Fifteen contestants are whipping up culinary masterpieces as they compete to be named the Top Chef Season 23 winner, and this time around, the chefs are sprinkling in some Southern love with their ingredients, in kitchens in Charlotte, North Carolina as well as Greenville, South Carolina.
With host Kristen Kish, head judge Tom Colicchio, and judge Gail Simmons all returning to weigh in on the dishes, several special guests will also lend their taste buds to the competition, including Southern Charm’s Madison LeCroy and Craig Conover.
But before they began turning up the heat in the kitchen, they pleaded their case to earn a chance to compete by submitting their casting tapes. Keep scrolling to learn more about the cheftestants.
Nana Araba Wilmot’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Nana Araba Wilmot is a Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based chef who is also the curator of the Love That I Knead Supper Club. “I explore my heritage as a first-gen Ghanaian American,” she said of her dinner series.
She also admitted that she has one fatal flaw when it comes to competition: “I need to watch my face sometimes.”
Sieger Bayer’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Chef Sieger Bayer has traveled all over the world, including Spain, France, and Germany. The Chicago-based owner of Bar Berria has a big pet peeve, though: “When I see these people that are like, ‘I’m a chef!’ when two years ago they were on Tik Tok, I’m like, ‘You’re taking the only thing that I’ve truly loved and bastardizing it.'”
He went on to share his advice for aspiring chefs: “Be a sous chef, and learn how to cook, and then be a chef, because all the restaurants are going to suck ass if we don’t do that.”
Jonathan Dearden’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Although Jonathan Dearden may be the younger twin by 20 minutes, he was quick to point out, “I was always the more mature one.” The Washington D.C.-based chef will go head-to-head with his brother, Brandon, on Top Chef, and it isn’t the first time they’ve chopped in the kitchen together.
“I was Brandon’s little bitch,” Jonathan admitted. “We peeled like 30 cases of artichokes. I’m thinking in my mind, ‘I am so excited to see what happens with these artichokes.’ No, you know what they were for? For a goddamn purée. Artichoke purée.”
Despite catering to his older brother before, Jonathan remains confident he can stand on his own now. “I got the tattoos and the scars to show that I’m ready to win this thing,” he declared.
Brandon Dearden’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Brandon Deardon got his chops in the kitchen at Chicago’s Alinea restaurant, and shared, “At the time I was working there, they were number six in the world.”
He will face-off against his twin, Jonathan, and he’s sure he’ll be able to better his other half, sharing the critique, “I think sometimes he gets a little soft.”
Although the two are bonded by blood, Brandon made it clear when the knives come out, that brotherhood is gone. “During service, the bets are off. We’re not friends,” he declared during his casting tape.
Brittany Cochran’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Brittany Cochran is an executive chef at Stagioni in Charlotte, and finds herself at home in a Top Chef season based in the Carolinas. However, she warned not to let her Southern roots fool you.
“As an athlete back in my day, I was definitely very competitive,” she shared on her casting tape. “I gotta lot of speed behind me.” As an example, she pointed out the pig decoration gracing her kitchen, and revealed, “I can break a whole hog in an hour. Butcher head to toe. Close to 700 pounds.”
Anthony Jones’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Washington D.C.-based Anthony Jones has worked at many hit spots, including Red Rooster Overtown in Miami. He’s currently the executive chef at Marcus DC, and described what it’s like to be under culinary great Marcus Samuelsson, and why it’s prepared him for the pressures of Top Chef.
“I guess I could best describe it as driving 90 miles per hour on a highway, trying to take an exit, while being in the far lane,” he shared on his casting tape. “And then to jump off that highway to try and lasso a tornado, while drinking a hot ass coffee.”
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Laurence Louie’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
As a chef who’s worked in Michelin-star restaurants, Laurence Louie has one big critique of the current culinary scene: kimchi.
