'Top Chef' Season 11 In New Orleans Gets October Premiere Date (VIDEO)

The 'Top Chef' Kitchen Heats Up In New Orleans

The upcoming season, which debuts Wednesday, Oct. 2 on Bravo, will see a new batch of cheftestants cook up their best for judges Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Hugh Acheson, Emeril Lagasse and host Padma Lakshmi.

Bravo will reveal the "Top Chef" Season 11 contestants on bravotv.com, but below are the first six.

  • Stephanie Cmar, 28 of Boston, MA
  • Patricia Vega, 29 of New York, NY
  • Janine Booth, 25 of New York, NY
  • Jason Cichonski, 27 of Philadelphia, PA
  • Nick Elmi, 32 of Philadelphia, PA
  • Bene Bartolotta, 37 of New York, NY

Celebrity guest judges for "Top Chef" Season 11 include Lea Michele, Jon Favreau, Questlove, Jacques Pepin and Anthony Mackie.

"Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen" will return for the new season with Colicchio as host. Bravo is also launching a new pre-premiere web series called "Padma's Picks." Kicking off on Wednesday, Aug. 14, the online series will feature local chefs from New Orleans competing for their chance to appear on "Top Chef."

From dumpster-diving to live alligators and at least some sweat and tears, take a look at what to expect from "Top Chef" Season 11 in the new promo below.

"Top Chef" Season 11 premieres Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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