Las Vegas Weekly

April 8, 2009 · 8:24 AM

Exclusive: Las Vegas chefs to compete on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters

By Robin Leach

Top Chef Masters on Bravo.

Photo: Bravo TV

For five seasons, Top Chef has become must-watch TV for foodies and kitchen kings alike on Bravo. Now Vegas DeLuxe has learned that Bravo is airing a new challenge that pits the ultimate master chefs against one another in an amazing series of elimination contests!

And Las Vegas is well represented in Bravo’s Top Chef Masters! Rick Moonen of RM Seafood and Hubert Keller (a former Top Chef judge himself) of Fleur de Lys, both at Mandalay Bay, have been selected, as has Ludo Lefebvre, who recently departed Lavo in the Palazzo to open Bites in L.A., plus my good friend Roy Yamaguchi, who has two Roy’s restaurants here in Sin City.

Tom Colicchio of Craftsteak at MGM Grand has been a judge on all five seasons and will continue to serve both shows, and regular Vegas visitor and actor-magician Neil Patrick Harris will join the rotating guest judges.

For the first time, all past Top Chef winners -- including Las Vegas winners and runners-up -- will be reunited for one episode of the Masters challenge. Hung Huynh of Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace was the winner of Season 3; Tiffani Faison, who worked at Tao in The Venetian and Daniel Boulud’s restaurant in the Wynn, was runner-up in the first season filmed here; and Marcel Vigneron of the Joel Robuchon restaurant at MGM Grand was the Season 2 runner-up.

Las Vegas has other connections to this ultimate food cook-off. Mark Peel, who was the first chef for Wolfgang Puck when he opened Spago at Caesars Palace, and Chicago’s Rick Bayless, who has been a restaurant consultant here, also will be competing.

Filming has just been completed, but the chefs, their families and kitchen staffs have all been sworn to secrecy and signed confidentiality agreements to keep the winner a secret until the finale.

Top Chef Masters, with its Quickfire Challenge, Draw Knives, Restaurant and Wedding Wars, premieres June 10, as confirmed last night by Bravo!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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