| Season Number: | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Bgcolour: |
| ||||||||||||||
| Num Episodes: | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| Network: | Bravo | ||||||||||||||
| Module1: |
| ||||||||||||||
| Next Season: | Los Angeles | ||||||||||||||
| Episode List: | List of Top Chef episodes |
Top Chef: San Francisco, originally broadcast simply as Top Chef, is the first season of the American reality television series Top Chef.[1] It was first filmed in San Francisco, California, before concluding in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1] The season premiered on March 8, 2006, and ended on May 24, 2006.[1] The show featured chefs from around the United States living together in one house and competing in a series of culinary challenges.[1] The prizes for the winner of the competition included a feature in Food & Wine Magazine, a showcase at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, a Kenmore Elite kitchen set, and .[2] The series was hosted by Katie Lee Joel, in her only season as host, and judged by chef Tom Colicchio and food writer Gail Simmons.[3] In the season finale, Harold Dieterle was declared the winner over runner-up Tiffani Faison.[2]
Twelve chefs competed in Top Chef: San Francisco.[4]
| Name | Current Residence | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Asprinio | Las Vegas, Nevada | 24 |
| Andrea Beaman | New York, New York | 38 |
| Harold Dieterle | New York, New York | 28 |
| Tiffani Faison | Las Vegas, Nevada | 28 |
| Brian Hill | Los Angeles, California | 37 |
| Candice Kumai | Pasadena, California | 23 |
| Ken Lee | Los Angeles, California | 34 |
| Dave Martin | Long Beach, California | 40 |
| Miguel Morales | New York, New York | 27 |
| Lisa Parks | Los Angeles, California | 45 |
| Cynthia Sestito | East Hampton, New York | 52 |
| Lee Anne Wong | New York, New York | 28 |
Tiffani Faison and Stephen Asprinio returned to compete in .[5] Faison later competed in Top Chef Duels.[6] Lee Anne Wong returned for , competing in the Last Chance Kitchen, and [7] [8]
| Episode # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quickfire Challenge Winner(s) | Stephen | Tiffani | Andrea | Stephen | Harold | Harold | ||||||||||||
| Contestant | Elimination Challenge Results | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Harold | WIN | IN | LOW | HIGH | LOW | IN | HIGH | IN | HIGH | WIN | WINNER | ||||||
| 2 | Tiffani | HIGH | IN | LOW | WIN | WIN | HIGH | HIGH | IN | IN | LOW | |||||||
| 3 | Dave | IN | LOW | LOW | IN | WIN | LOW | WIN | IN | WIN | OUT | |||||||
| 4 | IN | IN | LOW | IN | HIGH | WIN | LOW | IN | OUT | |||||||||
| 5 | Stephen | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | LOW | HIGH | HIGH | LOW | OUT | |||||||||
| 6 | Miguel | IN | WIN | WIN | IN | LOW | LOW | OUT | ||||||||||
| 7 | Andrea | LOW | OUT | WIN | HIGH | LOW | OUT | |||||||||||
| 8 | Lisa | IN | LOW | WIN | LOW | OUT | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Candice | LOW | IN | WIN | OUT | |||||||||||||
| 10 | Brian | IN | HIGH | OUT | ||||||||||||||
| 11 | Cynthia | IN | LOW | WDR | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | Ken | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
The chef(s) did not receive immunity for winning the Quickfire Challenge.
Cynthia voluntarily withdrew from the competition due to her father's illness.
Andrea was brought back in Episode 3, after being eliminated once, when Cynthia chose to leave.
The judges did not feel that anyone had distinguished themselves in the Elimination Challenge, so no winner was named.
(WINNER) The chef won the season and was crowned "Top Chef".
(RUNNER-UP) The chef was a runner-up for the season.
(WIN) The chef won the Elimination Challenge.
(HIGH) The chef was selected as one of the top entries in the Elimination Challenge but did not win.
(IN) The chef was not selected as one of the top or bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge and was safe.
(LOW) The chef was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge but was not eliminated.
(OUT) The chef lost the Elimination Challenge.
(WDR) The chef voluntarily withdrew from the competition.
See main article: List of Top Chef episodes.