Top Chef season 22 premiere recap: Season begins with 15 contestants facing Canadian culinary challenge

The premiere episode of Top Chef season 22 aired on March 13, 2025, marking the start of a new culinary competition set across Canada. The episode, titled "Across Canada, We Go!" introduced 15 new cheftestants who faced their first challenge upon landing in Toronto. One of the contestants spoke about the challenge:

"I wasn't expecting to see a knife block so soon. I thought I was going to get a little settled before I started having to fear for my life," Tristen Epps said.

This season's grand prize includes $250,000, a $125,000 Delta Air Lines flight credit, a feature in Food and Wine magazine, and an appearance at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen. T

The winner will also headline an exclusive dinner at the James Beard House in New York and present at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards in Chicago. However, each contestant must first prove their skills through numerous culinary challenges.

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Quickfire Challenge in the premiere episode of Top Chef season 22

The season premiere of Top Chef began with a team challenge where each chef selected one ingredient from the pantry, unaware of the task ahead. After grouping into five teams, they learned they had to create a dish using their selected ingredients. Additionally, judges Kristen Kish, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio introduced mandatory ingredients — tomatoes, chives, and clams.

The teams and their initial ingredients were:

• Purple: Kat Turner, Henry Lu, Corwin Hemming (corn, Fresno chile, corn)
• Yellow: César Murillo, Mimi Weissenborn, Katianna Hong (apple, fennel, corn)
• Red: Paula Endara, Lana Lagomarsini, Vincenzo "Vinny" Loseto (apple, corn, portobello mushroom)
• Green: Tristen Epps, Shuai Wang, Massimo Piedimonte (bok choy, king oyster mushroom, maple syrup)
• Blue: Anya El-Wattar, Zubair Mohajir, Bailey Sullivan (cabbage, Fresno chile, dried black olives)

While some teams faced bonding challenges, like Anya noting a "Chicago clique" among her teammates, others navigated creative differences. The red team debated over plating, with Vinny suggesting a hollowed-out apple presentation. Lana initially disagreed but later said:

"OK, Vinny, you got this one."

Ultimately, the yellow team won the challenge in Top Chef, with César, Mimi, and Katianna winning $15,000 for their apple and fennel soup featuring clams, corn, and chorizo relish. Tom Colicchio praised them,

"I get grumpy when the food's not so good. I'm not grumpy right now. I'm really happy," he said.

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Elimination challenge in the premiere episode

In the Elimination Challenge of Top Chef, contestants were tasked with creating dishes inspired by Canada's five regions, guided by guest chefs representing each area. The teams chose their regions and worked independently. The breakdown was:

• Central: César, Mimi, Katianna
• Prairie: Kat, Henry, Corwin
• Western: Paula, Lana, Vinny
• North: Anya, Zubair, Bailey
• Atlantic: Tristen, Shuai, Massimo

Time management became a challenge. Mimi struggled with her potatoes, resulting in a gummy puree. Guest Chef David Zilber commented on her food:

"It tasted like elevated hospital food," he said

Kat faced incomplete plating after experimenting with a smoker. Even though Tristen missed his curry sauce, he received positive feedback from Tom. At the judges' table, Vinny, César, Anya, Henry, and Shuai were praised for their dishes, with Vinny's confit salmon earning him immunity for the next round.

Mimi and Kat faced criticism, but it was Mimi who was ultimately eliminated. Reflecting on her performance:

"Fundamentally I had a lot of executional flaws, a little bit of a landslide in the failure direction," Mimi said.

Mimi will head to Last Chance Kitchen for an opportunity to redeem herself and possibly re-enter the competition later in the season.

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New episodes of Top Chef air every Thursday on Bravo.