The Top Chef 2026 finale crowned its winner this Wednesday, June 10: Viviana Pisacane, from Hélène Darroze's red brigade, claiming the 17th season of M6's culinary competition over Alexy Algar-Denos, the protégé of Glenn Viel. To witness the moment, we were at the Bistrot des Chefs in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, alongside the two finalists who watched the live broadcast of this finale filmed in January at the George V palace in Paris’s 8th arrondissement. Surrounding them, many chefs and Stéphane Rotenberg had travelled to share this verdict in person, in a warmly indulgent, gastronomic atmosphere.
The Italian head chef takes the crown with a commanding 69.3% of the vote, a wide margin that nets her 69,300 euros. A 28-year-old from Naples, Viviana Pisacane now runs Le Bœuf d'Argent, her family’s restaurant in the Old Lyon quarter, alongside her sister, brother-in-law and parents. Quiet at the outset of the competition, she grew in strength week after week, proving her exceptional palate and genuine generosity in her dishes during the individual challenges. Her victory also gives Hélène Darroze a fourth title as brigade leader.
For the Figaro, the winner looks back on a nerve-wracking finale: plates being packed up mid-flight, clashes between her teammates Victor and Léa, and Theo falling ill in the kitchen. As strict with herself as she is with others, she concedes she put pressure on her team, who, in her words, worked “like crazy.” That same night, she admits she cried, moved to see her team giving their all as if the finale belonged to them.
Shot at the Four Seasons George V, the final challenge stayed true to tradition: eight hours to conceive and execute a complete gastronomic menu (starter, main course, dessert) served to 100 volunteers from the Red Cross, who voted alongside the five jurors—Hélène Darroze, Philippe Etchebest, Paul Pairet, Glenn Viel and Stéphanie Le Quellec.
Each finalist could count on four former contestants returning as junior cooks, bringing their share of twists: a hiccup on Viviana’s side, a starter revised at the last moment for Alexy, guided by Glenn Viel. The menus, meanwhile, had been tweaked more than once in advance. According to Le Parisien, Viviana said she had changed her desserts about fifteen times, while Alexy admitted revising his base menu three or four times. Viviana thus succeeds Quentin Mauro, winner of season 2025.
Beaten but far from defeated, Alexy Algar-Denos has a tasty announcement for the gourmands of Île-de-France. The 31-year-old finalist, with nine wins this season, is launching Cramat, a pop-up restaurant that will run for four months along the Quai Ouest at 1200 quai Marcel Dassault in Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine. The name nods to char, sear, and burn—an all‑in‑programme for a chef who champions a signature, generous cuisine steered by fire, from northern Catalonia to the banks of the Seine. The venue will welcome diners daily at lunchtime and dinner throughout the summer, with party nights on Fridays and Saturdays, all centered on a charcoal-fired menu that followers can track on Instagram at @cramat.restaurant. It’s a welcome consolation for Parisians who long to taste his terroir-flavored, precise, and engaged cooking without trekking all the way to the Pyrénées-Orientales, where he last served as sous‑chef at L’Almandin, Saint-Cyprien’s starred table, until the end of May.
Season 17 of Top Chef, followed through the spring of 2026, proves the competition can still reinvent itself without losing its core: honest cooking, endearing contestants, and suspense that lasts until the final plate. And with a winner based in Lyon and a finalist cooking from Saint-Cloud, there are plenty of chances to sample their cuisine.
