⁠"I'm especially proud" Top Chef Season 22 judge Gail Simmons reveals what the new season means for Canada 

For its 22nd Season, Top Chef has moved north, taking its culinary competition to Canada's varied kitchens and landscapes. Longtime Toronto resident and judge Gail Simmons discovers that this Season offers more than just a change of scenery.

With filming in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, and Charlottetown, the competition offers a singular chance to highlight Canadian cuisine at a time of heightened tensions between the US and its northern neighbor.

"As a Canadian, at this moment in our history and our relationship with America, I'm especially proud to be able to show off Canada in all its glory," Simmons told The Hollywood Reporter.

Explaining:

"I think it's going to give Canada its moment in the sun and it's the perfect time for that."

15 gifted cooks compete for a $250,000 top prize in the new Season, which is officially called Top Chef: Destination Canada. They must overcome culinary challenges that highlight Canadian foods, techniques, and cultural influences. In addition to Simmons, Kristen Kish returns for her second Season as host and Tom Colicchio returns as a permanent judge.

The tournament offers spectators not only delectable food but also a better knowledge of a nation whose culinary uniqueness is frequently eclipsed by its neighbor to the south.

What does Top Chef Season 22 mean for Canada?

For Simmons, Top Chef has always excelled at "seeing the world through the lens of food." Despite superficial parallels to American food, this Season presents a special chance to highlight the distinctive character of Canadian cuisine.

"I think Canada is especially nuanced because it feels like the States, and it kind of looks like the States, but to truly understand Canada, you really have to respect and be open to the fact that it is a totally different country," Simmons explained.

She emphasized Canada's "completely different immigrant pathways and stories and vibrant and powerful Indigenous community" as key elements that shape the nation's food culture. These distinctions form the backdrop for challenges that push contestants to explore unfamiliar ingredients and techniques while honoring local traditions.

The Season arrives during a period of strained U.S.-Canada relations, giving the cultural exchange additional significance. Simmons hopes the show can help bridge divides through food:

"I think understanding the differences between us ultimately teaches us respect for one another and tolerance, and sort of gets us back to our humanity, especially at this moment [when] America loves to just clump us together."

Her aspirations for the season extend beyond entertainment:

"My hope is that Top Chef will allow us to explore Canada a little more richly and show the world how beautiful it is as a country and how extraordinary the ingredients are."

Top Chef raises the stakes with Season 22

While the location offers fresh inspiration, it's the talent that makes this Season particularly remarkable, according to the judges. Colicchio didn't hesitate to call it his "favorite season," praising the high caliber of competitors.

"With this particular group, once we started eating the food, it was like, 'Wow, this is wide open. Anyone can take this,'" Colicchio shared.

The competition proved so fierce that he believed about nine different chefs could have emerged victorious.

"More often than not, people weren't going home for making bad food — it was just the worse dish [that episode]. It wasn't bad at all. And when you're sending people off who are doing good food, now that's a good season," he explained.

Now in its 20th year, Top Chef has achieved remarkable longevity in the fickle world of reality television. With 50 Emmy nominations and two wins to its credit, the show continues to captivate audiences season after season.

Kish attributes this staying power to the show's focus on culinary excellence rather than manufactured drama.

"These are real people who come from really great backgrounds and have restaurants and awards, and you're taking the best of the best and then putting them into an arena which gets them to think differently and to push themselves," she explained.

For Simmons, the success comes down to authenticity.

"Unlike a show where you can hear the music or see the fashion, you can't taste the food as a viewer, and so the audience has to experience that dish through us," she noted.

Elaborating:

"And so if you as the viewer don't trust us, and think that we're lying, being dramatic, not being authentic and not giving you the truth, then you're going to turn the TV off."

As Top Chef: Destination Canada continues to air Thursday nights on Bravo (with episodes streaming on Peacock), viewers can expect not just a thrilling culinary competition but also a cultural journey through a country eager to share its unique food story with the world.

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Top Chef airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock, BravoTV.com, and the Bravo app.