01The take
Texas.
03Where it sits in the canon
The #03 slot.
Slot #03 of 22 in the Top Chef Editor's Canon. The seasons on either side show what I ranked it against.
No spoilers. Every page is reviewed before it goes live.
06Also appears in
Texas
Top Chef went on the road for the first time, splitting the season across Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston before settling into a finale run. The cast doubled in the qualifying rounds, Last Chance Kitchen debuted as a parallel mechanic, and the challenges leaned into regional staples without flattening them into cliche. Padma Lakshmi hosted alongside Tom Colicchio, Hugh Acheson, Emeril Lagasse and Gail Simmons across a longer runway than the format usually permits.
Filmed
Texas (Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston)
Premiered
Nov 2, 2011
Bravo · Wednesday 10/9c
Episodes
17
Format
Texas · multi-city
audition round opens the show
Cast size
16 players
Host
Padma Lakshmi