'Top Chef' Houston season to premiere in March

The first episode of the Bravo's "Top Chef" Houston-focused season will premiere on March 3.

The upcoming season of the top-rated culinary competition show will be its 19th on the air, according to the website Eater.

To celebrate the milestone, Bravo released a trailer which features the city's skyline, the Houston Farmer's Market, and brisket being cooked to introduce viewers to the fourth-largest city in the U.S., which is widely considered to be home to the nation’s most diverse food scene.

Host Padma Lakshmi took to Twitter to express her excitement.

"Guess who’s BACK??" Lakshmi tweeted on Jan. 24.

Eater reported that Chef judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons will join Lakshmi on the show, which will have 15 “cheftestants” compete for the titular title.

The field includes Houston's Evelyn García, chef and co-owner of Southeast Asian restaurant Kin HTX.

According to Eater, the competitors will be required to give their own take to Houston food staples such as barbecue and Tex Mex cuisine.

The website additionally reported that other Bayou City-themed competitions include speedily creating Nigerian cuisine as a nod to Houston’s sizable Nigerian population, an elimination challenge with an emphasis on Asian cuisine that’ll take place at the city’s Asian Night Market and making their own astronaut meals in reference to NASA’s immense impact on the local economy.

The Houston Daily reported that Bravo picked Houston because of the city's ethnically diverse and vibrant culinary scene.

The money earned from "Top Chef’s" public relations may help restaurants in Houston recover after the shutdowns earlier in the pandemic and natural disasters, according to the publication.