“He deserved it!!”—Top Chef fans celebrate Tristen winning season 22

Top Chef: Destination Canada aired its finale on June 12, 2025, on Bravo. This marked the end of season 22 of Top Chef after an extensive run full of cuisines and flavors. Tristen Epps emerged as the winner after battling it out with two other finalists, Bailey Sullivan, and Shuai Wang.

The competition was so neck-and-neck that any of these three contenders could've taken home the title, but Tristen reigned and delivered dishes apt for the finale setting in Milan.

It was a particularly challenging season for Tristen because his father passed away while he was filming the show. And even though he wanted to leave to be with his family, he pushed on because he believed his dad would have wanted the same. He delivered dishes that almost always secured the top spots.

Fans of Top Chef praised him on X throughout the season, and they celebrated his victory as well.

"YAY Tristan won and if he didn't win, I would've thrown something at the tv. He deserved It!!!" a fan said.

A fan reacts to Tristen's victory (Image via X/@thedeans_list)

"YAY TRISTEN!!!!!! Loved all three of the finalists but very very happy that Tris won," said another.

"I love that Tristen highlighted Trini/Caribbean/African cuisine all season. He deserves this win," added a third viewer.

"I NEED TRISTEN TO OPEN A RESTAURANT STAT!!! TAKE MY MONEY!!" wrote another.

Top Chef fans also noted that Tristan lost his father during the season and saw his win as a tribute to his father.

"Every #TopChef season has someone I am rooting for and someone I watch for entertainment. Tristen’s win is well deserved and such an appropriate tribute to his dad. Would have loved to have Massimo in the finale though. He brought the vibes to Season 22," an X user wrote.

"Congratulations to Tristen on winning #TopChef season 22! Well deserved. Great cooking all season long. I really enjoyed watching you share your cuisine and all the stories you told!" another netizen wrote.

"I'm so happy for Tristen. I really think Tom defended him down for the fish and dessert lmao. Esp being so resilient and strong after his dad died, I think it would have stung if he DIDN'T win, and he stayed," commented one.

"This season has been so good! I’ve never seen the judges cry as much when they do eliminations. Such amazing chefs this season. But Tristen has literally dominated this whole season. This is his to win," wrote another.

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How Tristen won Top Chef season 22 finale?

The three finalists of Top Chef had to prepare a four-course progressive meal. For his first course, Tristen made a Monkfish with baccala mbongo. For the second course, it was Pollo "dorengo" with injera shrimp toast, while for the last one, he cooked Oxtail Milanese with Carolina Gold rice grits. He finished his meal with Root vegetable cake with cassareep ice cream.

The judges appreciated all three chefs for the first course. Richard Blais, the guest judge, even said:

"If this was a fight, they all came out and punched each other in the face, hard."

The panelists praised Tristen for his second course, and Bailey's dish was also well received, but they were not fully impressed with Shuai's recipe. Tristen's third course was also applauded, while Bailey's fish was deemed overcooked, and Shuai had unnecessary cheese.

For the dessert, the judges said all four finalists had done a great job. All of their desserts were well received, so they came to a unanimous conclusion that Tristen was the clear winner based on his overall performance.

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