Bravo’s Emmy and James Beard Award-winning series Top Chef returns for its seventh season bringing a dose of heated competition to the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The 17 new cheftestants team up for their first Elimination Challenge in which they must create a dish that represents their own constituency, where they are from and what they represent. The chefs serve their dishes at the famous National Cherry Blossom festival in Washington D.C. Returning as host is Padma Lakshmi, and judges Tom Collichio and Gail Simmons. World-renowned chef Eric Ripert joins the series as a regular guest judge.