"There's no actual rice": Top Chef's Gail Simmons reacts to César's celery risotto

Top Chef Season 22 Episode 13 aired on June 5, 2025, featuring the first part of the finale. For that, viewers witnessed cheftestants including César, Bailey, Tristen, and Shuai.

The episode featured three challenges, after which César was eliminated. For the first challenge, he prepared a celery risotto, which the judges tasted and shared their views.

While tasting César's risotto, one of the Top Chef judges, Gail Simmons, asked him if his risotto didn't have "actual rice" in it.

"So, just to be clear, there's no rice," confirmed Gail Simmons

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Top Chef Season 22 Finale Part 1: The Final Quickfire challenge was all about making a risotto

For the final Quick Fire challenge, Top Chef host Kristen Kish told the chefs they were going to make a risotto dish.

"If you've done your research, you'll know that here in Milan, rice and polenta are king. And the dish they're most known for...is risotto," she said.

Listening to the host, Tristen confessed to wanting to manifest risotto and "completely" avoid it from the competition.

Kristen continued and instructed the final four chefs that they would be given 35 minutes to prepare their "very own risotto."

"Risotto doesn't wait for anyone, it needs to be served right away. So because risotto is time-sensitive, you're gonna be cooking on a five-minute stagger. It doesn't need to be a traditional risotto Milanese," said Tom Colicchio.

He added that there were many types of rice available in the pantry. Using them, chefs could prepare their risotto and add a unique twist to it.

Top Chef host also mentioned that the results of the Quickfire challenge won't be taken into consideration while determining the elimination. However, she mentioned the winner would receive the largest Quickfire Quick Cash of the season, which was $15,000.

César was the first one to start with his risotto.

"Risotto, it's a dish, but I also see it as a technique. You're just agitating the rice to release its natural starches. And that's kind of what you're building, the creaminess of the risotto. I'm going to use celery root as the rice component. I'm just going to make a rice stock."

César discussed how judges wanted a twist, so he was considering adding celery and just the rice stock, without actual rice. Fellow cheftestant Tristen made a smoked risotto rice. Bailey chose to prepare a red wine risotto. Shuai went with a squash and mushroom risotto.

As per César, his risotto had the "right flavors" and "textures."

"Risotto, I find it as a technique. And that's what I've done here. I made a celery risotto with chicken jus and white truffle."

After tasting César's risotto, Gail Simmons asked him if there was rice in his risotto, to which he replied that it was made with rice stock, but no actual rice.

Listening to César, Kristen said:

"So you cook it in the exact same method as you would risotto."

César agreed and said he had been doing that with risotto, and that he was comfortable with it.

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Fans can stream Top Chef Season 22 Finale Part 1 on Bravo.