Richard Blais of the much-praised Juniper & Ivy, will be part of the new season of “Top Chef” when the popular reality competition returns to the air in October.
Blais, who won a season of “Top Chef All Stars,” opened Juniper & Ivy on Kettner Boulevard this year, and it has appeared on a host of best restaurant lists, including Zagat’s list of eight hot places to eat in San Diego.
Via Twitter, Blais called the announcement of the new “Top Chef” season “wicked awesome news!” It will be set in Boston and Blais will be a recurring judge. It will launch Oct. 15.
Eater San Diego, via Eater National, first reported on the new cast of “Top Chef,” which airs on Bravo.
Blais has appeared extensively on television’s popular cooking franchises. In addition to “Top Chef,” he’s been part of Food Network’s “Iron Chef America“ and “Chopped All-Stars” as a competitor, and judged episodes of “Guy’s Grocery Games” and “Rachael vs Guy.”
In addition to launching Juniper & Ivy, Blais has added author and TV host to his resume. He hosted “Cooking Your Ass Off,” a healthy cooking competition, and wrote Try This at Home, a cookbook, last year.
Blais trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and served at restaurants in New York, California and Spain, before establishing himself in Atlanta, where he consulted on and ran eateries.