'Top Chef Seattle' Announced, Plus The Chef Lineup

As Eater has been consistently pointing out, the new season of Top Chef seemed to be Seattle-oriented, and now Bravo confirms that the show will be based in the Pacific Northwest.

Today, the network announced the chef lineup for the Seattle season, noting that Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Hugh Acheson, and Gail Simmons will return as judges in the 10th season of the competitive cooking series, but will be joined by Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck as well.

The cheftestants list is long, so here are the highlights. There are chefs born in Japan and Brazil; others with experience at high-end restaurants like The French Laundry, Chez Panisse, Alinea, and Bouchon; a personal chef; another who has worked at Disneyworld and comes from Hawaii; and even Tina Bourbeau, the executive chef and senior director of research and development for Fresh Direct (which is actually a genius marketing move, if that's what it is). Check out the full lineup over on Bravo; the season premieres Nov. 7.