Top Chef (2006-2009)

The contestants of Top Chef. (Photo: Bravo)

Starring: Katie Lee Joel, Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons

Following in the footsteps of the revered Iron Chef, and riding the crest of the reality trend still sweeping U.S. networks in the mid-2000s, the Bravo network's reality series Top Chef pits 15 chefs against one other in an on-camera competition of food preparation to vie for the title of premier culinary maestro. Each episode of the series plunges contestants into two phases: the first half constitutes a series of tests of their basic culinary skills, the second a more aggressive and cutthroat "elimination round" that throws extreme and stressful obstacles in the paths of participants to observe how they cope when faced with such crises -- everything from obnoxious and eccentric customers with strange requests to the pressure of whipping up masterpieces from bizarre and seemingly incompatible ingredients. Above all else, contestants' management, business, and customer-service abilities are also evaluated. In true reality-series mode, each episode concludes with one of the 15 participants told to "pack up your knives" and hit the road -- until only a single chef remains. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide