The fourth season of American reality television series Top Chef was filmed in Chicago in September and October 2007 and in Puerto Rico in May 2008 and first aired on March 12 , 2008 on Bravo.
Judges, guest judges, and special appearances
Permanent judges
- Tom Colicchio (Head Judge)
- Padma Lakshmi (Host)
- Gail Simmons (Judge (alternating with Ted Allen)
- Ted Allen (Judge (alternating with Gail Simmons)
Guest judges
- Rocco DiSpirito (Ep. 1 Quickfire and Elimination)
- Anthony Bourdain (Ep. 1 Elimination and Ep. 11 Elimination (temporarily taking over head judge duties))
- Wylie Dufresne (Ep. 2 Quickfire and Elimination)
- Rick Bayless (Ep. 3 Quickfire and Elimination)
- Daniel Boulud (Ep. 4 Quickfire and Elimination)
- Ming Tsai (Ep. 5 Quickfire and Elimination)
- Koren Grieveson (Ep. 6 Quickfire)
- Paul Kahan (Ep. 6 Elimination)
- Johnny Iuzzini (Ep. 7 Quickfire and Elimination)
- Art Smith (Ep. 8 Quickfire and Elimination)
- Gale Gand (Ep. 9 Elimination)
- Sam Talbot (Ep. 10 Quickfire and Elimination)
- Heleen Thanas (Ep. 11 Quickfire)
- José Andrés (Ep. 11 Elimination)
- Rick Tramonto (Ep. 12 Quickfire and Elimination)
- Wilo Benet (Ep. 13 Quickfire and Elimination)
- Alfredo Ayala (Ep. 14)
- Dan Barber (Ep. 14)
- April Bloomfield (Ep. 14)
- Eric Ripert (Ep. 14)
- Tim Zagat (Ep. 14)
Special appearances
- Film Critic Richard Roeper
- Actress Aisha Tyler
- Former Chicago Bears Players Richard Dent, Gale Sayers, and William "The Refrigerator" Perry
- Members of The Second City, a Chicago-based improvisational comedy troupe
- Students from the Common Threads program
- Luisa Acevedo Vilá, the First Lady of Puerto Rico
- Previous Top Chef Winners Harold Dieterle, Ilan Hall, and Hung Huynh
Contestants
( In order of elimination )
- Nimma Osman , 26 — Hometown: Peachtree City, GA; Resides in Atlanta, GA; Cook at Repast
- Valerie Bolon , 32 — Hometown/Resides in: Chicago, IL; Personal Chef
- Erik Hopfinger , 38 — Hometown: Chappaqua, NY; Resides in San Francisco, CA; Executive Chef at Circa Restaurant
- Manuel Trevino , 33 — Hometown: Laredo, TX; Resides in New York, NY; Executive Chef at Dos Caminos
- Zoi Antonitsas , 30, — Hometown: Seattle, WA; Resides in San Francisco, CA. Chef/Restaurant Consultant
- Ryan Scott , 28 — Hometown: Los Banos, CA; Resides in San Francisco, CA; Chef/Manager at Cafe Myth
- Jennifer Biesty , 35 — Hometown: Brooklyn, NY; Resides in San Francisco, CA. Executive Chef at Coco500
- Mark Simmons , 29 — Hometown: Invercargill, New Zealand; Resides in New York, NY; Sous Chef at Public Restaurant
- Nikki Cascone , 35 — Hometown/Resides in: New York, NY; Chef/Co-owner of 24 Prince
- Andrew D'Ambrosi , 30 — Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, FL; Resides in New York, NY; sous chef at Le Cirque
- Dale Talde , 29 — Hometown: Chicago, IL; Resides in New York, NY; Sous Chef at Buddakan
- Evangelos "Spike" Mendelsohn , 27 — Hometown: Clearwater Beach, FL; Resides in Washington, D.C.; owner/Good Stuff Eatery
- Antonia Lofaso , 31 — Hometown/Resides in: Los Angeles, CA; Executive Chef at Foxtail
- Richard Blais , 35 — Hometown: Uniondale, NY; Resides in Atlanta, GA. Chef, culinary designer, Trail-Blais -- Runner-Up
- Lisa Fernandes , 27 — Hometown: Toronto, Canada; Resides in New York, NY; Chef at Mai House -- Runner-Up
- Stephanie Izard , 31 — Hometown: Stamford, CT; Resides in Chicago, IL; Executive Chef/Owner at The Drunken Goat -- Winner / Fan Favorite
Contestant Progress
Elimination Challenges
- Note 1: Episode 1's Quickfire Challenge resulted in the 16 contestants being split into two groups of 8: the Winners and the Losers. No elimination immunity was given to the Winners group. This was done for the purpose of the head-to-head cook-off in the Elimination Challenge.
