Top Chef is Still the Most Lesbian Reality Show on TV

Knives out, gay people 🔪

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Lesbians and queer women have a complicated history within reality television. The most famous depiction of sapphic drama on reality TV in the aughts was 2007’s A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila, a bisexual dating show that generated considerable controversy. America’s Next Top Model had a few lesbian contestants around this time, but many – like Cycle 5’s Kim Stoltz – were depicted as creepy or predatory. The Real L Word, which premiered in 2010, attempted to shine a light on what lesbians are like behind closed doors. More recently, shows like Tampa Baes, The Real Housewives of New York City, and BBC’s I Kissed a Girl have made the argument that lesbians belong in the genre. 

But there’s one show missing from this list, and that’s Bravo’s award-winning cooking competition, Top Chef. The series premiered in 2006 and featured lesbians from the get-go. According to the show’s producers, efforts are made to cast a diverse group of chefs, though it was never their intention to seek out queer chefs. Rather, when casting a wide net in kitchens across the country, you will find a diverse group of people, including lesbians and queer folks. 

Top Chef rose in popularity alongside the proliferation of social media. We’re in a unique era for celebrity chefs, as cooks can now gain a following through savvy branding on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Celebrity chefs are TV personalities as much as they are cooks – this has been true since the days of Julia Child – and Top Chef certainly capitalizes on this framework, both in terms of contestants and judges. Identity has increasingly become a part of this conversation, and representation within the food world is a hot topic. 

Though Top Chef contestants often have big personalities, the show is above all about skill and creativity. The competition showcases talented, competent, confident individuals doing what they do best, which is why it’s so thrilling to see lesbians and queer women thrive in an environment like this. The lesbians and queer folks of Top Chef are badasses who are great at their job. The fact that they are part of the queer community may not be the most important thing about them, but for queer viewers, their success is worth cheering for.

Top Chef airs on Bravo, well-known as a gay network, so it’s not surprising the show has had a queer following from the beginning. Judge Tom Colicchio is beloved by gay men, particularly bears, and viewers of all genders and sexual orientations are in love with former host Padma Lakshmi. The network embraced the series’ gay fandom early on with cheeky polls and t-shirts, but it was never explicitly marketed as a queer show. 

Interestingly, Top Chef hasn’t been nominated for any GLAAD awards, though contemporaries like American Idol, Survivor, and Amazing Race all have. Speaking about the show’s gay DNA, Season 13 and Season 17 alumn Karen Akunowicz suggested that "[Queer identity] has always been part of the fabric of the show. It's not something new that just started happening seven years ago. So I think they don't get called out because they don't call themselves out. That's actually what makes it more powerful to the audience that they're reaching."

So how gay is Top Chef, really? Let’s break down the numbers. In total, there have been 21 lesbian or queer women on Top Chef. 17 out of the show’s 21 seasons have featured lesbians or queer women, with some seasons featuring several. Including the seasons featuring returning contestants, there are 1.29% lesbians or queer women per season. In addition to the women, there have been at least 14 queer men featured on the show. This means that Top Chef has actually featured more lesbians or queer women than lesbian-centric shows like The Real L Word or Tampa Baes. Let’s break down who these chefs are, season by season. 

Season 1: Tiffani Faison

Tiffani Faison has the honor of being the first lesbian contestant on Top Chef. Season 1 also happens to be the worst season of Top Chef because Padma wasn’t the host yet, but we’ve got to give Faison credit for getting the ball rolling. The second episode of the first season took place in a fetish shop and the guest judge was lesbian chef Elizabeth Falkner, who Faison happened to know because of gay reasons. She wasn’t well-liked on the show and was Top Chef’s very first villain (frankly, an iconic designation), and she made it clear that she didn’t care about being nice or making friends. Her fellow contestant, Dave Martin, famously called her a bitch. She is now the owner and head chef of Sweet Cheeks Q in Boston and has been nominated for four James Beard awards – who’s laughing now, bitch?

