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‘Top Chef’ winner and culinary enthusiast Kristen Kish is going global for queer visibility

By
Kristen Kish
Kristen Kish at Sem Pressa floating restaurant in Paraty, Brazil. Photo by National Geographic for Disney/Autumn Sonnichsen

It’s been a decade since Kristen Kish won Season 10 of the hit reality TV cooking competition Top Chef. But when the call came to travel to London for the 20th-anniversary All-Stars edition, she declined. Been there, done that.

Like a slow braise (other cooking tips can be found in her 2017 cookbook), Kish’s career has continued to deepen and become more complex, both in the kitchen and in front of the camera. In March, National Geographic’s Restaurants at the End of the World premiered, in which Kish travels to far-reaching destinations like Kapp Linné, Norway, and a Panamanian mountaintop in search of unique culinary experiences.

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In addition to her acclaimed culinary cred, part of Kish’s appeal is her understated authenticity. Shortly after winning Top Chef, Kish publicly came out.

“First, I’ve always known that I was gay. And it was never my family or friends that made it feel not safe—it was 100 percent my own insecurity,” she told Austin Monthly. “What really happened was that I fell in love. I didn’t want to hide it anymore, and I felt confident enough to say I’m gay because I had someone there with me. I wanted to walk down the street and hold someone’s hand. I wanted to be in love just like everyone else is allowed to be in love. Although that relationship didn’t work out, I’ll always be grateful to her for giving me that push I needed.”

A new romance was in the near future, and this one stuck.

Kish got engaged to Australian native Bianca Dusic in 2019 and married in an intimate backyard ceremony in April 2021. Shortly before the wedding, Kish posted an adorable birthday wish to her fiancée, writing, “You will always be my reason to believe in that soul hugging kind of love, the work it takes to grow and nurture that, to meet someone all the way, and to allow space for each to be their own beautiful & ‘work in progress’ selves. I don’t believe in luck often but how lucky am I that you chose me. I love you for all of our chapters and the forever, “to be continued” endings. Happy Birthday my love.”

Kish was born in Seoul, South Korea, adopted at four months old, and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a queer Asian American woman, her intersectionality has been an integral part of her identity, both on and off the plate, and more recently, as a response to anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric sweeping the country. In 2018, she opened her first restaurant Arlo Grey in Austin, Texas. And though the emerging tech hub is a dot of blue in the far-right leaning state, Kish is intent on establishing and maintaining safe spaces for queer and ally customers.

“There’s always bright spots in the bright people in every scenario in every state. And what I’m most proud of is this one,” Kish told GLAAD, describing the city as a “celebration of individuality” and her restaurant as “the gayest rainbow in Austin.”

Kish is also lending her voice in support of drag artists.

“I can’t think of anybody that’s gone to a drag show that has not had a permanent smile across their face. It is just the most kind and inviting place for everybody. And that does not just mean the queer community, it’s everyone,” Kish said. So, I think it’s, you know, keep on going to the drag shows, keep on supporting those drag queens and the amazing people.”

Throughout her personal and professional growth, the chef and TV personality has realized the importance of community and authenticity.

“The more I started to become myself, the more and more these television product projects started coming,” Kish told The Daily Beast. “Which proves that I didn’t have to emulate this idea of success, I just needed to be myself and what will come will come. And so I went through the same thing of, ‘I’m going to keep saying yes until I don’t want to say yes anymore’ with all these projects. You’d have to ask these TV people why they keep coming to me. I don’t know. I feel very grateful for it, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do these projects, because I say yes to the ones that really challenge and intrigue me the most.”

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