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When
Kristen
Kish
won
Top
Chef
Season
10,
she
didn’t
expect
to
ever
be
back.
Cut
to
Season
21:
the
winner
returned
to
her
alma
mater,
this
time
as
host
alongside
veterans
(and
friends)
Gail
Simmons
and
Tom
Colicchio.
“It
felt
familiar
but
also
very
new
at
the
same
time,”
Kish
says
of
her
return.
“It’s
as
comfortable
and
familiar
as
something
so
uncomfortable
and
unfamiliar
can
be.”
But
since
winning
in
2012,
“host”
isn’t
the
only
title
Kish
has
added
to
her
resumé.
“Something
I’ve
been
very
passionate
about
is
bridging
what
I
know
as
me
being
a
Korean
American
with
other
companies
and
people
that
are
Korean
American,”
Kish
tells
E!
So
when
she
was
approached
to
collaborate
on
her
own
line
of
soju,
the
answer
was
an
easy
yes.
The
result
is
Kish
Apéritif.
The
line
features
four
unique
flavors
of
soju
that
Kish
says
“are
based
on
different
points
of
my
life
and
different
flavor
profiles
that
I
am
excited
about.”
“Because
I
was
adopted,
I’m
learning
what
it
means
to
be
Korean
to
me
by
way
of
others”
the
chef
explains. “That’s
why
being
able
to
partner
with
a
Korean
brand
and
founder
was
such
a
special
opportunity.”
Kish
isn’t
done
adding
to
her
resume
just
yet.
In
April
2025,
she’s
releasing
her
debut
memoir,
Accidentally
on
Purpose,
available
for
pre-order
now.
But
in
the
midst
of
it
all,
she’s
still
very
much
a
chef
at
heart.
We
asked
the
Top
Chef
host
to
share
the
kitchen
staples,
cooking
tools,
and
hosting
must-haves
she
swears
by.
Shop
kitchen
essentials
inspired
by
her
answers
below!
Style
