For now, however, she has no elaborate plans for the prize money.
“It’s going to sit somewhere for a little bit and get nice and heavy,” she joked.
Instead, she hopes to travel and spend time with family members scattered across the Philippines, Seattle, and other locations.
“I do want to see them very soon,” she said of her parents, who remain in the Philippines.
As for her future career plans, Magbitang is embracing uncertainty. Before joining Top Chef, she had intended to move to Costa Rica, only to relocate to Hawaii instead. The competition itself was another unexpected detour.
“I’ve planned a lot of things,” she said. “This wasn’t on my plan either.”
Rather than map out every step, she intends to see where the opportunity takes her.
“So far, the non-plan plan has been working,” she said. “Maybe I’ll stick with that and see where it takes me. It’s more fun that way.”
One thing she knows for certain is that the friendships formed during the competition remain strong. The cast still communicates daily through a group chat humorously named “Cava and Meat Sticks,” a reference to the meals they frequently ate while filming.
“We text every day,” Magbitang revealed. “We check in on each other.”
Several cast members, including Brittany Cochran, Oscar Diaz, and Sieger Bayer, have even traveled to Hawaii to collaborate on pop-up events with her since the season ended.
Ultimately, Magbitang believes the biggest lesson from Top Chef had little to do with cooking.
“At the end of the day, your resilience is going to carry you through the entire time,” she reflected. “Talent is sort of secondary.”
For a chef who fought her way back from elimination, trusted her instincts in the finale, and walked away with the title, that lesson may have been the key ingredient behind one of the most memorable victories in recent Top Chef history.
