Anyone who watches reality competition shows on a regular basis is well aware of the fact the best player doesn’t always win. In fact, a really healthy percentage of the time, the best player doesn’t win. On many shows, there are simply too many episodes and too many different competitions, which equate to chances the best player could have a bad day on the wrong day. That’s certainly the case with Top Chef.
I’ve watched every single season of the beloved cooking competition, and while I think many of the best players have won, there are also a bunch of instances in which potential winners went home way sooner than I would have guessed or expected. Thus, let’s run down some of the most glaring examples and talk about what happened to those who were eliminated far too early.
Richard Blais In Season 4
There were 14 elimination challenges during Top Chef Season 4. Richard Blais, Stephanie Izard and Dale Talde (who we’ll get to in a minute) won a combined 10. Richard, however, really stood out for many viewers thanks to his extreme creativity and visual flair. When he later came back for all-stars, Richard said he felt like he’d choked when he lost to Stephanie in the finals, but a slew of awards, competition victories and opened restaurants have shown she’s an all-time great winner. Still, Richard is on this list because he’s widely considered one of the best players ever. Thankfully he got his moment in a later season.
Tre Wilcox In Season 3
Early in Top Chef Season 3, Tre seemed like the presumptive winner. He won three of the first seven challenges, but there’s a long history of great players being eliminated during Restaurant Wars. The most popular recurring challenge was a particular disaster that season, as the judges refused to declare a winner and ran back the next challenge with the same teams again during the next episode, which is when Tre went home as the executive chef.
Jackson Kalb In Season 19
Here’s how Jackson started Season 19 in elimination challenges: high, middle of the pack, high, win, high, high, win. Then he was eliminated, trying to do front of house during Restaurant Wars. Look: Restaurant Wars has executed plenty of great chefs. You could almost do an all-star season with just great chefs that went home on Restaurant Wars, but going home doing front of house is its own special brand of awful.
Tiffani Faison In Season 1
It’s not often finishing second in a competition as difficult as Top Chef could be considered a disappointment, but in retrospect, it’s surprising Tiffani didn’t win the inaugural season. Until the final three, she only had a single appearance in the bottom (which was part of a team challenge), and she either won or was singled out in the top five times. Since the show, she’s gotten several James Beard nominations, opened more than a half dozen restaurants and won Tournament Of Champions against competition significantly tougher.
Stefan Richter In Season 5
I’m still shocked Stefan lost the Season 5 finale to Hosea. The dominant European won five elimination challenges and four quickfires. He wasn’t even in the bottom at any point until episode ten. Ultimately he lost a close one, however, and many fans still feel he was robbed from what would have been one of the strongest season long performances in Top Chef history.
CJ Jacobson In Season 10
Big Ceej finished in a strong sixth place in Season 3, and I was tempted to include him on this list because many fans were surprised he didn’t go further. He returned in Season 10 and was shockingly eliminated in thirteenth, the victim of a dreaded double elimination team challenge in which every chef performed so horribly the judges refused to give out a $10,000 reward. CJ is doing well for himself though, having opened multiple popular restaurants in Chicago I’ve personally eaten at and enjoyed.
Sam Talbot In Season 14
During Top Chef Season 2, Sam finished in a really strong third place and was a clear fan favorite. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite as well in Season 14. He returned alongside seven other former players to compete against newbies. Unfortunately, he was eliminated during the second episode and finished a shocking fourteenth. With all the returning players, quality of competition was really high, but years later, it still doesn’t feel right.
Nini Nguyen In Season 16
Nini won two of the first three elimination challenges. These weren’t group challenges with multiple winners. She won two of the first three by herself. Then in episode four, Top Chef surprised everyone with a three team episode of Restaurant Wars. Nini went home, and suddenly, the person who seemed like the odds on favorite to win the whole show was out in twelfth place.
Dale Talde In Season 4
Dale isn’t talked about nearly as much as his seasonmates Richard or Stephanie, but he won 3 elimination challenges, 2 Quickfires and was widely considered a threat to do real damage. I think, based on results, most people would have expected him to finish a strong third. Unfortunately, he went home during Restaurant Wars as the executive chef of the losing restaurant.
Fabio Viviani In Season 5
There are other chefs with more accolades than Fabio, but a strong case could be made that very few, if any, have had more successful post-Top Chef careers than Fabio. The extremely likeable Italian-born chef has opened more than fifteen popular restaurants, made scores of TV appearances, released books and turned himself into a major culinary figure. He wound up finishing fourth during Season 5 after a great run that included 3 elimination wins.
