4 contestants from Bravo TV's 'Top Chef' cooking at Wilmington brunch
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Fans of Bravo TV's "Top Chef" might recognize four familiar faces at this year's 29th annual Celebrity Chefs' Brunch, being held April 26 at a new location, the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington.
Chefs Nana Araba Wilmot, Rhoda Magbitang, Sieger Bayer and Brittany Cochran, all contestants on the 23rd season of the culinary competition program filmed in Charlotte, North Carolina, now airing Mondays at 9 p.m., will be making and serving dishes at the brunch. The meal begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m.
More than 900 people are expected at the brunch, a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels Delaware. The organization raises funds to support five meal programs statewide. In 2025, 963,716 hot meals were delivered to nearly 6,000 seniors statewide.
The location of the brunch has changed throughout its 29 years. It started at the former MBNA building in downtown Wilmington and later moved to the plaza of the city's Hercules Building at W. 13th St., and then to the DuPont Country Club in Rockland.
This is its first year at the Chase Center on the Riverfront at 815 Justison St.
The brunch, a stroll-about affair with various stations, features tastings from 20 chefs, local and national, as well as brunch cocktails and live entertainment. Over the years, it has attracted James Beard Award-nominated chefs, as well as those who have appeared on programs like "Top Chef" and on the Food Network.
Delaware Celebrity Pastry Chef Dana Herbert, who has been running a dessert shop in Newark for more than a decade and recently competed on the Food Network series "Sweet Empire: Winter Wars", will be at the event, as will Dru Tevis, owner of Brûlé Bakery in Dewey Beach, who was the winner of Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship, Season 9.
Popular Charleston, South Carolina, Chef Donald Drake, well-known for making his crowd-pleasing Southern-style shrimp and grits each year at the brunch, will not be attending the event this year.
Drake, who worked at Charleston's Magnolias restaurant for 34 years, retired in August 2025 as its culinary arts director.
Drake could not attend the brunch this year due to a conflict with the date, Meals on Wheels Delaware's Director of Events Regina Dodds said.
"We hope to see him back next year," Dodds said. "He is a favorite."
Local Wilmington chef/restaurateurs Dan Butler of Piccolina Toscana and The BlueBird, and David Banks of Banks' Seafood Kitchen & Raw Bar, who have cooked at the brunch for years, also will not be in attendance.
"Dan and Dave did not sign up this year," Dodds said.
Other participating local chefs and those from around the country also include Patrick Bradley of Wilmington's Jamestown Hospitality Group, Lewes Oyster House chef/owner Sean Corea, Baltimore's Amber Croom of And 4 Dessert, Chase Cline of Dewey's brûlé bakery, Bardea Restaurant Group'sAntimo DiMeo, the Columbus Inn's Ross Essner and Julianna Lewis, Yassmeen Haskins Jackson of Baltimore's Beye Beignets, former "Top Chef" contestant Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite, both of EsterEvin Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Janssen's Market Pastry Chef Michele Mitchell, Bruce Moffett of Barrington's Restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina, Deb Paquette of etch in Nashville, Tennessee, Charlotte, North Carolina, Chef Larry Schreiber, Aubrey Shaffer of The Golden Approach in Baltimore, Steve Taplin of Greenville's Bar Reverie, and Kennett Square's Alex Velez of Hearth Kitchen.
VIP ticket holders can enter the brunch at 11 a.m. Doors open for those with general admission tickets at 11:30 a.m. Tickets, including fees, range from $81.88 to $199.26.
For tickets and more information, visit mealsonwheelsde.org/event/celebrity-chefs-brunch-2026/.
