by Spence Cooper on 04/16/09 at 7:50 am
Top Chef Masters coming June 10th
Bravo will unveil “Top Chef Masters” this summer, Wednesday, June 10. This Bravo extravaganza is the culinary Olympiad version of “Top Chef”, the Emmy and James Beard Award-winning food show. “Top Chef Masters” will stack two dozen “world-famous” chefs [see Top Chef Master Bios] against each other with a four chef face-off in each of the show’s first six episodes. The six semi-finalists will compete against each other in the final four shows where one chef will be eliminated in each episode. After four weeks, one chef will be christened “Top Chef Master”.
Each episode will incorporate the “Top Chef” format of two challenges for the chefs to complete. The first “quickfire challenge” will test the chef’s fundamental cooking skill; but for added pizazz each quickfire challenge will be judged by a blind taste test.
The second “elimination” challenge will highlight the chefs’ skillfulness and innovation in preparing exotic foods. After the judges’ taste test, which may involve other tasters, a final determination will be made.
As Bravo describes it:
Each episode of “Top Chef Masters” holds 2 challenges for the chefs. The first is a twist on the classic quickfire challenge which tests their basic abilities and the second is a more involved elimination challenge designed to test the versatility and invention of the chefs as they take on unique culinary trials such as working with unusual and exotic foods or catering for a range of demanding clients. The food will be tasted and evaluated by the judges and a wide range of tasters for whom the challenge is aimed, whether it is patrons at a five-star restaurant or a room full of hungry kids the food has to appeal to the diner as well as the critics if the chef is to survive.
Former model Kelly Choi of “Eat Out NY” will host this all-star event, as the world-renowned chefs duke it out for a $100 Grand award to be given to their favorite charity. A five-star grading system has been added to the familiar rapid-fire elimination challenges.
The show’s regular judges will be New York Magazine food critic (for more than 40 years) Gael Greene; Saveur magazine editor-in-chief and culinary expert James Oseland; and British journalist and broadcaster Jay Rayner.
But “Top Chef Masters” will also feature guest stars and judges.
There will be a clothed appearance (too bad) by Padma Lakshmi (click here for a nude peak at sexy Chef host Padma Lakshmi, who unrobed for the May issue of Allure hitting stands April 21), as well as appearances by Gail Simmons from the original “Top Chef”, “Flipping Out’s” Jeff Lewis, head judge Tom Colicchio, Neil Patrick Harris from “How I Met Your Mother,” actress-singer Zooey Deschanel and “Lost” creators-writers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof will show up.
Check out the list of contestants below.
* Rick Bayless: Frontera Grill, Chicago
* Wilo Benet: Pikayo, San Juan, Puerto Rico
* John Besh: Restaurant August, New Orleans
* Graham Elliot Bowles: Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago
* Michael Chiarello: Bottega Restaurant, Yountville, California
* Michael Cimarusti: Providence, Los Angeles
* Wylie Dufresne: WD-50, New York City
* Elizabeth Falkner: Orson, San Francisco
* Hubert Keller: Fleur de Lys, San Francisco
* Christopher Lee: Aureole, New York City
* Ludo Lefebvre: Ludo Bites, Los Angeles
* Anita Lo: Annisa, New York City
* Tim Love: Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Fort Worth, Texas
* Rick Moonen: Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, Las
* Nils Noren: French Culinary Institute, New York City
* Lachlan McKinnon Patterson: Frasca Food & Wine, Boulder,
* Cindy Pawlcyn: Mustards Grill, Napa Valley, California
* Mark Peel: Campanile, Los Angeles
* Douglas Rodriguez: Alma de Cuba, Philadelphia
* Michael Schlow: Radius Restaurant, Boston
* Art Smith: Table Fifty-Two, Chicago
* Suzanne Tracht: Jar, Los Angeles
* Jonathan Waxman: Barbuto, New York City
* Roy Yamaguchi: Roy’s Restaurants, San Diego
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