Kristen Kish believes it may be time for Top Chef to significantly raise its grand prize.
The Emmy-nominated host of Bravo’s long-running cooking competition said winners should receive closer to $1\$1 million, pointing to inflation and increasingly costly ingredients as reasons to “up the ante.”
“I was just talking with some folks from Bravo, and I was like, ‘We need to increase the prize money.’ On my season, Season 10, it was $125,000. Now it’s $250,000, but with inflation, we should be creeping up near a million,” the Korean American chef said during a conversation at Deadline’s Contenders Television: The Nominees Studio.
“Eggs are expensive these days. We need to like up the ante a little bit, but I do understand that it’s far more complicated than just saying give us a million bucks.”
Read more: 7 Classic Stephen Chow Films You Need to Watch Right Now
Kish knows the impact of the prize first-hand. She won Season 10 of Top Chef in 2013, when the grand prize was $125,000\$125,000, before returning to the franchise as host in Season 21 following Padma Lakshmi’s departure.
The chef and presenter has since earned an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program category for a third consecutive year — one for each season she has fronted. She is again competing against The Traitors host Alan Cumming, having also appeared on Peacock’s mystery competition series this year.
“I feel really proud for myself, but there is no show if there are no chefs. I am so proud for everyone involved in making the show. It changes so many people’s lives in our industry,” Kish said of the recognition.
The most recent season of Top Chef, set in the Carolinas, crowned Rhoda Magbitang as its winner. The Philippines-born chef previously worked at notable restaurants including Michelin-starred Mélisse, Suzanne Goin’s A.O.C., République and Bazaar by José Andrés.
View this post on Instagram
Magbitang, like Kish during her own Season 10 run, had to battle through Last Chance Kitchen before eventually winning the main competition. For Kish, the spin-off’s elimination format can give competitors an unexpected psychological reset.
“Coming out of Last Chance Kitchen, a lot of the chefs will say if you’ve been through it, you are reignited. You have a little extra. There is some kind of mental load reset. The worst thing has happened, which is [they] got already got kicked off. So, you relieve yourself of that pressure,” Kish said.
Kish’s warm and reassuring approach to hosting has become part of her identity on the show. During the latest season, she comforted Nana Araba Wilmot when the chef was unable to plate her dish in time, while also responding to an injured contestant.
Read more: Asian American Animated Series ‘Dang!’ Trailer Sparks Outrage Over Tropes and “Cringe” Writing
“I feel like an older sister or a peer that maybe has been in that particular restaurant for a little bit of extra time where… I can make people feel a little bit more calm and hopefully more confident, while also still giving feedback that holds them accountable,” she said.
Top Chef, produced by Magical Elves, has been renewed for Season 24. Kish did not reveal its location, though she suggested the production already has an ambitious plan in place.
“I have heard rumblings. I have a general idea of where we’re going, and all I can say is I’m very, very excited for the entire plan,” she said.
