‘Top Chef’ Kentucky Will Feature Another Contender From D.C.

Eric Adjepong, the private chef behind Washington-based pop-up dinner and event service Pinch & Plate, will compete on Season 16 of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” the network announced today. The season, which is based in Kentucky this year, debuts Thursday, December 6, at 9 p.m.

The announcement of Adjepong’s inclusion in the star-making reality show follows yesterday’s news that he is one of 10 finalists on the annual “Sexiest Chef Alive” list from People. (Surely, there’s no correlation.)

According to his website, Adjepong, 31, has a degree in culinary arts, a bachelor’s in nutrition and a master’s in public health. His site says his heritage as a first-generation Ghanaian-American and his experience living on three continents influences his cooking.

He follows a long line of “cheftestants” with D.C. ties who hoped to make it to the end of “Top Chef” without being told, “Pack your knives and go.” Alumni of the show based in the District include Kwame Onwuachi, who today opened fast-casual cheesesteak shop Philly Wing Fry in a Whole Foods, Marjorie Meek-Bradley, who helms the kitchen at the Union Market outpost of Brooklyn tavern St. Anselm, and Spike Mendelsohn, who is in charge of the food program at the new St. James wellness complex in Springfield, Virginia.

Carla Hall, now a TV host and cookbook author, competed in Season 8. Mike Isabella, who in September filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the wake of a settlement in a sexual harassment suit, was a finalist that same year. Bryan Voltaggio of Volt in Frederick, Maryland, was runner-up to his brother, Michael, in Season 6. They have Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Bart Vandaele runs Belga Cafe and B Too.

• Watch a Fresh Clip From the New Kentucky-Themed Season of ‘Top Chef’ [E]
• Meet the 10 Finalists for PEOPLE’s Sexiest Chef Alive 2018! [People]
• Top Chef Alum Opens a Cheesesteak-Centric Restaurant Within Whole Foods [EDC]
• The New St. Anselm Brings Classy Lived-In Vibes to Union Market [EDC]
• Spike Mendelsohn Will Feed the Masses at a Monster Sports Center [EDC]
• Mike Isabella Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy [EDC]