‘Top Chef’ to film episodes in this SC city soon. Here are the details
The Bravo network cooking show Top Chef will spend its next season in the Carolinas, filming in both Charlotte and Greenville.
The show announced this week Season 23 will find their “cheftestants” “embracing the rich Carolina history and cooking in the great outdoors.” The post was accompanied with a photo of food associated with the south arranged in letters spelling out Carolinas. Of course sweet tea represented the letter ‘I.’
“We’ll see you in the mountains!” an Instagram post from the show’s account said.
Ryan Flynn, senior vice president, current production, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said in a news release that the two communities “are perfect chefs’ playgrounds fueled by exceptional local ingredients, bold flavors, a strong agricultural foundation, stunning natural landscapes and the warm, genuine hospitality the South is known for.”
The announcement was made by the show’s producers in partnership with the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority and VisitGreenvilleSC.
The announcement did not say specifically when the shows would be filmed, saying only this summer with the air date coming in 2026.
The show airs on Bravo and Peacock.
Several people asked on the Instagram post about getting tickets for the taping, but Health Dillard, CEO and president of VisitGreenvilleSC said the show, a competition style program, does not offer ticketed options for viewing production.
“Top Chef reaches a large, loyal audience of food and culinary enthusiasts,” Dillard said in an email. “This partnership allows us to showcase Greenville as a culinary destination on the national stage. Our chefs, restaurants, food purveyors and more broadly Greenville as an exciting travel destination will have rare and meaningful national exposure.”
Judges for the show are host Kristen Kish, head judge Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons.
Top Chef premiered in March 2006 and features 12 to 19 chefs selected through auditions. They participate in a Quickfire Challenge and an Elimination Challenge in each episode.
Chefs are eliminated in each show until it comes down to two or three who create a full-course meal.
The signature phrase for elimination is “Please pack your knives and go.”
The season winner is awarded $250,000, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, and an appearance at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado.