Top Chef, the Emmy and James Beard Award-winning culinary competition television series, will soon be cooking in the Holy City. The Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau today announced that production for the program’s 14th season will start filming in the city this spring.
The new season, which is expected to premiere on Bravo later this year, will feature host Padma Lakshmi, head judge Tom Colicchio, and judges Gail Simmons and Richard Blais.
UPDATE (3/18/16 at 6 pm) – A local marketing firm has said one episode will be filmed in Kiawah Island, where Colicchio has been the consulting chef at Voysey’s, a members-only club, for over a decade. The private restaurant and pub is located in the Cassique Clubhouse, on the Cassique Golf Course.
“Charleston is the perfect location to inject our next batch of chefs,” Bravo Media's Executive Vice President of Current Production Shari Levine said in a press release. “We know Charleston and are excited by the food, people and possibility it brings with its rich cultural and historical background which has played an important role in shaping South Carolina's unique cuisine.”
Charleston joins an impressive list of cities that have previously hosted the show, including San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Seattle. Top Chef‘s 13th season finale aired on Bravo last night.