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The 2025 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen was in full swing this year, showcasing culinary A-listers from across the industry. The guest list also featured familiar faces from Bravo’s Top Chef Season 22.
Tristen Epps-Long, the recent season’s winner, was present at the event, hosted by Food and Wine Magazine. Running from June 20 to June 23, the event was brimming with exclusive food tastings, cooking demonstrations, and beverage seminars.
The 2025 Food & Wine Classic served as a victory lap for Tristen, who received $250,000, Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion Status, a feature in Food and Wine Magazine, the opportunity to headline an exclusive dinner at the historic James Beard House in New York City, and more for his Top Chef triumph.
The skilled culinary expert headlined his own cooking demonstration on the first day of the highly anticipated festival. His fellow Top Chef Season 22 finalists, Bailey Sullivan and Shuai Wang, were also in attendance (keep acrolling for all the photos).
RELATED: Who Won Top Chef Season 22? Details (SPOILERS)
At the festival, Tristen opened up about his Season 22 win to People. He told the outlet that he “blubbered like a child” when he was declared the latest Top Chef winner.
“Every emotion really hit me. I felt this incredible sense of happiness but sadness at the same time,” he continued. “I really wanted to just call my mom, call my dad, and just tell him what had happened, I wished they were there.”
Tristen went on to explain the significance of competing on Top Chef. “My goal to always do this entire thing was to bring visibility to different types of cuisines that aren’t necessarily mainstream. Those kinds of things are important to me to bring those to light and inspire other people to be really proud of their culture and bring those dishes uncensored to the world,” he told the outlet.
What’s next for Top Chef Season 22 winner Tristen Epps-Long?
In a recent interview with The Daily Dish (conducted just before the finale aired and his win was revealed), Tristan teased his plans following the season wrapping up.
“I do a lot of pop ups. I’m kind of taking my show on the road a little bit,” he said, before sharing his ultimate mission with us. “I wanna retrace with my cuisine the diaspora, so the Africa to the Caribbean to the American South, of the journey of that people so now I’m trying to recreate my journey, up into this point.”
He continued, “So, I wanna cook back home in Virginia and then North Carolina, where I went to college, and I have something that happened in West Virginia, where I did my apprenticeship program, and Houston, Denver, New York.”
He added that he hopes to collaborate with the “five people [who] are also part of [this] journey,” Top Chef contestants Bailey, Shuai, Paula Endara, Zubair Mohajir, and Cèsar Murillo.
“So, you know, hopefully, [I can] get back to Chicago and cook with Bailey and Zubair and Cèsar. Shuai and I have something in the works. Paula and I have something in the works, so I’m more of like, a traveling circus until I get my restaurant open next year or later on this year, but I’m always around,” he said. “I travel well.”
RELATED: Top Chef Judges Reveal Diets & Food Set Secrets Filming Season 22
Shuai Wang & Bailey Sullivan reveal their plans after Season 22 of Top Chef
Shuai and Bailey both fought their way to the final three in the Top Chef Season 22 finale, losing to Tristen in the final challenge. Now, the two chefs still have a bright culinary future ahead of them.
Shaui is still busy running his restaurants, Jackrabbit Filly and King BBQ, in North Charleston, South Carolina. He told The Daily Dish that he has “a million and two crazy frigging ideas about opening more restaurants,” but wants to focus on the running the food joints he already has. He also noted that he wants to see his Top Chef castmates soon.
“I think we’re all trying to collab throughout the rest of this year and next year, just ‘cause I think we all honestly miss cooking with each other,” he added. “So, I’m sure there’ll be some fun pop-ups along the way for a while, you know? There’s a lot of us out there.”
As for Bailey, she told us she’s still cooking at Monte Verde Restaurant and Pastificio in Chicago. “I’m basically always there… Come say hi,” she said.
Check out these Top Chef-inspired kitchen essentials.
-with reporting by Stephanie Gomulka
