Season 23 of Top Chef is set across the Carolinas, with Charlotte, North Carolina as its home base, several episodes in Greenville, South Carolina, and a stop in Asheville, North Carolina before the finale returns to Charlotte. The season’s title points to its opening Quickfire at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where chefs cook against a race. Bravo’s official season materials describe the setting as both the backdrop and a source of challenge material, drawing on regional ingredients, traditions and landmarks.
Where Season 23 was filmed and what each city does
Bravo’s season guide and its January 29, 2026 location announcement place the production in three cities. They do not play equal roles, so it helps to see what each one contributes.
| Location | Role in the season | Challenge or context named by Bravo |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte, North Carolina | Home base and finale location | Opening Quickfire at Charlotte Motor Speedway |
| Greenville, South Carolina | Several episodes | A fishing derby and a Quickfire on the Swamp Rabbit Trail |
| Asheville, North Carolina | A single visit before the return to Charlotte | Tied to community rebuilding after Hurricane Helene and a fundraiser spotlighting Appalachian ingredients |
Charlotte
Charlotte anchors the season. Bravo’s cast list also shows the city as a hometown, since Brittany Cochran is listed from Charlotte. Season 23’s regional framing comes from the way the show uses the city as a launch point, starting with the speedway challenge.
Greenville
Greenville is the season’s South Carolina stop. Bravo names a fishing derby and a Quickfire on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a paved path that runs through the city. Those challenges make the local outdoors part of the cooking, not only a scenic backdrop.
#1 Best Overall
Asheville
Asheville is the most issue-driven stop. Bravo ties the visit to community rebuilding after Hurricane Helene and to a fundraiser that spotlights Appalachian ingredients. It is a single visit, so it should be read as a featured episode arc rather than a second home base.
What “Hits the Gas” refers to
The phrase is an editorial allusion to the season’s first challenge. It does not signal that Top Chef has become a motorsport competition; the core format remains a cooking contest with elimination rounds.
The opening Quickfire, staged at Charlotte Motor Speedway, works like this:
Rank #2
- Guests include NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.
- Chefs compete in three-person teams.
- Each team has to plate a dish before a professional driver completes 23 laps.
Bravo’s official episode description supplies this structure. The speedway setting gives the season its opening energy, and the rest of the season moves back to the kitchen-based format.
Challenge themes built on regional ingredients
Bravo’s announcement lists several challenge themes beyond the speedway. Each one ties a cooking task to a Carolinas food tradition or ingredient:
- North Carolina sweet potatoes, a state-grown staple used as a cooking base.
- Increasingly spicy peppers, which set up a progression of heat levels.
- Whole-hog barbecue, a regional tradition that asks chefs to work with a full animal.
- Dehydrated components, a technical test of how ingredients change when their moisture is removed.
Bravo presents these as announced themes. Individual episodes, scoring and eliminations are not part of this article’s sources, so the list describes intent rather than outcomes.
Rank #3
Cast and judges
Kristen Kish hosts Season 23. Tom Colicchio returns as head judge, and Gail Simmons returns as a judge. Bravo’s official season page lists 15 contestants, with the following hometowns:
| Contestant | Hometown listed by Bravo |
|---|---|
| Sieger Bayer | Chicago |
| Jassi Bindra | Houston |
| Sherry Cardoso | Brooklyn |
| Brittany Cochran | Charlotte |
| Oscar Diaz | Durham, North Carolina |
| Brandon Dearden | Hamilton, Montana |
| Jonathan Dearden | Alexandria, Virginia |
| Duyen Ha | Los Angeles |
| Jennifer Lee Jackson | Suttons Bay/Detroit |
| Anthony Jones | Alexandria |
| Day Anaïs Joseph | Atlanta |
| Laurence Louie | Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Rhoda Magbitang | Kailua-Kona, Hawaii |
| Justin Tootla | Suttons Bay/Detroit |
| Nana Araba Wilmot | Cherry Hill, New Jersey |
Only two contestants are listed from the Carolinas. Hometowns and home-region cooking are different things, so the table does not indicate which chefs were most connected to the season’s regional challenges.
Recommended Free Tools
Original release schedule and how to watch
The schedule below is the original plan Bravo and NBCUniversal announced on January 29, 2026. It is not a current availability listing, and catalog placement on Peacock can change after a season airs.
Rank #4
| Element | Original announced detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere on Bravo | March 9, 2026 |
| Early access | From March 3, 2026 on Peacock, Bravo’s YouTube channel and VOD |
| Regular broadcast slot | 9:30 p.m. beginning March 16, 2026 |
| Streaming episodes | Next-day episodes on Peacock |
| Episode length | 75 minutes each |
To check current access, search for Top Chef in the Peacock app or on the Bravo website and confirm whether Season 23 is listed under the Peacock subscription or a free-with-ads option. Availability in your region can differ, and an episode that was once on early access may move to a standard listing.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The prize and the partners
The $250,000 grand prize and related opportunities
Bravo announced a $250,000 grand prize. The season’s other announced opportunities are a feature in Food & Wine, an appearance at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, a dinner at the James Beard House, and the chance to present at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards. NBCUniversal also said that more than $150,000 in cash prizes and competition advantages were available during the season.
Sponsors and integrations
NBCUniversal named Bosch Home Appliances as a new season partner and said Bosch appliances powered the competition kitchen. It named Graza Olive Oil as the official olive-oil partner and the provider of the $250,000 grand prize. Sponsor involvement is a commercial relationship. It does not mean the show independently recommends those products.
Best Value
Kim Faver, SVP of Brand Partnerships at NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships, described the season in a sponsor-side statement: “This season’s trip to the Carolinas brings notable regional flavor, culture and standout brand storytelling. Fans come hungry for the competition, and brands leave with real audience connection and business results.” That is a sales perspective, not an independent assessment of the season.
NBCUniversal’s January 2026 announcement also cited Season 22 advertising results: a claim that Season 22 was the most-viewed Top Chef season on Peacock at that time, along with +56% brand awareness, +39% search engagement and +29% product consideration for advertisers. The footnotes define the measurement scope: 35-day Peacock viewing for P2+ audiences, brand impact across seven brands, third-party search measurement tools and specified 2025 periods. These are network-reported figures about Season 22 advertisers. They do not measure Season 23’s audience or its culinary impact, and no independent Season 23 audience figure is established in the sources.
Visiting the Carolinas after the season
Visit North Carolina, the state tourism agency, published a feature on the season’s food scene. It highlights food trails, regional dishes and restaurants connected to contestants, including Brittany Cochran’s Stagioni and restaurants linked to Oscar Diaz. Restaurant openings, menus and hours change, so confirm each business is still operating before planning a visit around it.
For a route that follows the season, start in Charlotte for the speedway and home-base locations, then drive to Greenville for the Swamp Rabbit Trail and the outdoor challenges, and include Asheville for the Appalachian ingredient focus and the post-Helene community context.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Ryan Flynn, Senior Vice President of Current Production at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, framed the setting in Bravo’s location announcement: “Charlotte and Greenville are perfect chefs’ playgrounds fueled by exceptional local ingredients, bold flavors, a strong agricultural foundation, stunning natural landscapes, and the warm, genuine hospitality the South is known for.”
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
