Warning, this story contains spoilers for the season finale of Top Chef: Carolinas.
Rhoda Magbitang was crowned the winner of “Top Chef: Carolinas“, but the journey wasn’t smooth for the chef. She won the competition after winning sister show “Last Chance Kitchen”, and acing the final stretch of the season.
She beat out Sherry Cardoso and Laurence Louie to win the 23rd season of the cooking competition thanks to her four-course progressive meal. With help from her sous chef, Sieger Bayer, Rhoda prepared courses, consisting of sweet potato and uni; lugaw; and a grilled eggplant omelette with lap cheong XO and pork belly.
The Hawaiian native spoke to GQ about her time on the Bravo show and what she learned from the experience. She referred to the cooking competition as a “great equalizer,” because it forces chefs of all experiences to compete in challenges that won’t always fit their knowledge and skillset.
How Rhoda Magbitang Found Out She Was Cast On Season 23
Rhoda was working in Costa Rica when she first received a call asking her if she wanted to be on the show. She said no, but later found herself living on the Big Island, Hawaii, where the “Top Chef” team called her once more.
“She didn’t know what had been going on in my life and was just calling to make sure I was still out. And she basically said, “Hey, it could be really cool if you do it. So if you’re down, you can do it.” There was a lot of hesitation on my part, having just moved here when she called me. But then it happened. I got the Top Chef bug,” she explained.
Despite not auditioning for the Bravo series, she has been a fan since the first series. She told Food & Wine that whenever she wanted “a good cry,” she’d rewatch the finales of her favorite seasons and think, “Oh, that could be me one day.”
Rhoda Magbitang Breaks Down Her Time On Top Chef
Rhoda won the first two back-to-back challenges, the first to ever do so, but then hit a slump, which led to her elimination.
“During the first two challenges everyone was new. So I didn’t have any preconceived notions of who anyone was or who they were or what they’d accomplished as chefs. But as the competition went on and we got to know each other better, I couldn’t tamp down the noise,” she told the magazine before admitting that she started to become “intimidated,” by the competition and got inside her own head.
She added: “The noise in your head is very hard to live with. So then a challenge doesn’t go your way and initially you think Oh, maybe that one just wasn’t for me. But the thoughts start to compound and it gets really hard.”
When she ended up competing on “Last Chance Kitchen” after elimination, she changed her tactics. “It’s just about cooking good food. You just have to mold your skills to whatever challenge is in front of you.” Her time on the side show benefited her overall, as it gave her one-on-one time with Tom Colicchio and helped boost her confidence.
“When I started feeling more comfortable and stopped being so marred with self-doubt, that’s when I was cooking my best,” she told Food & Wine.
How Rhoda Magbitang Prepared For Top Chef
So how do you prepare for a show like “Top Chef” where anything can go your way?
Well, if you’re like Rhoda, you don’t! Rhoda admits she did very little to prepare for her time in the Bravo cooking competition. She admitted the only person she went to for advice was a pastry chef. “His name is Harry and I have so much respect for him. He gave me so many recipes and I memorized every single one. And not even just recipes—moreso ratios for certain things. A cake, a Madeline, a meringue, cookie dough, ice cream,” she explained to GQ.
Rhoda also admitted in hindsight that she should have looked more into the culture and cuisine of the Carolinas before heading there to compete. “I just think I could have had a little bit more knowledge on the different kinds of barbecue in the region—although, hey, I didn’t end up doing that challenge! Maybe I should have researched the 17 different varieties of sweet potatoes.”
The title of Top Chef opens up infinite possibilities for a chef, but Rhoda is taking it one day at a time. All she hopes is that she inspires little girls who watch her on the show and think, “That could be me one day.”
