This week's elimination challenge asks the cheftestants to cook a meal that represents their hometown -- fitting, since Top Chef has just relocated to the nation's capital. With seventeen fresh faces from places as far-flung as the sunny Caribbean (Tamesha Warren), rural Texas (Tiffany Derry), and "small cow town" Connecticut (Angelo Sosa), the judging plates play host to a veritable variety of down-home cuisines. One problem, though: while we want to root for the top chef who properly reps our hood, we here at Bravo HQ can't even start to think about hometowns while we're still trying to remember all of their' names!

Since it's always helpful to pair a name with a face, and a face with a place, here's a breakdown of where they're all from, along with a headshot, their job titles, and a choice quote from their video bios. Note that they're grouped by current locations, not hometowns -- it ended up making more sense that way.  Learn it well, because there's seventeen of 'em! (For now.)

First, get a better idea of how the chefs prepared for the elimination challenge in the grocery store with this video:

New York City Slickers: Cheftestants Who Work in the Big Apple

Ed Cotton

Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

Job Title: Executive Chef, Plein Sud

Job Neighborhood: The Smyth Hotel in Tribeca (Manhattan)

Choice Bio Quote: "You can definitely learn to be a chef, you can go to school and all that stuff, but I honestly, truly believe that it's in the blood. It was a gift. It was something I was born with."

Jacqueline Lombard

Hometown: Boston, MA; grew up in upstate New York

Job Title: Chef/Owner, Jacqueline Lombard Events; Dining and Wine Editor, NYHerald.com

Work Neighborhood: Brooklyn

Choice Bio Quote: "My senior thesis was a central Asian cookbook."

Angelo Sosa

Hometown: Durham, Connecticut (which Angelo calls a "small cow-tippin' town")

Job Title: Chef/Owner, Xie Xie Sandwich Shop

Work Neighborhood: Hell's Kitchen (Manhattan)

Choice Bio Quote: "For a long time I always thought I was going to play professional baseball, but food was always an integral part of my ethnic background."

Click through for the rest of the contestants' backgrounds. And, if you can't get enough of this season's Top Chefs: See the full video bios here and the full text ones here!