Top Chef: Sara and Shota are the early favorites to win it all

Thus far, Season 18 of Top Chef has been everything foodies love about the series with a few new twists thanks to the pandemic. The 15 new cheftestants have shown that they all belong on the series and the food that has been presented so far has looked incredible.

Except maybe for that soup Roscoe Hall made in Episode 1. I’m no expert but that didn’t look appetizing at all.

Anyway, as any regular reader of Guilty Eats is well aware, we will make any excuse to look at practically any cooking competition, analyze the contestants and make a way to early call regarding who we think is going to win. You may call it guessing, but we decided we’re going to call it charming.

So after two entire episodes of Top Chef Season 18, we are ready to name who we think are already the frontrunners to win it all. Chefs who have already made an impression that they are a step ahead of the competition in terms of both creativity and skill.

The two Top Chef frontrunners have already demonstrated some serious skills.

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First is Sara Hauman, who won the Week 1 Elimination Challenge and was in the top three once again for Week 2. This girl can cook, which isn’t surprising for someone who was a James Beard semi-finalist for Rising Star Chef in 2016 and 2017.

Not only does she have an amazing pallet but she also seems to have an innate understanding of what the judges want to see and eat. Add in that she is from Portland, which gives her home field advantage, and there is no way she couldn’t be a contender to win it all.

Our other way too early pick to win Top Chef is Shota Nakajima. Shota, along with Avishar Barua, won the Week 2 Elimination Challenge and was in the top three in Week 1. He was the owner of two restaurants until the pandemic struck and was a James Beard Award semi-finalist for three consecutive years.

The thing about watching Shota cook is just how calm he is. Yes he gets excited but he always seems to have a plan for his food and what he wants to present to the judges. He is also bringing a skill set to Top Chef that just hasn’t been seen before. The way he cooked the duck in Week 1 impressed the heck out of everyone and you get the feeling he hasn’t even really shown what he can do yet.

If you were going to put money down on the eventual winner of Top Chef Season 18, we really think these two would be the odds on favorites. They are both cooking at a level a step above the other cheftestants and are the easy frontrunners.

Do you agree or disagree Guilty Eats Nation? Do you think one of these two will win Top Chef or will it be someone else? Leave a comment below and let us know or join the conversation on our Twitter page.