Top Chef: Los Angeles
Top Chef: Los Angeles is the second season of the American reality television series Top Chef. It was first filmed in Los Angeles, before concluding in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii. The season premiered on October 18, 2006 and ended on January 31, 2007. Padma Lakshmi replaced Katie Lee Joel as the host, with Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons returning as judges. The winning recipe from each week's episode was featured on Bravo's Top Chef website and prepared by Season 1 contestant Lee Anne Wong in a web video called The Wong Way to Cook. Bravo cited negative viewer reaction to the Season 2 chefs' attitudes and overall behavior as the reason why no reunion episode was filmed. In the season finale, Ilan Hall was declared the Top Chef, defeating Marcel Vigneron. Sam Talbot was voted Fan Favorite.
Contestants
15 chefs were selected to compete in Top Chef: Los Angeles.| Name | Current Residence | Age |
| Elia Aboumrad | Las Vegas, Nevada | 23 |
| Otto Borsich | Las Vegas, Nevada | 46 |
| Marisa Churchill | San Francisco, California | 28 |
| Cliff Crooks | West Caldwell, New Jersey | 28 |
| Carlos Fernandez | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 36 |
| Betty Fraser | Los Angeles, California | 44 |
| Mia Gaines-Alt | Oakdale, California | 32 |
| Ilan Hall | New York, New York | 24 |
| Michael Midgley | Lodi, California | 28 |
| Josie Smith-Malave | Brooklyn, New York | 31 |
| Emily Sprissler | Las Vegas, Nevada | 30 |
| Suyai Steinhauer | New York, New York | 29 |
| Sam Talbot | New York, New York | 28 |
| Frank Terzoli | San Diego, California | 39 |
| Marcel Vigneron | Las Vegas, Nevada | 26 |
Marcel Vigneron and Elia Aboumrad returned to compete in '. Josie Smith-Malave returned for '. Vigneron later competed in Top Chef Duels, and returned again for ', competing in the Last Chance Kitchen. Sam Talbot returned for '.