Top Chef 1 (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Host & judges

Permanent

• Tom Colicchio (Head Judge)
• Katie Lee Joel (Host)
• Gail Simmons (Judge)

Guest judges

• Hubert Keller - Episodes #1 & #11
• Elizabeth Falkner - Episode #2
• Laurent Manrique - Episode #3
• Jefferson Hill - Episode #4
• Mike Yakura - Episode #5
• Ted Allen - Episode #6
• Jeffrey Chodorow - Episode #7
• Marcy Blum - Episode #8
• Greg Cole - Episode #9
• Lissa Doumani - Episode #9
• Philippe Jeanty - Episode #9
• Douglas Keane - Episode #9
• Keith Luce - Episode #9
• James McDevitt - Episode #9
• Cindy Pawlcyn - Episode #9
• Victor Scargle - Episode #9
• Hiro Sone - Episode #9
• John Shafer - Episode #9
• Lee Anne Wong - Episode #11
• Miguel Morales - Episode #11
• Stephen Asprinio - Episode #11
• Performers from Cirque Du Soleil's Kà - Episode #11
• Lorraine Bracco - Episode #12

Contestants

• Harold Dieterle, age 28, New York, New York
• Tiffani Faison, age 28, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Dave Martin, age 40, Long Beach, California
• Lee Anne Wong, age 28, New York, New York
• Stephen Asprinio, age 24, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Miguel Morales, age 27, New York, New York
• Andrea Beaman, age 38, New York, New York
• Lisa Parks, age 45, Los Angeles, California
• Candice Kumai, age 23, Pasadena, California
• Brian Hill, age 37, Los Angeles, California
• Cynthia Sestito, age 52, East Hampton, New York
• Kenneth Lee, age 31, Los Angeles, California

Episodes

Season 1 elimination challenges

• Green background and WIN means the chef won that episode's Elimination Challenge.
• Yellow background means the chef won that episode's Quickfire Challenge.
• Blue background and HIGH means the chef was in the top during that episode's Elimination Challenge.
• Yellow background and HIGH means the chef won that episode's Quickfire Challenge and was in the top during that episode's Elimination Challenge.
• Red background and LOW means the chef was in the bottom and risked elimination in that episode's Elimination Challenge.
• Yellow background and LOW means the chef won that episode's Quickfire Challenge, but was in the bottom, and available for elimination in that that episode's Elimination Challenge.
• Grey background and OUT means the chef lost that week's Elimination Challenge and was out of the competition.
• Pink background and WIN means the chef won this season of Top Chef.
• Episode 3: Andrea was brought back, after being eliminated once, when Cynthia chose to leave because her father was ill.
• Episode 5: Chefs worked in teams of two with two winners and one eliminated.
• Episode 8: No winner.
• Episode 10: Reunion. No challenges. Ken eliminated again.

Episode 1: Who Deserves To Be Here

• Quickfire Challenge: Survive working the line at chef Hubert Keller's Fleur de Lys restaurant for 30 minutes. Prize: Immunity from elimination.
  • WINNER: Lee Anne.
• Elimination Challenge: Prepare a signature dish to be served to the other Top Chef contestants.
  • WINNER: Harold. ELIMINATED: Ken.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and Hubert Keller.
• First aired March 8, 2006

Episode 2: Food of Love

• Quickfire Challenge: Choosing from a large selection of fruit, prepare a plate for presentation. Prize: Immunity from elimination.
  • WINNER: Stephen.
• Elimination Challenge: Make a sexy dessert for a fetish party at Mr. S, a sex boutique in San Francisco, and co-hosted by Paige White
  • WINNER: Miguel. ELIMINATED: Andrea.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and chef Elizabeth Falkner.
• First aired March 15, 2006

Episode 3: Nasty Delights

• Quickfire Challenge: Prepare octopus in 60 minutes. Prize: Immunity from elimination.
  • WINNER: Tiffani.
• Elimination Challenge: Working in two teams, prepare monkfish for a group of children who will rate the food.
  • WINNER: Miguel. ELIMINATED: Brian.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and chef Laurent Manrique.
• First aired March 22, 2006

Episode 4: Food on the Fly

• Quickfire Challenge: Create a dish in 30 minutes using US$20 worth of ingredients from a gas station store. Prize: Immunity from elimination.
  • WINNER: Lee Anne.
• Elimination Challenge: Create a gourmet entree that can be reheated in a microwave. Serve it to a group of Junior League women who will rate the meals.
  • WINNER: Tiffani. ELIMINATED: Candice.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and chef Jefferson Hill.
• First aired March 29, 2006

Episode 5: Blind Confusion

• Quickfire Challenge: In five minutes identify a variety of ingredients by taste while blindfolded. Prize: Immunity from elimination.
  • WINNER: Andrea.
• Elimination Challenge: Working in teams of two, create a dish fusing Latin American cuisine with one other ethnic cuisine, then distribute the dish from a cart in the Mission District of San Francisco.
  • WINNERS: Dave and Tiffani. ELIMINATED: Lisa.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and chef Mike Yakura.
• First aired April 5, 2006
• Fun Fact- to lampoon the poor performance by all the chefs on the Quickfire challenge, Dave and Miguel held a similar challenge using junk food ingredients (Miguel was proclaimed the winner.)

