Season 22 of Top Chef, titled Top Chef: Destination Canada, premiered on Bravo on March 13, 2025. The latest season features chefs from across the United States, including Charleston-based Shuai Wang. Known for his culinary creativity and local restaurants, the 37-year-old entered the competition aiming to showcase his skills and highlight the flavors of his hometown.
During the season premiere, Wang teamed up with chef Henry to participate in both the Quickfire and Elimination challenges. While their performance initially showed promise, their dessert-inspired dish in the elimination round failed to impress the judges. As a result, both chefs landed in the bottom. Despite facing harsh criticism from the panel, neither of them was eliminated from the show.
Top Chef star Shuai Wang’s background explored
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Chef Shuai Wang is the owner of two Charleston-based restaurants, Jackrabbit Filly and King BBQ. Born in Beijing, China, Wang immigrated to Queens, New York, before relocating to Charleston, South Carolina.
He initially moved to Charleston to help a friend but ended up staying after falling in love with the city's atmosphere. Speaking to WCBD on April 3, 2025, Wang said:
“I love North Charleston particularly. It feels very much my own vibe.”
At Jackrabbit Filly, the menu highlights Chinese American cuisine inspired by Chef Wang’s family roots. He described it as “old-school Beijing-style food,” a type not commonly found in the United States. He also noted that over 25% of the menu uses locally sourced ingredients, thanks to the restaurant’s participation in the Fresh Menu Program.
King BBQ, Wang’s second venture, is a fusion of Chinatown-style barbecue and Southern cooking techniques. “More Carolina-style barbeque than anything else,” he explained in the same interview.
Wang attributes much of his culinary inspiration to his family, especially his mother. One of his favorite dishes is her stuffed scallion pancake with garlic chives and ground pork. “I can just eat that ’til I’m sick, basically,” he told WCBD.
Wang runs his restaurants with his wife, Corrie Wang, who also supported his preparations for Top Chef. The couple practiced 30-minute challenges at home and made repeated trips to Whole Foods to familiarize themselves with the layout.
Wang's participation in Top Chef
Wang was initially hesitant to apply for Top Chef. He told WCBD on March 13, 2025:
“I was dreading it before going on because, again, I’m not competitive. I thought everyone’s going to be butting heads and be mean to each other and that’s not just my vibe.”
However, his perception changed once filming began. He said:
“As soon as we started and after the first episode, it was just like everyone’s so nice. We just bonded immediately.”
Before being selected, Wang admitted he wasn’t a fan of cooking competition shows and had never seen Top Chef. He said that watching other chefs struggle on screen would only add to his anxiety.
To prepare for the show, he caught up on previous seasons and practiced timed challenges at home. Speaking to Eater Carolinas on March 13, 2025, Wang said he joined the show mainly to support his restaurants.
“We thought that if I did Top Chef, we would see more butts in seats, so that was one of the biggest reasons why I did it,” he said.
He also acknowledged the $250,000 prize as a motivating factor. In the premiere episode, Wang and Henry participated in the Quickfire challenge and later teamed up again for the Elimination challenge. The judges felt they missed the mark on both execution and concept.
Judge Tom Colicchio delivered strong criticism, calling their dish "the worst plate" he had that day. Guest judge Melissa King also expressed disappointment, stating that their dish lacked cohesion. Despite the feedback, the judges chose not to eliminate anyone in the first episode.
Wang later reflected on the experience during his interview with Eater Carolinas, saying:
“It’s one of the most memorable experiences of my life… I learned so much and found out who I am as a chef.”
Top Chef airs every Thursday at 9 pm ET on Bravo, with episodes available for streaming the next day on Peacock.
