‘Top Chef’ Going Abroad for All-Stars Season 20

The next season of Top Chef is heading overseas for an All-Star season. Top Chef Season 20 will be filmed in London with host Padma Lakshmi, head judge Tom Colicchio, and judge Gail Simmons. The season will feature 16 chefs from around the world who participated in their countries’ Top Chef versions.

This is the first time an entire season of the main Top Chef will be filmed abroad. The new season will debut in 2023. Bravo has not announced the line-up of contestants. The franchise launched in 2006 and has expanded to include 29 international versions. There have also been several U.S. spinoffs, including Top Chef Masters, Top Chef Just Desserts, Top Chef Junior, and Top Chef Amateurs.

“We’ve always wanted to do a season of Top Chef with winners, finalists, and frontrunners, but to take that concept for the 20th season one step further with cheftestants from localized versions across the world has been a dream come true,” Ryan Flynn, Senior Vice President, Current Production, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said in a statement Monday. “And what better place to host World All-Stars than London, a global stomping ground and renowned food city, offering our cheftestants access to the U.K.’s exceptional ingredients and international flavors.”

“I’m pleased that Top Chef has chosen London for its first-ever season outside of the U.S.,” U.K. Food Minister Victoria Prentis added. “We’re rightly proud of our exceptional food and drink produced here in the U.K. From Scottish salmon and Welsh lamb to Northern Irish beef and English sparkling wine, our food and drink is recognized at home and abroad for its great taste and high quality. As the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, the passion, traditions, and expertise of our food and drink industry make the UK a fantastic choice for the culinary competition series.”

Top Chef Season 19 scored Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Competition Program, Outstanding Host, Casting, Directing, and Picture Editing. Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen also scored a nod for Outstanding Short Form Non-fiction or Reality Series. Top Chef won Outstanding Reality – Competition Program in 2010 and Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming in 2008. Season 19, which was filmed in Houston, ended with Buddha Lo becoming the latest winner.