Brooke Williamson In Season 10
Brooke won five elimination challenges and three quickfires in Season 10. With all due respect to Sheldon Simeon, who has won all kinds of awards and finished a strong third, it seemed like Brooke was going to win Top Chef when her chief rival and new Top Chef host Kristen Kish, was eliminated during the dreaded Restaurant Wars. She won Last Chance Kitchen, however, and came back into the competition to beat Brooke. Fortunately, the Southern California chef got her chance to win a future season.
Jennifer Carroll In Season 6
There has never been a Top Chef season so thoroughly dominated by four people as we saw in Season 6. The Voltaggio Brothers, Kevin Gillespie and Jennifer Carroll combined to win every single elimination challenge of the season. They also combined to win ten of the fourteen quickfire challenges. So, was it some all-time crime that Jennifer ended up losing to those three and finishing fourth? No. But she belongs on this list because she’s one of the most talented contestants ever and could have easily won many other seasons.
Angelo Sosa In Season 7
Go back and watch Season 7. There is a point early in the show in which Angelo looks so dominant it almost feels like a foregone conclusion he’s going to win. He won the first two quickfire challenges and the first elimination challenge. If you throw out the second episode that featured eight chefs on the bottom of a team challenge, he was in the top or at least the middle every time until episode ten. It wasn’t meant to be though, as he lost in the finals.
Jennifer Carroll In All-Stars
Going home early during an all-star season shouldn’t ever be looked at with side eye. There’s no shame in losing to really good players, especially when there’s a fair amount of luck involved, but still, I’m not sure anyone was expecting Jen Carroll to go home second and finish seventeenth. Unfortunately, she memorably had a misstep during a museum challenge cooking for kids, and just like that, she was gone, leaving the judges, her fellow contestants and herself shocked.
Jamie Lauren In Season 5
Jamie won 3 times and finished at the top another three times during the first ten challenges of Season 5. Unfortunately, she ran into a challenge that required recreating a famous dish from La Bernardin, and it did not end well for her. She flamed out in a disappointing seventh place, despite seeming like a likely finalist.
Angelo Sosa In All-Stars
Just like during his original season, Angelo came out of the gates hot during All-Stars. He won the first two challenges and finished in the top judging group during five of the first six challenges. Unfortunately, all that momentum meant nothing when the judges were asked to cook inside a Target and his baked potato soup sent him home in seventh. It was only his second time in the low judging group for the entire season.
Edward Lee In Season 9
Based solely on what happened during his season, Edward Lee probably ended up around the right spot (fifth). He won two immunity challenges and a quickfire and had some additional high performances, but it’s been post Top Chef where he’s really emerged. He’s picked up a bunch of James Beard nominations, thoroughly dominated the Louisville fine dining scene, been invited to cook at The White House and been a judge on numerous other programs. Very few in the show’s history have built a better career.
John Tesar In Season 10
Many of the chefs have come to the show with a lot of accolades and personal accomplishments. John seemed on another level in Season 10. He had personal relationships with many of the judges and was even a character in Anthony Bourdain’s ultra-famous Kitchen Confidential. Personal struggles got in the way of his career at various points, and he was ready to move forward. Unfortunately, that redemption arc was cut short. After an elimination challenge win, two quickfire wins and other strong judging critiques, he was shockingly sent home in ninth.
Kwame Onwuachi In Season 13
Kwame has picked up a ton of deserved accolades since his season ended including Rising Star Chef from James Beard, but he only finished sixth on his season of Top Chef. Despite multiple wins and a ton of positive feedback during various cooks, he bowed out early thanks to a Restaurant Wars-like challenge where the contestants had to serve 150 with a dish that spelled out a quick service concept.
Shirley Chung In Season 11
Shirley won four elimination challenges and four quickfires during her season. Including the challenge in which she was eliminated, she was only in the bottom of the judging a total of twice. Since the show ended, she’s gone on to open multiple restaurants and compete well in a variety of culinary competitions. Based on all those metrics, it’s certainly a surprise she wasn’t able to win Season 11, but she ultimately finished third and went home on a challenge requiring the use of weird ingredients.
Stephanie Cmar In Season 10
This one is a lot more shocking in retrospect. Stephanie went home during the early rounds of the pre-show and didn’t actually make the final round of the show. She later returned and actually made the show in a subsequent season and later went on to finish third in All-Stars: Los Angeles. She’s really good, but her elimination goes to show how often really good contestants probably don’t even make the show.
