‘Top Chef’ is back, and the new season is based in Portland

After years of wondering when it might be Portland’s turn to host a “Top Chef” season, the time has finally come. Season 18 of the Emmy-winning Bravo series, “Top Chef,” will be based in Portland, bringing attention to the celebrated local food scene at a time when the restaurant industry is struggling to deal with unprecedented challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re happy to be here,” says Tom Colicchio, head judge on the culinary competition series. Portland, Colicchio says, is “a great food city, and the products here are great, there’s great wine in the valley, amazing fish on the coast, and great cheese produced here. If you’re a fan of farm-to-table cooking, it’s all here.”

In addition to Portland, Season 18 of “Top Chef” is also scheduled to visit the Hood River Fruit Loop, the Columbia River Gorge, the area known as the Mt. Hood Territory, Tillamook Bay, the Tualatin Valley and Willamette Valley wine country.

Doneen Arquines, “Top Chef” showrunner and an executive producer, says that plans for the show to do a season based in Portland have been percolating for a few years. The “Top Chef” formula, in which professional cooks and chefs from around the country compete in a series of challenges, has seemed a natural fit for Portland’s food-centric, restaurant-friendly culture.

“I think Portlanders wanted us to come here for a while, and we’ve been wanting to come here for a while, but the timing never worked out,” Arquines says. “It was something we had been striving for.”

When the timing did work out, it also coincided with a pandemic that has hit restaurants hard, limiting indoor dining and forcing many restaurants to shift to takeout business as a means to survive.

“We had been talking with Portland before coronavirus was a thing,” Arquines says. “None of us thought, when we first started, that it would be quite as a big a deal as it is, or that it would still be happening in September.”

With the pandemic showing no signs of abating, “Top Chef” has found ways to adapt, following CDC guidelines, state and city safety regulations, and safety policies from NBCUniversal, the parent company of the Bravo channel.

“We’ve created this production bubble,” Arquines says, “and it seems to be working so far.”

The Portland season will bring back some familiar faces, such as host Padma Lakshmi, and Gail Simmons, who will join Colicchio at the judges’ table. With pandemic guidelines making it difficult to bring large groups of diners together, this year features a first, a rotating judging and dining panel. Among the panelists are such “Top Chef” veterans as Richard Blais, Carrie Baird, Nina Compton, Tiffany Derry, Melissa King, Kristen Kish, Edward Lee, Kwame Onwuachi, Amar Santana, Dale Talde, Brooke Williamson, and Portland chef Gregory Gourdet.

Gourdet, who finished second in the Boston-based “Top Chef” Season 12, returned to compete in the “All Stars” Season 17, which premiered in March. Coming in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, the “All Stars” season was both a much-needed escape from increasingly alarming news, and, with its spirit of professional, friendly competition and refreshing lack of theatrics, a demonstration of what sets “Top Chef” apart from many other TV reality shows.

Even as this new “Top Chef” season is filming in the city where he lives, Gourdet hasn’t been able to relax at his home. Instead, he, along with other cast and crew, are staying in their “bubble,” at a Portland hotel.

“It’s a big bubble, and we have pods in the bubble,” Gourdet says. “We get tested every two days.”

Gourdet says that after competing twice on “Top Chef,” being in a judging role offers a different sort of experience.

“I love competing, I love the adrenaline, I love the stress, I love pushing yourself to the limit,” says Gourdet. “I definitely enjoy being a judge, but I’m a little bit jealous of the cheftestants, because they get to compete.”

Colicchio, a chef and the owner of Crafted Hospitality, which operates several restaurants, says the new “Top Chef” season will look a little different. “We can’t do the big events anymore, and those were always a lot of fun,” he says. “But we’re doing stuff outdoors, at local vineyards, local farms, and things like that.”

In terms of filming in pandemic conditions, Colicchio says, “We’re pretty locked down. Even though we’re in a bubble, on the set we’re still in masks, and social distancing. The only time we’re not in masks is when the chefs are cooking. So far, it’s been pretty seamless.”

Colicchio, who hadn’t been to Portland before arriving for this “Top Chef” season, says he’s happy to be here. “My wife’s home with the kids, dealing with schooling, so I brought my puppy with me,” Colicchio says. “I go out to walk her, and everybody has a mask on. I love it.”

