Why Season 23 of Bravo’s Top Chef is a Big Deal for Charlotte

Over the summer, Bravo’s “Top Chef” started filming another season, and producers selected the Carolinas as the site of the Emmy Award-winning series’ next epicurean arena. While the upcoming season – premiering on Bravo, Monday, March 9 – showcases the Carolina region, there’s an especially bright spotlight on Charlotte. During filming, the Queen City was home to the iconic “Top Chef” kitchen, and the upcoming season is set to feature several of the city’s attractions and culinary tastemakers.

Becoming a host city is no small feat and, as a certified Bravoholic and “Top Chef” fan, I’m thrilled that the city received this honor. One of the biggest complaints I see about Charlotte is that there’s “no good food” here – a sentiment I completely disagree with. 

Can I rant for a second? There’s something I notice about the people with the harshest criticisms of Charlotte’s culinary scene. They’re either trying to recreate experiences they’ve had in other cities or they’re only going to chain restaurants. Charlotte is Charlotte, and that’s why I fell in love with the city. 

In the almost four years that I’ve lived here, I’ve found so many locally owned businesses that offer fantastic food and drinks, from my favorite Mad Street Fries from Mad Dash Kitchen and Peruvian Nikkei cuisine at Yunta to handcrafted cocktails at Supperland and pours of wine on the patio of Substrate. Not to mention the culinary experiences, multi-sensory dining opportunities and chef collaborations that happen throughout the year, there’s so much to discover across the Queen City. I truly believe that the people who don’t appreciate the local dining landscape haven’t explored enough.

Which brings me back to “Top Chef.” I had the opportunity to attend the premiere party ahead of the season debut and it meant so much to hear how highly the judges, as well as producers, spoke about the Queen City. During the fireside chat, “Top Chef” host Kristen Kish alongside judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons praised the defining features of Charlotte’s dining scene, such as barbecue, Southern staples, local ingredients and more, as well as the culinary community who is curating this gastronomic renaissance.

Fireside chat with Kristen Kish, Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio, hosted by Tom Haberstroh.

There’s a reason why Charlotte is home to so many chefs recognized by the James Beard Foundation. Recently, following the creation of the MICHELIN Guide American South, the Queen City also earned the distinction of being home to North Carolina’s only MICHELIN Star restaurant (Counter-). These are just some of the high-profile honors putting Charlotte’s food and drink establishments on the map. In 2024, Bird Pizzeria was named to the New York Times’ list of “Best Pizza Places in the United States,” while Lorem Ipsum was selected as one of the “Best Bars in America” by Esquire Magazine in 2025.

While the season can’t showcase all of Charlotte’s culinary gems, the episodes filmed in the Queen City are sure to highlight many. In the season premiere (now streaming on Peacock), the cheftestants prepared their elimination challenge meals in the beautiful La Belle Helene – a French brasserie-inspired restaurant in Uptown – that’s part of “Top Chef” alum Jamie Lynch’s portfolio. Lynch joined Kish, Colicchio and Simmons, with special guest judge chef Chayil Johnson of Charlotte’s Community Matters Cafe, to critique the cheftestants’ first challenge showcasing North Carolina’s signature crop, sweet potatoes. 

Name drops like this are going to bring some well-deserved attention to several local chefs, restaurateurs and businesses in the Queen City. During filming, Kish, Colicchio and Simmons explored some of the region’s eateries, sharing these dining destinations during interviews and on their personal social media accounts. Similar to “the Keith Lee effect” you see on social media, this season of “Top Chef” will have a game-changing influence not only on local businesses but also public perception of Charlotte’s culinary landscape. 

I hope national audiences are introduced to what the Queen City has to offer and that locals can discover something new in their own backyard.