Top Chef Season 14's Returning Contestants Are...

Last week, we revealed that Season 14 of Top Chef will be a showdown between returning cheftestants and newbies. Now that you've had some time to size up the new chefs hoping to leave their mark on this culinary competition and decipher the clues on Top Chef's Facebook and Instagram pages about which familiar faces will be looking for redemption in Season 14, the wait is finally over. 

The cheftestants returning for Season 14 are: 

• Sam Talbot (Season 2: Los Angeles) - Brooklyn, New York
• Casey Thompson (Season 3: Miami & Season 8: All-Stars) - Napa Valley, California
• Amanda Baumgarten (Season 7: Washington, D.C.) - Chicago, Illinois
• Brooke Williamson (Season 10: Seattle) - Los Angeles, California
• Sheldon Simeon (Season 10: Seattle) - Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
• John Tesar (Season 10: Seattle) - Dallas, Texas
• Shirley Chung (Season 11: New Orleans) - Orange County, California
• Katsuji Tanabe (Season 12: Boston) - Los Angeles, California 

Whoa. The rookie chefs are clearly going to have their work cut out for them in Season 14. Get reacquainted with the newbies, below: 

• Annie Pettry – Louisville, Kentucky
• BJ Smith – Portland, Oregon
• Emily Hahn – Charleston, South Carolina
• Gerald Sombright – Marco Island, Florida
• Jamie Lynch – Charlotte, North Carolina
• Jim Smith – Montgomery, Alabama
• Silvia Barban – Brooklyn, New York
• Sylva Senat – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

The Top Chef Season 14 judges' table will be filled with old and new faces alike as well. Top Chef Masters alum Graham Elliot will join Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons. 

When Top Chef heads down to Charleston, South Carolina this season, it'll bring the high-stakes competition and culinary masterpieces with it. As you can see in the above supertease, both the rookie and the veteran chefs will feel the pressure. Along the way, you'll see some intense challenges, some chaotic confrontations, and, of course, some crazy-good food, including what Padma says is the best meal she's ever had on Top Chef. 

It's easy to see why this season of Top Chef is going to get so heated. That's because there's a major grand prize on the line of $125,000 furnished by S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, a feature in FOOD & WINE magazine, a showcase at the annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, and the coveted title of Top Chef on the line. 

If Padma tells your favorite cheftestant to "pack your knives and go" this season, that's not necessarily the end for him or her. Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen will return for another heaping helping on Bravotv.com, giving the eliminated cheftestants a chance to cook their way back into the competition. The smell of redemption will be in the air when Last Chance Kitchen premieres following the second episode of this season of Top Chef on Thursday, December 8 at 11/10c. 

Get ready for the supersized Top Chef Season 14 premiere on Thursday, December 1 at 10/9c by getting to know more about the new cheftestants, below.

Introducing Top Chef Season 14's Rookie Chefs