The popular cooking competition series “Top Chef” returns March 9, and this season features two familiar faces from Detroit.
Justin Tootla and Jennifer Lee Jackson, known for their work at Voyager in Ferndale and Bunny Bunny in Detroit, are set to compete on Season 23.
Recommended Videos
Read more --> This Detroit duo is set to compete on new season of ‘Top Chef’
According to Bravo, this is the first time in the show’s history that the cast includes life partners who co-own and operate a restaurant, as well as a pair of identical twin brothers.
Over the years, several Michigan chefs have stepped into the “Top Chef” kitchen. Ahead of the new season, here’s a look back at the contestants from Michigan who have competed — including those who ultimately claimed victory.
Eve Aronoff Fernandez
- Season 6 -- Top Chef: Las Vegas
- Premiere date -- August 19, 2009
Eve Aronoff Fernandez competed on Season 6 of “Top Chef,” and was eliminated early on in the season.
Aronoff Fernandez owned the Ann Arbor restaurant eve, which opened in 2003 and closed in 2011.
In 2010, she opened Frita Batidos, a Cuban-inspired restaurant in Ann Arbor, later expanding to Detroit in 2019. In late 2025, Frita Batidos opened an additional location in New York.
John Sommerville
- Season 7 -- Top Chef: D.C.
- Premiere date -- June 16, 2010
Sommerville competed on Season 7 of “Top Chef,” but was sent home during the first elimination challenge.
When he was on the show, he was the chef de cuisine at The Lark in West Bloomfield, where he had started as a sous chef in 1994.
After The Lark closed in 2015, he joined Steven Lelli’s Inn on the Green in Farmington Hills, where he is the executive chef.
Sommerville has received two James Beard nominations in the Best Chef: Great Lakes category in 2008 and 2009.
Kristen Kish
- Season 10 -- Top Chef: Seattle
- Premiere date -- Nov. 7, 2012
Kristen Kish was born in South Korea and raised in Kentwood, which is near Grand Rapids, after being adopted. She competed on Season 10 of “Top Chef” and won her season of the show.
After growing up in Michigan, Kish moved to Boston, where she worked in a variety of kitchens, according to Bravo. Following her Top Chef win, she published a cookbook and was featured on several other food shows. She opened her restaurant, Arlo Grey, in Austin, Texas, in 2018.
In 2023, she became the host of “Top Chef,” taking over for longtime host Padma Lakshmi, and is currently featured on Season 4 of “The Traitors.”
Aaron Cuschieri
- Season 11 -- Top Chef: New Orleans
- Premiere date -- Oct. 2, 2013
Aaron Cuschieri is a Metro Detroit native who began his career at Assaggi Bistro in Ferndale, where he quickly rose from sous chef to executive chef, according to Bravo.
Cuschieri then staged and was hired at the acclaimed Alinea in Chicago, and was tapped by Chef Takashi Yagihashi as chef de cuisine at Takashi Restaurant, a move that led to his role as executive chef at Slurping Turtle.
In 2015, he took the helm at Kinmont, embracing a sustainable “Field & Stream” approach. He later became executive chef of The Dearborn, where he highlights a modern American style that combines refined culinary techniques with Midwestern flavors.
Mei Lin
- Season 12 -- Top Chef: Boston
- Premiere date -- Oct. 15, 2014
There were two Michigan chefs featured on Season 12 of “Top Chef,” including Mei Lin, who was crowned the winner.
Lin’s family immigrated to the US from China when she was a baby. She grew up in Dearborn, where she worked in her family’s Chinese restaurant, according to her website.
The chef has worked at many respected fine dining restaurants, but credits most of her formal training to her time at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Las Vegas and Michael Voltaggio’s Ink in Los Angeles.
After winning “Top Chef,” she opened her own restaurant, Nightshade, in Los Angeles in 2019. The restaurant earned national acclaim, including recognition on best new restaurant lists from Eater and Food & Wine, before closing.
In 2021, Lin opened Daybird, a fast-casual Sichuan hot chicken restaurant in Los Angeles.
She also won Season 4 of Food Network’s Tournament of Champions in 2023 and is set to be a judge on Season 6 of the show, which premieres on March 1.
James Rigato
- Season 12 -- Top Chef: Boston
- Premiere date -- Oct. 15, 2014
James Rigato, the chef and owner of Hazel Park’s Mabel Gray, also competed on Season 12 of “Top Chef,” but was sent home during the fourth episode.
The Metro Detroit native has been involved in the restaurant world since he was 14, and his Italian grandparents were his early influences, according to Bravo.
He attended Schoolcraft College’s culinary program when he was 17 years old, and then worked at several fine-dining spots across Metro Detroit, including Rugby Grille, The Townsend Hotel, Bacco Ristorante and the Root Restaurant and Bar.
In 2015, he opened Mabel Gray. Rigato has been nominated for the Best Chef: Great Lakes James Beard award several times.
Recently, Rigato became a mentor and investor to the founder of a popular pizza pop-up, supporting him as he opens a permanent location in Hazel Park.
Kiki Louya
- Season 18 -- Top Chef: Portland
- Premiere date -- April 1, 2021
Kiki Louya is the cofounder of the Detroit restaurant Folk, as well as the former market and café, the Farmer’s Hand. She appeared on Season 18 of the show, but was eliminated early on after serving the judges undercooked chicken.
In addition to opening award-winning restaurants, Louya cofounded Nest Egg Detroit, described on her website as “the country’s first all-women-owned hospitality group.” She founded the group alongside Folk’s Rohani Foulkes, Marrow founder Ping Ho, and chef Sarah Welch. (See below) Under the Nest Egg umbrella, Mink opened in 2019.
Louya stepped away from the hospitality group in 2020 and has since focused on advocacy and sustainability.
Sarah Welch
- Season 19 -- Top Chef: Houston
- Premiere date -- March 3, 2022
Sarah Welch, known for her former role as executive chef at Detroit’s popular butcher shop and restaurant, Marrow, competed on Season 19 of “Top Chef.”
Although she was also eliminated early, Welch earned a spot back through the show’s side competition, “Last Chance Kitchen,” and ultimately made it to the final three.
Welch helped launch Marrow in 2018. In April 2025, the James Beard Award-nominated chef announced that she was stepping away from Marrow to open a restaurant in Traverse City with her husband. That restaurant, Umbo, hasn’t opened yet, but Welch said it will be a “lovely hybrid” of Marrow and Mink. She is a partner in Mink (see Louya’s section above) and remains a partner in Marrow.
Previous coverage: ‘Top Chef’ finalist and Detroiter Sarah Welch discusses her incredible run
Detroit duo to be featured on Season 23
Next month, you’ll be able to catch Detroit chefs Justin Tootla and Jennifer Lee Jackson on the new season of “Top Chef.”
Season 23 premieres on March 9 on Bravo, with episodes available to stream the next day on Peacock.
Read more --> This Detroit duo is set to compete on new season of ‘Top Chef’