‘Top Chef Duels’ lands August 6 premiere date; lineup revealed
Were you not getting enough out of the “Top Chef” franchise already? If you find yourself answering “no” to this question, then maybe you will actually like the newest edition of the series in “Top Chef Duels.”
This actually feels a little more like an episode of “Chopped” or “Ultimate Bake-Off” in that each episode is a standalone one, and will feature chefs from different parts of the franchise facing off against each other with a winner crowned at the end. The only difference is that there seems to be a league of champions that fight at the very end. It’s a nice way for Bravo to get some other programming on their lineup related to the franchise, even if to us the original series and “Top Chef Masters” are going to be the caviar that costs the most on the menu.
In addition to the premiere date of August 6 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time, the network was also kind enough (per The Hollywood Reporter) to announce the lineup of chefs that are taking part each week.
- Episode 1: Richard Blais (Top Chef Chicago runner-up and Top Chef All-Stars winner) vs. Marcel Vigneron (Top Chef Season 2 runner-up)
- Episode 2: Shirley Chung (Top Chef New Orleans finalist) vs. Brooke Williamson (Top Chef Seattle runner-up)
- Episode 3: Mike Isabella (Top Chef All-Stars runner-up) vs. Antonia Lofaso (Top Chef Chicago finalist)
- Episode 4: CJ Jacobson (Top Chef Miami and Seattle contestant) vs. Stefan Richter (Top Chef Season 5 runner-up and Seattle contestant)
- Episode 5: David Burke (Top Chef Masters Season 5) vs. Takashi Yagihashi (Top Chef Masters Season 4)
- Episode 6: Tiffani Faison (Top Chef Season 1 runner-up) vs. Dale Talde (Top Chef Chicago and Top Chef All-Star contestant)
- Episode 7: Nyesha Arrington (Top Chef Texas contestant) vs. Jen Carroll (Top Chef Las Vegas finalist)
- Episode 8: Stephanie Izard (Top Chef Chicago winner) vs. Kristen Kish (Top Chef Seattle winner)
- Episode 9: Kevin Gillespie (Top Chef Las Vegas contestant) vs. Art Smith (Top Chef Masters Season 1)
- Episode 10: Championship Finale
The only thing that we don’t love about this is that some of these contestants have competed together before, so we don’t see the merit of a rematch. Also, there are around four or five people here who we do not even remember.
What do you think of the idea behind the series, and of some of the people involved? Share your thoughts below, and head over here if you want to get a bite of other TV news sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter.
Photo: Bravo