And the News We've All Been Waiting For....

Bravo brings the show to D.C. with 17 new chefs in what truly is an All-American season. Some guests you can expect to see include Apollo Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, White House chef Sam Kass, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, Congressman Aaron Schock of Illinois, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, CIA Director Leon Panetta and NBC White House Correspondent Savannah Guthrie.

NEW YORK – May 13, 2010 – Taste the culinary power on the seventh season of the No. 1 food show on cable, Bravo's Emmy and James Beard Award-winning series "Top Chef: Washington D.C.," premiering Wednesday, June 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. The 17 new chef'testants come face to face in the nation's capitol for the ultimate power play that will determine just who has the chops to become Top Chef.

The Emmy-nominated Magical Elves return to produce "Top Chef: Washington D.C." Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz ("Top Chef Masters," "Dance Your Ass Off"), Liz Cook and Casey Kriley serve as executive producers. Chaz Gray serves as co-executive producer.

The 17 "Top Chef: Washington D.C." chef'testants will be whittled down week by week as they compete to outshine their competition. The winning chef will receive $125,000 furnished by Dial Nutriskin, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and will earn the title of "Top Chef." The Washington Hilton served as the production location for "Top Chef: Washington D.C."

Bravo's "Top Chef" offers a fascinating window into the competitive, pressure-filled environment of world-class cookery and the restaurant business at the highest level. The series features seventeen aspiring chefs who compete for their shot at culinary stardom and the chance to earn the prestigious title of "Top Chef." Each episode holds two challenges for the chefs. The first is a quickfire test of their basic abilities and the second is a more involved elimination challenge designed to test the versatility and inventiveness of the chefs as they take on unique culinary trials such as working with unusual and exotic foods or catering for a range of demanding clients. The challenges not only test their skills in the kitchen, but also uncover if they have the customer service, management and teamwork abilities required of a Top Chef. The competing chefs live and breathe the high-pressure lifestyle that comes with being a master chef and each week someone is asked to "pack up their knives" and go home.

Following are the 17 new "Top Chef: Washington D.C." chef'testants:

Alex Reznik, 33 – Hometown: Brooklyn, NY; Resides in Hollywood, CA
Amanda Baumgarten, 27 – Hometown/Resides in: Los Angeles, CA
Andrea Curto-Randazzo, 39 – Hometown: Vero Beach, FL/Resides in: Miami Beach, FL.
Angelo Sosa, 34 – Hometown: Connecticut; Resides in New York, NY.
Arnold Myint, 32 – Hometown/Resides in: Nashville, TN.
Ed Cotton, 32 – Hometown: Boston, MA; Resides in New York, NY.
Jacqueline Lombard, 33 – Hometown: Boston, MA/Resides in Brooklyn, NY.
John Somerville, 42 – Hometown/Resides in: West Bloomfield, MI.
Kelly Liken, 33 – Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA/Resides in: Vail, CO.
Kenny Gilbert, 36 – Hometown: Cleveland, OH/Resides in: Telluride, CO
Kevin Sbraga, 30 – Hometown/Resides in: Willingboro, NJ.
Lynne Gigliotti, 51 – Hometown: Philadelphia, PA/Resides in Hyde Park, NY.
Stephen Hopcraft, 40 – Hometown: Cleveland, OH.; Resides in Las Vegas, NV
Tamesha Warren, 24 – Hometown: Barbados; Resides in Washington D.C.
Tiffany Derry, 26 – Hometown: Beaumont, TX/Resides in: Dallas, TX
Timothy Dean, 39 – Hometown: Washington D.C./Resides in Baltimore, MD
Tracey Bloom, 33 – Hometown: Rochester, NY/Resides in Atlanta, GA