The Truth About Buddha Lo From Top Chef Season 19

People love cooking, and people love drama. What better way to enjoy both at the same time than by putting on an episode of "Top Chef?" Having first aired back in 2006, the show places up-and-coming chefs into high-stakes challenges that not only test their skills, but also put them under the pressure of time constraints and the hawk-like gazes of judges Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio. To say the show's found an audience would be an understatement: "Top Chef" Season 19 is on the air now, and the series has two Emmy awards under its belt. 

While there's no doubt plenty of gossip and attention surrounding the celebrity chefs and guest judges who appear on the show, it's only right to give the contestants their round in the spotlight, too. One Season 19 hopeful is chef Buddha Lo, a name you might recognize if you've ever worked in the fine dining space.

Per Bravo, Lo was born in Port Douglas, Australia, where he grew up helping out in his family's Chinese restaurant. When he wasn't assisting his old man, he took up a part-time job at a five-star resort to prepare for culinary school. Early on in his career, Lo steadily initiated himself into the world of high cuisine. He worked at one of Gordon Ramsay's Michelin-starred restaurants in London, followed by the fine-dining establishment Eleven Madison Park in his current residence of New York City.

According to his website, Lo currently works as executive chef at Huso in New York. As for his feelings on appearing on the newest season of "Top Chef," Lo said in an Instagram post that he wants to give his late father "the biggest smile ... he's ever had" — and that he knows he's out there "screaming with joy at the television." Wondering what culinary style Lo will bring to "Top Chef?" His Instagram page shows lots of photos of intricately presented seafood dishes and caviar. He also shared one of the dishes he made in the first week of the show: "Spotted Dick with miso ice cream and beef fat caramel."