CINCINNATI – Caitlin Steininger, the executive chef and owner of Wyoming restaurant CWC, pulled one over on customers and friends when she said she was vacationing in Italy this summer.

Instead, Steininger was participating in the 16th season of Bravo reality television series "Top Chef," which was primarily filmed in Kentucky. It will premiere at 9 p.m. Dec. 6 on Bravo.

A post on CWC's Facebook page on Thursday revealed the truth.

Steininger is a Le Cordon Bleu culinary school graduate who started the popular food blog "Cooking with Caitlin" with her sister Kelly MacEachen Trush more than a decade ago. CWC, the Restaurant opened in March 2017 as an outgrowth of the sisters' culinary venture.

RELATED: Cooking with Caitlin sisters expand their table with new restaurant in Wyoming

The sisters announced in May that they plan to open a second restaurant in Wyoming by the end of this year. Station Family + BBQ will feature "Cincinnati style" barbecue, sides and suds when it opens at 400 Wyoming Ave.

RELATED: Station Family + BBQ is 'a love note to Wyoming'

Bravo released a teaser trailer Thursday for the upcoming season of "Top Chef," which will pit Steininger against other chefs from around the country in various culinary challenges. Some of those challenges will include a double elimination round, a three-team "Restaurant Wars" competition and a KFC-inspired blind taste test where contestants must identify herbs and spices used in a dish as possible in one episode's initial "Quickfire" challenge.

The contestants also will meet Kentucky notables such as John Calipari, University of Kentucky's men's basketball coach, and former professional boxer Laila Ali, daughter of boxer and Louisville native Muhammad Ali. "Top Chef" will fly the final five contestants to Macau, China, for a final cook-off before choosing a winner.

People Magazine also published a story Thursday with details on the upcoming season.