Hawaii-based "Top Chef" winner leans into her Filipino heritage

BRAVO

Rhoda Magbitang wins Top Chef title.

Filipino American chef Rhoda Magbitang secured a monumental victory on Top Chef: Carolinas (Season 23), demonstrating that Philippine food can hold its own in the high level expected of the Food Network competition.

Magbitang, the first Top Chef winner from Hawaii,  won the culinary competition by serving a deeply personal, four-course progressive tasting menu entirely rooted in her Filipino heritage and childhood memories.

"Rather than moving away from those influences, I kept returning to them. I thought it was really cool how it just sort of evolved into that," she shared, concluding that "it only made sense to go all in on Filipino."

Magbitang's finale was a massive milestone because it marked the first time a finalist leaned entirely into a literal, deeply nostalgic Filipino holiday menu—from Lugaw to Tortang Talong and Kaldereta — and successfully rode it all the way to a Top Chef victory.

For years, the 42-year old Magbitang admitted she carried a heavy vulnerability, worrying that the traditional tastes she grew up with might be dismissed as "yucky" (her word) by broader audiences. Before her historic run, she had never cooked Filipino food professionally. 

When the finale challenge mandated that each dish connect to a person or place that shaped them, she found herself repeatedly drawn back to her family history—her grandmother, mother, and father. 

Elevating the humble to haute cuisine

Tasked to cook dishes that tell her life story, Magbitang crafted a savory, umami-forward journey that paid tribute to her family and her journey as an immigrantand gambled by foregoing the traditional dessert.

Course 1 - Honoring California Integration: Her first course, "A Toast to California," blended her Filipino roots with her career on the West Coast. She paired roasted sweet potato and miso butter with fresh, briny sea urchin (uni) and charred sweet potato leaves.

Course 2 - A Mother’s Comfort: For the second course, Magbitang elevated lugaw—the traditional Filipino rice porridge her mother prepared whenever she fell ill. She transformed this humble comfort food into a luxury dish infused with fresh abalone and a rich abalone liver mousse.

Course 3 - The School Stall Legacy: The third course honored her grandmother, who ran a school food stall in the Philippines. Magbitang presented an elevated tortang talong (grilled eggplant omelet) served alongside crispy pork belly, XO sauce, and a sharp chili fish sauce. [1, 14]

Course 4 - A Father's Holiday Feast: Her final course reimagined her father's signature holiday dish, kaldereta. Magbitang served a precisely braised beef short rib tied together with a velvety liver sauce, hitting the deep, complex notes of the traditional stew.

Head judge Tom Colicchio and the panel praised Magbitang for her extreme restraint and technical precision. She successfully balanced bold, unapologetic Asian flavor profiles without overwhelming the plate.

A win for representation

Magbitang's triumph marks a significant moment for AAPI visibility in food media, showing that cultural foods do not need to be diluted to win validation at the highest levels. Reflecting on her victory, Magbitang noted the emotional weight of seeing the food she valued as a child finally celebrated on the national stage.

Immigrants have always been the unseen, foundational backbone of the American restaurant industry—frequently filling the roles of prep cooks, line cooks, and dishwashers without receiving the spotlight.

Seeing three immigrant chefs stand at the absolute pinnacle of a major American television show completely rewrites that narrative. It moves the immigrant story from the back of the house to the front of the culinary stage. By doing so, it serves as a powerful beacon of visibility for the AANHPI and broader immigrant communities, validating that their generational flavors and family histories are worthy of the highest accolades in food.

Magbitang is not the first Filipino winner of the prestigeous title of Top Chef, Paul Qui won in Season 9 and Michelle King, who is Chinese/Filipino, won in Season 17. But neither Qui or Kang leaned heavily on Filipino cuisine the way Magbitang di.

BRAVO

Rhoda Magbitang, left, at the moment who the next Top Chef would be with fellow finalists
Sherry Cardoso and Laurence Louie.

RELATED: Read more about the rise of Filipino cuisine in the US.

