Bravo’s award-winning series Top Chef returns this year with a new season set in Canada, and we now know which Chicago contestants will be competing.
Season 22 will feature 15 chefs, including three local ones—Zubair Mohjir of Lilac Tiger, Coach House and Mirra; César Murillo of North Pond; and Bailey Sullivan of Monteverde. Chicago will be the most represented city this season.
View this post on Instagram
Mohjir is the founder and executive chef of two of the Windy City’s best Indian restaurants. He previously worked in Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Pump Room, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Napa and two Michelin-starred Gaggan in Bangkok. Mohjir launched Lilac Tiger and fine dining concept Coach House in 2023, followed by Mirra last year—one of Time Out’s best restaurants in Chicago.
Murillo’s past stints are similarly impressive, having worked under Rick Bayless at Frontera Grill and Xoco, plus Grace and Sepia before joining North Pond—one of the most romantic restaurants in Chicago—in 2020.
Sullivan is the current chef de cuisine of Monteverde, one of the best Italian restaurants in Chicago, where she works under James Beard Award winner and Top Chef finalist Sarah Grueneberg. She’s also spent time at Yusho under Matthias Merges and Parachute under another Top Chef alum, Beverly Kim.
RECOMMENDED: Experience the city's best restaurants and chefs at Time Out Market Chicago
This season will take the contestants and judges Kristen Kish, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons across Canada to Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Prince Edward Island. The chefs will be tasked with showcasing Canadian flavors at some of the country’s most iconic sites, such as the CN Tower and Banff National Park.
Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen will return as well, giving eliminated chefs the opportunity to cook their way back into the competition.
The winner will earn the official title of Top Chef and the grand prize of $250,000. Top Chef premieres March 13 on Bravo, with new episodes every Thursday. Episodes will be available for streaming the following day on Peacock.