Bravo announced the lineup of its second season of Top Chef Masters, in which well-established chefs (and some bona fide culinary superstars) go head-to-head in your basic Top Chef cooking challenges until one emerges the victor, with a big bag of money donated to the charity of his/her choice.

Three Seattle chefs made the cut.  No, Top Chef: Las Vegas contestants Robin Leventhal and Ashley Merriman will not be making an appearance, but Merriman’s former mentor Maria Hines of Tilth is part of the new class.  So’s Poppy‘s Jerry Traunfeld and Thierry Rautureau, better known as Rover’s “Chef in the Hat.”  He will definitely be bringing the hat, and his big French personality to the show. 

The first episode hits Bravo on Wednesday, April 7 at 11 p.m., before moving to its regular 10 p.m. timeslot. Complete list of participants (via CHS) after the jump.

---

Here is the complete list of participants:

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. *

* — returning from season 1