• How a Filipino root made Philippine cuisine 'cool'
• Discovering the joy of eating with your hands
• For Filipinos, mealtime fills the belly and feeds the soul
• US foodies celebrate Filiipino Food Month
•  Carabao introduces high-end Filipino food to the Napa Valley
• Kasama is the first Filpino American restaurant to earn a Michelin star
• Filipino American chef named 'best in the west' by James Beard awards
• Filipino American chef leaves the White House
• Anthony Bourdain: Sisig will open the doors to Filipino cuisine
• Jolibee's fried chicken tops US fast food rivals
• Adobo and lumpia at the White House

Redefining 'fine dining'

For decades, classical French and Italian techniques have been treated as the ultimate baseline for "prestige." If you wanted a Michelin star or critical acclaim, you usually had to cook through a Western lens.

Besides Magbitang, the Season 23 finale of Top Chef: Carolinas included Laurence Louie, and Sherry Cardoso. What makes this trio unforgettable isn’t just their elite knife skills. It is the fact that all three finalists represent first-generation immigrant heritages and non-Western culinary traditions

In a fine dining world that still treats European methods as the default standard of excellence,, this finale was a beautiful, unapologetic paradigm shift.

Historically, chefs of color and immigrant chefs in the fine dining industry have faced a heavy double standard. They are often expected to explicitly explain, translate, or "justify" their cultural flavors to Western diners. Meanwhile, European menus are assumed to be globally understood by default.

A finale composed entirely of immigrant-heritage chefs completely flipped that dynamic. They didn’t dilute their food to make it palatable or familiar. Instead, they forced the culinary establishment to adapt to their flavor vocabularies on equal terms.

By dominating the finale with Filipino, Hong Kong-style Cantonese, and Latin American/Portuguese influences, these three chefs proved that traditional heritage comfort foods — such as rice porridges (lugaw) and street-food savory omelets (tortang talong) — deserve the exact same prestige and respect as a classic French reduction or ballotine.

Magbitang's win sends a clear message to the culinary elite: heritage food isn't just a trend. It is fine dining at its absolute best.

Now back at the helm of CanoeHouse on the Big Island of Hawaii, Magbitang views her victory as an intimate form of self-acceptance and a tool for community representation.

“The show taught me the importance of getting a different vantage point, to be kinder to myself, and to give myself grace," she reflected. More than anything, she hopes her presence as the first winner from Hawaii serves as a beacon: "What I'm most excited about is the chance to inspire girls who dream of becoming chefs, those who might see the show and say to themselves, 'That could be me one day.'"

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. If you find this perspective interesting, please repost.

Another Asian American will host 'Top Chef' after Padma Lakshmi's departure.

INSTAGRAM / KRISTEN KISH

Kristen Kish, right, will take over Top Chef hosting duties from long-time host Padma Lakshmi.

It turns out that the next Top Chef host knows what it’s like to compete in the culinary competition firsthand. Kristen Kish, who won Season 10 of the series back in 2013, will be taking the reins from Padma Lakshmi, who helmed the show for 19 seasons.

"I started my journey with Top Chef first as a competing chef, then a guest judge, and now as a host. I have the honor of helping to continue to build this brand,” Kristen, 39, expressed in a press release on Tuesday.

"I'm thrilled to sit alongside Gail [Simmons] and Tom [Colicchio] as we get to know new incredible chefs and see what they cook up. It feels like coming home.”

Born in South Korea, Kish was adopted by a Michigan family when he was just four months old. As a teenager, she pursued a career as a model but it was the culinary world that was her passion. She enrolled in Chicago's renowned Le Cordon Bleu where she earned her Associate's degree in culinary arts. 

In 2012, she auditioned for the Top Chef. Her signature soup dish in the qualifying round won her a spot for the series' 10th season.

Despite facing an initial setback when she was eliminated in the 11th episode, Kristen's cooked her way back into the competition after securing five consecutive victories in the Last Chance Kitchen. This triumphant comeback resulted in her winning the series, making her the second female winner in Top Chef's history.

After her Top Chef victory, with her winning personality and photogenic qualities, Kristen's culinary career soared. She hosted several other food-related shows, including Travel Channel’s 36 Hours, TruTV’s Fast Foodies, Netflix’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, and National Geographic’s Restaurants at the End of the World.

