Most Portland restaurants, like others across the United States, had a rough 2020 as sit-down dinning was restricted and restaurants in the PDX area faced huge losses.
Thankfully, with a new year also comes fresh opportunities and as more people are getting vaccinated for Covid-19, restaurants are also reopening across Portland, and Oregon as a whole, just in time for Spring 2021 and the busy summer months.
One thing that’s certainly going to help bring people back to eat at Portland restaurants is Top Chef, the beloved Bravo TV show is back for the shows 18th season that was filmed right in Portland Oregon.
Hope For Local Restaurants
With the arrival of Spring 2021, and more people getting vaccinated across Oregon, there’s hope that this year is going to be a revival for local restaurants as they’ve suffered during the Pandemic.
Since Top Chef season 18 was filmed last year, during the middle of the Pandemic, different procedures were used to protect the judges and chefs but the end result is magic, as the season spotlights Portland and the diverse food culture that the PDX area offers.
About Top Chef Season 18
The 15 chefs who will compete include two from the Portland area, Sara Hauman, who is head chef for Soter Vineyards, in Carlton, and Gabriel Pascuzzi, chef and owner of the Portland restaurants Mama Bird and Stacked Sandwich Shop.
The other chefs competing are Brittanny Anderson, of Richmond, Virginia; Avishar Barua, of Columbus, Ohio; Dawn Burrell, of Houston, Texas; Gabe Erales, of Austin, Texas; Nelson German, of Oakland, California; Byron Gomez, of Aspen, Colorado; Sasha Grumman, of Houston, Texas; Roscoe Hall, of Birmingham, Alabama; Kiki Louya, of Detroit, Michigan; Maria Mazon, of Tucson, Arizona; Shota Nakajima, of Seattle, Washington; Jamie Tran, of Las Vegas, Nevada; and Chris Viaud, of Milford, New Hampshire.
Bravo executive Reichman said he hopes the new season will help remind viewers of Portland’s status as a world-class destination for food and hospitality, in addition to capturing a time and place in the world and showing it through “a culinary lens.”
Don’t miss Top Chef Season 18, it’s going to air on April 1st, 2021 on Bravo. You can find Bravo on most digital TV packages or online.