Bravo’s “Top Chef Amateurs,” hosted by Gail Simmons, premieres on Thursday, July 1 at 9PM ET/PT with two back-to-back episodes, immediately following the season finale of “Top Chef” in Portland.
Produced by Magical Elves, “Top Chef Amateurs” gives talented home cooks the opportunity of a lifetime to test their skills in the illustrious “Top Chef” kitchen.
In each 30-minute episode, two amateur chefs will compete head-to-head in some of the most iconic challenges from the “Top Chef” archives including the mis-en-place race, blind taste test and they’ll even try to break the curse of “Top Chef’s” most dreaded dish – risotto.
Putting their kitchen skills to the test are a wide variety of amateur chefs ranging from an ex-CIA agent to a dental hygienist-turned-food-blogger as well as an architect. The amateur chefs will be paired with different “Top Chef” finalists, frontrunners and fan-favorites who will cook alongside them and help the amateurs battle against the clock.
The winner of each episode will receive $5,000 furnished by season-long prizing sponsor Wells Fargo.