Top Chef has awarded its largest grand prize in the nearly 20-year history of the Bravo reality show.
Houston-based contestant Tristen Epps-Long earned the title of Top Chef during Thursday’s finale episode of the culinary competition series, winning $250,000 among other prizes.
“I wanted to come on Top Chef to showcase Afro-Caribbean food and prove that it deserves a place in fine dining,” said Epps-Long. “I didn’t do this for myself, nor did I get here on my own. I had a lot of support and people who believed in me that gave me the strength to not quit and keep pushing to the end of this incredible Top Chef journey. Now I just hope to be that same support, step or channel for someone else because that’s what others were for me.”
Epps-Long’s winning four-course progressive meal paid homage to Italian cuisine through an Afro-Caribbean lens, beating out fellow finalists Bailey Sullivan and Shuai Wang.
As winner, Epps-Long will also receive a $125,000 Delta Air Lines flight credit, a feature in Food & Wine magazine and an appearance at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.
For the first time ever, the winner will also headline his own exclusive dinner at the historic James Beard House in New York and present at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards in Chicago on Monday, June 16.
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