03/20/2023
Juan Manuel Barrientos will be one of the three jurors of the gastronomy competition produced by the broadcaster Telemundo. He will be with the chefs on the recording sets Antonio de Livier and Adria Marina Montano.
So 16 famous Hispanics, like Johnny Lozada, a former member of Menudo; Arturo Peniche, the popular Mexican soap opera actor; as well as Laura Zapata and Colombian Sara Corrales, will face three renowned chefs to prove their skills in the most demanding TV kitchen in the world.
Known for his experience in Latin American gastronomy, Barrientos has been recognized as one of the top chefs in Colombia and has one star internationally Michelin’s in their restaurants ElCielo Miami and ElCielo Washington and more than a million followers on Instagram, making him one of the most followed chefs in the world.
“For me, as a Colombian working in the United States market with my restaurants El Cielo Washington and Miami, it is a tribute to be present in this reality show that Telemundo broadcasts nationally in the United States and in many other Latin American countries countries,” commented Barrientos.
The contest is led by Carmen Villalobos, who has more than 20 million followers on Instagram and more than 15 million on Tik Tok.
From the premiere to the final of the Top Chef VIP Cooking Contest, celebrities will face more than 70 different challenges including Team Fire Trials, Rescue Trials, Dexterity Trials, Elimination Trials until they find the winner, who will win the grand prize.
Barrientos is one of the bright names in new Colombian cuisine. In 2022, his restaurants received the most important laurel in world gastronomy: Michelin stars.
At the time, the chef said to EL COLOMBIANO: “I cannot say that I am an artist, far from it, but in our menu there is a composition of design, gastronomy and expression of feelings that is one of the definitions of art, in in this case embodied in a plate. At the end of the day, when you eat this dish, it evokes feelings that are ephemeral, so ElCielo’s suggestion is more than an art, it’s a craft”.