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Top Chef (season 9)

Top Chef (season 9)
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 18
Release
Original network Bravo
Original release

November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02) – March 7, 2012 (2012-03-07)

Host(s) Padma Lakshmi
Judges Tom Colicchio
Gail Simmons
Emeril Lagasse
Hugh Acheson
No. of contestants 29
Winner Paul Qui
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 8
Next →
Season 10
List of Top Chef episodes

November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02) – March 7, 2012 (2012-03-07)

Top Chef: Texas is the ninth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The season was filmed in various cities in Texas, including San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin, before moving on to British Columbia for the finale. The season premiered on November 2, 2011. This season of Top Chef featured a much larger number of contestants than any previous season, with 29 chefs.

Top Chef: Texas also introduced a new competition to the series; in addition to the Quickfire and Elimination Challenges featured in televised episodes, the Last Chance Kitchen competition allowed eliminated contestants to compete head-to-head in a series of webisodes, with the winner eventually returning to the main competition.

The cast of the ninth season of Top Chef initially consisted of 29 contestants. After the qualifying challenges in the first two episodes, the pool of chefs was narrowed down to 16.

^Note 1 : The chef(s) did not receive immunity.
^Note 2 : Due to the qualifying rounds, the show did not use its traditional elimination format until the third episode.
^Note 3 : Beverly won Last Chance Kitchen and returned to the competition.
^Note 4 : As a reward for winning the Quickfire Challenge, Sarah was given the choice to receive either a new car or a pass to the next round as her prize. Sarah opted for the pass, allowing her to sit out the Elimination Challenge.

Qualifying Challenge: The first group of chefs created a feast with an entire pig, which had only been partially butchered. Each chef had to use one part of the pig; the group had collective responsibility over butchering down to their assigned cuts. Based on the results, the chefs either landed a spot in the Top 16, were eliminated from the competition, or placed "on the bubble". Those put "on the bubble" were given a second chance at earning a Top Chef coat.


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