Top Chef sets return date, pits new chefs against returning favorites

Sharpen those knives, chefs: Bravo's Top Chef has set a return date for Season 14 — and a few familiar faces are getting back into the kitchen.

The hit cooking competition will return for an all-new season on Dec. 1 at 10/9c, the network announced Thursday. This season's destination is Charleston, South Carolina, so down-home Southern cooking will certainly be on the menu. And in an unprecedented twist, eight chefs who lost in previous Top Chef seasons will return to compete against eight newcomers for the Season 14 title.

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Bravo hasn't announced who the eight returning chefs will be yet (clues will be dropped on the show's Facebook and Instagram accounts), but we do know the names of the eight newcomers competing this season:

* Silvia Barban from Brooklyn, NY

* Emily Hahn from Charleston, SC

* Jamie Lynch from Charlotte, NC

* Annie Pettry from Louisville, KY

* Sylva Senat from Philadelphia

* Gerald Sombright from Marco Island, FL

* BJ Smith from Portland, OR

* Jim Smith from Montgomery, AL

Plus, host Padma Lakshmi and head judge Tom Colicchio are returning to the judges' table for Season 14, along with returning judge Gail Simmons and newcomer (and former MasterChef judge) Graham Elliot.

Hungry already for a new season of Top Chef? Hit the comments and let us know who you'd like to see return for another shot at the title.