Top Chef: Houston

Production

Houston served as the primary filming location for roughly five weeks, from late September through October 2021. The same COVID-19 safety measures from Top Chef: Portland were used, with regular testing and masks required for the production crew.

Houston First spearheaded the effort to bring the show to the city, showcasing local sites and assisting with location scouting. The main set was built inside NRG Arena. The final two episodes were filmed in Tucson during November 2021, with Visit Tucson covering production and relocation expenses.

Contestant progress

Ashleigh won the first Last Chance Kitchen re-entry challenge and returned to the competition. Sarah won the second Last Chance Kitchen re-entry challenge and returned to the competition.

Buddha Lo won the season and was crowned Top Chef. Evelyn Garcia and Sarah Welch were runners-up. Chefs who won an Elimination Challenge are marked WIN; those selected as top entries but not winning are HIGH; safe chefs are IN; bottom entries not eliminated are LOW; eliminated chefs are OUT.

Did You Know?

• Jackson Kalb competed without his sense of taste or smell after contracting COVID-19 weeks before filming began.
• Buddha Lo later returned to compete in Top Chef: World All-Stars.
• A new web series called Top Recipe featured alum Dale Talde cooking winning dishes from the season.
• The judging panel each episode included a former Top Chef competitor alongside Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons.