Top Chef Season 7, Meet the Chefs Competing in Washington, D.C

Bravo's Top Chef's 7^th season premiered Wednesday, June 17, featuring the Washington D.C. and a new guest judge on the panel, Eric Ripert. Seventeen brand new contestants couldn't spend a minute admiring the Nation's Capitol or their new living digs. They got right to the task at hand: vying for the title of Top Chef. Before we get ahead of ourselves, however, it's time to take a look at the new contestants:

Alex Reznik (II), 33, Hollywood, Exec. Chef, Ivan Kane's Cave Was.
His first impression on taking on D.C. for the Top Chef contest is that there are so many great chefs in D.C., so it's a perfect place for Season 7. Alex has a diverse geographic background. His hometown is Brooklyn, he did his studies in Vegas, traveled throughout Europe and now he resides in Hollywood. More important than that as an influence, Alex is a first-generation American, and he watched his mother and grandmother preparing traditional Russian food on a daily basis. His take on cooking is to combine local, seasonal ingredients with the classic French style of cooking to come up with California bistro cuisine.

John Somerville, 42, West Bloomfield, MI, Chef de Cuisine, The Lark.
John, who grew up in rural Ohio, stands out from first sight, with his mop of long, gray dreadlocked-looking hair peaking out from his bandana. It's not the only thing that stands out about this contestant. Unlike the others, John has his degree in Engineering. Nonetheless, John received James Beard nominations for two years. Initially John was not quite grasping that he was actually a finalist on Top Chef, but when Head Chef Tom Colicchio and Top Chef Host Padma Lakshmi step out before the group, he says it hit him all at once that he was here and in it to win it.

Ed Cotton, 32, NYC, Exec. Chef, Plein Sud at the Smyth Hotel
Ed hails from Boston where he got an early culinary start work for Chef Todd English. He worked in many capacities in restaurants in Boston along great chefs, but had his eye on working in New York City. Ed says his favorite dishes to prepare involve anything with rabbit.

Andrea Curto-Randazzo, 39, Miami, Chef/Owner, The Water Club, Talula Restaurant and Creative Tastes Catering.

Andrea graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and has worked at many fine kitchens across the country, including the Tribeca Grill and Aja in New York City. She was named one of Food & Wine magazine's "Best New Chefs. Originally from Florida, Andrea, opened Talula with her husband, Frank.

Arnold Myint, 32, Nashville, Chef/Owner, Cha Chah, PM, and Suzy Wong's House of Yum
To prepare for his stint on Top Chef, Arnold says he went all out and got a new wardrobe and a facial. It may not seem quite as odd when you consider that he was a professional figure skater at one point. He has an odd cuisine mix as his family background is Thai but he grew up in Nashville. Arnold's mother has run a successful restaurant for 30 years. He says his favorite dishes are anything with peas. This guy is going to be one of the more colorful people on the show.

Angelo Sosa, 35, Chef/Owner, Xie Xie
In the initial mixer, Angelo talked about his experiences abroad, causing some of the chefs to brand him as a bit pretentious, but it becomes obvious early on that Angelo is a force to contend with. "Whoever is going to go against me," says Angelo, "there is going to be blood on the stage." He comes from a small town in Connecticut which led some of the chefs to scoff at him a bit.

He will play well in the event where the chef has to describe the dish or give a presentation. Angelo describes his method of cooking as an orchestral event. He says he can tell when each flavor is going to hit and exactly how it will play out.

Angelo will be a major force in this competition.

Tracey Bloom, 33, Atlanta, GA., Exec. Chef, Table 1280. Tracey was named as one of Atlanta's top 25 Chefs in 2008. Tracey is a big girl with a big, no-nonsense attitude. She keeps her hair pulled back in a bandana. According to her official bio, she would want to who immediately gets the sense that she will be underestimated. According to Tracey, she would share her last meal on earth with Stevie Nicks, and naturally she would do the cooking: a homemade turkey sandwich and homemade lemonade.

Amanda Baumgarten, 27, LA, Sous Chef, Water Grill in Downtown Los Angeles
Amanda states that she's sure that the others think she's an easy mark, and they'll find out soon they're wrong, she says. Amanda received her training at Le Cordon Bleu in London. Afterwards she worked at four Michelin-starred restaurants. Her forte, she says is in her butchering skills.

