Top Chef Gets ‘Shaken Up’ with New Rules and Kristen Kish as Host — See the Trailer and Meet the Chefs (Exclusive)

A top chef he’s ready to take on the Midwest.

The long-running Bravo show returns March 20 to Wisconsin and PEOPLE, EW and Food and wine watch the season 21 trailer together exclusively.

This is Kristen Kish’s first season as a host A top chef after Padma Lakshmi announced her departure last summer. Kish, who won Season 10, knows a thing or two about battling fellow chefs. In the trailer above, she opens the clip by exclaiming, “A top chef is back!”

Gail Simmons, Kristen Kish and Tom Colicchio.

Well done/ Stephanie Diani

“We’ve gathered up-and-coming chefs from all over the country here to Wisconsin,” she says in a sneak peek.

The trailer shows contestants competing in tough challenges, including one where they cook with something Wisconsinites can’t live without — cheese.

Kristen Kish in the 21st season of Top Chef.

Well done/ Stephanie Diani

Fellow judges Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio join Kish on the road trip in Season 21, which sees one big change. “There are a few new rules,” Kish says.

“There will be no immunity given for Quickfire’s victory,” Colicchio adds. (Winners of the Quickfire Challenge were previously awarded a prize, perk, or most valuable: immunity during the elimination challenge.)

“I like things to shake up,” says Kish.

Celebrity judges including Carla Hall and Brittany Snow are featured in the trailer, along with Matty Matheson from Bear.

Gail Simmons ‘Sad’ Padma Lakshmi Is Leaving ‘Top Chef’ But Excited For ‘Stunning’ Finale (Exclusive)

At the end of the announcement, the stakes are raised as Kish advises the contestants, who range from James Beard Award finalists to Michelin-starred restaurant chefs. “You have to start cooking to win,” she says.

Colicchio also closes the trailer with a cliffhanger. “This is not going to be easy,” he says. “At the end of this, there’s only one person left. You have to make sure it’s you.”

Meet the 15 chefs who are heating up the competition this season:

Alisha Elenz.

Well done/ Stephanie Diani

Alisha Elenz

The Chicago-born chef is a two-time James Beard nominee and 2019 Jean Banchet Rising Chef of the Year winner. Specializing in Mediterranean cuisine, she runs her own private chef and events company.

Amanda Turner.

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Amanda Turner

Turner, who is from Texas, was named a James Beard Rising Chef semifinalist in 2022. She has worked for many famous chefs, including A top chef season nine winner Paul Qui.

Charlie Pierre.

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Charlie Pierre

This two-time James Beard nominee has been working as a chef since he was 15, learning from his professional chef father. His Haitian-inspired restaurant, Fritai, in New Orleans, has received several awards, including Zagat’s 30 Under 30 and Eater NOLA’s 2022 Restaurant of the Year.

Dan Jacobs.

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Dan Jacobs

Jacobs, who lives in Milwaukee, is no stranger to the Wisconsin backdrop this season. He is the head chef and co-owner of the popular restaurants EsterEv and DanDan in Milwaukee. Jacobs was diagnosed with Kennedy’s disease, a genetic neuromuscular disease often mistaken for ALS. The disease can make simple tasks like chopping onions difficult, so the professional chef is “proud to run two outstanding restaurants,” according to Bravo.

Danny Garcia.

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Danny Garcia

The Brooklyn native has worked at many famous restaurants, including Thomas Keller’s the French Laundry. Growing up in a close-knit Dominican and Puerto Rican family, Garcia says food has always been the center of the gathering for him.

David Murphy.

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David Murphy

The Texas native studied at the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu. In 2022, he opened Shuggie’s Trash Pie + Natural Wine, a restaurant in San Francisco with a strong focus on climate change solutions. It was on the list of best new restaurants until Esquire, good apetite and The New York Times.

Kaleena Bliss.

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Kaleena Bliss

Bliss started cooking when she was only 16 years old. A native of Washington state, she was named a Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree. She now lives in Chicago where she is the executive chef at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel.

Kenny Nguyen.

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Kenny Nguyen

A first-generation American, Nguyen says he learned most of his cooking from his Vietnamese grandmother. He wants to honor her by opening his own Vietnamese restaurant in Athens, Georgia, called Pretty Boy, the English translation of her nickname for him.

Kevin D’Andrea.

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Kevin D’Andrea

D’Andrea is no stranger to the cooking competition franchise. In 2015, he was a finalist at Top chef of France. He also cooked alongside Michelin-starred chef Alain Llorca at the Belles Rives Hotel on the French Riviera.

Laura Ozyilmaz.

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Laura Ozyilmaz

Ozyilmaz was born and raised in Mexico, where she fell in love with cooking at a young age. She worked in restaurants Eleven Madison Park and Café Boulud in New York and Saison in San Francisco. Her accolades include being named a Rising Star San Francisco Chronicle. And in 2024, she was named a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef in California.

Manny Barella.

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Manny Barella

Born and raised in Mexico, Barello was once on a different career path — to become a lawyer. However, he dropped out of law school to study culinary arts. The career change paid off for him: in 2022, he was named a James Beard semifinalist in the rising chef category.

Michelle Wallace.

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Michelle Wallace

Wallace was studying health administration at Texas Southern University when she fell in love with cooking for her friends. The passion then turned lucrative when her cousin, a player for the Houston Texans NFL team, started paying her to cook for his teammates. After working for several renowned chefs, she was nominated as CultureMap Houston’s Rising Star Chef in 2021.

Rasika Venkatesa.

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Rasika Venkatesa

Venkatesa was most inspired by watching her grandmother cook while growing up in India. She worked at the French Laundry and won StarChef’s Rising Star Award in the San Francisco/Oakland area in 2022. Her passion is learning to reinvent Tamil cuisine by traveling around Tamil Nadu, India learning from local communities.

Savannah Miller.

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Savannah Miller

Miller began her career in food service when she was just a teenager. Her passion took her from her native North Carolina to the New England Culinary Institute and all the way to Durham, NC, where she helped Chef Michael Lee open M Tempura in Durham as his executive chef.

Valentine Howell Jr.

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Valentine Howell Jr.

Howell has more than two decades of experience working in Boston’s most famous restaurants, under the guidance of talented chefs such as Lydia Shire. In 2023, he was a finalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Northeast. Being in front of the camera for this will not be new A top chef cheftesant: Appeared on shows including A mobile feast on PBS.

A top chef season 21 premieres March 20 on Bravo with major episodes airing every Wednesday night from 9:00 PM to 10:15 PM

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Source: HIS Education