Bravo has announced its line-up of contestants for the 12th season of Top Chef, which is set in Boston. The 16 cheftestants include Atlanta's Ron Eyester (of the soon to open Diner in Atlantic Station), Portland's Gregory Gourdet (Departure), and Boston's Stacey Cogswell (Regal Beagle). Padma Lakshmi returns to host, and chefs Tom Colicchio and Hugh Acheson, plus writer Gail Simmons serve as judges. Chef Richad Blais, who won Top Chef All Stars will also appear as a "recurring judge" this season.

Celebrities, like actress Emmy Rossum and football player Rob Gronkowski, will also make appearances this season. As always, the show will feature a slew of famous chef faces: expect to catch glimpses of Jacques Pépin, Jamie Bissonnette, Todd English, Barbara Lynch, and Ming Tsai. The show was filmed at locations around the city including Fenway Park, the Museum of Science, and Plimoth Plantation. A teaser video for the season also promises a return of Restaurant Wars, a Thanksgiving meal with blueberry stuffing, and a shot of Padma slurping noodles. Top Chef Boston premieres October 15. Go, check out the full line-up of contestants — plus a teaser video — below:

Here's the full list contestants:

Doug Adams, 29, Portland, Ore.

Stacy Cogswell, 33, Boston

Joy Crump, 46, Fredericksburg, Va.

Ron Eyester, 40, Atlanta

Gregory Gourdet, 39, Portland, Ore.

Aaron Grissom, 27, Los Angeles

Adam Harvey, 29, New York

Melissa King, 30, San Francisco

Rebecca LaMalfa, 32, Chicago

Mei Lin, 28, Los Angeles

George Pagonis, 31, Washington, D.C.

Michael Patlazhan, 31, Brooklyn, N.Y.

James Rigato, 29, White Lake, Mich.

Katsuji Tanabe, 33, Los Angeles

Keriann Von Raesfeld, 28, San Jose, Calif.

Katie Weinner, 35, Salt Lake City

Emmy-Winning Companion Digital Video Series "Last Chance Kitchen" Returns for Season 4

NEW YORK, NY – August 20, 2014 – Bravo Media's Emmy and James Beard Award-winning series "Top Chef" will premiere its 12th season in Boston on Wednesday, October 15th at 10PM ET/PT. Returning to the judges table for the new season in New England are head judge Tom Colicchio, judges Gail Simmons, Hugh Acheson and host Padma Lakshmi. For the first time ever, a "Top Chef" winner is joining the judging panel. Richard Blais will make his debut as a recurring judge offering the chef'testants guidance from a chef and a former competitor's point of view. For a sneak peak at season 12, visit http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-12/videos/top-chef-goes-to-boston.

This season features some of the franchise's "hungriest" chefs battling it out against the backdrop of Bean Town's flourishing culinary scene. The chefs will go knife-to-knife at iconic Boston locales including Fenway Park, Plimoth Plantation and The Bull and Finch Pub, which served as the inspiration for "Cheers" and where exterior shots for the show were filmed. Mirroring Boston's own rich history, Season 12 is full of firsts, including the first meal ever served on the field underneath the Green Monster, a challenge using only ingredients that would have been on hand at the first Thanksgiving meal, the first "Top Chef" food festival and the first fan appreciation challenge where fans of the show were invited to dine inside the "Top Chef" kitchen. The show will also feature a challenge highlighting Boston's finest from the police and fire departments.

The stakes are higher than ever as "Top Chef" introduces sudden death Quickfire challenges that occur without warning throughout the season and a fiery judges table that puts every chef on the spot. The chefs will be tasked with serving up food for top entertainers, culinary stars and celebrity guest judges including: actress Emmy Rossum, Rob "Gronk" Gronkowski of the New England Patriots, MLB Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, actor George Wendt (Norm from "Cheers"), "Watch What Happens Live" host Andy Cohen, Todd English, Barbara Lynch, Jasper White, Ming Tsai, Jacques Pépin, Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonette.

The chef'testants will bring out their knives as they battle it out for $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice, a feature in FOOD & WINE magazine, a showcase at the annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen and the title of "Top Chef."

Meet the Chef'testants:

- Doug Adams, 29 – Portland, Oregon

- Stacy Cogswell, 33 – Boston, Massachusetts

- Joy Crump, 46 – Fredericksburg, Virginia

- Ron Eyester, 40 – Atlanta, Georgia

- Gregory Gourdet, 39 – Portland, Oregon

- Aaron Grissom, 27 – Los Angeles, California

- Adam Harvey, 29 – New York, New York

- Melissa King, 30 – San Francisco, California

- Rebecca LaMalfa, 32 - Chicago, Illinois

- Mei Lin, 28 – Los Angeles, California

- George Pagonis, 31 – Washington, D.C.

- Michael Patlazhan, 31 – Brooklyn, New York

- James Rigato, 29 – White Lake, Michigan

- Katsuji Tanabe, 33 – Los Angeles, California

- Keriann Von Raesfeld, 28 – San Jose, California

- Katie Weinner, 35 – Salt Lake City, Utah

*For more information on the chef'testants, please visit Bravotv.com/top-chef.

Additionally, "Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen," the Emmy Award-winning, groundbreaking digital video series, sponsored by Hidden Valley® Food and The Glad® Products Company, and hosted by Tom Colicchio, returns for its fourth season. The companion series kicks off with a two-part redemption midseason and continues until part one of the finale. Each week, eliminated chef'testants face-off in a pressure-filled, battle royale to compete for the ultimate prize – redemption and a spot in the "Top Chef" finale. Fans can follow the "Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen" challenges on 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 Chef Facebook fan page. The series can be seen on desktop, mobile and tablet at www.BravoTV.com, m.BravoTV.com, on BravoNow iPhone and iPad apps, as well as iTunes, Amazon, VOD and Hulu.

"Top Chef" earned its eighth Emmy nomination in the "Outstanding Reality - Competition" category this year, continuing the network's record with nominations in the category for a tenth consecutive year. Tune in to the Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, August 25 at 8p.m. ET/PT on NBC to see if "Top Chef" wins the award.

Can't wait until October for your "Top Chef" fix? Tune in to "Top Chef Duels" tonight at 10pm ET/PT. DC Restaurateur Mike Isabella and LA Restaurateur Antonia Lofaso have a long, storied 'Top Chef' history, discovering that they were distant cousins on "Top Chef All Stars." Mike's victory prevented Antonia from moving to the "All Star" finale and now she's back to take him down in the Duel. These competitive cousins go head-to-head in an Italian-themed smack down where Michael Chiarello joins the judges as well as the chefs' families to pick the winner. Who will win this family feud? For a sneak peek visit http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-duels/season-1/videos/meatball-race

"Top Chef" is produced by the Emmy Award-winning Magical Elves. Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz serve as executive producers.

Bravo is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBCUniversal cable network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. For more information, visit www.BravoTV.com. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BravoPR.

For art, please visit: http://www.nbcumv.com/programming/bravo/top-chef?network=33132

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