Kelly Liken, 33, Vail, CO, Chef/Owner, Restaurant Kelly Liken
Pittsburgh native, Kelly runs a restaurant in Colorado with her husband. A graduate (first in her class) of the Culinary Institute of America, she comments, "When I go after something, I don't lose often." Kelly considers herself to be a small town girl, and she's turned down offers to cook in major places to stay in Colorado. Her forte is in cooking organic, season American cuisine. She was a James Beard Semi-Finalist for Best Chef Southwest in 2009 and 2010.

Timothy Dean,. 39, Baltimore, Chef/Owner, Prime Steak House
Tim, a graduate of Washington, D.C.'s Howard University, is on his home turf during this season's Top Chef. He confided to the cameras that he'd recently lost his wife. While Angelo Saso quickly set himself apart as a force to contend with, according to Tim: "I just see Angelo as an obstacle." It should come as no surprise that Tim's favorite recipe involves a Maryland favorite, the Maryland blue crab, in the form of Soft Shell Crab Tempura with Virginia Ramps, Morel Mushroom and Garlic Confit Emulsion. Tim made his way up through the culinary ranks from dishwasher to owner. He was named Howard University's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000.

Tiffany Derry, 26, Dallas, Exec. Chef, Go Fish Ocean Club.
According to her official bio, Tiffany, a native Texan, "definitely flaunts the "Don't Mess with Texas" attitude." Tiffany started out in a local IHOP but took over a management position by age 17. She has cooked and taught cooking during her 26 years. According to her official Bravo bio, Tiffany says she always keeps five ingredients close at hand: Dijon, Creole mustard, champagne vinegar, kosher salt and Creole seasoning.

Tamesha Warren , 24, Washington, DC., Sous Chef, The Oval Room.
Tamesha's culinary influence comes from a Caribbean background, having been born and raised in Barbados. As The Oval Room is located next to the White House, it's considered one of D.C.'s "power restaurants." Tamesha likes to cook American food with French and Asian influences.

Stephen Hopcraft, 40, Las Vegas, Exec. Chef, Seablue at the MGM Grand
Early on the contestants make fun of Stephen's small town background, calling him a "hick from some little country town in Ohio." Well, he's cooking far away from home these days and seems to be holding his own quite well. The MGM Grand Restaurant is a AAA Four Diamond restaurant. In his off time, Stephen plays dad to 14-month-old twin boys.

Lynne Gigliotti, 51, Highland, NY, Asst. Prof., Culinary Institute of America.
Lynne tells the Bravo audience, "Just because you are an instructor, you're not dead yet." She's been a chef for over 30 years, as well as being a professor. She was Chef/Owner of Grappa in Georgia which was featured in Atlanta Magazine's Best of 1999 and named Outstanding Restaurant in 2001 in the Zagat Guide of Atlanta. In addition to the chef duties, businesswoman duties and teaching, Lynne also has a high-dollar catering and consulting business under her belt.

Kevin Sbraga, 31, Willingboro, New Jersey, Exec. Chef, Rat's Restaurant at the Grounds for Sculpture.
Kevin says he's expecting to let the world know that both Jersey and he are here to compete. He's a larger than life force on the show and will be one of the handful to watch along the way who set himself apart from the pack early on. In his official Bravo bio he refers to himself as a "beast in the kitchen," and he's not exaggerating. He also refers to himself as the Barack Obama of the cooking game.

Kenneth Gilbert, 36, Tuelluride, CO, President/Owner, Passionate Culinary Enterprises LLC; Chef/Partner, G's Restaurant Group
Kenny comes off as the tough guy on the show from the first minute. He tells the Bravo audience that he's been cooking since the first time he could reach the stove. His favorite recipe is a tomato and mozzarella salad with an onion marmalade. Kenny's cooking style is versatile from American to Japanese to Thai to Middle Eastern and more. He's a force to keep an eye on this season. He says he'd want his last meal to be with Barack Obama, and he'd prepare a modern version of a Southern meal.

Jacqueline Lombard, 33, Brooklyn, NY, Chef/Owner, Jacqueline Lombard Events.
Right off the bat, Jacqueline comes out swinging since most of the chefs come from an Executive Chef background and may not take her seriously. "Any self-taught chef can beat the pants off these guys," she says. Her scrappiness comes from her Boston upbringing. In addition to the culinary skills, Jacqueline is a Sommelier, always a plus in the Top Chef contests. She's a private chef, sommelier and event producer for private and corporate clients. She also serves as the Dining & Wine Editor of the NYHerald.com.

Top Chef is seen on Bravo on Wednesdays at 9 p.m.