The Dark Side of 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' Season 1: Morgan Wilson, Seth Caro, and Johnny Iuzzini (2024)

FAQs

What happened to Morgan from Top Chef Just Desserts? ›

A former "Top Chef: Just Desserts" season one contestant, Morgan Wilson, was indicted on Oct. 6 on three second-degree felony counts of possession of child p*rnography in Plano, Tex., according to The Plano Star-Courier.

Ambulances cart him away! Head judge Johnny Iuzzini comes back to stew room to tell them, "Seth is no longer going to be with us. He's had an anxiety attack and he's not going to be able to continue in the competition." The other contestants are worried about him, but relieved that he is gone.

Sexual harassment allegations

As a result of the accusations against Iuzzini, the third season of The Great American Baking Show was pulled after one episode. On December 13, 2017, Iuzzini was fired from ABC and The Great American Baking Show following the sexual misconduct allegations.

In pretty much a fluff piece about the Top Chef brand and its infusion of "fresh ingredients" — it includes news that Bravo bravely passed on making Top Chef-branded Christmas ornaments and clogs — Variety writes that Top Chef Just Desserts "was canceled after the detail-oriented nature of the subject proved too ...

Padma Lakshmi replaced Top Chef's original host after one season. When Top Chef debuted in 2006, the host was Katie Lee Joel — who was then married to rocker Billy Joel (they split in 2009) — with Padma Lakshmi brought in to replace her in the second season.

Hugh Acheson (born November 5, 1971) is a Canadian-born chef and restaurateur. He owns four restaurants in Georgia, and serves as a judge on the reality cooking competition show Top Chef, and as an Iron Chef on Iron Chef Canada.

Season 1. This was the first season of the spin-off show for Top Chef. The series premiered on September 15 and concluded on November 17, 2010. The winner of season one was Yigit Pura.

Meanwhile, looks like there's a little Top Chef Texas reunion about to happen because Grayson Schmitz is moving to Chicago from New York. The New Holstein, Wis., native was just in town to find a new home so she and sister, Olivia, can work on opening up an event space, possibly in Wicker Park.

On June 8, 2018, Bourdain died while on location in France, filming for Parts Unknown, of an apparent suicide by hanging.

Iuzzini returned as judge and was joined by original GBBO judge Paul Hollywood. The season was pulled off schedule following sexual harassment allegations against judge Iuzzini, who was officially fired from the show and ABC. Curry and Iuzzini did not return for the fourth season.

Who is the disgraced Louisiana chef? ›

Contestants are paid very little — nothing beyond a $50 per diem in early seasons.

Shortly after the episode aired — and Austin chef Gabe Erales was named the winner — it was revealed that Erales was fired from at modern Mexican restaurant Comedor because of sexual harassment during his time at the job.

Only one contestant has ever been disqualified.

Cliff Crooks was asked to leave the competition after pinning down fellow contestant Marcel Vigneron and attempting to shave his head.

Probably the best part of being a chef on the show is that you don't have to worry about the mess you're making, as it is the production manager's job to coordinate the kitchen's clean-up and set-up for the next challenge.

They have all made a fortune through their respective professions, and Bravo's salary comes as an added bonus. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Lakshmi's salary per episode is $50,000. Colicchio and Simmons' remunerations cannot be found online, however, are expected to be around the same as the host's pay.

Yes indeed, Claire Saffitz from the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen has natural white streaks in her hair.

Martinez, El-Waylly, Krishna, and Melian said in statements that Condé Nast's lack of commitment to diversity and inclusion led to their departure. Baz, Music, and Stanek said they will leave the channel out of solidarity with their peers.

Joseph Bastianich (born September 17, 1968) is an American restaurateur, winemaker, author, television personality, and musician. He, along with his mother and business partner Lidia Bastianich, co-owns thirty restaurants in four countries, including Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles, which the owners expanded in 2010.

Who is the Mexican guy on Top Chef? ›

Felix Gabriel "Gabe" Erales is a Mexican-American chef based in Austin, Texas.

Guy Fieri is nearly as famous for his spiky blond hair and bowling shirts as he is for championing roadside eateries. So it may come as a surprise that the Food Network star had little to do with creating his signature look.

In addition, Jennifer received the $10,000 prize surrendered by the opposing team at Quickfire, which she split among her teammates (Kevin later refused her share.)

Harold Dieterle (Season 1: San Francisco)

After winning, Dieterle ran three restaurants in New York's West Village: Perilla, Kin Shop and the Marrow. Despite solid reviews for each of the trio, he eventually closed them all, shuttering Perilla in 2015.

Is Top Chef On Hulu Or Peaco*ck? Seasons 1-19 of Top Chef are currently streaming on Peaco*ck. Unfortunately, the reality series isn't currently available on Hulu.

Kevin Gillespie married Valerie Combs on September 4, 2011. In May 2018, Gillespie was diagnosed with a rare form of renal cancer.

Zoi currently lives in Seattle and spends her free time traveling, eating & drinking the good stuff, gardening,and hanging with her dogs.

"Tom Colicchio". Craft Restaurants.

What Happened to Carl Ruiz From Food Network? Three months after opening his restaurant, Carl died in his sleep at the age of 44 in September 2019 in Maryland.

Mimi Sheraton, pioneering NYC restaurant critic, dies after lifetime of good eating : NPR.

Who was the chef who killed his wife? ›

David Viens, 49, was a chef at the Thyme Contemporary Café in Lomita, Calif., when on Oct. 18, 2009 he came home and argued with his 39-year-old wife, Dawn Viens.

Although the show is massively popular in the United States, the program is based in Britain—it is called The Great British Baking Show, after all—and aims to find the best British baker, so you have to be a resident of the UK to compete.

Nailed It! was inspired by the craze of people trying and failing to make elaborate cakes they found on the Internet. Three amateur bakers with demonstrated poor baking skills attempt to re-create edible masterpieces for a $10,000 prize and the Nailed It! trophy.

Mary announced she was leaving Bake Off alongside original hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins when it was confirmed Channel 4 had outbid the BBC on the rights to continue airing the show in 2017. She was replaced by Prue Leith, with Noel and Sandi Toksvig replacing Mel and Sue as presenters.

The celebrity chef Mario Batali and two women who filed lawsuits accusing him of groping them at a bar and a restaurant in Boston have agreed to settle the suits on undisclosed terms.

Celebrity chef Mario Batali has agreed to settle lawsuits by two women alleging he sexually assaulted them in separate encounters in Boston, one of whose accusations were the focus of a #MeToo-era criminal prosecution that ended in his acquittal.

Personality. Krissi is unarguably the most hated contestant in the history of the show despite her resilience and strong cooking abilities.

Junior Chef (Commis Chef)

This person has recently completed some schooling or training and is beginning to work in the culinary field. The junior chef's job is to assist the more experienced chefs and to absorb their knowledge and techniques.

How long does Top Chef actually take? ›

Let's break it down, shall we? The pseudoreality show's contestants are in town for about six weeks of filming. Head judge Tom Colicchio gave an interview recently where he spills some interesting details about the process, like the fact that he only works every other day.

Simmons said people always ask how she and her fellow judges manage to eat multiple meals from 12-plus chefs in one day. The answer is they don't finish the dishes, but try to have “two or three bites” of each one in order to properly rate its taste.

In 2013, "MasterChef" judges and producers were accused of sexual, mental, and physical harassment by former contestants. Many accusations came from a blog post by former contestant Marie Porter, where she describes how friends she met on the show were allegedly sexually and physically harassed by judges and producers.

In pretty much a fluff piece about the Top Chef brand and its infusion of "fresh ingredients" — it includes news that Bravo bravely passed on making Top Chef-branded Christmas ornaments and clogs — Variety writes that Top Chef Just Desserts "was canceled after the detail-oriented nature of the subject proved too ...

Sarah Grueneberg is an American chef who is head chef and owner of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago.

He currently resides in Los Angeles and runs his very successful catering company Modern Global Tasting inc. as well as his two restaurants WOLF which serves Modern California Cuisine with style and flair and Beefsteak which serves Conscious Plant-Based Cuisine with flavor and speed.

Hung Huynh (Season 3)

After parting ways in 2015, he took a job the culinary consultant for Hilton at Resorts World Bimini in the Bahamas in 2016 and, in 2018, served as chef de cuisine at Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs. In late 2019, he opened the Asian-fusion restaurant and bar Warrior on the Sunset Strip.

Emeril's career is still going strong in the food industry. He owns five eateries as part of his Emeril's Restaurants Group — two are located in New Orleans, two in Las Vegas and one in Florida.

Ariel Contreras is currently Vice President at Del Frisco's Double Eagle, Del Frisco's Grille, and Dos Caminos. Not one to slow down, she published the children's book, Freckle-Faced Foodie: Journey of a Young Chef.

What is Leah from Top Chef doing now? ›

Leah is a chef and owner of the acclaimed New York City restaurants Pig & Khao and Piggyback NYC. She's also the author of the Southeast Asian cookbook "Lemongrass & Lime."

He wed entrepreneur Lauren Rae Levy on November 9, 2019, in Santa Susana, California. Their son Kingston Levy Vigneron was born in December 2020.

A former contestant on Bravo's Top Chef, he is currently the executive chef at the white-hot Surf Lodge in Montauk, Long Island.

Mia Withdraws to Save Elia (Season 2)

The judges were ready to eliminate Elia Aboumrad, a member of the losing Black Team. But Mia Gaines-Alt, one of her teammates, decided to quit at Judges' Table before Elia could be eliminated.

Damarr Brown is the Chef de Cuisine at Virtue restaurant located on the southside of Chicago.

Contestants are paid very little — nothing beyond a $50 per diem in early seasons.

Melissa King (Seasons 12 & 17)

Taking home the $250,000 grand prize against Bryan Voltaggio and Stephanie Cmar, Melissa set a record with three Quickfire and six elimination challenge wins. Since her second Bravo appearance, Melissa has been successful in not just cooking, but modeling and activism.