Pull out the popcorn–or the pork belly. The season finale of Top Chef: World All-Stars airs Thursday, June 8 on Bravo. As we say goodbye to Padma Lakshmi’s upside-down fork and Tom Colicchio’s pleas for “more acid,” Top Chef alumni look back on their time as contestants while continuing to thrive at some of the best restaurants in Las Vegas.
Michael and Bryan Voltaggio made history as the only brothers to compete against one another on Top Chef. Michael took the top prize in Season 6, while Bryan was a runner-up. The duo just opened Retro by Voltaggio at Mandalay Bay, putting a gourmet touch on pot roast and other old-school favorites. “The biggest thing we learned from Top Chef is to cook for your audience,” Michael says. “Not every dish is perfect for everyone.”
Carla Pellegrino was running Bacio at the Tropicana and Bratalian in Henderson when she joined Season 10. Her outgoing personality was a hit with viewers, but the chef believes she could have gone further in the competition. “I seriously cut my right hand during the very first episode, and I could not perform well, which was not shared with the public,” she remembers. “Still, it was a fun experience.” Today, Pellegrino cooks contemporary Italian cuisine at Limoncello Fresh Italian Kitchen on West Sahara.
Elia Aboumrad, a protégé of Joël Robuchon, elevates comfort food with exceptional ingredients at Boom Bang Fine Food & Cocktails in Henderson. She made an impression in Season 2 with not only her kitchen skills, but a spur-of-the-moment decision to shave her head. “They got upset,” she says of the producers. “They felt I ruined the continuity of the show,” noting interviews are sometimes filmed out of sequence. “There was no malice. We were all just trying to make it.”
Following his stint on Season 7, Stephen Hopcraft opened STK at the Cosmopolitan as executive chef and is still there an impressive 12 years later. The steakhouse is just steps away from Jaleo, the signature restaurant by José Andrés. “He kicked me off Top Chef,” Hopcraft laughs, recalling Andrés’ role as guest judge. “He came to dinner [at STK], and I sat down next to him. I was like, ‘Hey buddy!’” The two are cool now.
Bruce Kalman had an especially memorable Top Chef run, becoming a dad while filming Season 15. “My son’s birth was memorialized on television,” he says. “It was an incredible experience overall. Things definitely kicked up for me. It opened a lot of doors.” Kalman now serves brisket and other smoked meats at SoulBelly BBQ in Downtown’s Arts District.
Competing on Top Chef is never easy, but Jamie Tran, whose Vietnamese heritage influences the New American cuisine of the Black Sheep, had the added challenge of filming Season 18 during the uncertainty of the pandemic in 2020. She says once the competition starts, the contestants hand over their phones and have limited access to television. “They give you this one notebook,” she remembers. “You can write 30 of your recipes down and that’s about it, but for the most part you just go off the top of your head.”
Being on TV also has its perks. “Name and face recognition really helps in the real world,” says Alex Resnik, a Season 7 contestant who now backs up Matt Meyer as a consultant for 138° steakhouse in Henderson. “I make sure Matt’s supported and the guests have an amazing experience. I’m the hospitality guy here.”
Gene Villiatora was working at Roy’s when recruited at a food festival to join Season 5. He says the competition forced him to “pump the brakes and learn more,” reinventing himself as a fully realized, well-rounded chef in Southern California. Villiatora returns to Las Vegas this year with the Hawaiian street food of Ai Pono Café at the upcoming Durango Casino & Resort.
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