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Filipina chef Rhoda Magbitang wins 'Top Chef'
Filipina chef Rhoda Magbitang was named the winner of “Top Chef: Carolinas.”
Facing the editor-in-chief of “Food & Wine” magazine Hunter Lewis, chefs Eric Ferguson, Camari Mick, and Nok Suntaranon, and “Top Chef” alums Sara Bradley, Joe Flamm, and Stephanie Izard, Rhoda prepared a four-course Filipino-inspired meal for the finale, which included spruced-up versions of tortang talong and lugaw.
She started with roasted sweet potato with miso butter and uni, followed by abalone lugaw, which according to “Food & Wine,” is a dish Rhoda’s mother would make for her when she wasn’t feeling well.
She also presented tortang talong, which Rhoda ate as a kid. Finally, she served kaldereta, a dish her father would make during the holidays.
“This is a toast to my dad, kaldereta braised in liver and vegetables,” Rhoda said on the show.
She chose not to serve a dessert as “it was important for me to honor my parents.”
“What’s amazing about 'Top Chef' is that it conjures up feelings, emotions, and food memories that you didn’t even know you had,” she told “Food & Wine.”
“In the finale, when they asked us to dedicate each dish to someplace or someone that has had an impact on your life and career, it only made sense to go all in on Filipino.”
Rhoda was scouted by “Top Chef,” inspired by her background and culinary experience.
She had quite the journey on the show. Rhoda was a top contender in the first few episodes, and even won the first two elimination challenges back to back, a “Top Chef” first.
“It feels really exhilarating winning two challenges in a row, and if I have a target on my back, good,” Rhoda said in the second episode. “If they’re cooking against me, they know they have to bring it.”
She was eliminated not long after and was brought to "Last Chance Kitchen,” the “Top Chef” show where eliminated chefs compete for a spot back in the competition. Rhoda then fought her way to the finale where she bested Sherry Cardoso and Laurence Louie.
In “Top Chef: Carolinas," Rhoda won $250,000 and the title of “Top Chef.”
Rhoda was born and raised in the Philippines and moved to California at 17, according to “Food & Wine," which also shared how Rhoda fell in love with cooking by accident, when she taught students how to make simple afternoon snacks like turkey roll-ups.
Rhoda then decided to enroll at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, after which she cooked at some of Los Angeles’ most influential restaurants including Mélisse, A.O.C., and The Bazaar.
In 2024, Rhoda moved to Waimea, Hawaii to work as the executive chef of CanoeHouse, a Japanese-inspired restaurant at the Mauna Lani resort.
Congratulations Rhoda!
— Nika Roque/LA, GMA News
