Top Chef Amateurs is an American reality competition series which premiered on July 1, 2021, on Bravo.[1] It is a spin-off of the Top Chef television series, featuring home cooks instead of professional chefs.[2] In each episode, two home cooks compete head-to-head in challenges drawn from previous seasons of Top Chef.[2] Each amateur is paired with a past Top Chef contestant, who acts as an advisor and sous chef.[3] The series is hosted by Gail Simmons, who also serves as head judge.[3] The winner of each episode receives US$5,000.[3]
| Top Chef Amateurs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Presented by | Gail Simmons |
| Judges | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production company |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Bravo |
| Release | July 1 – September 2, 2021 |
Production of Top Chef Amateurs began in October 2020 in Portland, Oregon, following filming for Top Chef: Portland.[2] The show was filmed under the same COVID-19 guidelines, utilizing the same kitchen set established at the Portland Expo Center.[3][4] The competitors were flown to Portland from across the United States, quarantined in their hotel rooms for several days, and tested several times for the coronavirus.[4] Similar to Portland, Amateurs features Top Chef alumni as guest judges, who rotate between cooking with the contestants and judging alongside Simmons.[3]
Contestants
| Name[3] | Hometown[3] | Occupation[3] |
|---|---|---|
| Bettina Applewhite | Owings Mills, Maryland | School nutrition specialist |
| Danie Baker | Seattle, Washington | Tax accountant |
| Brett Bankson | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Neuroscience student |
| Lorenzo Beronilla | Saugerties, New York | Actor |
| Karine Ceyhan | Altadena, California | Pharmaceutical sales |
| Kolby Chandler | Houston, Texas | Software consultant |
| Steven DeCarlo | New York City, New York | Hairstylist |
| Ryan Dishman | Denver, Colorado | Software sales |
| Rodney Faraon | Arlington, Virginia | International business consultant |
| Derek Finocchiaro | Edgewater, New Jersey | Fragrance laboratory manager |
| Kayla Hardin | Montgomery, Alabama | High school biology teacher |
| Amirah Islam | Austin, Texas | User experience designer |
| David Johnson | Carmel, Indiana | Home sales consultant |
| Tamara Johnson | Pembroke Pines, Florida | Dental hygienist |
| Antwan Jones | Los Angeles, California | Insurance adjuster |
| Zuliya Khawaja | San Diego, California | Real estate broker |
| Basil Maqbool | Murrieta, California | Pharmacist |
| Bree Medley | Bremerton, Washington | Architect |
| Farah Momen | Medford, Massachusetts | Start-up company advisor |
| Gina Mustoe | Westford, Massachusetts | High school teacher |
| Marvin Solomon | Los Angeles, California | Writer |
| Nick Souksavat | Romeoville, Illinois | Visual merchandiser |
| Sharila Stewart | Jersey City, New Jersey | Law student |
| Simon Suh | North Bergen, New Jersey | Hairstylist |
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Breaking the Curse" | July 1, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks had one hour to create two dishes: one featuring scallops and one featuring risotto.
Winner: Farah Momen | |||
| 2 | "Absolutely Radishing" | July 1, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks had one hour to create two dishes featuring radishes.
Winner: Basil Maqbool | |||
| 3 | "Don't Clam Up!" | July 8, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks had 45 minutes to create a dish featuring shellfish. However, to get their shellfish, they first had to dig through a fish tank filled with mud.
Winner: Gina Mustoe | |||
| 4 | "No Need to Egg-splain" | July 8, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks had 45 minutes to create a dish featuring at least three different varieties of eggs.
Winner: Lorenzo Beronilla | |||
| 5 | "7 Deadly Sins" | July 15, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks had 45 minutes to prepare a dish inspired by one of the seven deadly sins.
Winner: Zuliya Khawaja | |||
| 6 | "Opposites Attract" | July 22, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks had one hour to create a dish highlighting two of the five basic taste profiles: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, or umami.
Winner: Danie Baker | |||
| 7 | "Cocoa A Go-Go" | July 29, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks had one hour to create one sweet dish and one savory dish featuring chocolate.
Winner: Amirah Islam | |||
| 8 | "Nothing Make Sense" | August 5, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks competed in a blindfolded taste test. Each person was given 10 minutes to guess 30 mystery ingredients. If the contestants gave an incorrect answer, they were prohibited from using the ingredient. Afterwards, the home cooks had 45 minutes to cook any dish using the ingredients they earned, along with limited items from the Top Chef pantry.
Winner: Kolby Chandler | |||
| 9 | "Make No Bones About It" | August 12, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks had 45 minutes to filet and cook their own fish.
Winner: David Johnson | |||
| 10 | "LasagnYEAH!" | August 19, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks had 45 minutes to reimagine the classic lasagna.
Winner: Kayla Hardin | |||
| 11 | "Making Ends Meat" | August 26, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks had one hour to cook a meat and potatoes dish. However, they were responsible for butchering the primal cut beef loins themselves.
Winner: Ryan Dishman | |||
| 12 | "No Room for Mis-stakes" | September 2, 2021 | |
Challenge: The home cooks competed in a mis en place race. They had one hour to prep three ingredients of their choosing, out of a total of ten options, and create a dish incorporating them. The options included shelling walnuts, separating egg yolks, mincing garlic, peeling and deveining shrimp, dicing onions, breaking down a chicken, supreming oranges, shredding cheddar cheese, frenching racks of lamb, and turning artichokes. The ingredients were available on a first-come, first-served basis; once a home cook grabbed an ingredient from the display table, it became unavailable to their competitor.
Winner: Brett Bankson | |||