Top Chef Masters

One of the most-watched reality shows on television, Bravo’s Top Chef just keeps getting hotter. During its fifth and most recent season, Top Chef: New York, 3.7 million viewers tuned in for the finale, a remarkable number even for a season earning the show’s highest-ever ratings.

But even with plans for a sixth season in the works, Top Chef is upping the stakes, with the June 10th premiere of Top Chef Masters—featuring high-profile chefs as contestants. The format of this spinoff differs slightly from the original show. With twenty-four contestants, each of the first six episodes will pit four chefs against each other; those six winners will proceed to the finals, where one chef will get knocked off each week until the finale.

But instead of the usual roster of sous chefs, small restaurant owners, and self-employed caterers, these contestants have already made names for themselves. Well-known competitors include Wylie Dufresne of New York’s wd~50, Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, Rick Bayless of Chicago’s Frontera Grill, and Michael Schlow of Radius in Boston—along with twenty other equally notable chefs. And judges include Saveur editor-in-chief James Oseland, “Insatiable Critic” Gael Greene, and British journalist Jay Rayner.

Of course, these chefs are competing less for a shot at culinary fame; across the board, they've already achieved that. The winner, however, is granted $100,000 for whichever charity they choose to represent—and, whether or not they need it, the title of Top Chef.