Although I cannot reveal too many details about the fourth season of Top Chef, I will tell you this: Chicago knows how to eat! Whether it's hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, or the cutting-edge cuisine of its top toques, The Windy City sure has good chow. I had not spent much time there before we began shooting Season 4, so before I left New York I made a long list of food to try and places to visit. Unfortunately, our grueling schedule did not allow me time to hit them all, but I made a decent dent. Fortunately, the food that came out of the Top Chef Chicago kitchen was, overall, pretty darned tasty too. This is why I was a little disappointed watching the first episode and knowing that I had not been part of it, especially since deep-dish pizza was involved! I would have loved to have tried Richard's southern-inspired peach Taleggio pie or Mark's pizza of chicken, zucchini and marmite-molasses. I thought this first Quickfire Challenge was the perfect way to introduce our contestants to the culinary traditions of their new home-away-from-home while introducing us all to their individual personalities and cooking styles.