Throng

8:30pm - Thursday, October 1 on TV 3

The "steaks" are high when 17 fresh chefs roll the dice and infiltrate the gambling mecca that is Las Vegas to compete in the sixth season of Top Chef, premiering on Thursday, October 1st at 8:30pm on 3.

The 17 new contestants will take on Sin City this season to see if they have what it takes to become Top Chef. And for the first time ever the series has a set of brothers competing against each other.

According to producers, the series will not only explore what Vegas has to offer beyond the Strip, but will also include some of the biggest names in food, movies and entertainment including Wolfgang Puck, Todd English, Natalie Portman, Daniel Boulud, Penn & Teller, Hubert Keller, Laurent Tourondel, Tim Love, Michelle Bernstein, Tyler Florence, Charlie Palmer, Paul Bartolotta, Nigella Lawson and Jerome Bocuse who will all feature in the upcoming season.

Once again returning to the kitchen, cookbook author, actress and host Padma Lakshmi presides over the judge's table alongside head judge Tom Colicchio, renowned culinary figure and owner of Craft Restaurants, and judges Gail Simmons, of Food & Wine magazine and Toby Young, food critic and best-selling author of the book How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

"Las Vegas has become a culinary destination, some of the world's best chefs and restaurants are here so it's only fitting that our newest season was the best yet," says Colicchio about the upcoming series.

"You'll be surprised by the quality of chef'testants we discovered this season. They really raised the bar."

These 17 "chef'testants" will be whittled down week by week as they compete for the title of Top Chef, $100,000 from Glad, $100,000 of merchandise from Macy's, a feature in Food & Wine magazine and a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colo.

So make sure not to miss the first introduction to all 17 hopefuls when Top Chef premieres its brand new Las Vegas season on Thursday, October 1st at 8:30pm on 3.