When chefs get the chance to compete on Top Chef, they know they will have an intense experience. After all, past chefs have had their love lives ruined and been accused of stealing food. Sadly, those are only two examples of how things can go wrong, since even Padma Lakshmi revealed what she hated about hosting the show.
Given how hard competing on Top Chef can be, it would be great if the reality show's many memorable chefs didn't have to deal with bad judges. Despite that, Tom Colicchio once revealed that the show had a terrible guest judge and why he thought they were so bad in the role.
Tom Colicchio Told Andy Cohen That Chef Mike Yakura Was The Worst Top Chef Guest Judge
As of the time of this writing, 21 seasons of Top Chef have aired on Bravo, which means there have been hundreds of episodes. Over that time, Top Chef fans have invested in a long list of people that the show has made famous.
Of course, Top Chef's main stars are its hosts and main judges, Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, and Kristen Kish. Many Top Chef fans also care about several of the show's competing chefs.
One group of people involved in Top Chef's success that often go ignored is the show's guest judges. However, according to the show's head judge, Tom Colicchio, one of the show's guest judges didn't help the show, since they can be named the worst of all time.
Via: Instar
Fortunately for the team behind Top Chef and the show's many fans, a lot of those guest judges have been pretty great.
Screen Rant named Top Chef's best forgotten celebrity guest judges | |
|---|---|
Guest Judge | Claim to Fame |
Jon Favreau | Actor |
Anthony Mackie | Actor |
Paul Reubens | Actor |
Joe Jonas | Musician |
Buzz Aldrin | Astronaut |
Foo Fighters | Musicians |
Martha Stewart | TV Personality |
Natasha Richardson | Actor |
Mindy Kaling | Actor |
Dita Von Teese | Model |
As a result, many of Top Chef's guest judges have been brought back many times over the seasons.
On the other hand, there have been some truly awkward Top Chef guest judges over the years. With that in mind, there would have to be something remarkable about a guest judge for them to be named the worst in Top Chef history.
In March 2020, Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, and Gail Simmons all made an appearance on Watch What Happens Live. Part of that appearance can be seen in the YouTube upload of a revealing conversation involving the Top Chef stars.
During that appearance, the three Top Chef judges took part in a segment called the Shady Sharp Knife where they were asked juicy questions. As a part of that segment, Andy asked the trio to name the worst guest judge in Top Chef history.
Via: Bravo
In a lot of cases like this, Andy's guest would try to avoid bluntly answering the question. However, after giving the question a few seconds thought, Tom named Top Chef's worst guest judge and he seemed to be very sure about his answer.
As it turns out, Tom wasn't the only Top Chef judge who thought Chef Mike was the worst.
In fact, it was Gail Simmons who first started to bring Chef Mike up, but she couldn't remember his name at first. That opening gave Tom the chance to be the one to call him out.
As the conversation about Top Chef's worst guest judge continued, Gail and Tom agreed about what made Chef Mike so hard to work with.
According to both of Top Chef's longest running judges, Chef Mike was simply too aggressive with his critiques.
Via: Bravo
Interestingly, before Tom and Gail could name Chef Mike as the worst guest judge, another person was named. Watch What Happens Live's host Andy Cohen asked, Gail, Tom, and Padma if a celebrity chef was the show's worst guest judge.
Can I say who I think it is? Paula Deen?
In response to Andy's suggestion, the three Top Chef stars dismissed the idea that Paula was the worst guest judge. Andy then explained why he thought they may have thought Paula was the worst. "You were not thrilled about [Paula Deen appearing] from what I recall."
Top Chef Viewers Didn't Like Chef Mike Yakura Either
As every reality show fan will likely already know, the genre often rewards explosive behavior. As a result, it shouldn't really surprise anyone that, even though Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons didn't like working with him, Chef Mike Yakura made a second Top Chef appearance.
After Chef Mike's first appearance, he was brought back for a second appearance during Top Chef's second season. During his second time as a Top Chef guest judge, Chef Mike remained aggressive, as can be seen in a YouTube video uploaded by Mashed.
Via: Bravo
Mashed's video about Mike's short-lived Top Chef tenure also revealed that many fans weren't fans of his harsh critiques. Mashed's video quoted what a Top Chef fan wrote for MTV about Mike being a distraction who took away from the show.
"Two winners were awarded, rather than one, and I was so terrified by Mike Yakura that it was difficult to pay attention to what everyone had done." Based on how Tom, Gail, and that fan felt about Chef Mike, it is a good thing he only appeared on Top Chef twice.
