Top Chef: Kentucky to be Top Chef season 16, show filming this spring

Bravo is already looking forward to Top Chef season 16 even before the conclusion of season 15, and it’s looking as though the series is now moving over to Kentucky for the next chapter. Top Chef: Kentucky (presumably, that will be the title) is filming this spring and the contestants will explore Louisville, Lexington and Lake Cumberland along with their food culture and identity.

In a statement, Shari Levine, Executive Vice President, Current Production, Bravo Media had the following to say about this decision:

“We are always looking for rising culinary destinations and are looking forward to planting our flag in Kentucky and soaking up a diverse region of the country that we haven’t yet explored on ‘Top Chef’ … Kentucky has a strong food identity and we know our incoming chefs will be inspired by the burgeoning culinary scene, known for its innovative takes on Southern cuisine, melding flavors and use of Kentucky’s agricultural bounty.”

Top Chef: Kentucky will premiere on Bravo a little bit later this season and it’s pretty fair to say that everyone here at CarterMatt is excited. We’re also a little bit surprised given that this will make the second straight season that is fairly landlocked; there will be freedom for the contestants to make whatever cuisine they may choose, but we also anticipate that there is also going to be less in the way of seafood challenges given that the show’s so far from the ocean. We’re also looking forward to seeing how the series creates the distinction between the cuisine here and the cuisine that was on during Top Chef: Charleston a couple of years ago. They’re the closest that the series has really come to exploring Deep South cooking. It’s not Alabama or Mississippi, but it’s probably as close as we’re going to get at present.

The reality here is that there really aren’t too many regions left for the series to explore. We do still have a few on our personal wishlist, whether it be Detroit (it has a blossoming food scene), Wisconsin (cheese!), somewhere like New Mexico or Arizona with a heavy Southwest influence, or then maybe Portland given how weird and out there much of there food is. The show’s already touched on several major cities, but we wouldn’t be opposed to revisiting Miami or Chicago given that Top Chef was last there more than a decade ago.

Related – Check out where we’ve ranked the Top Chef: Colorado contestants entering tonight

Do you like the idea of Top Chef: Kentucky being season 16? Share right now in the comments! Remember that you can also like CarterMatt on Facebook in the event you do want some more insight when it comes to the series. (Photo: Bravo.)