It's a big season for Austin on Bravo's popular competition show Top Chef. Kristen Kish, the winner of Season 10 and the head of Austin restaurant Arlo Grey at the Line Hotel, is stepping up as a host for Season 21, and two new Austin-based chefs will be competing. The first episode airs March 20.
The newcomers are Amanda Turner, chef de cuisine at the popular Southern restaurant Olamaie; and Chef Kevin D'Andrea, owner and operator of French bakery Foliepops.
Olamaie is well-known around Austin, and Turner's influence cannot be overstated. She works as a complement to executive chef and owner Michael Fojtasek, but does not fall in his shadow. A native Texan, Turner speaks about how food and identity intersect, referencing the African diaspora, and brings local soul to the culinary program.
The multitalented chef initially wanted to go into ceramics and 3D design, she told StarChefs, but Austin is better off for her pivot. (Well, maybe we missed some good ceramics.) That breadth of curiosity lead to work at restaurants as diverse as Uchiko, Odd Duck, Juniper, Jester King, the Tatsu-Ya Group. Her bio at Olamaie lists specialties she's tried her hand at: "a bit of everything including pasta, pastry, whole animal butchery and more."
Turner is still relatively early in her career, and gaining recognition. She was a James Beard semifinalist for Emerging Chef in 2022. In 2023, StarChefs named her Rising Star Chef of the Year, and CultureMap's own Tastemaker Award judges bestowed her the top culinary title: Chef of the Year.
Photo courtesy of Bravo
Kevin D'Andrea of FoliePop's is competing.
But Turner will have to face a local challenger. D'Andrea's bakery, FoliePop's, was known for its eponymous, innovative treat: a shot glass-shaped cookie filled with cream and topped with a breakable chocolate bulb with another sauce that spills out. Think lava cake, but more moving pieces. Recently the brick-and-mortar in Southeast Austin underwent some change, switching from retail to production-only.
The bakery now specializes in cheerful tartelettes that similarly layer flavors into one or two bites — perfect for sampling multiple combinations. Each is built on a shortbread base and topped with chocolate. Now Austinites can enjoy the desserts in the H-E-B bakery section.
Authenticity is the project's main draw, bolstered by D'Andrea's training in French Riviera at the Michelin-starred Hôtel Belles Rives. His résumé also includes Le Meurice, which boasts three Michelin stars, alongside other high-achieving restaurants internationally. D'Andrea also competed on the French version of Top Chef, making it all the way to the runner-up position in Season 6.
Viewers can "meet" the new contestants in an official preview video.
New host Kristen Kish also has some TV training, having hosted her own National Geographic show, Restaurants at the End of the World. Whatever challenges the Top Chef contestants have waiting for them, Kish has completed equally arduous cooking tasks in more wild locations around the world. The chef has proven herself deeply likable to viewers and inspired many positive reviews, especially by viewers who find her relatable as a queer woman of color.
Kish is replacing Padma Lakshmi and joining head judge Tom Colicchio and perennial judge Gail Simmons in Wisconsin for the filming.
Catch the first episode on the Bravo network on March 20 at 8 pm local time. Episodes will go up on Peacock after the initial airing concludes. See all options for watching Top Chef, including past seasons, here.
