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Top Chef: World All-Stars

Top Chef: World All-Stars is the twentieth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. Initial details about the season were released by Bravo and NBCUniversal on August 1, 2022, with filming beginning the same month. The majority of the competition was shot in London, with the season finale set in Paris, marking the first time the show had been filmed entirely abroad. The cast included past contestants from several international editions of Top Chef. Throughout the season, Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons were joined by judges from the international editions, in addition to global culinary experts. This is the last season to feature Lakshmi as host. The winner received US$250,000.

World All-Stars premiered on March 9, 2023, and concluded on June 8, 2023. In the season finale, Top Chef: Houston winner Buddha Lo was declared the victor over Top Chef: Kentucky runner-up Sara Bradley and Top Chef México Season 2 winner Gabriel "Gabri" Rodriguez, becoming the series' first two-time champion. Top Chef: California runner-up Amar Santana was voted Fan Favorite.

Production

According to Gail Simmons, the concept for Top Chef: World All-Stars had been in the works for over two years. After filming had wrapped up for the finale of Top Chef: All-Stars L.A. in Tuscany, Magical Elves Productions' executive producers and showrunner flew to Paris to meet with Bravo executives and representatives from the twenty-nine global adaptations of Top Chef. Over a two to three-day conference, the producers shared their experiences, best practices, and challenges with shooting their respective versions of the show. As a result of the meeting, Magical Elves Productions formed the idea of drawing talent from the international editions for the American series' milestone twentieth season.

Once World All-Stars was greenlit, the decision was made to move production outside of the United States to match the international theme. Several destinations were considered, including Italy, Spain, and France. Padma Lakshmi stated that London was ultimately chosen due to its abundance of different produce, meat, and ingredients, as well as its high population of immigrant cultures and ethnicities. The city also acted as neutral territory, as producers felt that filming in the US would give the American chefs an advantage against their foreign competitors. The casting team sought for diversity in the shows, countries, and cuisines the contestants would represent. They also attempted to recruit as many previous winners and runners-up as possible.

The Top Chef kitchen was built in a studio located just outside of Richmond, London. The 7,200 square foot (670 m²) set was designed by production designer James Pearse Connelly, who took inspiration from British pubs, Harrods Food Hall, and Big Ben. Grocery shopping took place at a Whole Foods Market in Kensington. The production crew arrived in July 2022, staying at the Kimpton Fitzroy London Hotel, and began shooting in August. Challenge locations included Kew Gardens, Alexandra Palace, Highclere Castle, and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Filming for Episode 10 ("Thali Time") was notably affected by the death and state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. According to co-executive producer Thi Nguyen, the Elimination Challenge was scheduled to take place at the Taj Hotel. However, the funeral proceedings and the hotel's close proximity to Buckingham Palace forced production to switch the challenge location back to the Top Chef kitchen on the fly. Filming for the season concluded with a two-episode finale in Paris.

Contestants

World All-Stars featured 16 contestants, consisting of former winners and finalists from the American series and various other localized versions of Top Chef from around the globe. The competing chefs represented a total of 11 different iterations of the show.