Episode 6: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

• Quickfire Challenge: Create an appetizer in 20 minutes using US$3 worth of ingredients. Prize: Immunity from elimination.
  • WINNER: Stephen.
• Elimination Challenge: Create a seven-course dinner party for Ted Allen. Each chef works on another chef's recipe.
  • WINNER: Lee Anne. ELIMINATED: Andrea.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and Ted Allen.
• First aired April 12, 2006

Episode 7: Restaurant Wars

• Quickfire Challenge: Create a sandwich in 30 minutes using any of the available ingredients. Prize: Winning sandwich will be put on the menu at the San Francisco location of Tom Colicchio's 'Wichcraft restaurant.
  • WINNER: Harold.
• Elimination Challenge: Working in two teams of three, transform raw restaurant spaces, including decor and menu. Twenty-four hours later, diners arrive, choose which restaurant to dine in, and rate their experience.
  • WINNER: Dave. ELIMINATED: Miguel.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow.
• First aired April 19, 2006
• In this episode, Dave famously said to Tiffany "I'm not your bitch, bitch", after she constantly nagged him. It became the most quoted line of the season.
• Before the teams get to work on their restaurant concepts, Chodorow reveals that the winner of the Elimination Challenge will accompany him to the Cannes Film Festival.

Episode 8: Wedding Bell Blues

• Quickfire Challenge: Design a wedding reception menu in 90 minutes and pitch it to the wedding couple. Prize: Menu will be used for the wedding reception.
  • WINNER: Lee Anne.
• Elimination Challenge: Working as a team, cater a wedding reception for 100 guests using the menu chosen in the Quickfire challenge. The reception starts in 16 hours.
  • WINNER: None. ELIMINATED: Stephen.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and wedding planner Marcy Blum.
• First aired April 26, 2006

Episode 9: Napa's Finest

• Quickfire Challenge: Recreate a classic junk food element into a gourmet dish in 45 minutes. Prize: Performance counts in overall assessment of the week's challenges, as well as a bottle of Shafer Hillside Select Sauvignon.
  • WINNER: Harold.
• Elimination Challenge: Travel to Napa Valley's COPIA to prepare a dish incorporating expensive black Périgord truffles to be served with 2001 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon wine. Each chef's dish will be served to a group of top professional chefs from Northern California who are the guest judges.
  • WINNER: Dave. ELIMINATED: Lee Anne.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and a collection of top professional chefs from Northern California, including Greg Cole, Lissa Doumani, Philippe Jeanty, Douglas Keane, Keith Luce, James McDevitt, Cindy Pawlcyn, Victor Scargle, Hiro Sone and winery owner John Shafer.
• First aired May 3, 2006

Episode 10: Reunion

• All twelve chefs are reunited with Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and Katie Lee Joel in a discussion and behind-the-scenes review of their experiences on Top Chef. Though it was shown before the finale, the reunion was actually taped in late April, 2006, after the finale took place. It is unknown how many of the chefs other than the winner, Harold, finalists Tiffani and Dave, and participants Miguel, Stephen and Lee Anne, knew the results of the finale at the time of the reunion taping.
• First aired May 10, 2006

Episode 11: Finale Part 1

• The three finalists, Dave, Harold and Tiffani, meet at the MGM Grand Las Vegas where they compete in a series of three Quickfire Challenges to determine which two chefs will remain to compete in a final challenge for the grand prize of Top Chef.
• Quickfire/Elimination Challenges: For each challenge, prepare hotel room service meals in 30 minutes for different customers: first a room of high rollers, including former competitors Lee Anne, Miguel and Stephen; then a table of poker players including Phil Hellmuth; and, finally, performers from Cirque du Soleil.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and Hubert Keller.
  • ADVANCING TO FINAL TWO: Harold and Tiffani. ELIMINATED: Dave.
• First aired May 17, 2006

Episode 12: Finale Part 2

• Elimination Challenge: The two finalists, Harold and Tiffani, each prepare a five course tasting meal to be served to a table of eight luminaries from the culinary world. Harold is assisted by former competitors Lee Anne and Miguel. Tiffani is assisted by former competitors Stephen and Dave.
• Judges: Tom Colicchio; Gail Simmons; and Lorraine Bracco.
  • WINNER OF TOP CHEF SEASON ONE: Harold. RUNNER-UP: Tiffani.
• First aired May 24, 2006