The 10 remaining chefs on “Top Chef” season 23 were taking on a staple in North Carolina: barbecue! The chefs will be placed into teams on “Top Chef” 2026 and then tasked with smoking a whole hog, with each member needing to take on a specific cut. It was an all-night cook, so can these chefs on “Top Chef Carolinas” make it work? Watch it all go down with us during our “Top Chef” 2026 live recap and see who got eliminated on “Top Chef” tonight with us.
Going Whole Hog on ‘Top Chef’
For tonight’s episode, the two teams would be cooking not only for the judges, but for a group of pitmasters. That meant the pressure was on. Before heading to the pond to do the smoking, the chefs ventured to Charlotte and Lexington to experience Carolina BBQ at its source.
From there, it was off to the pond to spend the night at a smoker on this Elimination Challenge. We have $250,000 on the line for the winner of “Top Chef” season 23. Who stays and who goes home on “Top Chef” tonight? Follow along with our Live Recap below!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD: THIS LIVE RECAP WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE, SO DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ SPOILERS.
April 13 Live Recap – Week 6
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Week 6 Begins
The chefs are reacting to Rhoda being eliminated last week. Oscar said he needs to move on and be flawless in his execution moving forward. The chefs joke about Jennifer and how she is injured, but still doing well. When the doctors fix her up, then they are screwed.
Elimination Challenge
The chefs meet Kristen Kish in the kitchen. She says she hopes they got some rest because they’ll need it for this challenge. There is no Quickfire Challenge this week, as the chefs will be taking on a Carolina classic: barbecue!
For this challenge, they will be competing in two teams of five for a head-to-head barbecue tournament. Each team will be given a whole hog to smoke. Since Anthony won last week, he will be one of the captains. Then he gets to pick the other captain, and it’ll be a schoolyard pick to select their teams. He picks Justin as the other captain. The teams are:
- Red Team – Anthony, Laurence, Brandon, Sherry, and Duyen
- Gray Team – Justin, Jennifer, Sieger, Jonathan, and Oscar
As a team, they will compete in five head-to-head rounds. Each chef will be responsible for one dish featuring a part of the hog. In North Carolina, they chop the meat, so it will be shredded together. There will be $25,000 up for grabs, with each winning dish getting $5,000. That means the losing team could win money in this challenge. In addition, the winning team will get 2% of the prize money, so an extra $500 each.
They said they need to allow 10 to 12 hours to smoke the hog. This will be an overnight challenge, so they will be staying outside of the city. They then get some tips on Eastern vs. Western-style barbecue.
The chefs then head out to a couple of barbecue restaurants to get some tips from some locals. Cooking that whole hog is going to be a test for these chefs. Brandon does barbecue a lot, so he might be a pain in this challenge.
Strategizing Time
The teams are discussing what parts of the hog they will cook. Brandon doesn’t want the loin, as it cooks dry. Laurence agrees to take it since Brandon will be doing most of the cooking. Sieger agrees to take it on the other team, since he’ll be doing most of the smoking, and he can cook it how he wants it.
The chefs then go to Lexington BBQ for some more tips and strategy. The teams are definitely eating a ton of food, so the meat sweats for them. Laurence’s team actually naps on the way to Whole Foods!
The teams do their shopping and get everything in place for this challenge and cooking to get started.
Getting the Hog Started
The teams arrive at Splendor Pond, where they will be cooking these hogs. Brandon and Sieger take the lead, getting these hogs started.
The pigs are smoking, so the chefs are prepping their dishes. Getting things ready for the next day.
The chefs continue to cook as Tom Colicchio arrives to see how things are going.
Tom throws them a twist. He is going to have a S’mores cook-off. The chefs can compete in making the best S’mores, with the winner getting an extra 2% of the prize money, so an extra $500.
Not all the chefs competed, but Tom tasted all of the s’mores of the chefs who did. The winner of this challenge is Oscar, who added some spice to his s’more. Tom liked it, so $500 for Oscar.
The chefs all thought they would stay awake all night for the challenge, but chefs are getting tired and heading in to take some quick naps at like 2 or 3 in the morning.
The Morning Arrives
The morning arrives, and the chefs take the hog off the smoker. Both teams are feeling confident with what they have.
The teams are cutting up the hog, and everyone is getting their meat. The judges and diners are arriving, so tasting is coming soon.
Tasting & Results on ‘Top Chef’ Season 23
The time has come to get things started on the judging. Each round, the diners (pitmasters) will get a collective vote, then the other judges will each get their own vote. Here we go:
- Round 1 (Shoulder) – Justin vs. Sherry: The diners taste all of the dishes and vote. The diners picked Sherry. The judges also did, as she won this round and $5,000 in a 4-1 vote.
- Round 2 (Loin) – Sieger vs. Laurence: In a 5-0 vote, Laurence wins this round. That’s $5,000 for him, and another win for the Red Team.
- Round 3 (Belly) – Jonathan vs. Brandon: With the Red Team one win away from victory, the pressure is on Jonathan. In a 5-0 vote, Brandon wins it for the Red Team. He won $5,000 himself, but the Red Team has already won the Elimination Challenge.
- Round 4 (Ham) – Jennifer vs. Anthony: In a 4-1 vote, the Gray Team finally wins a round, even though it’s too late. However, Jennifer won $5,000 for herself.
- Round 5 (Chopped) – Oscar vs. Duyen: Another 4-1 vote, with Oscar winning this round. He won $5,000 for himself, and another too-late win for the Gray Team.
Results – In the end, the Red Team won this challenge 3-2, and they are safe from elimination tonight on “Top Chef” 2026.
Judges’ Table
After discussing the dishes with the pitmasters, the judges bring the chefs back for the Judges’ Table. Tom said they did really well, really tasty dishes. They paid homage to the area also. For the results:
- Favorite Dish – The judges discussed, and the favorite dish of the night goes to Laurence, who won immunity for next week’s challenge.
- Least Favorite Dish – The Gray Team was the losing team tonight, and one of the chefs will be eliminated. Justin, Sieger, and Jonathan didn’t win their individual rounds, so one of them will be eliminated.
Results – After the judges discussed the dishes, the chefs returned. The chef eliminated tonight on “Top Chef” season 23 is Sieger. He now heads to “Last Chance Kitchen” to remain in the competition.
BravoWhat do you think of tonight’s results?
