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January 29, 2026
Charlotte’s Top Chef contestant revealed
Stagioni’s executive chef represented the Queen City as the competition filmed in Charlotte
by Kristen Wile
Stagioni executive chef Brittany Cochran is one of the culinary talents competing on the upcoming season of Top Chef. The Bravo show, in its 23rd season, filmed a majority of the show in Charlotte for Top Chef Carolinas.
People Magazine revealed the full slate of competitors earlier today.
Cochran first came to Charlotte to study at Johnson & Wales University. Her resume includes working for New York restaurateur and celebrity chef Marc Forgione, who competed on the show Iron Chef, before returning to Charlotte’s restaurant scene. She worked at Uptown’s Mimosa Grill under longtime chef Tom Marlowe before joining Bruce Moffett’s Moffett Restaurant Group in 2020 to take the lead at Stagioni: Four Seasons of Food. Stagioni’s seasonal Italian fare is a favorite among chefs and Charlotte diners since opening in Myers Park in 2014.
Cochran and her fellow “cheftestants” will make their Top Chef debuts when the season premiere airs on Bravo, March 19, with an early-access showing on Peacock, March 3.
