Las Vegas Weekly

April 7, 2010 · 5:08 PM

Las Vegas chefs compete on tonight’s Top Chef Masters premiere

By Robin Leach

Susan Feniger samples her cuisine.

Photo: Helena Ruffin

Bravo’s hit competition series Top Chef Masters is back for Season 2 starting tonight, and once again viewers will see what happens when world-renowned chefs compete against one another in a series of weekly challenges and revert back to basics. Only one chef wins the title of Top Chef Master and a prize for the charity of his or her choice.

We’ll keep our eyes on Mandalay Bay chefs Susan Feniger of Border Grill and Rick Moonen of RM Seafood, plus David Burke of The Venetian and Ludo Lefebvre, who helped open Lavo in the Palazzo before moving to L.A. Bravo has a video preview of the series on its Web site.

Tonight’s episode has the chefs competing against one another to win votes from the touring rock band The Bravery with the ingredients being only from a gas station convenience store. The second challenge tonight is more sensual in cooking up a romantic dinner for a couple out on their first date. The aphrodisiac ingredients permitted include honey, bananas and oysters.

Food journalist Kelly Choi returns as host alongside renowned restaurant critic Gael Greene, culinary expert James Oseland and food critic Jay Rayner, who are all back at the Critics’ Table. Top Chef judge Gail Simmons also will serve as a judge this season on Top Chef Masters.

The Season 2 competing chefs are Jody Adams, Rialto Restaurant, Cambridge, Mass.; Govind Armstrong, 8 oz. Burger Bar, Los Angeles; Graham Elliot Bowles, Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago; Jimmy Bradley, The Red Cat, NYC; David Burke, David Burke, Las Vegas, and Townhouse, NYC; Wylie Dufresne, wd~50, NYC; Susan Feniger, Border Grill, Las Vegas, and Street, Los Angeles; Debbie Gold, The American Restaurant, Kansas City, Mo.; Carmen Gonzalez, chef consultant, NYC; Maria Hines, Tilth, Seattle; Susur Lee, Madeline’s, Toronto; Ludo Lefebvre, formerly of Lavo, Las Vegas, and Ludo Bites, Los Angeles; Tony Mantuano, Spiaggia, Chicago; Rick Moonen, RM Seafood, Las Vegas; Mark Peel, Campanile, Los Angeles; Monica Pope, t’afla, Houston; Thierry Rautureau, Rover’s, Seattle; Marcus Samuelsson, The Red Rooster, NYC; Ana Sortun, Oleana, Cambridge, Mass.; Rick Tramonto, TRU, Chicago; Jerry Traunfeld, Poppy, Seattle; and Jonathan Waxman, Barbutto, NYC.

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.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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