“Top Chef” has taken over Charlotte’s consciousness, and we’re here to take you along on the wild ride highlighting the city’s culinary community and traditions.

CharlotteFive was among the media invited for a behind-the-scenes look at how the Bravo competition series comes together as filming took place in the city last fall. I went on set for two episodes in Season 23 — dubbed “Top Chef Carolinas” — which was planned as a showcase of North Carolina and South Carolina’s Southern charm and hospitality, along with the states’ rich food history and bounty of farm fresh produce.

You’ll be able to watch the new season now on Peacock, Bravo’s YouTube channel and video on demand. It premieres Monday, March 9 on Bravo at 9 p.m., and on Monday, March 16, the series will move to its regular timeslot at 9:30 p.m., with episodes available the next day on Peacock.

What else do you need to know? There’s a Charlotte contestant, chef Brittany Cochran of Stagioni, and one from Durham, chef Oscar Diaz, among the competitors. And a whole lot of familiar faces and places are on display. We’ll take you an inside look at what took place here, starting at the beginning.

We’ll also note for good measure that we signed multiple non-disclosure agreements not to photograph anything on set or leak out any details of episodes we watched take place in advance of their airing. Those matters aside, there are still plenty of behind-the-scenes details left to share.

An introduction to ‘Top Chef’

“Top Chef” host Kristen Kish and judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmon landed in Charlotte somewhere around Aug. 16, when Kish posted about chowing down on some Bojangles via Instagram. Soon after, other social media snippets of their presence in the Queen City dribbled out.

While the judges often flew in and out for other work commitments and family matters, they mostly stayed put through mid-September.

Colicchio, a Tar Heels fan, had been to Charlotte before on a possible restaurant deal that didn’t pan out. But for Kish and Simmons, it was a brand new adventure.

For “Top Chef” newbies or more casual followers, what you may not know is that the show churns out many of the culinary superstars and tastemakers you see on Food Network or in the pages of magazines such as Food & Wine. The Emmy-winning show is a big deal, especially in the food world.

With a host of famous foodie alums watching on, including Charlotte’s own Jamie Lynch and Eric Adjepong (who was here in 2024 to host the Charlotte StrEATs Festival), the city — and the Carolinas’ food culture — is set to capture nationwide attention.

Setting the stage in Charlotte

In Charlotte, “Top Chef’s” iconic set was put together inside a nondescript warehouse in Steele Creek with few windows and little sign of what was happening there, save for a few parking spaces reserved for NBCUniversal representatives.

Step through a door with a yellow sign that read “Believe” posted on top (a nod to the inspirational techniques of “Ted Lasso”) and you’d find the action.

Inside the enormous 143,500-square-foot building was a flurry of activity, with pockets of production staffers spread far out across the former manufacturing facility.

Audio techs. Production assistants. Editing bays. Each team was sequestered in its own area, well out of the eyesight of the others, and each serving a different role set behind a separate nest of monitors, showing nine different camera angles of the action taking place.

“There’s definitely someone here who could save the world,” a staffer casually mentioned.

Occasionally, you’d catch a glimpse of Kish darting by, talking to the crew before taking off again, or pausing to check her phone.

In all, more than 160 people were spread out, each working in groups with a separate mission. Many were locals, or at least from the Carolinas, having made the trek from Charleston, where Bravo films “Southern Charm.”

And, as you’d expect, there was food everywhere. Platters of fresh fruit, cheese and muffins. Baskets of granola bars and chips. Later in the day, dozens of pizza boxes made an appearance, along with a buffet-style table filed with Mediterranean eats for crew members to nosh on.

How a TV show episode is filmed

From a media staging area inside a large pop-up tent, we watched a Quickfire Challenge taking place on a TV screen showing multiple camera angles — although we were escorted to the set in small groups to peek in for a few minutes as the competition took place.

Videographers filmed and re-filmed Kish’s opening segment, trying to get everything just right and avoid background noise at the same time.

Meanwhile, the clock was ticking, as chefs teamed up by colored aprons were given 45 minutes to complete the task at hand. A camera boom 20-30 feet long captured it all, while other videographers darted amongst the competitors to get close-up shots.

As Kish chatted with the guest judges, about 10 people in director chairs sequestered in a production room keep in contact, asking questions to keep the storyline going. A short walk away, photographers take still shots of each completed dish in the tent cheekily called the “food porn” area.

A chat with Kristen Kish between episodes

Quite quickly after the judges picked a winner in the Quickfire Challenge, crews darted in to clean up the makeshift kitchen stacked with Bosch appliances and aluminum tables serving as workspaces.

During the break, Kish temporarily paired Uggs slippers with her sleek leather pants to give her feet a break from sleek, pointy heels and sat in a director chair just outside the pantry — accented with a Queen City logo — to take questions for a few fleeting minutes.

In person, she’s electric. Positive energy radiated off her as we talked about Bojangles, Lang Van and other Charlotte restaurants where she’s eaten. Among the questions I asked her was what has changed in the show since she won Season 10 in 2013.

