Winning “Top Chef: Carolinas” season 23 has changed Rhoda Magbitang’s life in many ways. For one, she joked that she can no longer come out of an airport bathroom without getting recognized. The bigger picture, of course, is that her win has changed her life in grand ways, as well as the lives of the people around her. Thanks to her time on “Top Chef” and her incredible career that began long before her time on the show, Rhoda will now be one of the celebrity chefs with the prestigious honor of cooking at F1 in Las Vegas this November.
Rhoda sat down with The Blast exclusively to chat about her upcoming F1 excitement, what winning “Top Chef” did for her life, and more.
Rhoda Magbitang Was The Winner Of ‘Top Chef’ Season 23
For Rhoda, “Top Chef” wasn’t exactly something she set out to do. As a fan of the show, when they approached her to do it, she felt like it was the perfect time.
“It was a now or never situation for me. I have been approached to do it a couple times before, but it just didn’t feel like it was right time,” she told The Blast exclusively. “It was the perfect time, and what pushed me to do it, I don’t know, I mean, everyone else is doing it now.”
Rhoda said that now that the show’s taping is in the rearview, she can look at the experience with a different perspective, saying it was equal parts fun and work.
“There are long periods of time of waiting and cooking and the cooking part is just the time that they allot you to cook. The waiting part, you don’t see that on TV, and it’s brutal,” she said. “You find ways to entertain each other. You get to know these people really well, and it’s kind of like high school.”
Rhoda Magbitang Is ‘Honored’ To Be One Of The Chefs Cooking For F1 In Vegas
One unexpected moment recently happened for Rhoda when she was asked to be one of the celebrity chefs cooking at the prestigious Bellagio Fountain Club during F1 race weekend in Las Vegas, November 18-21. She joins a roster filled with well-known globally celebrated chefs, such as Jose Andres, Michael Mina, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
“Honestly, I did not expect to be invited to cook with these chefs at F1, but I’m honored,” she told The Blast. “I was looking at the roster from last year and I was like, ‘Wow! This is really cool.’ I would have never thought that one of those chefs would be me. This trajectory is definitely a blessing and obviously I’m very honored. I’m gonna believe it when I’m actually there.”
What’s Chef Rhoda Making For F1 Las Vegas?
So what can guests of the Bellagio Fountain Club expect from Rhoda? Something she said can be classified as a “f-ck it, why not” type of dish.
“I’m making one dish, which is a dish I’ve been working on for the past few months and thought it’s perfect for this occasion,” she told The Blast. “It’s a dish that is very intricate and has a lot of really high level technique involved, which is risky, but it’s also kind of like a, ‘f-ck it, why not’ type of situation for me.”
She added that when cooking for a big event such as F1, it calls for a go big or go home type of moment. So what amazing dish will she be creating? A lobster tail wrapped in scallop mousse.
“When you’re cooking for an occasion like F1 where things are fast and it’s furious, there is really not a lot of time to analyze anything,” she shared. “When you present this dish that took so many years of practice, it’s a culmination of your knowledge and it’s presented in this one small dish, and you can taste the experience and the season of what that dish is like. I feel that is very synonymous to what F1 is because those drivers didn’t just get in the car that day. They’ve been practicing their whole lives, and I feel that’s the same for me.”
Making Sure Her Filipino Heritage Is An Important Part Of Her Culinary Identity
Living in Hawaii makes it a bit easier for Rhoda to ensure her Filipino heritage shows up in the tasty dishes that she’s creating. She said the landscape in Hawaii, as well as the demographic work in her favor.
“The majority of my cooks are Filipino. Hawaiian food is a mix of a lot of cultures that have passed through the islands and Filipino culture is one of them so it’s easier for me to integrate that,” she said. “I’m still a little shy about it, I’m not gonna lie. Cooking Filipino food is not something that I will ever claim to be an expert on, but I know the flavors and I know what I grew up with and understand what makes something really good.”
About CanoeHouse At Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection
Rhoda is Executive Chef of CanoeHouse at Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection. According to the restaurant’s website, “Her career spans some of the country’s most celebrated kitchens, including Michelin-starred Mélisse, Suzanne Goin’s A.O.C., République and Bazaar by José Andrés. She later served as Executive Chef at Chateau Marmont and led the culinary team at The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Collection, earning Michelin Guide recognition.”
Rhoda told The Blast that many people visit the restaurant because “it’s been around forever” and “it’s an incredible space.”
“It’s very much a storied spot on the Kohala Coast, and so many chefs that are really prominent in regional Hawaii cuisine has come through this kitchen,” she said. “It’s incredible how much it evolved throughout the years.”
She shared that they are able to work with the growing amount of farmers on the island and beyond, and while it’s tricky to get some products there, they really dive into what’s available locally.
Rhoda loves that every day at work, she can “open my little window and see the ocean, watch surfers, see boats.” She even said in the winter, whales “just pass by,” making this spot something straight out of paradise.
For more information on CanoeHouse, visit the website. And you can follow Rhoda and all her delicious adventures on Instagram.
