On this page
The handoff holds its shape.
The Kish-era opener — a new host, a familiar table, and a regional immersive across Wisconsin.
Fourteen episodes, ten straight seasons now, this time under a new host.
Wisconsin. Top Chef opens a new era — Kristen Kish takes the host chair for the first time, replacing Padma Lakshmi, with Tom Colicchio still at the judge's table and Gail Simmons in the critic seat. The season runs the regional immersive across Milwaukee and Madison, leaning into Wisconsin's dairy and supper-club traditions. Kish recalibrates the show's voice while the format holds its shape. A confident handoff and a solid first season under new direction.
The #21 slot.
Slot #21 of 23 in the Top Chef Editor's Canon. Wisconsin earns the twenty-first slot because it is a solid opening to a new era. Kristen Kish took the host chair for the first time, replacing Padma Lakshmi, with Tom Colicchio still at the judge's table and Gail Simmons in the critic seat. The season ran the regional immersive across Milwaukee and Madison, leaning into Wisconsin's dairy and supper-club traditions, and Kish recalibrated the show's voice while the format held its shape. The cooking is competent, the briefs treat the region seriously, and the handoff reads as confident rather than tentative. It does not reach for the canon's upper tier, but a clean transition under new direction is its own kind of achievement.
4 moments, no spoilers.
- Ep 1 · new host walks in
The opening hour where Kristen Kish takes the host chair for the first time. Watch how the season recalibrates with a new voice walking the kitchen and a familiar table behind it.
- Ep 4 · dairy-country brief
An Elimination Challenge that leans into Wisconsin's dairy and supper-club traditions. The brief rewards chefs who treat the region's pantry seriously.
- Ep 8 · Madison pivot
Mid-season the season moves across the state. The cast cooks against regional pantries the franchise's road-show grammar carries cleanly into the new era.
- Ep 12 · finals run-up
The closing stretch across Wisconsin. The cast has spent the runway adapting to Kish's judging register, and the finals approach reads off the season's regional structure.