On June 8, Rhoda Magbitang emerged the winner of season 23 of the hit Bravo TV show, Top Chef, becoming the first Filipino and first contestant from Hawaii to win the $250,000 cash prize and other prizes.
When asked what she did to prepare for the competition, Magbitang replied nothing, except for one conversation with a pastry chef she admired who advised her not to memorize recipes but understand the relationships between ingredients. Other than that, she made no special preparations.
Being a chef wasn’t a lifelong dream, but a gradual realization for Magbitang. She grew up in Antipolo, Philippines, and was seventeen when she moved to California, where she eventually became a schoolteacher.
While working with children, including preparing food with them, she became interested in the culinary arts and enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu, a culinary school.
She had intended to return to teaching, but life had other plans for her. She went on to work in various world-class kitchens such as Michelin-starred Mélisse, The Bazaar by José Andrés, Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, and The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Collection in Southern California.
She moved to Waimea, Hawaii, where she became CanoeHouse Mauna Lani’s first female executive chef. Just one year later, she was recruited to apply for Top Chef.
One of her early memories of cooking is in the Philippines when she and her grandmother made bopis together. She remembers going to the market with her grandmother to buy pork lungs, boiling and then dicing them into tiny pieces.
The meticulous preparation made cooking it more meaningful. She dreams of cooking and eating bopis someday—it’s her favorite Filipino dish, attached to childhood memories.
Magbitang says culinary school gave her a strong foundation, but working in professional kitchens was completely different.
“Over the years, I’ve realized there is rarely only one right way to do something. You have to stay open-minded because everyone has something to teach you,” she said. “Every chef, every cook, every kitchen introduces new techniques and perspectives, and being willing to learn from all of them has made me a much better chef.”
She asserts that you have to adapt to so many variables in a professional kitchen.
“Deliveries can be delayed, ingredients may not arrive in the quality you expected, equipment can fail, or your team may be navigating their own challenges. Cooking is so much bigger than one person,” she shared.
“You’re relying on an entire team to help execute your vision. Learning to adapt when things don’t go according to plan has been one of the hardest lessons of my career, but it’s also one of the most valuable.”
Those lessons have helped her succeed during her time on Top Chef: Carolinas. She won the first two elimination challenges, but her journey on the show wasn’t smooth sailing. In Episode 5, she was eliminated and sent to “Last Chance Kitchen”, where she won four consecutive challenges and regained her spot on Top Chef.
Before the competition started, Magbitang actually had a whole different menu planned for the finale, however, she said:
“Throughout Top Chef, I was constantly pushed to reflect on who I was as a chef and what truly brought me joy and comfort. The final menu almost revealed itself naturally. I loved the idea that each course could be a toast—to a person, a place, or a memory that had shaped me. Once that concept came together, the dishes made complete sense.”
Her dishes for the finale were roasted sweet potato with miso butter and uni, followed by abalone lugaw, tortang talong, and kaldereta short rib.
Magbitang explained: “I didn’t go into Top Chef with a plan to represent Filipino cuisine because it isn’t what I cook professionally every day. But throughout the competition, I found myself returning to my roots and drawing inspiration from the dishes I loved growing up. To see that resonate so deeply with Filipino audiences has meant the world to me. I’m incredibly proud to have been able to share those flavors and memories on such a big stage, and I’m grateful to everyone who has embraced my journey and supported me along the way.”
She was in a restaurant after winning the competition when young girls approached her and were excited to meet her. She realizes that the experience goes far beyond just winning a competition. She could be a role model for others.
“People are watching how you carry yourself, how you respond to adversity, and how you treat others. That’s a responsibility I never expected,” she reflected.
What does this Top Chef champion love to cook?
“I always crave pasta,” she says, and making a good Bolognese is very satisfying to eat: it takes hours to prepare and let all the flavors mix.
Like cooking bopis with her grandmother when she was little, cooking something that takes time and effort makes it more satisfying.
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