Stagioni's Brittany Cochran represents Charlotte on "Top Chef"
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See Brittany Cochran compete on season 23 of "Top Chef." Photo: Sasha Israel/Bravo
Brittany Cochran, executive chef at Stagioni, is the only Charlotte-based chef competing on Season 23 of "Top Chef," a season filmed in Charlotte and across the Carolinas.
Why it matters: It's a national spotlight moment not just for her, but for Charlotte's evolving food scene.
Driving the news: Season 23 of "Top Chef," dubbed "Top Chef Carolinas," premieres March 9 at 9pm on Bravo.
- Fans can stream it early, beginning March 3 on Peacock, Bravo's YouTube channel, and VOD. Episodes will be available on Peacock the day after airing.
What she's saying: When the city tunes in, Cochran hopes they feel proud. Not just of her. Of Charlotte.
- "Top Chef chose Charlotte for a reason," she tells Axios.
Flashback: Cochran grew up in Columbus, Ohio, spending summers in her grandparents' garden, where she first saw food "from start to finish."
- She moved to Charlotte to attend Johnson & Wales University, graduated in 2013, and stayed. She initially worked at Mimosa Grill in Uptown.
- She joined Stagioni in July 2020 after getting a text from restaurateur Bruce Moffett. Five and a half years later, she's still leading the kitchen at one of Charlotte's most popular restaurants.
Zoom in: Ask Cochran how she'd describe Charlotte's food scene, and she widens the lens.
- Yes, there's barbecue. But there's also seafood, local produce, whole-hog programs and globally influenced menus that reflect a fast-growing, transplant-heavy city.
- "Charlotte's food scene is incredible. The Carolinas, in general, have completely blown up in the past, like 10 years, and I think even more so in the past five," Cochran told Axios.
Between the lines: Charlotte's restaurant boom mirrors what judges like Tom Colicchio have noted — chef-owned spots, hospitality groups expanding and a city "growing up food-wise."
What's next: I asked Cochran if she plans to open her own restaurant in the future.
- "Maybe I will take that jump one day," she says. For now, "I'm just taking it all in."