Top Chef
Top Chef is a reality show which airs in the United States on the Bravo cable network. This show is comprised of chefs who challenge each other on a weekly basis in various tasks. The participants are judged by a panel of chefs who are professionals, and each week, one of the contestants are eliminated. The chef who wins the show will be given an award of $100,000 which can be used as capital toward starting their own career or business as a chef.
In addition to this, the winner also is featured in the popular Food & Wine magazine, and they are given the opportunity to appear at the Food & Wine Classic event, which will generally be held in Colorado. The winner of Top Chef will also be given a collection of Sears Kenmore appliances, as well as a Toyota. One factor that both season one and two share is that the chef who won the first elimination match is the person that eventually won the entire competition. The total number of episodes so far is 25, and the time for each episode is one hour in length.
If you think you know top chef, be sure to test your knowledge by taking our Top Chef Quiz
** The Seson 4 winner of Top Chef was Stephanie.
Top Chef Chicago - Season 4
Season 4 of Top chef takes place in Chicago. The judges include Gail Simmons, Tom Colicchio and Ted Allen. Padma Lakshmi is again the host of the show.
| Season 4 Chicago Contestants | |||
| Contestant | Age | From | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephanie | 31 | Stamford, CT. | Winner Season 4 |
| Lisa | 27 | Toronto, Canada | Eliminated Final Round |
| Richard | 35 | Uniondale, NY. | Eliminated Final Round |
| Antonia | 31 | Los Angeles, CA. | Episode 13 (Finale Part I) |
| Spike | 27 | Clearwater Beach, FL. | Episode 12 |
| Dale | 29 | Chicago, IL. | Episode 11 |
| Andrew | 30 | Fort Lauderdale, FL. | Episode 10 |
| Nikki | 35 | New York, NY. | Episode 9 |
| Mark | 29 | Invercargill, New Zealand | Episode 8 |
| Jennifer | 35 | Brooklyn, NY. | Episode 7 |
| Ryan | 28 | Los Banos, CA. | Episode 6 |
| Zoi | 30 | Episode 5. | |
| Manuel | 33 | Laredo, TX. | Episode 4 |
| Erik | 38 | Chappaqua, NY. | Episode 3 |
| Valerie | 32 | Chicago, IL. | Episode 2 |
| Nimma | 26 | Peachtree City, GA. | Episode 1 |
Latest Top Chef Results and Recaps
Top Chef Masters: Rick Bayless Advances
Posted: 25 Jun 2009
This week’s “Top Chef Masters” was all about French attitude, thanks to chef Ludo Lefebvre. The other chefs were Rick Bayless, Cindy Pawlcyn, and Wilo Benet.
The Quick Fire Challenge was to cook with food of a certain color. Cindy drew a yellow knife, Rick drew a green knife, Ludo drew a [...]
Top Chef Masters: Suzanne Tracht Advances
Posted: 19 Jun 2009
The Top Chef Master this week were Elizabeth Falkner – Orson, San Francisco, CA, Graham Elliot Bowles – Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago, IL, Suzanne Tracht – Jar, Los Angeles, CA, and Wylie Dufresne – wd~50, New York, NY.
Their quickfire was the dreaded vending machine challenge. They had to cook an amuse-bouche using stuff they [...]
Top Chef Masters: Hubert Keller Wins the First Round
Posted: 11 Jun 2009
It’s a new season of “Top Chef,” but this year, it is 24 celebrated chefs rather than unknowns. The critics table consists of Gael Greene (restaurant critic), James Oseland (editor and chief of Saveur Magazine), Gail Simmons (Food and Wine Magazine), and Jay Rayner (restaurant critic of the London Observer).
There will be [...]
Top Chef 5 in New York City in 2008 and other Top Chef news
Posted: 24 Jul 2008
Top Chef is on for a fifth season. The show will be based in New York City and is set to air later this year. And it’s about time that the show is going to be based in New York City. When I think of fine dining the first place I think of is New [...]
Top Chef Miami - Season 3
Season Three of Top Chef takes place in Miami. The judges for season 3 include Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio. Padma Lakshmi is once again the host of the show.
