They cooked through the sweltering Texas heat and endured snow and ice in Whistler. Now, for the season nine finale of Top Chef: Texas, the “chef-testants” travel to the world-recognized culinary destination of Vancouver to battle it out for the coveted title of Top Chef and $125,000 in prize money. For those of you that still dispute Vancouver’s food scene just compare it to other North American cities. The variety and quality is matched by only a few cities in N. America.
A press release from Tourism Vancouver announced that Vancouver is the featured destination for the final two episodes of Bravo’s culinary competition series Top Chef: Texas. The show airs on Bravo USA, February 22 and 29 (finale) at 10pm ET/PT, and Food Network Canada, March 5 at 10pm ET/7pm PT, and March 12 (finale) at 9pm ET/6pm PT.
Both episodes were filmed in January around the city under brilliant sunny skies and at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The episodes highlight local ingredients, some of Vancouver’s notable resident chefs, “beauty shots” of the destination, and plenty of kitchen drama as the final few chefs compete for the top honour.
“Attracting major broadcast opportunities is a growing focus for Tourism Vancouver’s marketing strategy because of the huge audiences we can reach,” said Walt Judas, Tourism Vancouver’s vice president of Marketing Communications and Member Services. “A show like Top Chef is an incredible endorsement of Vancouver’s culinary offerings. It not only gets people around the world talking about the destination, but also helps them learn about the kinds of experiences they can have here. This in turn has the potential of moving travellers along the path to actually booking a trip to Vancouver.”
“It is wonderful to see British Columbia’s culinary tourism experiences showcased to millions of viewers in the U.S., across Canada and overseas through this popular show,” said Pat Bell, British Columbia’s Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation. “Partnerships like this provide us with an invaluable opportunity to promote the best our province has to offer in a fun and creative manner. We hope the finale shows will inspire viewers to book touring holidays in B.C. and enjoy our local food and wine.”
I like many others will be tuning in to watch the final two episodes. Padma Lakshmi is a bonus.
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