“Kimchi has been such a thing where it’s just like, ‘kimchi hot dogs’ and ‘kimchi vinaigrettes,’ and ‘kimchi reduction,’ ‘kimchi foam,'” he complained during his casting tape. The owner of Rubato in Quincy, Massachusetts added, “Like there’s kimchi in like four different places in your menu and it’s like, it doesn’t make sense.”
Sherry Cardoso’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
New York City-based chef Sherry Cardoso might be a mother, but she has no problem also handling business in the kitchen. “Outside of the kitchen I’m really nurturing. I’m really loving. In the kitchen, I just shift gears,” she revealed during her casting tape. “My son, it’s so funny, when he sees me in the kitchen, he’s like, ‘Mom, you’re so mean.’”
Sherry shared she’s more than ready to compete among the best on Top Chef. “It took 21 years to be like, ‘This is who I am in the kitchen. And I am good. I am the s—t,'” she added.
Day Anaïs Joseph’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Day Anaïs Joseph is the first to admit her name fits her personality. “I’m a real sunshine, that’s why my name is Day,” she said on her casting tape. “I love to empower people. Speak life into people. I see the best in everyone. I’m the type of person that wants to see everyone around me shine.”
But the private chef and owner of Dine with Day in Atlanta didn’t mince words on if she’s ready to compete on Top Chef, adding, “I may be a little soft-spoken and bubbly, but I’m a fierce competitor.”
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Duyen Ha’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Duyen Ha counts herself as the cream of the crop after training at Ferrandi Paris, which she called, “the best culinary school in France.”
The Los Angeles-based chef has seen it all, and explained what doesn’t impress her. “I cannot stand all the clichés of extra caviar, gold leaf everywhere. All these expensive ingredients that make no sense. I’m over the gimmick,” she shared during her casting tape.
But she also revealed what will whet her appetite: “Show me a sexy cauliflower that’s delicious, and that’s beautiful, and that has the nice burnt edges, and I will be thoroughly impressed.”
Oscar Diaz’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Oscar Diaz is another chef bringing a Southern flair to this season of Top Chef. But the co-owner of Little Bull & Aaktun in Durham, North Carolina isn’t always sweeter than cherry pie.
“I love competition,” he declared during his casting tape, and went on to share, “I used to go on stage and freestyle rap against people for money.”
Rhoda Magbitang’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Hawaii-based executive chef Rhoda Magbitang knows looks can be deceiving — including her own.
“Every time I go out to the dining room, they’re like, ‘You’re so young, what age did you start?’ I’m like, ‘I started at 12,'” she shared during her casting tape, and warned, “I can be a cutesy when I’m not breathing fire out of my mouth.”
Jennifer Jackson’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Jennifer Jackson is entering the Top Chef kitchen with a unique connection: her co-worker Justin is also competing.
“I really like my partner, Justin,” the co-executive chef of Bad Bunny in Suttons Bay, Michigan confessed in her casting tape. “He’s almost the only person I hang out with.”
Justin Tootla’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Jennifer’s friend-turned-foe Justin Tootle shed more light on how he met cheftestant Jennifer during his casting tape.
“Jen and I actually met in culinary school,” he shared, and admitted they have a tight bond. “We can read each other’s minds. Like if we got an eggplant, let’s say, she’s definitely making eggplant ice cream.” Jen, however, joked that eggplant ice cream was actually something Justin would whip up.
“We’ve been cooking and collaborating for so many years now, I think it would be super interesting to see how we function independently of each other,” Justin mused of this season of Top Chef.
Jaspratap “Jassi” Bindra’s casting tape for Top Chef Season 23
Jaspratap “Jassi” Bindra shared he was exposed to the joys of cooking and cuisine at a young age. “My parents used to always throw parties in our home, and I used to go with my dad to the farmers market in the morning,” he said on his casting tape.
The executive chef of Kahani Social Group in Houston, Texas added he isn’t afraid of a little competition. “In everyday life there is a competition. You compete with yourself. You wake up, you’re competing,” he shared.
Find out more about how much money the winner of Top Chef Season 23 earns.
