25 Top Chef Contestants That Were Eliminated Earlier Than Expected

Anyone who watches reality competition shows on a regular basis is well aware of the fact the best player doesn’t always win. In fact, a really healthy percentage of the time, the best player doesn’t win. On many shows, there are simply too many episodes and too many different competitions, which equate to chances the best player could have a bad day on the wrong day. That’s certainly the case with Top Chef. 

I’ve watched every single season of the beloved cooking competition, and while I think many of the best players have won, there are also a bunch of instances in which potential winners went home way sooner than I would have guessed or expected. Thus, let’s run down some of the most glaring examples and talk about what happened to those who were eliminated far too early.