Bravo’s Top Chef Winners: Where Are They Now??

Already suffering a little Bravo TV Top Chef withdrawal?  While you anxiously await the premier of Top Chef Season 12, read up on where these Top Chef Winners are now.

Season 1 winner Harold Dieterle is now the owner of three NYC restaurants, Perilla, Kin Shop, and The Marrow. He spent part of his prize money to attend the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, where he met his fellow-foodie wife Meredith.

Season 2 saw the talented Ilan D. Hal take home the prize. Since then he has opened his first restaurant, The Gorbals, in downtown LA.  And his proudest achievement since winning Top Chef?  Becoming a father!  You can catch him on Esquire Network’s Knife Fight, Tuesdays at 9p & 9:30p EST.

In Top Chef Season 3, Hung Huynh set a whole new culinary standard for future winners. His gastronomic creativity and flawless execution made it pretty much impossible for anyone to compete against him. What we loved the most: he managed to stay “somewhat” humble throughout the competition (hint hint, Marcel). He’s known for his Vietnamese-American cookery and is now the executive chef of Catch, The General, and Catch Miami restaurants.

In Season 4, Stephanie Izard became the first woman to win Top Chef. She has since opened her second restaurant based out of Chicago called Little Goat. She also published her first cookbook, “Girl in the Kitchen”. She currently lives in Chicago with her dog Burt.

Hosea Rosenberg took home the Top Chef title in Season 5.  He lives in Boulder, CO and is the owner of Blackbelly Catering. Little known fact: He actually has a degree in Engineering Physics! Brains, beauty and creativity? Damn.

In season 6, the tattoo-clad Michael Voltaggio, Chef at Ink in LA, came out the Top Chef winner against his own brother, Brian Voltaggio! When asked about his dining pet peeves he responded by saying: “When servers ask the guest, ‘How are we enjoying things tonight?’” when they're not sitting at the table. Really, Michael? That’s your BIGGEST pet peeve? Smile, Mikey. You’re the big winner.

Kevin Sbraga was the winner of Top Chef Season 7. Kevin was the dark horse in the running, but had the audience cheering when he was announced as a Top Chef Winner. Originally from New Jersey , Kevin is now the proud owner of Sbraga, a modern American restaurant in Philadelphia. Looks like Sbraga thrives on competition, having won “Best Meat Presentation” in the Bocuse d’Or USA Culinary Competition before winning Top Chef.

Richard Blais has had a busy couple of years after winning the title of ‘Top Chef’ on Season 8 of The Bravo TV hit series.  Blais currently hosts the TASTED YouTube show BurgerLab. He also just came out with a cookbook titled "Try this at Home: Recipes from My Head to Your Plate”. He runs two Atlanta-based restaurants: FLIP Burger Boutique and The Spence. But what we miss most? His bromance with the fabulous Fabio Viviani.

Season 9 saw Paul Qui the title of ‘Top Chef’. At the time, he was in the kitchen of his flagship restaurant, Uchi, and was recently named James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef, Southwest”.  Since his time in front of the Top Chef Judges’ Table he has opened 2 additional restaurants, Uchi Houston & Uchiko, which was named one of the “Best New  Restaurants in America” by GQ Magazine.

Kristen Kish is the Season 10 winner and only the second woman to win the title of ‘Top Chef’. She was recently promoted to Chef de Cuisine at Menton in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston, MA. During her tenure at Menton, the restaurant was named “Best New Restaurant” by both Bon Appétit & Esquire Magazines, and was nominated for “Best New Restaurant” by the James Beard Foundation.

Unlike many TV-based culinary competitions, winning the title of “Top Chef” is one of the most prestigious accomplishments in the culinary industry and has proven to lead to gastronomic stardom. With the wrap up of Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 11, we can’t wait to see what follows Top Chef: New Orleans winner, Nicholas Elmi. But we know it will be great.

Top Chef Masters Winners: Where are they now?

Season 5 of Top Chef Masters started last week and the competition looks just delicious. But ever wonder where the last 4 Top Chef Masters Winners ended up? Have their wins boosted their already-established careers? Take a look at the winners from the past 4 seasons. Recap time!

The season 1 winner of Top Chef Masters was Rick Bayless. Being an expert on Mexican cuisine and visiting several Mexican restaurants, in 2010, Rick became head chef at Red O in L.A.  He continues to contribute towards his own restaurant Frontera Grill in Chicago.  Rick has a busy couple of years with being a contender for the White House Executive Chef for President Obama to giving Google talks on Mexican food, his cookbooks and his experiences on Top Chef Masters. In 2012, Rick also ventured into the world of theatre with a Play titled “Rick Bayless in Cascabel”. He was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his work on Mexico: One plate at a time.

Season 2 saw the very talented and unique Marcus Samuelsson win $115,000 for the UNICEF TAP project. In 2010 he opened his new restaurant Red Rooster in Harlem. The Red Rooster in 2011 also hosted a Democratic National Committee fund raiser. The $30,800 per plate event was a huge success.  Asked if he was aiming to be the next Martha Stewart, he said he was just busy being Marcus!

Season 3 of Top Chef Masters had even more variety with Floyd Cardoz winning. Known for his contemporary Indian cuisine his restaurant Tabla was considered one of the best in Manhattan. After 12 years it finally closed in 2010. Floyd is now the head chef and partner of a new American style bar and grill called North End Grill. Seafood and single malt whiskey is the focus of this new restaurant.

Season 4’s winner, Chris Cosentino, has been quoted saying “no more television” but we saw him again on the pilot of Time Machine Chefs; which he won again! A huge supporter of Farmers Markets Chris can often be seen as the San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza farmers market. He is the Executive Chef of Icanto.

How do you think Season 5's competition measures up to these Top Chef Masters?