Bravo’s “Top Chef Amateurs,” hosted by Gail Simmons, premieres on Thursday, July 1 at 9PM ET/PT with two back-to-back episodes, immediately following the season finale of “Top Chef” in Portland.
This week Simmons hosted an online virtual cooking class to make Spaghettini with Burst Cherry Tomatoes & Basil.
The incredible cooking lesson from the super chef gave the room some important and easy tips. By the end of the night each person in their home kitchen had a phenomenal meal.
During the session she reflected on the making of the new series that began shooting during the pandemic.
“”Amateurs” really was born out of the pandemic. When restaurants closed and people had to stay home, we saw just the proliferation of home cooking. It’s such an amazing thing,” she stated during the lesson.
TOP CHEF AMATEURS — “Absolutely Radishing” Episode 102 — Pictured: (l-r) Karine Ceyhan, Shirley Chung — (Photo by: David Moir/Bravo)
Produced by Magical Elves, “Top Chef Amateurs” gives talented home cooks the opportunity of a lifetime to test their skills in the illustrious “Top Chef” kitchen.
Early previews are positive. The show will make you laugh. It will make you cry tears of joy. And best of all it will leave you hungry for more.
In each 30-minute episode, two amateur chefs will compete head-to-head in some of the most iconic challenges from the “Top Chef” archives including the mis-en-place race, blind taste test and they’ll even try to break the curse of “Top Chef’s” most dreaded dish – risotto.
The amateur chefs will be paired with different “Top Chef” finalists, frontrunners and fan-favorites who will cook alongside them and help the amateurs battle against the clock.
TOP CHEF AMATEURS — “Absolutely Radishing” Episode 102 — Pictured: (l-r) Gregory Gourdet, Gail Simmons, Melissa King — (Photo by: David Moir/Bravo)
Reflecting on why the new episodes will have fans falling in love she said, “People cooking and showing off their food is so incredible and so sophisticated. It’s fun and so tough at the same time to have amateurs. It really is the first time ever that amateur cooks who are super fans of the show can run wild.”
Putting their kitchen skills to the test are a wide variety of amateur chefs ranging from an ex-CIA agent to a dental hygienist-turned-food-blogger as well as an architect. The amateur chefs will be paired with different “Top Chef” finalists, frontrunners and fan-favorites who will cook alongside them and help the amateurs battle against the clock. The All-Stars will also rotate in as guest judges alongside Gail to decide each episode’s winner.
Unpacking their knives are alums Eric Adjepong, Richard Blais, Jennifer Carroll, Shirley Chung, Stephanie Cmar, Tiffany Derry, Joe Flamm, Gregory Gourdet, Melissa King, Kwame Onwuachi, Dale Talde, and Isaac Toups.
The winner of each episode will receive $5,000 furnished by season-long prizing sponsor Wells Fargo.
Here is to an amazing night of great food and even better television.
