Top Chef Winner Rhoda Magbitang Is Changing the Way You'll Experience Mauna Lani

On a sweltering day in June, I joined a small group for a watch party held at CanoeHouse, a destination restaurant on Hawaiʻi Island. We came to watch the finale of Bravo's "Top Chef" season 23, in which the restaurant's executive chef was competing.

A dinner reservation at CanoeHouse is even more highly coveted now that chef Rhoda Magbitang won "Top Chef." Mauna Lani, Auberge Collection — where CanoeHouse resides — is also hosting several new chef-driven events, such as Chef Rhoda's Table, where Magbitang cooks alongside visiting chefs at the resort's exclusive Francis Brown Club, giving guests even more reasons to book a stay.

"The biggest opportunity for me is being able to bring more people into what we've already been building at CanoeHouse and Mauna Lani," Magbitang said. "I'm incredibly proud of what we do here, and the exposure has given me a larger platform to share it."

Magbitang's fighting spirit during the series was unmatched, and her personality and life story drew me and the other viewers in. Magbitang moved to the U.S. from the Philippines at age 17, originally to become a teacher, but her love of cooking led her astray to train under internationally acclaimed chefs including José Andrés, Suzanne Goin and Josiah Citrin. Before coming to CanoeHouse, she was the executive chef at The Inn at Mattei's Tavern, Auberge Collection; Chateau Marmont and Petit Ermitage in California.

I could tell how much Magbitang cherishes and appreciates her coworkers at Mauna Lani. Not just those who work alongside her at CanoeHouse, but the entire staff. There's an energy there that is palpable. It's obvious that Magbitang's win wasn't just for her — it was for the whole team.

"My chefs and I are constantly learning from one another, and our combined experiences play a big role in how the CanoeHouse menu continues to develop," Magbitang said. "Traveling, meeting new people and spending time with other chefs also exposes me to new ideas and perspectives that can inspire what we do."

This summer, the resort's beachfront dining venue, Surf Shack, became its own version of "Top Chef" as Magbitang and fellow competitors created summer-inspired dishes made with Hawaiian ingredients. I devoured three helpings of the grilled cucumber salad. The Spam-stuffed arancini and smoked mahi mahi were also hits. Afterward, the chefs stuck around to mingle with guests.

"I never want the experience to become about me just because more people know my name now," Magbitang said. "The restaurant, the team, the farmers, fishermen and producers we work with, and Hawaiʻi itself are all much bigger than one person. If the attention around me gets someone to come to CanoeHouse and then they leave with a deeper appreciation for the food, ingredients and people of Hawaiʻi, that's much more meaningful to me."

Chef Rhoda's Table kicked off with Magbitang's close friend and fellow "Top Chef" contestant, Duyen Ha. The series continued with sake master Stuart Morris on Oct. 17, and on Dec. 12 she will be joined by chef Laurence Louie, chef and owner at Rubato in Quincy, Mass., who competed in the final round with her on "Top Chef." To access this special event, which includes a cocktail reception with Magbitang and her special guest the night before the dinner, you must be a guest of the Francis Brown Club Lounge.

This club level, hidden off the main lobby, is an elegant space for guests to enjoy breakfast, afternoon bites and cocktails. It also has a personal concierge and other perks. My family and I had the opportunity to experience the lounge on our last visit, and it was a real treat. There, we not only got to mingle with the chefs during their downtime, we also had a place to escape the sun when needed, to enjoy a snack from the Wonka-esque candy bar or a cold beer (all included) and just relax with my kids. It provided a wonderful respite that certainly enhanced our stay.

The resort plans to continue hosting collaboration dinners and other special events with Magbitang through the holiday season and into 2027.

"The win introduced Chef Rhoda and Mauna Lani to a much broader audience, but its greatest impact has been creating new interest in the culinary program we have been building," Culinary Director Ross Kilkenny said.

Magbitang made "Top Chef" history by winning the first two Elimination Challenges back-to-back before she plowed through a sometimes bumpy journey to the end. Her road to the finale was even trickier for her than for her final competitors, Laurence Louie and Sherry Cardoso, because she was actually eliminated on episode 5. Like other eliminated contestants, she had the opportunity to fight her way back into the competition via Last Chance Kitchen, making her the fourth chef in "Top Chef" history to come back and win via this route.

Since her win, I've come to recognize just how important this was not only to her, but to the entire Filipinx community. Profiles in Filipino magazines and social media posts from other Filipinx chefs helped spread that pride across the globe, but it's Magbitang's home team at Mauna Lani who showed the most admiration for her and her work — no one cheered harder for her as we watched the finale, aptly named "The Final Toast."

While the finale had aired the day before, and we all knew the outcome, we watched patiently, waiting until the end to congratulate Magbitang with champagne. Keeping with Hawaiian tradition, her neck was stacked so high with lei that she could barely see.

"I'm so excited for 2027," Magbitang said. "I think there is so much in store with other opportunities and CanoeHouse and Mauna Lani are still a huge part of that. I want to keep pushing the restaurant forward, continue creating special experiences and collaborations, and find new ways to tell the story of Hawaiʻi and the ingredients we have access to here."