Bravo has revealed the identities of the 17 "chef'testants" who will be competing on Top Chef: Las Vegas and announced the sixth edition of Top Chef will premiere Wednesday, August 26 at 9PM ET/PT.
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Top Chef: Las Vegas' contestants will be competing for a grand-prize package that will include prizes similar to the reality culinary competition's previous seasons: $100,000 in seed money to help open a restaurant; a feature in Food & Wine magazine; a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen; and the title of "Top Chef." However Top Chef's sixth season will also feature an additional prize: $100,000 of merchandise provided by Macy's.
The network had formally renewed Top Chef for a sixth season in April and the Sin City represents the sixth different location for the culinary competition, which now ranks as Bravo's highest-rated series following Project Runway's move to Lifetime.
"Las Vegas has become a culinary destination -- some of the world's best chefs and restaurants are here -- so it's only fitting that our newest season was the best yet," Top Chef lead judge Tom Colicchio said. "You'll be surprised by the quality of chef'testants we discovered this season. They really raised the bar."
In addition to Colicchio, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi and judges Gail Simmons and Toby Young will also reprise their roles for the show's sixth edition, which was filmed at The M Resort Spa & Casino.
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The season will also include guest appearances by Wolfgang Puck, Todd English, Natalie Portman, Daniel Boulud, Penn & Teller, Hubert Keller, Laurent Tourondel, Tim Love, Michelle Bernstein, Tyler Florence, Charlie Palmer, Paul Bartolotta, Nigella Lawson and Jerome Bocuse.
Top Chef: Las Vegas' 17 contestants are:
- Ash Fulk, a 29-year-old from Pleasant Hill, CA who currently resides New York, NY
- Ashley Merriman, a 32-year-old from Center Sandwich, NH who currently resides in Seattle, WA
- Bryan Voltaggio, a 33-year-old from Frederick, MD who currently resides in Urbana, MD
- Eli Kirshtein, a 25-year-old from Atlanta, GA
- Eve Aronoff, a 40-year-old from Ann Arbor, MI
- Hector Santiago, a 41-year-old from San Juan, PR who currently resides in Atlanta, GA
- Jennifer Carroll, a 33-year-old from Philadelphia, PA
- Jennifer Zavala, a 31-year-old from Cromwell, CT who currently resides in Philadelphia, PA
- Jesse Sandlin, a 30-year-old from Baltimore, MD
- Kevin Gillespie, a 26-year-old from Atlanta, GA
- Laurine Wickett, a 38-year-old from Rochester, NY who currently resides in San Francisco, CA
- Mattin Noblia, a 29-year-old from Biarritz, France who currently resides in San Francisco, CA
- Michael Isabella, a 34-year-old from Little Ferry, NJ who currently resides in Washington, DC
- Michael Voltaggio, a 30-year-old from Frederick, MD who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA
- Preeti Mistry, a 33-year-old from San Francisco, CA
- Robin Leventhal, a 43-year-old from Sun Valley, ID who currently resides in Seattle, WA
- Ron Duprat, a 40-year-old from Mare Rouge, Haiti who currently resides in Hollywood, FL and Naples, FL
(Photo credit Bravo/Justin Stephens)
About The Author: Steven Rogers