Top Chef season 18 premieres today (Thursday, April 1), starting at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
Unpack your knives because it's time to watch Top Chef 2021 online, even if you don't have cable. Top Chef season 18 takes place in Portland, Oregon for the first time in the show's history. A new batch of cheftestants will slice, dice, fry, roast and sous vide their hearts out, all for the top prize of $250,000.
While Top Chef 2021 will still feature culinary masterpieces, season 18 will be somewhat different due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The show instituted new health and safety protocols when filming last fall. All of the contestants, crew members and judges quarantined in a bubble. That means this season features Top Chef alumni as guest judges, rather than the usual group of local restauranteurs and celebrities.
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Other changes include curbside pickup at Whole Foods (instead of the frantic in-store shopping spree), no large dinners or tasting events and an expanded judges' table to allow for social distancing. And Restaurant Wars gets a new spin, as the teams execute a micro-restaurant concept with a seven-course tasting menu.
But mostly, Top Chef remains mostly the same. The chefs will face new challenges, like a celebration of Portland's Pan-African cuisine, feeding hundreds of frontline workers, a surf and turf meal honoring the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and crabbing on the Oregon Coast. The show will also take the chefs to some of the state's famous food destinations, such as the Tillamook Cramery.
Here's everything you need to know about how to watch Top Chef 2021 online.
How to watch Top Chef 2021 online anywhere, with a VPN
Just because Bravo isn't available everywhere doesn't mean you can't watch Top Chef 2021 if you're away from home. Watching the new season along with the rest of the internet can be pretty easy with the right VPN (virtual private network). You can stream the show from wherever you go.
We've evaluated many VPN services, and our top pick is ExpressVPN (opens in new tab). It meets the VPN needs of the vast majority of users, offering outstanding compatibility with most devices and impressive connection speeds. It's also affordable at $12.95 per month. (Signing up for longer periods of six months or a year reduces the cost even more.)
(opens in new tab)How to watch Top Chef 2021 in the US
Food fans can watch the Top Chef season 18 premiere on Thursday, April 1 at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo if they have a cable package. Anyone with a cable login can also watch it on demand or online at BravoTV.com (opens in new tab).
If you've already cut the cord, you can watch Top Chef on several live TV streaming services, including Sling TV (opens in new tab), Fubo TV, Hulu With Live TV (opens in new tab), Fubo TV (opens in new tab) and AT&T TV.
Of these options, we recommend Sling and FuboTV, two of the best streaming services on the market.
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(opens in new tab)How to watch Top Chef 2021 in Canada
Canadians can dig into the Top Chef 2021 premiere on Food Network Canada, just a couple hours later than the American airing at 10 p.m. ET.
How to watch Top Chef 2021 in the UK
Good news, Brits — Top Chef 2021 episodes should be available on Hayu (opens in new tab) the day after they air in the U.S.
Hayu is a streaming service that costs £4.99 per month (after a one-month free trial).
Top Chef 2021 trailer
The Top Chef season 18 trailer provides a glimpse at the diverse lineup of chefs competing this season, as well as the tough challenges that lay ahead. Head judge Tom Colicchio thinks this might be the franchise's best cast yet.
Top Chef: Portland cast and judges
The judges for Top Chef season 18 are Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and host Padma Lakshmi. They will be joined by a rotating panel of Top Chef alumni, including Richard Blais, Kristen Kish, Gregory Gourdet, Brooke Williamson, Nina Compton, Dale Talde and Kwame Onwuachi.
Culinary luminaries and notable figures will still appear this season, either on video or in person, including José Andrés, Massimo Bottura, Alice Waters and Portlandia stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein.
There are 15 contestants competing on Top Chef: Portland. They are:
Brittanny Anderson
Hometown: Richmond, VA
Current city of residence: Richmond, VA
Occupation/Profession: Chef and Co-Owner of Metzger Bar and Butchery, Brenner Pass, and Black Lodge, Richmond, VA. Leni, Washington, D.C
Avishar Barua
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Current city of residence: Columbus, OH
Occupation/Profession: Executive Chef & GM, Service Bar
Dawn Burrell
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Current city of residence: Houston, TX
Occupation/Profession: Partner/Executive Chef, Lucille’s Hospitality Group
Gabe Erales
Hometown: El Paso, TX
Current city of residence: Austin, TX
Occupation/Profession: Chef
Nelson German
Hometown: New York City
Current city of residence: Oakland, CA
Occupation/Profession: Executive Chef/Owner, alaMar Kitchen and Sobre Mesa Afro-Latino cocktail lounge
Byron Gomez
Hometown: Central Islip, Long Island
Current city of residence: Aspen, CO
Occupation/Profession: Executive Chef at 7908
Sasha Grumman
Hometown: Newport Beach, CA
Current city of residence: Houston, TX
Occupation/Profession: Executive Chef
Roscoe Hall
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Current city of residence: Birmingham, Alabama
Occupation/Profession: Chef/Artist/Father
Sara Hauman
Hometown: Vista, CA
Current city of residence: Portland, OR
Occupation/Profession: Head Chef, Soter Vineyards
Kiki Louya
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Current city of residence: Detroit, MI
Occupation/Profession: Chef / Consultant
Maria Mazon
Hometown: Born in Tucson, AZ, Raised in Navojoa, Sonora
Current city of residence: Tucson, AZ
Occupation/Profession: Executive Chef/Owner, BOCA Tacos y Tequila
Shota Nakajima
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan & Seattle, WA
Current city of residence: Seattle, WA
Occupation/Profession: Chef/Owner, Taku
Gabriel Pascuzzi
Hometown: Portland, OR
Current city of residence: Portland, OR
Occupation/Profession: Chef/Owner, Mama Bird, Stacked Sandwich Shop, and Feel Good
Jamie Tran
Hometown: Stockton, CA
Current city of residence: Las Vegas, NV
Occupation/Profession: Chef/Owner, The Black Sheep
Chris Viaud
Hometown: Randolph MA
Current city of residence: Milford, NH
Occupation/Profession: Chef/Owner of Greenleaf and Culture