The Emmy-award winning Lakshmi's departure left a big hole to fill for Top Chef. The Indian American immigrant will focus on Hulu's Taste the Nation, asks the question, "What is American cuisine?" The series explores the cuisines of the US's ethnic communities and allows Lakshmi to be more of herself, in contrast to the highly structured nature of Top Chef.

For Kish's first assignment, the cheftestants will be competing in Season 21, which takes place in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin. Most likely, a cheese challenge will be a factor during the new season, which hasn't announced a release date yet.

Kristen wasn’t the only one who was excited about the major Top Chef news. Ryan Flynn, the senior vice president of current production at NBCUniversal Television & Streaming, also reacted to the announcement.

“Kristen Kish represents everything that makes Top Chef incredibly special,” he said in a press release for Season 21. “She’s an acclaimed chef, and her experience as a cheftestant, winner, and judge, alongside her culinary curiosity, makes Kristen the perfect host for the next chapter of Top Chef as we take on a new region of the country we haven’t explored.”

Jo Sharon and Casey Kriley, the co-CEOs of Magical Elves, the company that produces Top Chef, shared a joint statement about Kristen as well.

“Kristen is a beloved part of the Top Chef family, and we’re thrilled to have her join and bring to the competition her unique, fresh, and global culinary perspective, as well as her true passion for food,” the pair said. “We look forward to Season 21 and know our incoming chefs will be inspired by the bourgeoning culinary scene in Milwaukee and Madison known for blending tradition with innovation and utilizing farm-fresh ingredients.” 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @eduardodiok on Threads.net, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

TGIF Feature: 'Top Chef' winner is redefining what it means to be a chef

TOP CHEF

Melissa King wins Top Chef competition.

At least for the immediate future, it looks like Melissa King won't be opening her own restaurant after winning this season's Top Chef competition last month by combining her Chinese heritage with Italian training and California tastes. 

But that doesn't mean the Chinese American chef is sitting on her laurels. She's busy, even through the pandemic.

WME has signed Melissa King, the winner of the most recent Top Chef: All Stars Los Angeles, according to Deadline. Like other celebrity chefs such as David Chang and Eddie Huang, the plan is to represent her by developing TV and film and book projects.

Born in Los Angeles to a Cantonese mother and a Shanghainese father, King was raised in the San Gabriel Valley and came up through some of the Michelin-starred kitchens in San Francisco -- Campton Place, Luce and The Ritz Carlton Dining Room.

In the Top Chef finale, she cooked an Italian dinner with her Chinese and California touches that brought one of the judges in tears.

During the COVID-19 shutdown, she has been hosting popular virtual cooking classes and corporate demos, and also created, packaged, and branded her own small-batch of Asian inspired sauces.

"I launched a small sauce product line and it's done so well and was so well received that I just started thinking of the bigger picture of maybe I should be investing money into this and really ramping it up into a larger scale and be able to give my sauces to everybody."

The four sauces —Mala Chili Oil, Fish Sauce Caramel, Sichuan Chili Sauce, and X.O — are currently sold out,

In particular, Melissa said that she is proud to have been able to represent the Asian American and LGBTQ+ communities and women on Top Chef. 

"Top Chef has really given me the ability to use my platform and use my voice to support the people in my community. I’m sort of this triple minority, and there’s so many challenges that I’ve faced throughout my life and I want other people to be able to relate to that story, because I know that they have struggled as well and they’ve felt that," Melissa shared. 

Later in a podcast for UC Irving, she said: "So I want them to know that they’re not alone and that there is someone out there that can achieve these goals, and you can set your mind to things and make it happen in this world, in this climate that we’re in. I just hope to inspire people through the work that I’m doing, in whatever capacity. It’s very incredible what Top Chef has done with my life, and I’m just forever grateful."

Besides winning the top honor, she was also voted the fan's favorite, earning an additional award which she donated to causes close to her heart.

"I just felt with everything that’s been happening with Black Lives Matter, it really hit me hard and I felt I need to be a better human and I need to be doing more. And so when the fan favorite competition started, I decided if I win and if I get the help of others to help me win, I want to donate this ...

