When A top chef premiering Wednesday night, it brings new rules, a new host and a new setting.
The chefs have traveled to Wisconsin for the show’s 21st season, which means devoted fans of the Bravo cooking competition series are in for a surprise treat, according to longtime judge Gail Simmons.
“A lot of people have a preconceived notion of Milwaukee as beer, cheese and ice cream,” Simmons, 47, tells PEOPLE. “But they don’t give the state of Wisconsin credit for doing real craft. There are real craftsmen here.”
Simmons credits A top chef producers who “do a really deep dive into their research” before the cast arrives. “So we come in here with a lot of really great information about the city and try to do it justice, because every city has extraordinary stories to tell,” Simmons says.
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Top Chef season 21 kitchen.
David Moir/Bravo
Judge Tom Colicchio agrees.
“Everywhere we go, we always find a certain culture that’s present — not even necessarily restaurant culture, but a tradition that goes back to a group that settled somewhere, and regardless of the recent demographics here,” adds the acclaimed chef, 61. “I think that people will be surprised.”
“We want to show all of that because it’s an integral part of the Milwaukee food story,” adds Simmons. “I’m really excited that there will be a German influence, a Hmong influence, a Serbian influence and an indigenous influence. It’s all reflected in the way people eat here.”
In the first few weeks, the competition was “a little uneven,” Colicchio teases. “I think it’s a lot of nerves. But it’s every season. It takes a little time to get used to it. But once they adjust and I think they realize we just want their food, it’s fine.”
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Top Chef season 21 kitchen.
David Moir/Bravo
Someone else settling in is new judge and host Kristen Kish, who won Season 10 A top chef after redeeming at Last Chance Kitchen. Kish, 40, replaces outgoing host Padma Lakshmi, who left after season 20 last year.
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“I think everyone is really happy,” Colicchio says. “If Padma had to go, they were happy to see Kristen.”
Kish seems happy too. “I find myself saying things and cringe,” she says of some of the show’s iconic lines. However, telling a competitor to “pack the knives and go” the first time was “bullshit,” she adds.
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Top Chefs Kristen Kish, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons.
David Moir/Bravo
“I know how it feels to be asked to leave a competition – it’s not a nice thing to hear or say,” she says. “But to be here is already a really fantastic achievement. There are so many people who try out for the show and not many chefs make it. So the fact of the matter is that they did it, they rose to the challenge and hopefully they can go away with their heads held high.”
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Kish credits her colleagues for making the transition from contestant to guest judge to full-time host a positive one for her.
“Obviously this is a fantastic job, but the consistent support has been a really fantastic thing, both from the team and from Tom and Gail,” she shares. “You have to come to work and see people you really admire.”
A top chef premieres Wednesday, March 20, at 9:00 PM ET on Bravo.
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Source: HIS Education