There is obviously a rota of chef's who try out for everything.
Chiarello and Faulkner were both on Top Chef Masters, Samuelsson won it.

And then there's Spike, who has been on Top Chef twice now.






The lineup for season four: Anne Burrell, Michael Chiarello, Elizabeth Faulkner, Alex Guarnaschelli, Chuck Hughes, Robert Irvine, Beau MacMillan, Geoffrey Zakarian, and hold on to your fedoras, Spike Mendelsohn of Top Chef fame. Also: Marcus Samuelsson, who won season two of Top Chef Masters (one food reality show title is clearly not enough for the man).

The new season premieres October 30th at 9p; Alton Brown will host, and Michael Symon, journalist Simon Majumdar, and UK Iron Chef Judy Joo will judge. Here's the press release:

Food Network Selects Roster of Ten Superstar Chefs for the Ultimate Culinary Battle - Each Looking to Become The Next Iron Chef

Elite Chefs Go Knife-to-Knife in High-Stakes Challenge to Become ‘The Next Iron Chef’
Hosted by Alton Brown, Season Four Set to Premiere Sunday, October 30th at 9pm ET/PT

NEW YORK – April 18, 2011 - Food Network, the leader in food and lifestyle entertainment, today announced the all-star casting and start of production for the ultimate season of The Next Iron Chef. Slated for premiere on Sunday, October 30th at 9pm ET/PT, Alton Brown will again host this 8-episode, top-rated series, which will shoot in Los Angeles and New York. The elite cast includes ten renowned chefs:


Anne Burrell – Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, Worst Cooks in America (Food Network)
Michael Chiarello – Bottega Restaurant (Napa Valley), Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello (Cooking Channel)
Elizabeth Faulkner – Citizen Cake, Orson (San Francisco), Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
Alex Guarnaschelli – Butter, The Darby (New York), Alex’s Day Off, Chopped (Food Network)
Chuck Hughes – Garde Manger (Montreal), Chuck’s Day Off (Cooking Channel), Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
Robert Irvine – Robert Irvine’s eat! (Hilton Head Island), Dinner: Impossible, Restaurant: Impossible, Worst Cooks in America (Food Network)
Beau MacMillan – Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain (Phoenix), Challenge, Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
Spike Mendelsohn – Good Stuff Eatery (Washington D.C.), Kelsey & Spike Cook (Food2.com)
Marcus Samuelsson –Red Rooster Harlem (New York), 24 Hour Restaurant Battle, Chopped (Food Network)
Geoffrey Zakarian – The National, The Lambs Club (New York), 24 Hour Restaurant Battle, Chopped (Food Network)

I can't imagine Spike winning. I've liked what I've see on Chuck's show. I'll check it out, thanks for the reminder.

Awesome. Irvine and Zakarian.

That's quite the stacked cast.

It doesn't seem special anymore to be an Iron Chef... unless they are replacing an exiting ICA.
And why don't they address Symon as an Iron Chef? Weird. I always felt the most underrated ICA was Wolfgang Puck.

Whoa, pretty awesome contestants this time around.