Top Chef Masters Announces Season 2 Competitors and Guests

Top Chef Masters will welcome back six Season 1 competitors along with 16 fresh faces for its upcoming second season, Entertainment Weekly reports.

Among those vying for the coveted title of Top Chef Master will be Graham Elliot Bowles, Wylie Dufresne, Ludo Lefebvre, Rick Moonen, Mark Peel and Jonathan Waxman, all of whom came up short during last summer's inaugural season. New contestants include Jody Adams, Sunsur Lee, Debbie Gold and Marcus Samuelsson. (See the full cast below.)
The show will welcome back judges Gael Greene, James Oseland and Jay Rayner as well as host Kelly Choi. Top Chef judge (and recently announced Top Chef: Just Desserts host) Gail Simmons will join the competition as a judge.

Top Chef Masters returns for Season 2

Season 2 's special guests will include Mekhi Phifer (Lie to Me), The Simpsons' Matt Groening and Hank Azaria, 7-time Olympic champion Jason Lezak, Real Housewives of Orange County cast members Lynne Curtin, Alexis Bellino and Tamra Barney and the cast of Modern Family.

Top Chef Masters' new season premieres on April 7 at 11/10c on Bravo.  Which chefs are you excited to see?

Check out the complete list of the 22 competing chefs:
Jody Adams — Rialto Restaurant, Cambridge, Mass.
Govind Armstrong — 8 oz Burger Bar, Los Angeles, Calif.
Graham Elliot Bowles — Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago, Ill.
Jimmy Bradley — The Red Cat, New York, N.Y.
David Burke — David Burke Townhouse, New York, N.Y.
Wylie Dufresne — wd~50, New York, N.Y.
Susan Feniger — Street, Los Angeles, Calif.
Debbie Gold — The American Restaurant, Kansas City, Mo.
Carmen Gonzalez — Chef Consultant, New York, N.Y.
Maria Hines — Tilth, Seattle, Wash.
Susur Lee — Madeline's, Toronto, Canada
Ludo Lefebvre — Ludo Bites, Los Angeles, Calif.
Tony Mantuano — Spiaggia, Chicago, Ill.
Rick Moonen — Rick Moonen's RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nev.
Mark Peel — Campanile, Los Angeles, Calif.
Monica Pope — t'afla, Houston, Texas
Thierry Rautureau — Rover's, Seattle, Wash.
Marcus Samuelsson — The Red Rooster, New York, N.Y.
Ana Sortun — Oleana, Cambridge, Mass.
Rick Tramonto — TRU, Chicago, Ill.
Jerry Traunfeld — Poppy, Seattle, Wash.
Jonathan Waxman — Barbuto, New York, N.Y.