“I always think if I could compete now, my food would be different. Over a decade ago, food trends, the food perspective, everything was different,” she said. “And I think, obviously, every year that goes on — especially as you watch it play out on TV — it’s mirroring what’s happening out in the real world, too, in the restaurant industry.

“So you’re getting different perspectives. Not everything is just French fine dining. Now you’re starting to be introduced to different people, cultures and traditions and ways of doing things. And I think that’s really exciting about the food world. But also I love that ‘Top Chef’ is also keeping up with all of the changing tasks,” Kish added.

Downtime on the set

A few blinks later, crews wheeled in a larger-than-life, powder blue prop for the next segment and the contestants lined back up again, ready to take on a new task.

Cameras continued to roll as the chefs dug in for several hours of prep work, so for those of us in the media tent, it meant getting nudged out the door for a late-afternoon lunch break.

As a chronically early person, I crept back in ahead of most of the crowd, save for a friendly freelancer visiting from the Midwest. Soon, we were rewarded with escort back to the warehouse offices, a much-more pleasantly air-conditioned environment than the wide-open space with cinder block walls where production tasks took place.

There, showrunner Doneen Arquines’ small dog rested quietly in a stroller outside offices turned into dressing rooms for Simmons and Colicchio, who had just arrived.

A conversation with Gail Simmons

As Simmons’ stylist paged through outfits on a couch in her dressing room, filled with at least 20+ pairs of shoes side by side on the floor, the longtime judge stepped out for our interview in a nearby lounge.

We chatted quite a bit about the Canadian native’s restaurant adventures while staying in North Carolina, which included visits to Asheville’s Good Hot Fish and Curate, and a stop for barbecue at Red Bridges in Shelby.

“Appalachia is not a place we talked about 20 years ago, and here we are — and it’ll be featured as a very distinct culinary tradition in the context of ‘Top Chef’ being right in the Carolinas,” Simmons said.

“So things like that, I think, are what really help diners like understand the world a little better, and our geography and our citizenship and our immigrant pathways.”

The longtime food writer who spent 15 years at Food and Wine said, “Sometimes I can’t tell, has the industry changed the show, or has the show changed the industry? And I think it’s a little both.”

She noted that over time, our food options — and our palates — have expanded quite a bit.

“I think regional cuisines from all over the world are being more recognized, more elevated, more discovered. And smaller, less known food communities are having their moments, and I think we just keep getting more and more regional. ...

“You know, 20 years ago, 30 years ago, we would talk about Chinese food, but now we can talk about the province and the actual ingredients. Same with when we think about Thai food or Indian food or American food, right?”

A talk with Tom Colicchio

Next door, Colicchio sat on the couch in his dressing room with the lights off but the door open.

Podcaster Kevin Arnovitz of “Pack Your Knives” once wrote, “Tom Colicchio’s Disappointed Dad is one of Top Chef’s most potent life forces.”

And he wasn’t wrong.

While not gruff or unfriendly, the serious New York restaurateur carries a distinct tone of getting down to business, even when casually chatting about how the show has changed over time.

Colicchio is not a fan of molecular gastronomy. Nor does he want to see chefs showing off their skills in pretentious ways.

“My feeling is, like, I don’t want to see the word ‘sous vide’ on a menu. It’s kind of silly. It’s just a method of cooking,” he said.

“Certain things, like, you don’t need to see the word ‘foam.’ It’s just a light sauce, really. So why call it foam? That doesn’t make sense.”

What is he into, then, you may ask?

“It’s good to see a lot of young chefs, especially Black chefs, that are taking food from their culture and doing marvelous things. So just seeing more and more of what we saw last season, and this food was just fantastic, you know?”

“I think those restaurants are a lot of the restaurants that were often deemed only good for takeout, that have become more serious — and the food’s taking its own place. ... I think that’s the scene. That’s the biggest difference. It used to be a lot of the chefs were borrowing from those cultures, but now we’re seeing that food in its entirety, front and center.”

Filming into the night

Afterward, more hurry up and wait ensued as reporters filtered back into the tent set up inside the warehouse, taking their turns speaking with “Top Chef’s” most famous faces.

Eventually, we were asked to leave our bags, notebooks and phones behind before we were escorted onto the set for an elimination challenge.

Dozens of overjoyed superfans who had applied to take part in the show joined us, presumably signing just as many NDAs as we media members did.

If you’ve ever been jealous watching “Top Chef” challenges, the key thing to know is that as thrilling as the experience is, it’s also a labor of love.

By the time you’re tasting your seventh, eighth and ninth plates of food, even those with a cultured palate can be overwhelmed trying to decide what was best. The thought of even just putting one more spoon in your mouth gets to be a bit much.

At the end of the late evening at the end of the long day, I had a lot more perspective about what it takes to film, compete and judge these kinds of reality shows. What looks like minutes on your TV screen often takes hours, and there is no doubt these competitors are being pushed to the max — creatively and physically.

And, like you, we can’t wait to see how it all comes together.

An inside look at Charlotte: The Charlotte Observer takes you behind the scenes of your favorite Charlotte teams, landmarks, businesses and more to show you how it all works. Follow along to see where we’re going next.

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