pack your knives

2 Beard-recognized Houston chefs competing on new season of Top Chef

Two Houston chefs packed their knives and traveled to Toronto to compete on the new season of Top Chef. Bravo revealed the 15-person cast for season 22 of the show, which was filmed in various parts of Canada and will premier on Thursday, March 13.

Both chefs bring impressive resumes to the competition, although one is likely more familiar to Houstonians.

Henry Lu Top Chef Season 22 Chef Henry Lu is competing to win $250,000.Photo by Marcus Nilsson/Bravo

Henry Lu is one-half of the chef duo behind Heights restaurant Jūn. His co-owner, Evelyn Garcia, reached the finals of Top Chef season 19, which was filmed in Houston. Both Garcia and Lu have earned two James Beard Award semifinalist nominations — one for Best New Restaurant in 2024 and for Best Chef: Texas in 2025. Prior to moving to Houston, the Bronx native worked at a number of restaurants in New York City, including Pearl and Ash and Llama Inn.

Tristen Epps Top Chef Chef Tristen Epps' Top Chef headshot.Photo by Marcus Nilsson/Bravo

Tristen Epps recently returned to his hometown of Houston after working in Miami and New York. He earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation for his work at Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster in Miami and a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination in 2024 for his work at Ocean Social by Tristen Epps, a waterfront restaurant at the Eden Roc Miami Beach. He is currently working on opening Buboy, an intimate tasting menu restaurant devoted to Afro-Caribbean foodways.

The show’s winner will earn a number of prizes, including $250,000 provided by Saratoga Spring Water, $125,000 flight credit from Delta, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, and a dinner at the James Beard House in New York. As was the case last season, Quickfire challenges are now an opportunity to earn cash, rather than immunity from elimination, with a total prize pool of $150,000 up for grabs during the course of the season.

Judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons are both returning, as is host Kristen Kish, who took over for Padma Lakshmi last year. Throughout the season, the contestants will explore different parts of Canada, including Toronto, Calgary, and Banff National Park. Guest judges include culinary legends and Top Chef alumni such as Richard Blais, Nina Compton, Danny Garcia, Gregory Gourdet, Buddha Lo, Daniel Boulud, Wylie Dufresne, Susur Lee, and Clare Smyth.

Here’s a sneak peek at this season's action:

Courtesy of Jūn

Henry Lu, right, is following Evelyn Garcia's footsteps by competing on Top Chef.

Concert New

British pop star Niall Horan invites Houston to his Dinner Party tour

Photo courtesy of Niall Horan

Pop singer Niall Horan will play at Dickies Arena on May 2, 2027.

British pop singer Niall Horan will go on the road with the North American leg of his Dinner Party Live On Tour in 2027, which will include a stop at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday, May 1.

The all-arena tour will travel to 26 cities in the United States and Canada over the course of two-plus months, starting in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 27 and ending in Vancouver, British Columbia on May 29.

The tour, which will also go to Fort Worth on May 2 and Austin on May 14, is in support of his Horan's new album, Dinner Party, which will be released on June 5, 2026.

It officially kicks off in England on September 22, 2026 with a 25-date U.K./Europe leg lasting until November 16.

Horan is also co-headlining two stadium shows with Thomas Rhett this summer: At Nashville’s GEODIS Park on July 9 and Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania on July 18.

Since One Direction broke up in 2016, Horan has released three solo albums, with each making the top 5 on album charts in the U.S., the U.K., and his native Ireland. His biggest hit in the U.S. remains "Slow Hands" in 2017.

Tickets for the tour will be available starting with a Citi presale on Tuesday, May 12 at 10 am, followed by an artist presale on Wednesday, May 13 at 10 am.

Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on-sale beginning on Friday, May 15 at 10 am at livenation.com.

NIALL HORAN DINNER PARTY LIVE ON TOUR – NORTH AMERICA 2027

3/17 – St. Paul, MN – Grand Casino Arena
3/19 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
3/20 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
3/23 – Chicago, IL – United Center
3/26 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
3/27 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
3/30 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
4/2 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
4/4 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
4/8 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
4/12 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
4/13 – Hartford, CT – PeoplesBank Arena
4/15 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center
4/17 – Orlando, FL – Kia Center
4/28 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
4/29 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
5/1 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
5/2 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
5/14 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
5/16 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
5/18 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverik Center
5/20 – Phoenix, AZ – Mortgage Matchup Center
5/22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum
5/25 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
5/27 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
5/29 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena

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