2009 Summer TV Preview: Top Chef - Las Vegas

Bravo’s hit reality cooking competition Top Chef is set to premiere on August 26th for its sixth season. I’ve been mildly enjoying the “Masters” discover how hard the show can be recently, but there’s just no substitute for the real thing. The up and coming chefs who just want to prove themselves. This season will be taking place in Las Vegas, which may be known for buffets by many penny pinching tourists but also hosts some phenomenal restaurants. With guest judges like Penn & Teller this season should prove to have high “steaks.” Really, I just did that. Why? Because it was on Bravo’s press release and I couldn’t resist an old fashioned bad pun.

Below is a list of the 17 cheftestants that’ll be vying for the title of “Top Chef” this year, as well as a video introducing each of them.

Ash Fulk, 29 – Hometown: Pleasant Hill, Calif.; Resides in New York City
Ashley Merriman, 32 – Center Sandwich, N.H.; Resides in Seattle, Wash.
Bryan Voltaggio, 33 – Hometown: Frederick, Md.; Resides in Urbana, Md.
Eli Kirshtein, 25 – Hometown/Resides in: Atlanta, Ga.
Eve Aronoff, 40 – Hometown/Resides in: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Hector Santiago, 41 – Hometown: San Juan, Puerto Rico; Resides in Atlanta, Ga.
Jennifer Carroll, 33 – Hometown/Resides in: Philadelphia, Pa.
Jennifer Zavala, 31 – Hometown: Cromwell, Conn.; Resides in Philadelphia, Pa.
Jesse Sandlin, 30 – Hometown/Resides in: Baltimore, Md.
Kevin Gillespie, 26 – Hometown/Resides in: Atlanta, Ga.
Laurine Wickett, 38 – Hometown: Rochester, N.Y.; Resides in San Francisco, Calif.
Mattin Noblia, 29 – Hometown: Biarritz, France; Resides in San Francisco, Calif.
Michael Isabella, 34 – Hometown: Little Ferry, N.J.; Resides in Washington, D.C.
Michael Voltaggio, 30 – Hometown: Frederick, Md.; Resides in Los Angeles, Calif.
Preeti Mistry, 33 – Hometown/Resides in: San Francisco, Calif.
Robin Leventhal, 43 – Hometown: Sun Valley, Idaho; Resides in Seattle, Wash.
Ron Duprat, 40 – Hometown: Mare Rouge, Haiti; Resides in Hollywood, Fla. and Naples, Fla.