From left: Wylie Dufresne, Hubert Keller, host Kelly Choi, Art Smith, Rick Bayless, Elizabeth Falkner.

 

Want to know which chefs have been chosen to be part of the upcoming “Top Chef Masters” series, which has established chefs to go against each other in culinary battles of the legendary “Top Chef.”

Here is the complete list of the competing chefs:

–        Rick Bayless – Frontera Grill, Chicago, Ill.

–        Wilo Benet – Pikayo, San Juan, Puerto Rico

–        John Besh – Restaurant August, New Orleans, LA

–        Graham Elliot Bowles – Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago, Ill.

–        Michael Chiarello – Bottega Restaurant, Yountville, Calif.

–        Michael Cimarusti – Providence, Los Angeles, Calif.

–        Wylie Dufresne – wd~50, New York, N.Y.

–        Elizabeth Falkner – Orson, San Francisco, Calif.

–        Hubert Keller – Fleur de Lys, San Francisco, Calif.

–        Christopher Lee – Aureole, New York, N.Y.

–        Ludo Lefebvre – Ludo Bites, Los Angeles, Calif.

–        Anita Lo – Annisa, New York, N.Y.

–        Tim Love – The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Fort Worth, Texas

–        Rick Moonen – Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nev.

–        Nils Noren – French Culinary Institute, New York, N.Y.

–        Lachlan McKinnon Patterson – Frasca Food & Wine, Boulder, Colo.

–        Cindy Pawlcyn – Mustards Grill, Napa Valley, Calif.

–        Mark Peel – Campanile, Los Angeles, Calif.

–        Douglas Rodriguez – Alma de Cuba, Philadelphia, PA

–        Michael Schlow – Radius Restaurant, Boston, Mass.

–        Art Smith – Table Fifty-Two, Chicago, Ill.

–        Suzanne Tracht – Jar, Los Angeles, Calif.

–        Jonathan Waxman – Barbuto, New York, N.Y.

–        Roy Yamaguchi – Roy’s Restaurants, San Diego, Calif.

 

The list of guest stars that will be gracing the series with their presence are actress/musician Zooey Deschanel, actor Neil Patrick Harris, and “Lost” writers and executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof.

 

Amongst the actual judges of the show there will be, (to name a few) Saveur editor James Oseland (above right), former New York magazine restaurant critic Gael Greene (center), and British food critic Jay Rayner (left).

Each episode of Top Chef Masters holds two challenges for the chefs.The first is a twist on the classic Top Chef Quickfire Challenge which tests their basic abilities.  The food will be tasted and evaluated by the judges and a wide range of tasters for whom the challenge is aimed, whether it is patrons at a five-star restaurant or a room full of hungry kids.

Bravo states the difference between Top Chefs Masters and the original Top Chef…

The Quickfire Challenge will be a twist on the usual test of basic skills. It’s assumed these folks know what they’re doing.  Each Quickfire Challenge will be judged by a blind taste test and a five-star system, similar to fine dining reviews.

So tune in, this series will debut June 10th at 10:00pm EST/ 9:00pm Central.