Current Vine

Bravo’s Top Chef premieres its fifth season on Wednesday, November 12 at 10:00 p.m. EST. This season will take place in New York City, where 17 chefs will square off to win $100,000, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, and a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.

Host, judge, and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi returns; joining her again are fellow judges Tom Colicchio, chef and owner of Craft Restaurants; and Gail Simmons of Food & Wine magazine. Toby Young, food critic and author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, comes on board as a new judge.

The newest crop of chefs are: 

• Alex, 33 / Hometown: New York, NY; residence: Los Angeles, CA 
• Ariane, 41 / Hometown/residence: Verona, NJ
• Carla, 44 / Hometown: Nashville, TN; residence: in Washington, D.C. 
• Danny, 26 / Hometown/residence: New Hyde Park, NY
• Fabio, 30 / Hometown: Florence, Italy; residence: Moorpark, CA
• Gene, 33 / Hometown: Whitmore Village, HI; residence: Las Vegas, NV
• Hosea, 34 / Hometown: Taos, NM; residence: Boulder, CO
• Jamie, 30 / Hometown: New York, NY; residence: San Francisco, CA
• Jeff, 30 / Hometown: Niceville, FL; residence: Miami, FL
• Jill, 28 / Hometown: Latrobe, PA; residence: Baltimore, MD
• Lauren, 24 / Hometown: Cincinnati, OH; stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia
• Leah, 27 / Hometown: Scarsdale, NY; residence: New York, NY
• Melissa, 28 / Hometown: MD; residence: Boulder, CO
• Patrick, 21 / Hometown: Quincy, MA; residence: Hyde Park, NY
• Radhika, 28 / Hometown/residence: Chicago, IL
• Richard, 27 / Hometown: Long Island, NY; residence: San Diego, CA
• Stefan, 35 / Hometown: Tampere, Finland; residence: Santa Monica, CA  

Check out Current Vine’s interview with last season’s cheftestant, Spike Mendelsohn, while the season was in progress; below, watch a preview of the upcoming season, a video of the judges discussing what’s ahead and who their favorite chefs are, and a clip of the contestants revealing their signature catchphrases.