10 Sizzling ‘Top Chef’ Stats: Most Wins, Most Frequent Judge, Most Cash Won & More

Dan Clarendon March 13, 2025, 9:00 am

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Kristen Kish, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons in Top Chef - Season 22 — David Moir/Bravo

Pictured: (l-r) Kristen Kish, Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons -- (Photo by: David Moir/Bravo)

Top Chef is heading to Canada for a supersized 22nd season premiering Thursday (March 13) night, with every episode slated for a 75-minute time slot and the winner getting the Bravo show’s grandest prize package yet — $250,000 in cash and $125,000 in Delta flight credits, in addition to other rewards. And if you think that’s impressive, get a taste of the statistics below, which should whet your appetite for the cooking competition to come.

Top Chef has aired 316 episodes to date.

When Top Chef premiered on March 8, 2006, Katie Lee was still the host, the show hadn’t started broadcasting in high definition, and the grand prize was still set at $100,000.

The show has racked up 50 Emmy Award nominations.

Top Chef’s 50 Emmy nominations include nods in the Outstanding Reality Competition Program, Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program, and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program categories in 2024.

The show has won two Emmys so far, having earned the trophy for Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming in 2008 and Outstanding Reality Competition Program two years later.

Danny Garcia is the show’s biggest cash winner, with $303,000.

Danny Garcia, who won Season 21, claims the record for most cash won by a cheftestant, per Top Chef Stats. Kevin Gillespie of Season 6 and the all-star Season 17 takes the prize for most cash won by a non-winner, having earned himself $45,000 on the show.

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Paul Qui won 11 challenges on the show, more than any other chef.

With a total of 11 victories between the show’s quickfire and elimination challenges, Season 9 winner Paul Qui has the most overall wins of the show, according to Top Chef Stats. He’s also the contestant with the most Elimination Challenge wins, with nine.

Melissa King has the highest win percentage at 41.66%.

On her way to winning Season 17, Melissa King claimed victory in 41.66% of the season’s quickfire and elimination challenges, per Top Chef Stats. Qui isn’t far behind, with a win percentage of 40.74%.

Eric Ripert is the most frequent guest judge, with 11 appearances.

There have been 296 guest judges on the show so far, Top Chef Stats reports, and French chef Eric Ripert leads the pack with 11 sit-downs at the judges’ table.

With 52 appearances, contestant-turned-judge Richard Blais is the former competitor with the highest episode count.

Richard Blais has appeared in 52 episodes, more than any other constant so far, including current host Kristen Kish, IMDb shows. After competing in Season 4 and then winning the all-star Season 8, Blais has popped up in 19 other episodes to date.

'Top Chef' Judge Tom Colicchio Sets Table For Season 22 & What's to Come

The host consumes up to 8,000 calories a day.

“When filming Top Chef, I consume about 5,000 to 8,000 calories a day,” former host Padma Lakshmi revealed in a 2017 Hollywood Reporter column. “We start with anywhere from 15 to 18 contestants, and I have to take a bite or two from each of their plates to adequately judge each dish.”

The Judges’ Table segments take four hours to film.

“What you see at Judges’ Table is really what you get,” judge Gail Simmons told Parade in 2019. “The only difference is that we talk for four hours, and it’s culled down to about eight to 12 minutes.”

No Top Chef winner has made risotto on the show.

Risotto has become something of a cursed dish on Top Chef, as it’s responsible for eight contestants’ eliminations from the show, per Top Chef Stats. The site also reports that no Top Chef winner has made risotto on the show. Live and learn, chefs!

Top Chef, Season 22 Premiere, Thursday, March 13, 9/8c, Bravo