What Some Of Kristen Kish's Tattoos Really Mean

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Kristen Kish's first brush with fame resulted from her Season 10 win on the hit Bravo TV show "Top Chef," but Kish's professional accolades extend well beyond the reality cooking competition. She honed her craft at Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago and served as chef de cuisine at Boston-based establishments Stir and Menton (both of which were founded by chef Barbara Lynch). Chef Kish has become a restaurateur in her own right with the founding of Arlo Grey in Austin, Texas. She also authored a cookbook, "Kristen Kish Cooking," in 2017, and starting in 2021, she even starred in the show "Fast Foodies," which we discussed with her in an exclusive chat back in 2023.

That same year, Kish was named the new host of "Top Chef" after previous host Padma Lakshmi exited the cooking competition, and Kish even received an Emmy nomination in 2024 in honor of her hosting duties. In both instances, Kish sought to celebrate her achievements with new tattoos, which play a special role in the talented chef's life. In a 2020 interview with Inked, Kish stated that her numerous black-ink tattoos "came from a place of purpose ... I like to have tattoos that are slightly obscure, that by the naked eye people might not be able to tell what it is or why I decided to get it."

The chef's ink honors her Korean heritage (Kish chose her name in Korean as her very first tattoo), as well as her culinary achievements (illustrated by cooking utensils, herbs, and a fish skeleton, among other items). Kish also has ink honoring specific places where she made her culinary mark, including renderings of rivers in Austin, Texas and Boston, Massachusetts.

Fans of Kristen Kish frequently ponder the meaning of the celebrity chef's highly personal and often inscrutable tattoos. As for the figure holding an umbrella on Kish's shoulder, there's not much information on what it specifically means to the chef. However, it's worth noting that an umbrella tattoo usually symbolizes protection and can indicate that a person believes they have what it takes to ride out even the toughest storm. It may also be a symbol of a person's preparedness for life's unexpected occurrences.

Kish has been a little more forthcoming about one of her tattoos, specifically the gummy bear ink she received after she was selected to host "Top Chef." While Kish played coy in an interview with Page Six regarding the ink — stating, "I'll tell you at a later time" — she eventually revealed the meaning on a 2024 episode of The Bright Side podcast.

Kish explained that while filming "Top Chef," her habit of enjoying candy between takes eventually spread to judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, which evolved into full-fledged candy breaks among the three. According to the TV show host, "I got a gummy bear on my left side to represent this." The food industry often projects a "bad boy" image, and while no one can deny Kish's ultra-cool demeanor, it's nice to know that her tattoos represent a kinder, gentler side of the cooking community.