- Note 2: Although Antonia and Zoi landed in the bottom for this challenge, they were declared safe prior to Manuel's elimination (following a more concise explanation of their dish).
- Note 3: The judges depicted Team Earth as the worst team, however Richard was one of the judge's least favorites because he didn't scale his fish well.
- Note 4: Richard was originally awarded the win by the judges. Even though he gave the win to Stephanie and she shared the prize, he is considered the sole winner of this challenge according to the Bravo website.
- Note 5: Despite being on the losing team, Lisa's wedding cake for the groom pleased the judges and she was spared from being indicated as a potential elimination.
- Note 6: Meanwhile, despite being on the winning team, Andrew's dish received criticisms and was not in the running for the win.
- Note 7: Spike did well serving everybody and wasn't in the running for elimination.
- Note 8: Stephanie was declared the winner of Top Chef. The judges did not state a first or second runner-up.
Episodes
Each episode includes two challenges. The Quickfire Challenge is a short, simple challenge with a varying reward each week; in the initial episodes of the season, it usually guarantees the winner immunity from being sent home that week. The Elimination Challenge is a more complex challenge that determines who goes home. One or more guest judges join the show each week to evaluate both the Quickfire and Elimination challenges. Each week's elimination is announced in a segment called "Judges' Table."
Episode 1: Anything You Can Cook, I Can Cook Better
- Quickfire Challenge: The chefs must create a signature deep dish pizza and serve it to Rocco DiSpirito and Padma Lakshmi. Prize: Immunity from elimination was not awarded to the winners of this Quickfire. No other prize was noted in the broadcast airing.
- WINNER: There was no one winner for this challenge.
- The Winners' Group: Antonia, Dale, Erik, Jennifer, Mark, Richard, Ryan, Spike
- The Losers' Group: Andrew, Lisa, Manuel, Nikki, Nimma , Stephanie, Valerie, Zoi
- Elimination Challenge: The winners of the Quickfire must cook head-to-head against the losers, using one dish from a list of classic dishes. The winners drew numbered knives and chose one of the losers as their opponent. The opponent then selected which dish the pair will each prepare. Both dishes will be served to the judges simultaneously, with decisions to follow immediately.
- Pairs of Winners vs. Losers (in the order they chose their competitor), followed by the type of dish they were to make. The name of the winning chef for each dish is italicized .
- #1: Richard vs. Andrew (Crab Cakes)
- #2: Mark vs. Stephanie (Duck à l'orange)
- #3: Jennifer vs. Nikki (Lasagna)
- #4: Antonia vs. Nimma (Shrimp Scampi)
- #5: Spike vs. Lisa (Eggs Benedict)
- #6: Dale vs. Manuel (Steak au Poivre)
- #7: Ryan vs. Valerie (Chicken Piccata)
- #8: Erik vs. Zoi (Soufflé)
- Of the eight winners, Antonia, Nikki, Richard, and Stephanie were chosen as the judges' favorites.
- Of the eight losers, Erik, Mark, Nimma, and Ryan were chosen as the judges' least favorites.
- WINNER: Stephanie (Duck Breast with Mushrooms, Bok Choy, and Duck Spring Rolls with Orange-Soy Glaze)
- ELIMINATED: Nimma (Shrimp Scampi with Cauliflower Scramble)
- Elimination Challenge Prize: None noted in the broadcast airing.
- Guest Judges: Rocco DiSpirito; Anthony Bourdain (Elimination Challenge)
- First aired March 12 , 2008
Episode 2: Zoo Food
- Quickfire Challenge: Each chef is to create a dish using no more than five ingredients (excluding salt, pepper, sugar, oil), either purchased at Chicago's Green City Market or from the Top Chef pantry. This week's prize: Immunity from elimination.
- The Best: Mark, Ryan, Valerie
- The Worst: Erik, Richard, Spike
- WINNER: Mark (Sirloin Steak, Turnips, Mushrooms, Peaches, and Butter)
- Elimination Challenge: Five teams of three are selected by drawing knives, each assigned a specific animal (Bear, Gorilla, Lion, Penguin, and Vulture). The teams must prepare a series of appetizers based around their animal's diet for a gathering of 200 guests at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Teams are given a half-hour and $500 to shop at the Whole Foods Market, three hours to prep in the Top Chef kitchen, and a final hour to set up o
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