Season Three Contestants
- Sarah M - Miami, FL - Eliminated on Episode 12
- Sandee - Miami Beach, FL - Eliminated on Episode 2
- Tre - Cedar Hill, TX - Eliminated on Episode 9
- Brian - San Diego, CA - Eliminated on Part 1 of Finale
- Camille - Brooklyn, NY - Eliminated on Episode 4
- Casey - Dallas, TX
- CJ - Venice, CA - Eliminated on Episode 11
- Dale - Chicago, IL
- Howie - Miami, FL - Eliminated on Episode 10
- Hung - Las Vegas, NV
- Joey - New York, NY - Eliminated on Episode 6
- Lia - Brooklyn, NY - Eliminated on Episode 5
- Micah - Boca Raton, FL - Eliminated on Episode 3
- Sarah N - New York, NY - Eliminated on Episode 7
- Clay - Santa Barbara, CA - Eliminated on Episode 1
Blogged during Season 3 of Top Chef
Clay is eliminated Sandee eliminated from Top Chef Top Chef says goodbye to Micah
Season Two of Top Chef
Season Two of Top Chef began in October of 2006. The filming took place in the Los Angeles area, and like the first season, the recipe which was voted the best each week would be placed on the Top Chef website. However, season two did not feature an episode with a reunion. While Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio remained as judges for this season, the host for season two was Padma Lakshmi. Some of the most well known guest judges included Hiroshi Shima and Harold Dieterle, who was the winner of season one. The company Glad also appeared as a sponsor in season two, and they were responsible for the reward money.
Like season one, each episode presented a Quickfire Challenge and an Elimination Challenge to the participants. The guest judges would be responsible for reviewing both challenges, and the elimination would take place at the judgement table, which was also the case with season one. The winner of season two was IIan, and Marcel came in second place.
Season Two Contestants
- Ilan Hall - Winner
- Marcel Vigneron - Eliminated on the Finale
- Sam Talbot - Eliminated on Episode 12
- Elia Aboumrad - Eliminated on Episode 12
- Cliff Crooks - Eliminated on Episode 11
- Michael Midgley - Eliminated on Episode 10
- Betty Fraser - Eliminated on Episode 9
- Mia Gaines-Alt - Eliminated on Episode 8
- Frank Terzoli - Eliminated on Episode 7
- Carlos Fernandez - Eliminated on Episode 6
- Josie Smith-Malave - Eliminated on Episode 5
- Marisa Churchill - Eliminated on Episode 5
- Emily Sprissler - Eliminated on Episode 3
- Otto Borsich - Eliminated on Episode 2
- Suyai Steinhauer - Eliminated on Episode 1
Blogged during Season 2 of Top Chef
Otto Leaves the Kitchen
Emily is the next chef eliminated
The Cooks were caught cheating
Chef Marisa is eliminated
Frank packs his knives this evening on Top Chef
Mia Quits Top Chef
Michael Steps Up
Michael Packs his Knives
The Final Four Chefs
Down to Two Chefs
Ilan Wins Top Chef
Top Chef Finale
Season One of Top Chef
The first season of Top Chef was filmed in San Francisco during the fall of 2005. A group of 12 participants were picked from all over the United States, and they would stay in the same hours for almost a month, competing in various challenges during this time. This season was hosted by Katie Lee Joel, and each week, the recipe from the winners would be placed on the Top Chef website. The two judges which were present on season one include Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio.
Each episode would present two challenges to the contestants. One was called the Quickfire Challenge, and it was a short challenge that comprised a new task each week. The Elimination Challenge was more difficult, and it determined who would go home that week. The winner of season one was Harold, and Tiffani came in second.
Season One Contestants
- Harold Dieterle - Winner
- Tiffani Faison - Eliminated on the Finale
- Dave Martin - Eliminated on Episode Eleven
- Lee Anne Wong - Eliminated on Episode Nine
- Stephen Asprinio - Eliminated on Episode Eight
- Miguel Morales - Eliminated on Episode Seven
- Andrea Beaman - Eliminated on Episode two, Episode six(Andrea was brought back during episode 3 due to Cynthia needing to leave the show
- Lisa Parks - Eliminated on Episode Five
- Candice Kumai - Eliminated on Episode Four
- Brian Hill - Eliminated on Episode Three
- Cynthia Sestito - had to leave the competition due to a family emergency.
- Kenneth Lee - Eliminated on Episode One
Blogged during Season 1 of Top Chef
Season Premier of Top Chef
Andrea Eliminated from Top Chef
Brian gets booted from the Kitchen
Candice is eliminated
Chef Steven is eliminated
Lee Anne packs her chef knives
Top Chef Reunion
Dave is Kicked off of Top Chef
Top Chef Renewed by Bravo TV
Harold is named Top Chef
Additional Top Chef Resources
Top Chef TV Listings, Episode Guide, Photos, Message Board, Cast and More TVGuide.com
