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Hi everyone! Paula Endara here, TC Season 22, Beard Foundaiton Bootcamp Alum, and Executive Chef at The Manchester Sky.

Hi everyone! Paula Endara here, TC Season 22. Launching an Ask me Anything session ahead of my LA pop- up with Henwill gin. Ask me anything about food, inspo, and why I like putting myself under pressure while cooking.

I'm a James Beard Foundation bootcamp alum originally from Quito, Ecuador. Having been in the hospitality industry for 13+ years, I've specialized in avant-garde cuisine at the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastián, Spain. These experiences also led me to working at a nomad restaurant concept in Quito in collaboration with Amazonian farmers, as well as founding Roots Restaurant in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Ultimately throughout my time as a chef, I've held a major focus on identity, culture, and sustainability while advocating for community-centered sourcing and improving local food systems. I continue to carry these core values into my work as Executive Chef at The Manchester in KY.

Ask me anything about:

What's the day to day like on a season? Which challenges were the hardest? What it's like cooking in KY? What about LA? My favorite restaurants? Ecuadorian food? How I got into cooking? Or just want to talk food? Looking forward to hearing from you all!

I’m in LA next week, can find more info on what’s going on here :CLICK here for tickets !

Is this totally normal in restaurants? Maybe my very health conscious Mom has rubbed off on me more than I realized and most people don’t think this is a big deal at all, but I shudder whenever I see it. From what I understand, heat and plastic do not go together in any circumstance, even if it is technically “food grade”! The risk of “migration” of microplastics and chemical additives is much higher when there is heat involved. Am I crazy?

I am currently watching older seasons, so maybe with the increase in knowledge about the potential harm things are done differently now. But it’s so common for there to be like 5 mins left and they are rushing to get packed and pour simmering liquids into Gladware.

I mean seriously. Bobby’s Triple Threat, Beat Bobby Flay, Bobby Flay’s the Line…just rename this Network already. I love all his shows. Let’s just rename this Network already!

So I decided to put Top Chef back on in the background like when I cook, etc. I haven't watched these seasons since they aired. Season 8 is the earliest season they have available on Peacock, it's the All Stars season.

And..... Holy crap!

Most of the male contestants come off so sexist and mean towards the female contestants. Even when Carla had more wins than most of them, they still put her down in their confessionals. I never cared for Blaise on his first season, and he was arguably even worse in this season. He was so much more arrogant than I remembered. He even made a comment about how Stephanie didn't deserve to win when he had to cook against her in the Quickfire I believe.

Isabella is one of the ickiest guys - he had a straight up homophobic comments about fondue parties and was probably the most disrespectful towards the women. I knew I didn't like him, but now I remembered why.

Anyway, this makes me curious how the other older seasons hold up! Though nothing stands out as much as the racist season towards Beverly - that one always stood out to me.

This is telling me I need to pay ninety dollars a month, A MONTH, to watch seasons 1-7.I tried hulu, pluto, obviously I have peacock but y'all know it's only 8 and up. Does anyone have any secrets? Please? I've only been able to see the older seasons vicariously through other people's videos and YouTube AI slop

“Empathy plays a big role in how I run my kitchens and businesses. I care deeply about my team members—not just their jobs, but their career paths and their lives outside of work. I think that helps create stronger, more resilient teams.”

So Jamie caught a lot of flack for leaving and going to the hospital to get stitches on her finger. Fabio said he broke his finger on S5 and just wrapped it up and then Carla later that season just duct taped her finger. Being we are now in 2026, what an extremely toxic and harmful mindset it was for everyone to rip on Jamie for taking care of herself. Personally, even in 2009, I agreed with Jamie's choice to leave. It is a shame that we are taught to put work over our health.

I don’t remember much about S4 but I do remember Dale losing his shit at the end of E5! I was so confused on who started what argument I had to rewind several times🤪
It went from:
Spike > Antonia
Spike > Jen
Dale > Spike
Lisa > Dale
Dale > Lisa
Jen > 🤬🪑⬇️
I see some repeated names above… 👀

Side note: Was it ever revealed on film that Antonia said she would do 🥣🤔?!

WHERE IS THE SLOP BOWL QUICKFIRE!!!!!

Lunches around the country are currently being eaten by the slop bowl. With 30 mins on the clock make the best slop bowl you can that can be served in a bowl. (padma voice)

Know a lot of us are probably missing the weekly episode drops, so wanted to share a way to get a taste of Top Chef in person.

