These Wisconsin, Milwaukee brands were featured in Season 21 of 'Top Chef' filmed in the state

Milwaukee has gotten a huge shoutout on Bravo's Season 21 of "Top Chef" . The contestants not only were busy competing but they were learning about the Cream City in the process.

They shopped at local places like El Rey, Adom African Market , Mos Food Market and the Milwaukee Public Market . And east-side Milwaukeeans might have spotted the contestants at Whole Foods , 2305 N. Prospect Ave., on several occasions.

Besides the local shopping spots, Milwaukee and Wisconsin brands were front-and-center much of the season. Here are some of the brands and products that were featured on Season 21 of "Top Chef."

Miller High Life

What better way to represent Milwaukee than with a beer? Miller High Life is the official beer on "Top Chef." Viewers can spot the brand in most episodes throughout the season, especially after a high-stress challenge.

Miller Brewing Company launched its flagship beer in 1903. The beer is brewed with a blend of malted barley, hops from the Pacific Northwest and Miller yeast, according to the Miller High Life website.

The Spice House

While a lot of the produce and meat that contestants used in challenges were from Whole Foods, they used spices from The Spice House .

The spice store opened in 1957 with its first location in Milwaukee. Now, The Spice House has locations in Chicago, Evanston, Illinois; Naperville, Illinois; and, most relevantly, inside the Milwaukee Public Market, 400 N Water St.

Cheese, cheese and more cheese

Episode 3 took viewers to The Cupola Barn in Oconomowoc where the Journal Sentinel's Rachel Bernhard got to watch the contestants compete in the show's first cheese festival.

In 90 degree heat, our dining critic got to taste lots and lots of cheese — and witness "the croquette catastrophe," where several of the contestants struggled in the heat to perfect their croquette dish.

The featured Wisconsin cheese brands:

• Sartori Cheese of Plymouth

• Uplands Cheese Company of Dodgeville

• Hook's Cheese Company of Mineral Point

• Widmer's Cheese Cellars of Theresa

• Schroeder Kase of Rewey

• Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese of Waterloo 

Usinger's Famous Sausage

Usinger's was featured a couple of times, including views of its building at 1030 N. Doctor M.L.K. Jr. Dr.

Fred Usinger opened the sausage shop in 1880 after moving to Milwaukee from Germany.  

More: The finale in sight, Milwaukee chef Dan Jacobs looks back on his 'Top Chef' journey

More: About Usinger's Famous Sausage in Milwaukee

Dempze Cranberry Co.

In Episode 9, host Kristen Kish and judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons stood in a knee-deep makeshift cranberry bog before the chefs competed in a Quickfire Challenge involving cranberries from Dempze Cranberry Co. in Wisconsin Rapids.

More: Wednesday's episode of 'Top Chef' on Bravo features cranberries and a Wisconsin Rapids-area grower

Hop Garden Farm

Hop Garden Farm in Belleville was featured in Episode 2. Kish stood in front of a pile of hops, one of the main ingredients used when brewing beer. The chefs used the hops, from Hop Garden Farm in their Quickfire Challenge.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Top Chef' featured these Wisconsin, Milwaukee brands in Season 21