You'd think after watching a single series for more than 20 seasons, one would basically know all there is to know about it. But Top Chef remains an elusive exception. Not only do I still not know how to cook James Beard-worthy dishes at home — my fault, not the chefs' — but I remain curious about several other aspects of the series itself. Thankfully, host Kristen Kish shed some warming light when I asked how hot the food is when the judges are eating.
Top Chef: Destination Canada has, as predicted, been one of my favorite weekly must-watches on the 2025 TV schedule, and it's been easy to forget that this is just Kish's second year as host. During her interview with CinemaBlend, the past champ and former Iron Chef host shared quite a few delectable details with me. When I asked whether or not the judges take into account dishes that have sit for a bit before being eaten for one reason or another, she said:
I mean, here's the thing: during Quickfires: there might be Quickfires where, yeah, by the time someone gets to you, like if you're serving last, the dish that was hot is no longer hot. But Top Chef is a really great marker of integrity for culinary shows across the board. We move through it quickly. Like the food comes first, the chef's work comes first. And so to get through an entire tasting of a Quickfire of like 15 chefs doesn't take that long. We keep it quick, we keep it moving.
Despite the fact that it's a TV show with camera set-ups and the like, Top Chef is a well-oiled machine at this point, so one can imagine the Quickfires are at peak efficiency when it comes to serving and tasting from the first meal to the last. (At least inside the studio.) So while it's not surprising, it's still good to hear that spotlighting the contestants' efforts continues to be the top priority.
Elimination challenges can shake things up when it comes to the freshness factor, especially earlier in the season when there are far more chefs and dishes to get through. While not always necessary, Top Chef's producers do take the serving timing details into consideration, which is why some of those challenges feature different start times for the chefs. Kish continued, saying:
Then during elimination challenges, where there obviously is a little bit more weight and importance to them, I guess — because someone's going to go home for it — there's always a staggered cook. Either three dishes will come to you at the same time, or if that's not a thing or if possible for that challenge, you'll notice that they all start at different times, so they all serve.
I had to refrain from digging into any kind of minutiae by asking how the order is chosen, because who is that helping, really, besides me and my pork belly-addled brain?
For all that we might think that Top Chef's process is so different due to it being a TV show, Kristen Kish pointed out that what she, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons (among others) go through isn't all that dissimilar from a night out with friends where a large meal is involved. As she put it:
When we're sitting there as diners, it's exactly like a restaurant. It's no different than getting three plates to share for the table all at one time and having to work your way through them. By the time you take your first bite and you make your way to the next plate, are you thinking, 'Damn, this is cold.' No, you're eating it like it's totally normal. And so no, Top Chef accounts to make sure that the food is served at its peak.
While I never truly suspected that Kristen, Tom and Gail would think a dish less desirable due to an element like temperature (at least outside of something like ice cream), I'm doubly pleased to hear that they're not having to choke down sub-lukewarm food at any point. Room temperature seafood is no one's best friend, in the Top Chef world or otherwise.
Top Chef: Destination Canada's two-part finale kicks off Thursday, June 5, with the champion being crowned in Milan on Thursday, June 12, only on Bravo.
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