Bright knives, big city. On Top Chef: New York, the fifth season of the No. 1 food show on cable, 17 new cheftestants take on the Big Apple and compete for their shot at culinary stardom.

Cookbook author, actress and host Padma Lakshmi once again returns to the judges' table, alongside head judge Tom Colicchio, renowned culinary figure and chef/owner of Craft Restaurants, and judge Gail Simmons of Food & Wine magazine.

This season introduces new judge Toby Young, food critic and best-selling author of the book How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, which was the basis for an upcoming film.

In what will prove to be the most challenging season yet, some of the biggest names in food, music and entertainment, including Martha Stewart, Foo Fighters, Jean-Georges, Eric Ripert, Rocco DiSpirito, Wylie Dufresne, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Natasha Richardson will be featured. Bravo's Emmy- and James Beard