Bravo announced its chef lineup for the 12th season of their Emmy and James Beard Award-winning series Top Chef today, which will be set in Boston and feature 16 “cheftestants” competing for the show’s top prize.
This year, 3 of those chefs are from Los Angeles, and each boasts a rather unique background. Here’s the rundown on which hometown heroes to cheer for while tuning in.
Top Chef: Boston premieres on October 15. Check out a sneak peek here.
Katsuji Tanabe, 33, Los Angeles
Where You’ve Seen Him: At his Mexican Kosher restaurant near Pico-Roberston, Mexikosher, where he serves as chef and owner. Born and raised in Mexico City, the half-Japanese Tanabe is one of the more eccentric Latino chefs in town these days, known for introducing L.A.’s Jewish (and non-Jewish) community to beef carnitas tacos and harissa salsa. This isn’t his first on-camera appearance, either: Tanabe won an episode of the cooking show Chopped last year.
Mei Lin, 28, Los Angeles
Where You’ve Seen Her: Lin is the sous chef at Michael Voltaggio’s Ink. on Melrose, where she’s worked since 2011, rising to become one of main anchors in the always-bustling kitchen. The Michigan-native also helped launch at pop-up dinner series this year called Koshō and was named one of Eater’s 2014 Young Guns.
Aaron Grissom, 27, Los Angeles
Where You’ve Seen Him: Grissom became the executive chef at North Hollywood’s Bow & Truss earlier this year. His current menu riffs on traditional Spanish-Latin flavors with dishes like scallop ceviche, basque clams with chorizo, and salmon croquettes. Previously, the self-taught chef worked at Dirty Oscar Annex in Tacoma, Washington before moving to L.A.
