Position: Chef and Owner of James, Washington Part, and Barbuto in New York City

Education: La Varenne cooking school in Paris
Foodie Fact: Waxman has graced such prestigious kitchens as Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Michael’s in Los Angeles, and his first cookbook, A Great American Cook, was published in 2007
Competing for: Meals On Wheels

Position: Chef and owner of Providence Restaurant in Los Angeles
Education: Culinary Institute of America
Foodie Fact: After a three-year run at Le Cirque where he worked with Paul Bocuse, Gerard Boyer, and Roger Vergé, Cimarusti moved to France to expand his culinary education at La Marée and Arpege.
Competing for: Grameen Foundation

Position: Owner and chef of Roy's in Honolulu
Education: Culinary Institute of America
Foodie Fact: Yamaguchi Hawaiian restaurateur to win the prestigious James Beard Award. Yamaguchi has appeared on Iron Chef, is the author of four cookbooks, and hosted the cooking show Hawaii Cooks.
Competing for: Imua Family Services

Position: Chef and owner of the successful New York restaurant Annisa and serves as consulting chef for Rickshaw Dumpling Bar
Education: Ecole Ritz-Escoffier
Foodie Fact: While earning a degree in French at Columbia University, she studied at Reid Hall – Columbia's French language institute in Paris and decided to return to Paris to study cooking.
Competing for: SHARE

Position: Chef and Founder of Patria Restaurant
Education: Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island
Foodie Fact: Rodriguez is well known for being the "Godfather" of Latin Cuisine and coining the phrase “Nuevo Latino” in his first book in 1997. He was nominated for a 2009 James Beard Award for the "Best Chef South Region."
Competing for: AYUDA for the Arts

Position: Chef and co-owner of the Besh Restaurant Group in New Orleans, including August, Lüke, and Besh Steak
Education: Culinary Institute of America
Foodie Fact: Besh was on Food & Wine's “Ten Best New Chefs” in America in 1999, “Best Chef in the Southeast” by the James Beard Foundation in 2006, and was featured on the Sundance Iconoclasts series in 2007.
Competing for: Make It Right

Position: Co-owner of La Brea Bakery and Campanile, and owner of Smoke and Mirrors (due to open in Hollywood in 2009)
Education: Self-taught
Foodie Fact: Peel was Wolfgang Puck’s chef de cuisine at the original Spago in LA. He has co-authored several books, including Mark Peel & Nancy Silverton At Home: Two Chefs Cook for Family and Friends and The Food of Campanile.
Competing for: Doctors Without Borders

Position: Executive chef at Aureole in New York
Education: California Culinary Academy
Foodie Fact: At Philadelphia’s The Striped Bass, Lee acted as chef de cuisine under Alfred Portale and later became executive chef. Upon his return to New York City, Lee spent two years at Gilt where he earned the restaurant two Michelin stars.
Competing for: Autism Speaks

Position: Chef and owner of Fleur de Lys (San Francisco and Las Vegas), the Burger Bar (Las Vegas, St. Louis and soon to open in San Francisco) and his latest venture, SLeeK Steakhouse and Ultra Lounge (St. Louis)
Education: Ecole Hoteliere in Strasbourg
Foodie Fact: Hubert is the recipient of the James Beard Foundation's lifetime achievement award and was named one of the “10 Best New Chefs in America” by Food & Wine in 1988.
Competing for: Make-A-Wish Foundation

Position: Owner and chef of Radius in Boston
Education: Academy of Culinary Arts in New Jersey
Foodie Fact: In 2000, Schlow won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef in the Northeast” and his restaurant Radius in Boston was named “Best New Restaurant” by Food & Wine.
Competing for: Cam Neely Foundation

Position: Chef and owner of The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro and The Love Shack in Fort Worth
Education: University of Tennesse (Finance and Marketing)
Foodie Fact: The Love Shack earned three stars from The Dallas Morning News, which was singled out as having the "most perfect burger on the planet."
Competing for: March of Dimes

Position: Executive Chef and owner of both Citizen Cake and Orson restaurants in San Francisco
Education: San Francisco Art Institute
Foodie Fact: Falkner won a James Beard Award Pastry Chef nomination in 2005 and Bon Appetit Pastry Chef of the Year in 2006.
Competing for: The Edible Schoolyard

Position: Owner and chef of Graham Elliot in Chicago

Education: Johnson and Wales University

Foodie Fact: During his four years leading the kitchen at The Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, he became the nations youngest four-star chef with perfect reviews from Chicago Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune, as well as three James Beard award nominations.

Competing for: American Heart Association

Position: Executive chef and owner of Jar in Los Angeles, and Tracht in Long Beach.
Education: Three-year apprenticeship under Siegbert Wendler
Foodie Fact: Tracht was among Food and Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs in 2002, she's made national appearances on the Today Show, Food Network and Extra and was inducted into Fine Dining Hall of Fame by Nation’s Restaurant News in May 2007.
Competing for: JFS/SOVA Community Food and Resource Program

Position: Chef and owner of New York’s highly celebrated wd~50 restaurant
Education: French Culinary Institute in New York
Foodie Fact: In 2009, Wylie was nominated for a James Beard Award for "Best Chef, New York City," and wd~50 was nominated for "Best New Restaurant."
Competing for: Autism Speaks

Position: Executive chef and owner of three Napa Valley restaurants – Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, Go Fish, and Mustards Grill
Foodie Fact: Cindy is the author of four widely acclaimed cookbooks: The Fog City Diner Cookbook, Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook, Big Small Plates, and her newest, Cindy Pawlcyn’s Appetizers
Competing for: Community Health Clinic Ole

Position: Chef and owner of Ludo Bites (opening Spring of 2009)

Education: Trained in Paris for 13 years at Restaurant L’Esperance with Marc Meneau, Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire, Arpege with Alain Passard and Le Grande Vefour with Guy Martin

Foodie Fact: Lefebvre was a nominee for the James Beard Foundation “Rising Chef Award” in 2001 and released his first cookbook, CRAVE, a Feast of the Five Senses in 2005.

Competing for: C.H.A.S.E. for Life

Position: Owner and chef of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago

Foodie Fact: Bayless has appeared in a number of television shows including The Today Show, Good Morning America and Martha Stewart Living. His own show, PBS's Mexico One Plate at a Time is now in its 7th season.
Competing for: Frontera Farmer Foundation

Position: Owner of Pikayo (now located at the Puerto Rico Museum of Art in San Juan), Payá, and Varita.

Education: Culinary Institute of America

Foodie Fact: In 1988, Benet was called in upon in to become Chef de Cuisine of “La Fortaleza,” the Governor of Puerto Rico’s mansion.

Competing for: San Jorge Children's Foundation

Position: Co-owner and chef of Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado
Education: Ecole Gregoire-Ferrandi
Foodie Fact: Patterson was named one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs in July 2005 and won 2008 Best Chef: Southwest from the James Beard Foundation.
Competing for: The Children's Hospital

Position: Chef and owner of Napa Valley's Bottega Restaurant

Education: Culinary Institute of America
Foodie Fact: Chiarello is the Emmy-winning host of Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello, and tastemaker behind NapaStyle, a specialty brand of foods and handcrafted products.
Competing for: The Clinic Ole Foundation

Position: Noren serves as Vice President of Culinary Arts for The French Culinary Institute’s culinary, pastry, bread and Italian food departments.
Education: Culinary School in Gavle
Foodie Fact: In a 2008 survey of 40 top New York chefs, Noren was voted "The chef that should have gotten an award by now, but hasn't."
Competing for: Friends of The FCI