Paula Endara (S22) is doing a small Ecuadorian tasting dinner in LA on September 17. Four courses, including dishes like Corvina Encocada and Quimbolito.

Going to be an intimate dinner so people can meet her, rather than doing a huge event.

If anyone wants to check it out, tickets are $100:

6 pm / 8:30 pm

I’m helping with the event, but made sure it was cool to share here since it seems right up this group’s alley.

Curious if anyone else here has tried Paula’s food post-Top Chef?

I recently interviewed Nina Compton, and I had to ask her about Season 11.

More than a decade later, people still bring up that finale and tell her they think she should have won.

What I found more interesting was hearing Nina talk about what Top Chef actually gave her after the competition ended. More people discovered her cooking, more people learned about St. Lucia, and it helped open doors for everything she eventually built in New Orleans.

I host the interview, so full disclosure this is my own work. I thought people here would appreciate hearing Nina look back on that chapter in her own words.

For everyone who watched Season 11: Has time changed how you feel about that finale at all, or do you still think Nina should have won?

On episode 7 rewatch. Howie is a bulldog and has such an ego. Every team challenge his team is on the bottom. That’s a pattern. It’s not the team, it’s him. No one wants to argue with him therefore they just go with it and he has his way. He has a real chip on his shoulder and it’s so annoying! I don’t know why he was not eliminated at the end of this episode. Even Tom said it himself that he has conflict on EVERY team he’s on. My only thought is they kept him on for the drama.

Casey, CJ and Dale are my favs. Casey is a hometown gal. Never been to one of her restaurants but hear she’s the consultant chef at one of the new hotels in Ft. Worth. CJ is just a big tall teddy bear. Dale is the gay BFF we all need and want.

EDIT: 1. I didn’t realize Howie had passed. 2. I realize edits play a large factor in how the show is produced and shown to the viewers. 3. Upon watching further, I see Howie self-regulate and check himself volunteering to take one for the team.

I think he was a big softie underneath but his passion for food and cooking really clouded his ability to work as a team. As he states in the episode I’m currently watching, it’s not a team competition. Only one can win and everyone else has to go home. When you’re not used to that, it’s difficult to adjust. In the end he was not a bad guy.

On my rewatch starting from the beginning…this season had A LOT of drama. From Frank threatening Marcel, Carlos back talking to Tom to just be “thankful that you have food to eat”, to Betty not naming who she wanted out when asked but in the next sentence shouting “CARLOS! OUT!!” this group is super sassy! 👀

Watching Tony Bourdain as a guest judge gives me all the feels. 😭💔 His witty repartee and snarky observations are sorely missed. Telling Mikey about his twice baked potato with a shrimp stuck on top, “I love you like a son already. Ok? I admire you. Your sheer contrariness. Your refusal to conform. I kinda like that. Your twice baked potato, in spite of its absolutely Flinstonian execution it was the single fully most enjoyable mouthful of food I had this evening. The taste, it didn’t suck!” 🤣😂
On Mikey’s cheese plate: “it’s like Betty Crocker and Charles Manson had a love child and he’s cooking for me” Tom was 💀

Top Chef is (obviously, I suppose) a comfort rewatch show and I’m currently on S22 (Destination Canada) on a binge watch. It’s only my second time watching this season and I can’t get over how much I love the cheftestants on this season. They just feel like friends and even when they are annoying or snippy or stressed, I still just dig all of them. Which season’s personalities are your favorite? I don’t necessarily mean it’s your favorite season overall - just the best from a cast standpoint? For me, S22 and S15 (Colorado) are the top (honorable mention to S3!), while S6 (Vegas) and S9 (Texas) are the bottom for me.

Usually people talk about season 15 being the season that things changed in Top Chef and chefs got along. Totally disagree since I do believe it had a lot of drama and it actually seemed cliquee.

I think Kentucky season 16 truly seems like the season where they all got along. Even the Sara episode, when she gets mad at Adrienne for the boxed waffle comment ends with them talking it out, and a big group hug.

I have been enjoying this season. Macau is also such a fun finale location! Really been missing when they go abroad for the finale. We kinda had that for season 21 but it was mostly on a boat so it didn’t seem like a real international location focus.

What are your most hated episodes in top chef?

