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What do Paris, Delta Air Lines, gymnastics gold medalist Suni Lee and the humble button mushroom have in common? They all took a starring role in the penultimate episode of Top Chef: World All Stars.
For the first time, Bravo’s Thursday night flagship cooking show—which sees professionals put their culinary skills to the test in a series of extreme cooking challenges in the search for one winner—went international for Season 20, with 16 chefs from 11 countries competing for the title of “World All Star” in London.
The final four “cheftestants” (Australian Buddha Lo, Kentucky-born Sara Bradley, Mexico’s Gabriel Rodriguez and Jordanian Ali Al Ghzawi) fought out the semi-finals in Paris, broadcast on June 1. At the end of the episode, just three were left standing ahead of the final on June 8.
Top Chef’s judging panel packs a star-studded punch, featuring celebrity cooks Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons along with its successful alumni (see: Carla Hall and Kevin Gillespie). However, the series is also well known among fans for integrating sponsors into its “Quickfire” and “Elimination” challenges across seasons; whether it’s through a featured ingredient or experience.
Dr. Pepper, Sesame Street and Dunkin’ Donuts have all previously been seamlessly promoted on Top Chef. But, for its 300th episode the show went bigger than ever before with partner Delta Airlines.
The carrier worked with Bravo owner NBCUniversal (NBCU) and media agency PHD to weave itself into the show as part of the reported $400 million Olympics sponsorship deal it’s inked with the official 2024 Summer Olympics broadcaster.
The road to the 2024 Olympics
Emmakate Young, Delta’s managing director of brand marketing and sponsorships, told Adweek during filming in Paris that the integration just made sense. “Top Chef is all about helping people connect over food, culture and experiences. Delta is about connecting people via travel and experiences, so it was sort of obvious, and a really good fit,” she explained.
The challenge Delta put its name to was relayed by judge Lakshmi to competitors as the “infamous Wall Challenge.” It partnered each chef up with a mystery teammate, whom they had to verbally coach to make the same dish in 30-minutes. The twist? A patrician separated the professionals from the amateurs under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
While the mystery cohorts weren’t well versed in the kitchen, they were certainly no strangers to the podium.
That’s because they were none other than four Team USA Olympic and Paralympic champions: five-time medal-winning Paralympic swimmer Mallory Weggemann, Paralympic track and field runner Hunter Woodhall, Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone, a two-time track and field gold medalist and star gymnast Lee.
