What To Know About The Top Chef World All-Stars Contestants

The Bravo series "Top Chef" hasn't just kept America tuned in to see who will "pack their knives and go." The cooking competition runs in nearly 30 countries and regions worldwide — that's a lot of restaurant wars! Padma, Tom, and Gail are taking the competition abroad for the first time in the U.S. production's 19 seasons. "Top Chef" will celebrate its 20th season with the first All-Stars competition set in the Big Smoke, AKA London.

For viewers, this means a bit of armchair travel and getting to know 16 exceptional chefs from the series' previous international "Top Chef" franchises. The series will showcase some of the U.K.'s best regional products, like Scottish salmon and Welsh lamb, alongside longstanding traditions like the ubiquitous British pub. However, the season isn't just about Great Britain's past. It's also about its future. We'll meet some of the capital city's most prominent food influencers, like chef and activist Asthma Khan, founder of Darjeeling Express and its female-led South Asian kitchen. After this season's inspiration, we fully expect to see a new wave of food tourism take off in London. Here's a sneak peek at who you can expect to watch in the kitchen.

Born in Salvador, Brazil, Luciana Berry runs her own private catering company, Catering on the Hill. With a pension for all things entrepreneurial, she's also the successful founder of the sauce brand BerryBartt. Berry was the second winner of "Top Chef Brazil."

A resident of London since 2004, Berry had initially enrolled in school for electrical engineering. Berry now serves as an Ambassador of Brazilian cuisine in Europe and is an active partner with the Brazilian Fruit Association. She helps promote and showcase many much-loved Brazilian products and resources, including one of her favorite ingredients, cassava. Berry wears many other (chef's) hats that help showcase her pride for her origins, including regular work with the Brazilian Embassy and the Brazilian tourism board. Her mission is to showcase her home country's dishes, ingredients, and traditions.

After moving abroad for an engineering degree, Berry quickly switched gears, completing her culinary training at London's renowned Cordon Bleu in Marylebone. She encourages others to see their mistakes as opportunities to learn, both inside the kitchen and out.

Dawn Burrell is not one to shy away from competition of any kind. The finalist from Season 18 in Portland had an entire career in Track & Field that took her to the summer 2000 Olympic games in Sydney, Australia. Burrell credits the international travel during her athletic career as having kickstarted her second career, stoking her love of food and desire to learn more.

A highly driven person, Burrell changed gears, enrolling in the culinary arts program at the Art Institute of Houston, her current residence. Burrell has studied under expert chefs, including Tom Aikens in London, Monica Pope in Houston, and Tyson Cole. Burrell received her first James Beard nomination for "Best Chef: Texas" in 2020 and is currently in the throws of her first solo venture. She plans to open her own establishment, Late August, in Houston. Given her competitive prowess and grace under pressure, this is one cheftestant who doesn't let fear or a challenge get in between her and her goals.

Cheftestant Tom Goetter, who hails from Mainz, Germany, was in the select crop of finalists for Germany's first "Top Chef" season. Goetter has benefited from extensive culinary training, earning a Master's in Culinary Arts and working under celebrity chef Thomas Keller alongside other Michelin-starred establishments.

The ocean is Goetter's current home. He works as the Executive Chef Director of Food & Beverage for the Scenic Group's Ocean Collection of Luxury Cruises, including the Scenic Eclipse and Emerald Yacht Cruises, serving high-end cuisine to guests on board. These aren't your regular cruise ships — these sophisticated vessels are meant to look more like yachts than family vacation boats. One scroll through Goetter's Instagram account, and it becomes clear that he draws inspiration from the local markets, fresh produce, and cuisines at each port. It appears that the culinary world has taken note of his inventive cruise dishes: In 2022, Goetter landed Scenic Eclipse the title of "World's Best Cruise Ship for Dining."

Originally from the Republic of the Congo, Gouloubi was a finalist in "Top Chef Italy" Season 2. Gouloubi first moved to Italy alongside her younger brother in 2002 to study law. Her uncle, already in Italy, advised her to consider changing careers, choosing vocational training instead. She followed her uncle's suggestion, and now Gouloubi combines her past with her present, showcasing African cuisines alongside Italian to create a unique culinary perspective. In an interview for UN Human Rights, Gouloubi discusses her experience of being a Black African woman in the kitchens of predominantly white men, using this experience as fuel to promote the beauty of African cuisines and gastronomy. She says, "My greatest strength was to express my culture through my cuisine."