Nyesha Arrington In Season 9
Restaurant Wars and double elimination team challenges are typically when Top Chef’s most talented contestants are in danger. That’s what happened to Nyesha during Season 9. She was forced to pair up and shockingly went home in eleventh place. She won four times in Last Chance Kitchen though, and her career really blossomed after her time on the show, as she opened several restaurants, was named LA Chef Of The Year by Eater and is regularly a judge on other shows, including on Next Level Chef.
Katsuji Tanabe In Season 12
There aren’t many contestants in Top Chef history who have won three consecutive challenges, especially early in a season when a ton of players are left. Season 12 oddly featured two: later guest judge and Top Chef favorite Gregory Gourdet, who finished second, and the lovable and eccentric Katsuji, who finished a shocking sixth. He, not so shockingly, went home on a dish that featured way too many ingredients.
Tiffany Derry In Season 7
Tiffany wasn’t in the bottom a single time until her shocking elimination in fifth place during Season 7. Between episode six and episode eleven, she won or was in the top of the elimination challenge judging every single time. Unfortunately, she ran into a weird challenge about creating a dish for astronauts that would work in zero gravity and went home. Fortunately, she’s been seen regularly on TV since, judging and appearing on shows like MasterChef, Tournament Of Champions, Bobby’s Triple Threat and more.
Gregory Gourdet In Season 12
There’s certainly no shame in losing in the finals to winner Mei Lin, who later went on to win Tournament Of Champions too, but Gregory won five elimination challenges and finished in the high judging an additional four times. He also won four quickfires and looked almost on another level, especially during the first five challenges. On the bright side, even though he didn’t win, he later went on to open a restaurant in Portland that won Best New Restaurant at the James Beard awards.
Lee Anne Wong In Season 15
Season 15 featured a fun wrinkle in which former players competed in Last Chance Kitchen to try and enter the game. Lee Anne ultimately bested some really heavy hitters to get in, but she was forced to withdraw during her second episode back for health reasons. It remains one of the most unexpected moments in the show’s long history, and to this day, fans wonder what might have happened if she was able to stay in the competition.
Karen Akunowicz In Season 13
This one has become more surprising as the years have passed. Karen was a very solid performer during her season. She picked up a solo elimination win, as well as a quickfire and had three other episodes where she was in the top. She ultimately went home seventh, which felt a little early. Now that she has a Best Chef: Northeast from James Beard under her belt, it seems like she went home way too early.
Angelo Sosa In All-Stars: Los Angeles
Poor Angelo came back again, and many fans were hoping All-Stars: Los Angeles would be the year he finally put it together. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. He was the second contestant eliminated and finished a startling fourteenth. You can’t really compare All-Star seasons to regular ones. The competition is just too high, but even with the best of the best, you gotta think Angelo would get at least middle of the pack almost every time.
Begoña Rodrigo In World All-Stars
Begoña was in the top group during two of her five challenges on the show, but she ultimately exited in a very disappointing twelfth place during World All-Stars. Given the competition entirely consisted of people who had won the show or made really deep runs, that’s not some big embarrassment, but judging by the talent level and the fact that she has a Michelin star, many expected Begoña to go further than she did.
Damarr Brown In Season 19
Damarr didn’t get singled out for poor criticism a single time until episode ten of Season 19. During that stretch, he won an elimination challenge, two quickfires and got tons of positive feedback on everything he was doing. Buddha Lo and Evelyn Garcia were strong competition throughout, but it was a big surprise to see Brown eliminated before the finals in fourth place. Fortunately, he’s gotten plenty of accolades since the show ended, including a James Beard Rising Star award.
Shota Nakajima In Season 18
With meticulous plating and lots of fun ideas, Shota Nakajima did a lot of winning during Season 18. He picked up four elimination challenge victories and a quickfire. He was also only in the bottom of the pack once the entire season, but the finals didn’t work out for him, as he lost to Gabe. Rewatching the season, however, he still comes off like the biggest star, as he was singled out for high judging nine of the thirteen elimination challenges.
Gregory Gourdet In All-Stars: Los Angeles
Just like in his original season, Gregory looked really dominant for stretches during All-Stars: Los Angeles. He ultimately won four elimination challenges and two quickfires, but he finished a disappointing fifth after a white truffle challenge got the best of him. It’s obvious throughout the entire season how talented he is, but you always need at least a little bit of luck to finish the job.
