Chef Academy

Chef Academy is a reality TV show on Bravo featuring world-renowned chef Jean Christophe Novelli. Novelli opened a test program for aspiring chefs, and the show follows their progress as they tackle a series of challenges and tests.

About Chef Academy

The Chef Academy facility is located in Los Angeles, California. Nine students who aspire to become professional chefs are admitted and train under the guidance of Chef Novelli.

First the students must be selected from the pile of applicants. Novelli and his assistant -the aptly-named Steven Kitchen- bring in all of the applicants and ask them to perform a simple culinary task: cook an egg. The chefs can cook their eggs any way they please, and it's amazing to see how many of them can't handle the pressure.

Once the nine students are chosen, the real Chef Academy begins.

Show Format

In each episode, Novelli presents the chefs with their tasks. The first task is for the chefs to create their signature dishes, to give Novelli a sense of their styles. Many of these tests include attempting to recreate one of Novelli's own signature dishes.

After each test, Novelli and Kitchen evaluate the chefs and give them a pass or a fail. No one is eliminated in the traditional reality television method. Instead, if any chef receives three failing grades, they risk failing out of the Chef Academy.

In the end, those who are still in the Academy end up graduating.

About Jean Christophe Novelli

Jean Christophe Novelli was born on February 22, 1961 in Arras, France. He started his career working in a bakery but soon moved up to becoming the personal chef for the wealthy and influential Rothschild family.

After moving to London and heading the kitchens at a variety of establishments, he opened his first restaurant called Maison Novelli. He has expanded his chain of restaurants to cover more areas of London, as well as France and South Africa.

Novelli has appeared on numerous television shows, including Hell's Kitchen, The X Factor, and Family Fortunes, all in the U.K.

The Chefs of Chef Academy

The nine original aspiring chefs who appeared on the first season of Chef Academy are:

Suzanne Winn - Suzanne is from California and joined the Chef Academy simply to hone her culinary skills. After failing three tests, Suzanne was given a second chance by Chef Novelli. However, she failed a fourth test and became the only student not to graduate.

Kyle Kupiszewski - Kyle is from New Hampshire, and has experience as a cook on board nuclear powered submarines as a member of the U.S. Navy.

Sarah Jacobsen - Sarah hails from Chicago and aspires to become a tattoo model. She also hopes to teach others that formal training isn't necessary to become a skilled chef. Like Suzanne, Sarah failed three tests during the course of the show, but Chef Novelli offered her one more chance. Unlike Suzanne, Sarah ended up graduating.

Tracie Norfleet - Tracie is from Honolulu. She is passionate about food, though she works in advertising.

Leonard Goodloe - Leonard is from Texas and has had formal training as a chef. He currently works as a personal chef in California.

Zoe Feigenbaum - Zoe is from New York, where she studied at the French Culinary Institute. She works as a part-time caterer.

Carissa Loughhead St. Aubin - Carissa is from North Carolina and considers cooking a hobby. She is currently starting up an online vintage clothing business.

Emmanuel DelCour - Emmanuel is from France and began cooking at a young age. He hopes to one day have his own cooking show on network television. A brief scandal hit Chef Academy when it became known that Emmanuel was actually a porn actor who works under the name Jean Val Jean.

Kyle Daley - Kyle is from California, and has experience working as a sous chef in various restaurants. He aspires to become the executive chef at his own restaurant.