This past week I was offered the opportunity to speak with this season’s Top Chef finalists — Bailey Sullivan, Shuai Wang, and Tristen Epps. This being The #Content Report, I’m always loathe to turn down an opportunity for #content, so I said yes. I don’t generally love interviewing more than one person at a time, which makes it harder to have a natural conversation, but I figured it would be nice to have some additional Top Chef material leading up to this week’s finale.
I also had them for 10-15 minutes, which meant we weren’t going to get to delve deeply into anyone’s childhood traumas or desert island discs. With this many people it ends up being more like a company conference call that we’re trying to pretend is a natural conversation than actual natural conversation (these guys just don’t know how to constantly interrupt and talk over each other like seasoned podcasters). Still, it was one of the last chances we’ll get to hear from these competitors, and a good opportunity for them to confront the guy (me) who’s been making fun of them for the past three months face to face. Well, face-to-screen, anyway.
I managed to ask what it was like going from back-of-the-house worker to reality TV character, got Shuai to weigh in on mise-en-place-gate, aka Mise-en-Trash (when he dumped all of Henry’s mise-in-place in the trash by accident during the pickle episode), and asked the chefs who they thought their biggest competitor was going to be when they first showed up to the competition. Oh, and of course, I got to find out what “The Massimo Experience” was like first-hand.
It ain’t Frost/Nixon, but hopefully you enjoy a few more minutes of Top Cheffery before this season fades into history. I meant to sign off the competition “Justice for Big Cabbage,” but I got flustered and forgot.
Official Bios:
Shuai Wang
Hometown: Queens, NY
Current city of residence: North Charleston, SC
Occupation/profession: Chef/Owner at Jackrabbit Filly & King BBQ
Born in Beijing, China, Shuai Wang was raised in Queens, N.Y., from the age of 9. Even though he was surrounded by the delicious meals his grandmother and mom prepared, his excitement for getting into the craft came only after he took a culinary class in high school and read Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential.” Shuai attended the Art Institute of New York, where he dove into his future profession head on, taking a hefty course load while still finding the time to volunteer at the James Beard House whenever his schedule allowed. Following his tenure in New York, he and his wife moved to North Charleston, S.C., where his notoriety in the industry continued to rise. Shuai was a winner of the 2016 Eater Young Guns and Best New Chef awards and his food truck Short Grain was named one of the America’s Top 50 Best New Restaurants by Bon Appetit. In 2017 he was nominated for a James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef. Shuai is the owner and chef of Jackrabbit Filly, a heritage driven New Chinese American Restaurant in Park Circle, North Charleston, and King BBQ, a Chinese BBQ restaurant with southern smoke, which won Top 10 best new BBQ restaurant of 2024 by Southern Living Magazine and 2024 Top 20 Best New Restaurants by Bon Appetit. Shuai and his wife, Corrie, won StarChef Charleston Restauranteur of the Year 2024 and most recently, Shuai was named as a 2025 South Carolina Chef Ambassador.
Tristen Epps-Long
Hometown: Virginia Beach, VA
Current city of residence: Houston, TX
Occupation/profession: Chef/Owner at Epps & Flows Culinary
Tristen Epps-Long is a Caribbean-American chef who focuses on neo Afro-Caribbean cuisine in a fine-dining format. Raised in a single parent military family, Tristen discovered his love for cooking at an early age. After graduating from Johnson & Wales’, he honed his craft in Michelin-star restaurants, eventually earning his own Michelin recognition as the executive chef at Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster in Miami and receiving Star Chef’s Rising Star Chef award. Tristen also served as executive chef of Cooks & Captains in Brooklyn, NY and Ocean Social by Tristen Epps for the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami where he earned a James Beard Nomination for Best Chef of the South. Dedicated to bringing recognition to Black foodways and elevating them within fine culture, Tristen aspires to be a trailblazer and role model for the next generation of chefs. His diverse travels—from Guam, to Stockholm, to West Virginia to New York—have shaped his worldview and profoundly influenced his culinary approach. After relocating back to Houston with the goal of opening his own restaurant, Tristen founded Epps & Flows Culinary, a platform for collaborative dinners showcasing his neo Afro-Caribbean cuisine. He is currently laying the groundwork for two exciting concepts Buboy, a woodfired Afro-Caribbean tasting menu, as well as a casual hot dog bar that reimagines the beloved staple with bold flavors and unique toppings.
Bailey Sullivan
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Current city of residence: Chicago, IL
Occupation/profession: Chef Di Cucina, Monteverde
Chicago native Bailey Sullivan was born into the hospitality industry. Growing up in her dad’s pub Goldyburgers, she always knew she wanted to pursue a career as a chef. While attending culinary school at Kendall College, Bailey interned and worked at a two Michelin-starred restaurant in Chicago, before working under Chef Matthias Merges at Yusho Logan Square, where she developed an appreciation and passion for Asian ingredients and ramen. After graduation her path continued at “Top Chef” alum Beverly Kim’s Michelin-starred restaurant Parachute before joining Monteverde Restaurant and Pastificio to learn the art of hand-made pasta and regional Italian cuisine under James Beard Award-winning chef and “Top Chef” finalist Sarah Grueneberg. Known for embracing seasonal produce and global flavors with an Italian hand, Bailey has earned a reputation for embracing the “atipica” side of Italian cuisine—blending tradition with bold whimsical twists. When she’s not in the kitchen, Bailey enjoys singing karaoke or spending time with her two cats, Giuseppe and Arthas.
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