The cat’s out of the bag. I was on an Season 23 Episode 11 of Top Chef that aired May 18.
The episode features the remaining six chefs starting at Topsoil in Travelers Rest for their Elimination Challenge. It drew on the city’s growing reputation for biking along the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail in tandem with the fact that Michelin North America is headquartered right here in our fair county.
The challenge was set up Michelin Guide-style with mystery judges dining in as regular guests. I was a mystery judge. The challenge item was rabbit and the chefs prepared their dishes in an outdoor kitchen set up at Topsoil.
Here’s the thing: I don’t watch “Top Chef.” In fact, the only culinary shows I ever watched were “No Reservations,” “Parts Unknown,” “Good Eats with Alton Brown” and Claire Saffitz’ “Gourmet Makes” on YouTube.
I couldn’t really follow the competition but I’m good at taking direction given a brief stint in a film career. I understand restaurants due to a decade-long tenure serving.
Given the abundance of brilliant food writers in this city – some of whom are chefs – I was shocked to get a call from an unknown number Sept. 19, the first day of euphoria 2025. Euphoria, Greenville’s showcase food and wine festival, is my own personal Super Bowl involving round-the-clock weekend “work days.”
I was coming out of a lunch at The Vista when I got the call inviting me to the taping of Episode 11 of Top Chef at Unity Park on Sunday but also to be a mystery judge at Topsoil the following day.
I headed to Travelers Rest on Monday. There’s a phrase in the entertainment business that goes “hurry up and wait,” meaning that if you’re on early then you’re merely on time but you’ll still spend a good chunk of that time waiting before you’re on camera which is cool because it allows you to watch the process.
The morning was spent observing the chefs in the kitchen set up outside Topsoil to guess at what they may be creating on monitors in a sort of video village. I was placed back with the other diners shortly before filming began and mic’d up as we were all ushered into Topsoil. My husband, Daniel, came with me so we just appeared to be two diners.
We were served a glass of wine before all six rabbit dishes were places in front us each with their own flairs: a rabbit loin with pea stew, roasted rabbit legs with carrot-ginger puree, rabbit croquette with tenderloin, mushrooms and leek sauce, rabbit roulade, rabbit siu mai and jerk rabbit with mofongo.
My father’s family are Latin American immigrants who moved to the tiny urban suburb of Passaic, New Jersey. When I think of my childhood, it was sprinkled with dishes like Puerto Rican-style chicharron or Peruvian cau cau. They’re the working-class comfort meals that remind us no matter how far we are, home can be right here in your kitchen.
Chef Sherry Cardoso was raised in New York City and Brazil. She executed her dish with the warmth and familiarity of those comfort meals. It’s pretty clear what my favorite was and which I rated most highly. Congratulations Chef Cardoso.
