How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Bright knives. Big city.

The top-rated food show on cable, "Top Chef" is ready to crown a winner. The award-winning reality show from Bravo follows 17 chef'testants as they take on the Big Apple to see if they have the culinary chops to be named "Top Chef." "Top Chef" airs ... moreWednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.

Cookbook author, actress and host Padma Lakshmi presides over the judges table alongside head judge Tom Colicchio, renowned culinary figure and chef-owner of Craft Restaurants, and judge Gail Simmons of Food & Wine magazine. This season introduced new judge Toby Young, food critic and best-selling author of the book "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People," which was made into a movie.

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 their versatility and inventiveness. The challenges not only test their skills in the kitchen, but also determine 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 his knives" and go home.

"Top Chef" airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.

(Bravo)