Arquines says production began in early September and is expected to continue through mid-to-late October. About 40 local crew people are working with the production, she says, “And we’re also working with local restaurants, businesses, farmers, and all of that.”

Filming while observing COVID-19 safety measures has been, Arquines says, “A little bit trickier” than ordinary production. “We’re needing to be at locations longer, because we need to sanitize, and make sure that everything is safe and clean,” she says. “We’re taking things a little bit slower than we have in the past. We can be in locations when they’re closed, so people that aren’t tested aren’t around. The kitchen is going to be larger and wider to allow for more social distancing for our crews, and the chefs. Our judges’ table is much larger, to keep more distance from everybody.”

And don’t look for the chefs to be racing around a crowded Whole Foods store, loading up their carts with ingredients. “We’re still working with Whole Foods,” Arquines says, “but we’re doing curbside pickup.”

At a time when restaurants are suffering, getting exposure on “Top Chef” may be a a boost for the local food economy. “Typically, whenever we shoot in a city or a state, they usually get fans that show up and want to see restaurants that were featured,” Colicchio says. “I think that’s really going to help when things open up again. I think Portland and Oregon will see a nice bump.”

The official announcement of the Portland season, made in partnership with Travel Portland and Travel Oregon, includes a quote from Todd Davidson, CEO at Travel Oregon. “Oregon’s unique food and drink industry is a significant driver of visitation; in fact, studies show that 61% of travelers to the state say culinary-related excursions were the impetus for their trip,” Davidson says in the press release. “‘Top Chef’ will place an important spotlight on Oregon’s products, places and people,” Davidson adds, “ultimately inspiring visitation and generating economic impact at local and state levels.”

Arquines agrees. In contrast to some TV talent competitions, many “Top Chef” contestants “see much more real world impact from being on the show,” Arquines says. “A lot of these chefs become hometown heroes and the places where they work are sought out by tourists. Gregory Gourdet is a very good example of that. So many people who come to Portland want to eat at his restaurant, because he was on the show.”

Gourdet, former executive chef at Departure, has been working on a plan to open his own restaurant, Kann, with food inspired by the cuisine of Haiti, his family’s homeland. He originally hoped to open the restaurant this year, but is now looking at 2021.

While he’s happy to see “Top Chef” filming in Portland, Gourdet agrees that the timing of it has presented challenges. “They’ve slowly been working on bringing the show here for a few years, and it finally comes to town, and it’s the worst year in the history of the modern world,” as Gourdet says.

Both Colicchio and Gourdet are among the food industry professionals who have been involved in the Independent Restaurant Coalition, an advocacy group formed to help restaurants affected by COVID-19. The group has been asking Congress to support a bill that would establish a $120 billion fund to help independent restaurants cover costs and pay employees. The RESTAURANTS Act, as it’s known, was originally introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) in June, and has won the support of 200 bipartisan co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The act, Colicchio says, “Will give a lifeline to every restaurant in the country if it passes.” Because of the pandemic, he says, “Most restaurants are doing about 20 to 30 percent of the typical business they do.” Restaurants that have been able to set up tables outdoors will face more obstacles once the weather changes, and it starts to get cooler, Colicchio says.

“As much as I want to see restaurants open up,” Colicchio says, “safety is the number one concern.”

Aa time when the Rose City’s image on the national scene has suffered, thanks to President Donald Trump attacking Portland as a hive of violent protests, and wildfires that devastated parts of the state, Gourdet hopes “Top Chef” can at least offer a more positive portrait of Oregon.

“Portland has been in the news so much this year, I’m really excited to show America part of our city and part of our state,” Gourdet says. “Local chefs will be highlighted, and ingredients will be highlighted. I’m really honored to be part of it. We are still one of the best food towns in the country, we still have gorgeous landscapes, and that’s really the Oregon I know.”

The new “Top Chef” season won’t premiere until sometime in 2021. Gourdet says he hopes the Portland season can play a role in helping the city, and its food scene, rebound.

“I hope we can be in the process of rebuilding by the time the show airs,” says Gourdet. “I think Portland’s in a very heavy place, and it’s a long winter coming. But I think we all need to stay as focused as possible on how we get back on our feet.”