kish took home the show's trophy in Season 10 after first being eliminated and then winning Last Chance Kitchen to return to the competition.

She has since returned to show multiple times since then, serving as a guest judge and battling another series winner in the franchise's Duels series. 

She released her first cookbook, Kristen Kish Cooking: Recipes and Techniques, in 2017 and opened her first restaurant, Arlo Grey at the Line Hotel, in 2018 in Austin, Texas.

Kristen served as the co-host of 36 Hours in 2015, appeared in Fast Foodies between 2021 and 2022, and was host of Iron Chef in 2022. In July 2023, it was revealed that Kristen would replace Padma Lakshmi as Top Chef's new host for Season 21. 

Kristen married Bianca Dusic, whose Instagram bio says she is a certified hypnotherapist and holistic health coach, in April 2021. 

After winning Top Chef's ninth season, Paul Qui was called "the most talented chef that we've ever had on the show" by judge Tom Colicchio.

In 2016, he was arrested in Austin for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, but the charges were later dropped.

Today, his concepts East Side King, Johnny Good Burger, Lea Jane's, Soy Pinoy, and Thai Khun, plus the bars Address Unknown and Return to Sender, remain in operation, according to the Houston Chronicle. 

After coming in as the runner-up on Season 4, Richard returned to — and won — Top Chef for the eighth (and first All-Stars) season. 

According to his website, he later founded Juniper & Ivy in San Diego in 2014 as well as the fried chicken chain Crack Shack, which has locations in Las Vegas and southern California. He currently owns Ember & Rye in Carlsbad, California, two Four Flamingos (in Key West and Orlando, Florida), and California English in San Diego.

He is scheduled to open six restaurants at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch in the Fall of 2023, according to the Arizona Republic.

He received a James Beard Award nomination for his 2013 book, Try This at Home. He has since published So Good (2017) and Plant Forward (2022).

Currently, he co-hosts Next Level Chef with Gordon Ramsay and Nyesha Arrington, and owns and operates Trail Blais, a culinary consulting group. He additionally hosts two podcasts, Food Court and Starving for Attention.

In 2019, he revealed that he had lost 160 pounds. He is also an active golfer, according to his Instagram photos.

Kevin Sbraga won the D.C.-based Season 7 competition.

He ran the restaurants Little Ham and Juniper Commons in Philadelphia as well as Sbraga & Company in Jacksonville, Florida, but he closed all three by 2017, Food & Wine reported.

In 2019, he opened Sonny & Sons in Indiana, which centered on his famous hot chicken. According to his Instagram page, he is married and a father. 

Michael Voltaggio beat out his older brother, Bryan Voltaggio, to win Top Chef Season 6.

He worked at The Dining Room in Pasadena at the time, but left in 2010 and opened his own West Hollywood restaurant, Ink,  in 2011. From 2011 until 2018, he also owned and ran the ink.sack, a sandwich shop which had two California locations.

Michael and Bryan opened Santa Monica's STRFSH sandwich shop, which was in operation from 2017 to 2021, and Washington D.C.'s Estuary, which operated under their leadership from 2019 through 2022. 

He's also made a number of television appearances throughout the years including one episode of Suburgatory in 2013, one episode of Marry Me in 2015, and two episodes of Young and Hungry in 2016. He appeared in the 2014 film About Last Night, and he has been starring in the cooking competition series Battle of the Brothers with his brother since 2021. 

On March 9, he announced on Instagram that he and his wife, actress Bria Vinaite, are expecting a daughter in June 2024. Michael also has daughters Sophia and Olivia, who he shares with ex-wife Kerri Adams, according to People. 

Hosea Rosenberg won Top Chef Season 5.

According to Slow Food Nations, he is now the executive chef and owner of Blackbelly, an acclaimed restaurant and the only independent whole animal butcher shop in Boulder, Colorado, which started as a catering business and food truck. 

On his Instagram page, Hosea describes himself as a "Dad, Husband, Chef" who is "fighting to cure MCTO"  which is multicentric carpotarsal osteolysis — a rare genetic disorder that causes bone loss. His daughter Sophie was diagnosed with MCTO and Hosea and his family have created a non-profit foundation called Sophie’s Neighborhood, to raise awareness and funds for research. 

Stephanie Izard became the first female Top Chef victor after taking home the top prize in 2008's Season 4.

According to her website, she is the owner and chef of a number of Chicago and Los Angeles restaurants: Girl & the Goat (Chicago and L.A.), Little Goat, Duck Duck Goat, Cabra (Chicago and L.A.), and Sugargoat.

She was the James Beard “Best Chef: Great Lakes” recipient 2013 and 2011's Food & Wine “Best New Chef.” She further took home the title of Iron Chef in 2017. 

Stephanie created a retail product line called “This Little Goat,” consisting of cooking sauces, spice mixes, and more. Her first book, Girl in the Kitchen, was released in 2011, and her second book Gather & Graze was released in 2018. According to her Instagram page, she is also a mom.

She served as a Top Chef guest judge for Season 19. 

Hung Huynh won Season 3 of Top Chef.

He went on to serve as the executive chef at NYC's Catch, The General, and Catch Miami. In 2019, Hung opened an Asian fusion restaurant, Warrior, in L.A., according to Us Weekly. 

In March 2022, he became the Director of Culinary Innovation for the Omei Restaurant Group. Also in 2022, he returned as a guest judge to Top Chef for Season 19. 

Ilan Hall took the grand prize in Season 2 of Top Chef.

He subsequently opened The Gorbals in Los Angeles, which operated for five years before closing permanently in 2014, according to Us Weekly. That same year, he opened a second outpost of The Gorbals in Brooklyn, but it closed two years later.

Today, Hall runs Ramen Hood in L.A., which opened in 2015. 

He also hosted the cooking competition series Knife Fight for four seasons before it ended in 2017.

Harold Dieterle won the first-ever season of Top Chef in 2006.

He then opened and ran three New York City restaurants: Perilla, Kin Shop, and The Marrow, all which were closed by 2015. He later went on to serve as the consulting chef for Tali Restaurant and Ten Hope. Harold also got married, and he became a dad in 2016. 

In 2022, he appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen to promote his new cookbook, Harold Dieterle’s Kitchen Notebook. According to his Instagram page, he is the owner and chef of a forthcoming NYC restaurant Il Totano. 

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