Season 2: Josie Smith-Malave

Josie Smith-Malave appeared on Season 2 of Top Chef and returned in Season 10 as an all-star. Smith-Malave entered the show with a boisterous personality and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. She is the chef and owner of Bubbles and Pearls in Wilton Manors, Florida which she says they call “the gayest place on earth.” During the pandemic, she ran for mayor of her town (but didn’t win).

Season 3: Sandee Birdsong

Sandee Birdsong is certainly one of the best-named lesbians in Top Chef history, though she didn’t make it far in the series. (She also sported an iconic mohawk.) As of two years ago, Birdsong was working as a culinary producer on the show, a career path taken by several former contestants. Birdsong was also one of the lucky couples who got married during the Season 13 episode where the chefs cooked for a mass gay wedding – officiated by Padma, of course.

Season 4: Lisa Fernandes, Jennifer Biesty, Zoi Antonitsas

Season 4 was the first multi-lesbian season of Top Chef, and boy was it a doozy. Jennifer Biesty (middle) and Zoi Antonitsas (right) shocked the other chefs by revealing they were a couple in the first episode. They didn’t let their relationship get in the way of competing with one another, which made things quite interesting. They remain the only chefs to enter the series as a couple, though they were seemingly broken up by the time the reunion aired. Antonitsas is the executive chef at Bullard Tavern in Portland, Oregon, and Biesty is the chef and owner of Shakewell in Oakland. Their fellow lesbian cheftestant, Lisa Fernandes (left), is now the head bartender at The Hidden Pearl in Brooklyn. 

Season 5: Jamie Lauren 

Jamie Lauren appeared on Season 5 of Top Chef alongside two gay men, Patrick Dunlea and Richard Sweeney, and the trio referred to themselves as “Team Rainbow.” Bravo even sold Team Rainbow t-shirts to commemorate the occasion. Lauren didn’t win – scallops are cursed on Top Chef – but returned for All-Stars in Season 8. She now works as a culinary producer, consultant, food stylist, and private chef. 

Season 6: Ashley Merriman and Preeti Mistry

Ashley Merriman (left) made one of the first queer political statements on Top Chef when she appeared on Season 6. During an episode when they were cooking for bachelor and bachelorette parties, Merriman exclaimed "I find it beyond comprehension making us go do what is effectively a wedding challenge when at least three of us on the challenge aren't allowed in that institution.” She’s now married to fellow chef Gabrielle Hamilton. Chef Preeti Mistry (right) is an activist, speaker, and cookbook author, and as far as I can tell, the first and only non-binary contestant on the show (though they weren’t out as such when their season aired).

Season 7: Tracey Bloom

Tracey Bloom appeared on Season 7 of Top Chef, and that’s not the only Bravo show she’s popped up in. As Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Kim Zolciak-Biermann’s private chef, Bloom was also featured on Zolciak-Biermann’s spin-off series Don’t Be Tardy. Bloom is the author of a cookbook and runs a YouTube channel. 

Season 8: Tiffani Faison and Jamie Lauren. 

Tiffany Faison and Jamie Lauren both returned for Top Chef’s first All-Stars season. 

Season 10: Kristin Kish, Josie Smith-Malave

At this point, Kristin Kish (middle) is probably the most famous Top Chef lesbian, and one of the most famous Top Chef alums ever. Though she wasn’t technically out during her season, it was obvious to those of us in-the-know. In a shocking twist, Kish came back from Last Chance Kitchen to win the entire competition, making her the first lesbian winner. Kish is now the host of Top Chef following Padma Lakshmi’s departure. Kish also hosted Iron: Chef Quest for an Iron Legend, Fast Foodies, and Restaurants at the End of the World. She is beloved by lesbians for her suit game and runs Arlo Grey in Austin, Texas. Josie Smith-Malave also returned as an all-star this season. 

Season 12: Melissa King, Joy Crump

Season 12 saw the first appearance of Melissa King (left), another cheftestant who has become a lesbian icon thanks to her tenure on the show. King was one of the best chefs on her first season and her identity was a part of her story. During an episode when her mom came to act as her sous chef, she mentoined that her father wasn’t accepting of her “lifestyle.” Speaking about her queer journey, King revealed "Before I went on Top Chef, I was only really out to my immediate family. To go from that to a couple years later, being in a Levi's Pride campaign? I was just so proud of myself." King was joined this season by Joy Crump (right), who is now the executive chef at FoodE in Fredericksburg, Virginia. 