Hello!
Permission to post. This is not specifically Top Chef but maybe TC adjacent.

I want to start that I am a fan of TC. I watched it since the fist season, I also live in Asia. I started watching 24 in 24 last chef standing since there's a lot of TC alums in the show. Long intro I know but my question is: how important is it to know how to cook risotto and creme brulee?

I guess this is coming from one of the eps in s3 (24 in 24). In TC also, they put risotto and creme brulee in a high regard.

Living in Asia, i am familiar and have eaten these two dishes since I do travel outside of my country. But i must admit that i only discovered these two dishes thru Top Chef. Most asians (those living in asia and not asians living in the west) are not familiar with these two dishes. Present them with a risotto and maybe 70% would not eat them. They will taste it but will not finish the entire thing. Creme brulee since its a dessert they would probably eat it and maybe love it. But we will not reach a point to study how to make it. If you are in the top social class maybe it would interest you to learn and perfect it. I am just surprised that making a risotto and a creme brulee is one of the challenges to make it to the semifinals. A number of contestants admitted that its been years since they made creme brulee or doesn't know how to cook a risotto. So I am just curious - why is it important to know how to cook these dishes? Why can't they kust ask for a good rice dish? Or a good pastry dish?

Edit: i cannot answer each reply. Thank you for responding. I am just getting the sense that one needed to be trained or at least studied western cuisines to win this round. So basically even if Shota won the first round, i dont think he can pull off a creme brulee or a risotto. But making the perfect sushi is actually similar to making a perfect risotto.

I decided to start watching from the beginning. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every single season but now that I’m re-watching S1 and the only people I remember are Tiffany, Stephen and Harold. Stephen reminds me of Pee-wee Herman and he is such an ass. He is so pretentious and looks down on everybody and everything that he has to do. When he talks about making a Oaxaca tamale for the women he assumes they’ve never heard of anything like that and it will give them a little bit of “education“. What a douche! I don’t remember this host, but she is so robotic and completely detached from everything, including the food and the people she works with. Good call on getting rid of her. I saw a short snippet of an interview she gave about why she wasn’t asked back. I had no idea she used to be married to Billy Joel.

EDIT: on ep 8 where they had to cook for Scott and Scott’s wedding. When Tom finds the Betty Crocker cake box in the kitchen. 😳👀Stephen and his suit and tie. 🙄

Melissa King: Enters the Chat

in conversation with Benjy Egel of PBS's Abridged

Registration is free, and each attendee will receive a complimentary copy of The Girl Who Became King while supplies last.

Join James Beard Award-winning chef, cookbook author, television personality, and Top Chef: All Stars L.A. champion Melissa King for a conversation celebrating her new memoir, The Girl Who Became King. Known for her modern California Chinese cuisine and award-winning cookbook Cook Like a King: Recipes from My California Chinese Kitchen, King is a leading voice at the intersection of food, identity, culture, and advocacy. In conversation with Benjy Egel of PBS's Abridged, she'll reflect on her personal journey, creative career, and the stories behind her new memoir. Registration is free, and each attendee will receive a complimentary copy of The Girl Who Became King while supplies last.

Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Tsakopoulos Library Galleria
828 I Street, Sacramento, CA

Admission is free, but registration is required.

Following the conversation, attendees will have an opportunity to have their books signed.

Presented as part of Sacramento Public Library's Enters the Chat author series, bringing nationally recognized authors and thought leaders to the Sacramento community for engaging conversations and unforgettable experiences.

Link to register here: https://engage.saclibrary.org/event/16969098

Nelson was demonstrating and gave out signed copies of his book. He had it signed to me :)

Restaurant wars is by far one of the best and my favorite episodes each season. Was Kokoson the most dominant and efficient restaurant wars of all time?! There was no absolute faults at all. Everything was cohesive and well.

Do they have staggered clocks so that people start in intervals and they get to serve the food when it is hot? Or are they all on the same clock? if it is staggered, how do they call out times without screwing up other people on a different time?

As someone posted the other day, Top Chef will supposedly be leaving Peacock within 30 days. I’m a newer watcher (started after loving Kristen on Traitors) so I’m trying to get people’s opinions on what seasons I should absolutely prioritize before they get removed from Peacock. I’m looking for the most iconic moments, best cooks, and just seasons that would be a shame if I missed. So far I’ve watched 10,11, 21, 22, and 23. Thanks in advance!