Top Chef 2024: 5 Things To Know About Season 15

Since its launch in February 2010, Top Chef has established itself as one of the most popular shows on French television. To celebrate its fifteenth anniversary, the famous culinary competition on M6 is getting a refresh. Here are 5 things to know about Season 15, which will be revealed starting March 13, 2024.

Two new female chefs join the jury.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the program, the production of Top Chef 2024 has decided to reserve numerous surprises for viewers. The first new feature of season 15 concerns the jury, with the arrival of two renowned female chefs.

Dominique Crenn is the first woman in the United States to have earned three Michelin stars for her restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco! She has recently set up shop in Paris with the Golden Poppy.

Stéphanie Le Quellec is a familiar face to fans of Top Chef as she was the winner of the show's second season in 2011. Today, she boasts two Michelin stars for her Parisian restaurant La Scène, while also heading a catering/pastry service and a seafood restaurant, Vive, in the capital.

According to her, joining the jury is a way to come full circle with Top Chef, a program that changed her life. "Having been in the candidates' shoes and now in the judge's seat brought back memories. I saw myself in them. I suffered for them. So, I coached them with that in mind," she stated.

Two brigades are clashing.

For the 2024 edition of Top Chef, the number of brigades has decreased from three to two.

In this season 15, each team or "brigade" will be coached by three chefs:
- Philippe Etchebest, Paul Pairet, and Glenn Viel for the gray brigade.
- Dominique Crenn, Hélène Darroze, and Stéphanie Le Quellec for the orange brigade.

This array of chefs boasts no less than 15 stars in total!

Furthermore, the mystery brigade makes its return to the competition this year, with an unexpected chef leading it.

Candidates must face unprecedented challenges.

Another new feature of Top Chef 2024 is that the contestants, who are all professional chefs, will face unprecedented or revamped challenges.

Season 15 is notably marked by the trompe-palais challenge (replacing the trompe l'oeil). Competitors will need to muster all their creativity to create a taste illusion.

This year, they will also have to prepare a banquet for 50 former contestants of the show or cook on a train, and not just any train: the Venice-Simplon Orient-Express, indulged by Jean Imbert. The challenge promises to be tough, with minimal space in front of the stoves, the unpredictable movements of the carriage, and the high standards of the clientele...

Fans of the show will be delighted to learn about the return of the black box, which will be set up under the dome of the Grandes Écuries de Chantilly with a dish conceived by the chef and MOF Guy Krenzer.

Prestigious chefs have been invited.

To properly celebrate the 15th anniversary of Top Chef, the production has invited big names in French gastronomy.

Consider the lineup: Daniel Humm, Anne-Sophie Pic, Jeffrey Cagnes, Christopher Haye, Clare Smyth, Yoann Conte, Guy Savoy, Eric Fréchon, and for the first time, César and Léo Troisgros, who represent the fourth generation of chefs in this prestigious family.

The final promises to be exciting.

As the airing of Top Chef 2024 is scheduled on M6 starting Wednesday, March 13, the jury members have shared their thoughts on season 15 in an interview.

Regarding the finale, Philippe Etchebest thought there was "very high level" this year. Paul Pairet even stated it was "one of the best finales of Top Chef. With for once, quite a clear consensus."

Loyal fans of the M6 culinary competition can thus expect a season and a finale of high caliber. Surely, gastronomy lovers are already drooling!