Season 13: Karen Akunowicz, Frances Tariga-Weshnak

Karen Akunowicz (left) showed up on Top Chef as a pink-haired femme and we loved her for it. In fact, fans regularly told Akunowicz how much she and her spouse meant to them in terms of representation. "People came into my restaurant and hugged me with tears in their eyes, saying, 'I've never heard somebody use gender-neutral pronouns on television,” she shared. A James Beard Award winner, Akunowicz is the chef and owner of Fox & the Knife Enoteca in Boston. Akunowicz competed against Phillipina chef Frances Tariga-Weshnak (right), the chef and owner of NYC restaurants Tadhanà and Oh! Dahon. Season 13 also featured an episode where the chefs cooked for a mass gay wedding, celebrating the now-more-inclusive institution that Ashley Merriman once critiqued back in Season 6.

Season 14: Silvia Barban

Italian chef Silvia Barban was our lone lesbian chef in Season 14, and she is obviously a pasta queen. Barban is the co-founder and executive chef of LaRina Pastificio & Vino in Brooklyn. She got enGAYed to her fianceé last year. 

Season 17: Melissa King, Karen Akunowicz, Lisa Fernandez 

Season 17, an all-stars season, brought back three sapphic contestants: Melissa King, Karen Akunowicz, and Lisa Fernandez. Melissa King came out on top this time, making her the second lesbian winner of Top Chef. In a full-circle moment, King’s father was there to support her when she won, having finally come around to having a lesbian daughter. “I had Asian queer kids reaching out and telling me they came out to their parents because they saw me on television or they could really relate to my experience, and they were very grateful that I shared my story. A big reason for coming back was for me being able to represent,” she explained. And represent she did, as King has become a bonafide superstar lesbian chef. She created the menu for the Met Gala in 2022 and wore a snappy Thom Browne suit on the red carpet. 

Season 18: Maria Mazon

Arizona-based chef Maria Mazon won over fellow contestants and fans alike in Season 18 with her big personality and bold flavors. Mazon is the chef and founder of Boca Tacos & Tequila in Tuscon and a two-time James Beard award nominee. While on the show, Mazon detailed how much she loves cooking for her firefighter wife and their son. I would give anything for an invite to their house for dinner. 

Season 19: Ashleigh Shanti, Jo Chan 

Season 19’s Ashleigh Shanti (left) is a North Carolina-based cook who highlighted Appalachian cuisine during her time on Top Chef. She opened her first restaurant Good Hot Fish in Ashville earlier this year, and her cookbook comes out in the fall. Shanti formed Season 19’s Team Rainbow alongside Jo Chan (right), the chef and partner at Bureau de Poste in Austin, Texas. Like any good lesbian chef, her Instagram feed is either pictures of food or her wife. 

Season 20: May Phattanant Thongthong

Season 20 – also known as World All-Stars – featured Top Chef Thailand runner-up May Phattanant Thongthong, a self-taught chef. In Episode 2, Thongthong dedicated her dish to her mother, who she revealed didn’t accept that she was gay at first but always let her be what she wanted to be, and now she’s happy that her daughter gets to be herself. 

Season 21: Rasika Venkatesa

Top Chef Season 21, which is currently on-air, features lovable lesbian weirdo Rasika Venkatesa. Originally from Chennai, Venkatesa aims to put South Indian food on the map in the U.S. Just 25 years old when the show was filmed, Venkatesa is one of the youngest cheftestants on the series and has a knack for thinking outside of the box. When Clea Duvall was a guest judge in the third episode of the season, Venkatesa seemed to be the only one who was really excited to see her, noting that But I’m a Cheerleader is one of her favorite movies. 

Who is your favorite cheftestant? Have you been to any of these restaurants? Let me know in the comments below.