Top Chef: Boston, the 12th season of the Emmy Award-winning Bravo show, is set to premiere next week. Top Chef lifer and Atlanta expat Richard Blais is joining as a recurring judge, and Ron Eyester of Timone's, The Family Dog, Rosebud, and the forthcoming Diner, is getting in on the competition. Above, check out an extended clip of the 75-minute first episode.
Eyester is proud to represent the non-hip population of the cooking industry: "I'm here to prove you don't need to wear skinny jeans, have tattoos, and have a fancy hair cut to win Top Chef."
Blais, with plenty of competition experience, councils the new cheftestapants in the clip.
"Competing on Top Chef was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my life —twice — but the rewards are enormous. Since I've been standing where you are, I've opened up seven restaurants, I'm a James Beard nominee. You have the ability to dramatically change your career and your life."
Episode 1 of Top Chef: Boston is scheduled to air Wednesday, October 15, at 10 p.m. ET.