Wolfgang Puck Joins ‘Top Chef: Seattle’ Judging Panel

Wolfgang Puck will join the Top Chef: Seattle judging panel.  Top Chef: Texas was a disappointing season for many fans of the series, so I guess the producers figured why not get on the trend of adding high profile judges!  I love Top Chef and I’m hoping for a much improved season 10.

Wolfgang Puck will join returning judges Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Hugh Acheson and Emeril Lagasse with Padma Lakshmi returning as host for the tenth season of the popular cooking competition.  Top Chef: Seattle will premiere on Wednesday, November 7 2012 at 10 p.m. ET/PT and will feature a cast of 21 cheftestants.

Hugh “Unibrow” Acheson has been my favorite recent addition to the judging panel, so I’m glad to see him back.  Not so sure how I feel about the return of “Last Chance Kitchen.”

Via Press Release:

“Top Chef: Seattle” Premieres Wednesday, November 7 at 10 PM ET/PT and Wolfgang Puck Joins as Judge

Emmy-Nominated Digital Video Series “Last Chance Kitchen” Returns

NEW YORK – September 19, 2012 –Bravo Media premieres “Top Chef: Seattle,” the tenth season of the Emmy and James Beard Award-winning series, on Wednesday, November 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Famed chef and restaurant mogul Wolfgang Puck joins as a judge this season, alongside Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Hugh Acheson and Emeril Lagasse with Padma Lakshmi returning as host, as 21 chef’testants compete for the top crown. For more information, visit www.BravoTV.com. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BravoPR.

The franchise has catapulted nine “Top Chef” winners’ careers, and this season the competition goes back to the basics, with culinary challenges that require a mastery of the primary skills of a chef. The “Top Chef: Seattle” chef’testants will be pared down week by week as they compete to out-flavor, out-cook and out-do their competition. The winning chef will receive $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and will earn the title of “Top Chef.” The Emmy Award-winning Magical Elves return to produce “Top Chef: Seattle.” Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz serve as executive producers.

Following are the 21 “Top Chef: Seattle” hopefuls:

- Lizzie Binder, 37 – Napa, California

- Tina Bourbeau, 42 – New York, New York

- Chrissy Camba, 30 – Chicago, Illinois

- Stephanie Cmar, 27 – Boston, Massachusetts

- Micah Fields, 28 – Los Angeles, California

- Eliza Gavin, 38 – Telluride, Colorado

- Anthony Gray, 35 – Macon, Georgia

- Jeffrey Jew, 34 – Washington, DC

- Gina Keatley, 32 – New York, New York

- Kristen Kish, 28 – Boston, Massachusetts

- Danyele McPherson, 31 – Dallas, Texas

- Daniel O’Brien, 32 – Washington, DC

- Carla Pellegrino, 43 – Las Vegas, Nevada

- Jorel Pierce, 28 – Denver, Colorado

- Sheldon Simeon, 30 – Lahaina, Hawaii

- John Tesar, 54 – Dallas, Texas

- Joshua Valentine, 32 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

- Bart Vandaele, 41 – Washington, DC

- Tyler Wiard, 41 – Denver, Colorado

- Brooke Williamson, 33 – Los Angeles, California

- Kuniko Yagi, 35 – Los Angeles, California

Emmy-nominated “Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen,” the groundbreaking digital video series hosted by Tom Colicchio, returns for its second season. Each week, two eliminated chef’testants face-off to compete for the ultimate prize – a spot in the “Top Chef: Seattle” finale. Fans can follow the “Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen” challenges and vote in each week’s Tweet Battle on www.BravoTV.com, as well as join in the social conversation and see what the chef’testants have to say during the competition by following @bravotopchef on Twitter or liking the Top ChefFacebook fan page. The series can be seen on desktop, mobile and tablet at www.BravoTV.com, m.BravoTV.com, on BravoNow iPhone, iPad and Android apps, as well as iTunes, Amazon, VOD, Xbox, Hulu, Playstation, Connected TVs and wireless carriers.

credit: Twitter