MIAMI, FL – August 6, 2026 – The countdown is on for the boldest season yet of Telemundo’s Top Chef VIP, premiering this Tuesday, August 11, at 7pm/6c. Host Carmen Villalobos will welcome 20 new celebrity contestants to the Top Chef VIP family as they take on the biggest culinary challenge of their lives. From the very first challenge, they will face mystery ingredients, high-stakes culinary tests, and game-changing decisions that will push their creativity, discipline, and composure to the limit. In the most famous kitchen on Spanish-language television, every dish can change the course of the competition, and every elimination will bring one celebrity one step closer to claiming the coveted Top Chef VIP title and the $200,000 cash prize.
Chef Antonio “Toño” de Livier, Chef Tita, and Chef Betty Vázquez return to judge the culinary creations of this season’s contestants: Ninel Conde, Lupillo Rivera, Stephanie Salas, Carlos Ponce, Aylín Mujica, Roberto Romano, Sheynnis Palacios, Carlos “Caramelo” Cruz, Nailea Norvind, Pedro Luis “La Divaza” Figueroa, Athenea Pérez, Guty Carrera, Diana Haro, Carlos Ferro, José Joel, Gaby Borges, Kelly Ríos, Mauricio Garza, Nievelis González, and Miguel Arce.
Day after day, these celebrities must prove they have what it takes to remain in the competition and impress the demanding judges. Meanwhile, viewers at home will get an inside look at everything happening in the kitchen, from the fully equipped cooking stations where contestants bring their culinary creations to life to La Cava, where confessions, strategies, and some of the competition’s most intense moments unfold.
Audiences will be able to watch Top Chef VIP on Telemundo Monday through Friday and Sundays at 7pm/6c or catch up on the Telemundo app (available on Google Play Store and Apple Store) and Telemundo.com. New episodes will also be available to stream the next day on Peacock. Viewers can explore additional exclusive content by visiting Telemundo.com/TopChefVIP and following @TelemundoEntretenimiento on YouTube. Fans can join the conversation using the hashtag #TopChefVIP5 on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X, and by following @TelemundoRealities. The reality competition also airs on Telemundo Internacional for viewers across Spanish-speaking Latin America.
Top Chef VIP is a RCN production for Telemundo based on NBCUniversal Formats’ Top Chef franchise, under the supervision of Adrián Santucho, Senior Vice President of Non-Scripted Content, alongside Pancho Calvo, Vice President of Unscripted Content, with Luciano Cardinali as Executive Producer.
About NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises:
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises leads the media industry in the production and distribution of Spanish-language content for U.S. Hispanics and audiences around the world. The company serves U.S. Hispanics through its national broadcast network, the cable network Universo, and digital platforms including the Telemundo app, a suite of FAST channels, and streaming services, such as Peacock, among others. The Telemundo Network offers Spanish-language entertainment, news, and sports content reaching 95% of U.S. Hispanic TV households in 210 markets through 30 owned stations and 91 affiliate stations. Telemundo also owns an independent station serving Puerto Rico. Anchored on Telemundo Studios, the network is the #1 producer of scripted Spanish-language content in the U.S., and the only network to produce original content specifically for US Hispanic audiences. Offering over 600 hours of reality TV shows a year, and top-rated live specials such as the Billboard Latin Music Awards and Miss Universe, Telemundo is considered the undisputed Home of Live TV in Hispanic media. The network is also the exclusive Spanish-language home of the world’s two most popular sporting events, the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games. NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is a division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
Press contact:
Gerardo Oyola
Director, Alternative Programming Publicity
