The thirteenth season of Top Chef will begin on February 16th. While you wait to discover the first images of the competition, which this year welcomes a new juror in the person of three-star chef Glenn Feil, here’s what you need to know about the 15 nominees for this new season.
Three chefs and twelve chefs, ages 21 to 36, will embark on a Top Chef adventure this year and will join one of four brigades led by Helen Darrows, Paul Barrett, Philip Echebest and Glenn Fell.
Pascal Barandoni – 21 years old
Winner of last December’s Objectif Top Chef title, Pascal Barandoni was elected France’s Best Trainee in 2020. With a competitive mind, ever since he broke into the world of culinary competitions from the age of 16, the 21-year-old has been specially trained by Eric Fritchon. and Alan Ducasse. Varois hopes to shine in Season 13 of Top Chef thanks to his artistic cuisine inspired by local produce.
Lucy Berther Gambara – 32 years old
Destined to work in international trade, Lucy Bertier-Gimbara switched to cooking in 2010 after her father’s death. Then she decided to pursue her passion and trained at the Paul Bocuse Institute. Having worked in the kitchens of Gérald Passedat and then the kitchens of her mentor Alexandre Mazzia, with whom she hopes to share an audition for the competition, she is now the chef of her own restaurant “Sépia” in Nantes. It offers a cuisine focused on seafood and vegetable recipes.
Ellis Bond – 29 years old
Greeting trip. Without a diploma in cooking, but crowned with two distinctions – Gault & Millau Young Talents in 2019 and Michelin Plate in 2021 – Ellis Bond stars in the Top Chef competition. Today at the helm of his restaurant Mi Kwabo in Paris, the young man, who has envisioned his dishes like plates and portrays his cuisine as “innate, creative and mixed”, has climbed the ladder one by one, from his beginnings as a mere diver. A kid in school failure, by participating in Top Chef, this self-styled one wants to show that “the ugly duckling has taken off”.
Louise Porat – 27 years old
Rock, feminist and focused on no kitchen waste, Louise Porat now heads her own restaurant, BouBou’s, in Lisbon. Passionate about cooking from an early age, the young woman loves to think outside the box. Rich in her French-Portuguese dual culture, she doubled down on her experience in France (L’Hostellerie de L’Abbaye de la Celle, Chalet de la Foret) and abroad, where she was an accomplished chef at Bar Boulud in Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and private chef in Chile. Top Chef is a way to push it to its limits.
Michael Prior – 33 years old
Coming from Lille from a humble background, Mickaël was quick to target the stars. Chef de partie in Sébastopol* at the age of 21, then second in the kitchen at Marc Meurin**, is now head of Witloof bistro in the Lille district. Fans of peasant and exciting cuisine, the chef, who loves to cook unexpected products, loves to surprise. By participating in Top Chef, he wants to prove that “no matter where you come from, anything is possible in life”.
Tania Kadido – 29 years old
Tania Kadido is originally from Sardinia, arrived in France 8 years ago with the ambition of getting a job in the country of gastronomy. Her strong temper and remarkable daring led her to the kitchens of the Ritz where she was Chef de Parti before becoming Chef of Vida restaurant run by Juan Arbelaiz, who also entered the Top Chef competition in 2012. Healthy and delicious cuisine, the competition is an opportunity for Italians to be advised by The world’s greatest chef.
Arnaud Delphine – 36 years old
Another candidate with an atypical profession, Arnaud Delevingne appears to have lived several lives. At the age of 36, the Belgian with a complex educational background was a straight-forward waiter, an assistant manager at a large fast-food chain, a prison cook, who opened his restaurant before becoming the executive chef of the 4-star hotel restaurant group Van der Valk. A cheerful chef, he is now a loyal but dieting kitchen fan who lost more than 50kg in March 2021, after dieting and having surgery.
Logan Deboydt – 35 years old
The second Belgian player in the competition this season, Logan Dupuydt, came to win. Born into a family of restaurateurs who nonetheless tried to dissuade him from making it his profession, this “raw, tattooed and fast” cook, as he describes himself, is the opposite of his kitchen, which he describes as “feminine and refined,” bolstered by a seed of madness and complete freedom. Now the head of his restaurant “L’artiste de Falaen”, he hopes to be the first Belgian to win the Top Chef award. A winning mindset shouldn’t fail to please Chef Echibest.
Lillian Duchette – 28 years old
Lillian Duchette hasn’t cooked for two years. He stopped dying of confinement when he was about to buy his own restaurant, and has since become a manager of a hypermarket. This idealist, who has worked in several star restaurants such as Chef de Partie (L’assiette Champenoise *** or le Paloma **) and sous-chef (La truffière * and L’orangerie *), sees in Top Chef the opportunity For a fresh start and finally realizing his dream.
Renault Ramamorti – 31 years old
Already stealthily passing through the kitchens of Top Chef during the first season of the competition, Renaud Ramamourty is trying his luck once again. While in 2010 he was the first candidate to be eliminated, having failed to finish his plate, this time he intends to go further and reveal his colorful and spicy cuisine. The 30-year-old presents a good resume. Today, Chef Petrosian has cut his teeth at many signature restaurants, from ‘Laurent’ to his beginnings, including ‘Le cinq’ and ‘L’histoire’.
Sebastien Renard – 27 years old
Sebastien Renard trained with the greatest, from Alain Ducasse to Marc Morin via Christophe Santani, a geek chef striving for excellence. Not enough to stop this young man from the North from being funny and cranky. Proud of his land and roots, he relies on comfort and techno cuisine and has set out on a Top Chef adventure to show that even from the region, it is possible to succeed.
Wilfried Roman – 28 years old
A true scholar, Wilfrid Romain has been rotating between prestigious homes – including the Mandarin Oriental where he joined Thierry Marx and L’orangerie du Georges V – and traveling the world over the past ten years. A desire for discovery led him to successively stay in Australia and Chile where he worked in Borago, one of the best restaurants in the world, but also in Argentina, Peru and Colombia. A brilliant adventurer in a literal and figurative sense – measuring nearly two metres – he is naturally inspired by his travels and encounters.
Tebu Spiwak – 35 years old
Today, at the helm of his own restaurant Anona, Thibaut Spiwack is a chef committed to eco-friendly cuisine that focuses on seasonal, local produce and uses whole grain. A philosophy that drove innovation and made him among the first 50 chefs to win a Michelin Green Star. Jules Verne passed him and trained alongside Jérôme Banctel, his brilliant career also marked by third place in the Best Apprentice competition in France.
Elliot van de Velde – 32 years old
Self-made, instinctive cooking, diagnosed as gifted, is Elliot van de Velde’s style of communication. At the helm of the culinary events company Little Chef, he is also a chef committed to never wasting anything. In particular, he founded the “Hearth Project” association, which aims to provide delicious meals based on unsold foods. The Belgian relies on his surplus imagination to amaze.
Ambroise Forox – 26 years old
Ambroise became a chef at the age of nineteen, and is at the helm of his own restaurant “La Cabane à Matelot”. A title where he cooks only the fish caught by his partner and friend Roman. An approach that requires this eccentric-looking youngster to be very creative and cook 100% locally, his signature culinary signature. A fan of aromatic herbs, he takes part in Top Chef to compete with the most experienced chefs.
One of these fifteen candidates will succeed Mohamed El Sheikh of the Helen Drews Brigade, winner of last season’s competition.