"And so I’ll be donating to the Black Visions Collective, Asian Americans for Equality, the Asian Youth Center in Los Angeles, and also the Trevor Project," she said in a UCI podcast. "And each of those organizations, I feel it just kind of hits home to me. I wanted to support Black Lives Matter, but I also wanted to support Asian Americans right now, especially during COVID. 

"We’ve been seeing, I know that I’ve been seeing, anti-Asian racism happening. And then it’s Pride Month, and so I really want to celebrate my LGBTQ community and give back there. So, the Trevor Project is a national organization that provides suicide prevention and crisis support for LGBTQ youths."

"Each year, I look forward to pride month and celebrating who I am. Some of you have asked how I identify myself and I realize it’s a big question for me — I am a passionate chef, a strong woman, an outspoken Asian American, a Californian, an artist, an entrepreneur, a Libra, a romantic, a proud lesbian, and a queer, androgynous, gender-fluid human. I am an Auntie and an Uncle. Some days I feel like a grandma, and other days I embrace my inner grandpa. I use the pronouns she/her, but am also comfortable with they/them. ... I am masculine, I am feminine, and I am unapologetically all the in between. I am me."

Indian American 'Top Chef' dies from the coronavirus

INSTAGRAM / DAVID CHANG

On Instagram, David Chang shared this photo with Floyd Cardoz.

ASAM NEWS & VIEWS FROM THE EDGE

Celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz, credited with revolutionizing Indian American cuisine, died Wednesday (March 25) of coronavirus.

"It is with deep sorrow that we inform you of the passing away of Chef Floyd Cardoz," according to a statement from Hunger Inc. Hospitality, where Cardoz was the culinary director.

Earlier in March, he was in India taping an episode of Netflix's Ugly Delicious with host David Chang and actor Aziz Ansari. On Mar. 17, however, on his Instagram account Cardoz sahared that he had returned to the US on March 8 for medical treatment, writing that he was "feeling feverish."

Cardoz returned from Mumbai via Germany to New Jersey with a fever. He admitted himself to the hospital thinking he had a flu.

The 59-year old gained fame while competing on Top Chef and going on to winning Top Chef Masters, according to CNBC.

SF Gate reports that Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi paid tribute to Cardoz on Instagram.

“I am beyond saddened to wake up today and hear the news of my dear friend @floydcardoz’s passing. Floyd made us all so proud,” she wrote on Instagram. “Nobody who lived in NY in the early aughts could forget how delicious and packed Tabla always was. He had an impish smile, an innate need to make those around him happy, and a delicious touch. This is a huge loss, not only for the professional food world, but for Indians everywhere. My heart goes out to his wife Barkha and their whole family.”

On Twitter she added:

Chang posted about Cardoz's death on Instagram: "Heartbroken over the loss of Floyd Cardoz to COVID-19. Rest in peace Floyd...we will carry on your beautiful legacy." Chang also tweeted:

CNBC reports Cardoz is credited with making the food industry more sustainable. He was a partner in Bombay Sweet Shop, O Pedro and The Bombay Canteen in India when he died. He also opened Tabla in New York City in 1997 with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group. Tabla closed in 2010.

“The perception that Indian food is always heavy, over-spiced, greasy or that it will give you an upset stomach … restaurants just don’t cook like Indians cook at home.” Cardoz told Greaves Tours, an Indian travel company.

A Go Fund Me page has been set up to honor Cardoz. The money will be donated to the chef’s favorite charities.

'Top Chef' favorite Fatima Ali succumbs to cancer

FATIMA ALI, 1990-2019

Fatima Ali, the Pakistan-born chef died after her nearly year-long battle against cancer.
A contestant in the Top Chef show's Season 15 that aired earlier this year, she finished iseventh out of 15 chefs but her personality won over the audiences and was voted Fan Favorite on the Bravo network show hosted by Indian American personality Padma Lakishmi.

The network released this statement Saturday (Jan. 26): "Bravo's Top Chef family, we are deeply saddened to share the news that Fatima Ali has lost her courageous battle with cancer. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time. People not only fell in love with her cooking, but fell in love with her personality and heart. We hope that the beautiful memories shared with her will provide comfort to everyone who knew and loved her."

