COMPETING WITH KNIVES

Bravo's Top Chef Stirs Things Up In Vegas This Season

By Nicki R

BRAVO'S Top Chef returns tonight (Wed., Aug. 19th) with this season's contestants competing in Las Vegas.

Top Chef, the number one food show in the U.S., features 17 chefs competing for the chance to win an editorial feature in Food and Wine, $100 grand and the title of Top Chef.

Each episode the chefs compete in two challenges. In the "Quickfire Challenge" the chefs are given an hour or less to make a quick dish with certain requirements. In the "Elimination Challenge" the chefs must make a dish or several dishes based on a theme or special event. At the end of the meal the chef with the worst dish is sent packing with a brutal "pack up your knifes and go."

But the show serves up more than yummy meals and unsavory disasters. There's fights, blame games and even forbidden romances.

The show also brings celebrity judges to the feast, among them this season Wolfgang Puck, Natalie Portman, Penn & Teller, Tyler Florence and more.

Want to know more about the competitor before the show airs? Check out their bios on Bravo's Top Chef site.

Nicki R. is a Southern girl living in the big city of Chicago. She loves quiet evenings a home watching horror films with her dogs Jezebelle and Zombie. Check out her blog, Hey, Look Behind You!