Gouloubi's passion and talents have taken her across Europe, working under Marc Farellacci at L'Assassino. She is a charismatic and passionate creator and hosts several cooking shows. This includes "Il Tocco di Victoire" and "La Mia Africa," which take viewers on a journey through Afro-Caribbean cuisine and history. 

The U.S.'s most recent winner of Season 19 in Huston is back for more! Buddha Lo, originally from Port Douglas, Australia, is the executive chef of an exclusive 14-seat caviar-studded restaurant with a caviar-soaked tasting menu. The New York City restaurant, Huso, won a Michelin star in 2021. Lo began his culinary career by helping in his parent's restaurant as a teenager. He was immediately hooked, leaving home at 17 for further training in Melbourne and London.

Lo has worked under prestigious chefs with high expectations, including Gordon Ramsay, Clare Smyth (who also appears during the season), and Matt Abe. Lo's pedigree training earned him a position at New York City's highly acclaimed Eleven Madison Park, a three-star Michelin restaurant with notoriously high standards, before moving on to his current position with Huso.

Lo told Mashed he cooked his winning meal with his brother, mother, and father in mind, creating flawless hamachi, lobster laksa, Mongolian lamb, and pumpkin mille-feuille. He credits the amount of preparation he did — including watching the show — for helping him to secure his title.

Self-taught chef May Phattanant Thongthong is the perfect example of how drive, never-ending curiosity, and the quest for knowledge are just as important, if not more so, than classical training. Despite not attending culinary school, Thongthong's exposure to restaurant life began when she was 10 years old when she helped out in her father's restaurant.

Throughout her "Top Chef" competition experience, she became known for her ability to replicate a dish, a talent she can date back to her childhood. She was known for recreating KFC's iconic gravy mashed potatoes when she was 10. Thongthong's drive and competitive spirit are like a bottomless well; she was the runner-up of the first season of "Top Chef Thailand" and won "Iron Chef Thailand" not once but twice.

Thongthong, originally from the northern region of Chiang Mai in Thailand, is the executive chef and co-owner of Maze Dining in Bangkok. The restaurant was featured in the Michelin Guide following its opening in 2020, and W Magazine named it one of Bangkok's Top 20 restaurants for two years running.

Gabriel Rodriguez, the second winner of "Top Chef Mexico," grew up in Mexico City, working tirelessly up the kitchen ranks, as so many do. There is something to be said about picking the restaurant where you begin your culinary training, and Rodriguez knew this. He took a dishwashing role at Pujol, which was run by chef Enrique Olvera and named number nine in The World's 50 Best restaurants in 2017. Rodriguez's hard work paid off; he was offered the sous chef position for Eduardo Garcia at Maximo's Bistrot. In this position, with Garcia's support, Rodriguez went on to win "Top Chef Mexico," further launching his culinary career. 

After his "Top Chef" win, Rodriguez was offered the opportunity to really let his creativity shine by accepting the role of executive chef at the restaurant Presidio in Mazatlán, a resort town in Sinaloa, Mexico, known for its beaches. His latest life shake-up includes a recent move overseas, now residing in Madrid, Spain, and working as a private chef.

Sylvia Stachyra was born and raised in Lublin, Poland, where she lives today. She has returned after earning her culinary diploma from Bournemouth College and training with Gordon Ramsay at his Savoy Grill in London. Stachyra made her way around the world often via boat, completing a nautical course and then working on various yachts as a private chef. Her unique perspective, combining French and Asian fusion cuisine with her Polish heritage, won her the "Top Chef Poland" title in Season 7.And now she's back for more with "Top Chef World All-Stars."

Uniquely, Stachyra has focused her skills and talents on teaching and consulting. She is a lecturer at the University of Lublin and the owner of the CookShe consultancy business, under which she works with restaurants and clients primarily on menu development. She also works as a cooking teacher, helping improve the skills of a range of students, including amateurs and professionals.