The 29-year old Ali left her Pakistani hometown at age of 18 and moved to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a professional chef.

She enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America and scored her first job as a junior sous chef at Café Centro in New York. She eventually became the youngest executive sous chef at Macy's Stella 34, and later became executive sous chef at La Fonda Del Sol.

Ali was first diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, back in late 2017, as that season of Top CheF was just starting to air. The chef had declared herself cancer-free this past summer but revealed that it was back in the fall.

By the summer of 2018, she said she was cancer-free. But in October she wrote an essay for Bon Appetitt that her cancer had returned "with a vengence" and had been given less than a year to live.

Two weeks ago, she posted on social media that her health was declining.

“Right now all I need are prayers; prayers that are simple,” she continued. “I hope, because a wish is putting on too much responsibility on the other, that you will somehow find forgiveness in your big heart for whenever I must have hurt you. I thank you a million times over for when you have given me joy.”

Last week, many of Ali’s Top Chef friends gathered in Los Angeles to show support during what were some of her final days.

INSTAGRAM / CHRIS SCOTT

Friday, Lakshmi, cancelled a Facebook Live event "for personal reasons." The Top Chef host posted:

_________________________________________________________________________________

Padma Lakshmi condemns using tear gas against asylum seekers

SCREEN CAPTURE / GUARDIAN

U.S. border guards fired tear gas into Mexico to dissuade refugees from illegally entering the U.S.

PADMA LAKSHMI spoke out against the Trump administration’s attacks on refugees at the United States-Mexico border in a Monday morning (Nov. 26) appearance on NBC’s Today.
As an immigration advocate for the ACLU, the Top Chef host, model and activist has been outspoken against the policies of Donald Trump.

Lakshmi was being interviewed about her decision to publicly share her experience as a survivor of rape, and why the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh moved her to come forward in a September New York Times op-ed. During the course of the interview, she brought up her work as an advocate for the ACLU. She condemned U.S. officials’ tear gas attacks on migrants, including children, at the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday.

"The migrants at our southern border include mothers and small children exercising their legal, human right to seek asylum," declared the ACLU in a tweet on Monday morning, and told the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, "Tear gassing children is outrageous and inhumane."

"Obviously even this morning, coming here, I was reading about all the tear-gassing of children on the border and it’s devastating,” Lakshmi told Today hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie. 

“I am an immigrant, and I really identify with those people. My mother literally came to this country with $100 in her pocket. That is it. And she made a life for me and her and she left a very bad situation for both of us in India. That takes courage.”

Migrants fleeing violence and unrest in Honduras and Guatemala have traveled thousands of miles through Mexico to ask for asylum at border entries, but the number of people and the long process has frustrated some of the refugees.

On Sunday afternoon, Central American refugees, including families with children and infants in strollers, attempted to cross the border into the U.S., from Tijuana, Mexico, to San Diego. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency responded by closing down the border crossing and firing tear gas at the migrants, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

The port of entry near San Diego is the most common place for Central Americans to seek asylum in the US. What those in the latest caravan didn't realize is that Tijuana is already full of asylum seekers from previous caravans.

Under a policy of “metering” asylum seekers, in which US officials limit the number of people who are allowed to enter the port and ask for asylum each day, migrants currently wait two months or longer in Tijuana before being allowed to enter the US to be processed, according to Vox.

U.S. border officials allow only 60 to 100 asylum seekers — or fewer — to be precessed  each day. An unofficial wait list of hundreds of people over the summer ballooned to thousands this fall. Before the caravan arrived, wait times stretched to two months, and the temporary migrant shelters in Tijuana were already near capacity.

“When someone leaves their home and everything they know and belong to, to go to another country, it’s because they have little other choice, and we forget that,” Lakshmi said during her NBC interview.

“We have plenty in this country. Plenty to share, plenty for everybody. And I think we need to remember that the reason we’re great is because of this melting pot of immigrants, and this great cornucopia of influences and cultures and traits and expertise that we cull from all over the world. That’s really, to me, what makes America great.”
_______________________________________________________________________________