TCFL 18 Portland // We're Back!

Hello Top Chef Friends, new and old! It's (late) Thursday. What does that mean? It means we are officially ONE WEEK away from the Season 18 debut of Top Chef. And that means that we are a mere TWO WEEKS away from the start of another season of TCFL!

I know that there has been some concern as to where I've been till now. Portland was announced weeks ago. We've been busy! That's Mrs. Commish in the picture below, prancing around our new house lot in North Carolina. Buying/building a new house, selling an old house, and trying to move during a pandemic with two kids is... all-consuming.

I know a lot of you have been busy too! Off the top of my head, I know that since the end of last season TCFL has had a wedding (congrats Lisa & Dave!), a new puppy (congrats Little Brother!), some newborns (congrats Defending Champion Jon & Kim, and Diana & Adam!), and even more babies on the way (congrats Maria!). We even have a set of twins coming (maybe you were a little too busy, TCFL Founding Father Mike).

In any case, whether you've been super busy or super bummy since Season 17 ended, I hope you and your loved ones are healthy and safe, and that you are ready for another season of Gail, Tom, and Padma (and ME, in the form of convoluted Excel spreadsheets, late-night ramblings disguised as recaps, and super dated pop culture references).

Scroll down for a reminder of how this all works. And since it was a lot of fun for the Season 17 Finale, stay tuned for details for a Live Chat for the Season 18 Premiere. As always, if you know anyone that wants to play this season, either send me their email address or have them email me directly. 

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*Draft & Entry Fee*

Each entrant drafts six (6) Chefs to be on their team for the season. The entry fee is $10.00 per team. The draft is *live* after the first episode airs and ends when the second episode begins. This gives everyone a chance to make snap judgements about the Cheftestants and see how everyone is performing before assembling your team. Instructions on how to draft and how to submit your entry fee will be sent after Episode 1 airs.

*Scoring*

Each Chef accumulates points per episode and throughout the season. The team that accumulates the most points through the entire season wins. This is how Chefs accumulate points:

Top Performer (Quickfire): +2 points

Bottom Performer (Quickfire): -2 points

Quickfire Winner: +5 points

Top Performer (Elimination Challenge): +5 points

Bottom Performer (Elimination Challenge): -3 points

Elimination Challenge Winner: +10 points

Advance one round in Last Chance Kitchen: +1 point

Eliminated in Last Chance Kitchen: -1 point

Advance out of Last Chance Kitchen back to Main Competition: +10 points

Eliminated Chef returns to help in an Elimination Challenge and is...

On a winning team: +2 points

On an eliminated team: -2 points

Win "Fan Favorite" Vote: +10 points

Advance to the Finale (Last) Challenge: +20 Points

Win Top Chef: +30 Points

*Prizes*

So what are we all playing for? Well pride and bragging rights for one. More importantly, we are playing for cash. Payouts will be determined after all entries are received. Last season we paid out four spots (1st: $225.00, 2nd: $65.00, 3rd: $35.00, and Mr./Ms. Irrelevant [Last Place]: $10.00). Hopefully, with your help, the league will grow this year and our payouts will be even better.

And most importantly, we are playing for a trophy. The trophy for TCFL is a Top Chef cutting board. The league winner keeps the trophy for one year, or until the next TCFL Champion is crowned.

Defending Champion Jon

And that's the gist of it! If you are a returning player, welcome back. If you are new to all this, we hope you stick around and play. In either case, please spread the word to any other Top Chef fans you know. The more the merrier.