Top Chef, Bravo TV's long-running cooking competition, has just crowned its newest winner, and she is a Filipina! Manila-born and Hawaii-based Rhoda Magbitang was just declared winner of the show's 23rd season, beating fellow finalists Sherry Cardoso and Laurence Louie, and 12 other cheftestants from all over the United States.
Magbitang is the seventh female chef to have won the title, but it was a challenging road to the finale. After winning the first two elimination challenges, she was originally sent home in the show's fifth episode. But it was in Last Chance Kitchen that this feisty Filipina found redemption, beating the other cheftestants for a spot back in the competition. And it was quite a comeback, winning an additional USD20,000 from two quickfire challenges upon her return. Chef Magbitang is only one of four Top Chef winners who won their season after coming back from Last Chance Kitchen, which includes Kristen Kish (S10), Brooke Williamson (S14), and Joe Flamm (S15).
Moving to the United States at the age of 17 with plans of becoming a teacher, it was Magbitang's love for food that led her to enroll at Le Cordon Bleu. She then found herself working in the kitchens of some of the most respected chefs in LA, which included the likes of Chef Josiah Citrin at Mélisse, Chef Suzanne Goin at A.O.C., renowned Spanish Chef Jose Andrés at The Bazaar, and Top Chef Season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio. Two years ago, she took on the job of executive chef at Canoe House in Waimea, Hawaii.
Top Chef's 23rd season was set in and around the Carolinas, featuring challenges inspired by the cuisine of the South, which includes a barbecue pit challenge, Appalachian cuisine, and fishing. Magbitang first caught the judges attention in the first episode winning the first elimination challenge - centered on the sweet potato - with a dish inspired by the favorite streetside snack, kamote-Q. In another challenge, she won the round with a creative take on lumpia, using cabbage leaves instead of the traditional wrapper.
In the show, Magbitang explained that she was hesitant to prepare Filipino food, as it was not something she cooked professionally in her restaurant. "What if people find what I find delicious yucky?' she shared on the show. However, she also hoped for a chance to further showcase her heritage through the food. And that opportunity came in the Top Chef finale.
For the show's penultimate cook, Magbitang and her fellow finalists Cardoso and Louie were challenged to cook 'the best meal of their lives' - a four-course progressive menu where each dish is dedicated to a culinary influence in their life or a food memory. Sitting at the dinner table would be Top Chef head judge restaurateur and chef Tom Colicchio, host and chef Kristen Kish, food writer Gail Simmons, Hunter Lewis of Food & Wine Magazine, and other culinary personalities.
With that, Magbitang chose to return to her roots and her early career with an all-Filipino food menu. For her first course, she paid tribute to LA where she first found her culinary footing, making a "roasted sweet potato with miso butter and uni." For her second course, she made lugaw with abalone, recalling the comforting childhood memory of her mother making it for her when she was sick. Fun fact - all three finalists presented their own version of congee as part of their finale meal.
An elevated take on Tortang Talong was the main feature of Magbitang third course, harking back to one of her first food memories as a kid. Then in a daring choice, she eschewed serving a dessert, opting instead to make a beef kaldereta, which is one of her father's favorite dishes. "After we talked about all the courses being a toast to something, it was important for me to honor my parents," said the newly-minted Top Chef winner.
Based on the the conversation around the table during the show's finale episode, safe to say, the judges were more than wowed by Chef Rhoda Magbitang's progressive menu - declaring her as this year's winner. As Top Chef, she not only brings home over USD250,000 in cash prizes, but also the congratulations of her kababayans all the way from the Philippines.
