Top Chef is a reality competition - brought to you by the same people who brought us Project Runway - where chefs compete against one another in weekly challenges. Each episode consists of a Quickfire (a quick challenge with very specific requirements where the creator of the best dish is usually granted immunity for the episode) and an Elimination Challenge (where the weakest chef is eliminated). The show was hosted by Katie Lee Joel in its first season and model/actress and author Padma Lakshmi from Season 2 onwards. Tom Collichio, Gail Simmons, Ted Allen and Lakshmi serve as regular judges. The first three seasons took place in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami Beach, respectively. The upcoming season is slated to take place in Chicago. The winner of Top Chef receives $100,000 and a spread in Food and Wine magazine.