Top Chef, the popular Bravo show where chefs compete against each other in various culinary challenges, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the World All-Stars lineup. As we all know, Top Chef has many spin-offs around the world and it’s finally time to see the best winners and finalists from various countries compete for that important Top Chef top spot. Amar Santana, who was the finalist in Top Chef Season 13, is returning as a contestant on the 20th season of Top Chef. Below is an article on him. Learn about Amar’s Top Chef stint, his age, net worth, wife, and more.
Amar Santana On Top Chef
Presented by actress Padma Lakshmi, the World All-Stars Top Chef will have judges from the American version, that is Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons. They will be joined by jurors and chefs from the international Top Chef, as well as by experts, throughout the season.
For the first time ever in the history of the show, Top Chef Season 20 will be filmed abroad in London, UK. The final will be held in Paris.
Talking about the location switch-up, judge Tom Colicchio said, “London also has a very high population of immigrant cultures and different ethnicities. That is a great playground for the chefs to shop and cook in,” to the Los Angeles Times.
Amar Santana appeared in Top Chef USA Season 13 (2015-2016) and impressed everyone with his impeccable sense of humor, candor, and the cuisine’s bold flavors. He made it to the Season 13 finale and ended up as a runner-up shortly after he presented the Spanish cuisine-themed Vaca.
After his Season 13 stint, Amar again returned to the award-winning cooking competition show for its 18th season as a member of an elite judging panel made up of former winners and competitors.
Speaking to South Coast Plaza, Amar revealed that he thought they were inviting him back to Top Chef to compete when he received the call to return to the show. He said, “…it was a big surprise to hear that Top Chef had a whole different approach in wanting me to judge with other previous chef winners and contestants…”
Amar also talked about the impact his appearance on Top Chef had on his restaurants. The owner of restaurants (Vaca, The Hall Global Eatery, Broadway), Amar revealed that many people reached out to him after watching Season 13 episodes during the pandemic. Many of those viewers flocked to Amar’s restaurants at that time.
Answering the question “How have you changed or evolved as a chef since you last competed on Top Chef?.” Amar said that two main things have happened since. One is that his food got more mature and the second is that he got more mature as a chef.
How Much Is Amar Santana Net Worth?
Reportedly, Amar showed signs of being a chef when he was very young. ‘I always believed that could make any dish better. If they made tuna sandwiches I’d ask them to leave it in the bowl so I could add more mayo, more vinegar, whatever I needed to make it to my taste,” he said.
During his sophomore year in high school, Amar’s accidental enrollment into a cooking course sponsored by Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) started his journey to becoming a chef.
In 2007, at the age of 25, Amar was selected by Charlie Palmer to run the kitchen of his first Southern California restaurant, Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s South Coast Plaza. As Executive Chef, Amar earned Charlie Palmer four stars from the Orange County Register and one of Orange County’s Top Ten restaurants by Orange Coast Magazine.
Amar’s dream of opening his own restaurant came to fruition when he opened Broadway By Amar Santana in 2011. Fast forward to 2023, Amar owns three flagship restaurants, namely Broadway by Amar Santana, Vaca Restaurant, and The Hall Global Eatery, now.
At the time of this writing, his net worth was estimated to be above $600 thousand.
Amar Santana Age
As of March 2023, Amar Santana’s age was 39.
Amar Santana Wife
Amar Santana’s partner is Negar Sheikhtaheri and she has Persian roots. However, as of 2023, the two were not married or engaged.
Reality TV star Amar first featured Negar on his Instagram on October 7, 2019. Through the post, Amar also announced Negar’s pregnancy as many of the pictures he had posted showed Negar’s baby bump.
Amar’s partner celebrates her birthday on the 26th of April every year. Recently, on February 15, 2023, Amar took to Instagram to share stunning pictures of him with his baby mama Negar on the occasion of Valentine’s Day.
Negar is an Automation Engineer at ETAP – Operation Technology, Inc. She has been working there since March 2016. Prior to that, she was an executive assistant at Point Design, Inc. Talking about her education, Negar completed her bachelor’s studies in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Eastern Mediterranean University. Later on, she joined California State University and received a Master’s Degree in Communication and Signal Processing.
Together, Amar and Negar have one 3-year-old son named Cyrus. On Cyrus’s 3rd birthday, Amar wrote, “12-20-19 you came into this world and made us the happiest parent, 3 years went by way to fast happy birthday Papi, can’t wait to see the handsome boy you becoming…,” on Instagram.
How Tall Is Amar Santana?
Amar Santana stands at a height of 5 feet 10 inches.
Amar Santana Family
Talking about Amar’s family, his father died of Cancer when Amar was only 20. Amar’s mom, Tita Mustafa, however, is still strong and healthy. On May 7, 2018, Amar uploaded pictures with his mom to his Instagram and captioned them, “Happy birthday to the beautiful, funny, loving mama Santana #mamalove #56yearsyoung #lookinggoood #igetthelooksfrommymama.”
Furthermore, Amar has two brothers named Vicente and Sergio. As per Vicente’s Facebook, he works at Broadway by Amar Santana.
Related FAQs
-
Where Is Amar Santana Birthday?
As per Amar’s Instagram, he celebrates his birthday most probably on May 13th.
-
Is Amar Santana On Instagram?
Yes, Amar Santana is on Instagram @bbamars, where he has more than 23.3 thousand followers. Additionally, you can find him on Facebook as well.
-
Where Is Amar Santana From?
Reportedly, Amar Santana was born in the Dominican Republic. He and his family migrated to Queens, New York, USA when he was only 13 years old. Currently, Amar lives in North Tustin (Orange County), California.
